Julius Reed raised his longsword and gently swung it downward.

The martial artists behind him, full of determination, used all their strength and charged toward the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance's viewing platform.

Make your mark in history!

The strongest one is already dead.

The rest are just worthless scum, aren't they just free pickings?

Brant Fairbanks, not wanting to be outdone, led his disciples to the front.

Soon, the original battlefield was left with only Julius Reed and Ichiro Carmichael.

The two locked eyes, and Ichiro Carmichael suddenly felt a familiar sensation.

Involuntarily, panic grew in his heart.

Why is this gaze so terrifying?

"Do you have the courage to go back with me to see the Sacred Master?" Julius Reed squatted down, looking into his eyes, and asked expectantly, "Or are you afraid to see the Sacred Master?"

Upon hearing this, a fleeting fear crossed Ichiro Carmichael's face, but it quickly disappeared.

"What do I have to fear! Since I, Carmichael, have come, I didn't plan on going back alive! Boy, kill me!"

Ichiro Carmichael closed his eyes, ready to meet his end.

He appeared resolute, but his eyelids fluttered.

"Stop pretending."

Julius Reed stood up and let out a light laugh: "Where could you have no strength for suicide now? If you truly wanted to end yourself, you would have done it long ago. Why survive until now and put on a tragic show for me?"

"You..."

Ichiro Carmichael, flushed with embarrassment and anger, shouted, "You young one, show some respect! No matter what, I am your elder..."

Clang!

Before he could finish, Julius Reed threw the sword in front of him. "Here's the sword for you now, die quickly. Once you're dead, I can take your head and report back."

"You'll meet a bad end!" Ichiro Carmichael grabbed the longsword and held it to his neck, eyes red: "I, Carmichael, have lived an upright life! Even in death, I won't submit..."

With that, he pressed harder with his hand.

Blood slowly trickled down his neck.

The pain!

As the pain hit, Ichiro Carmichael threw the sword to the ground.

"This sword isn't sanitary, I'm worried the corpse will rot after I die, tarnishing my reputation." Ichiro Carmichael shamelessly said.

He avoided looking at Julius Reed, not daring to make eye contact at all.

Death?

In Ichiro Carmichael's house were hundreds of servants and dozens of wives.

Who would want to leave such a life of luxury?

Though the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance had been through some upheavals, it was still relatively stable for him.

Doing his duty daily, occasionally expressing his loyalty to Cold Nelson, he could continue to enjoy life.

Now he was being asked to die?

Impossible.

"Mr. Carmichael is quite a decent man." Julius Reed nodded, reached out into the air and grabbed a hold of Yin and Yang.

Whoosh!

He ignited the Netherfire, setting it aflame on the weapon's blade.

"I'm sterilizing it for you."

Seeing this, Ichiro Carmichael's face turned utterly green.

He's really being forced to his death!

"Haha, even in death, Carmichael must die with dignity." Ichiro Carmichael sat cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes: "Today is not the right time, I cannot die yet."

Julius Reed took a step back, studying him closely.

Back when they were in Demarco Mount, why didn't he realize Ichiro Carmichael had such thick skin?

Three days had passed, and it was time to reassess.

"If you don't want to die, I can give you an opportunity. But remember, there's only one chance." Julius Reed held the longsword, his voice gradually taking on a murderous edge: "Why did you betray the Sacred Master?"

"Heh, I, Carmichael..."

Just as Ichiro Carmichael was about to launch into a lengthy discourse, the longsword was already pressed against his neck.

Yin and Yang, switching between cold and hot.

When cold, it's chilling to the bone!

When hot, it seems to roast a person alive.

Ichiro Carmichael shuddered and quickly changed his tune: "It's not about betrayal, I am loyal to the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance. The current Sacred Master is Cold Nelson, so in terms of allegiance to the Alliance, I have no fault."

Julius Reed said nothing.

The blade pressed tighter.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you!" Even when facing a life-and-death threat, for survival, Ichiro Carmichael still feigned composure: "Sacred Master Cold Nelson promised that in three years, he would promote me to head of the three departments."

"Loyalty means nothing in the face of interests." Julius Reed shook his head: "And if the Sacred Master allows you to control the Military Department, will you still be loyal to Cold Nelson?"

"Military Department?" Ichiro Carmichael thought for a moment and nodded: "Of course. But the premise is, I have already betrayed the Sacred Master, how could he possibly forgive me."

Living to this point and holding the position he was in, he naturally understood the meaning of betrayal.

Once is understandable, after all, he's not the only one.

But twice...

"Since you feel the Sacred Master cannot forgive you, why not commit suicide?" Julius Reed raised the longsword in his hand, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Heh, nothing is absolute." Ichiro Carmichael's old face flushed red with a hint of helplessness. "Ah, if I had known this, would've been better to comfortably enjoy life at Demarco Mount. Why get involved in this mess."

"Have all the remaining people in Demarco Mount betrayed the Sacred Master?"

Julius Reed lifted his chin with the sword and asked out loud.

He needed to understand why these people betrayed him and their numbers.

The seemingly unshakeable Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance had quickly disintegrated and collapsed upon his departure.

If not for its strong foundation, it might have been destroyed by now.

"This is... hard to say." Ichiro Carmichael had lost his airs, it was already good he hadn't been scared to the point of wetting his pants at the thought of death.

"Inside Demarco Mount, there are many who support the Sacred Master, and many who oppose him. Yet with the enemy at the gates, Sacred Master Cold Nelson, for the sake of the bigger picture, didn't make major personnel changes. After removing the true king of the Military Department, he controlled the military power, and the rest of the positions were already irrelevant."

"Thus, he promised to promote me in three years. Three years is enough to address internal and external conflicts. However, some people's thoughts run deep, whether they truly have betrayed or not, I am unsure."

Finally, Ichiro Carmichael added: "Anyway, I've genuinely betrayed."

"You are indeed quite honest." Julius Reed sheathed his longsword, patting Ichiro Carmichael's shoulder: "Go back, while no one has noticed you yet. Upon returning, check the list. Investigate who has betrayed the Sacred Master and who hasn't. Once you find out, keep it safe. When the Sacred Master regains Demarco Mount in the future, it will serve you well."

"You won't kill me?" Ichiro Carmichael was stunned.

He had mentally prepared for the high probability of being killed.

"A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated. If you want to kill, just kill, there's no need to toy with me like this." In Ichiro Carmichael's mind, he was sure he wouldn't survive.

"Go! This is the Sacred Master's wish. Remember, no matter what Cold Nelson promises you, the Sacred Master offers double that. Plus, he has given you a life."

Julius Reed patted his face: "What a hypocrite."

With that, under Ichiro Carmichael's bewildered gaze, he mounted the Mont Horse and galloped away.

"I don't have to die?" Ichiro Carmichael slapped himself hard.

The pain!

It's real, not an illusion.

Looking at his bruised body, he burst into uncontrollable laughter.

He had survived!

How delightful!

Yet.

The people of the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance couldn't laugh at all.

Marco Jackson was pathetically kneeling on the ground, surrounded by Boulevard martial artists.

Hands raised high with a brocade box, his face was bruised and swollen.

"I beg you all to spare my life. Marco Jackson is willing to work like an ox or a horse for you, even at the cost of my life!"

PS: Happy Lantern Festival.

Wishing everyone a career and family as complete as the moon.

The fifteenth day of the first month, you're a day later than the fourteenth, just like the fourth ring is fewer than the fifth ring.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.