With possible enemy reinforcements, and the latter being a force that had subjugated a city before, it would be logical for all the external Warrior Lords to run to a safe place, with Warrior Kings escorting them. And the soldiers of the city, who had no such choice, being the ones to face the enemy and evacuate mortals or, in the case of a few Sages in the town, the cultivators beneath the realm of someone considered a fighting force.
While such a preference could appear insensitive, and most of the time, at least one of the visiting Warrior Lords would try and remain back, it was simply the truth of the world. After all, all righteous powers were based on relationships, and how would a friendly power feel if one didn't protect their people during a dangerous situation? And if one went a notch higher, how would the so-friendly power from before react when an heir or some important member of their ruling family, clan, power, or whatever died because he wasn't protected well enough?
Emperors could fight, protect themselves, or, in the worst case, escape from other Emperors. Yet, Warrior Kings and especially Warrior Lords could not, so Dongpo Ao not only openly supported but even pushed his fellow Emperors' orders for their people to evacuate their heirs while taking along Bai Qi and the suddenly discovered talent of his clan, Dongpo Dayang, especially with half of them wounded at some degree, or having spent their protective treasures to some point.
What they could not count on, neither he nor the other Emperors' would be that the main catch of all the events before this, Bai Qi, would suddenly lag behind the retreating group as if he was deliberately slowing them down.
Not that any of them or the Warrior Kings in the escort thought so, as all had observed Bai Qi fight back against Tang Chao, someone not only above his cultivation but also his mind power, and still, the young genius had prevailed, successfully protecting himself and the others, leaving only a few spells undefended. And even though the latter did generate some damage before the rescue force had arrived, even if interrupted by the sudden demonic Emperor's appearance, the fact was still there - Bai Qi had managed to block most of Tang Chao's 3rd wave, one formed by 2nd-tier spells by his own, and without letting anyone die!
Granted, the few injuries and a few breaths of paralysis for Gao Xiulan or the harsher injuries on one of the previous attackers, at that moment turned allies, was something bad, but..!
A Warrior Lord - even if with an unexpected absolutely genius mind power and already fame of getting above his cultivation - blocked a renowned Warrior King of the mind path and one whose mindpower was not only above but also counted on spells of a tier above the 1st that the Warrior Lord used!
Thus, in their minds, even in the ones of the far more crafty Emperors, Bai Qi couldn't be lagging intentionally but was actually at his limit, and his previous bravado of putting his guard up or following the group was nothing more than that, a bravado. This being Bai Qi's way of showing that he was alright while far from his best state. Heavens! He could be in the worst of the worst of states, especially after clashing with someone like Tang Chao, a locally renowned mind master and a candidate for the Mind Saint way.
----------------------------------------
At the start, Bai Qi had no idea about the newly revealed Warrior Emperor - after learning about his identity, neither his guard nor his intention to observe the battle diminished. In fact, his initial idea of getting martial insights from observing the fight grew even more than before. And so, in place of retreating quickly as Zhu Chen suggested, he actually started staggering, slowing down the entire group's retreat.
The cultivation path that Bai Qi followed not only required him to get nearly ten times the insights a more common path would require but also made him lose nearly ninety percent of his lifespan, even if the latter was a mix of several factors, especially his soul being anything but pure.
And with the condition of insights considered for his cultivation being only the ones he gained during his current life, how could he miss the fight between two Emperors?!
A realm that he, during his most brilliant years, could only consider as one below his servants-to-be should have now was important for his cultivation and all of his new plans, even if he left his initial desires of revenge behind.
So, how could he miss such a fight? Even if there was the danger of other Emperors' or Warrior Kings appearing, some of them possibly even above what he could face even with all of his trump cards, how could he miss it?!
Thus, in place of using the guiding aura of the Warrior Kings or even following after them, Bai Qi staggered every ten, or later, even the second step, nearly falling as he continued following the orders but lagged so much that he forced the entire group of escorts and escorted to stop and wait for him.
As for being carried or helped, even if with just bare aura, by any of the escorting Warrior Kings, Bai Qi had already flatly refused twice and continued to do so, showing his character while nodding towards the injured, by his schemes, Gao Xiulan, or the others, who while not having received any direct hits, their treasures or fortitude saving them from the spells Bai Qi had failed to counter, or wanted to fail to counter, and who looked no better than him, even if he had been the one to receive one while entirely countering five 2nd-tier spells!
***
His plan had been successful for over a hundred breaths. It probably would be so even more if not for a sudden interference, Dongpo Ao's aura sending not only him but also the three heirs, Dongpo Dayang and the four escorting Warrior Kings' away, nearly to the north wall of the city, as three previously non-existent auras flared in the vicinity of where they had been just a moment before - with only the two, one of them nearly fatally wounded, Warrior Lord realm ambushers from before remaining in the spot, and not for long, as the three forcefully expanded auras spared neither them nor the buildings surrounding the street that Bai Qi and the others had just trod uncaringly some half an hour before.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
----------------------------------------
While the [Soulrend Elders] were only recently discovered as a dangerous force, only some bits of information had been found and shared about them, most of them coming from the strength revealed during the [River Tree City] incident - among them, even if it was just gathered from a few commentaries from the [Elders] themselves, that their number was just ten.
Even if their strength could rival the forces of a 3rd-tier power with ease, and they were a dangerous element indeed, especially when operating free from any restraints in an enormous region such as the [Great Forest], they received only some attention from the higherups, the latter spending most of their time to track and identify the true opponents to themselves, the leaders of the top powers of the loosely aligned [Demon Worshipping Region]. Although the latter called their region differently, naming themselves as the [The Coalition of the Chosen], considering that even if their paths were unorthodox, the way was right.
*
Wan Chao had been a nobody before meeting the new Lord of the [Hundred Souls Mountain], having only been an expelled external elder from one of the [Ten Great Families] academies, accused of trying to extract an apprentice's dantian as to improve his lagging cultivation and having no other choice, rushing into the [Demon Worshipping Region] as to escape the apprentice's family vengeance.
The region didn't receive him kindly either, and his cultivation of a 5th level Warrior Lord was nothing in the dog-eat-dog environment, especially with his age considered, his nearly 50 years being above the junior age limit that could at least gain him a place to be nurtured by one of the loosely organized powers.
Still, he managed to survive, his age and cultivation enough to force back or escape from common evildoers. All while no geniuses or elders from the powers considered him as even prey, neither of the former interested them at all.
But surviving and actually living were different, not to mention that in his new environment, he could be killed by anyone with superior strength without even requiring any reason. Thus, Wan Chao, after being forced into one danger after another, couldn't think of anything better but to reach the [Hundred Souls Mountain], a place that, while considered the most dangerous of the entire region, contained inheritances and resources from dozens over dozens hundreds of [Demon Worshipping Region] experts, and in which, no matter what test of the departed he could pass without dying, he could obtain at least something.
While the [Hundred Souls Mountain] could be considered a great opportunity, there was a reason it wasn't guarded by any power in the region: the lethality rate was so high that only one or two out of a hundred would survive. And the ones that did survive, where could they stay if not the region? What powers could they join but not the ones of the [The Coalition of the Chosen]?
Their newly acquired powers and cultivation methods far from the accepted practices...
*
While the Lord's orders somewhat contradicted the initial ideas of Wan Chao, he followed them all to the full extent. Even if now he was required to kill dozens of cultivators to advance, not only did the methods of the Lord solve his deficiency in cultivation, far above what he could have done with the attempt of absorbing others' dantians with a self-developed method, the fact that now he was a peak 2nd level Emperor - while just two years before he was nothing but a mediocre Warrior Lord, had already made him fully obedient.
***
And to an already taken degree, the Lord's orders and expectations were confirmed, with Hai Long facing him squarely, while the other Emperors' actions were as expected. And even the unexpectedly advanced Dongpo Ao also shying from attacking him with numbers but reinforcing the city, ignoring that he, as a non-expected 3rd level Warrior Emperor, could have at least modified something in the [Soulrend Elders] plans.
But in the end, nothing changed, as while Wan Chao engaged the [Pan Trade Company]'s external elder, or basically a debt slave because of unwise dealings, the other three of the Emperor-tier [Elders] appeared, each having an already determined target and making the plan advance to the next stage, forcing one, even if unexpectedly it was Dongpo Ao, of the Emperors to send the Warrior Kings and their escorts towards the assumed safer side of the city, where, the ambush against the true objective of the mission was prepared.
With all going according to the plan, even the unexpected changes considered, Wan Chao couldn't help but laugh as he repelled the somewhat dumbstruck Hai Long while, at last, revealing his full appearance and power.
"I am the [Crimson Specter]. Consider it an honor to know my title before dying off, a sold-off elder of the so-called Great [Hai Family]." Wan Chao exclaimed, his now-turned-crimson robe billowing with one of his now-turned swift and lethal movements, the golden flame embroidery of the robe flickering like real fire.
The demonic red jade mask obscured his face, revealing only a pair of fierce, narrowed eyes and a dark, faint tattoo on the forehead. A suddenly summoned long spear with a jagged blade glowing an ominous red, dancing in his hands, slashing through the air with terrifying speed. Behind the mask, a sense of cold, detached focus emanated as the [Specter] revealed all of his strength to deal with the previously, toyed with, Hai Long.
The other [Soulrend Elders] - the [Obsidian Wraith], with ember-like eyes peering from under a shadowy black hood; the [Shrouded Executioner], their blood-stained grey cloak and metal mask concealing all but the menace in their glowing red eyes; and the [Veiled Serpent], whose serpent-scale armor shimmered with every hypnotic, snake-like move -had hovered at the edges of the battle since the start, but now, as they appeared, following the plan, each engaging an already selected opponent, only the [Obsidian Wraith] having the bad luck of having to deal with a far more powerful Dongpo Ao than the one expected, Wan Chao could not help but laugh as he used his [Blood Fire Spear] to send the unarmed Hai Long away while destroying the now-faulty barriers around their battle.