Chapter 140: A Stunning Maneuver

At this moment, the remaining four War Sovereigns were operating in pairs: those from the Flying Sword Sect and those from the Lin family. All four had heard the final words of the Wu family’s War Sovereign.

"What is going on?"
"How should I know? Elder He is unreachable, and those two from the Wu family are gone too!"
"I fear they have all met with disaster. Old Wu mentioned Elder He being killed and brought up Gu Sha. Could it be that Gu Sha killed Elder He?"
"How is that even possible?"
"Damn it, forget it! Retreat!"

Just as they prepared to pull back, a frantic voice crackled over the radio: "My lords, something has happened! Our fleet was attacked on the return trip; all aircraft destroyed, we are surrounded by mutated beasts, bzzzt..."

The signal cut out. At that instant, all four War Sovereigns realized the severity of the situation.

"Retreat! Don't hesitate, retreat!"

Immediately, the four War Sovereigns began to flee. However, just as the two from the Flying Sword Sect were about to escape outside the Taihang Mountains, Gu Sha appeared in the sky above them.

"You won't be leaving!"

The faces of the two Flying Sword Sect War Sovereigns shifted dramatically.

"Kill!"

They exchanged a glance and attacked Gu Sha simultaneously, unleashing their most powerful weapons and deadliest techniques. The source energy in the sky surged violently; the two War Sovereigns moved like thunder, shining with brilliant light, causing the mountain rocks and trees to tremble.

Gu Sha suddenly thrust out a hand, an invisible force erupting from his arm. In that instant, the flow of time around them slowed drastically. Gu Sha moved like a phantom, charging forward, his Tang blade wreathed in source energy. He transformed into a golden streak, striking with the speed of thunder.

Both War Sovereigns felt the power of time in that instant, but they were far too slow to respond. Two flashes of the blade passed by, accompanied by two sprays of blood from the shoulders of the War Sovereigns. Four arms went flying, and both men collapsed to the ground. Gu Sha rushed over and unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches, followed by a chorus of wretched, ear-piercing screams.

Gu Sha didn't stop until the two War Sovereigns were left with only a single breath of life. He let out a long sigh of relief, stripped them of their spatial rings, and soared into the sky, riding a giant eagle toward the distance. The two broken War Sovereigns were left behind, being abducted by a group of monkeys.

...

Deep within the Taihang Mountains, in a region filled with loess dust, two other War Sovereigns from the Lin family were running, covered in grime. One wore a black robe, the other a white.

"Big brother, I fear the others have all met with disaster. What do we do now?" asked the white-robed War Sovereign.

The black-robed one spat out a mouthful of dirt, formed a hand seal, and conjured a torrent of water to wash his body. "Damn it! I strongly suspect someone betrayed us. How does this Gu Sha know our methods so well? He’s specifically arranged so many earth-type beasts to disgust us!"

The white-robed War Sovereign remained silent. As War Sovereigns, they were generally safe walking through the Taihang Mountains as long as they didn't encounter Gu Sha. Yet, they were currently in a pathetic state. Their specialty was water-based techniques, which were being hard-countered. Dense swarms of earth-type beasts kept setting traps; while they couldn't cause real harm, the constant annoyance was unbearable. What was most infuriating was that the beasts would hit and run, clearly just trying to get under their skin.

"Forget that for now," said the white-robed one. "It's obvious Gu Sha is using these beasts to stall us so he can pick us off one by one. He must have anticipated our plan. By now, the others have likely fallen, and we... we won't be able to escape either!"

The black-robed War Sovereign snorted. "Run? Why run? Since Gu Sha has calculated our every move, we will do the opposite."

"What do you mean?"

"Gu Sha uses hostages to threaten us, so we can use hostages to threaten him!" the black-robed one said. "He kidnapped so many human transcendents to threaten us, but in reality, he hasn't caused them any substantial harm. Even back at that battle on the outskirts of Taihang, he mainly targeted us, the beings from the Upper Realm."

The white-robed one realized, "So, we are going to use hostages to threaten the kidnapper?"

"Correct," the black-robed one replied. "This Gu Sha seems cold and heartless, but he is, at the end of the day, a lowly Earth native. Based on his actions, one can deduce his true character: he is a man of great loyalty who hides it behind a mask of treachery. His behavior is criticized by countless Earth natives, yet no one has contributed more to Earth than he has.

"He is criticized for being selfish and acting on his own, but look at what he has done. When the C-City barrier fell, he killed many high-ranking officials and was attacked by the masses, but that move saved millions. Later, he sank the Ghost Island Continent. While there was some historical animosity, we only learned from our dealings with the Tianyuan Realm that the continent had long been colluding with them. If not for Gu Sha’s nuclear missiles, the Tianyuan Realm would have invaded Earth much sooner.

"Later, he robbed people while carrying a nuke. Denying that he did it to get stronger would be a lie, but he didn't stand by when humanity was in crisis. If it weren't for his warnings, more than half of the Earth natives would be dead by now.

"I call him a man of great loyalty hidden by treachery. He is a smart man who refuses to be bound by morality, hence his solitary path. In truth, he is a man who carries Earth in his heart. I’ve figured out the nature of these natives; there aren't many smart ones, and most are selfish idiots. I believe Gu Sha uses a facade of ruthlessness to minimize trouble so that he can more easily save Earth! I even suspect his intent in targeting us from the Upper Realm wasn't just to rob us, but to secure a voice for Earth's people. Because he exists and is strong enough to form a unique faith, we from the Upper Realm cannot enslave the minds of the Earth natives!"

As they spoke, they continued running deeper into the Taihang Mountains.

The white-robed War Sovereign still felt something was off. "Big brother, do you think there's a possibility that Gu Sha hasn't thought that far ahead, and he just wants to get stronger quickly?"

The black-robed one insisted, "No, this man is definitely a hero of great loyalty disguised as a villain. His actions seem selfish, yet he always helps humanity at critical moments. He is a hero shouldering the burden of infamy as he walks forward!"

At that moment, Gu Sha, standing on the back of his giant eagle, received a call. "Boss, I don't know if the Lin family's War Sovereigns were pushed to their limits, but they've turned around and are heading toward the Justice Hall!"

Gu Sha frowned. This was different from what he had seen in his premonition of the future. But then, that was normal. In the vision, he hadn't wiped out the four major factions all at once. Since the initial trajectory had changed, subsequent changes were expected.

"Are those two thinking of rescuing the hostages?" Feilong asked, puzzled.

"We'll find out soon enough."

Gu Sha immediately ordered his mount to change course toward the Justice Hall. The current defenses of the Justice Hall were very lax, almost non-existent; only a group of low-level mutated beasts were there to act as a symbolic guard for the hostages. Those hostages had all been sealed by restrictions, and the stronger ones were severely wounded and starving, possessing no combat power, so they didn't require much oversight.

The two Lin family War Sovereigns broke into the Justice Hall without any effort, charging straight into the plaza where the hostages were kept. Seeing the Lin family War Sovereigns, the hostages were overjoyed, shouting that they were saved and hurling insults at Gu Sha, the "traitor to humanity."

However, to everyone’s shock, the two Lin family War Sovereigns began a massacre the moment they rushed in, quickly slaughtering a large group of human transcendents. Amidst the general shock, they rescued a few Lin family transcendents, then took out their phones and started a live stream.

With a cry of an eagle, Gu Sha appeared above the Justice Hall.

The two Lin family War Sovereigns unleashed their full momentum. The black-robed one shouted, "Gu Sha! We from the Upper Realm have gone to great lengths to descend and help you Earth humans fight external enemies, yet you, as an Earthling, are not only ungrateful but also seek to kill us all! If you don't stop now, I will drag all these compatriots of yours to the grave with us! Furthermore, if you kill us today, I tell you, our Lin family will summon all beings from the Upper Realm to leave Earth and let you Earth humans perish on your own!"

As he spoke, the black-robed War Sovereign pulled out a nuclear missile.

High in the sky, Gu Sha was stunned. Threatening the kidnapper with the hostages? This absurd tactic was truly an eye-opener!