Chapter 475 7: It's Just an Exploration Level

Inside the central stone tower of Fortress Mountain City.

A blue holographic screen floated above the long sand table. A professional hacker under Lu Weilong's command operated the equipment, projecting the street scenes along Mountain City's stone paths one after another.

"Are these the people from the Alliance Country?"

"They've got some nerve. Coming to our Mountain City to negotiate with just three vehicles."

"Damn, the Fourth Leader really knows how to put on a show. This welcoming ceremony is quite 'unique,' I must say. Hahaha."

The warlord commanders watched the holographic screen, observing the Alliance Country's negotiating convoy pass through the gates and enter Mountain City. When they saw the civilians coerced into kneeling on the ground and shouting words of welcome, their expressions turned peculiar—a mix of surprise and amusement.

WHOOSH!

Seeing this, Chen Junhao exhaled a plume of smoke. His rugged face was half-hidden behind the haze as he glanced at the amused warlord commanders. His eyes were deep and unreadable, showing neither joy nor anger.

Sitting across from him, the Second Leader, Xiao Chen, frowned. He worried that provoking the Alliance Country's envoys like this might jeopardize the negotiations, and so he spoke up to warn them. "Isn't this going a bit too far?"

"Xiao, relax." Lu Weilong sat sprawled confidently in a leather armchair. With a half-smile, he said firmly, "Right now, these people need us.

"No matter what we do, they'll have to swallow their pride and keep begging us. Since that's the case, we might as well teach them a lesson, lest they make some unreasonable demands during the negotiations."

A thick smile spread across his face, his tone completely nonchalant. He didn't care how powerful they were out there; now that they were here, they had to bow their heads.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen gave him a deep look. He naturally realized that Yan Xiong's actions were ordered by Lu Weilong. The goal was nothing more than a show of strength to let the Alliance Country's people know exactly who called the shots in Fortress Mountain City.

"Fine," he sighed. Seeing Yan Zhengfeng and the others looking troubled on the screen, he compromised. "But someone has to wrap this up.

"In a moment..."

"I know," Lu Weilong interrupted, flashing a wide grin. "Xiao, just sit back and watch.

"Yan Xiong might be reckless, but he knows where to draw the line."

Baring his pearly white teeth, he looked at Lu Chao stepping out of the car on the screen. Staring at his disguised, ordinary face, Lu Weilong sneered. "Once we crush the arrogance of these Alliance Country folks, we'll give them an out.

"When that time comes, these so-called Alliance envoys will be entirely at our mercy..."

BANG!!

Suddenly, a muffled explosion erupted from the holographic screen!

Lu Weilong's unfinished sentence was abruptly cut off. The warlord commanders present felt their eardrums throb, sensing a faint tremor shaking the street outside the stone tower.

"This..."

Everyone's expressions changed. Some quickly turned to look out the window at the nearby street, while others focused intently on the center of the holographic screen.

Yan Xiong, a warrior at the peak of the Exploration Level, looked as if he had been struck by a cannonball. He was sent flying backward off the ground, crashing through pickup trucks and stone walls along the way. The warlord soldiers in his path were reduced to a bloody pulp. Another warlord commander was caught in the impact, sent flying, and swallowed by the cloud of dust.

"This guy..." Xiao Chen's expression fluctuated, while the other warlord commanders stared in dumbfounded shock.

Chen Junhao raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze toward the center of the screen.

The Alliance envoy in the black trench coat slowly retracted his fist, his expression utterly indifferent.

As if sensing their gaze, he suddenly looked up, as though he could see them through the city's surveillance equipment. His chilling eyes even seemed to lock onto Lu Weilong, whose smile had completely vanished.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!

A series of dull collisions echoed, sounding like a runaway tank smashing through everything in its path.

A pickup truck tumbled several times like a fragile toy. Even the armored vehicle suffered twisted steel plates, sliding a few meters across the ground with a massive dent.

Over a dozen meters straight behind them, a stone building wobbled. A human-shaped hole had been violently smashed into its sturdy stone wall, billowing clouds of brown dust. Blood splattered the surrounding rubble. Several warlord soldiers lay battered and bloody beneath the broken wall. They looked as if they had been flattened into meat patties, groaning and screaming in agony.

"This..."

Witnessing this, Yan Zhengfeng and the rest of the entourage froze in place, utterly flabbergasted.

The heavily armed warlord soldiers stiffened, their eyes wide and jaws slack. The Mountain City civilians, who had been kneeling and shouting, gradually ceased their actions and voices. They looked up in bewilderment, turning their gazes to the front of the Alliance Country's convoy.

His black trench coat rustling in the wind, Lu Chao lowered his arm and cast a freezing glance at the distant stone bunker.

Feeling a lingering sense of being watched, he knew there was a drone disguised as a rock monitoring the area. In other words, Yan Xiong's provocation was orchestrated by someone else. As for who was pulling the strings, it went without saying.

"Stand up," Lu Chao said in a deep voice, looking at the Mountain City residents who were kneeling to welcome them.

They hadn't yet grasped the situation. Shock still dominated their minds, leaving them dazed. Or perhaps they simply didn't dare defy the warlord soldiers, remaining frozen in place.

Just then, a furious roar echoed. "Who do you think you are, daring to break our rules?"

BOOM!!

The stone building with the collapsed wall shuddered violently.

CRASH! A howling gale tore across the ground in a swirling vortex, instantly blowing away all the dust and debris.

SWOOSH!!

Immediately after, a brown streak of light tore through the air, bringing with it a biting, blade-like wind. The figure instantly materialized in front of Lu Chao.

Brown Qi Flame flowed across his body, solidifying like a suit of armor. Yan Xiong's brown commander uniform fluttered wildly. The fabric on his chest was torn and shredded, revealing a silver alloy inner armor beneath.