Chapter 623: Sparing No Expense

Chapter 623: Chapter 623: Sparing No Expense

After leaving the main hall, Lin Yun confirmed the plan with the Grand Commander and the others. His group would set out tonight.

Lin Yun’s plan was actually quite simple: a feint designed to be deliberately misleading. He guessed that Qing Zhu would be prepared—for instance, by gathering the Divine Palace Warriors and stationing them at a central location among the Five Great Cities. That way, no matter which city Lin Yun attacked, Qing Zhu could quickly dispatch reinforcements to annihilate the Demon Palace Warriors.

What Lin Yun intended to do was use his own group as bait. They would feign an attack on the city furthest from Demon City, tricking Qing Zhu into thinking it was their true target and mobilizing the Divine Palace Warriors to reinforce it.

At that point, the ten Commanders of the Demon Palace could lead their Warriors to attack the city closest to Demon City without any worries.

When they first heard this plan, the Grand Commander and his men raised objections. It was far too dangerous for Lin Yun and his group to act as the bait themselves. The Grand Commander suggested sending some Demon Palace Warriors in their place.

However, Lin Yun rejected the Grand Commander’s proposal. Qing Zhu wasn’t that easy to fool. ’If I don’t even show up, Qing Zhu will most likely become suspicious.’

But if Lin Yun and his entire group showed up, Qing Zhu wouldn’t suspect a thing. Therefore, Lin Yun himself had to be the bait.

It had to be said, Lin Yun’s guess was spot on. He had even predicted Qing Zhu’s move to station the Divine Palace Warriors at a central location among the Five Great Cities.

Back in their small courtyard, the Monk and the Daoist had also returned. Seeing the two of them sitting there, Lin Yun and Xi Zijin approached and explained the plan.

After hearing Lin Yun’s plan, the Monk and Daoist said nothing. They both knew it was an extremely dangerous move. Once surrounded by Divine Palace Warriors, escape would be nearly impossible.

"Don’t you two have anything to say?" Lin Yun asked with a light laugh, seeing their silence.

Even Xi Zijin found it a little strange. ’For two people as lecherous and greedy as the Monk and Daoist, how could they face such a dangerous situation without a single word of complaint?’

Hearing Lin Yun, the Monk spoke up first. "Young Master Lin, the Daoist and I may be greedy and lecherous, but we aren’t cowards. We understand the situation. This is likely the only way we can win, isn’t it?"

Hearing this, both Lin Yun and Xi Zijin smiled slightly. ’Looks like these two have some redeeming qualities after all,’ Lin Yun thought. ’At least they aren’t complete scumbags.’

In reality, Lin Yun’s group didn’t have much to prepare. The ones acting as bait were just Lin Yun, Little Ape, the Black-striped Tiger, Xi Zijin, the Monk, and the Daoist. Everyone understood the danger and the gravity of the mission; Lin Yun didn’t need to elaborate.

But Lin Yun wanted to discuss something else. He spoke quietly to the three of them. However, after hearing his words, the Monk and the Daoist immediately jumped up.

"What? Young Master Lin, have you gone mad?" the Daoist shouted in disbelief. "You want us to take out all our Spirit Soldiers and give them to the Demon Palace?"

Lin Yun had just started to see them in a better light, but the moment money was involved, the Monk and Daoist instantly reverted to form. Of course, Lin Yun had anticipated this reaction and calmly explained.

"There is currently a huge power gap between the Demon Palace and the Divine Palace," Lin Yun said. "Moreover, the Divine Palace has Qing Zhu and his group of four. I don’t need to tell you how strong Song Tianyang and the others are—they’re all at the Demon Level. If we don’t go all in this time, the Demon Palace has virtually no hope of winning."

The point of giving their Spirit Soldiers to the Demon Palace Warriors was to increase their overall Combat Power. For a Celestial Spirit Realm Martial Artist, wielding a Spirit Soldier provided a significant power boost.

Yet, even after Lin Yun’s explanation, the Monk and Daoist still hesitated. Giving away all their Spirit Soldiers? This was a truly staggering cost.

Unlike last time, Lin Yun didn’t force them. After all, these Spirit Soldiers were far more valuable than the Low-grade Spirit Essence Pills from before. He simply laid out his reasoning for the Monk and Daoist. The choice was theirs to make.

The Monk and Daoist fell silent. Lin Yun and Xi Zijin, on the other hand, took out all of their Spirit Soldiers. They had ten in total between them: three Celestial Spirit Soldiers and seven Earth Spirit Soldiers.

Seeing Lin Yun and Xi Zijin present all their Spirit Soldiers, the Monk and Daoist looked extremely conflicted.

The two loved money more than life itself, but they also understood the situation. The power gap between the Demon Palace and Divine Palace was simply too vast. Without the aid of Spirit Soldiers, the Demon Palace’s victory was highly unlikely.

This was no longer an issue that strategy alone could resolve; it came down to a matter of raw power.

’His heart was bleeding.’ After a long moment, the Monk finally looked at Lin Yun and said, "Knowing you has brought me the worst luck of my entire life, I swear."

As he spoke, the Monk took another Space Ring from his waist—one that even Lin Yun hadn’t known about. Under the watchful eyes of the other three, the Monk’s Space Ring flashed, and in an instant, over thirty Spirit Soldiers appeared in front of Lin Yun.

"Holy crap," Lin Yun exclaimed, "So that’s why I never found any Spirit Soldiers in your Space Rings. You hid them!" Even Lin Yun was astonished by the sheer number. ’These two are some serious hoarders.’

With the Monk having produced his Spirit Soldiers, the Daoist turned to Lin Yun and said, "Young Master Lin, we’re taking seventy percent of the treasure from the ruins. We’re making a massive investment here, after all."

With that, the Daoist also produced a Space Ring from his waist. He had even more than the Monk—a full forty Spirit Soldiers.

The pair complained about being poor all the time, but from Lin Yun’s perspective, they were absolutely loaded. Even he couldn’t have produced so many Spirit Soldiers.

After a quick count, adding the contributions from the Monk and Daoist, the four of them had gathered a total of ninety Spirit Soldiers: thirty Celestial Spirit Soldiers and sixty Earth Spirit Soldiers.

Lin Yun collected all the Spirit Soldiers, planning to give them to the Grand Commander that evening. With so many, the Demon Palace could form a truly elite unit.

’Just imagine,’ Lin Yun thought. ’Besides the ten Commanders, an additional eighty Demon Palace Warriors armed with Spirit Soldiers. A squad like that facing the Divine Palace... each of them could easily take on three opponents.’

The gap in combat between a Martial Artist with a Spirit Soldier and one without was immense. Lin Yun imagined that this eighty-man squad would become a force that struck terror into the hearts of the Divine Palace Warriors.

After stowing the Spirit Soldiers, Lin Yun glanced at the Monk and Daoist. Their expressions were so aggrieved they looked as if they had been violated. He couldn’t help but smile as he spoke.

"Alright, no pain, no gain," he said with a grin. "And don’t forget, if we can’t help the Demon Palace eliminate the Divine Palace, you won’t get any treasure at all."

Hearing this, the Monk replied sullenly, "You said it. Seventy percent of the treasure from the ruins. We’re holding you to that."

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