Chapter 323: Let Both Sides Bleed

Helena glanced toward the distant battlefield and crossed her arms. "So, Master, what do we do now?"

Damian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly? I don’t know. Let’s just go take a look at the war first."

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "You want to observe it? Didn’t you just say you weren’t interested?"

Damian sighed. "Yeah, but we’re already here. I might as well see what the situation actually looks like first."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Besides, I need to know if there’s anything worth getting involved in. This is a sect war, after all."

Helena gave him a sidelong look. "Just say you want to see if there’s anything worth stealing."

Damian immediately turned toward her and grinned. "Hehehe, as expected of you. You knew exactly what I was thinking."

Helena, on the other hand, could only sigh. "It’s really unfortunate that I even guessed it right."

Meanwhile, the woman who had answered Damian’s questions suddenly spoke again. "W-Wait... what about us?"

Another captive immediately lowered her head and hurriedly added, "Please don’t kill us!"

Damian stared at them for a second before casually turning toward Cynthia. "Poison Dragon."

Cynthia immediately turned toward him and quickly understood. "Yes, Master. Do you want me to watch them?"

Damian looked slightly surprised before nodding. "Yeah, you got it right. Stay here and keep an eye on them. Don’t let anyone escape."

The captured women visibly stiffened.

Several of them glanced toward Cynthia, clearly remembering exactly what kind of codename Damian had just called her.

Damian waved dismissively when he noticed their expressions. "Relax. I’m not going to kill you like that foul-mouthed woman from earlier."

For some strange reason, that didn’t make them feel any safer.

Cynthia let out a quiet sigh before looking around. "I’ll stay, but can’t you leave someone here to keep me company? Being alone is a little boring."

Damian’s eye twitched beneath his mask.

Cynthia seemed to sense his gaze and quickly looked back at him with an innocent expression. "What?"

Damian stared at her for a moment before finally giving up and turning toward Helena. "Earth Dragon. Stay with her."

Helena crossed her arms. "Fine."

She paused before adding dryly, "At least someone competent should be here."

Damian placed a hand over his chest. "Why does everyone keep attacking me today?"

Helena raised an eyebrow. "No one attacked you today."

Damian pointed at his chest. "I mean emotionally. Do you have any idea how many times my dignity has been stabbed since morning?"

Everyone fell silent.

Damian’s eye twitched. "See? You’re doing it again."

Linsey immediately burst out laughing behind her mask.

The prisoners, meanwhile, glanced nervously between Cynthia and Helena.

Whatever tiny hope they might have had of escaping immediately disappeared.

Cassandra, meanwhile, suddenly stepped closer to Damian. "If they have codenames, I want one too."

Damian slowly turned his head toward her. "Of course you fucking do."

Cassandra proudly placed one hand against her chest, carrying herself with the natural arrogance of someone who genuinely believed the world should already know the answer. "Call me Queen."

Damian stared at her, while Cassandra simply kept her posture straight and continued looking at him.

In the end, he could only sigh. "Okay, okay. I’ll call you Queen."

Cassandra’s expression immediately became pleased. "Good."

Damian pointed at her. "You know, somehow that sounds less like a codename and more like you’re training me."

Cassandra let out a low laugh and leaned slightly closer. "Maybe I am."

Damian immediately took half a step away. "See? This is exactly the kind of shit I’m talking about."

Linsey laughed even harder.

Evelyn, who had remained quiet throughout the entire exchange, simply looked away, though the slightest twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed her amusement.

Damian finally pointed toward the direction of the fighting. "Alright. Poison Dragon and Earth Dragon stay here. Everyone else, we’re going to see just how messy this war really is."

Cynthia gave a small nod. "Try not to accidentally join either side before you understand what’s happening."

Damian waved over his shoulder. "No promises."

Helena immediately muttered, "Idiot."

Damian pretended not to hear her.

A moment later, Damian, Cassandra, Linsey, and Evelyn left the captives behind under Cynthia and Helena’s watch before heading toward the main battlefield the demonic cultivator had mentioned.

---

It didn’t take long for Damian, Cassandra, Linsey, and Evelyn to finally reach a hill overlooking the main battlefield.

The moment Damian looked down, he let out a low whistle. "Yep... that’s a fucking war."

Below them, disciples from the Blue Mist Sect and Nether Blood Moon Sect were clashing across the entire valley.

Sword Qi, Blood Qi, mist techniques, arrows, and talismans flew everywhere.

Ordinary disciples fought almost like soldiers, moving in groups, forming simple formations, defending wounded allies, and trying to break through enemy lines.

Far above them, the elders fought in the sky, and every clash between them sent waves of Qi across the battlefield.

Damian watched for a while before turning toward Cassandra. "What do you think about their strength?"

Cassandra folded her arms and studied the battlefield carefully. "Honestly? Hard to say exactly from here."

She watched one of the elders crash through a cloud of mist before continuing. "But this is only a mid-tier sect war. Usually, the strongest people in sects like these are around the Golden Core Realm."

Damian nodded slowly.

Cassandra tilted her head toward him. "And the two of us are already at Peak Nascent Soul."

She let out a small, amused laugh. "If we seriously joined the fight, I doubt either side could do much to stop us."

Damian rubbed his chin. "Yeah... you’re probably right."

Linsey glanced between them. "That sounded way too casual."

Damian ignored her and looked back toward the battlefield. "Still, let’s not jump in yet."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "You want to keep watching?"

Damian nodded and crossed his arms. "Yeah. I want to see what kind of martial arts, treasures, and trump cards they have first. Then we’ll know whether getting involved is actually worth the trouble."

Evelyn gave him a flat look. "So basically, you want both sides to exhaust themselves first so you can rob whatever rewards are left afterward."

Damian nodded immediately, looking far too pleased with himself. "Hehehe. Now you understand me, Evelyn."

He glanced back toward the battlefield. "Besides, this world has always been this ugly."

Cassandra let out a low laugh. "He’s right about that."

She folded her arms, watching another explosion of Qi erupt in the distance. "This world is cruel. Sometimes, if you want to stay alive, you have to be cruel too."

Evelyn remained quiet for a moment before giving a small nod. "I already know."

Her gaze returned to the battlefield. "Let’s just watch the war for now. We can talk about philosophy later."

Damian chuckled. "Fair enough."

The four of them remained on the hill, silently watching the two sects continue tearing each other apart below.