The guards all froze the moment they heard the middle-aged man's mocking words, while the despair in their faces became even more evident.
Since every way towards Yanzhu city was blocked by the Su family, didn't this mean that they were doomed to fail from the moment that they accepted the mission?
It wasn't just the 13 guards were feeling despair however, as Ying Gui and even the 2.5m(8.2ft) tall Zou Qiang abruptly froze when they heard this, as they finally realized that they were nothing more than insects that had stepped into a deadly spider's web.
However, Ying Gui couldn't just accept that he would die like this when he was less than 2 days away from reaching Yanzhu city!
Looking around him with a hopeful expression, his eyes suddenly fell on Shun Long's yellow robes, as he saw him still stare at the 2 middle-aged men who had appeared with a serious look on his face.
Unlike Zou Qiang however, he didn't seem to be terrified of them.
It was only at this moment that Ying Gui remembered which power Shun Long really came from.
In front of the Holy sect, what was a tiny Su family?
Knowing that he wasn't going to get spared from the men of the Su family today if he didn't do something to save himself, the fat merchant gritted his teeth and stood up, before he pointed at Shun Long's robes and asked the 2 men of the Su family in a threatening manner
''Do you see this? Don't tell me that you don't recognize the words on his robes! Young master Shun is a disciple of the Holy sect! Even if you come from the Su family do you really think that you can mess with a disciple of the Holy sect?
I have personally asked for young master Shun to help me today, so killing me will mean fighting against the Holy sect itself! Do you think that you can afford to do something like that?''
Ying Gui then turned his attention towards Shun Long who was still standing a few meters next to him, before he said with the previous begging expression on his face
''Young master Shun, please make sure to save me. I don't care if everything else is lost but I don't want to die!''
It was only at this moment that Ying Gui truly regretted taking on this mission from the Yao family. The Su and the Yao family were much more dangerous than he had originally expected. He knew that his only hope of escaping alive from this place was to ask the yellow-robed young man in front of him to save him and scare off the men of the Su family with Shun Long's status!
It was too bad that Ying Gui's words not only failed to frighten the 2 men in black robes, but the middle-aged man with the crimson sword actually laughed mockingly as he looked at him, almost as if he was looking at an idiot, before his eyes inspected Shun Long with a smile on his face almost as if he was looking at his own toy.
Ying Gui couldn't understand why the man in front of him didn't seem afraid of Shun Long's status as an outer disciple of the Holy sect, but the middle-aged man didn't keep him waiting for long, as he spoke barely a moment later, his words echoing like thunder in Ying Gui's ears
''Hehe, a disciple of the Holy sect? So what? Do you really think that the status of a disciple of the Holy sect can really save you worms today, or are you counting on that kid's pitiful cultivation at the early rank 3 of the Nascent Soul to protect you? Hahahaha. Fool!
Although the Holy sect may be the overlord of this region, do you really think that they will interfere every time someone fights against their disciples? How many missions has the Holy sect issued and how many times did its disciples have to fight with other families?
Naturally, if we were inside the Holy city, we wouldn't fight against a disciple of the Holy sect since their status there is the same as those descendants of the big families and clans, but here? Why would I care fool?''
The middle-aged man's words were like a bolt of thunder as it struck Ying Gui's mind making him tremble as if he was paralyzed, but the thing that kept reverberating in his mind over and over again, were the words 'pitiful cultivation at the early rank 3 of the Nascent Soul'!
Ying Gui had always thought that Shun Long was at least at the same level if not even stronger than Zou Qiang, but this middle-aged man said that he was just at the early rank 3 of the Nascent Soul instead?
Raising his eyes to look at the yellow-robed young man in front of him, Ying Gui didn't see him refute the words of the middle-aged man from the Su family, finally making his heart sink in despair.
At that moment however, the solemn voice of the middle-aged man who was holding the black bow in his hands resounded in Ying Gui's ears, stunning both him and the black-robed middle-aged man next to him
''Su Bao, I will take care of those worms while you take care of that brat. You better not look down on him however. Regardless of how low his cultivation is, he still managed to block 2 of my arrows that were at 80 percent strength and he is still standing!''
The middle-aged man named Su Bao looked at the man next to him with a disbelieving look on his face, as the black-robed man's words were like a bomb that had exploded in his head, before he immediately turned his attention towards Shun Long barely a moment later.
At this moment, Shun Long simply smiled as he noticed, that Su Bao's gaze was no longer a condescending one, but one that was actually dead-serious.