"It's the Black Water Pirates!" Zi Yunxiang gave an unexpected answer.
Whoosh ——
Seventeen urgent documents were presented in front of Su Yu. Flipping over each one of them, Su Yu gradually creased his brows.
Of the eighteen cities in the Yinyu Area, seventeen cities, with the exception of Yinyu City, had been attacked by the Black Water Pirates.
****Brutalities, murder, and arson. The casualties were heavy!
The abilities of the guards in the cities were limited, and they could only hold the defense for a moment longer. The seventeen cities were about to fall at any moment. This was an unprecedented threat being faced by the Nameless Area. Thus, the seventeen city heads sent urgent pleas for help.
It was no wonder that Zi Yunxiang would interrupt Su Yu's meditation. The area was in disorder, threat looming in the horizon. What awaited Su Yu, should there be a moment's delay, was the massacre of the seventeen cities. As the master of the area, Su Yu had to do something.
Before he helmed the position, a city had already been destroyed by the invading beasts. Now that he was the master of the area, how could he turn a blind eye? Of the eighteen cities, only Yinyu City had its fair share of powerful fighters. Only by dispatching these powerful fighters could he save the other seventeen cities!
But Su Yu clutched the seventeen urgent pleas for help tightly, his eyes reflecting his considerations, "Why do you only inform me now?"
"I just received these pleas for help," Zi Yunxiang said softly, her clear eyes turning dull.
Su Yu's suspicions were like a needle piercing through her chest, causing her to feel pain.
"Are you saying that these seventeen letters all arrived at the same time?" Su Yu's thoughtful expression grew deeper.
Zi Yunxiang said, "Yes! Elder Fan said that, for some unknown reason, the envoy of all seventeen cities arrived at Yinyu City at the same time. This was how we came to know of the dire situation in the seventeen cities."
The seventeen cities were located at different geographical locations in the area, and had suffered the attacks of the Black Water Pirates at different times. But weirdly enough, the envoys they sent all arrived at the same time, revealing the crisis they faced only today."
In other words, there was something weird going on.
"Palace Master, please give your orders," Zi Yunxiang asked simply. She involuntarily used the words 'Palace Master', giving birth to an unclear relationship between the two of them.
But Su Yu was engrossed in the crisis and did not notice it.
"En, gather the powerful fighters of the city and split them into four groups." Su Yu waved his hand, writing down a recruitment order and stamping his vice palace master seal on the written order.
With this order, citizens of Yinyu City and the Empire of Darkness had to accept the orders, without question.
Anyone who goes against the order would be dealt with accordingly!
"Yes! I will give a reply to the envoys of the seventeen cities." Zi Yunxiang was expressionless, but heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. This way, there might be a chance that the crisis in the seventeen cities would be resolved.
"Wait!" Su Yu silently ordered. "The purpose of gathering the army is not to save the seventeen cities, but to.... Seal Yinyu City!"
Zi Yunxiang was shocked, "The seventeen cities are in crisis, if we do not dispatch the army soon, every living thing in the cities will die. If we only save Yinyu City, we will be spurned by the citizens of the Yinyu Area in the future!"
In this moment of crisis, Su Yu had refused to send aid, and chose to focus on the defense of the Yinyu City, disregarding the safety of the other seventeen cities.
Su Yu's eyes flashed, "You are mistaken! Me sealing Yinyu City is not for defense! Do you not feel that the seventeen pleas for help came too suddenly?"
"Why have all the other seventeen cities suffered attacks, leaving only Yinyu City unscathed?"
As intelligent as Zi Yunxiang was, it only took her a moment to understand, her face was full of surprise, "Palace Master, you mean that the Black Water Pirates are deliberately causing trouble at the seventeen cities to make the Yinyu City attack, scattering the powerful fighters in the city to give them an opportunity to invade?"
"They are misdirecting us!"
But what really shocked Zi Yunxiang was the other layer in Su Yu's plan. "Your sealing of Yinyu City is under the suspicion that the Black Water Pirates have already infiltrated, and are waiting for a change to strike?"
Su Yu had a cold aura in his eyes. "Yes! They could have already entered the city in disguise, and be waiting for a chance to strike! Since that is the case, I'll take advantage of their plan and capture them!"
But Zi Yunxiang's worry did not ease. "How can you confirm that they have already entered the city? They should realise the risk they were carrying, when they entered the city. Why would they take the risk and enter the city?"
Su Yu's eyes had an intelligent glow. "We face our greatest crisis when we are numb with the feeling of safety."
"If even you think that the Black Water Pirates would not risk entering the city, the bulk of the population would also not believe that the Black Water Pirates would have the guts!"
These words made Zi Yunxiang nervous.
Indeed, she was overly confident about the strength of Yinyu City, becoming numb and careless.
"Issue my orders, seal the perimeter of the city. No one escapes!" Su Yu coldly ordered, but this time he added an extra clause, "Also, leave two gaps at the entrance of the city."
A meaningful smile crept across his face. "I wonder what your choice would be."
Leave a gap? Zi Yunxiang was confused, but did not have any objections, carrying out her orders. With the orders of the master of the area in her hands, the powerful fighters of the city answered her call, gathering all over Yinyu City. They acted on Su Yu's orders, sealing the perimeter.
In an inn.
Second Head noticed the crowds from the window, his expression complicated.
"Second Head, there is trouble! Palace Master Yin Yu has issued an order to seal Yinyu City. Now the roads are gradually being sealed!" a man in black reported nervously.
Second Head looked at Yinyu City, his eyes filled with caution. "He lives up to his reputation, he has already discovered my existence!"
When they faced off the last time, Su Yu's intelligence and composure had been etched in his memory. But now, he realised that he ultimately still underestimated Su Yu! He had expected that Palace Master Yin Yu would uncover the plot behind the seventeen urgent pleas of help. But, what he did not expect, was that Palace Master Yin Yu would deduce that they had already infiltrated the city.
Now, Su Yu was setting up to capture an easy target, causing the Black Water Pirates, who initiated the attack, to be at a disadvantage. Facing the combined attacks of the powerful fighters of the city, the Black Water Pirates he was leading would only be defeated in Yinyu City.
The man in black was in a fluster, "Second Head, should we retreat? Let's seize the opportunity, now that all the roads are not completely sealed. There's still a chance!"
Crack ——
Second Head shattered the wooden table before him, his expression visibly disappointed. He sighed, "Are the people I have at my disposal all worthless, like you? Not even able to see through such a simple trap?"
"That Palace Master Yin Yu is an intelligent man. With an intentional barricade, do you think that he would give you a gap to escape?"
"The paths that have not been sealed would be his intentional doing, to give you hope, leaving you to voluntarily fall into his trap! There should be powerful fighters stationed there. It might even be Palace Master Yin Yu himself!"
The man in black was shocked, but also could not mask his anger. Just who is Palace Master Yin Yu? Was Second Head being overly cautious of him?
"Then Second Head, what should we do?"
Second Head stood his ground, lowering his head in thought. "There are two courses of action we can take. First, we wait it out till after the powerful fighters of the city complete their search. That way, the brothers we dispatched all over the city would be snuffed out and killed!"
"Second, we gather our men together and kill our way out of Yinyu City! But I'm guessing that our actions would be discovered by them, giving them an opportunity to kill us all."
The man in black was anxious. In that case, it was death, no matter what they did! The two paths both led to death!
Second Head clenched his right fist, his bones cracking. His eyes were filled with a battle intent. "What a Palace Master Yin Yu, what a strategy! No matter what we choose, we face death!"
"He wishes to toy with us until we all are dead!"
The man in black was anxious. "Second Head, we face death no matter what, what do we do?"
They had taken the risk of entering the city, but were discovered, presenting themselves as easy targets. This was unexpected indeed.
"Hehe..." Second Head shook his head, his lips forming a cold smile, "Who told you that we have to follow the choices he gave us?"
"I had already made precautions before we entered the city! This is our third option!"
"Notify all our brothers, we attack the Yinyu Manor!"
The man in black was shocked, "What? Attack the Yinyu Manor? Isn't that where the most powerful person in the city, Palace Master Yin Yu, was? Isn't attacking that place asking to be captured?"
This option was too risky!
Second Head's lips parted to form a smile, "The safest place is the most dangerous place! Execute my orders immediately!"
.....
Su Yu stood with his hands behind him, atop a cloud. Zi Yunxiang silently stood behind him. Using his crystalline pupils, while standing on the air, Su Yu could see every action in the city. At this moment, all the paths had been sealed.
The two gaps that Su Yu had ordered to be sealed slower had also finally been sealed. But there was no major movement in the city.
Su Yu gave a meaningful smile, "Our enemy is not simple, at least, he is not an ordinary Black Water Pirate."
Zi Yunxiang, who understood Su Yu's intentions, was also impressed. "Not bad, to be able to look at the big picture and see through the traps, despite being in danger. It is easier said than done, this person is indeed better than the average person."
Su Yu nodded, then shook his head, "Seeing through the trap only gives him passing marks. His ingenuity lies in the fact that he might not have chosen either of the two choices I gave him. That is where he is above the rest!"
"This person is very smart."
Zi Yunxiang's eyes were filled with understanding, "No matter what they chose, death awaited them, but this strategy gave them no choice. Could the Black Water Pirates have seen through even that? If that is the case, the leader is indeed not a simple man."
Su Yu lifted his head, looking at the action in the city. Everything is under his control.
"Hehe... If I did not guess wrongly, he would have definitely chosen the third option!"
Zi Yunxiang said, surprised, "What option could they choose to escape death?"
Su Yu's gaze flickered, "In his words, the most dangerous place is also the safest! Which option do you think they would choose?"
Confounding the enemy with dangerous military moves!
They are setting their sights on the Yinyu Manor!
"How could that be? To take such a risky gambit, it is no different from a moth flying toward a flame." Zi Yunxiang could not understand.
Su Yu'e eyes let out an intelligent glow, "This person dared to take the risk and enter the city. He must think highly of his intelligence. He would definitely adopt this risky move!"
"I have already prepared a surprise for him."
Looking at the confident, charismatic Su Yu, Zi Yunxiang was a little dazed. The figure of someone having everything in the grasp of his palm, while maintaining a smile, would capture the attention of anyone.
But thinking about the fact that Su Yu already had a fiancee, her cheerful eyes dulled. Shreds of loneliness flashed past her beautiful face.