Going back in time when Arnet and Lam took a different route that goes to the western gate while also passing by the slums in between.
Arnet and Lam were running on the street side by side and the soldiers were following while running behind them. Butler Jon was trailing at the end of the whole group and was trying to keep up with the rest.
Butler Jon was not feeling good after seeing the empty houses they had come across till now. There was an eerie silence in this region that did not sit well with him. He much preferred staying back in the village then to go with Lord Jordan and participate in the war.
Ahead in the group, Arnet had a similar feeling, he too did not want to come to this place if he had not been ordered to go.
He doesn't really mind this place, he just doesn't want to help the father of the person he hates to his guts. All the preparations, the hard work, and sacrifices he had done in order to become the disciple of a prominent Inner Sect Elder had gone to waste when Cole's youngest son came out of nowhere and stole the position which was rightly his. Arnet was almost selected by an Inner Sect Elder to become his disciple but in the end, that Inner Sect Elder changed his decision at the last moment and selected Cole's youngest son as his disciple. From that day on, he treated Cole's son as his enemy.
Just a year after, Joseph who was his Senior came to him on one night. Joseph informed him that he is been ordered to go with him on a secret mission by that same Inner Sect Elder. The mission was none other than helping his disciple's father in destroying his enemies so that he can rule an island alone which is on the far eastern side of the Belmont Subcontinent.
Because it was an order he couldn't afford to say no and offend that Inner Sect Elder for no reason.
Other than Joseph and him one other person was going to join them on the journey which was his fellow Sect brother Lam. Arnet was not familiar with this guy but on the journey, they became friends quickly.
One day, in a tavern where they had stopped to stay for a night, Lam became too drunk and accidentally told him a secret that he heard after eavesdropping on Joseph and the Inner Sect Elder by chance. Cole's was only being helped because that Inner Sect Elder needs help from the local forces to do something for him.
He wants something from that island but he cannot go and visit the place by himself as he wants to hide whatever that thing is from his fellow sect members and his enemies that's why he decided to send Joseph who was one of his disciples on the island in disguise of helping his youngest disciple to solve his troubles back home.
A matter which will not attract much attention. Because the Riverland Mountain Sect is very far from the Sea Shell Island, they do not have any influence there.
A number of kingdoms and small counties come in between and they do not look eye to eye with the sect because of some territorial disputes between them.
Arnet was happy when he found from Lam that Cole and his son were dispensable in the eyes of the Inner Sect Elder and they were just being used by him to achieve something.
So there was still some hope for Arnet to become the disciple of that Inner Sect Elder if he completes the mission successfully. But when he tried to get the secret out from Lam about the thing that the Inner Sect Elder wants on this island, Lam apparently also did not know anything about it. He only knew that Elder Rey which was the name of the Inner Sect Elder had a map with him which he gave to Joseph. Why he knew it was a map because Elder Rey said so to Joseph "Keep the map safe, it's not complete. You need to find the place by yourself. Only when you find the place will the map be of any use."
Regardless, it was definitely a good thing but Arnet decided not to poke his nose in that matter.
Just when Arnet was busy in his thoughts, Lam suddenly said: "Fellow brother Arnet, look."
Lam pointed his finger ahead at the barricades which have been placed to block off the path completely. Just behind it was the entrance to the slums, Arnet wanted to use the route which goes through the slums as it was a short cut to reach the western gate quickly. It was a decision he made after listening to butler Jon telling him about it when asked.
Otherwise, they would have to circle it wasting a lot of time.
"You all go and take those barriers down quickly," Arnet shouted.
The soldiers nodded their heads and some of them went in front to clear the road from obstacles while others kept a lookout for any ambushes.
Strings of multiple bows getting released were suddenly heard in the surrounding. The sky above the Arnet and the soldiers was instantly filled with numerous arrows. They came flying towards them collectively fro behind the houses.
"Arrows incoming!" A soldier shouted as he raised a small shield in front to defend. The others did the same.
Arnet unsheathed his sword and used it to block the arrows coming in his direction. Lam instead had spear on the back which he used as a weapon to defend himself. He spun it above his head and blocked the rain of Arrows easily.
After the last arrow dropped to the ground, a large number of people started standing above the rooftops of the houses and some surrounded Arnet, and his group from behind and in the front.
Seeing that they were outnumbered heavily the guards formed a circle quickly to defend themselves, with Arnet and Lam in between. Butler Jon, unfortunately, was a little slow in reacting as he got hit by an arrow on the shin of his right leg. He looked at the crowd who had blocked the road behind him. He looked at the people who surrounded them terrified and started to crawl towards the guards to get in the circle they had formed.
Donald and Jack with other members of the family came in front. The head of the three gangs who were puppets was also present there. The crowd was mixed with puppets, the Raging Sun mercenary group, the soldiers that defected from Darren's army and the citizens of the city.
Aret frowned looking at the size of the group. It would hard for all of them to get out of here in one piece if they fought. He and Lam could escape because they were confident in their strength but taking the soldiers with them were not possible.
"All of you drop weapons and surrender peacefully, we don't want any bloodshed."
Arnet turned to look at Donald standing at the front of the crowd as he spoke.
"Why not let go? We also don't want any trouble. We were just passing by. How about this, we will go back if that's what you want." Arnet said.
"No, you can't go. Just do as I say, we won't harm any you after you surrender. After the end of this war, we will release you."
"Hump! You think you all can stop us." both Arnet and Lam released the Qi in their body together, showing their cultivation level in reply as a threat. A palpable blast of the Qi wave was sent in the surroundings showing their might to the people.
"Yeah, we can." Donald and Jack also did the same. They both were Early-stage Dantian formation Realm Cultivators and didn't back out when facing someone on their own level.
Arnet, Lam and the guard's faces looked grave when they saw that.
"I...Impossible!!!. You...how can you two... become so strong" Butler Jon was trying his best to hide and from coming into the sight of Donald and the rest of villagers that knew him. He couldn't help but shout in a dumbfounded voice when he saw the cultivation level of Donald and Jack.
The villagers were surprised to see the previous head of the Pearl village who had escaped from the village after stealing tax money with him appearing here.
"You bastard, you finally showed yourselves in front of us. Why don't you try escaping today with your life as did with our money-back then?"
"Yeah, we should grill his ass and cut off his genitals as punishment."
"You piece of shit, wait till I get my hands on you."
Mixed voices came from the previous villagers that had suffered because of Jon and his family. If not for Donald, Jack, and their family, the villagers would have been suffering in the pearl village at the hands of the Jordan family right now.
Butler Jon scrambled to get in the safety of the guards.
Both Arnet and Lam looked at each other.
"Brother Lam we need to kill those two guys first as quickly as possible it will be difficult for us to escape," Arnet whispered to him in a low voice.
Lam nodded his head in agreement.
Arnet then passed on commands to the guards circling them as they came out to face Donald and Jack. The guards were already at the moment where they will surrender and drop their weapons if Arnet does not do anything to keep their morale high.
Lam extended his arms and started swinging his spear in a circle, injecting a large amount of Qi into it.
The spear was giving off a pressure wave that radiated in all directions, and suddenly everyone felt like there was a rock pressing on their head making it hard to breathe. Donald and Jack had a serious look on their faces as they went in front to face Arnet and Lam together.
"You all are making a huge mistake." Arnet, who was still standing there casually, said as he channeled Qi without moving a muscle. The energy he emitted created a small whirlwind around him, causing his hair to flow with the wind as he transferred his Qi into the sword he was holding.
But, for some reason, Donald and Jack were wholly unafraid, and even felt a bit of eager anticipation.
Lam was the first one to make a move. His body abruptly moved, and he appeared in front of Jack in the blink of an eye. He violently stabs the spear using lightning-like speed, aiming for Jack's head.