"Heavy losses?"

As Ao Lan examined the armor he had retrieved from the corpse of a Chongcheng man, he said with a grave expression:

"If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Shen Gongbao's timely intervention, the losses we suffered this time would have been far more than just 'heavy'."

Upon hearing this, Ao Bing's heart tightened, and he quickly pressed for an answer:

What do you mean?

Ao Lan pointed to the armor in her hand and said:

"The soldiers in front of us are not particularly strong, but what is truly special is their armor."

"These armors are called Northern Darkness Frost Armor. They were forged by the disciples of Jade Void Palace. The moment they put on the Northern Darkness Frost Armor, these soldiers become the trump card of the entire northern border of Yin Shang—the Northern Darkness Frost Cavalry. Once the three thousand Northern Darkness Frost Cavalry are in formation, they can summon the Northern Darkness Frost Crows, who are at the late stage of Golden Immortal."

"Once the late-stage Golden Immortal Bei Ming Han Ya makes a move, none of us from the Four Seas Treasure Pavilion will survive. As for the two of us..."

Ao Lan shook her head, her expression grave, and said:

"When we rushed back to the caravan with great anxiety, only to find the Northern Crows waiting in ambush, how much hope did you think we had of escaping?"

Ao Bing was horrified and couldn't help but turn his gaze back to the carriage where Shen Gongbao was.

His eyes were filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Although Shen Gongbao has broken through to the Golden Immortal realm, he should not be a match for Bei Ming Han Ya, who is at the late stage of the Golden Immortal realm.

Could it be that Fellow Daoist Shen Gongbao made his move before the three thousand Northern Darkness Iron Cavalry were in formation?

Perhaps only in this way can we explain why Shen Gongbao was able to deal with three thousand Northern Darkness Iron Cavalry!

Just as Ao Bing was pondering this, a sudden exclamation came from the crowd in front of the Four Seas Treasure Pavilion:

"Look, that's the Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle!"

"Hiss..." Everyone gasped in shock. "It really is the Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle! This is General Chong Heihu's beast, how could it also die here?"

"When I last came to Chongcheng, I heard that General Chong Heihu's Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle was as powerful as a mid-stage Golden Immortal cultivator. How could such a powerful beast be killed?"

Before the people of Sihai Tongbao Pavilion lay a huge eagle carcass.

The eagle carcass was enormous, about two zhang wide, and its feathers were as black as ink, as if cast from black iron. The edges of each feather shimmered with a cold light, making people shudder.

The dark golden beak curved like a hook. Even though it was no longer alive, a dense blood-red aura still surrounded it. From this aura, it was easy to imagine how ferocious this iron-beaked divine eagle was in life. It was no exaggeration to say that it could easily crush spiritual treasures.

The Ironbeak Eagle's real fatal wound was in its neck.

The Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle has a ring of blackish-purple scales around its neck, which is its incomplete transformation and also the most ferocious part of its nature.

But at this moment, the scales on the neck were dented and broken, clearly indicating that someone had used great force to strangle the neck.

Faced with such a tragic scene, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became heavy.

The ordinary soldiers of Chongcheng were alright.

Shen Gongbao was killed, so be it.

Given the relationship between Sihai Tongbaoge and Chongcheng, there might still be room for reconciliation at that time.

But Iron-Beaked Eagle was different; it was Chong Heihu's most capable subordinate.

With Iron-Beaked Eagle killed, how could Chong Black Tiger let it go?

"Should we run away?"

Someone murmured softly, their voice filled with fear.

"Or we could hand Shen Gongbao over. He's been too reckless. Even if Chongcheng attacked us, there might have been a misunderstanding. He killed Iron-Beaked Eagle, which may have been satisfying for him, but we'll all have to bear the consequences. Isn't that harming all of us?"

Although the other cultivators did not echo this sentiment, the worry and fear on their faces were exactly the same.

Many of the people present had been to Chongcheng more than once and had heard about Chong Heihu's fiery temper.

Once Chong Heihu finds out that his Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle has been killed, he won't sit down and have a proper talk with them.

After hesitating for a while, a cultivator finally approached Ao Bing and advised him:

"Third Prince, why don't you ask Fellow Daoist Shen Gongbao to leave our caravan first?"

Ao Bing gave the newcomer a cold look and said without any politeness:

"Shut up!"

Yesterday, they were invited to a banquet in Chongcheng. Midway through the banquet, Chong Heihu suddenly left. After realizing something was wrong, he immediately led his men back.

At that time, he already suspected Chong Heihu.

But when the white mist dissipated and he saw the corpses of countless horse demons and Chongcheng soldiers, Ao Bing still clung to his last glimmer of hope.

His attempt to take action against their Sihai Tongbao Pavilion was merely a private action by Chongcheng's subordinate soldiers and had nothing to do with the Chong brothers, Chong Houhu and Chong Heihu.

But now, looking at the corpse of the Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle in front of him, Ao Bing's last glimmer of hope was completely shattered.

The attack on them was at least at the behest of Chong Heihu, because without Chong Heihu's permission, Iron-Beaked Eagle would never obey anyone else's orders.

Although Ao Bing still doesn't understand why Chong Heihu or even Chong Houhu attacked them.

However, once someone of this caliber makes a move, especially if they have planned it for a long time in advance, it is absolutely impossible to defend against.

This time was no different. If Shen Gongbao hadn't intervened, their entire Sihai Tongbao Pavilion caravan might have been wiped out.

You want me to kick such a great benefactor out?

Are you kidding me?

Ao Bing's expression instantly turned serious:

"This time, when our Sihai Tongbao Pavilion faced a sudden attack from Chongcheng, if it weren't for Fellow Daoist Shen Gongbao's timely assistance, our entire Sihai Tongbao Pavilion caravan might have been wiped out."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!