Jiang Feng forced himself to approach, and with all his might straightened his back, he gave a standard but trembling military salute, his voice hoarse and solemn:

"Jiang Feng...pays respects to the Star Lord."

He had utterly lost this battle. If Xiao Zhan hadn't intervened at the last minute, he would have been forced to watch helplessly as the Allied Shinobi Forces escaped unscathed, a disgrace he would carry for the rest of his life.

Xiao Zhan nodded slightly in response, then raised his ice spear, its tip hovering near the head guard's chest, and coldly questioned:

"Did Zhou Zhenbei send you?"

He deliberately asked the question that everyone already knew the answer to, just to confirm Zhou Zhenbei's betrayal of Zhongzhou with his own ears.

"Ahem... to start a confession the moment you open your mouth, do you really think I, as a secret guard, would make such a basic mistake?" The head guard replied with a bitter laugh.

"Kill them if you want! So many people have died, I never thought I'd survive."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhan and Jiang Feng's eyes flashed with murderous intent, wishing they could just behead him and display his head to the public!

The surrounding ghosts seemed to be enraged, emitting eerie auras and emitting constant shrieks, as if they wanted to devour them alive.

But they knew in their hearts that the person in front of them was just a clown, and the real culprit was Zhou Zhenbei, who was far away in Jincheng.

To bring down the mastermind behind this blood-stained, powerful general of Zhongzhou, they need solid evidence, not just a momentary satisfaction.

Thorough preparations must be made before going to Jincheng to ensure that the process goes smoothly.

The lead guard glanced at the other two guards who were also being controlled. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he knew that the three of them were doomed and had only one choice left.

Rather than being tortured and tormented, it's better to end it all!

"Now!" The other two guards instantly raised their hands, ready to commit suicide with their blades, the sharp blades aimed straight at their own throats!

The next second, the biting cold wind was faster than their movements!

The biting frost instantly froze their arms and blades completely, keeping them in the position they were in before committing suicide. The blades were stuck in front of their vital points, unable to go any further.

"Want to die now? Too late." Xiao Zhan exuded a chilling aura, having long anticipated their final choice.

The leader of the secret guards' pupils contracted, but then he suddenly realized something.

When the three of them left Jincheng with the Third Legion, Zhou Zhenbei secretly gave them three more tokens for self-destruction.

At the time, they thought it was unnecessary, but now he realized with shock that the general had already anticipated their possible failure and capture, and had even prepared a way to silence them!

A bone-chilling cold instantly swept over his heart.

It turns out that from the very beginning, they were just pawns that General Zhou Zhenbei could discard at any time.

Now that the mission has succeeded, the Third Army Corps has suffered heavy losses and is almost completely wiped out; they have no way back.

The lives of Zhou Zhenbei's family members far away in Jincheng are all in his hands.

The three guards immediately understood that they were bound to Zhou Zhenbei's boat until their deaths, and could only walk this preordained path to their doom.

Now, with just a thought, the self-destruct token in his arms can be detonated.

The three of them simultaneously activated their mental powers, attempting to use their spiritual energy to activate the last token in their arms.

At that very moment—

The self-destruct token in the arms of the leader of the secret guards suddenly flickered very slightly.

This faint light, however, made the previously utterly desperate guard suddenly raise his head, a strange and abnormal smile appearing on his face:

"Hehe... Xiao Zhan, Jiang Feng."

"Do you really think you'll have a chance to go back and take revenge?"

Xiao Zhan frowned, wondering what other tricks these three secret guards who betrayed the Third Legion still had up their sleeves.

Jiang Feng's expression hardened, and he suppressed the blood he coughed up, staring intently at the other person.

Having reached a dead end, what leverage does the other side have left?!

Just as Xiao Zhan and Jiang Feng were filled with doubt, the ground suddenly trembled slightly, and a muffled, orderly marching sound came from it.

In the distance, banners from Zhongzhou fluttered in the wind as a well-equipped army rapidly and menacingly approached.

From a distance, the group was enveloped by a powerful cyan wind-elemental ability, clearly indicating a wide-range wind-elemental boost, allowing them to move at an extremely fast speed.

Despite the arrival of the people bearing the banner of Zhongzhou, Xiao Zhan, Jiang Feng, and the remaining survivors present grew increasingly solemn, their hearts sinking to the bottom.

They knew that the team that arrived last to "clean up" was definitely not reinforcements from Zhongzhou.

As the group drew closer, Jiang Feng finally saw the leader and the military troops behind him. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and his face turned ashen.

The person in charge was none other than Zhou Zhenbei's son, Zhou Xiaopeng!

The border 'hero' who was rumored to have died heroically on the border but was miraculously saved by an emergency rescue.

Zhou Xiaopeng was riding on the back of a tall, strange beast, wearing magnificent armor. Although his face was pale, he was full of vigor.

His gaze swept across the battlefield, a smug smirk playing on his lips.

Everything went exactly as Father had predicted, and now they could finally deal with these troublesome northern monkeys in one fell swoop.

Behind Zhou Xiaopeng, the Zhongzhou General's personal guards followed closely in neat formation. Each of them was a powerful awakened individual radiating immense energy, and the entire group exuded a chilling sense of oppression.

"It's over..." Jiang Feng muttered to himself. Under the heavy blow, his exhausted body went limp and he almost fell to the ground.

The Third Legion and the Northern Iron Cavalry have been completely rendered incapable of fighting due to the heavy damage from the Star Rail Cannon, and he himself is no different from a cripple.

Although Xiao Zhan was powerful, the large-scale freezing ability he used to annihilate the Ninja Alliance must have taken a huge toll.

Moreover, Xiao Zhan alone would likely find it difficult to withstand the elite guards sent by Zhou Zhenbei.

Zhou Zhenbei sent his closest son, Zhou Xiaopeng, to the scene, clearly not just to silence them, but to completely wipe the Third Legion and the Northern Iron Cavalry out of this world.

Jiang Feng watched the approaching column, his eyes filled with despair, and his heart brimming with resentment and anger.

The Third Legion risked their lives for the Central Plains, but now they are being killed by their own people, ultimately driven to a dead end.

Before the general's personal guards could get close, the thick fog that already covered the battlefield seemed to be enraged by some force and began to surge wildly.

The thick fog was like a boiling white ocean, from which countless resentments and anger burst forth as if they were real.

The ghosts of the Third Legion roared deafeningly, carrying overwhelming resentment and killing intent, like a white tsunami of revenge, rushing towards Zhou Xiaopeng's team! They were determined to tear them apart and devour them!

Faced with such a terrifying number of ghosts, Zhou Xiaopeng remained completely calm, instead showing a hint of disdain on his face.

"They're nothing but a bunch of remnants of the dead who haven't died yet. Do they think they can rebel?"

He slowly raised a warm and translucent jade token in his hand, its surface shimmering with a soft light.

Zhou Xiaopeng narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly uttered three words:

"Suppress the mountains and rivers!"