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nThe soldiers looked with shock at Shang.

nCall his superior?

nSo, Zero truly was framed?

nWhy else would he call for someone even higher-up in the chain of command?

nIf Zero were a traitor, he would only make it even harder for himself to escape if a Commander Stage warrior arrived.

nThe officer on the ground almost couldn’t believe what he had heard.

nZero wanted him to call his superior?

nAt this moment, the officer felt like the world wanted him to survive.

nHe still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that he had lost against an Early General Stage warrior, and now he had to come to terms with the fact that he survived after losing?

nThis entire situation was just too surreal.

nThe officer tried his best to move his hand to the Communication Crystal, but it was just out of reach.

nShang lightly kicked it into the officer’s free hand with his free foot.

nThe officer quickly activated the Communication Crystal and held it up in an awkward position.

n“Report,” came the annoyed voice of the superior.

nThe officer had trouble formulating words due to the blade buried partially in his neck.

n“Hello, sir,” Shang said. “This is Zero, one of the soldiers under the sergeant. We require your help and judgment on a matter.”-.

n“What? Why are you talking to me? Where’s Lance?” the superior asked with surprise and annoyance.

n“The sergeant can’t talk right now since my sword is partially buried in his neck, sir,” Shang said.

nSilence.

nFor several seconds, the superior didn’t say anything.

n“What do you want?” the superior asked through the Communication Crystal.

n“I was framed for treason,” Shang said. “The sergeant judged me to be a traitor without an investigation, and, well, you saw how that turned out.”

n“I would like to request a neutral party to investigate this matter.”

nFor a while, nothing came out of the Communication Crystal.

n“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Do not, under any circumstances, injure anyone else. Everyone will remain where they are currently standing until this situation is resolved,” the superior commanded.

n“Understood,” Shang said. “We are east of the outpost.”

n“I know where you are,” the annoyed voice of the superior came. “Everyone, stay where you are!”

nAnd with that, the superior hung up.

nThe officer put his hand down again and let the Communication Crystal fall to the side.

n“I… called him,” he said with a lot of difficulty. “Can you… please… move?”

n“And give you an opportunity to attack me again without underestimating my strength?” Shang asked with a snort. “No chance. You heard your superior. Everyone will wait exactly where we currently are.”

nThe officer wanted to grit his teeth, but that only caused him more pain.

nShang looked over at the masked One. “You didn’t think it would end like this when you killed Two, did you?” he asked.

nOne didn’t say anything.

nShang knew that One was a traitor, and One knew that Shang knew that.

nSo, how did One feel at this moment?

nExtremely nervous.

nBut not for the reason one might believe.

nIn fact, shouldn’t One be excited deep inside? After all, the superior of the officer was also a traitor, right? Shang was essentially digging his own grave with this action.

nSadly, that was just it.

nOne remembered the conversation he had with Shang about half a day ago.

nOne and Shang had talked about the fact that the superior of the officer might also be a traitor.

nSo, obviously, Shang knew that.

nBut then, why was he calling him?

nIt made no sense!

nOne refused to believe that Shang didn’t suspect the superior to be a traitor.

nBut if he were a traitor, wasn’t Shang essentially committing suicide by calling him?

nA less experienced person than One would think Shang to be stupid, but One didn’t believe Shang to be stupid.

n‘Zero must have some assurance with dealing with a traitorous Commander Stage warrior. I refuse to believe that he’s throwing his life away!’ One thought.

nFor the next minute, nobody moved, and the soldiers only looked at each other with confused expressions.

nThey had no idea who was a traitor and who wasn’t.

nBANG!

nSuddenly, the ground below One exploded, and he charged towards the north.

nThe other soldiers looked with shock at his rapidly retreating figure.

nShang only snorted. “Quite smart. I can’t leave from this spot,” he said.

n“Believe me now?” Shang asked.

nA second later, the soldiers recovered from their shock.

n“Catch him!” one of them shouted.

nAfter that, four soldiers charged after One with the intention of capturing him.

nThe others remained at their positions, but their expressions had become less guarded against Shang.

nThe innocent didn’t fear investigations, while the guilty ones did.

nIt was clear to them who the traitor was.

nBy now, the soldiers had calmed down, and they were talking with each other again. Most of them were talking about the fact that their officer and One had been traitors.

nIn their mind, the officer’s and One’s guilt had already been proven by One’s sudden retreat.

nTen minutes after the superior had been contacted, someone new arrived at the hill.

nIt was that one Commander Stage warrior they had met before they went to the outpost, the leader of the closest town.

nThe soldiers all saluted while Shang looked at the superior with a hidden sneer.

n‘He came alone,’ Shang thought. ‘Which sane high-ranking officer would come to such a situation without any backup?’

nThis could have been a ploy to lure the superior out of the protection of his town. Nobody in the superior’s position would go to such a meeting alone.

nUnless they intended to hide the evidence and deal with the witnesses.

nThe superior’s cold eyes inspected the surroundings and stopped when they saw Shang.

nIt was clear who had been the one speaking to him on the Communication Crystal.

nAt that moment, something appeared in Shang’s hand, and he showed it to the distant superior.

nEveryone looked over, and their eyes opened in shock.

nIt was an emblem with two green wings on it.

nSome of the soldiers knew what this meant, and their last doubts vanished.

nThis was one of Duke Whirlwind’s personal emblems, and it was proof that the owner of the emblem was a personal friend of the Duke.

nSomeone like that couldn’t be a traitor!

nThe superior’s eyes widened in shock for a second, but they returned to their previous cold very quickly.

n“I need to check if it is real,” the superior said coldly as he extended his hand towards the distant Shang. “There are a lot of fakes.”

nShang only smirked behind his mask.

n“Here you go,” he said as he threw it over.

nThe superior caught it and looked at it for a while, his fingers caressing the design on the emblem.

nHe inspected it for over five seconds, just looking at it with an entranced expression.

n“It’s real, right?” Shang asked with a smirk.

nThe superior glanced at Shang.

nThen, he put the emblem into his Space Ring.

n“Why are you asking such a stupid question?” the superior asked.

n“It’s obviously fake.”

nThe soldiers looked with shock at the superior.

n“Even if we ignore this entire situation,” the superior said, gesturing to the officer beneath Shang’s blade, “faking such an emblem is already a crime worthy of death.”

nThen, the superior took out a long sword.

n“I will carry out the sentence right now.”

nAt that moment, the sheer power of the Commander Stage warrior filled the surroundings, and the soldiers found it difficult to breathe.

nShang only smirked.

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