Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "If you think I'm meddling, then I can leave it at that. But Ning Cha is someone I brought in, so I'm responsible for getting her out of here unharmed."

Upon hearing this, Cai Guozhong pondered for a moment, his anger gradually subsiding, and reason regained its footing. This Mr. Jiangdong came from Jianta, his identity was mysterious, and he was obviously of high status, definitely someone who could speak with influence in Jianta.

If you offend this person, things will only get harder in the future, since he is able to dominate the region and become a king because of the support of the Sword Tower.

If someone tries to trip him up in the Sword Tower, they'll definitely keep putting him in that difficult position until he fits perfectly.

"For Mr. Jiang's sake, peace talks are possible, but an alliance is not."

"As long as the rebels stop looting my supplies."

After a pause, Cai Guozhong made a guarantee: "I can guarantee that I will no longer send troops to suppress the rebels. This is my bottom line."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng nodded and said, "That's good. I can vouch for it, and Miss Ning Cha can also make a promise here. She can guarantee that she will no longer plunder the Hell Legion's logistical supplies, right, Miss Ning Cha?"

Ning Cha said, "Okay."

Cai Guozhong nodded slightly. The rebels' looting of logistical supplies had always been a worry for him. It was not bad to resolve this hidden danger through peace talks.

At least we don't have to worry about the Hell Legion harassing and plundering our supplies while they're fighting on the front lines, which does relieve a lot of pressure in some ways.

But an alliance is definitely not an option. If we ally with the rebels, then who will listen to whom?

The leaders of the resistance, Ning Cha and Fan Li, naturally possessed the moral high ground and legitimacy.

Once the rebels and the Hell Legion form an offensive and defensive alliance.

Then Cai Guozhong's position as commander of the Hell Legion is probably in jeopardy.

At that time, it will be uncertain whose orders the lower- and middle-ranking soldiers will listen to.

To put it bluntly, Cai Guozhong is also afraid of being replaced, especially if his core interests are threatened.

He wouldn't care whether the core interests of the Sword Tower would be harmed as a result.

Cai Guozhong: "Mr. Jiang, I consider the first thing you've accomplished."

Zhou Qingfeng: "Then can you tell me the whereabouts of that man with the knife?"

Cai Guozhong: "No, we agreed to finish the three tasks and then we'll finish them. Now, please ask Mr. Jiang to handle the second task."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "I forgot to tell you, Lord, that I also took care of the second matter at the same time."

Cai Guozhong was taken aback. Even with his extensive experience, he was still shocked: "So fast?"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly, a flash of green light appeared in his palm, and he took out three pieces of stolen intelligence from his holy ring and handed them over: "The matter of the cultists' gathering and plot has been completely clarified."

Cai Guozhong accepted the three pieces of intelligence with some skepticism, and examined them one by one: the leader's edict, the roster, and the uprising pact.

The more I looked at his face, the uglier it became; the more I looked at him, the more terrified I became.

Later, in a fit of rage, Cai Guozhong slammed the oath of rebellion onto the table beside him and said angrily, "Outrageous! You, Partridge Di, you've really hidden yourself well. I didn't realize you were secretly the leader of an evil cult, daring to conspire with others to seize power."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Lord, you should take precautions early. Once Partridge Di realizes that his intelligence has been stolen, he might resort to desperate measures and launch an uprising tonight ahead of schedule."

Cai Guozhong sneered: "Does he really think I'm made of clay? He thinks that Partridge Di can kill me and take my place?!"

Cai Guozhong was able to maintain his position as corps commander because he had a core group of veterans.

This core group of veterans are his old comrades who have been guarding the border city with him.

He has now assigned them to mid- to high-ranking positions in various military units.

This was his elite force, under his complete command, all stationed within Ravenburg.

Under emergency mobilization, he can immediately mobilize four thousand-man legions.

One Fiend-level thousand-man archer cavalry legion, one Fiend-level thousand-man light cavalry legion, plus two Catastrophe-level thousand-man infantry archer legions.

After speaking, Cai Guozhong walked out of the front courtyard reception room, came to the veranda, and called out, "Someone come here."

Dozens of guards instantly appeared around the rooftop.

Dozens of armored guards from the Devouring Fiend Realm quickly assembled.

Cai Guozhong's eyes were cold and murderous: "Pass on my military order: Partridge Di is plotting a coup. The evidence is conclusive. He deserves to die. Whoever takes his head will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a million coins."

“His subordinates have been deceived by him. As long as they are willing to lay down their armor and weapons, I, the Duke, will only punish the ringleaders and not pursue the followers.”

"Furthermore, conduct a full-scale search and extermination of Vision cult members within Ravencastle. The Vision cult has misled the people and committed numerous atrocities. Immediately arrest and imprison them one by one according to the roster."

Ravenburg is Cai Guozhong's territory. Once Cai Guozhong gets serious, no one can withstand his wrath.

Unaware of the situation, perhaps Partridge Di could preemptively kill Cai Guozhong, thus having a chance to take his place.

But now that Cai Guozhong knows, Partridge Di has no choice but to give up and flee to Sancha Pass with his troops and Vision followers overnight.

This night was destined to be bloody. Cai Guozhong urgently mobilized his generals to lead the legions to suppress the rebels and hunt down Vision followers.

Throughout the streets and alleys of Ravenburg, soldiers were going door-to-door arresting and imprisoning people. Anyone found with the Vision Church emblem in their home was considered a cult follower.

The baron's mansion remained calm and peaceful, seemingly unaffected by the rebellion.

In the dining hall, servants kept bringing out delicious dishes. Cai Guozhong sat at the table, eating his late-night snack with gusto. Zhou Qingfeng and his group were also invited to sit down and enjoy their late-night snack.

"Your Excellency has quite a good appetite." Zhou Qingfeng held chopsticks and picked up some food, seemingly eating but actually not: "You can still eat under these circumstances."

Cai Guozhong ate and drank heartily, then swallowed and said, "I have a bad habit: when I'm under a lot of pressure, I like to eat. Only binge eating can relieve stress. Otherwise, I'll become irritable and want to kill people. You'll get used to it."

"I understand." Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly. Seeing Cai Guozhong eating, he also felt hungry. So, a blue light flashed in his palm, and he took out a cup of lychee black tea. While drinking, he said, "My lord, I guess I've taken care of the second matter now."

Cai Guozhong, gnawing on a large pig's trotter, understood the unspoken meaning, but he also had his own unspeakable difficulties and couldn't say it casually. So he pretended not to understand and nodded repeatedly, praising, "Hmm... Mr. Jiang is truly amazing. I've really broadened my horizons. He helped me solve two of my worries in one day. No wonder he comes from the Sword Tower. Impressive."

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng simply laughed and said, "My lord, if it weren't for me, you would probably have been killed by Partridge Di by now. After all, I saved your life. Could you perhaps reveal a little bit about the man with the knife?"

Cai Guozhong licked his greasy lips, grinned, and seemed to hesitate before picking up the wine glass on the table and drinking it all in one gulp. Having made up his mind, he asked seriously, "Are you really his brother?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng nodded solemnly: "A brother who would risk his life for you."

Cai Guozhong confirmed again: "Won't you harm him?"

Zhou Qingfeng answered firmly, "Yes, absolutely not."

Tsai Kuo-chung said, "Well, it's a long story. Let me think where to begin."