The Iron-blood garde has activated their domain formation, inside them trapped are the Earl and the self proclaimed Duke Venerable Light. Just as it seemed that the two would fight against Regent Jialong, Light chose to do something unthinkable.
"You two! Any resistance will be futile! Surrender obediently and this generous Crown Prince shall merely imprison you and take all your belongings!", Jialong shouted towards them.
He was still holding the ominous obsidian chest on his left hand which radiated a deep black color, it seemed that was the key behind the formation's strength.
Earl Zuwei in the meanwhile seemed to have lost his temper.
"This Earl, plotting against a mere prince like you? Do you even know who I am?!
As the general herb inspector of the Zuwei house I followed these unknown instructions to head to this red desert... why am I know being framed to have commited treason?!
Oh, at least this Baron, Duke or whatever is also here.
He is the one behind it! I am unaffiliated with any of these political schemes, arrest him, not me!"
While Earl Zuwei was trying to talk his way out of this unpleasant situation, Venerable Light already decided to escape with his goal achieved, leaving the Earl behind and abandoning him to his own fate.
"The system clearly said the objective to team up with this Earl Zuwei was complete. This means my job is done here... no need to cause a ruckus in the middle of the desert.. this is such a nuisance, the next objective is still loading and takes a few minutes.
I will use this opportunity while they are distracted to quickly get out of here and then check the quest objective in peace again...", Light was deep in thought.
After deciding, Venerable Light activated his speed boost technique.
"Well then, good luck to you, Earl.
As a Duke myself I wouldn't get stuck in the sand", Light said as he prepared to leap into the air.
"Y-You! What are you planning to do, resorting to such cowardly methods?!", Earl Zuwei asked.
Before the Earl could hear his response, Light was already gone using his Giant Sun jump.
"Hahaha! That Duke must have have a poor constitution and cultivation realm, not specialized in combat ability but to escape strong opponents such as I, the Crown Prince!", Jialong laughed as he watched.
It seems everyone had accepted the fact that the self proclaimed Duke was too scared to fight the imperial soldiers head-on.
As such, only the Earl was trapped in the circle.
"As an Earl, I still have a sense of honor in me, I will not surrender!
You would need a thousand of these imperial soldiers to defeat me...
Fine then, I will use my hidden card of the Jade Core Ginseng Elixir!"
The imperial soldiers of the Iron-blood garde were shocked.
Even Regent Jialong took a step back, but he did not back down.
"The Jade Core Ginseng Elixir... is it the rumoured high-grade herb elixir only found in high altitudes which completely expells any impurities?
Our formation specializes in blocking the meridians... he has the counter, but we have the number advantage!
Everyone, hesitate not and arrest him!"
Earl Zuwei found himself in a tricky position, although his elixir could instantly boost his base cultivation, it wouldn't be enough to defeat 100 perfectly trained imperial soldiers...
...
Venerable Light had already reached a safe position and was watching the whole event from afar.
As he was standing near the road looking at his system interface, a nearby group of cultivators approached him.
"You look like you are from a noble house, seeing how you are dressed.
This place is dangerous, what brings you to the desert outskirts?", one of the cultivators asked him.
"Some business in the capital of the Northern Plains Kingdoms, I suppose", Light answered.
"If that is the case, we are also heading there, why not join us?
We were given the mission to inspect the royal house since it was reported an increased activity of the demonic sect in the Northern Plains," the cultivator added.
Light did not listen much to their words and simply agreed to join them, as he was occupied with his system.
[Ding!]
[New objective has loaded]
[WARNING - Earl Zuwei is in acute danger, death of Earl Zuwei will result in failure of the Quest!]
[Objective: Summon the White Vampire Clan to attack the Iron-blood garde]
Light was staring at the system screen and bewildered of the thought to save the man he had just abandoned.
"What is this now... summon... the White Vampire Clan? What even is that..."
[System Notification: You have activated the Summoning Protocol.]
[Now deploying to fight the Iron-blood garde: 22nd Battalion of the White Hair Vampire Clan]
Light was unable to react in time to cancel or change anything to this peculiar summoning.
Meanwhile, in the iron-blood garde formation Zuwei was about to consume his Legendary Jade Core Ginseng Elixir for a last stand-off.
As he was holding his jade flask high up, preparing for a desperate attempt to survive this trap, the ground below them started trembling.
"This will be my perfect victory! Taste this, you corrupt imperial soldiers, I am the greatest general herb inspector, you shall witness my glorious!...."
Just as he was about to finish his speech, a group of female cultivators in ancient silver robes appeared, each of them with long white hair.
They crashed into the imperial soldiers like meteors and fractured the entire formation in seconds.
Regent Jialong froze in disbelief as he watched this bizarre event occur.
His elite guards were tackled and chased around by the group of airheaded vampire women.
"What is this unorthodox, demonic surprise attack, who orchestrated this?!
Earl Zuwei! This must be your doing! You dare summon these demonic cultivators to the Northern Plains as a Righteous Cultivator?!"
Earl Zuwei was still holding his Jade Core Ginseng Elixir and looked around the chaotic battlefield, the White haired vampires were overwhelming the imperial soldiers and the Earl was left in absolute shock.
"N-No! I didn't summon them! Besides, these kind of women are not my type!"
Crown Prince Jialong, seeing how his obsidian chest deactivated and the formation be destroyed, immediately ordered his men to retreat.
"Retreat! We will return on another day after assembling our forces!
This Earl, you will pay one day for humiliating me in such absurd manner!", Jialong shouted as he retreated towards the capital with his imperial soldiers.
Venerable Light was watching this unfold from afar and let out a silent sigh.
The group of righteous cultivators next to him also witnessed this, they had introduced themselves as members of the White Lotus faction of the Heavenly Alliance.
"Look at all of this," the leader of the group whispered, his grip tight on his sword.
"The rumours were true after all. Not only is the demonic sect suspiciously active in the Northern Plains, they even corrupted the Northern Plains royal house... how could ancient vampire bloodlines be able to freely roam in the capital's borders?
After many high-ranking Big Shots of the Heavenly Court vanished one by one, the central continent has gotten weaker with each day passing."
Light listened, and upon hearing the Heavenly Court, his eyes widened.
"The big shots of the Heavenly Court are disappearing?
That would explain why Antarctic Longevity Emperor hasn't attended any meetings...
Not to forget the last meetings were all cancelled..."
After finishing his thoughts, he turned towards the group to execute his plan to usurp the throne as his quest objective.
"You are correct, fellow cultivators. As members of the righteous faction, we cannot simply sit idle and wait for the demonic sect to take over the central continent.
Since you are on the way to inspect the royal house to find the roots of the demonic activites, allow this Duke to join your expedition.
Together, we can usurp the influence of the corrupt prince Jialong."
The group was deeply moved, each of them nodding as they listened to Light's words.
"Esteemed Duke, welcome to the group.
We shall head straight to the underground tunnels leading to the capital," the leader of the cultivators said.
As Venerable Light was walking with the cultivator group, his system interface popped up again.
[System notification: Objective to save Earl Zuwei has been completed.
Next objective - Meet Earl Zuwei and his new ally of the White Hair Vampire Clan in the capital and await new quest.]
"That guy, when did he team up with that airhead white hair vampire clan?!", Light was utterly confused, but continued walking towards the capital to receive the next quest.
After Regent Jialong retreated with his soldiers, the White Haired Vampires did not chase after them.
Instead, they looked at Earl Zuwei, who had been frozen in place and approached him.
"N-No... Don't get any closer!
I... I surrender! Fine, I will give you my Jade Core Ginseng Elixir.. just don't touch me, I am not into you women!!!", Earl Zuwei desperately surrendered.
The White Haired Vampires seemed rather confused, as they didn't show any hostility towards him.
Instead, one of them came even closer to the Earl and dragged him to a carriage nearby.
At this point, Earl Zuwei had already passed out since he was too scared of the vampires, although his hand still held the elixir with a firm grip, not letting go of it...
As Venerable Light was checking the system interface if he could already check which rewards he would get, a system warning appeared and flashed before his eyes.
[GLOBAL SYSTEM WARNING - CRITICAL DANGER DETECTED IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS]
[CAUSE OF DANGER - SECT ELDER NETHER DEMON KUANG]
[ENCOUNTERED TARGET - SYSTEM USER DAOIST HEAVENLY TRUE SPECTRAL STAR CONSTELLATION DEMON VENERABLE]
[STATUS - PART OF THE SYSTEM IS AT RISK OF BEING ABSORBED AND DEVOURED BY DEMONIC SECT ENTITY KUANG]
Light stared at this screen, as he had never seen a global system warning before.
"A global system warning, and another user who is in great danger?
Who could this Daoist with that flashy title be..."
...
At the same time, thousands of miles away in the Central Plains...
The Sect Elder Nether Demon Kuang held his nether device and with a single step, he materialized right in front of the hidden space in front of the Daoist.
With the same unchanged smirk from before, the demon elder started whispering.
"Did you seriously expect to be able to fool this Nether Demon with such a half baked concealment method?
State your affiliation and rank, unknown cultivator, or I will activate my nether device and devour you."
[Alter Ego has registered: this anomaly is able to see through your concealment, but in an all out fight, both would be able to survive with severe injuries.]
[Recommending Daoist to avoid combat]
"How did this old man see through my perfect concealment method I perfectioned over months?!
This is dangerous.. but luckily, I already have a plan to handle this..."