"What? Th-this is impossible!"
Watching the change in the situation at the venue, the Helmsman was completely numb.
His pupils, hidden behind his mask, trembled slightly. He really couldn't understand why these lackeys of the Arrow-Demon would have set up an ambush at the venue in advance.
...Could it be that a mole leaked the plan?
...Or did that Jing Yuan even calculate this step?
But no matter what, the most urgent task now was to withdraw as soon as possible, otherwise he wouldn't be able to escape!
"Bai Shaoyao, Fenqiujing."
The Helmsman said in a deep voice: "You two immediately gather your men and concentrate on creating chaos."
The two Deacons lowered their heads and replied: "As you command."
The Helmsman continued: "Zidingxiang, you go lead the brothers in the east sector and cooperate with my next move."
Zidingxiang lowered her head: "As you command."
The Helmsman: "Lanxincao, you go retrieve the smoke screen props and obstruct the sight of the Arrow-Demon's lackeys as much as possible."
Chu Ze nodded: "No problem."
The Helmsman: "Muhuangcen, you and Rendonghua will provide mobile support, prioritizing the rescue of the blessed Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
Yanqing: "Mhm."
Xueyi: "..."
"Hmm? Rendonghua, why aren't you speaking?"
The Helmsman suddenly turned his head: "Answer me! At a time like this, you're still... uh..."
Looking at the group of people who had surrounded him at some unknown time, the Helmsman gradually quieted down.
After a long silence, he let out a long sigh, seemingly giving up the struggle:
"So I've finally been caught."
Yanqing nodded:
"Evil will never triumph over good. This is only natural."
"Hehe, what a 'evil will never triumph over good'..."
The Helmsman let out a long sigh:
"Fine, I admit defeat. You can take me away."
"But before that, I'm very curious how you knew about my plan."
"Just consider it humanitarianism, and clear up the doubts for a dying man like me."
Yanqing frowned slightly and was about to speak, but Chu Ze beat him to it, speaking with a chuckle:
"There is only one reason for your failure, and that is that you provoked me."
The Helmsman cast a puzzled look: "You? Who are you?"
Chu Ze: "..."
His smug little expression instantly froze.
After taking a deep breath, the corner of Chu Ze's mouth twitched slightly:
"Forget it, I won't lower myself to your level."
Yanqing quietly reminded him from the side:
"Teacher Chu Ze, he's not a small character. He's a Helmsman of the Denizens of Abundance."
"In terms of status, he's already a high-ranking cadre among the remnants of the Plague Author."
But Chu Ze still shook his head:
"A Helmsman is indeed a high-ranking cadre. But this guy in front of us is not a Helmsman at all."
What?
He's not a Helmsman??
Not only did Yanqing's expression change slightly, but even the Helmsman himself's pupils contracted, and he forced himself to speak:
"What nonsense are you talking about? If I'm not a Helmsman, who else could I be?"
"This Helmsman does not change his name when he walks or his surname when he sits. Whether you want to kill me or torture me, it's all up to you!"
Seeing his act, Chu Ze couldn't help but chuckle:
"Stop pretending. From the very beginning, you, this Helmsman, were a fake."
"The real Helmsman is very cunning. He never showed up in person at all."
"But the scene did need someone to be in charge, so the real Helmsman was remotely controlling from the periphery. This way, he could ensure that he could arrive at the scene at any time, and also have a chance to escape if the plan failed."
The man in the cloak before them opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but the words that came out turned into something else:
"H-how did you know?"
Chu Ze pointed to the sky:
"It's simple. Because my Cosmic Superman has been watching you all the time."
"The Xianzhou Alliance won't easily deploy a strategic-grade star-destroying ship, but I don't have so many scruples."
"So from the very beginning of the performance, I already knew your detailed location."
With that, Chu Ze suddenly stomped his foot.
His whole person leaped high like a spring, and then descended rapidly with the momentum of a fierce eagle swooping on its prey.
With such a super jump, he leaped directly from inside the gala venue to the periphery, and stood in front of a seemingly ordinary Xianzhou resident:
"Isn't that right, Mr. Real Helmsman?"
Gulp.
The real Helmsman swallowed hard.
He slowly turned his head and squeezed out a stiff smile:
"H-hey, can we reconcile?"
Chu Ze also raised the corner of his mouth:
"At this moment? You're not joking, are you?"
The Helmsman: "..."
Chu Ze: "..."
A gentle breeze blew past.
The two paused for a brief moment.
Then, in an instant, like cowboys in a duel, they simultaneously erupted with the power of their Paths and threw a punch at each other.
"Ora!!"
"Muda!!"
Bang—!!
After one punch, the Helmsman was sent flying backwards.
He tumbled continuously in the air, crashing through several large trees.
Finally, he slammed heavily to the ground, spitting up blood, and fell into a coma.
"Who gave you the courage to exchange punches with me, was it Liang Jingru?"
Muttering this, Chu Ze lifted him onto his shoulder, and then with another big jump, returned to the gala venue.
...
...
After that, there was no need for him to intervene.
The Deacons were all caught in one fell swoop, and both the real and fake Helmsmen were captured.
The remaining small fries were no match for the Cloud Knights at all.
This was, of course, all part of Jing Yuan's plan.
If Jing Yuan really fell for such a simple attrition tactic, he wouldn't be worthy of being called the Divine Foresight General.
And he had long guessed that there were moles in the Cloud Knights, so the series of false impressions of being short-staffed were all a setup he deliberately created.
The purpose was to lure out a whole group of the Denizens of Abundance, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
As for why most of the audience were Cloud Knights...
Of course, it was to better protect the people.
Luring the snake out of its hole was important, but they absolutely could not accidentally injure the civilians.
Therefore, most of the audience this time were disguised Cloud Knights, a small part were Pathstriders who could protect themselves, and the rest were the foolish Plague Author followers who fell into the trap.
As for the real audience, they had long developed the good habit of watching the gala livestream at home.
"We really have to thank you this time, Teacher Chu Ze. Without you, we might have really had some oversights."
"As expected of Brother Chu Ze, you're truly skilled in both literary and martial arts, and truly unique!"
"Secretary Chu Ze, on behalf of the Ten-Lords Commission, I thank you for your help."
And so, amidst everyone's praise, the Xianzhou Cultural Exchange Gala officially ended.
And it was time for Chu Ze to go home, pack his things, and prepare for his trip to see Herta tomorrow...
-------
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