1316 Confronting the Exiles
"What is the meaning of this?! I thought we were after an Exile! Nobody said anything about hunting a Player— Player Yuan, much less!"
The Players were outraged when they realized that they had been tricked by the Ten Great Families to go after Player Yuan, who was an idol to many of them.
"Shut up!" Xiong Lu roared, quickly silencing the scene.
"We are after the Exile! However, we recently learned that she had formed a partnership with Player Yuan! Unfortunately, we weren't able to reveal this information in time."
"If I have to fight Player Yuan, I'd rather quit this group!" Someone suddenly said.
"Right?! I'm leaving!" Another exclaimed.
More and more of the Players started threatening to leave the group.
Xiong Lu's body trembled in anger, and he shouted a moment later, "You can leave if you want! However, don't forget about the contract that you signed! Not to mention the money that we have already sent you! You are obligated to fulfill your duties! If you decide to leave without fulfilling your duties, the Ten Great Families will become your enemy. I will ensure of that."
The Players trembled in fear after hearing Xiong Lu's words, their faces filled with despair. While Player Yuan may be the strongest Player in Cultivation Online, the Ten Great Families have real influence in the real world, and their influence isn't small.
In fact, the Ten Great Families are so immensely wealthy and influential to the point where even the government could not touch them without risking a serious backlash in the economy amongst other things.
If ordinary Players were to make an enemy out of such titans, their lives would be ruined, not to mention their friends and families.
"P-Player Yuan or not, I will fulfill my duties!" The Players changed their minds in the blink of an eye after hearing Xiong Lu's threat.
The Ten Great Families' power was on full display at the moment.
Seeing this, Yuan could only shake his head in silence. He felt bad for the Players. They were tricked by the Ten Great Families and forced to fight.
"Don't worry, I don't blame you guys," Yuan said a moment later.
When the Players heard Yuan's words, they felt less guilty about their actions.
Meanwhile, the Exiles were running out of patience.
"I don't know what you lots are chatting about, but I have no reason to raise my hand against a mere child. I only agreed to work with you because of the Asura Clan's Exile, yet I don't see her anywhere. What is the meaning of this? If you don't give us a satisfying answer, I will kill you, regardless of your background."
Unlike the Players, the Exiles had no reason to listen to Xiong Lu, and with the Ten Great Families' influence limited to Earth, there was simply no way to threaten the Exiles. Even if their partners begged them, most Exiles only work when it benefits them.
Furthermore, these Exiles could easily replace their current partners with other Players at any time, as there was an abundance of Players without an Exile out there.
"There's no way this brat could be the Asura Clan's Exile's partner. The Asura Clan would never work together with a weakling." Another Exile said.
Xiong Lu knew that it would be difficult to control the Exiles, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult. In the end, he decided to tell them the truth.
"I am not lying to you— I have no reason to. He's definitely the Asura Clan's Exile's partner. After all, I watched them kill my partner." Xiong Lu said, revealing that he'd lost his Exile to Yuan.
"What? Your Exile was slain?" Fiery Queen and the others from the Ten Great Families were greatly surprised to hear this for the first time.
However, the Exiles did not immediately believe him.
"Your Exile was slain by them? What was his name?" One of the Exiles asked.
Xiong Lu gritted his teeth and uttered, "His name was Zhaohui, also known as the Harbinger of Agony!"
The Exiles' eyes widened with shock after hearing this familiar name.
"Harbinger of Agony?! The Harbinger of Agony is dead?!"
Zhaohui was quite renowned even within the Primordial Realm, and he was a Divine-grade Servant just like Xiao Hua, so he was in his own league when compared to the gathered Exiles.
To further prove his claims, Xiong Lu retrieved some of the items that Zhaohui had given him.
"Those treasures! They definitely belonged to the Harbinger of Agony!"
"Unbelievable! To think the Harbinger of Agony would perish in such a place!"
Suddenly, one of the Exiles there approached Yuan, appearing before him like a ghost.
ƈοm
Yuan calmly stared at the towering figure before him. This Exile was impressively tall and almost three heads taller than him. However, he was quite scrawny with his bones visible.
Yuan smiled and responded to the question, "No, I didn't kill him. It was my Exile who killed him. You guys mentioned the Asura Clan, right? My Exile also mentioned coming from such a place before."
The Exile standing before Yuan suddenly erupted with immense killing intent— enough to completely cover their area.
"Where is she? I will spare your life if you bring us to her." The Exile said, expecting Yuan to cower in fear from his killing intent, just like the nearby Players who were trembling violently.
However, to his surprise, Yuan remained composed.
"I guess you need to have some backbone to be Asura Clan's Exile's partner." The Exile smirked.
And he continued, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance."
"Oh? And what are you going to do?" Yuan asked in a calm voice.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to force you to tell me her location, even if I have to rip apart some limbs."
"Is that so? I'd like to see you try." A cold smile appeared on Yuan's face.
The following second, Yuan summoned his Empyrean Overlord, and with movements that none of the Exiles could grasp, he dismembered the arms of the Exile standing before him.
The Exile didn't even realize his arms had been severed and only sensed a cold sensation brush past his shoulders, and the moment the Exile tried to move his arms, they fell off his body and fell on the ground, leaving him stunned and speechless.
"Wha—?"
A look of despair and fear appeared on the Exile's face when he realized the situation.
"Too late," Yuan muttered in a cold voice.
With another swing, the Exile's head was sent flying into the air, landing only a few steps away from Xiong Lu and the others.
"That's one down."
The others could hear Yuan mumbling such words afterward.
Complete silence filled the scene as everyone there tried to comprehend what had just occurred.
Yuan spread his arms wide apart and broke that silence by speaking in a beckoning manner, "What are you all waiting for? You won't force me to do anything if you just stand there."
Xiong Lu pointed at Yuan while trembling and shouted in a nervous tone, "G-Get him!"
The next moment, several Exiles left the formation and attacked Yuan at the same time.