Chapter 944: Seal

"Listen, from this moment on, the three of you will resume your original identities! However, you have all been permanently branded with the lifelong mark of the Glorious Circus. In the future, no matter when or where you are, the moment A-Yang, the leader of our Glorious Squad, activates this Circus Brand in your minds, all of you will immediately enter a state of absolute obedience. I call them 'Circus Apostles'."

"Every official member of the Circus and the Glorious Squad is your absolute belief! Even if we command you to sacrifice your lives at any moment, you have no right or qualification to resist our orders. Of course, if you truly obey, this Circus Brand will soon become your supreme glory, and to bear this mark will be a coveted badge for all spirit cultivators throughout the Western Regions!"

After the Clown finished speaking, the three invaders from the Imperial Soul Battle Group lowered their heads, displaying expressions of profound respect and reverence.

"Please rest assured, esteemed sir, from today onwards, we pledge our lives to the Glorious Squad!" The three knelt on one knee simultaneously, placing their right hands over their hearts, expressing their infinite reverence for Xu Yang and the others with the most solemn gestures.

Upon seeing the results of this training, the Clown turned back, smiling at Xu Yang, awaiting the leader's final inspection.

As the absolute core of the Glorious Squad, Xu Yang was quite satisfied with this first batch of three trainees.

"Alright, your mission is complete. Once this invasion war between the Imperial Soul Battle Group and us is fully over, you can return to the Imperial Soul Battle Group under your original identities and continue your undercover work! Should there be any further instructions for you, Guglass's intelligence team will deliver the tasks to you immediately."

"Your command is honored!"

Seeing the three men's respectful demeanor, every member of the Glorious Squad was visibly excited. Xu Yang, in particular, was very pleased with his decision to establish the Circus and initiate a series of intense training courses.

"Hahaha, Boss, the effect seems excellent! If we continue like this, I believe it won't be long before the spirit cultivator factions in the Western Regions, under the control of our Glorious Squad, grow to an incredibly vast scale. By then, if our Glorious Squad stomps its foot, the entire Western Regions will tremble thrice!"

Xu Yang displayed a satisfied smile: "This is exactly the influence I want! There's no point in annihilating these people. Keeping them under our control, making them our pawns, is where the real fun of the game lies. To overturn a lineage, mere slaughter is far from enough; absolute conquest of their faith is the highest form of control."

As expected, Xu Yang conquered every member of the Glorious Squad not through brute strength, but effortlessly through his intellect.

Now, including Ling Yao, every member of the Glorious Squad admired Xu Yang immensely.

They believed that having him as a leader to determine the future of the Glorious Squad was undoubtedly the wisest choice.

Everything was proceeding smoothly and systematically under the Glorious Squad's control.

The very next evening, a terrifying battle erupted ten miles outside the city as three thousand powerful spirit cultivators of the Imperial Soul Battle Group swept in.

It was no exaggeration to say that such a force, let alone attacking a single Sal City-State, would make it absolutely impossible for any independent city-state in the entire Western Regions to withstand a spirit cultivator team of this magnitude.

However, as fate would have it, this group now faced Xu Yang's Glorious Squad, which sealed their inevitable defeat.

What was even more terrifying was that the nine leaders commanding these three thousand individuals were all spirit warriors from Guglass's forces, disguised by the Clown using a special art of facial transformation.

Although these nine leaders themselves were not particularly strong, the three thousand-strong invasion team they led, with an average strength reaching the peak of the Yellow Rank, was genuinely a formidable power.

"Reporting, Grand Commander! The Imperial Soul Battle Group's invasion army has reached the city walls. Should we respond immediately?"

The Grand Commander in the City Lord's Mansion looked even more gloomy. It seemed that ever since he encountered Xu Yang's Glorious Squad, he had never once shown a smile, his mind constantly occupied with schemes against Xu Yang and the Glorious Squad.

As for the invaders, he was surprisingly unconcerned.

"Proceed according to the original plan. Open the city gates and form ranks. As I previously instructed, send all the local forces from Sal City-State to the front line! Our personal guard will defend the city from the rear, aiming to weaken the existing forces of Sal City-State as much as possible. I want to see how A-Yang and his group will handle this!"

Soon, the Demonic Dragon Battle Order was issued to the City Lord's Mansion's local combat division.

These individuals were mainly trusted warriors from Captain Plancis's pirate crew. Originally, they never proactively went out to meet enemies.

However, this time, targeted by the Scarlet Dragon Squad and under the compulsory coercion of the Demonic Dragon Battle Order, these warriors were all forced to don their armor and gather on the front line of battle.

"Esteemed A-Yang, as the strongest defensive force of Sal City-State, shouldn't your Glorious Squad also lead the charge?"

The leader of the Scarlet Dragon Squad stared coldly at A-Yang, clearly implying that this 'hat' of responsibility was one he absolutely had to wear.

However, the Grand Commander's order had already been anticipated by Xu Yang, and all members of Xu Yang's Glorious Squad maintained a relaxed demeanor.

"If they want to fight, we'll fight! The Glorious Squad fears nothing more than a direct confrontation! I'm truly curious to see just how powerful this invading force of three thousand spirit cultivators is."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yang immediately led the Glorious Squad swiftly out of the city.

Unbeknownst to them, just yesterday, the Clown and Guglass had personally delivered the nine disguised insider leaders to the Imperial Soul Battle Group's main camp, having already provided them with detailed maps of five secret passages within Sal City-State.

Therefore, although today's battle appeared to be a frontal assault on the city by the Imperial Soul Battle Group, that was merely on the surface.

In reality, they had long since gained control of the secret passages connecting to the interior of Sal City-State. Their presence at the city walls was merely a show for the Grand Commander and the Scarlet Dragon Squad.

Their true objective was to use those passages to enter the city and overwhelmingly conquer the thousands of core members of the Scarlet Dragon Legion.

These individuals represented the true foundation of the Scarlet Dragon Squad's power! Once they were wiped out, the Scarlet Dragon Squad would lose any means of recovery within the entire Demonic Dragon Battle Group.

By then, his title as one of the Seven Demonic Dragon Generals would be revoked.