Martial research master

The explosion was powerful enough to blast apart the whole area into nothingness. The fire finally subsided and revealed two figures standing at the location where the main tent was standing previously. Bodies were lying around him, most of them dead, and others gravely injured.

The vice-leader was shivering with fear after experiencing a horrible scene around him. The lively party which was brimming with confidence and passion some time ago was lying in ruins, with most of the soldiers dead and the alive ones grave injured.

If it hadn't been for the man beside him, the vice-leader would have been gravely injured at the very least, just like the rest of the people here.

Fortunately, the other leaders were all practitioners of peak QI King level and had enough treasure for protecting themselves from such a powerful blast. Even then, the outburst was strong enough to injure each one of them.

When the group looked around them, they just found burnt desolation.

"How did this happen? Just what caused such a disaster?" One of the leaders couldn't help but desperately blurt out. He was depressed on watching the troops belonging to his group dead. He couldn't come up with anything that could justify this loss.

"It was due to that man I caught." The figure blurted out.

"What do you mean?" The man who pointed out that the guy spoke up.

"The man was the one who set up the bombs within the area. Just before the explosion, he said boom and blasted himself up with the bombs. He must have planned it well and took the troops out with him."

"Are you suggesting that my man was a traitor? Are you trying to sow discord against my group within the coalition." the man instantly released his Qi, directing it at the figure.

"I am not accusing you or yo0ur group of anything. I am not even saying that it was the man's fault."

"You just said that."

"What I am trying to imply is that he was the one who planted the bombs and initiated the explosion sequence. I never said that he planned it out, acquired them or even had the conscience of planting them. I saw his eyes when I managed to catch him. He was being controlled."

"You mean hypnotised because that is not possible. Or are you saying that the one who did it had any kind of leverage against my man?"

"You bumpkins might not have heard about this, but there are ways to control people. Although the method is spiteful and hated throughout the world, such a method exist. They are called soul controlling method."

"The conspirator must have managed to control their soul and turned them into his puppets." The man beside the vice-leader explained.

"I never heard of such kind of power being used within the Taiwan mountains. Where did such a person come from? Which group does he belong to? How can we win against such an entity?" The whole atmosphere turned nervous.

Even the man in the hood was bummed out. Although he hadn't come across such a skill himself, he knew that the requirement of soul control was having a soul power that is much higher than the one being controlled. The cultivator earlier was a Qi King level practitioner, which makes his soul power to be that of a soul master at the very least.

"The enemy is a soul grandmaster at the very least, which makes him a Qi Emperor in Qi cultivation basis."

"Are you suggesting that a Qi Emperor personally interfered within the battle between the bandits and city forces and wiped out the coalition forces? If he was a Qi Emperor, he would have done that openly. No need to use methods like this."

"I don't understand how fools like you manage to hold such high positions within your organisation. If a Qi Emperor were to show up and directly confront the group, the emperors on our side would get involved. That would turn the current situation into a mess. He didn't want such a thing to happen."

"We need to retreat and report these to our leaders It stime they step into the battlefield themselves." One of the representatives said.

"The enemy didn't leave any traces behind that could prove that a Qi Emperor was involved. You wouldn't be able to gain the assistance of a Qi Emperor this way. They wouldn't even think about interfering without any hard proof. Sadly, the man earlier blew himself up. If I could have retained him, I might have been able to get the proof."

"Retreat is still the only option here." The leaders finally decided to retreat. They had just suffered one of the biggest losses ever recorded within the city's history. Every organisation had lost a lot of intermediate Qi Kings and even many advance QI Kings from their ranks. Almost 50% of the troops were dead, and the remaining were gravely injured and couldn't continue the battle.

The coalition forces immediately began their retreat back to the city.

.........................

The crimson lord world-

"Using the soul control art frequently would result in burdening your soul space. Although it is better to use others to do your dirty work, you wouldn't be able to sustain the process."

"Soul controls quite dangerous, but it's also the best way to increase my soul power and control. This is one of the best shortcuts I have come across. I will continue to use it to simulate my soul space. I might even be able to derive new skills from this one."

"What are your plans for the Mad-lions. There is no way they are going to just let you set up those bombs. Their base well-guarded."

"I have a well-devised plan of attack for them. I am going to use his own medicine against him."

.....................…

The Mad-lion's headquarters-

"Have anyone of you managed to find the reason behind the inability to get updates on the situation?" Lion Ti couldn't help but shout.

"Sir, the scout teams are not responding to their message talisman. Do you think they might be in some sort of danger?"

"That is not possible. The only ones who knew about this raid are the top echelon of our group and the scout teams, along with Li Meng. I have been watching his footsteps and he hasn't done anything suspicious until now. There is no way he would even know about the Team tailing him from shadows."

"The attack is going to occur tomorrow at dawn. I need an update with an incense sticks time. Send another team of scouts if you have to. Get me the info. ASAP."

A soldier came running into the hall. " Sir, the scout team captain has arrived to report an emergency."

Lion Ti rushed out and saw the scout team captain, all sweaty and breathless. "What is the matter? You seem to be quite nervous."

"Sir, bad news. We underestimated Li Meng."

"Did he betray us?" Lion Ti asked.

"No. He attacked the base some time ago, and killed around half of the cultivators, injuring the rest.". The scout's team's captain's words were like thunder falling from the sky." What did you say. He attacked and managed to eliminate half of the groups present within the coalition forces."

"And the rest are seriously injured. How did this happen?" Lion Ti gulped down a mouthful of saliva, trying to keep himself calm.

"He used some kind of explosive to take out the forces within the campsite. Not a single casualty is recorded on his side. He is currently on his way back to the base."

"I guess we did underestimate him. He seems to have extraordinary means." Lion Ti turned around and said to a man nearby. "Prepare to receive his group. I am going to report this incident to the two captains." Lion Ti left for the central hall. This was too big an incident. A single group led by Li Meng was capable enough of massacring half of the coalition forces. The disparity was too big.

.....................….

"You're saying that he managed to take care of half of the coalition forces, and made the rest injured and forced them to retreat. He did that in the short amount of time which he left with the group in." The Mad-lion's leader asked.

"Yes. The scout captain personally rushed back to report this matter. He said that the means of Li Meng is too mysterious. The explosive he used seems to be some kind of special device, and the explosion was powerful enough to take care of every intermediate Qi King within the coalition forces." Lion Ti replied.

"I guess we underestimated that bastard. Have him meet us as soon as he arrives. We can't let him go free. We need to change our plans regarding him. If his group has such powerful means, they would be a huge danger to our group."

"What is your plan regarding him." The second brother asked.

"I guess we need to pass him a carrot. If he accepts then good, otherwise we will have to substitute it with a stick. We can't let him and his group slide. He is not even the group leader, which means there is someone even more powerful and resourceful than him in the shadows."

Lion Ti was about to say something when he received a message from his talisman.

"He has arrived."

............…

The Mad-lions meeting hall-

Li meng had made his way through the gates into the meeting hall with his group. All of them looked exhausted and rested on the floor while waiting for Lion Ti.

Soon enough, Lion Ti came to the floor.

"Congratulations to captain Li Meng for completing your mission. You stayed true to your words."

"Your group could find the location with the help of one of these guys. All the remains are left there and I didn't interfere much with the retreating group. I hope you can take care of the rest yourself."

"I would like to invite you for a meeting with the leader." Lion Ti led Li meng to the inner halls. What he couldn't see was the cruel smile on Li Meng's face