Looking at the stern face showing sincere gratitude, Ling Xiaoyou scratched her small head sheepishly.
‘Since they’ve said it to this extent, would it be bad for me to keep refusing?’
Thinking that, Ling Xiaoyou nodded at the Vice Captain and said, “I’ll accept your thanks then, as long as you don’t keep sending me to the side to stay from now on.”
Hearing that, the Vice Captain looked a bit embarrassed.
When she first came to help, he had thought this girl looked completely useless and had hoped she wouldn’t cause trouble, but now she had really played a significant role.
He cleared his throat and said, “Of course not. You can wander around here as you like, as long as you stay within the protective shield. You’ve seen the situation outside—it’s too dangerous. With your help now, the shield can last until reinforcements arrive.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded in understanding.
Suddenly curious, she asked, “By the way, where did all these devils come from? I didn’t see so many on my way here!”
As she spoke, Ling Xiaoyou glanced at the surging devils outside, surrounding the place like a tide.
Actually, these devils weren’t very strong—at most at the Soul-Condensation Stage—but due to their sheer numbers, they densely filled the entire block.
Even after the Regulatory Division personnel had been killing them for a long time, there was no sign of decrease.
So many devils against a Regulatory Division team of only a few dozen people—clearly the latter was at a disadvantage.
Even though the latter generally had higher cultivation realms than these devils, it was still the case.
For cultivators who are not yet powerful enough to be immune to most attacks, as long as the numbers are large enough, they can be overwhelmed by sheer quantity.
The Vice Captain shook his head, then said in a grave tone, “Not sure, but I suspect someone has opened a Space Passage in some part of the city district that summons Hell devils and leads directly to Hell. That would explain why an endless stream of devils keeps coming.”
The saying ‘many ants kill an elephant’ doesn’t only apply to nature.
Ling Xiaoyou pondered for a moment, then asked, “Can we try to destroy that Space Passage directly to Hell?”
But as soon as Ling Xiaoyou finished speaking, she shook her head and refuted, “No. There are too many devils outside, and wandering aimlessly to find it would waste too much time. No one knows what might happen out there in the meantime.”
The Vice Captain nodded and said, “I think the same as you. It would be too reckless to go looking for the passage to destroy it now. It’s better to wait until things settle down and then make plans.”
Ling Xiaoyou agreed with the Vice Captain’s view.
Although it was somewhat like waiting for death, it was the only option.
Even ignoring the devils outside, no one knew where that teleportation channel was, or whether there were powerful beings guarding it.
It was best to wait and see whether reinforcements arrived first or the devils overwhelmed them first.
“By the way.”
As she spoke, Ling Xiaoyou remembered something more crucial.
She looked at the buildings of the Exorcists Association, then at the Vice Captain, and said, “How is Team Leader Lin now? Was it because some kind of restriction was activated inside the Exorcists Association that caused her to become like that?”
“The Captain is in fairly good condition now, and yes, it was because some kind of restriction was activated inside the Exorcists Association that caused this.”
The Vice Captain glanced in Team Leader Lin’s direction.
She was leaning against a tree trunk with the doctor’s support, taking small sips of a potion the doctor was feeding her, like a young woman resting against a tree in the afternoon.
“Although her internal Spiritual Power Cultivation and some bodily functions have been suppressed and sealed, her life is not in danger. If she can leave this area, she should recover. But in reality, she still has to wait until they can leave here; otherwise, she’ll still have to lie down.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded in understanding and asked, “So the outside of the building isn’t affected? Does the restriction only take effect inside the building?”
As Ling Xiaoyou spoke, a bold idea popped into her head: simply go all the way and demolish the building.
No building means no inside or outside, which means the restriction might become ineffective!
A brilliant idea!
But obviously, that was impossible.
Ling Xiaoyou muttered to herself, then heard the Vice Captain say, “That’s right. The restriction only takes effect inside. And the judgment seems to be based on the category of energy intensity. If the energy intensity exceeds the level of Peak of Yin General, whether it’s a cultivator, a Spirit Tool, a Spiritual Pill or other extraordinary items, or even a formless Law Array, all will be suppressed and have their energy sealed.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded in agreement.
After all, when the restriction activated earlier, Team Leader Lin and that Patrol Envoy collapsed on the spot, and the Teleportation Array started flickering and unstable—clearly being suppressed.
“Our Regulatory Division combat personnel who were inside the building clearing out devils—some with insufficient cultivation weren’t suppressed and managed to escape in time. Others whose cultivation exceeded the threshold ended up…”
At this point, the Vice Captain fell silent.
He really didn’t want to say the next words.
Call it self-deception or unwillingness to face reality, but he truly didn’t want to voice that cruel possibility.
Ling Xiaoyou naturally understood what the Vice Captain had left unsaid.
She tactfully changed the subject and asked, “By the way, what exactly do these devils want with the Exorcists Association? First occupation, then a restriction, and even a ‘massive army pressing in.’ Could it be that they want to seize some Secret Treasure hidden inside the Exorcists Association?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
The Vice Captain breathed a sigh of relief when Ling Xiaoyou voluntarily changed the topic, but then he was also stumped by her question.
“Maybe there really is some hidden Secret Treasure or something inside the Exorcists Association, but with my level of access, I’m not qualified to know such things.”
The Vice Captain gave Ling Xiaoyou an apologetic look.
She had helped them so much, and yet he couldn’t even answer this question—it undoubtedly made him, a person who believed in repaying kindness, feel a bit embarrassed and apologetic.
“Hmm…”
Seeing that the Vice Captain couldn’t answer this either, Ling Xiaoyou pinched her smooth chin and thought.
Although she didn’t know what the devils wanted, perhaps if she figured out what was special about the Exorcists Association and why it was worth the devils’ targeting, she might understand what they were after.
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