The sinister aura Xiang Shaoyun emanated gave Huang Xiaoyue a biting cold that seeped into her bones. She had never imagined that Xiang Shaoyun would truly consider killing her.

He's really willing to do it! Huang Xiaoyue thought to herself sorrowfully.

Although she had had her conflicts with Xiang Shaoyun, she still thought very well of him. But now, all that was gone.

Xiang Shaoyun showed no love toward her, the pampered and unruly princess. Instead, he seemed to be filled with disgust. Now, he was even using her as a hostage. It was despicable and not something a man should do, in her opinion.

If Xiang Shaoyun knew her thoughts, he would only jeer at her for being too naive. The meeting of two armies was a life and death situation, not a game. Since they were standing opposed to each other, they should always be ready to be killed by the other side.

Xiang Shaoyun was merely trying to get rid of the Overlord Legion's opponent with the lowest price possible. From the perspective of a leader, he was making the right choice. Regardless of what others thought of him, he would do what he deemed right. He did not care about the opinions of others.

One ought to say that Xiang Shaoyun had matured greatly compared to his previous self. He was also radiating the domineeringness of an overlord, and he also possessed the craftiness of a tyrant. This was a result of the combination of memories between his past and present lives.

Even he himself was not aware of it. But even if he was aware, he wouldn't think of it as anything bad. In any case, this was a dog-eat-dog world where might makes right. If he wasn't strong enough, he would have to accept the fate of living as prey.

His initial plan was to make the entire Royal Army withdraw, but that seemed rather unrealistic. There were hundreds of them, and even if Huang Tianji could command all of them to withdraw, he wouldn't have the guts to do so. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun lowered his requirement and only requested the withdrawal of half their members.

When Huang Tianji saw Xiang Shaoyun's firmness, he knew he had no other options. He turned around and bowed to the Royal Army members before saying, "I, Huang Tianji, have let all of you down. Please give Xiaoyue a chance to live on. I, Huang Tianji, will deeply remember this favor."

One ought to admit Huang Tianji was truly a person deserving of respect. In such a situation, he was actually using a pleading tone toward his subordinates, not a commanding tone. The Royal Army members were greatly moved.

"Your highness, please don't speak like that. I won't be of much help even if I stay, so I'll withdraw. I hope the princess will be fine," said someone as he crushed his protective jade.

"Your highness, I am already injured, so I shouldn't be staying and burdening everyone. I hope you can find a chance to defeat Xiang Shaoyun and avenge us," said someone else before crushing his protective jade as well.

One Royal Army member after another withdrew, and their numbers dropped greatly. It was evident that Huang Tianji's bow had worked effectively.

When about one third of them had withdrawn, Huang Tianji looked at Xiang Shaoyun and said, "This should be enough, right?"

"It's enough because you're saying so? No, I'm in charge here!" said Xiang Shaoyun arrogantly. Inwardly, he cursed, Trying to fool me? Dream on!

One reason Xiang Shaoyun was forcing them to withdraw was so he could reduce the number of Royal Army people who would work with the Flaming Sun against them in the future, which they still needed to watch out for.

When Huang Tianji saw that Xiang Shaoyun was unhappy, he had no choice but to allow his people to continue withdrawing. Finally, only half of them were left.

"Release her!" Huang Tianji demanded furiously.

Xiang Shaoyun released his grip around Huang Xiaoyue's neck, but he did not send her over to Huang Tianji immediately. He said, "In the future, remember to distance yourself from the Overlord Legion. Otherwise, I won't be so kind next time."

He then sent Huang Xiaoyue over. He had released her so readily because the Royal Army only had half their members left. They would no longer pose the Overlord Legion any threat, and he believed Huang Tianji wouldn't be stupid enough to attack them right now.

Huang Tianji wanted to rip Xiang Shaoyun apart, but he also knew his current situation well. Gnashing his teeth, he said, "Pray that you never land in my hands. Otherwise...hmph. Everyone, let's go."

After leaving behind a warning, Huang Tianji left gloomily with the Royal Army. Before leaving, Huang Xiaoyue shot Xiang Shaoyun one last glance with a complicated look. It was unknown what she was thinking.

The Overlord Legion cheered, "Nicely done, Overlord. Long live the overlord!"

Although they held a slight advantage over the Royal Army, they would still suffer great losses if they wanted to eliminate all the Royal Army members. But by himself, Xiang Shaoyun had the entire situation under his control and reduced their losses to the minimum. He had even snatched the place from the Royal Army. What he did was worth their cheering.

In the eyes of Han Chenfei and the Han Clan sisters, they felt like they didn't know Xiang Shaoyun anymore. In the past, Xiang Shaoyun had a mild temperament and radiated a sense of just. Now, he was willing to even kidnap a young lady to achieve his goal. It was something no real man should do, something extremely despicable. They couldn't see through him at all. Their sense of guilt deepened as they felt responsible for this change.

Xiang Shaoyun couldn't be bothered with what they were thinking. He said to everyone, "Everyone, let's not waste time. Clear all the snake vines first. Watch out for the poisonous miasma. If you have any antidotes, keep them in your mouths. We will focus on getting the ancient stele."

The Overlord Legion did as told and moved against the snake vines without any hesitation. Numerous attacks bombarded the snake vines, and after two days, they fully cleared the snake vines. Even the poisonous miasma had been cleared as well.

However, one particular stalk of ancient snake vine was left guarding the stele. It was coiled around it, its tip swaying about in the air, blocking all the incoming attacks. The vine was also the lair of some vipers that were currently madly attacking the Overlord Legion.

If it wasn't for the legion's numerical advantage, they would have been forced to retreat even if they managed to reach the stele. Under their hard work, they cleared one obstacle after another. And finally, the stele was revealed before them.

Their eyes became burning hot when they saw that the stele did not contain a battle technique, cultivation method, or stone key. Rather, there were three sovereign weapons and a bottle of spring water.