Chapter 546 - 445: Forceful Threats, Reinforcements Arrive

"What? Ice Extreme Pass... won a great victory?"

Duan Guangtai’s pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes full of disbelief, and he even suspected he heard wrong, subconsciously asking: "Say it again? Ice Extreme Pass not only held out, but won?"

"Ye... yes, boss." The reporting confidant’s voice trembled, his face pale,

"A message just came from my old subordinates stationed at Ice Extreme Pass. They not only won, it was a great victory, reportedly... reportedly no one died throughout the entire process."

After staying at Ice Extreme Pass for a few months, although their people are unpopular, he managed to rope in a few opportunists by leaning on some benefits.

These people didn’t follow him and others in fleeing, but after the battle ended, reminiscing those "old times," secretly sent the news over, yet this news left everyone present feeling as if they fell into an ice cave.

"How is this possible!" Duan Guangtai murmured.

That was a level six snowstorm just now!

He knew very well that while the snowstorm itself might barely be warded off by the Energy Shield of Ice Extreme Pass, the ensuing beast tide was absolutely not something a small Ice Extreme Pass could handle.

This was also why he decisively led people to flee back then—he didn’t want to be buried along with Qin Tian and that broken base.

But now, reality has slapped him hard, Ice Extreme Pass not only wasn’t destroyed but also won a great victory, with no casualties!

"It’s over... It’s really over."

Duan Guangtai instantly broke into a cold sweat, his supposed "wise" decision to flee has now become a fatal handle—deserting on the battlefield is a capital crime for a soldier, and for him, an administrative officer, it is equally an unforgivable dereliction of duty!

If Ice Extreme Pass were indeed completely annihilated, he could still find an excuse to shirk responsibility.

But now that Ice Extreme Pass has won a great victory, Qin Tian will inevitably report his fleeing truthfully, by then neither the Military Department nor the Administrative General Office will be lenient with him!

By then, not only is his position as an administrative officer in jeopardy, but also his confidants face dismissal or even imprisonment.

"Boss, what should we do?" A confidant finally couldn’t hold back the panic and asked with a trembling voice.

Others also turned to look at Duan Guangtai, their eyes full of fear, evidently everyone realized the seriousness of the problem.

Duan Guangtai’s face turned from green to white, fists clenched tightly, nails almost embedded in his flesh. His subordinates have followed him for many years, he can’t easily give up, and more importantly, his own future mustn’t be ruined like this!

The only way now is to seek help from his backer—Inzaghi from the Luoho Clan.

But thinking of Inzaghi, Duan Guangtai shuddered internally. First, he was easily stripped of military power by Qin Tian, then publicly humiliated for several hours, losing face, and now this major dereliction of duty for deserting the battlefield... In Inzaghi’s eyes, he probably already became a useless waste!

He stood there struggling for a long time, the icy wind scraping his face but feeling no pain.

Finally, he trembled to open the communication interface, gritting his teeth and pressing the dial button—regardless of how much anger he might endure, he must try; it was his only way out.

...

"Waste! Waste!"

Inzaghi Luoho crushed the communicator, his eyes bursting with fury and murderous intent, his angry roar made the whole room tremble.

The Ice Crystal Phoenix he had been tracking escaped right under his nose, and now, Duan Guangtai, that useless fool, stirred up trouble again, needing him to clean up the mess.

The adjutant standing beside instinctively shrunk his neck; he was sure if Duan Guangtai were here now, the Military Lord would skin him.

This wasn’t an exaggeration; it was something the Military Lord could truly do.

Hoo~ Hoo~

Inzaghi Luoho’s chest rose and fell, taking a while to slightly calm down. He looked at the adjutant, his voice hoarse, "Call Qin Tian, tell him not to pursue this matter, as a trade, I will transfer Duan Guangtai."

Though he now wished to skin Duan Guangtai, this guy still had his uses, especially with his Golden Clan background, he couldn’t easily abandon this person.

However, given his status, making a call to a mere Major General was beneath him, so he had the adjutant contact Qin Tian instead.

"Yes."

The adjutant nodded heavily, turning to dial the number, but then hesitated, turning back: "Military Lord, what if he doesn’t agree?"

"Not agree?"

Inzaghi Luoho’s eyes turned crimson, his voice chilly: "I will make him agree."

...

"Qin Army Commander, our commander means this—we hope you can show leniency. In exchange, Duan Guangtai will be transferred from Ice Extreme Pass soon."

Qin Tian listened to the voice from the communicator, his gaze deep and unfathomable. Inzaghi Luoho really didn’t take him seriously, obviously needing a favor but only sending an adjutant to speak.

"Understood." Qin Tian’s tone was calm, betraying no emotion, "You go back and tell your commander that I will consider the matter."

Forgiving Duan Guangtai is impossible. If deserters can be forgiven, how can he lead his team afterwards?

He intended to use Duan Guangtai as a "monkey" to wake up all the soldiers at Ice Extreme Pass to instill fear and respect.

This "monkey" he was determined to kill, even if the Luoho Clan intervened, he would not relent!

The adjutant clearly heard the indifference in Qin Tian’s tone and instantly cooled his voice a few degrees, with hints of veiled pressure: "Qin Army Commander, I still advise you to decide quickly. Certain matters, once you miss the best opportunity for maneuver, become difficult to rectify."

"Threatening me?" Qin Tian raised his eyebrows slightly, his voice suddenly cold.

"No, no, no, Qin Army Commander, you’ve misunderstood," the adjutant hastily denied, but couldn’t hide the firmness in his words. "This is merely a well-meaning advice based on the situation, after all... no one wants to see unnecessary trouble."

He had barely finished speaking when suddenly, urgent footsteps sounded from afar.

The leader of the second regiment came hurriedly with a grave expression, seeing Qin Tian on the call but couldn’t help but approach, speaking in a lowered, urgent voice: "Commander, something happened! Three of our safe houses have been destroyed, and contact with three soldiers has been completely lost!"

Qin Tian’s eyes changed instantly, bursting with a piercing cold light.

A safe house isn’t an ordinary outpost. It’s a "lifeline" laid down around the ice field at Ice Extreme Pass, providing temporary rest, hot water, medicines, and shelter from the cold for patrolling and surveying soldiers. Occasionally, it also accommodates passing caravans or mercenary corps.

Undoubtedly, this was Inzaghi Luoho’s warning, using such harsh threats to force his concession!

The adjutant on the other end clearly heard the report from the second regiment leader, now with a hint of indiscernible amusement in his voice: "Qin Army Commander, very sorry to hear such news. Perhaps it’s just an accident, after all, ice fields occasionally have snow beasts crashing into safe houses... but no one can guarantee this ’accident’ won’t happen again. So, regarding Duan Guangtai’s issue, you should reconsider seriously."

"No need to reconsider."

Qin Tian’s voice was frighteningly calm, "You tell Inzaghi Luoho, once his claws reach into Ice Extreme Pass, there’s no taking them back."

Without waiting for the adjutant to speak again, Qin Tian directly hung up the communicator. He looked up towards the direction of the ice field where the safe houses were, his gaze growing colder inch by inch.

Safe houses have a timed communication mechanism, reporting status to the base every three hours. It’s impossible to preemptively set up unnoticed inside.

The answer is evident: before speaking to him, Inzaghi Luoho had already sent people to act, using the destruction of safe houses as a means of pressure.

Qin Tian’s gaze was icy cold—the Luoho Clan’s domineering and arrogance, desiring leniency yet forcing compromise with threats, was expressed vividly.

Had it been a weaker Guardian Envoy, they might have indeed yielded under the dual pressures from Crack Soul Ice Valley and Holy Blood Clan—after all, their strength far surpassed Ice Extreme Pass.

But he was not such a person.

Thinking of the destroyed safe houses, with the fate of three soldiers unknown, the coldness in Qin Tian’s eyes became so intense it nearly froze, even the surrounding air seemed to drop in temperature.

"Commander! Let us, the second regiment, move out!" The second regiment leader clenched his fists, knuckles white, with suppressed fury in his voice, "Even if we dig out the entire ice field, we must find the culprit and avenge our brothers!"

Qin Tian saw the hatred in his eyes but still shook his head. The soldiers at Ice Extreme Pass were relatively weak, without clear understanding of the enemy’s strength, moving out rashly would only cause greater casualties.

Moreover, the falling snow would quickly cover traces. Even if those soldiers reached the site, they couldn’t pinpoint the culprit’s whereabouts.

This matter was better left to him.

"Leave this matter to me."

Qin Tian patted the shoulder of the second regiment leader, raising his hand to condense the Power of Void, a light silver Void Gate slowly unfolded in front of him.

Just as he was about to step into the gate, he suddenly halted, looking up towards the sky above Ice Extreme Pass, hearing the roar of engines from afar.

Buzz buzz—

Soon after, several flying devices painted dark black appeared on the horizon, rapidly approaching Ice Extreme Pass.

Alarm bells instantly rang throughout Ice Extreme Pass. The Spiritual Energy cannons on the city walls quickly adjusted angles, the barrel glowed with a faint purple light, aiming at the incoming flying devices, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

"No need to be tense!" Qin Tian suddenly spoke, his voice echoing across Ice Extreme Pass, a knowing smile appearing on his face, "They’re my people."

No sooner had he spoken than a rough and booming voice echoed from the sky through the flying device’s loudspeaker, clearly reaching everyone’s ears:

"Boss! We’re late!"