Below the bamboo building, the crowd was bustling, with faint noises still audible.
The moment Yuwen Hu finished speaking, the scene froze.
Everyone looked up with mouths agape, and a deathly silence enveloped the area around the bamboo building.
Many had already seen the sorry state in which He Yuanhun returned, so when Yuwen Hu spoke, it confirmed what everyone suspected—it wasn’t baseless.
The problem is, suspecting and confirming are two entirely different things.
Even Yuwen Dao’s pupils were trembling uncontrollably at the moment.
He could, of course, be certain of tonight’s crushing defeat.
Yet, he could only assume that He Meng, He Gang, and the others were likely left in the Great Xia.
But just now, what did Yuwen Hu say?
He Gang, He Meng, and 271 from the Earth-digging Realm all perished.
Before Yuwen Dao could process his shock, the crowd below began to roar in anger one after another.
"Defeated, the Great Xia slaughtered all our people!"
"Over two hundred Earth-digging Realm fighters, all dead."
"Are those from the Great Xia coming to kill us next?"
"Second Leader, just tell us if the people from the Great Xia Camp are about to attack. If so, we should get ready early and fight back."
"Even the Leader couldn’t stop them, how can we fight them?"
"The Great Xia killed so many of us, should we surrender?"
"Second Leader, first tell us, how’s the Leader?"
...
Hearing the crowd’s roar, seeing the agitation around, Yuwen Dao lowered his eyes, the expression on his face growing dark.
Upon hearing about so many deaths, the crowd’s first reaction wasn’t sorrow.
It was anger.
Still, this wasn’t the strangest part!
He Yuanhun was so severely injured, and nearly all the high-level fighters in the camp were wiped out. Anyone with normal sense would conclude that the Great Xia is very powerful.
In such a situation, even if not sorrowful, at least some fear should be felt.
No fear, no sorrow.
Yuwen Dao even noticed that among the crowd, the families of those 271 Earth-digging Realm fighters showed nothing but anger, not a trace of sadness.
Such a reaction was clearly extremely abnormal.
Not just Yuwen Dao, but Hong Guang standing beside him and some other veterans from the Yuanzhou Camp noticed it too.
Unfortunately, all these individuals added up to merely four or five hundred, truly insignificant compared to the two or three thousand gathered outside the bamboo building.
But because Yuwen Dao and over forty others were the last remaining batch of Earth-digging Realm fighters in the camp, they were positioned very close to the bamboo building.
"He Gang, He Meng, 271 from the Earth-digging Realm all dead. Do you think, with just us, we have the qualifications to recklessly fight against the Great Xia?"
After posing this question, Yuwen Hu glanced around the crowd, a flash of resolve in his eyes, and continued:
"There is only one way now, and that is to help the Leader regain his strength. Only then do we have a slim chance to survive."
"Second Leader, please speak directly, how should we help the Leader?"
"If the Leader can recover, I’m willing to give up my life."
"Indeed, everything I have today I’ve received thanks to the Leader. Whatever it takes to help him recover, I’ll do it."
...
One after another, the crowd fervently shouted, all pledging their loyalty.
A scene that should have been moving instead made Yuwen Dao’s skin crawl.
He could tell from their tone that they were genuinely willing to do anything for He Yuanhun, including sacrificing their lives.
Emotions reaching this point were actually still acceptable.
As the camp’s leader, He Yuanhun held a high place in their hearts with considerable authority, so people willing to lay down their lives for him wasn’t surprising.
But the issue was, there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation or fear in their tone.
This was the eeriest thing in Yuwen Dao’s eyes at that moment.
Regardless of loyalty, one cannot defy bodily instincts; the necessary emotions will inevitably manifest.
Just now, when the crowd heard of He Yuanhun’s defeat tonight, with everyone dead, there was not a hint of fear or sorrow, only anger. Yuwen Dao already sensed something was off.
Now, witnessing this scene, Yuwen Dao was almost certain in his heart.
The people who’ve worshipped the Mirror Immortal, they all have massive problems.
And these problems are likely to erupt soon.