In the market island of Lyon City, under the occasional turbulence from the mysterious island formation, lay a small golden pavilion. The pavilion was a rather majestic construction, but its majesty was downplayed by the hundreds of soldiers surrounding it.

The soldiers were arranged neatly among other similar looking pavilions, but rather haphazardly around the edges of the nearby forest. At the same time, their armor and weapons clanked threateningly as if to show off their power.

This was an army of soldiers ranging from Core Formation to Soul Transformation, and their combined aura was extremely formidable.

Suddenly a powerful shout rang from the front, "In the name of the Lyon and Turnbull Market Hall, the guests inside this pavilion have been ordered to come out!"

Zhen Shi, who was inside the said pavilion, proceeded to ignore this shout and the soldiers outside. Instead, he grinned widely and replied to Myne, "Bro, your words speak true. Enemies in the open are definitely better, in fact, this could even end up being fun! Besides I've been quite curious about your current power. Seeing you go all out might actually be worth being surrounded by hundreds of soldiers."

Myne patted his chest and bragged with a resounding laugh, "I disagree. You are several millennia too early to understand the true power of this grand mage!"

*Cough*

But suddenly a light cough rang out with an underlying menacing tone hidden within...

Myne and Zhen Shi hurriedly turned around to realize that it was Vivienne appearing through her conflicting dragon flame of red and white.

She was frowning in displeasure as she muttered threateningly, "We're completely surrounded, and yet you two remain here joking around?"

Myne immediately shook his head and spoke out with a witty grin, "No, No! Dear Wife, you're mistaken! Ugh, we... were planning... strategies! Yes! Planning strategies! That's what we were doing!" while eyeing Zhen Shi.

Zhen Shi hurriedly replied with his face the picture of one in 'deep' thought and 'serious' contemplation, "Oh yes. So as I was saying, why don't we just leave with your flame teleportation skill?"

Myne slapped Zhen Shi's head and spoke in a berating tone, "Are you an idiot?" He pointed up as he explained, "As long as the Island Formation above stays intact, we are limited to short-range movement. It's impossible to perform long-range form displacement."

Zhen Shi grimaced as he asked with a mental transmission, "Why the hell did you hit me? I was helping you!"

Myne grinned and sent back in 'respect', "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the team... And I will remember yours forever!" causing Zhen Shi to gawk in disbelief.

Finally, Vivienne who was no longer able to hold back, began to laugh uncontrollably at these idiotic antics. Moments later, Zhen Shi and Myne looked at each other and started laughing in amusement as well.

Within a few seconds, all of them were laughing uproariously, almost oblivious of what was going on in the outsides. And their joyous laughter rang out...

But what did the soldiers that were closest to the pavilion hear?

They had heard the sound of a relaxed and calm conversation, almost as if they were joking around, quickly followed by loud and joyous laughter.

Despite the positive tone of the laughter, these soldiers couldn't help but shiver in fear at these people who were apparently 'fearless' even after being surrounded by an army of soldiers and could laugh even in the face of death.

But, who was in the worst position right now?

That would be Lieutenant Lucas who had commanded and shouted out for those guests inside to come out.

Lieutenant Lucas was a rather proud person who took pride in his job and the power he wielded. Honestly, he wasn't that powerful by himself, being only an ordinary Spirit Formation cultivator despite his old age.

In fact, there were many fellow guards stronger and younger than him. He had been a bit luckier than everyone else and had been chosen as a lieutenant due to his many years of service. 

So with soldiers under his command and the Market Hall to back him up, despite his weak cultivation, he was still able to act as if he was truly powerful!

But on this day, he was completely flabbergasted and speechless for his fear-inducing commands had been answered with joyous laughter.

'FUCK! Do these people enjoy being in trouble? But even if they are, must they ignore my awesome commands so bluntly? Do they have no sense of respect to upright officials like myself?'

Rather embarrassed by this awkward turn of events, he decided to give it another try. After all, it was still possible that the guests inside did respect hardworking officials like himself, but had failed to hear his order. Besides, he was a magnanimous official who was willing to give second chances to others.

Lieutenant Lucas stood straight, as expected of a just official, and shouted out in his commanding voice once more, "I will not repeat again, come out now!"

But his awesome voice which was usually met with absolute obedience seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. And the joyous laughter from inside the pavilion, continued unbidden and unprovoked...

Realizing that no one cared about his commands, the poor lieutenant began to slowly lose confidence in himself. His mental state was shaken and his face slowly began to reveal his helplessness. Lucas was used to being obeyed due to the power of the market hall and had never been refused. He had no idea what to do in this type of situation...

To make things worse, he couldn't even order the soldiers under his command to enter the pavilion.

This was because the golden pavilions were unlike ordinary guest housing and were set out for extremely important guests. Common guards including Lieutinanats like himself would be in huge trouble if they dared enter uninvited or damage anything inside.

Besides, considering the standing and capability that was required for guests to be offered these golden pavilions, even if someone inflated his guts tenfold he wouldn't dare enter and act disrespectfully.

If the guests inside decided to ignore him, he could only bark out from the outside... 

In the end, he was truly powerless and helpless. Lieutenant Lucas was slowly losing faith in himself and the power he held.

His helpless face didn't go unnoticed by the soldiers under his command. In fact, seeing their usually brave fearless superior so helpless caused a sliver of fear to arise in their own hearts.

As the laughter that was previously thought to be joyous rang on... their fear led them to imagine tinges of malice, murderous intent, and even horror, hidden within.

In their frightened minds, the joyful laughter became tolling bells that were signaling their upcoming death.

The distressed soldiers began to speak amongst themselves in hushed but panicked whispers,

"SHIT! Even the Lieutenant looks helpless. What type of demons did we go and provoke?"

"I don't know! And that laughter... how scary! If I survive this, I don't think I'll be able to have a good night's sleep ever again!"

"Indeed! And this is the first time that honored guests from the golden pavilions have been ordered to be put under arrest! Can we even fight against such existences?"

"You know what? I think these crazy people were bored and we were just sent over to keep them entertained."

"FUCK! You might actually be right. In fact, I'm sure I heard someone inside saying that, 'being surrounded by hundreds of soldiers is worth it'!"

"Yes! I heard it too!"

"No way! Did someone really say that? How scary! These people must be lunatics!"

"I agree. Our measly paychecks aren't worth provoking demons like these. Especially if we were purposefully sent over to just alleviate their boredom!"

"Yeah. Let's just leave..."

"But isn't it cowardly to run away from battle?"

"Pish-posh. It isn't cowardly if you leave BEFORE the battle begins!"

Agreeing to this fool-proof logic, the majority of soldiers reached a unanimous agreement to retreat. Unknown to the speechless lieutenant who was staring forwards, the soldiers behind him began to slowly and silently retreat into the nearby forest.

Within a few moments, only a few soldiers who were aware of the truth of the matter and were truly loyal to the Turnbull family remained. But they too had been scared by the tales of the 'demons' inside and in their confusion were late in informing their Lieutenant.

Poor Lieutenant Lucas, who had been completely out of ideas, had been planning to gather his courage and somehow follow orders by raiding the golden pavilion with the help of the army behind him.

But by the time he turned around, all that was left was a skeleton crew of soldiers, not more than ten. 

Thinking about the 'demons' inside, and how he was supposed to face them like this, he almost fainted out of sheer fright.

Suddenly, the 'evil' laughter stopped giving way to an eerie silence. And suddenly, he saw three shadows on the roof of the pavilion...

???

Zhen Shi, Myne, and Vivienne stopped laughing momentarily. Myne grinned as he spoke out, "I think I heard some guy shouting out. It's rude to leave them waiting, so let's go!"

Zhen Shi smiled, 'You're right! They just might leave if we don't go quickly," while walking towards the door.

But Myne hurriedly grabbed onto this shirt sleeve and pulled him back, "What the hell are you doing? Going through the door is as ordinary as it can get! The first thing to do when you're surrounded... is to act cool! And the best way to do that," and pointed upwards, "is leaving through the roof!"

Zhen Shi grimaced and defended himself, "Of course, I knew that. I was just testing you," and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Myne laughed in happiness as he followed Zhen Shi on to the roof. Vivienne smiled lightly and followed after the duo with a hopeless shake of her head...

???

Under the red fiery sunlight, three figures suddenly appeared on the roof.

To the Lieutenant and the remaining few soldiers, these figures were blurred and even appeared to be bathing in the red sunlight as if demons in blood, causing them to shiver involuntarily.

On the other hand, Zhen Shi, Myne, and Vivienne were speechless at the sight that had awaited them.

"What the hell? Were we being pranked? Was the sound and presence of that hundred-fold army made by these few spineless soldiers?" spurted out Zhen Shi in the end.

Myne grinned uncomfortably and spoke out while scratching his head, "I didn't realize since I was distracted by our conversation. It seems that the bewildering formation I set up worked too well."

Vivienne smiled, rather happy at being able to be free from a useless fight. 

Myne began to explain for the sake of Zhen Shi who continued to look rather confused, "A Bewildering formation has the basic purpose of tricking the six senses; the basic five senses and spiritual sense. But at higher tiers, they can even trick thoughts and feelings, so that any type of emotion can be artificially created within the minds of those who are weak and suggestible enough."

Myne scratched his embarrassment as he continued, "But this formation is a rather weak one that I made just for fun, it's barely a Mortal Tier formation. I honestly didn't think it'd chase them all away, leaving these bunch of idiots," while gesturing at poor Lieutenant Lucas and the remaining few.

Myne continued while in thought, "Since the formation wasn't too powerful, perhaps... they were already fearful for some reason and my formation enhanced that fear?"

Zhen Shi nodded as he could now make sense of what had happened. With <Odin's Missing Eye> he was easily able to find the bewildering formation set up in the air around the golden pavilion.

But, while they were having this enlightening casual conversation, Lieutenant Lucas and the remaining soldiers were shaking their heads clear of the effects of the bewildering formation.

The fear of the unknown and the mysterious is great. But the fear of that which is known, regardless of the level of the threat, is far far less.

By the same principle, as the soldiers saw that the 'demonic guests' were only three ordinary-looking individuals their fear began to dissipate. Instead, they began to consider whether their fear had been misplaced, and how easy it would be to capture these young cultivators to win great merit!

Whoosh!

Suddenly, two figures dashed over and revealed themselves to be a familiar old man dressed in a marine blue robe and a similarly familiar beautiful girl dressed in an elegant dress of purple and blue. This was old Elder Hao Lei and Laura Lyon!

They arrived with worried faces, but the worry was instantly replaced with confusion as they noticed the empty surroundings and the lack of the supposed army.

However, that confusion turned to relief as they saw that the trio was on the top of the pavilion roof.

Laura grinned as she waved her hand and shouted, "You're safe! You guys, what're you doing on the roof?"

Before anyone else could reply, Zhen Shi proudly crossed his arms over his chest and harrumphed teasingly, "Hmph! What does that matter? First, you should explain what your soldiers were doing by surrounding us."

Laura gasped. While she had been surprised by the absence of the soldiers, she had simply figured that they had been able to arrive before the guards had made their move, leaving plenty of time to explain the situation.

But now, noticing the few confused soldiers remaining and the faint tracks of hundreds of missing soldiers, she gasped in horror and shouted, "Good Gods! Did you turn all the attacking soldiers into dust or something?"

Lieutenant Lucas and the few soldiers who had slowly begun to gather their courage gasped in surprise... their fear increased as their minds filled with doubt.

'W-What!? Is Lady Laura speaking the truth? Have the rest of our soldiers actually been killed without us even knowing? Could they have been devoured in an instant? C-Could some sort of illusion had been cast to hide that and trick us? Good god! In that case... could it be possible that we survived only because we are supposed to be the dessert for these demons?'

Ignorant of their thoughts, Laura continued to explain the situation, "Zhen Shi, I apologize on behalf of the Lyon family," and bowed along with Hao Lei, "It was a sudden order from Lord Turnbull and we didn't even have time to protest. Lord Lyon has been away since last week and without him, stopping Lord Turnbull is very difficult."

Suddenly, she paused in worry and shouted out, "Wait, did you kill him as well?"

Zhen Shi had been confused at first, but now seeing a chance to brag, he was unable to hold back. And so, he spoke out confidently with a smile, "Of course. You're totally correct!"

As simple as his reply was, it was also the straw that broke the camel's back.

Poor Lieutenant Lucas and the remaining soldiers began to scream in horror and grief. They started to run away like frightened lambs.

Instead of Zhen Shi's bragging, what they saw was a heartless 'demon' happily pleading guilty for 'man-slaughter'.

Putong! Putong!

Fearing for the safety of their own lives, the horrified soldiers began to run away, occasionally tripping and collapsing onto the rocky ground due to pure fear.

Under the speechless gazes of Zhen Shi and the group, the crazed soldiers finally made it into the 'safety' of the nearby forest.

After all, even if employed soldiers like themselves could push on despite the fall of their fellow comrades... if their employer had already been 'killed', what the fuck were they even fighting for? For Honor and Glory? Fuck that! Who'll take care of their wives and families? Their single best-friends? Fuck that!

Despite the impossible nature of this conclusion, under the effects of the bewildering formation, their confused minds had completely accepted it...

Zhen Shi coughed awkwardly at that sight and hurriedly explained, "Uhh... I was just joking Luara. We aren't monsters that would kill for no reason. It was all this Myne's fault!"

Myne gasped at his sworn brother's betrayal, while Vivienne was very amused. On the other hand, Laura and Hao Lei were very confused.

Under intense questioning and suspicious gazes, it was Myne's turn to cough awkwardly. 

He scratched his head and muttered shamelessly, "Hey, don't look at me! I'm the amazing hero who chased away the evil soldiers! Why the hell am I being judged for teaching the enemies a good lesson? Since when did the bad guys become the innocent party?

Besides, I believe we all learned a very valuable lesson... Bewildering formations and Trickery is more powerful than any weapon! No one can blame me for teaching you valuable knowledge!"

But just when he finished speaking... CRACK!

Suddenly, a large oak tree exploded into a rain of splinters and collapsed with a loud thud just a few steps away from the pavilion. The earth shook as the wide stem collapsed onto the ground causing a large cloud of dust to arise.

Ka-cha!

Suddenly, a splintering sound, like the tinking of a weak bell was heard. Ten rather large formation talismans became visible in the sky around the pavilion and shattered almost immediately. Just like that the bewildering formation was broken!

Slowly, from within the rising dust, a bull-like silhouette emerged with a terrifying metallic aura around it, An enrage growl rang out, "You join sides with my opponents and threaten the power of my family, you chase away my soldiers with trickery bringing them shame, and even made me waste a valuable totem. But now... are you ready to face the repercussions?"

Zhen Shi grimaced as he whispered to the side, "Uhh, Myne... I think he's talking to you!"