Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder

Chapter 497: Ch 497-They’re Here

Sorry for the delay – the midterm hit me suddenly, and I’m the type who studies on the exam day, so yeah… sorry again for the delay. I’ve prepared many Chapters, so you won’t have to wait to see if it’ll be updated or not.

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“Final offer. Three drops per year.”

“Take it or leave it. If you won’t, I’ll sacrifice myself along with Dia right here. When Divine Abyss Gate comes knocking, you elders can deal with them yourselves.”

In the center of the Elder Council hall, Yino waited for the murmuring to die down before finally losing his patience and raising his voice.

In the short time it took for an incense stick to burn, Yino had witnessed the full depths of human greed. The initial demand was one drop of essence blood. Then it escalated all the way to ten drops. Some even had the audacity to suggest the Primordial Phantom Butterfly should go door-to-door breeding with every core disciple to pass on her bloodline…

Of course, Yino was just a player immersed in the scenario. He could comfort himself with “this is just an illusion, don’t take it personally.”

But honestly, Yino couldn’t imagine how desperate Jing Chen must have felt a hundred years ago, freshly defeated by Wen Ruxiu, standing alone before this same scene.

Yino didn’t know how Jing Chen had negotiated with the Elder Council back then. But he wasn’t playing a game. This was just an illusion anyway. Screw it, negotiate or don’t, Yino just wanted to hit the skip button and push the plot forward.

A moment of silence.

From the Elder Council seats, a white-haired elder finally spoke in a deep voice: “Yino, you’ve got quite the attitude!”

“Ten drops of essence blood per year? You call yourselves righteous cultivators, but how is this any different from demonic cultivators devouring people?” Even as the target of everyone’s ire, Yino calmly countered.

He let out a cold laugh and spread his arms wide.

“The ancients said: If Heaven wills my destruction, I will defy Heaven itself.”

“Since you clearly don’t see Ruoning and me as human beings, and both Liuli Sect and Divine Abyss Gate want to push me to the brink, then I might as well end my own prospects and drag you all down with me.”

With that, Yino suddenly summoned a longsword behind him. With a sweep of his hand, the blade came to rest directly against the throat of the butterfly girl beside him.

In an instant, not only did Ruoning freeze in shock, but even the elders who hadn’t been taking this seriously suddenly widened their eyes.

Ruoning was the Primordial Phantom Butterfly(Dia). Everyone knew her value.

For the Liuli Sect elders present, she was a hot potato, but also a once-in-a-century opportunity. If they agreed to Yino’s terms and sheltered Ruoning, the sect would face short-term retaliation from Divine Abyss Gate. But long-term, having the Primordial Phantom Butterfly provide three drops of essence blood annually to the Elder Council would be an incredibly lucrative investment.

On the flip side, if the Elder Council refused Yino and negotiations broke down, he might kill Ruoning on the spot, or worse, somehow detonate the seal within the Primordial Phantom Butterfly and take everyone down with him. Then the elders would lose access to her essence blood, and Divine Abyss Gate would never let the disappearance of their holy maiden slide. For Liuli Sect, it would be a total loss, losing both the wife and the soldiers.

At the end of the day, Yino and Ruoning were disciples of Liuli Sect. They were already tied to the same boat as the sect’s elders. If Yino really pulled something crazy, even if Liuli Sect tried to claim innocence, Divine Abyss Gate wouldn’t believe them!

If Ruoning disappeared, would Divine Abyss Gate believe the Liuli Sect elders were innocent? Or would they suspect the sect was lying and hiding the Primordial Phantom Butterfly?

“Put down the sword! This is madness!”

At some point, an even more elderly gray-haired elder stood up and barked a reprimand. However, his anger seemed directed less at Yino and more as a warning to the others as he swept his aged eyes across the room.

“A bunch of old bones who’ve spent centuries in a righteous sect, how can you have the face to scheme against your own sect’s children?!”

“Ten drops of essence blood? You’re asking Ruoning to trade her lifespan to refine essence blood for you!”

“In this old man’s opinion, we’ll do as Yino says. Three drops of essence blood. No more haggling!”

This gray-haired elder’s voice was loud and vigorous, making him look like an upright old man full of righteous conviction.

But… he’d stood up too late.

If he’d spoken up earlier, Yino might have respected him more. But standing up to help Yino at this timing, right after seeing Yino draw his sword and flip the table, clearly meant he only felt the crisis and was now playing good cop with the other elders.

In other words… this old bastard had stayed silent at first because he wanted to see how much more Yino would concede.

“Agreed!”

“As long as Ruoning provides three drops of essence blood to the Elder Council annually, we elders of Liuli Sect will guarantee her safety from now on!”

BANG!

With the strike of a gavel, the heated negotiations in the Elder Council finally came to an end.

At this scene, Yino finally let out an exhausted sigh of relief. He glanced back at Ruoning, only to see her eyes already moist, gazing at him with tender affection, biting her lip without a word.

Yino figured this was Dia’s soul at work. After all… a hundred years ago at this point in time, Jing Chen’s negotiations with the Elder Council might not have gone nearly as confidently.

With that thought, Yino tentatively stepped forward and pulled the girl into his embrace.

“Don’t be afraid…”

“From now on, with the Elder Council’s support, Divine Abyss Gate will never be able to take you back.”

As soon as he spoke those words, it was like entering a password into a lock. In an instant, the Elder Council scene before Yino’s eyes began to distort and flow abstractly again. New memories flooded his mind.

However, this time the time skip wasn’t long. When Yino came to again, he was in the back garden of Liuli Divine Palace, keeping Ruoning company as they listened to the wind and admired the flowers.

Yino noticed Ruoning’s body was quite different from before. The girl looked much weaker, needing Yino’s support even to walk. Yet her beautiful eyes still overflowed with the sweet happiness of being with her beloved.