"Is the consequence of him being captured very serious? Didn't you say that when a Star Lord dies, someone else would replace them?" Pei Yan looked at Sifuer's grief-stricken expression and asked curiously.

"That's true for other Star Lords, but these four, specifically stationed for the establishment and guarding of refuges, are different. It's because of their existence that the Disaster Legion's rear can have one secret extradimensional refuge after another that remains undiscovered. Once any one of them is captured, the refuges in their responsibility face the risk of dysfunction. At that time, all the people in the refuges will be exposed to the Disaster Legion's sight. Also, because of their special nature, even if the Holy City dispatches new Star Lords to break through to this place and restart the refuge space, it will take time, and during this gap, the major refuges would have already suffered catastrophic destruction." As Sifuer spoke, she couldn't help but clench her fists. Just when the situation had started to improve, why did this have to happen now? Upon hearing the intelligence brought by the breakthrough soldiers last night, she was truly shocked, her hands and feet turning icy cold. Now, the situation at the refuges is precarious; any misstep could render not only the victory they achieved meaningless but could also turn everything she currently owns into nothing.

"How could such an important person be captured?" Pei Yan asked, puzzled.

"Uh! We aren't clear about the specific processes. The soldiers who broke through to deliver the message failed to explain the reasons clearly, and we don't know how the Disaster Legion discovered the refuge where the Star Lord was hiding and overwhelmed it with a massive force to capture him."

Watching Bailang's uneasy expression, Pei Yan thoughtfully said, "Was it a traitor who betrayed him?"

As soon as the words were out, a touch of embarrassment and resentment flashed across the faces of the two, and finally, Sifuer, with an even colder expression, gritted her teeth and said, "It was a traitor. The controller of the refuge where the Star Lord was located rebelled, betraying the Star Lord along with forty thousand members of the Demon Race within the refuge to the Disaster Legion." As she spoke, her fist slammed onto the table; her seemingly delicate jade hand left a deep dent in the solid wood table.

"Forty, forty, forty thousand? Wasn't this refuge only supposed to accommodate more than ten thousand people?" Pei Yan was stunned and asked in return.

"The size of refuges varies; the smallest can only hold over two thousand people, while the largest can accommodate seventy to eighty thousand. We initially chose the Woodland Shelter as our gathering ground because its capacity was just right for us to control." Bailang replied helplessly.

"Forty thousand people died just because of one traitor's betrayal?" Pei Yan cautiously probed, frowning, and seeing the other party nod reluctantly, Pei Yan couldn't help but let out a long sigh. No matter the plane or era, traitors are the most despicable, the ones that bring the most destruction to organizations. Shaking his head to calm his emotions, Pei Yan stood up and walked to the window, looking at the still sunny weather outside, and said, "Your refuge's defensive space is still intact, which means that Star Lord is still alive! Based on our last breakout time, it's been nearly half a month; why haven't they killed him yet?"

"They're eroding the Star Lord's energy. This Disaster Legion has always wanted to figure out the source of the Star Lord's power. If they manage to understand it, they'll be able to track down the whereabouts of the other three Star Lords. Though difficult, once a breakthrough point is found, it becomes possible. If they really succeed, the Hell Plane will completely fall into eternal damnation." Sifuer said, her angry emotion gradually subsiding and her expression becoming dull.

"Then what are you planning to do? What do you need us to do?" Pei Yan returned to his seat, crossed his legs, and shrugged.

"We are about to evacuate from this place and hope that Mr. Shitang can evacuate with us. Once we reach a new refuge, we hope to use your power to take control of the situation with minimal sacrifice and reorganize manpower ..."

Before Sifuer could finish, Pei Yan hastily waved his hand to interrupt, "What? Didn't you say earlier that this Star Lord is so important? Aren't you preparing to rescue him? Why are you now planning to evacuate?"

Upon hearing Pei Yan's words, Sifuer and Bailang exchanged glances and then both showed wry smiles. Finally, Sifuer shook her head and said, "Mr. Shitang, if it were possible, we would certainly wish to rescue the Star Lord, but we can't. Even with your help, we can't. The place where the Star Lord is held isn't just any Disaster Pillar territory; at least twenty thousand Red Armored Warriors of the Disaster Legion are stationed there. Surrounding them, there are two additional Disaster Pillar territories, each housing about ten thousand soldiers, bringing the total forces to forty thousand! This doesn't even include that when the Star Lord was captured, the Holy City chasing forces from the Disaster Legion might deploy one or two high-level officers to oversee and participate in the energy erosion of the Star Lord's work! This force is beyond our capacity to contend with."

"Indeed, our strategy is to leverage a timing advantage before the other party fully understands the Star Lord's power. We plan to relocate and establish a new foothold under the red Disaster covered ground, so that even if other refuges become invalid in the future, we'll have a territory to host evacuated refuge citizens and continue our resistance using this base." Bailang continued the explanation.

"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Pei Yan was taken aback, not expecting that the forces holding the Star Lord were so numerous. Attacking the Bull Territory and Napas Valley combined earlier had his forces struggling against just two thousand Red Armored Warriors. If Sifuer's people went against forty thousand, it would be nothing short of suicide; their idea couldn't be dismissed as illogical.

"Can you be sure of the number of elite forces they dispatched?" Pei Yan asked quietly, drawing circles on the table with his finger.

Hearing this, both Sifuer and Bailang's eyes lit up. Sifuer pressed her hands against the table, stood up excitedly, and said, "We can confirm! The number of elites they dispatched to support would not exceed three. At the top level confrontation, our numbers have always matched theirs. If they send too many, the Holy City would undoubtedly counterattack, which the Disaster Legion cannot afford."

After listening, Pei Yan nodded thoughtfully but said nothing, continuing to silently draw circles on the table with his fingers. The room fell silent, with only the sound of fingernails scraping against the wood and the increasingly heavy breathing of Sifuer and Bailang.

"Mr. Shitang, since you asked this question, does it mean you have a way to rescue our Star Lord!" Bailang finally couldn't withstand the unbearable tension anymore and asked first.

"How long can your Star Lord last?" Pei Yan casually conjured a small scraper, casually filing his nails while asking nonchalantly.

"Two months is the limit. Every Star Lord is chosen from thousands; they're fully aware of their mission! So, the Star Lord will undoubtedly do his utmost to resist, even if only to buy us some time to escape." Sifuer said, her voice choking as she ended, gradually lowering. She hated herself for the choice she had to make at that moment, even more for her powerlessness!