"You worthless scum! Is His Highness more important or these lowly civilians? How dare you abandon your post! Just you wait, I’ll deal with you when I get back!"

The commander spat out in rage, but he didn’t dare interfere with Ye Luo’s orders and quickly bolted toward Ye Luo’s direction.

At this moment, Ye Luo’s predicament wasn’t much better—perhaps even worse than the others.

Because Ye Luo was dressed in civilian clothes, with nothing to indicate his noble status at all.

So, when he shouted for the crowd to disperse, hardly anyone paid him any heed.

Some looked curiously at the demon spirit while discussing animatedly; some, unbelievably, even attempted to approach the demon spirit!

These fools heading straight toward death, Ye Luo initially didn’t want to bother with them. But to avoid letting the demon spirit grow stronger, he had no choice but to push them back to prevent their suicidal stupidity.

However, the people Ye Luo had shoved away weren’t happy about it.

"Brat, you sure have some nerve hitting us! Who the hell do you think you are? Even if what you’re saying is true, and this thing really is a demon spirit from the Demon Clan, we’ve been wanting to take down a demon beast for fun. What concern is it of yours? Or could it be you want this all for yourself?"

...

"To hell with your ’all for myself’ bullshit!"

Ye Luo erupted into furious curses!

He was already neck-deep in tension and disarray, and yet these ignorant fools insisted on making things worse!

Were it not for preventing the demon spirit’s growth, Ye Luo wouldn’t have bothered with them. If they wanted death, why not let them have it?

"Oh, you dare curse at us, brat? You must really have a death wish!"

The group stared daggers at Ye Luo, clearly thinking he intended to monopolize the demon spirit!

They began mocking Ye Luo, one snide remark after another.

Seeing that they didn’t move forward to court death any further, Ye Luo was content to ignore them and instead focused on urging others to leave.

Yet hardly anyone took his commands seriously. Instead, many bombarded him with questions.

"Buddy, you say this is a demon beast of the Demon Clan? It doesn’t look like any demon beast to me."

"Kid, if you want to leave, then leave. We still want to check out this thing and see what it really is!"

What nerve! Normally, these people weren’t particularly bold, but today they were practically throwing their lives away for a spectacle!

It was nothing short of madness; they were gambling their lives for curiosity!

But this wasn’t the time for curiosity! If they didn’t leave now, soon they wouldn’t even have the chance!

Ye Luo was incredibly anxious. Enraged, he shouted loudly, "You lot are really fearless, huh? I already told you this is a demon spirit from the Demon Clan, savagely dangerous! Are you all blind? Haven’t you noticed the corpses scattered everywhere?"

What Ye Luo said was indisputable, and beneath the demon spirit lay many mummified remains—anyone paying attention could see them.

But no matter how reasonable Ye Luo’s words were, these people still refused to take heed!

"Hey, our life or death is none of your business! Or are you planning to pocket some treasure here for yourself?"

A treasure?

If it were a treasure, wouldn’t that be nice!

Ye Luo was boiling with fury—why were these idiots so perceptive about nonsense, yet so blind to real danger!

Right then, the demon spirit abruptly retreated several dozen meters.

It turned out that someone from the retinue of a local noble had moved to provoke the demon spirit from another direction.

"Wow, it moved! It moved! This thing can move—it must be some kind of treasure!"

"Who knows? But it looks like a cluster of mist, quite fascinating!"

The reckless crowd was still blabbering away, ignoring just how chillingly unsettling the demon spirit’s actions were—even Ye Luo couldn’t help but feel unsettled for a moment.

Thankfully, right at that moment, the commander of the Imperial Guard finally reached Ye Luo’s side.

His attire and the token on his waist immediately revealed his rank, compelling even the most obstinate among the crowd to instinctively quiet down.

"Your subordinate greets His Highness, the Ninth Prince!"

The commander kneeled the moment he saw Ye Luo.

"Alright, skip the formalities and rise. Where are your men? Why are you the only one here?"

Seeing the commander of the Imperial Guard appear, Ye Luo felt a sliver of relief. Now that reinforcements were arriving, dispersing the crowd and controlling the chaos seemed feasible.

"Your Highness, I received the signal and, fearing for your safety, immediately rushed ahead. My troops will arrive shortly."

...

The Ninth Prince!

He’s a prince! My heavens, this person is a prince!

The crowd was stunned, their astonishment quickly giving way to a frenzy of excitement!

The Imperial Family held immense prestige in the hearts of commoners, and a prince was even more revered!

In seconds, the crowd dropped to their knees one after another.

But Ye Luo simply didn’t pay them any attention.

"Organize your men immediately! Drive away every single person from this area! Remember, that blood-colored mist—this demon spirit—anywhere it drifts, clear the civilians from that place as well. I’m delegating full authority to you. All follow-up reinforcements will be placed under your command. Can you handle this task?"

"Your subordinate will carry out his orders unto death!"

"Good. Rise and get things moving right away. I don’t want to see a single civilian consumed by this demon spirit!"

Ye Luo’s voice thundered, rankled by the resistance and recklessness of the crowd.

These people with no regard for their own lives—they made Ye Luo want to strike them down on the spot!

Suddenly remembering something, Ye Luo turned again to the commander and instructed, "One more thing: during your operations, if anyone dares block your actions or disobey orders, execute them on the spot! Starting today, you are promoted to Commander of Law Enforcement for the Western Palace!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!"

Commander of Law Enforcement for the Western Palace—while it was still a "commander" rank, this new title carried far greater authority than his former one!

Now, utterly elated, the commander wasted no time getting to work, departing immediately.

Meanwhile, the first wave of hundreds of Imperial Guard reinforcements had arrived, with more troops continuously pouring in!

Turns out, the Emperor of Great Tang had dispatched ten thousand elite guards to Ye Luo, and this commander was one of them!

If nothing else, Great Tang soldiers were highly efficient. The moment orders were issued, they acted promptly.

These elite guards were directly under Ye Luo’s command.

One by one, the soldiers wielded swords in hand, forming a tight encirclement around the demon spirit. No one was allowed to approach.

Moreover, any movement by the demon spirit was immediately matched by movement from the guards.

Thanks to Ye Luo’s timely response, the demon spirit—which the Demon Clan had intended to wreak havoc in the Imperial Capital—was swiftly contained from the very beginning!