Lightning dragons raged, illuminating the night sky and reflecting on blank faces.
At the front lines of the battlefield,
Closest to the Black Flame Giant Centipede and the destructive lightning, Hei Dao was the only one not stunned. He said, "Let's go!"
Go? Go where?
Xing Jinglei paused, then saw the lightning dragons surge into the ground, tearing it open layer by layer. Grass, trees, rocks, and the monstrous two- and three-star Abominations were all pulverized in the brilliant lightning.
The lightning purified the filth, and the fissures in the earth spread towards them. The divine lightning in their pupils grew brighter and brighter.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"
"Oh my god!"
Xing Jinglei ran with all his might, his legs pumping furiously. The lightning behind him seemed to blot out the sky and swallow the earth. He ran for an unknown distance. When he finally caught his breath and looked back, the earth behind him was shattered, and the colossal silhouette, towering like a building, was deeply embedded within it.
The black flames were sparse, with gaps appearing all over its body.
It was battered and pathetic.
"It's still alive?"
Fang You was genuinely surprised.
Just like last time, he followed his old routine, gathering the faith of flames and summoning lightning imbued with countless forces of faith.
The Lightning Dragon descends!
During his first awakening, he could instantly kill three three-stars. Yet, during his third awakening, he couldn't even kill a four-star?
Admittedly, the convergence of faith was far from its limit.
He didn't hesitate and struck immediately. Even so, many awakened ones spontaneously combusted in black flames, simply by looking at it.
A four-star Abomination was terrifying indeed!
Seeing the Black Flame Giant Centipede roar again, its sparse black flames showing signs of resurgence, Fang You's expression turned serious.
He began again.
In his eyes, strands of faith converged from all directions, large and small, all flames of hope.
On his chest, a blue, teardrop-shaped object strung on a necklace emitted a faint glow.
His white robe burst into golden light.
He extended his right hand, clad in a glove.
Thunderous Lightning Hand Seal! Big! Big! Big! Big! Big!
Thunder roared, and a colossal handprint, enveloped in endless lightning, blotted out the sky, descending with immense, terrifying power.
Boom—!
As the palm struck, the earth continuously cracked. The ground sank by an unknown depth. The giant palm print bore the imprint of the black, centipede-like silhouette.
He raised it again.
Thunder roared, and it descended once more.
The second palm! The third palm! The fourth palm!
Each descent of the giant lightning hand, capable of engulfing a small mountain, made the earth tremble several times. The entire White Wood Forest area seemed to shake as if an earthquake, and massive rocks fell from the surrounding peaks, with huge cracks appearing in the mountainsides.
Furious energy surged, overturning soil and uprooting trees. Even the assault teams far away had to shield their faces from the oncoming wind, which carried debris.
Too violent!
Too explosive!
Thick smoke obscured the vision, with only the dazzling lightning piercing the sky, intertwined with the golden silhouette in the clouds.
After a long while,
After a long while,
As the smoke gradually dissipated, it revealed a deeply sunken area at the core of the palm strikes, forming a massive palm print with its fingers slightly open.
Traces of electrical arcs still flickered on its surface.
All was silent!
So quiet you could hear a pin drop!
Faces were etched with shock, eyes wide open. Even exclamations of disbelief couldn't fully capture their current feelings.
They just watched, staring, eyes unblinking.
Luosha's throat twitched. He had already escaped the thunderstorm area and looked at Huang Hongtian, "Is this the 'Flickering Ember Mentor' you mentioned, who can summon heavenly lightning?"
"The powerful individual who, by relying on a powerful Abominable Artifact, paid an enormous price to trigger divine punishment?"
But it seems a bit different from what your Investigation Bureau described!
It was a bit different.
Director Huang nodded dumbfoundedly and looked at the figure in the sky.
The golden light receded, but the mentor still stood above the clouds, faintly surrounded by lightning.
He didn't look like he had paid any great price; it was as simple as eating or drinking.
Effortless.
He waved his palm.
Huang Hongtian swallowed with difficulty. Hei Dao walked over and said, "The mentor said it's not over yet. There are still Abominations around, and perhaps some other beings are hidden among them."
Right!
Huang Hongtian snapped back to attention and quickly organized the investigators, special forces, and hunters to encircle and eliminate the remaining Abominations.
Deep within the White Wood Forest, Abominations were plentiful.
However, most of the powerful ones had been annihilated by the recent lightning. The rest were scattered in small groups. The hunters, having regained their senses, shouted with renewed vigor, their morale reaching its peak.
"Charge, charge, charge!"
"Victory belongs to us!"
"For a better tomorrow!"
"That being is watching us!"
"Abominations, die!"
"Ura—!"
The roars of humans seemed to drown out the shrill cries of the Abominations.
Hiding among the larger Abominations, the inconspicuous Maggot People showed no smiles on their faces.
They simply gazed at the figure in the sky, their eyes filled with incomprehensible, human-like confusion.
They couldn't understand.
They couldn't figure it out.
Why did a mere Blue Star, a Blue Star that had only just begun to touch the mysterious, have such powerful humans.
"Blue Star... Humans..."
"We must make a long-term plan."
"For the Great Shadow of Obscurity, dormancy... is necessary."
He quietly retreated. Turning back, a fist the size of a sandbag rapidly expanded in his vision.
Bang—
The figure, clad in tattered clothes, was sent flying. The ordinary-looking face contorted, writhing like an insect.
"As expected!"
"I knew from the first glance you weren't human!"
"Hand over the contribution points, or die!"
Xing Jinglei lunged forward, but his leg sank as if into mud. White, paste-like substances crawled up his trousers, restraining him.
Then, a giant beast's palm slammed down, and Xing Jinglei was sent flying like a cannonball, landing dozens of meters away in a pile of rubble.
The Maggot Person Sacrificer glanced from afar but did not pursue. Instead, it merged into the surrounding Abominations and flowed outward with the ordinary Abominations.
After flowing out only a few steps, a blinding lightning bolt struck.
A deep pit was blasted open.
Inside the pit, giant Abominations were reduced to mere remnants, along with a human figure whose clothes were torn by lightning, struggling and writhing in the pit.
It wasn't human!
Its entire body was formed by countless tiny white worms tangled together. Fang You felt a prickling sensation just looking at it, his eyes polluted.
He raised his hand and unleashed a thick lightning bolt, obliterating the figure in the pit.
But the figure contorted. Those small worms, seemingly containing a lot of protein, were surprisingly tough and resistant.
If one wasn't enough, then two, then three.
Fang You, who wore 'Tears of the Angel,' was wealthy and could summon dozens more lightning bolts without issue. As the third lightning bolt descended, the figure suddenly shriveled.
The tiny white worms turned to ash.
It was over?
He frowned.
"Xiao Huan, bring up the main panel of the Flickering Ember."
A screen only he could see appeared. Fang You mentally commanded Xiao Huan, then navigated the interface to the information log.
This log contained a vast amount of data, the most frequent of which was the Abomination kill record.
Killed by Hei Dao, killed by An Jianyou, killed by Hei Dao, killed by An Jianyou...
After a detailed statistical analysis, his own last kill record was a two-star Abomination.
This was wrong.
However, there was another conspicuous prompt.
"Prompt: Due to the influence of unknown forces, the Abomination Gate (White Wood Forest) has closed prematurely. This special mission has entered the settlement phase. Settling..."
Fang You fell into deep thought.
...
At this time,
The night was still dark.
Hundreds of kilometers away from the White Wood Forest, artillery fire roared, illuminating the entire night sky. Powerful searchlights cast bright beams, targeting the area in the center shrouded in thick gray mist.
"Keep it up!"
"Good! We've held off this wave of assault!"
The Director of the Yunling Prefecture Bureau was directing operations at the scene.
The situation was currently favorable. Due to prior preparations, the surrounding area had been extensively excavated and fortified, giving them an advantage. Any Abomination that emerged from the gray mist was quickly eliminated.
However, the Director still frowned.
This morning,
When the Special Forces borrowed Xing Jinglei and a large number of other powerful individuals from him, he was very reluctant, condemning it as a reckless act that disregarded Silver City's safety.
This order came from the General Bureau, and he had no choice but to obey.
Silver City's defense force had been significantly weakened.
Yet, their resistance against the Hell Gate disaster seemed easier than expected.
This was a low-intensity Hell Gate incident.
Completely different from the high-intensity scenario previously predicted.
News had just arrived that Baijiang, Shuize... and several other locations were also experiencing low-intensity events, not difficult to resist.
It was a good thing.
The investigators and Abomination hunters were all happy, but he couldn't relax.
"The Special Forces gambled correctly."
"But that also means the real danger lies at the White Wood Forest."
Even areas with numerous Abominations could affect signal transmission. It would take time for news to arrive.
The Director couldn't help but worry.
Suddenly,
The gray mist in the distance erupted with a violent surge, and a figure rushed out.
A figure? Huh?
The distorted face, composed of countless tiny white worms, fell into his sight. The Director immediately shouted, "Intercept him!"
Thunder talismans and fire beads were tossed far behind.
A Special Grade Investigator, his body encased in rock armor, swung a fist.
He passed by the figure.
The rock armor crumbled, and the investigator inside was covered in white worms. He collapsed instantly, leaving only bare bones.
Everyone was struck with terror.
A chilling cold enveloped their bodies.
Not all were paralyzed by fear, but they involuntarily paused for a moment. The figure swiftly traversed the defense lines, fleeing northward without looking back.
To the north lay Silver City!
As it fled, the figure visibly transformed, becoming increasingly human-like and accelerating.
The investigators fought desperately but couldn't catch up.
Suddenly,
"Jingle~"
"Jingle~"
"Jingle~"
A soft sound.
A tall woman emerged, holding a bell. As she shook it, the fleeing figure gradually slowed down.
However, its face became even more ferocious, emitting a hoarse voice.
"Do... not... stop... me..."
The investigators' pupils constricted.
Yin Ling felt a chill shoot straight to the top of her skull.
...
White Wood Forest,
"That worm-person appeared in Silver City?"
Yin Ling's vision, the scene she saw, had been synchronized to Fang You's eyes.
His pupils contracted slightly.
The ferocious human figure, composed of countless tiny white worms, was rapidly approaching, with figures being swallowed by the white swarm.
"Mentor?"
Fang You landed beside An Jianyou and said, "Guard me."
He sat down and closed his eyes.
His thoughts drifted, 'seeing' countless light particles, large and small, near and far.
An Jianyou's faith light cluster was the largest and brightest.
He had no time to look, only continuously elevating his consciousness, stretching it higher and higher, as if from a God's-eye view.
The light particles danced like fireflies.
They had limits.
But beyond the limit of distance, he could still vaguely sense strands of faith.
Yin Ling's, Wang Chui's, Pei Hongjing's, Yi Luoxi's...
Faith connected, serving as an anchor across the void!
Rushing for a thousand kilometers, golden light burst forth from above Yin Ling!
That night,
South of Silver City, countless investigators witnessed the figure emerging from the light, like a god.