Chapter 75: Another Mantises, Lurking After Me?
“It’s actually a Priest.” A voice that Su Chen found slightly familiar came from the Sky, with a hint of surprise.
Is that the Sixth Chief Judge?
“Hm?” Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat as he sensed the Strange Artifact moving in the dark. “The opponent is trying to escape?”
Su Chen’s eyes flickered slightly, and he quietly took a shortcut, quickly following up.
“The speed is so slow; not a high-tier Professional.” Su Chen speculated. “Makes sense. High-tier Professionals are too eye-catching, and others who aren’t Strange God Followers can’t lock onto targets with perception. Low-tier Professionals are actually better for escaping.”
A deafening explosion roared from behind, and the Sky changed color.
“They’ve already clashed?”
Street scenes flashed by. Su Chen glanced back, seeing golden flames intertwined with Black Mist, forming an interwoven canopy in the Sky.
Su Chen sped up even more, but he was puzzled inside. “Where are Zhang Hongbo and the others? Why no support? Only this Chief Judge alone?”
“That guy is right ahead…” Su Chen paused, stopping on the roof of a Building, staring at the black alley below.
Qing Suo silently unfolded in his hand. Su Chen’s eyes flickered. “Perfect chance to test the strengthened Crimson Thunder.”
Mental Power surged out wildly, and a flash of crimson light suddenly streaked through the air.
Boom!
A crimson thunderbolt over ten meters long and as thick as a thigh suddenly struck down, like an arrow from a god!
The fleeing Strange God Follower was startled and instinctively looked up. His pupils reflected a field of crimson, and then he lost consciousness entirely.
【Hunting Path: Completed!】
“Much thicker, much longer… power increased by three or four tenths…” Su Chen looked at the charred remains emitting Black Flame on the Floor, secretly amazed. He hadn’t even used any other attacks this time. “But the commotion is much bigger too.”
With telekinesis, the Corpse and Metal Box on the ground flew toward him and vanished into the Storage Space.
Watching the distant Sky gradually quiet down, Su Chen turned and ran.
……
Elsewhere, Xia Hanshi descended coldly from the Sky into a certain Room in a Building. The Floor held only some shattered Crystal Fragments.
“It’s actually a Priest. South Wind City actually attracted a Priest.” His expression grew even more grave. “I’ve been watching for days, but was lured here. He created a diversion here to draw my attention.”
“In the shadows, something more important is happening. South Wind… South Wind…”
But then, his eyelids twitched. His figure flashed, moving at a speed too fast to see, and soon he arrived at a remote alley, staring at the pitch-black road, murmuring softly:
“Someone fought here. Such explosive destructive power…” He sniffed. “Burnt smell, and sulfur… That escaped Strange God Follower is dead. No Corpse left.”
“And that object suspected to be a Strange Artifact is gone too?” Xia Hanshi’s face darkened. Suddenly, he gave a sinister smile. “There’s actually a mantis stalker after me…”
………
“This… what’s going on!?”
Zhang Hongbo received the report and rushed over with his men half an hour later. Nearby Inspector Guards had already begun dispersing the panicked crowd.
Looking around, he finally spotted the grim-faced Yang Yan and Gu Bing in the distant temporary command pod.
“What happened? How did it get this big…” Zhang Hongbo stormed in aggressively, then spotted Xia Hanshi sitting in the corner. He swallowed the rest of his words.
“Old Xia…” Yang Yan continued his unfinished sentence, full of resentment. “I know the operation defers to you, but you can’t keep everything from us.”
“Since you know to defer to me, stop the nonsense.” Xia Hanshi didn’t even lift his head.
Yang Yan paused slightly and said helplessly, “The situation is completely different now. A Priest lurking in the shadows. One slip, and it’ll be a big problem.”
“Priest?” Zhang Hongbo’s eyelids twitched hard. Forgetting courtesy, he blurted, “Impossible!”
“What does our South Wind City have that’s worth a Priest spying on?”
“I’m curious too.” Xia Hanshi spoke darkly. He knew more; tonight was probably a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
One Priest exposed, but something even more important likely happening in the shadows. He desperately wanted to know what it was.
The Strange God worshipped by the Cult of the Strange God wasn’t some vague myth—it was a real, powerful being with its own desires.
Heituo wasn’t a Strange God that reveled in destruction. What exactly was he doing in South Wind, or… searching for?
And tonight, the inexplicable interceptor who appeared out of nowhere.
The more they investigated South Wind’s secrets, the more they uncovered.
No one could provide answers. Everyone had their own thoughts and fell silent.
Zhang Hongbo’s expression shifted endlessly, both dejected and anxious.
………
Curtain fluttered, the window closed automatically, and Su Chen’s figure appeared in the Room. He took off the Shadow-Evading Clothes. The earlier scene still replayed in his mind.
“The strength distribution there was seriously imbalanced.”
That massive Heituo phantom looked terrifying. Logically, there should have been plenty of secondary Professionals providing Support, but there were only a few small fries.
“That Chief Judge acted but didn’t call for backup. Even if he doesn’t trust South Wind’s people, isn’t there Special Envoy Ying Feng?” Su Chen muttered to himself. “Used to going solo?”
“Really bizarre…”
He turned to the Panel. Regardless, tonight’s gains were good. He got another share of 【Low-tier Strange God Power】, and the three targets of 【Hunting Path】 were finally all complete.
He’d thought 【Gale Hunter】 would start transforming on the road, but 【Hunting Path】 just glowed, as if waiting for his approval.
“That’s more like it…” Su Chen muttered to the air. “Unlike that 【Mystic Arts Scholar】 who was so eager. 【Gale Hunter】 knows how to be considerate.”
After some comparison, the Panel showed no Reaction. Su Chen smirked inwardly, first switching to Heituo Follower to check if anyone was tailing him.
Tonight’s events were too bizarre. He felt faintly uneasy.
But as soon as he switched, Su Chen felt his heart jolt suddenly, sensing an extremely strong pull that made his expression change.
“What’s going on? There’s still more!?”
“And this pull is way too strong. Nothing like a Strange Artifact. What the hell is it?”
His Heituo Follower was disguised as a Follower, so he only felt the attraction. A pure Heituo Follower would probably already be kneeling fanatically.
This sensation was several times stronger than the pull from a Strange Artifact!
“Seems like it was just transported in… still moving.” Su Chen’s face flickered uncertainly. Suddenly, he realized, “Wait, that earlier Strange Artifact—was it deliberately released as Bait?”
“Just to let this thing safely enter South Wind City.”
“Big trouble’s coming.” Su Chen realized this.
An empty Strange Artifact alone had Yuan Chenyang on high alert. Whatever he sensed now was probably far more dangerous.
His previously good mood soured. If the nest falls, how can the eggs survive intact? If something happened to South Wind City, he couldn’t stay out of it.
