Chapter 139 - 55: Surprise Attack (3k)

Chapter 139: Chapter 55: Surprise Attack (3k)

"Hong, do you really intend to agree to their terms?

I know you have always thought highly of those Lords, and this one has already collaborated with us for a while.

But until today, they have always been very weak. Now all of a sudden, they say they have the strength to confront the Sanctuary, claiming to have several 5th-tier combat powers. I just don’t believe it."

"Yet you’ve also seen the abilities they displayed, which indeed reached the level of 5th tier, and you were the one who confirmed it.

Moreover, if we don’t trust them, what other choice do we have...

With our current strength, if we don’t fight for it, we won’t stand a chance...

Sigh... If only your brother hadn’t left White Poplar to scout the giant beast in response to the call, things would not have come to this.

They wouldn’t dare create such a rift!"

Commander Hong’s pacing slowed down as he replied with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"So, Guan, it’s all up to you this time!"

"Well, since I’ve already agreed, I will do my best."

Thump thump thump—

The wooden door to the room was hammered upon rapidly and before Commander Hong and Guan could respond, it was flung open.

"Dad, Uncle Guan, someone has come downstairs, claiming to be Shang Ji, representing ’Fan Mao’, and is responsible for liaising with us."

The one who entered was Commander Hong’s son, his eyes still showing some fear and panic.

He was not curious about how this so-called Shang Ji managed to get past the blockades of the other families. Today, he had witnessed the underground fungal pathways created by the insect swarm, which also secured his last retreat—that’s why he had agreed to it.

"Please come up!"

"The matter is urgent, I have come up already, please forgive me, Commander."

No sooner had Commander Hong finished speaking than he saw a smartly dressed man enter the room, much more formal in appearance than the woman he had seen earlier today, at least not as savage as that woman.

This man did not act like a guest and with rhythm in his step, he entered the room and said:

"My name is Shang Ji, sent by my master as the overall person in charge of this operation.

Commander Hong, there’s no time to delay, let’s get straight to the point.

The insect swarm has begun to transfer the population, and within half an hour at most, they will all be moved to a safe area, including the civilians under Commander Hong’s jurisdiction. Please rest assured, Commander Hong."

"How can I trust you? I need to see my people all leaving with my own eyes."

Commander Hong spoke in a heavy voice, poised to walk outside.

Shang Ji was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected that Commander Hong would care so much about his subordinates.

Although he didn’t know whether it was genuine concern or a pretense, perhaps to buy time, or maybe for some other purpose, in his heart, Shang Ji indeed felt a bit more favorably towards Commander Hong.

Of course, when it came to exploiting a transaction to the bitter end, Shang Ji would not go soft.

Shang Ji extended a hand to stop Commander Hong, still wearing a perfectly standard smile on his face.

"Of course, I can let Commander Hong see for himself, but there’s no need to go down."

No sooner had his words fallen than the Swarm Network forcefully pulled both men in.

This time, the insect swarm that was brought along had already included many Erosion Worms that had become Mind Series Transcendents through forcibly devouring relics, although none exceeded Transcendent level three.

However, with the temporary enhancement of Bai Sheng, who was hiding underground with a relic corresponding to a 6th-level Transcendent, even this 5th-tier Superpower User was pulled into the Swarm Network without any resistance.

This relic was originally intended to deal with those hostile 5th-tier Superpower Users during the battle, which was why Bai Sheng was in charge of it, and not just her, but everyone participating in this battle carried one.

For this battle, he had planned to the utmost extent.

Shang Ji squinted as he watched the astonishment on their faces, simultaneously filtering through the fragments that the two men saw in his mind.

These were the perspectives of the insects responsible for transporting the civilians, which, with the use of Night Vision, made everything in the pitch-black tunnels visible even with the faintest of lights.

"How about now, Commander Hong, do you feel reassured?"

"How... How is this possible? Is this your superpower? Those perspectives, do they belong to your insects?"

The first thing that came to Commander Hong’s mind was superpower, but his surprise was more about how Shang Ji could be so far away and still link with the insects underground.

Little did he know that this was actually a natural ability of the insect swarm, just amplified slightly.

However, Shang Ji certainly wouldn’t go out of his way to explain, or rather, he hoped Commander Hong would continue to misunderstand.

"That’s right, Commander Hong should be at ease now, right? On the other side of the tunnel, temporary housing has been set up, with steaming food ready.

As Commander Hong knows, we have ample food supplies, which won’t be an issue for this ten thousand strong population in the short term."

Commander Hong was silent for a long while before finally speaking faintly:

"What exactly do you want? Don’t tell me it’s just the resources and subsequent ruling rights we agreed upon today."

"If everything really goes well today, if you can truly deliver on all you’ve promised, it’s not worth it just for these things."

He left the other half unsaid.

If the Insect Swarm really had such strength, they could simply plunder without needing to negotiate and add risk to their cooperation.

"Knowledge, population."

It seemed to take Shang Ji a good while to come up with the answer, as if he truly considered it before deciding to give a genuine response.

Commander Hong realized it, and only upon knowing this answer did his heart settle down.

If the conditions discussed today, which even he found hard to believe could be negotiated, were real, he was truly worried that there would be a bigger pit waiting for him later; leaving the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair.

"Alright, they’ve all entered the tunnels now, we should get ready."

Shang Ji interrupted Commander Hong’s thoughts, walking ahead and leading the way out of the room.

Consciousness began coordinating within the Swarm Network; the Insect Swarm hidden underground, poised to strike, gushed out and began lifting their limbs toward the slumbering Superpower Users.

Commander Hong exchanged a glance with Old Man Guan, following closely behind.

According to the plan, they would take initiative to strike, creating the false impression of attacking one faction in a desperate "fish die and the net splits" situation.

This was their original plan.

Lacking low-tier combat power, dragging things out meant a slow death for them. Their only chance was to rely on their high-level combat power to defeat one of the two factions, which also only had a single 5th Tier Superpower User.

After killing the opposing faction’s Broken Army Level Superpower User, they would take control of all their subordinates and resources, and only then would they have a chance to continue the standoff with the other two factions.

This was the best solution they could come up with, and naturally, the other three factions understood this as well and would not give them the chance.

As soon as they made a move, it would likely bring the support of the other two factions.

A Sanctuary’s size, even if rushing from one end to the other, would only take a few dozen seconds for a 5th Tier, and it was unrealistic to think they could accomplish a kill and gather subordinates in that time.

What the Insect Swarm needed was for them to hold off one of them, and then they could swiftly kill the other isolated 5th Tier with overwhelming force and turn to the strongest faction.

It was for this reason that Fan Mao’s arrival was only seen as a boost to their original plan.

Following the original plan purely, the chances of success were really too low.

Since things could not get worse anyway, they’d go for it!

After walking out the door, they no longer saw Shang Ji’s figure and could only move to a designated area of the Sanctuary as planned under the cover of night.

The dim lights behind the temporarily piled low wall illuminated the small wooden watchtowers, where some drowsy guards could be seen.

Old Man Guan nodded to Commander Hong, then leaped into the air in front of a building, bringing down an invisible telekinesis wall like a tsunami towards the structure, crushing the building and the people inside it to smithereens.

There were no ordinary citizens left here, this was the reason he dared to do so.

"Old Man Guan, you’ve got guts! An old man shamelessly attacking a low-tier Superpower User?! Let me face you instead!"

With a booming voice, a flash of lightning lit up the night, colliding with Old Man Guan in midair.

The lightning aiming for Old Man Guan was blocked by an invisible barrier, failing to hit him.

But before they could trade blows, a majestic voice was heard from afar, and at the same time, brilliant gold light illuminated another direction of the Sanctuary, turning it briefly back into daytime.

"No ice manipulation here! Imprisonment! Judgement!"

Although the distance made it impossible to know exactly what was happening there, both Old Man Guan and his opponent were aware of the outcome, feeling the release of Abnormal Energy from the death of a Broken Army Level Superpower User.

Was one killed so quickly?

Did the other side have support from multiple Broken Army Level Superpower Users?

Realizing the situation was dire, Old Man Guan’s opponent wanted to retreat from his earlier bravado, but it was too late.

Still at the 5th Tier, he could not fully turn into lightning, and just as he tried to flee, he was firmly trapped by Old Man Guan’s dense telekinesis wall, unable to break through no matter how he charged.

But he soon stopped struggling, realizing Old Man Guan also seemed to have no intention of fighting and was just maintaining the incarceration without engaging him, gazing at the battle on the other side.

He thus also stopped trying to escape, joining Old Man Guan to wait for the outcome from the other side.

Since they couldn’t determine a victor without a real fight, rather than wasting energy, it was better to sit down and rest.

Without a reason to fight, the two oddly began to get along peacefully, striking up casual conversation.

"It seems they’re fighting over there again, with these fluctuations of superpower, the battle is intense..."

"Who is this ally you’ve found? There seems to be at least 3 Broken Army Level individuals participating. Although the superpower fluctuations are weak, they are indeed at the Broken Army Level...

No, another 5th Tier power has appeared?"

He seemed to suddenly sense a new wave of superpower, speaking apprehensively.

And as if in response to his words, the sky far away suddenly changed dramatically.

——————

Guan Xin: A City-splitting Level Transcendent, one of the strongest in the world today, the true guardian deity of White Poplar Sanctuary, but left White Poplar City to investigate a legendary beast that was rumored to surpass the 6th Tier, due to a message brought from afar by a genius junior...