Eldritch Horror Theatre

It truly detested conflict. The moment it lost the upper hand, it simply bolted.

The Ancient Giant Dragon's decisiveness left even Fu Qian marveling.

Meanwhile, he had absolutely no intention of giving chase.

He needed to keep a clear head. Sitting in this seat, since he hadn't let a bunch of nobodies drive him off earlier, why would he allow himself to be lured away now?

"Mister Lu?"

Fu Qian didn't get to admire the hole in the ceiling for long.

A figure soon slipped through the open main doors ahead.

Slender, with shining eyes and hair blazing white like incandescent filaments, it was none other than the gestating angel, Lorraine.

At this moment, she was drawing back an illusory white longbow, a sharp arrow nocked against the string and aimed straight at him.

She truly was the sole brains of her team. She understood the importance of protecting the command center and would never do something as reckless as charging in blindly.

Her method for utilizing a Demigod Realm entity like Lorraine also seemed perfectly logical to Fu Qian.

Compared to the unpredictable chaos of close-quarters melee, a charged long-distance snipe was clearly a much better fit for such an unstable, high-tier Combat Power.

As for Elena's hesitation, that was easy enough to understand—he still had the Sunken Anchor hanging from his hand.

Given the artifact's properties, conventional logic dictated he shouldn't be sitting here right now. It was perfectly reasonable for her to suspect she was looking at an imitation or an illusion.

"Good work. Lu Mou arrived a step too late."

Fu Qian offered a slight nod. Not only were his words polite, but he even gestured for the three of them to take a seat.

...

Elena hesitated briefly before accepting. The longbow in Lorraine's hands dissolved into fluttering Feathers, dropping her combat stance.

She clearly leaned toward believing this really was her temporary ally.

"Mister Lu, was the giant dragon fighting you just now?"

After leading Lorraine and her iron-faced guard, Cross, inside and finding a spot near the Golden Seat, Elena immediately looked up at the shattered hole in the vaulted ceiling.

So, had Mister Lu drawn the Ancient Giant Dragon's attention, giving their trio the perfect opening to strike?

Regardless of his actual motives, it seemed the man had genuinely played his part as a temporary ally.

"Indeed. It seemed to have some prejudice against me," Fu Qian said. "You three arrived quite quickly yourselves."

Fu Qian didn't deny it, even tossing out a casual compliment.

"We were trying to track the trail left by the Golden Rain," Elena said. "But luck played a large part in it. We just happened to be very close by."

Elena replied modestly.

"Unfortunately, our target was too cautious. Even after taking a hit and sustaining an injury, it still chose not to retaliate."

"So, what's your plan now?"

Fu Qian nodded.

Her strategy was sound. The odds of taking down a massive creature carrying divinity in a single blow were practically zero. Inflicting a wound right away to enrage it and force it to counterattack would have been the ideal progression.

Unfortunately, while the target did act like a beast, it had more of a herbivore's temperament. The moment the situation turned slightly against it, it bolted.

"Our strike wounded it, but it also left a subtle marker that can help us try to track it."

Elena answered quickly.

"The only problem is that we have to be within a certain range for Lorraine to sense it. If it's dead set on hiding, our only option is to wander around and rely on luck."

"Or wait somewhere it has a higher chance of showing up," Fu Qian added. "Say, near an opponent it failed to kill?"

Fu Qian pointed a thumb back at himself as he spoke.

"...I won't deny that was part of our reasoning. But we primarily stepped inside to check the situation in this room. We didn't know you were the one waiting in here, Mister Lu."

With her intentions pointed out, Elena didn't bother with any clumsy lies. She directly admitted that coming in here to chat carried the intention of using Fu Qian as bait.

Regardless, anyone who could draw the Ancient Giant Dragon's aggro the moment it appeared had to be extraordinary.

That thought had only grown firmer upon discovering the other party's true identity.

"It's just human nature. No need to feel embarrassed."

Fu Qian took no offense at her explanation.

"Going forward, however, it looks like it would be best to dissolve our temporary alliance."

"As you wish... Do you need us to leave this place?"

After all, she had blatantly tried to use him; it was only normal for this mysterious madman to be displeased.

Elena sighed softly at his suggestion.

Judging by the position of the hole and the surrounding traces, Mister Lu seemed quite fond of this Golden Seat. He hadn't moved a single step away from it even while under attack just now.

Since the man clearly didn't want to be disturbed, taking the initiative to leave seemed like the polite thing to do.

"Suit yourselves, as long as you don't mind things getting a bit too lively in a moment."

Fu Qian couldn't have cared less either way.

'Too lively?'

While Elena was still pondering the meaning behind that word, white Feathers fluttered in Lorraine's hands, and the large bow from earlier actually manifested once again.

Crash!

The exact moment Elena realized what was happening, a crisp shattering sound rang out.

A stained-glass window on the far side of the hall exploded into a shower of fragments.

The next moment, bathed in piercing Bright Light, a heavily armed squad stepped through the breach—along with Gerald's familiar face.

Even with a hole opened in the ceiling, the hall remained incredibly dim compared to the outside world.

Gerald narrowed his eyes, taking a bit of time to finally identify the figures sitting inside.

That discovery caused him to maintain his posture for a long time, completely stalling his order to enter.

'They arrived quite quickly too!'

Aside from his admiration, Fu Qian also fully understood why the Siren Task Force had opted for such an unconventional entrance.

They were in a perilous situation, and they had already lost team members ahead of them. Naturally, they would maximize their precautions against risk.

They had undoubtedly seen the spectacle in the sky earlier. The open main doors signaled a high probability that someone had been inside; marching straight through the front entrance carried the risk of walking right into a trap.

Of course, the current situation was also incredibly awkward. Upon seeing Fu Qian's face, Gerald's intense existential doubt far surpassed Elena's.

'How did they get here so fast?'

Meanwhile, having quickly calmed Lorraine down, Elena couldn't hide the shock in her own heart.

She finally realized that the so-called "lively" remark had to be referring to Siren and the Ji Clan.

It was normal for them to be interested in the Ancient Giant Dragon, but Gerald's group arriving this quickly was still somewhat unexpected.

Her team had operated with extremely clear goals and caught a lucky break, yet they had only beaten them here by a mere moment.

The previous deaths didn't seem to have made their operations any more conservative.

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