Eldritch Horror Theatre

There was another expert!

Aike, who had just been wearing a strange expression at Fu Qian's mention of a secret signal, whipped her head toward the voice. A second later, shock washed over her face.

Part of this was naturally because someone had actually answered, but the rest was because she hadn't detected this person's presence at all.

It was an elderly gentleman, his stature even shorter than Ji Ning's, stepping out from behind the door in almost the exact same posture.

He even shared the same brown hair and youthful face, though his overall attire was significantly more flamboyant.

Dressed in an elegant, bright crimson robe, he looked exceptionally radiant.

Of course, what looked even more radiant was the iron-black crescent sword in his hand.

The hilt was quite short, and the blade curved at an exaggerated angle. It was even cast with palm-length spikes.

Paired with its golden ornamentation, the whole thing looked heavy and menacing, as if... it were a lamp stand ripped straight off the wall.

Confirming that it was indeed a lamp stand torn from the wall, Fu Qian—despite being a swordsman himself—couldn't help but marvel at this realm where absolutely anything could serve as a sword.

Even though it was a design they had seen countless times along the way, in the old gentleman's hands, it made them automatically ignore its original purpose and feel its destructive power instead.

It was glaringly obvious. First, this was an expert of the sword path. Second, because of the banquet, the expert likely hadn't brought his preferred weapon.

"Li He."

While Fu Qian was busy marveling, the newcomer had already stepped up with a smiling greeting.

However, Ji Ning, who had just been testing the secret signal, seemed rather repulsed by his posture. She snorted and immediately turned her head away, forcing the old man to introduce himself.

...

'Li? A sword path expert?'

When this name reached Fu Qian's ears, one of his many previous associations seemed to light up.

'The previous Dean of the Academy? Brother Weixuan's grandfather?'

'That guy reached the Half-Step Demigod realm at such a young age, so it really is a family trait.'

'With my current state, I actually can't fathom the depths of Old Man Li He standing right in front of me. He's probably a notch above Ji Ning beside him.'

Even so, his appearance here made much more logical sense than the Night Watchers' demigod next to him.

After all, according to what Li Weixuan had said when they first met, the old man had retired early to go on vacation, completely ignoring the fact that the Academy was left leaderless.

It was quite common for such a retiree to frequent various social events.

'But with that said, could she also be a former member of the Academy?'

Observing Ji Ning quietly, Fu Qian suddenly found himself rather curious about her relationship with Li He.

"Dean Li, you came to attend the banquet too?"

As for Old Man Li, there was no need for introductions; the moment he appeared, vanguard member Aike was already visibly excited.

And her greeting right then instantly confirmed his guess.

"I originally didn't want to come, but the invitation was just too enthusiastic."

Hearing Aike's title for him, Li He chuckled. He even twirled the lamp stand in his hand into a sword flourish, instantly confirming that he too belonged to the victims' camp.

"So that's how it is... Did you two come together? I don't think I saw you at the banquet..."

In the blink of an eye, a sudden attack had transformed into the addition of two major assets. Aike made no effort to hide her evident relief.

But in the next moment, she thought of something and asked with a hint of doubt.

"...That's because we didn't even make it to the banquet before we were invited to see the newborn."

After a brief hesitation, noticing that Ji Ning had zero intention of speaking up, Li He cleared his throat and finally explained it himself.

...

'Invited directly over...'

Aike, who had just been complaining about never getting to see the child, instantly felt she had been treated unfairly.

However, her foul mood lasted for only a split second before being replaced by excitement.

"So you two have seen the newborn? Did you find anything abnormal?"

During these unusual times, Aike clearly no longer cared about tactful phrasing, expressing her intent with utter bluntness.

Unfortunately...

"Sorry, we didn't get to see it."

Li He didn't seem surprised by her bluntness in the slightest. He merely shook his head in regret.

"On our way there, the surroundings turned into what you see now."

'So it's like that...'

In that moment, the disappointment on Aike's face was palpable.

She thought the answers were right in front of her, only for them to turn out to be flowers in a mirror, moon on the water.

"So you were originally planning to..."

Since Aike remained silent, Ji Ning took the initiative to speak.

"Go see that newborn," Fu Qian answered on behalf of the dejected demigod Aike, while also explaining what had happened to them earlier.

The benefits of sticking to the facts showed at a time like this. Even with the people involved standing right next to him, he calmly recounted their decision-making process and even displayed the dark green hue that had already spread across most of his right hand.

"So, in your opinion, that newborn Offspring who never made an appearance is the crux of the problem."

The two seniors listened attentively. Once Fu Qian finished speaking, they shared a tacit glance before Ji Ning finally spoke up.

"In truth, our views are quite similar, including the fact that this place is assimilating everyone inside it, and that this path must have a limit."

...

"Shall we move out right away, then?"

Aike had also recovered from her disappointment by now. Hearing this validation, she was exceptionally decisive.

No matter what, the unfair treatment was already a thing of the past. Now that their team had recruited two absolutely powerful players, it was a good thing no matter how you looked at it.

"Alright... We were just preparing to go take a look there ourselves."

Ji Ning's response was much the same. The newly merged teams reached an agreement almost instantly, except...

"Apologies, both of you, but I have a small question."

Just as the group was about to set out, Fu Qian, who was lagging near the back, frowned slightly as if a thought had crossed his mind.

"Why did you specifically set a trap behind you? Were you planning to target something?"

'...Now that he mentions it, it does seem a bit strange.'

Fu Qian's question didn't hinder the group's advance, but Aike, still acting as the vanguard, paused for a moment.

Being in a dangerous situation, relying on various defensive measures was perfectly normal, and what had just happened was quite straightforward.

While Ji Ning was the one who had come over to check the situation, Li He, hiding behind the door and concealing his aura, was the true killing move.

If the two of them had displayed overly inhuman traits, they likely would have suffered a sneak attack from this sword path saint. This was, in fact, the true danger they had discussed earlier.

But thinking about it from another angle, actively seeking out anomalies in a predicament like this wasn't strange. However, setting a trap and waiting for something to bite when they clearly hadn't seen anything... no matter how you looked at it, the reasoning seemed a bit lacking.

Or perhaps they hadn't actually seen nothing... Did they think something was following them?

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