Eldritch Horror Theatre

Heh, naive.

How could the tacit understanding Demigod Su and I had forged by braving mortal danger time and time again leave any opening for scoundrels like you?

Staring at the empty space beyond the tip of the sword, Fu Qian clearly wasn't surprised by the sudden movement before him. He even wore a look of utter arrogance.

The position of operations advisor wasn't something just anyone could handle.

Meanwhile, Su Gao, whom he had just checked on, remained expressionless. She was devoting her entire being to sensing her surroundings, ready to slash out with another strike at any moment.

His earlier words had not been meant for those out in the open.

The process behind this series of movements and changes was actually quite simple.

His remark about "taking a look around," and even his subsequent actions, were fundamentally the same as leaving Ah Kai and the others below. It was nothing more than a trap to strike the grass to startle the snake.

The sole purpose was to spread their already divided manpower even thinner, thereby providing any malicious entity lurking in the dark with a better opportunity to strike.

Entering the game as a piece to set out an extra bait was merely a matter of convenience.

Not to mention, the conditions before him were perfectly suitable.

First, the old man's attempt to strike the grass to startle the snake hadn't yielded any valuable results. At this point, it wouldn't raise any suspicions if he, the rearguard, let his vigilance slip slightly.

He hadn't even violated Excellency Stoss's request too much. Studying something else briefly without wandering far fit his persona perfectly.

Even the object of his study was genuinely peculiar—something that normally really would draw his attention.

At the same time, with him stepping away, the pressure of guarding the rear fell entirely on Su Gao, leaving her with no energy to act as his bodyguard.

Though they seemed close by, he had successfully created an isolated, vulnerable situation for himself.

If there truly was a hidden mastermind waiting to strike, they undoubtedly now had the perfect target for a sudden ambush.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that Classmate Su Gao had never actually stopped paying attention to his side, and she was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

From the very beginning of this investigation, they had taken the route of using her as the fighter while he remained strategizing within the command tent, avoiding overexposing his own strength.

So why would he choose this exact situation, right in front of Old Man Stoss, to indulge his curiosity and force himself into a perilous situation where he might have to fight?

The moment he had made that comment earlier, Su Gao knew he had a plan in mind and was inviting her to play the oriole behind.

And in the end, she had once again chosen to trust him. She successfully intercepted a sneak attack, saving him from having to act personally.

Of course, the interception hadn't been easy. After blocking the first strike, for instance, she was still holding back her second thrust even now.

The attacker had displayed an exaggerated concealment ability, retreating immediately after a single strike and making it difficult to discern their identity.

Though it still wasn't enough to stump Advisor Fu.

Who else could it be? Last time at Silver Mist Manor, stealth and sneak attacks were exactly the specialty the Marr Brothers had displayed.

To think they had actually come to defend their home turf.

"Careful, there are two of them."

Fu Qian called out to the old man in the distance the very next moment.

...

Because of the commotion over here, Excellency Stoss instantly released his Prism State.

But as an experienced veteran of the jianghu, and with Fu Qian's warning, the old man didn't let his guard down in the slightest as he sprinted over.

At one point, a wave of heat exploded from his body, directly blasting a pillar into powder.

A bone-like Spike was subsequently exposed, quickly retracting and vanishing amid the sky full of fire and dust.

Pure white and grotesquely shaped, it had originally been hidden inside the pillar, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

It really was them.

This undoubtedly matched Fu Qian's guess perfectly.

Back when he faced these lethal weapons formed from their bodies, he had forcibly sacrificed several of his own fingers.

What was even more troublesome was that in this place, the Marr Brothers' concealment abilities seemed to have received some kind of qualitative enhancement.

It wasn't just Su Gao; even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't catch any more details.

"They don't rely on the existence of these things on the ground."

Old Man Stoss was observing the same thing. Evidently having gained nothing, he arrived before them in the next moment and coldly drew a conclusion.

Indeed, the attackers weren't so inflexible as to hide inside the Amber.

They seemed capable of deceiving the perception of a Tier 2, shuttling to any location within the space before them in remarkably good condition.

If that earlier attack had truly landed, he feared even he would have suffered some injuries.

He really couldn't be blindly optimistic. The Marr Brothers didn't look the least bit like they hadn't fully recovered.

"We're heading back. Otherwise, Echo and the others will have a hard time handling them."

The old man had clearly made the same judgment, practically signaling right then and there that the operation to strike the grass to startle the snake was over, and they were to head down and regroup.

"All right."

However, just as Su Gao accepted this order, a bizarre noise echoed from the passageway the three of them had just come up from.

The wooden plank serving as a staircase unexpectedly moved on its own, slamming shut and closing off the only path down.

...

"Something's wrong. I think I heard the sound of water."

Faced with this sudden shift, Su Gao offered this specific warning even before stepping forward to take a look.

"It certainly doesn't look like a simple roadblock."

As Excellency Stoss agreed, the look he gave her was rather profound.

The entire process of her and Fu Qian's cooperation just now had naturally failed to slip past this Tier 2.

And Professor Fu's transition from being disorganized and undisciplined at the start, to suddenly reversing the situation and successfully baiting the enemy—the process was undoubtedly impressive. Anyone with slower reactions wouldn't have been able to keep up with his train of thought.

The level of tacit understanding between the two of them was truly astonishing. At the same time, this operations advisor beside him certainly lived up to his title.

"The floor below seems to be gone."

But this was no time for admiration. In the next moment, Stoss had already arrived at the sealed passageway, carefully observing the situation.

It was very crude, not even remotely seamless. There were huge gaps in quite a few places.

However, the severe problem was that through these gaps, one could no longer see any trace of the lower cabin. There was only a profound, seemingly surging void.

"Indeed. It seems we are already on the bottom floor."

Fu Qian, who had followed right behind, didn't try to be blindly optimistic and straightforwardly agreed with this assessment.

"What does Professor Fu think the reason is? Did those two guys trap us here so they could go deal with Echo and the others first?"

Already growing less and less likely to ignore this advisor's opinion, Stoss looked at Fu Qian to confirm his thoughts.

"Not necessarily them. Don't forget, we also made this ship angry just now."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian's judgment was actually even more pessimistic than that. He shook his head, indicating that there might now be an additional source of malice.

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