Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You mean we should chase them down that way?"

Ni Huayuan's words were easy enough to understand, but Kamakura Ki looked troubled.

Although this place was fundamentally a ruin, the Kamakura Family had guarded it for years. To them, it had long since become a Sacred Land.

Yet now, not only had someone violently smashed through the walls, but the group was preparing to track the culprit right through it.

Considering how the Academy members had acted so far, it was easy to imagine the destructive scene that would follow.

"Of course, we don't have to pursue them. We can just go back and try our methods to block the connection again. Try it a few more times."

Ni Huayuan's expression remained entirely unchanged.

...

What was the point of repeating a method that had already proven utterly useless?

"Then let's start immediately."

Kamakura Ki quickly forced down his distress over the desecration of the Sacred Land and agreed.

"Excellent."

Ni Huayuan was clearly very satisfied with Kamakura Ki's tact.

He signaled for the others to sweep the Stone Chamber one last time. Once they confirmed there were no other anomalies, he didn't waste a single minute. Taking the lead once again, he led the team through the door.

This...

However, the scene that greeted them left the group in momentary silence.

The rough, narrow stone path sloped steadily upward before abruptly opening up, merging directly into a Corridor.

Judging by its layout and the decorations lining the walls, this kind of Corridor was clearly a standard fixture of these Ruins; they had already seen far too many of them.

The group had also long since experienced just how complex and heavily intertwined they were.

Chasing someone through a place like this—especially someone extremely skilled at hiding their presence—would be no easy task.

"Can you confirm our approximate location?"

Ni Huayuan looked at Kamakura Ki.

"It seems we've never been to this specific section before. I can't be entirely sure."

Kamakura Ki subconsciously shook his head.

"At this Depth, I can only make a rough guess. Perhaps I'll recognize it once we walk a bit further."

"The problem is, we most likely won't have the luxury of walking around just to get our bearings."

Guan Jingzheng pointed ahead. Even within the limited reach of their light, a sloped branching path was clearly visible.

"If we want to ensure we don't miss their location, we'll likely have to split up very soon."

"Then we split up."

Ni Huayuan was clearly unwilling to give up so easily, his tone firm.

"In a place this massive, it was never realistic to expect we'd find them while moving as a single group anyway."

That made sense in theory, but considering their previous encounters, the enemy's methods were rather brutal.

If their numbers were spread too thin, they might end up being the ones hunted down instead of doing the chasing.

The weaker members of the Kamakura Family would undoubtedly face a much higher risk of encountering such a fate.

Looking at Ni Huayuan's expressionless face, Kamakura Ki refused to believe the man wasn't aware of this.

He was aware. He simply didn't care.

A moment of realization dawned on Kamakura Ki. Being reverse-hunted would also count as a trail left by the enemy.

As long as traces were left behind, there were plenty of ways to gradually narrow down the search area and lock onto the target.

Ni Huayuan clearly treated this as a necessary sacrifice.

Mid-thought, he realized the man had noticed his gaze. As Ni Huayuan turned to look at him blankly, Kamakura Ki took a deep breath.

There didn't seem to be a better option anyway.

To overcome this crisis, necessary sacrifices were worth it.

...

Once he confirmed that Kamakura Ki understood the current situation and would cooperate without issue, Ni Huayuan satisfiedly ordered the team to move out.

His strategy was simple: track the target along the Corridor, and whenever they encountered a fork, split off a small squad to explore it. They would try to ensure each squad had a Kamakura Family member to prevent getting lost deep within and to allow for rapid regrouping.

It was a reasonable arrangement. Even the paranoid members of the Kamakura Family couldn't find a flaw in it.

However, a problem soon emerged—there were simply too many branching paths.

The Underground Ruins were far too labyrinthine. In just a short amount of time, they had yet to find any traces of their target, but the main group had already splintered off several times.

Standing before yet another fork in the path, the remaining group fell into a brief silence.

Although the Academy's investigation team this time included members from all Four Colleges, there were actually only about ten people in total.

Led by a Demigod Realm leader, they were still following an elite operational approach.

After all the previous splitting up, nearly half of their numbers were already gone. With the Kamakura Family suffering continuous losses, their manpower was equally strained.

"I'll go?"

Seeing the situation, Fu Qian took the initiative to step forward, displaying a cooperative spirit.

He might not have much interest in Ni Huayuan's operational plan, but this place was undoubtedly worth exploring.

"I can form my own group."

...

A Demigod forming a solo squad—it was a perfectly reasonable suggestion.

Whether for capturing the target or self-preservation, a Demigod was more than capable.

After all, no matter how brutal the target was, they definitely hadn't reached the Demigod Tier. Otherwise, exactly as Ni Huayuan had pointed out, why would they need to go through all this trouble to achieve their goals?

But the problem was that this guy in front of them had a highly suspicious background!

Letting him act alone offered zero reliability!

For a moment, not only Kamakura Ki, but even Ni Huayuan shared the exact same reaction.

It wouldn't matter if this guy messed around, but if he engaged in a passive slowdown, Ni Huayuan's plan would lose its entire purpose.

"I'll go with Mister Yun."

Right then, the Academy's top student, Ji Liushuang, volunteered to step forward and share the tutors' burdens.

"There isn't much else I can do anyway."

Facing everyone's shocked gazes, she smiled faintly, speaking with complete sincerity.

That made sense. With someone from the Academy keeping an eye on him, this guy would likely behave himself a lot more, but—

"No!"

Guan Jingzheng voiced his objection immediately.

No matter what, he couldn't possibly allow Ji Liushuang to be alone with this murderous maniac.

It was far too dangerous!

With the Academy involved, he wasn't really worried that this guy would actually murder Ji Liushuang. However, filling her head with all sorts of twisted ideas was equally unacceptable—especially since Ji Liushuang had been having such a pleasant chat with him earlier.

"I'll go too."

Seeing Ji Liushuang's surprised yet determined expression, and knowing Guan Jingzheng couldn't exactly voice his worries out loud, Tutor Chang sighed and took a step forward.

She had taken everything in. When Guan Jingzheng spoke up to stop it, Ni Huayuan hadn't said a single word.

He might understand Guan Jingzheng's concerns, but the smooth execution of his plan was clearly more important to him.

Having this Sword Dao Demigod willing to pitch in—accompanied by Ji Liushuang, who had decent rapport with him—was undoubtedly the most optimal use of their manpower. Ni Huayuan was clearly willing to accept this.

After thinking it over, she decided it was most appropriate for her to tag along.

As for why they didn't just have someone from the Kamakura Family go with them?

The way everyone, including Kamakura Ki, looked as if they wanted to tuck their heads into their chests explained everything.

Absolutely no one was willing to team up with this guy.

"In that case, the three of you will form a team. With Mister Yun around, you shouldn't get lost."

As expected, Ni Huayuan quickly approved her proposal.

Meanwhile, an audible sigh of relief seemed to sweep through the entire Kamakura Family.

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