Eldritch Horror Theatre

Truly decisive and ruthless!

Sensing the bizarre shifts in his surroundings, Fu Qian let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.

It proved he wasn't the only one who liked to speed things up.

Even now, Ballard and his group should be far from finishing their task of clearing the area.

The Hunting Squad had arrived with such absurd speed, proving they hadn't taken a desperate risk just because they were out of options.

There was almost zero chance they didn't know this was a trap. But since Yuan Fang wanted to use him as bait, they had decided to play along and turn the scheme to their advantage.

Their strategy was extreme speed. They were taking advantage of the time gap while Ballard and the others were scattered gathering personnel, minimizing their own risk.

Truly worthy of the organization that had led humanity out of the dark—they didn't rely on muscle alone to suppress the globe.

Based on what he felt right now, Fu Qian didn't think Chaumont could use him to "observe" anything. That meant the only information they could gather was his trajectory and his current state.

Even so, the move was incredibly risky. They were really going all out for Old Man Logan.

...

Just as he was marveling at their excellent employee care, a burly figure appeared to his left and immediately locked onto him.

Truly cautious. They always let a puppet lead the way.

Ignoring those wide, bell-like eyes, Fu Qian narrowed his own gaze and studied the space behind the half-Demigod.

Another spatial distortion rippled out, as if shattering the void, and a second figure appeared.

Pale and sickly, it was none other than Old Man Chaumont.

"Welcome."

Given the circumstances, Fu Qian offered a slight nod.

...

His attitude of welcoming a friend from afar clearly didn't put Chaumont at ease. Instead, the old man scanned their surroundings with even greater vigilance.

Regardless of the situation, this guy shouldn't be this calm.

"What do you think?"

Fu Qian ignored his tension. He simply pointed at the golden-gradient tongue in the center, his tone as casual as a passing chat.

"...What about you?"

Chaumont obviously knew more, but he clearly had no interest in idle chatter. He glanced at the Stone Coffin before turning the question back on him.

"I don't really understand it, but it's obviously ignited."

Fu Qian felt slightly disappointed by this uncooperative attitude, but he magnanimously chose not to hold it against him, offering a serious assessment instead.

...

"Also, I'm genuinely the only one here. You can tell them to come in."

When Chaumont remained silent, Fu Qian pointed outside.

"Don't worry, your two teammates aren't dead yet. I don't kill indiscriminately."

Hearing this, Chaumont's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Of course, if you're worried, you can go out and check."

"What are you thinking?"

Fu Qian gave him a strange look and pointed at the Stone Coffin in the center.

"I mean you guys need to hurry up and come in. I want to observe how you operate this thing."

...

"You came in first to confirm the situation, right? Is this what you wanted to see? Besides, there's no one else here but me."

"Thanks to a certain existence known as the Prophet, the Natives making their move will soon know what's happening here. You don't want to finish your business only to step outside and find yourselves completely surrounded, do you?"

"You aren't going out?"

Chaumont clearly didn't want Fu Qian playing the spectator here, but everything he had just said was undeniably true.

After staring at him for a few seconds, the old man finally nodded, his tone flat.

"Fine. I'll have Stoss dispose of them quickly."

"A child worthy of teaching."

Fu Qian looked thoroughly gratified.

Old Man Chaumont was truly the brains of the team. He had obviously used the tracking mark placed on Fu Qian to step in first, checking the situation and watching for ambushes.

And upon discovering that Fu Qian was indeed the only one present, the old man still wasn't satisfied. He had tried to use Akasha and her companion as a threat, hoping to goad Fu Qian into leaving to save them so his team could handle their objective in peace.

What a joke. Why did he think he was here?

Even though Yuan Fang's plan had been a bit ambiguous, clearly leaving him enough room to retreat at the last minute, fleeing was absolutely out of the question.

As for whether Akasha and her companion lived or died?

Everyone had to take responsibility for their own choices.

Curiosity killed the cat. That saying didn't suddenly stop applying just because you had turned into a spider and a dog.

If those two didn't even have that much resolve, how could they dare try to satisfy their curiosity?

As for the risk of Stoss and the rest coming in to gang up on him?

It wasn't as if they hadn't tried that before. If Chaumont actually had the confidence to pull it off, why would he waste time trying to convince him to leave?

...

Even though his own surprise force had sprung the trap, seeing Fu Qian completely impervious to persuasion—sitting there with the leisurely attitude of someone watching flowers bloom and fall—made it difficult for Chaumont to suppress his fury. His years of composed self-restraint were on the verge of collapsing.

However, the guy had a point.

The time gap was the entire crux of this operation. Only by striking with extreme speed could they minimize their risk. They couldn't afford to waste a single second.

Gritting his teeth, Chaumont finally made up his mind.

A few seconds later, the space distorted in two separate spots, and two figures—one radiating heat, the other exuding cold—appeared one after another.

The scorching one was undoubtedly Old Man Stoss. At this moment, the Divine Emissary was engulfed in blistering flames. Even his hair stood straight on end, making him look like a descending fire god.

As for the cold... Fu Qian looked at Demigod Aike, who had reverted to her baby-faced appearance. Frost coated the entire right side of her body, and several torn wounds were clearly visible. She looked far more battered than Stoss.

He understood. Those two outside had actually been completely aligned in their targeting.

Fu Qian realized it in an instant.

It was obvious that when faced with the sudden appearance of powerful enemies, whether they planned to flee or fight to the death, Akasha and Ben had made the exact same tactical decision: take out the weakest link first. Demigod Aike had naturally borne the brunt of their assault.

"This guy..."

Having been beaten into such a miserable state, Demigod Aike was clearly in a foul mood.

She spotted Fu Qian immediately. After quickly taking stock of their surroundings, she shot an inquiring look at Chaumont, silently asking how they should deal with him.

"Ignore him."

Old Man Chaumont truly possessed the commanding presence of a great general, bluntly stating there was no need to pay attention to such a petty nuisance.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

"...Alright."

Since their leader had spoken, Aike ultimately refrained from voicing any objections, though she did furrow her brow.

Perhaps because his previous killing strike had been inexplicably neutralized, Old Man Stoss didn't even offer an opinion. He simply stared meaningfully at Fu Qian's head, which looked like it could burst into flames at any moment.

"What else?"

Despite being closely scrutinized by this powerful group, Fu Qian remained full of enthusiastic curiosity.

...

Old Man Chaumont looked like he genuinely wanted to slap the man to death.

However, he quickly averted his gaze and pulled out another Flame Talisman.

He crushed it without hesitation. A second later, he reached his hand forward, as if feeling around in the empty void.

A moment later, he seemed to find what he was looking for, gripping it tightly and pulling backward.

As he moved, a bizarre stench permeated the air.

A massive, lumpy shape slowly emerged from midair, plummeting to the ground like a puddle of sludge.

It's been a while, Old Man Logan.

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