Chapter 2439: Chapter 2434: The Prophet Is Dead (45)

As expected, nature is hard to change. Even after coming to a place like this, Ah Wei still insists on being the mastermind in the shadows, handing the charge-and-tank role to someone else.

There were certain things Fu Qian could say he’d been waiting on for a long time.

Otherwise, with the Lord’s clumsy methods and thoughts that could be seen through at a glance, how would he have the qualifications to occupy so much of his time?

Luckily, the investment paid off. After giving chance after chance, a certain role that might have been hiding behind the scenes finally jumped out, proving he really had been hiding behind the scenes.

Just like something an old acquaintance once said: "Your knife, my medicine"—damage would instead be converted into healing.

The change on the Lord’s body was so familiar. Back in Shangjing, he’d already seen it on the Death God’s Favored, Ah Wei.

And it was precisely this unreasonable ability that made him choose to use the Ashen Ring to send him here.

Death Angel.

Apparently this guy had adapted to the local customs quite well—not only did he pick a flashy title, he’d even deeply involved himself in the "Eternal Night" project, at least as one of the core team members.

Otherwise, this sudden buff wouldn’t be so precise. Unless he’d been watching Fu Qian the whole time, how could he have gotten the timing so perfect?

As for his goal, that was something both sides knew perfectly well.

Ah Wei figured the Lord still had a bit of residual heat left in him, enough to stir up some trouble for Fu Qian.

Honestly, the idea wasn’t wrong. This unreasonable ability of his seemed pretty much unsolvable in this place.

Before, Fu Qian could still exile him from the Bookstore World to the Unseen Hillock. Now even that maneuvering room was gone.

"Thanks for the cooperation. Though it’s not quite the method I imagined..."

On the other hand, as the party involved, the Lord’s emotions indeed flared back to life in an instant. Not only did he stop rushing to run away, he even fixed his eyes on Fu Qian and voiced his thanks.

"You’re welcome. So, in your ideal version of cooperation, you’d have left a mark on me too?"

Fu Qian gestured for him not to mind it, then shifted his focus to the Lord’s original grand plan.

He was at the rising stage of his "career"; if he was going to spend effort making trouble for Fu Qian, he had to have a reason.

"Yeah. Shame you’re even more vigilant than I thought."

The other party wasn’t in a hurry, so the Lord was naturally in no hurry either, just stroking his almost fully repaired body.

"So outsiders are fine too? Your kind of mark works on them as well?"

Fu Qian nodded slightly. Although this confirmed his earlier guesses, he still seemed worried about some technical issues.

"You don’t know until you try. Besides, don’t forget what I said: I’m still not convinced you’re really an outsider."

The Lord only chuckled, then waved his hand. A huge spike burst out of the ground, blocking not just one Ice Spear.

Clearly realizing something was wrong, Crystal finally reacted and made a move; unfortunately, she was already too late.

...

Makes sense. He could play the cognitive bias angle too.

If everyone thought this part was uncertain and that marking him was of little value, then his guard on that front would also be lower.

As for the Lord’s explanation, Fu Qian neither questioned it nor joined in for fun.

Crystal against the Lord, a Justice Demigod versus a super criminal—this kind of setup was so classic it almost felt wrong to interrupt.

As for the spikes jutting out of the ground, they were obviously the same model as the ones that had been meant for a sneak attack on him just now. Using them for defense now was fitting enough.

This was even a product of habit: the Lord wasn’t quite used to his newly acquired special constitution yet; otherwise he should’ve been tanking everything with his face.

The really tragic ones were the group of natives sleeping all around.

They’d just rolled into that big pit and got trampled into it; now they were almost buried. Even if their bodies were sturdier than normal humans, they were still being put through the wringer.

Yet despite all this tossing around, he could still feel that intoxicated slumber.

"Brainless idiot!"

Seeing Fu Qian really just stand there quietly without making a move, the Lord’s Momentum swelled again. He stepped forward and actively crossed the barrier.

Crack!

The Frost Bomb was no big deal. Like a blooming Lotus, a lump of Ice Crystal exploded across his chest in an instant.

It was, of course, Crystal’s handiwork—hidden and vicious, impossible to dodge.

Too bad the Lord had finally figured it out and was now literally eating big moves with his face. He let the icy spikes plaster all over his upper body, even as he swung out a claw.

Crash!

Though it looked like he was still a long distance from Crystal, she didn’t even dare fire another shot and retreated in a rush. The thin barrier she’d left behind was torn apart from afar by that one swipe of his.

"Have you really thought about what you’re doing? Even the Prophet is already dead."

The mental assault didn’t stop. A second later, the Lord stepped out of the frost explosion.

Under a Demigod’s full-power strike, he looked not only completely unscathed, but even his previous injuries had fully healed.

"Or do you actually think this Ballard over here is some kind of savior?"

...

"But you definitely aren’t."

All offense, no defense, and not losing HP—this fight was the very definition of despair.

Facing the Lord’s death-drum footfalls, Crystal didn’t keep attacking. She clenched her teeth and answered his question.

The subtext was obvious: she didn’t believe in any savior, but she was very sure the Lord had bad intentions.

"Exactly. I’m indeed not... I just recognized my place earlier than you did. Or rather, our place—"

The Lord admitted without hesitation, his words pointed.

"Don’t even think about it!"

Crystal naturally knew about the marking thing and immediately declared she’d never let him succeed.

"Really?"

His footsteps finally paused for a beat—and in that instant, the brightness around them skyrocketed.

That strange electric glow from before climbed across the Lord’s whole body in no time, like he’d put on an extra layer of Electric Armor.

Only, just like his blood earlier, it was tinged with a faint ashen gray, giving it an especially uncanny look.

"Really—"

Too bad there weren’t many people in the mood to appreciate it. Faced with this quite visually impressive new form, a giant beast had already lunged at him with a roar.

Where the real Ashen Messenger had been lying—left behind when Crystal dodged and didn’t have time to take him along—his body had now completely lost its human shape.

It had swollen at least tenfold, his twisted body crouched like a beast, and from the cracking flesh of his back, more grotesque arms had sprouted, reaching out at impossible angles to clamp down on the Lord.

So if the enemy pops invincibility, you use a grab to pin him down? Brutal as it looked, it was actually a pretty sound tactic.

Especially since he was already marked; getting this up close didn’t matter anymore.

The move was so smooth it almost made one suspect that being dragged along like a sack earlier had just been an act.

Though Fu Qian was very sure Holle really had been half-ruined just now, and what he was running on at the moment was little more than protagonist-tier plot armor.

He just didn’t look like he’d be able to hold on for long.

The Electric Armor around the Lord crackled with a raging, storm-like fury, shredding everything that dared touch him.

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