Chapter 484 14: That's Enough

That day at dusk, crimson clouds filled the sky.

Outside the fortress walls on the eastern side of the Mountain City lay a stretch of wilderness. Lush, dense woods blocked out most of the sunlight. Dead leaves carpeted the ground, and the soil was littered with rocks and wood chips. Occasional footprints left by Mutant Beasts could be seen, but for the most part, the area remained in dead silence.

RUSTLE!

RUSTLE!

Suddenly, hurried footsteps rang out.

A figure emerged from the woods, clutching her chest, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. Her brown leather jacket was severely torn. Her left arm hung limply, clearly broken, and her chest was caved in several inches, as if someone had punched her squarely and shattered her bones.

"Raccoon Cat..." Penelope's eyes were filled with grief as she dragged her body, stumbling forward.

She hadn't expected this trip to result in such an appalling disaster. Even with her strength at the Peak Exploration Level, she couldn't fight back.

What was worse—

SWISH!

The sound of something tearing through the air came from behind her. An incredibly solid black Qi Flame, looking like a drill made of alloy, ripped through the air and came whistling toward her.

Her expression changed slightly, and she was forced to dodge in a hurry.

BOOM!

The solid rock she had just been standing on exploded upon impact. Stone fragments flew everywhere, punching holes through the surrounding trees and dead leaves.

Amidst the cloud of dust, Penelope rolled several times on the ground, snapping a tree before barely managing to stabilize her body.

"Cough, cough..." Amidst her light coughing, more blood spilled from the corner of her mouth; her injuries were seemingly worsening.

With no time to think, she endured the pain and forced herself to stand up. With her left arm still dangling, she stared intently at one side of the woods. A figure in black with cold eyes stood there, holding an unconscious figure in a black trench coat in his hand.

Seeing this scene, Penelope's eyes grew resolute. "Let him go," she said weakly.

"I..."

SWISH!

The other party didn't waste a single word and abruptly waved his hand. The black Qi Flame solidified once more, turning into a high-speed spinning drill that tore through the air.

The piercing sound was like a whistle, grating on the eardrums and utterly unbearable. At the same time, it carried a certain sharp attribute that made it incredibly difficult to defend against.

Penelope, having long exhausted her strength, turned pale. She had no energy left to dodge. For the first time, she hated herself for being so powerless, knowing it would cost her friend's life alongside her own.

Just as she was about to lose her life—

MEOW~~

BUZZ!

The black drill suddenly stopped in mid-air, hovering right in front of Penelope's glabella. It was visibly spinning madly, yet it couldn't advance a single inch further. It was as if some invisible power had intervened in reality, solidifying the air and forcibly binding the attack in place.

"This..." Penelope widened her eyes in disbelief.

The figure in black in the distance flashed a look of surprise and stared behind her.

A cloud of black mist had appeared at some unknown point, obscuring the entire woods. Two lantern-sized, crimson vertical pupils emerged from it, brimming with tyranny and ferocity, locking onto him.

In an instant.

BANG!

The Qi Flame drill frozen in mid-air violently exploded and vanished without a trace. A tyrannical and bloodthirsty aura quietly spread out, enveloping the entire area and leaving one feeling incredibly oppressed.

The man in black frowned, finding the situation a bit tricky. He wondered, "A Beast King?"

How could a Beast King appear in this area?

Before he could think any further, the black mist expanded and suddenly swallowed Penelope.

In just a few breaths of time, the entire woods returned to silence. There were no longer any aura fluctuations. The black mist and tyrannical vertical pupils from before had vanished, as if they had left.

"It left?" The man in black narrowed his eyes, snapping back to his senses.

After pondering for a few seconds, he eventually looked at the heavily injured and unconscious Raccoon Cat in his hand. Pushing off the ground with his toes, he chose to leave.

Time ticked by. Several minutes later, he returned.

His rustling footsteps sounded exceptionally grating as they echoed underfoot. The woods were still quiet. The Beast King from before had clearly used some method to take Penelope away.

His gaze darkened as he swept his eyes over the surroundings once more. Only after confirming that no traces had been left behind did the man in black leave for good.

The woods returned to their original silence. The fluttering dead leaves finally settled on the ground, and the scattered twilight rays fell through the gaps in the leaves.

A dozen seconds later.

MEOW~~

A soft, low purr sounded, carrying a hint of smugness.

Light refracted beneath the seemingly countless trees, and the invisible Spiritual Power quietly dissipated. Ghost Element, resembling a black cat, took elegant steps and stood atop a rock. Its ruby-amber eyes emitted an eerie glow as it glanced in the direction the man in black had left, seemingly memorizing his spiritual aura.

Then, it tilted its head slightly and looked at Penelope, who was lying unconscious on the ground.

MEOW~~

...

"You saved her?"

That night. At the end of the stone building's corridor, the window of a room opened quietly.

Lu Chao looked at Ghost Element as it leaped in, bringing back the unconscious Penelope. He was somewhat surprised.

MEOW~~

Ghost Element nodded softly and explained the encounter through their Spiritual Link. It had just finished hunting and happened to encounter Penelope being chased on its way back. On a whim, it conveniently saved her.

Hearing this, Lu Chao had an odd expression on his face. Toward humans other than himself, it had never been very approachable and usually kept its distance. He hadn't expected it to undergo such a subtle change in attitude this time.

Without overthinking it, he then looked at Penelope.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and her broken left arm hung by her side. Underneath the brown leather jacket, her chest had clearly taken a punch that shattered her thoracic vertebrae. Through his Life Sensing, he could feel that her aura was extremely faint. Both her spirit and physique had suffered severe trauma, leaving her on the brink of death. It would probably be hard for her to wake up anytime soon.

"This is a bit fishy..." Lu Chao gradually sensed that something was off.

Penelope was, after all, an expert at the Peak Exploration Level, yet she was severely injured like this. And according to Ghost Element, Raccoon Cat had suffered a similar fate. To be able to make Ghost Element feel apprehensive and ultimately choose to conceal its traces rather than confront them head-on... this undoubtedly proved just how powerful that man in black was.

He thought, "Transcendence Level..."

Lu Chao frowned. Was there actually a third Transcendence Level expert in the Fortress Mountain City?

As he pondered, Ghost Element leaped down from the windowsill and circled him. It clearly smelled the bloody scent of those warlord commanders on him, and a hint of human-like dissatisfaction flashed in its beastly eyes.

The man and the beast fell into silence.

Lu Chao gazed silently at the night outside the window. Under the dim streetlights, warlord soldiers could occasionally be seen patrolling past.

The entire Mountain City exuded a sense of oppression. The news of Xiao Chen's death had already spread throughout the fortress. As a result, the major warlords had ordered a curfew, strictly forbidding anyone from leaving their buildings at night. He had even made a special trip to the White Bone Army's restricted area today and seen Xiao Chen's corpse with his own eyes.

The man was indeed dead. It was impossible for this Transcendence Level expert to be an impersonator.

In that case...

"Who could it be?" he wondered.

Many speculations flashed through Lu Chao's mind. Other assassins from the Dark Web? The Five Major Enterprises wanting to stir up the situation? Or maybe... the Rebels?

Thinking of this, he looked back at the unconscious Penelope. The two events happened almost consecutively, making it far too coincidental. He inexplicably felt that what happened to her and Raccoon Cat might have something to do with Xiao Chen's death.

"Then I'll save her just this once." Shaking his head to himself, Lu Chao made a decision. He was also curious about exactly who was trying to frame him.

...

For the next few consecutive days, the entire Fortress Mountain City was in a state of extreme panic. The cause of Xiao Chen's death became a frequent topic of conversation among the major warlords and the residents of the Mountain City.

"Could it be the work of Chief Lu?"

"How is that possible? Haven't you heard that Chief Lu was in the Unity Hall at the time?"

"Then who was it? The Alliance Country?"

"It doesn't seem like it, either. I heard the Third Chief has been issued a military order. If he fails to get this done, things won't go easy for him..."

Whispers echoed in every corner of the Mountain City, and similar topics were even discussed within the cement buildings of the negotiation team. Due to the impact of the Xiao Chen incident, the entire negotiation process had nearly ground to a halt. All the experts and assistants stayed indoors to prevent being attacked or suffering any form of unprovoked retaliation.

"This matter is indeed fishy. Xiao Chen was a Transcendence Level expert after all, yet he didn't make a single sound when he was attacked," Yan Zhengfeng reported with a frown, standing in the command room. "I heard people say he was seemingly poisoned by Beast King venom."

Whether it was poisoning a Transcendence Level expert or seizing the opportunity to launch a sneak attack and severely injure him, either was incredibly difficult to achieve. Everything about it felt highly unusual.

Hearing this, Lu Chao nodded. Sitting in the center of the room with his back to the window, he recalled the intelligence he had gathered recently. Penelope's injuries were healing, but she still hadn't woken up. However, an assistant then brought in Exotic Beast Meat and Senior-Level Nutritional Potions to prepare their nourishing meals for the day, while also presenting the latest updates on the Alliance's war situation.

"I understand."

He said nothing more about the matter and instead gestured with his eyes for the others to leave. Amidst a rustle of movement, the room soon emptied, leaving only him and Yan Zhengfeng. The latter respectfully stood up and opened the confidential documents on the desk one by one.

[The wilderness sweep in the Red Maple City Circle is complete. Warlord factions such as Iron Sand and Blackthorn have been officially annihilated. The Southern Wilderness will soon be conquered...]

[East Port has launched a decisive battle, destroying three Reconqueror Branch bases and preparing to rally their forces to march north!]

[The Northwestern City Circles have completed their alliance and established a new special committee. They have officially begun sweeping the Reconqueror Branch bases within their respective city circles, launching a total of eleven campaigns of varying scales...]

Report after report of campaign updates poured in from all over the Alliance Country, nearly all of them related to the Rebels and Wilderness Warlords. Unknowingly, the war had entered a white-hot phase, with the major city circles stepping up one after another to clear out the threats.

"Sent from the Yao Capital?" Lu Chao asked, looking at the other man.

"Yes," Yan Zhengfeng nodded, replying solemnly.

Hearing this, Lu Chao smiled. He could naturally tell that the Yao Capital was urging them to finalize the negotiation matters as quickly as possible. At the same time, he could see that this was a response to a decision he had made earlier—a plan he had reported after his night talk with Brother Hao.

"How are the arrangements in the Ring City going?" Lu Chao asked. This was the most crucial matter.

"Rest assured, sir. The Yao Capital specifically gave instructions, and preparations have already been made," Yan Zhengfeng replied, lowering his voice, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected Lu Chao's plan to be so decisive, and he knew perfectly well just how much courage it took to report such a matter.

"That's good."

Nodding, Lu Chao stood up and walked over to the window. The sky in his line of sight was somewhat gloomy. A few dark clouds had gathered at some point and lingered, refusing to scatter.

The situation in the Fortress Mountain City was treacherous, and he had to be on guard against certain things. Xiao Chen's death was also somewhat unexpected. However, he had set his plan in motion long ago. Many of the words from that night's conversation with Brother Hao resurfaced in his mind. As for the negotiations in the Fortress Mountain City, he had actually foreseen the outcome long ago.

And now...

"How many days are left in the half-month deadline?" Lu Chao asked. That was the military order Lu Weilong had given Brother Hao, demanding that he find the killer. At the same time, he also knew clearly that if all his guesses were true, this would be the final preparation time for his group.

"Nine days left," Yan Zhengfeng said truthfully after calculating the date.

Hearing this, Lu Chao looked down over the entire Mountain City and nodded with calm eyes.

"That's enough."