Chapter 257: Feels Too Strange

Li Chang'an fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the others before he spoke slowly, "I am not certain what transpired either, but since headquarters issued the order, there must be a critical reason behind it. All we can do now is wait."

"But waiting like this and doing nothing feels far too strange!" Sun Yang shook his head. "Captain, do you think the Zerg suddenly altered their plans? Otherwise, why would a mission as crucial as ours be aborted?"

Qin and Cheng hastily ushered Qin Yong to organize the servants, directing them to hitch the carriages and fetch provisions; before long, several banquet tables were laid out, and the entire village, along with the personal guards brought by Qin and Cheng, partook in a lively and joyous wedding feast.

Qin Qiong waved the command flag in his hand, and first, the thousand-strong Black Armor Army led by Zhai Changsun marched in perfect unison into the camp's training grounds; then, with a wave of Wang Xingxin's hand, a thousand grenadiers also marched in goose-step into the clearing, drawing up in a tense confrontation against the Black Armor soldiers.

This underground base lay roughly ten meters deep; any shallower and it would be easily discovered, yet any deeper and it would be prone to collapse. Ten meters was the most economical and secure depth.

Yet within her heart, Chen Jing secretly wished for Li Mu's assistance, for his strength appeared vastly superior to that of Lin Mo.

A decade later, the opportunity had finally arrived to discern exactly what that flash of crimson truly was. Old Man Liu gave a sweeping wave of his hand, and these nearly twenty heavily armed men advanced slowly, none daring to lower their guard; ten years ago, that crimson hue had struck terror into the hearts of these iron-blooded soldiers, serving as the literal pseudonym for the Grim Reaper.

Zhangsun Xiu, observing that her husband still harbored resentment toward her elder brother, refrained from further provoking his displeasure.

Director Leng took the jade ring, donned his reading glasses, and illuminated it with a flashlight; wherever his fingers brushed, a wave of warm, soothing comfort washed over him, and as an expert who spent his life in this trade, he recognized at a single glance that this jade was no ordinary piece, but a rare masterpiece unseen in a thousand years.

And just as the ice blade was completely deflected and vanished, a sharp chime of a sword rang out; by the time Liu Jun regained his senses, he found a gleaming, reflective blade halted mere inches from his throat.

Accompanied by a piercing, wretched shriek, an unnamed government agent—a fellow denied even a cursory description of his features—was thus completely swallowed by the darkness.

Pitch-black fists rained down from the heavens like a torrential storm, hammering relentlessly against the earth; the solid ground fractured and dissolved into ruin like wretched mud, splashing high into the air.

With no other choice, Megumin had to settle for the next best thing, following Lily’s group to proselytize while simultaneously shaking off Yunyun's persistent entanglements.

"So that is how it is, so that is how it is! No wonder Father had me bring the Thunder-Summoning Bead along. So that is how it is, hahaha! The Heavenly Thunder Physique—I possess the Heavenly Thunder Physique now, haha!" Du Zilang laughed with wild delight, the melancholy left behind by his recent defeat vanishing entirely within that laughter.

Lin Yu froze in astonishment and hastily extended his spiritual perception into the Fanke Stone, only to discover that besides Li Tiantong, another object resided within—none other than the Dark Spirit Bead.

"Brother Chenghao, do you think Brother Chengfeng and Brother Yu have found that Su Yi after being gone for so long?" Su Yi strained his ears, catching the faint sound of such a voice.

Having wiped the spiritual jade clean, Ye Feng placed it upon a corner of the bedside table, offered a few quiet instructions to the maid waiting at his side, and then slipped away silently.

Advancing along the path, Ye Feng discovered that the strength of the previous cohort of cultivators was truly extraordinary; nearly all the demonic beasts along the way had either been slaughtered or frightened away by them, leaving their journey entirely devoid of peril.

Right at that moment, Ye Feng and his companions suddenly heard the crisp, sharp crackle of fracturing ice; lowering his gaze, Ye Feng instantly saw that the arm fitted with the Styx Spirit Sword was actually being overrun by ice crystals spreading from inside the armor, tearing right through the outer plating.

"Hmph, so what if he is a Deity Transformation cultivator? What is the big deal?" Xu Hua snorted coldly, though he dared not take any action.

Avi saw only Philisity bending down and stretching forth her hand to catch the wine bottle that was about to topple from the momentum of the drunken gatekeeper's swinging arm; as for the swift, lethal assassination techniques she had displayed moments prior, they eluded Avi's sight entirely.