Lin Zhe Yuan moved forward through the alley with a grim expression, his tentacle-like blood vessels granting him unusual agility.
The man cackling behind him was neither a Divine Priest nor a Paladin, but an esper affiliated with the Glorious Church.
This fellow’s abilities were incredibly domineering. With a mere slide of his finger, he could conjure pure white holy flames on anyone.
However, to activate this ability, he needed to see his enemy. That's why Lin Zhe Yuan was fleeing in all directions. But he also knew that mere escape was futile.
The opponent’s strength was a full tier above his own, and he wasn't a battle-hardened rookie. His grasp of combat rhythm was extremely seasoned. If Lin Zhe Yuan made any mistake, he could instantly die at this guy’s hands.
While fleeing, Lin Zhe Yuan felt a tinge of relief. When he came to Xia Zhu District, he had arranged for Miao Xin Yi to be placed elsewhere. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Judging by this man’s actions, Lin Zhe Yuan guessed that the opponent’s preparations for the Divine Blood Cup contention were far more thorough than those of them, the demon hunters. Thus, this time, the odds were heavily against them.
The only glimmer of hope was Wen Wen, who possessed True Sequence strength.
After running for a while, Lin Zhe Yuan suddenly found the pressure on him had lessened considerably. Then, he heard the sounds of intense combat.
The one who had stepped in to help Lin Zhe Yuan was the Vagrant Knight!
The Vagrant Knight stood with his feet seemingly treading on thin air, his tattered clothes flapping wildly in the strong wind. He looked at the man before him with a weathered face, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
Before coming to Xia Zhu District to hide, he had resolved that no matter what happened, he would not reveal himself. He intended to remain low-key until the very end.
But seeing Lin Zhe Yuan being hunted, he couldn’t resist intervening.
“Another one, hehehe… The prey has increased.” The man waved his hand at the Vagrant Knight, and a white flame ignited on his collar.
However, after only a few seconds, the flame was easily extinguished by the Vagrant Knight. His ragged, beggar-like attire looked extremely shabby, but it was actually a special containment object.
As long as this outfit was worn, one was immune to fire and water, and impervious to the cold and heat.
The Vagrant Knight crossed his hands, creating a small, square space that he aimed at the man.
The man’s expression changed drastically. He quickly leaped away from his spot and then looked at the Vagrant Knight with apprehension, his hands moving rapidly to engulf the Vagrant Knight in countless flames.
But these burning flames suddenly “froze.” Then, the space they occupied was compressed into a small cube. This small cube, in the Vagrant Knight’s hand, vanished with a whoosh.
When it reappeared, it was at the man’s feet. With a boom, it exploded, and intense flames swallowed the man.
After the flames dissipated, the man was horribly burned.
The Vagrant Knight looked at the man with a calm expression. For him, defeating an esper of the same level was not difficult at all.
He was one of the few espers who possessed spatial abilities. This spatial ability wasn't teleportation, but spatial power that could directly inflict damage on enemies.
Although this ability made his advancement extremely difficult, it also brought his strength to a level of near invincibility among his peers.
“There are times when hunters get injured by their prey…” The man understood the gap in strength between himself and the Vagrant Knight, but he showed no signs of panic. Instead, his laughter became more unbridled.
“And the prey that can injure a hunter is often very valuable!”
*Puchi!*
The man looked behind him in disbelief and saw a three-meter-tall monster standing there.
Irregularly wrapped in cloth bands, with black, shriveled skin exposed in some places, this monster, despite being over three meters tall, was as thin as a bamboo pole. It wore an eye patch covered in spiral-shaped spikes and wielded a two-meter-long, notched cleaver covered in rust.
The cleaver was stained with thick blood. The man who had been cackling moments ago had his left arm and half of his shoulder severed by this monster’s blade!
This monster was sent by Wen Wen to aid Lin Zhe Yuan.
It was a Beheader Demon, originally belonging to the Abyss Eye. Compared to top-tier Upper Sequence demons like Crosaire and Andos, it was somewhat unremarkable, but it still possessed Upper Sequence strength.
After being captured, it was quite sensible and thus became one of Wen Wen’s enforcers.
With half of his arm severed, the man could no longer maintain his arrogance. He lay on the ground, his breaths more shallow than deep.
Lin Zhe Yuan approached the Vagrant Knight, warily observing the half-dead man on the ground and the monster that had suddenly appeared. At the same time, the phone in the Vagrant Knight’s hand rang.
It was Wen Wen calling, urging them to head to the Long-Legged Hottie Club quickly.
After receiving the call, their wariness towards the Beheader Demon lessened. At least they were sure that this creature had come to help them.
“Die… all of you die… you will pay for this… Kill them, kill them!” the man whispered weakly, an unsettling aura emanating from him.
The Beheader Demon’s expression changed drastically. It swung its massive cleaver towards the man’s neck, but as the cleaver touched the man’s neck, it froze.
Then, fine cracks appeared all over the long blade. The entire cleaver shattered with a bang, inflicting countless wounds on the Beheader Demon.
A soft light rose from behind the man. A massive cicada phantom materialized in mid-air for a few seconds before transforming into a solid entity.
Six pairs of incredibly large, pure white wings unfurled with a whoosh, and pure white feathers rained down from the sky. The wounds on the man’s body began to heal rapidly, as if time were flowing backward.
Meanwhile, the Beheader Demon weakened at a visible rate, to the point where it could no longer grip the handle of its weapon.
The next moment, the Beheader Demon was swallowed whole by this colossal cicada.
Normally, cicadas do not have mouths, only proboscises for sucking sap.
But this giant cicada had a mouth several meters in diameter at its tail, filled with sharp teeth!
An Upper Sequence demon died just like that, swallowed by this colossal cicada, without even a chance to resist.
“Sacred Beast, kill them! Kill those two!” the man snarled, pointing at the Vagrant Knight and Lin Zhe Yuan.
The Vagrant Knight’s body suddenly trembled. This was fear stemming from biological instinct. He knew he was absolutely no match for this creature, and his performance against it would be no better than the Beheader Demon’s earlier.
Thus, he quickly grabbed Lin Zhe Yuan’s shoulder with his left hand and activated his teleportation ability. This ability would randomly transport them to a location, and no matter where they were sent, it would be far safer than their current position.
The Vagrant Knight and Lin Zhe Yuan had already teleported away, but the giant cicada still flew to the spot where they had been and bit down with its tail-mounted mouth.
A trickle of blood dripped onto the ground. In the Cicada Ancestor’s mouth was the Vagrant Knight’s right arm.
And the mark on the man’s hand slowly expanded slightly.