128 Ambush Fails, A Great War Looms

"Report, sir. We have recorded the testimonies of over a dozen witnesses. Based on the signs of destruction at the scene and videos captured by students, we can conclude that two powerful entities were indeed fighting each other half an hour ago," an officer said, bowing his head.

He was holding a paper report. Beside him, Chief Manlun rubbed his temples in frustration, glancing at the devastated lawn in the distance.

"One of these two powerful entities has been identified. It is Dan, the new history teacher who was substituting for the seventh-class teacher today. The video shows him transforming into a giant composed of smoke..."

The officer next to him pulled out his phone and played the video. On the screen, a massive, four-meter-tall monster roared as it rushed out, its fists larger than a human torso.

"The other individual remains unidentified. They were wearing a mask, so their true appearance is unknown..."

The officer slid the progress bar, and another powerful entity appeared on screen. It was an armored knight riding a flaming warhorse; the combined height of man and beast exceeded six meters, and he wielded a light blade. Every swing sent a wave of sword energy flying. The narrow, scorched furrows across the grass were left by this blade, each several meters long and a meter deep.

The Chief nodded silently. He had already seen these videos before arriving, but faced with this situation, he was at a loss. If it were about catching criminals, he would be well within his comfort zone after decades as a chief, but now he was facing supernatural events.

Just as he stood there helplessly, his phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?" the Chief asked, slightly puzzled, as the call was from the Police Commissioner.

"Stop the investigation there for now. Just keep the scene cordoned off. Also, have the witnesses wait inside the school building for the time being. As for the videos, someone from the department will come to handle them..."

"Commissioner, is another agency taking over?" Chief Manlun seemed to catch the subtext.

"Yes. Just understand that in your heart; don't go around talking to other officers about it. Relevant authorities will be there to take over shortly."

"Understood!" Chief Manlun nodded immediately. He felt a strange sense of relief. It seemed the government did indeed have its own people capable of handling supernatural events.

"Chief?" the young officer a few meters away asked.

Manlun hung up and glared at his assistant, then quickly issued orders to the other officers. "Cease the investigation, seal off the scene, and keep the people contained..."

Inside the school building, the students were still whispering. Senya and Lily stood in the outer corridor. Below, the police had begun restricting people from leaving and were collecting students' phones class by class.

"Lily, keep an eye out for me, I'm going to make a call..." Senya said with a frown.

"Oh? Okay." Although Lily didn't know what Senya was doing, she turned to look toward the stairs.

"Beep... Beep... Beep..."

"Hello?"

"..."

Two minutes later, Senya hung up, her previously tense expression relaxing.

"Senya, the police have started collecting phones. I don't know why, but I'm a little scared..." Lily turned back, her face full of worry. Such a scene was indeed panic-inducing.

"It's fine, it's just routine procedure. Let's just go back to our seats in the classroom and wait..." Senya said calmly.

"Alright."

***

Half an hour later, at Windleaf Lake in the northern part of Nilodo.

Two ferocious figures were rolling around in a pathetic struggle, the dark, thick sludge instantly churned to blacken the clear lake water.

The black smoke giant rolled over, suddenly pinning the Pale Knight beneath him. He raised his massive arm and struck.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Fists slammed into the Pale Knight one after another, the muffled sounds turning into ripples that spread across the lake. Fish of all sizes leaped out of the water in succession.

"Hahaha... is that all the strength you have?!" a taunting voice came from beneath the Rage Mask.

Whoosh!

A massive fist slammed directly into the mask, followed by a barrage of fist shadows covering Xiu Nan's head.

"I'll make you scream! Scream for me again!"

The black smoke giant’s face was twisted and ferocious as he roared. Perhaps he didn't even notice that his emotions had become abnormally agitated, and his Ring Power was being consumed at an extraordinary rate.

After a series of continuous, dull thuds:

"Huff... come on, hit here! My skin is thick enough! Your sissy punches are useless. Heh..." the voice came from beneath the mask again.

"Ahhhhh!"

The black smoke giant roared like a madman. His fists, which had slowed in rhythm, suddenly accelerated, each strike carrying heavy force. The Pale Knight’s nearly four-meter-tall frame was being hammered into the sludge inch by inch, like a pile driver.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sound of metal colliding carried far into the distance. A few fishermen hundreds of meters away peeked over with curiosity. They were so terrified that they scrambled away in a panic, leaving their fishing rods behind, grabbing only the buckets of fish as they fled.

"Thud!" One punch. "Speak!"

"Thud!" Two punches. "Playing dead in front of me?"

"Thud!" Three punches. "Weren't you so high and mighty just now!"

Dan's eyes were blood-red, his face twisted. The black smoke swirling around him had thinned and shrunk significantly. After the intense consumption, the four-meter-tall giant had now shrunk to nearly three meters.

"Thud!" The fourth punch.

*Click!* This punch was caught by a palm.

*Creak, creak...*

The metal plates ground against each other as a massive force seized the black smoke giant's hand. Dan tried to pull back with all his might, but to no avail.

"Now it's my turn!"

With the voice came a violent force from below, flipping the black smoke giant over completely. The Pale Knight, who had been holding back his strength, suddenly rolled on top. In less than half a second, the roles were reversed.

"Awoo!"

A pair of iron fists roared down, striking every inch of the black smoke giant’s muscles. Dan let out one muffled grunt of pain after another. Blood slowly seeped from his seven orifices.

Although the black smoke wrapped around his body could resist the force and weaken the impact on his physical form, Dan, whose Ring Power was now severely depleted, could no longer maintain it. The smoke on his surface began to dissipate like tiny snakes.

"Get off!"

The black smoke giant took a sharp breath and unleashed an explosive punch, throwing Xiu Nan off his body. Dan instantly flipped up, the black smoke streaking across hundreds of meters. A voice drifted over from the distant lake surface.

"One day, I will..."

"Ah!" he let out a miserable shriek.

By the lake, the Pale Knight looked at the head-sized stone in his hand. With a slight flick of force, the rock shot out. A muffled grunt came from the distance again, but as the lake water churned, Dan disappeared from sight.

"What a pity..." Xiu Nan sighed slightly.

He lamented that he still wasn't strong enough to finish off his opponent this time. By the time Dan realized the influence of the Rage Mask, he wouldn't be able to push him to this extent again. It was a bit of a shame.

Through this battle, he had clearly recognized his overall combat power: roughly at the peak of a Second-Ring Secret Ring Master, still quite far from his limit.

Additionally, Xiu Nan had actually been a Second-Ring Secret Ring Master since the moment his flesh became runic. The previously flawed Pale Knight rune had been a quasi-second-ring rune, but after merging with Xiu Nan's body, its instability and flaws had been mended. Even without the Ghost Horse, the Pale Knight rune was an independent second-ring rune. Having mastered it, Xiu Nan was naturally a Second-Ring Secret Ring Master.

By the lake, a breeze stirred ripples on the water. The Pale Knight’s tall frame instantly contracted, collapsing into the size of a normal adult human.

Xiu Nan's face was pale, his hair matted against his face. The wet stubble gave him a strangely haggard and world-weary look.

"The power of a peak Second-Ring is far from enough. To wipe out the Holy Flame Society, I need at least the Ascendant level..."

He looked at his bruised palms. His thoughts raced, and his goals gradually became clear.

Acquire Evolution Points.
First path: Antiques from the Bicalon Mythology, especially the prototypes of death masks and similar replicas.
Second path: The black potion carried by key members of the Ancient Society, which is rich in evolution points.
Third path: Quickly create runes one by one and let the White Bone Secret Ring devour them.
Fourth path: Slaughter.

Of these, the third and fourth paths were undoubtedly the most actionable. The first two were unstable and not a long-term plan. For now, Xiu Nan could only choose the third. The fourth, if he wanted high-frequency gains, would have to wait until the real all-out war began. Now was not the time for mass hunting.

He clenched his fist and turned away from Windleaf Lake.

***

Time flew, and three days passed.

In the Pale Laboratory, sunlight streamed in through the window above. Dust motes danced in the light beams, and the room was filled with a pungent odor.

A figure was operating with precision at the Runic Workshop. A turtle-shaped rune, nearly the size of a washbasin, was nearing completion, its shell patterns clearly visible.

With a light stroke of the engraving pen, the construction was complete.

The entire rune lit up, and a faint sound of rushing water echoed in the room. The patterns on the shell glowed with a pale, icy blue light.

Next, Xiu Nan followed the steps for compression. The Ice Turtle rune expanded and contracted rapidly. With a *pfft* sound, the Ring Power ignited the rune.

Xiu Nan held up his right palm; a delicate rune rotated slightly in his hand. It was blue, with patterns resembling ice crystals and snowflakes.

It was an oval-shaped turtle shell.

Ice Crystal Turtle, First Ring. High defense, slow movement, with a grasp of continuous icy power.

*Crunch... crunch... crunch...*

A chewing sound suddenly echoed in the room.

*Knock, knock, knock...*

There was a knock at the laboratory door.

"Come in," Xiu Nan called out vaguely.

*Creak.* Qiu Lin walked in. She was wearing a tight-fitting office outfit that accentuated her curvaceous figure, her long legs in stockings moving gracefully.

"Sir Knight, a call from headquarters."

Qiu Lin handed over a black phone. She looked at Xiu Nan with confusion; the Knight seemed to be chewing something vigorously—a snack?

A moment later, the call connected. Qiu Lin tactfully exited the laboratory and closed the door.

"Hello?"

"The plan failed. What happened?"

"Alright, I understand. I'm coming over now..."

Xiu Nan pushed open the door with a grave expression. Qiu Lin, standing at the entrance, stepped back two paces.

"I need to go to headquarters. Have a specialist clean up the lab; don't let them break the instruments..."

"Understood."

Two minutes later, a black sedan sped out onto the highway like lightning, smoothly merging into the traffic flow.

At the Golden Spiral Organization base, Xiu Nan stepped out of the driver's seat and immediately spotted Black Jazz waiting for him. He walked over quickly, frowning as he asked the question that had been bothering him.

"Black Jazz, what happened? How could the interception plan fail? Did the Black Flower Combat Task Force break through?"

"Yes. There were traitors within the three parties' internal personnel." Black Jazz gathered his thoughts and continued. "Not our people. It seems to have been an issue within the Ice Bird Saint Cult. Likely similar to the moles and traitors we had within the Golden Spiral Organization before..."

He rubbed his forehead in helplessness. The high-level officials of the three parties had tried their best to keep the news from spreading, but the plan had leaked anyway.

"What are the specifics?"

"We succeeded by one-third. Our men wiped out one combat task force sent by the Karenk branch..." Black Jazz said.

"And the Black Flower Combat Task Force?"

"..." Black Jazz shook his head silently.

"That means we only succeeded by one-fifth. The Black Flower unit was three-fifths of the total, and the other two task forces were two-fifths. As long as the Black Flower unit didn't suffer losses, the situation remains dire..."

The situation was worse than Xiu Nan had imagined. He had thought that even if they couldn't take down the Black Flower unit, they could at least thin their ranks. As it turned out, things hadn't gone as hoped.

After a moment of thought, Xiu Nan suddenly asked, "By the way, Black Jazz, what were our losses?"

"..." Black Jazz was silent for a moment before saying, "The Boxing King is injured, one Second-Ring Secret Ring Master from the Ice Bird Saint Cult is dead, and a deputy captain of a combat task force from the Charm Club is dead. The captain sustained a minor arm injury..."

"Sigh..." Xiu Nan couldn't help but sigh.

In that case, the three major powers hadn't gained any advantage at all; their edge had been wiped out. The Golden Spiral Organization would likely have to provide a Healing Badge to the Charm Club. In the current situation, the three major powers would have to stand together or perish together. None of them could contend with the now-strengthened Holy Flame Society on their own.

Seeing Xiu Nan's silence, Black Jazz added another piece of important news: "The Holy Flame Society has proactively proposed to exchange the traitor Carlos for their executive, Relian..."

"The time is set for noon tomorrow..."

"That's turning the tables," Xiu Nan sighed.

Black Jazz nodded. "But we have no choice."