Chapter 131: Reversal. Shadow-Speaker of the Yin Side

"I do not recall having any acquaintances from the Central Asian region, and there are certainly no people of yellow race among my social circles!" Ian looked at Guo Lang with indifference. "And even if I did, what of it? Setting aside the fact that we are enemies now, even without our previous conflict, I would not show the slightest mercy in the struggle for this plane. At our level, any past connections could never become stumbling blocks to my evolution!"

"Including your parents?" Guo Lang asked, staring at him coldly.

"Including my parents!" Ian replied with solemnity.

Guo Lang was shaken. The tone of the response was grave, not at all dismissive. That solemnity proved that he did care for his parents, yet even so, he could discard them. This was a man of pure, ruthless ambition. He was not twisted like Sun Biao, but he could slaughter billions without batting an eye and declare with perfect justification that he could abandon his own kin. Guo Lang did not approve of such a man, but there was no doubt that in many cases, such individuals had a far higher probability of becoming powerful than ordinary people like himself.

Disapproval did not equate to irrationality; successful men were often ruthless, iron-willed tyrants. It had been so since ancient times.

Bang! Ian, standing by the window, pressed his hand against the glass. Under his deliberate manipulation of arcane arts, the cracked tempered glass shattered instantly. The scorching sunlight slanted in. Guo Lang narrowed his eyes, took a step back, and maintained a tense posture, refusing to let this sudden glare steal even a tenth of a second of his vision.

To his surprise, however, the man made no further move to attack. The white gargoyle flew directly to his shoulder and grabbed him. Guo Lang’s pupils constricted at the sight. "Are you running away?"

"A meaningless provocation..." Ian sneered. "You brought so many people to surround me; do you expect me to stay here and be farmed like a boss?" His carefully laid trap had failed to kill these two, so there would be no better outcome in the short term. Necromancers were not suited for direct confrontation. Moreover, his intelligence system had already signaled that most of the xenobiological creatures he had deployed below were dead. The enemy’s combat power was shockingly high; if he remained surrounded, his chances of winning were slim.

"Abandoning this place means losing a year of hard work. Don't you find that a pity?" Guo Lang still attempted to stall for time.

"If you lose your life, you lose everything!" Ian sneered afterward. "Stop these petty tricks." As he spoke, the pink figure of a succubus suddenly appeared beside him, intercepting Alice, who had been stealthily approaching.

Guo Lang frowned. This succubus had terrifying attributes; not only was she proficient in illusions and charms, but her speed was in no way inferior to Alice’s. Coupled with Ian, a Silver-ranked mage who had already advanced, Guo Lang had to admit that without the threat of his teammates below, he would have less than a thirty-percent chance of winning in a head-on fight.

"Then... farewell, my Eastern friend!" Even after his base was destroyed and he was forced to retreat, he maintained a poised and courteous demeanor. He gave a gentleman’s bow and smiled. "We will surely meet again, in the near future!" As the words left his lips, the gargoyle grabbed him and soared rapidly into the distance. Within moments, Guo Lang could only watch as his figure shrank, nearly becoming a mere black dot.

He could not let him escape! This was Guo Lang’s immediate, reflexive judgment. The base and the armory were destroyed, but the Corpse Mother remained, and Ian’s own level was intact. It wouldn't take long for him to make a comeback. His teammates could not stay much longer, and if they left, Guo Lang had no confidence in facing this man alone.

After all, he had suffered a loss once already. Once the man established a new base, he would be twice as cautious. Without the assistance of his teammates, attempting a decapitation strike again would be as difficult as ascending to heaven. Most importantly, it wasted his time. He had to conquer this plane as quickly as possible to stay at the forefront of the era. If he were dragged down by this guy and delayed too long, he risked being left behind.

Guo Lang watched the black dot in the distance, a struggle flashing through his mind. Although the man had flown off, he likely wouldn't go very far immediately. He should have stored his research data somewhere. Furthermore, when the army began its assault, the local population had clearly been dispersed. Guo Lang reasoned that Ian must have prioritized the relocation of his researchers, as they were the most vital resource for a necromancer. Therefore, he doubted the man would abandon them so easily.

Ian certainly hadn't anticipated the surprise attack. In other words, he wouldn't have overestimated the strength of an ordinary army, nor would he have moved those people too far away. They had to be nearby. This meant Guo Lang still had a chance.

Find Cang Mingyue? That was his first thought, but he immediately dismissed it. Every second counted, and having arrived suddenly, he carried no communicator. Finding her would take too long, and among all his teammates, she was the least reliable.

It seemed he had only one choice left.

"Father, I'll go after him!" Alice, who was still tangled with the succubus, suddenly spoke.

"You're going to chase him? Can you get away?" Guo Lang rolled his eyes. "And can you even track him?" Alice had no problem with speed, but for tracking, Cang Mingyue’s abilities were clearly better suited.

Time was of the essence; Guo Lang could not stay to deal with the succubus alongside Alice. However, he wasn't overly worried about Alice’s safety. Her previous succumbing to the charm must have been due to the suddenness of the attack. Now that she was on guard, it would be nearly impossible for the succubus to charm her again. Even if she couldn't win, Alice should be able to protect herself; assassins were as skilled at escaping as they were at killing.

"Be careful!" Guo Lang urged earnestly, then violently plunged a dagger—invisible to everyone else—into his own chest!

"Father... you?" Both Alice and the succubus looked at Guo Lang with sudden shock. They felt an inexplicable change in his temperament. The shift was profound; although his appearance was identical, they were certain that the person before them was absolutely not the man from a moment ago.

He did not reply. At this moment, Guo Lang did not even look back at Alice. He simply walked to the shattered window and stared with wide, unblinking eyes at the sun, which had begun its descent.

His eyes were fixed wide, as if he felt no pain from the blinding light. With his arms outstretched and his face twisted in excitement, had Xie Lin been there, he would have sensed that the expression on Guo Lang’s face was like that of a newborn infant full of wonder for the world. Yet, if one were to describe it, it was surely the look of a hellish fledgling—a harmless expression brimming with the essence of pure evil.

He cast a faint glance at the black dot in the distance, which was nearly vanishing from sight, and a smile curled his lips. Strictly speaking, the smile itself was not cold—it was quite ordinary—but his innate temperament imbued it with a sense of malice. It was not a grin, yet it was chilling to the core.

Bang! The next moment, Guo Lang leaped violently toward another building. His explosive power and movement caused Alice to freeze. The technique was identical to Cang Mingyue’s, but she felt that his speed was even far greater than hers.

At the same time, Cang Mingyue and Xie Lin, who were in other buildings, both froze, looking upward with a sense of intuition. Cang Mingyue was in a hallway, but Xie Lin was on the balcony of an office. He was stunned. "Who is that?" Judging by the speed and movement, it resembled Xiao Cang, but because it was so fast, he couldn't see the person clearly; he couldn't even discern the build.

Was Xiao Cang really that fast? For some reason, a sense of unease crept into Xie Lin’s heart.