Chapter 1673: with translation of chapter title

There are still twenty-seven minutes...

That person... what exactly are they looking for?

Under the Black Lock, Hei Di, who usually surveys the whole situation from a bird's‑eye view, now furrowed his brow.

Looking at that door that never opened, he always felt that something conspiratorial was brewing inside.

The longer Lin An waited, the more uneasy he became.

The prolonged time indicates that person still hasn't found a method, and it also suggests that the points on that person are likely so many they could keep searching.

After all, if they only had a few points, there wouldn't be much they could exchange, so there's no need to agonize over it.

But likewise, does this also mean that person is somewhat urgent?

Is that person's restricted power too much?

They no longer have the mind to consider, after the war starts, going to hunt others.

Otherwise, no matter the situation, killing people is what matters most.

In Hei Di's mind, he both hopes Lin An can regain a bit of strength, roughly equal to him, or even slightly stronger would also be fine.

Not too strong; if too strong, he'd really just be a dog, his life and death depending entirely on whether the other party is satisfied with his fawning.

Nor can he be too weak.

If he's too weak, as a "running dog," their opponents are thousands of Fifth Stage and fifteen Star‑Destroying Level beings!

Under siege, if someone notices the cat‑like slickness on this person's Star‑Shatter Level body, he would be in great trouble.

"We always have to give it our all..."

"At least, at least for now it's still under my control..!"

"Regardless of strength or weakness, with my ability, escaping is still not a big problem!"

While self‑consoling.

No one knows that at this moment Hei Di's back‑and‑forth tormented thoughts are like a cat's claw scratching him, making him truly uncomfortable.

His greatest confidence comes from his own rules; under the Black Light Domain, he can reduce the speed of most Fifth Stage beings, while he himself can move as if at light speed, instantly escaping to the edge of the black light!

Whether it's movement in the material world or movement via rules, his rules are the best life‑saving trump card, comparable to a tactical‑level Spirit Skill!

"Just what exactly is being restricted?"

"Is it that the power of rules cannot be replenished? Or is its might greatly diminished?"

"If it's the former, I should drag it out to the end, fish in troubled waters... if it's the latter, I must act early and not be too greedy..."

Over and over, recalling Lin An's few moves, Hei Di constantly simulates possible scenarios in his mind.

Unlike Hei Di at this moment, on the fortress border the towering Chimera Emperor is now mostly gazing with an unpleasant expression at the fortress outskirts.

"There are more and more people..."

Seeing a large batch of Fifth Stage beings growing bolder and continually approaching the fortress, his heart feels heavy.

His rules are extremely special; under the dual‑head trait, he/she simultaneously possesses four kinds of rule power, and his combat strength counts as strong among the Star‑Destroying Level.

Possessing space rules, energy rules, transformation and natural control rules, although he does not fear slaughter, being good at everything means he is not top‑notch in any.

When the fight truly begins, the pressure he bears is naturally the greatest.

Moreover, he can see that these Fifth Stage beings have already prepared themselves for another probe after the restrictions end.

Although those Star‑Destroying Level beings are cautious one by one, with none showing themselves, the Fifth Stage beings that have gathered around happen to have numbers that exactly hit the critical point.

"At least four hundred Fifth Stage..."

"This number happens to be the lower limit of three Star‑Destroying Level beings."

"Are these guys assuming that kid's combat power is Star‑Destroying Level?"

"Four hundred versus two hundred."

Among early Fifth Stage beings, combat power is almost one‑to‑one, making it hard to achieve a quick kill when they fight.

"Two hundred versus two hundred, with another two hundred left over."

One Star‑Destroying Level can face off against ten times its own War Star Level head‑on; of course, depending on the rules, the strong can take on a hundred, the weak only ten, with a huge gap between upper and lower limits.

Thus those extra two hundred Fifth Stage beings can also counterbalance three Star‑Destroying Level beings.

If after the battle starts Lin An's strength exceeds Star‑Destroying Level, those Fifth Stage will flee; if he is weak, the extra two hundred are enough to hold them, and the encirclement killing will formally begin!

Especially for this batch of Fifth Stage beings with strong points.

Those sent to probe generally have good mobility.

Unlike the first batch of waste sent to probe Lin An, that batch of Fifth Stage, especially the first to act, the Flaming Ghost, is outright cannon fodder, with mobility at rock bottom.

Otherwise, the Flaming Ghost wouldn't fight so desperately.

"Won't you come out and discuss tactics with us?"

His mood is somewhat irritable.

The longer the delay, the more irritable the Chimera Emperor's heart becomes.

He suddenly feels some regret, regretting that he so rashly joined Lin An's side.

In his original expectation, he thought that if Lin An were easy to kill, he would have killed him then.

If there were some problems and he couldn't easily kill him, he would instead seize the opportunity to control him, using the fox's guise to tiger's might to gain some benefits.

Along the way, he would ultimately kill Lin An to obtain the reward.

With such a perfect plan, he would not lose out no matter how you look at it.

But he never expected that the suddenly appearing Hei Di would share the same idea and directly ruin his plan.

"Surrender is faster than me."

"If it weren't for this old fox, how could I be unable to do anything!"

He silently cursed in his heart; unlike the calm and cautious Kantis, he kept thinking that controlling Lin An would be better.

Even if worse comes to worst, we must "force the palace".

"Your Majesty, if we keep dragging this on, I feel the situation is turning bad..."

"That guy has been hiding in there too long; if the restriction ends and he still refuses to come out, we're in big trouble!"

"At least, at least we need to put on the appearance of pursuing them!"

As time passed, looking at the large batch of Fifth Stage beings restlessly moving outside the fortress, the long-eared elves, who are confidants of the Chimera, could no longer suppress their inner anxiety.

They don't care how strong Lin An really is; they have long prepared to merely rely on the Shattered Star-level title to unilaterally hunt others.

But the premise of all this is that Lin An must come out.

Whether it's coming out under their control, or coming out on his own.

We have to at least put on a show of pursuing them.

Even if it's fake, at least in the early stage they can gain the advantage.

Just like lions on the prairie.

Whether the lion catches the prey or not doesn't matter; scaring the prey into scattering and fleeing gives these wild dogs following behind a chance to strike...

But looking at it now, that kid's probably been hiding and refusing to come out!

Their caution and reliance on the situation have all become a joke!

"Just wait a bit more..."

"If it really doesn't work, I'll go find that guy Hei Di..."

Hearing the worries of his subordinates, the Chimera Emperor's expression also turned grim.

But just as he was thinking about going to find Hei Di for a talk, a cold, unquestionable voice suddenly sounded from inside the fortress.

"Get over here and see me!"

The voice that echoed throughout the scene startled both the Chimera and Hei Di like a thunderclap.

Only to see that, at some point, the originally tightly shut stone door suddenly opened.

Lin An, shrouded in black mist all over, at this moment hovered in midair like a top-tier expert.

Extremely irritable, as if issuing a command, he rebuked them to come over.

"This guy!?"

"He's come out!?"

In that instant, the Chimera and Hei Di stared at each other in shock, each seeing the other's surprise.