Chapter 2148: with translation of chapter title

One minute later.

Lin An took a deep breath, his gaze icy as he looked at the betting information.

Setting aside emotion, reason told him the situation wasn't that dire. Subsequently, his Faith Power showed no fluctuation, indicating that the Creator Alliance members had been 'repelled.' Whether few were sent or the protection promised by Number 77 repelled them, at least there is no danger now.

He also believed in Klein, and trusted that the high-level response of the Long An faction would not disappoint him.

"Qing Kai bet 50 points on me—what for? Is it to convey this message?"

"No.. wrong. If it's Number 77 who steps in to resolve the trouble, the Creator Alliance people will surely be shocked and thus try to curry favor with me. Given their current situation, they should continue betting."

"But if it's my people.. then the second wave of attacks should have already begun..."

"So.."

The information kept piecing together; within just a few seconds, several possibilities had already been roughly reconstructed in Lin An's mind.

"The Creator Alliance collapsed; facing an uncontrollable AI crisis, the top leadership chose to flee. Combined with Ka Lian and others hoping to boost rankings by 'saving the nation,' it's likely that most of the points within the Creator Alliance were taken away. Only Ka Lian's father and those like him remained, attempting a struggle."

"From the timeline of Qing Kai's bet and the fluctuation of Faith Power, it seems Qing Kai wagered on me likely because a Fifth Rank from the Frontline suffered a crushing defeat and fled back; upon realizing the Alliance was about to collapse, Qing Kai planned to earn some points through me to facilitate escape. The subsequent cessation of betting likely means he was brought under control—after all, Zhang Tie's ranking is off, which would easily arouse suspicion."

"Then, the fleeing Fifth Rank from the Frontline discovered my identity issue and thus chose to send people to Earth to seize resources."

"Finally, perhaps the arrangements left by Number 77 scared off this group, but the Fifth Rank now in control of the Creator Alliance doesn't think the Overseer and we are related, or perhaps he's still watching..."

"No surprise, he's probably looking at the rankings right now."

Event reconstructed.

I doubt Black Flame even imagined that Lin An, far away on the battlefield, could deduce from just a few scraps of information exactly what they had done.

With that thought, Lin An's icy gaze turned to the ranking system, as if it could span space to stare at Black Flame.

Having guessed what happened outside, he also could imagine that Black Flame would certainly not give up.

"Anyway, I can't worry about that much; as long as Number 77 doesn't malfunction, this is trivial. Merely, the protective measures left by Number 77 likely won't care about Earth's fate, only safeguarding followers related to me."

"So, we still need Mo Ling to go find the Giant Demon tribe. Otherwise, dragging on will only worsen the situation."

Resolve settled.

Not wanting to waste more time on the Creator Alliance, Lin An again instructed Mo Ling, then simply continued pondering ways to break the impasse. Although obtaining the Sealing Stone would suffice, he feared the unlikely.

The successive mishaps also intensified his sense of urgency.

One minute later.

"Mo Ling, do you mean we should split up?"

Swallowing dry saliva, Xiong Hanzi stared in shock at the stern-faced Mo Ling, worry unceasing in his eyes.

"That's right; Lin An now needs our help. The longer we delay, the greater the risk! You've also seen that the Giant Demon civilization most likely to aid us doesn't have a high ranking—if we can't find them promptly, things will get troublesome later."

"Split up, or you just stay here!"

Speaking rapidly, Mo Ling finished and then looked at Ka Lian, having already made up her mind about something.

Splitting up would be more efficient, but that's just a pretext. Taking Zhang Tie and the others along isn't only about 'hindering' her speed; on the other hand, she doesn't want Zhang Tie and company to die pointlessly.

Although Lin An only told her to go find the Giant Demon tribe, with her intelligence, how could she not think of another path?

(Ranking! As long as the ranking is high enough, those external civilizations will naturally bet! So even if I can't find the Giant Demons, I can likewise hunt other participants to forcibly raise the ranking!)

Mo Ling knew that Lin An's omission of this method essentially meant he didn't want Gao Tian and the others to face more risk.

After all, the rules have suddenly changed, nullifying the advantage of their potions. Moreover, just looking at the rankings shows that, with a huge influx of Apocalypse points, the intensity of this match has already been pushed to another level!

One slip, and aside from her surviving, everyone else will die!

Seeing everyone hesitate, obviously not wanting her to act alone, Mo Ling raised her brow and simply glared at Zhang Tie:

"What? Clumsy bear? Are you scared?"

"Don't worry, I'll dump you in a safe place; those pursuers behind won't dare to keep chasing."

"If this point.."

"Mo Ling! Old Zhang gets your meaning! Though I'm slow, I know you think we'll drag you down!"

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Tie gave a bitter laugh, grabbed all the star elixirs Lin An had given him from behind his back, and handed them to Mo Ling. At this moment, what troubled him wasn't anything else—he suddenly realized he was truly useless!

Lin Dui is in danger and needs their help, yet they not only can't help anything, they also require Mo Ling to painstakingly settle them.

Recalling Mo Ling's earlier words, he finally realized she had already been quite considerate of them. If they don't quickly catch up to Lin An's pace, next time such a situation arises, they'll only be even more helpless!

"No need; this elixir doesn't work well for me. As for you, if you're not afraid of death, you could try ambushing passing squads."

"Although many squads have swapped elixirs, they might not be willing to use them right away."

Mo Ling shook her head, refusing the elixir offered by Zhang Tie and the others; it wasn't affectation—she genuinely had no use for it. Leaving the elixir for others might allow them to kill a few more, which would also ease her pressure.

Five minutes later.

With only Ka Lian's Necromantic Space in tow, Mo Ling's gaze grew dark, like a predator scouting prey, as she watched a small squad speeding across the land.

She licked the corner of her mouth; unlike her expressionless front when facing Gao Tian and the others, she now felt a violent, bloodthirsty urge.

It was as if she craved death; in an instant, streams of black-red power seemed to spring from her spirit, silently forming a long robe that draped over her.

The unmasked darkness filled the whole space, as if it sensed Ka Lian's astonished gaze upon her.

Mo Ling turned, tilted her head toward Ka Lian, raised her index finger to her lips, and the next second she commanded the Necromantic Space to crash forward at high speed!

Perhaps Zhang Tie and the others don't know either; another reason she wanted to split up is that she didn't want everyone—or Lin An—to learn what the Necromancer Lord truly represents.

"Kill and ask the corpse."

"I will too.."

Seventeen seconds later.

"Pfft!"

Accompanied by the sound of a skull bursting, a black-red figure instantly appeared within the Starwood squad.

All that could be seen was a snow-white hand piercing straight through the leader's Fifth Rank brain.

Scorching brain matter mixed with shattered skull fragments splattered evenly over everyone.

Watching the Captain die, eyes wide open, 0.1 seconds later, watching the 'monster' suddenly appear in the formation, this squad rushing to rendezvous only then changed expression greatly and let out a furious roar.

"Enemy attack!! Enemy attack!!"