Chapter 261: Deterrence

When Yu Ge Artois saw the silver-shining long-handled fork stabbing toward him, his first reaction was surprise and confusion.

He couldn't believe that someone would assassinate him, a congressman, in such a scene, under heavy protection.

And the assassin's strength didn't look particularly powerful either.

Although he was a retired veteran, he had left the army for five or six years and entered politics, neglecting combat. With the distance between the two sides being only one step, he couldn't make an effective dodge at all.

Let alone him, even a Sequence 9 or even Sequence 8 Beyonder, after being "sneaked" up on by an assassin and having a "full-force strike" exploded, would likely not be able to dodge it, only able to look at whether their own ability could help avoid vital spots or reduce damage, avoiding death on the spot.

Of course, some Sequence 8 or Sequence 9 Beyonders could sense danger or hostility in advance and wouldn't let the assassin really get close to launch an attack.

In the blink of an eye, Yu Ge Artois, carrying strong fear, cast his gaze toward Cassandra with red hair, toward the three official Beyonders, toward his subordinates Ron, Margaret, and Baudouin.

But what entered his eyes was Cassandra, whose body and line of sight were blocked by the mixed-race Imre, revealing only a little red hair; it was the official Beyonders Imre and Antoine looking at him with calm and indifferent eyes; it was Valentine, who made a reaction at the first time but controlled himself and seemed to be struggling; it was Ron, Margaret, and Baudouin, who wanted to use extraordinary abilities to save people but didn't dare to expose the evil god's gift.

At this moment, a rich sense of despair surged from the bottom of Yu Ge Artois's heart.

Save me, you guys!

Save me!

*Pop! * That long-handled silver fork was deeply inserted into Yu Ge Artois's right eye socket and, pushed by the full strength Jianna poured in, pierced through the eye socket, penetrating into his brain, with only a little bit of the handle remaining outside.

Yu Ge Artois's thoughts blurred.

He wanted to reach out and grab something, but he couldn't even lift his arm.

I haven't become president yet… I haven't welcomed the arrival of the great existences… I haven't obtained the gift with divinity… I can't die just like this… killed by an assassin without strong ability… I, I don't want to die… A series of thoughts flashed through Yu Ge Artois's mind, and gunshots rang in his ears.

His body collapsed to the ground, his vision returning to darkness.

*Thump, * the congressman of the Market District, Yu Ge Artois, fell to the ground, his heart stopping its beat.

In the light shining from the direction of Chaos Street, Jianna, who had her eyes closed and a smile on her face, was shot once by each of the nearby Seventh Bureau agents.

One bullet hit her shoulder, and one bullet hit her rib on the other side.

The pain made her expression change instinctively, and her body shrank in the opposite direction, as if she wanted to curl into a ball.

Her eyes opened, seeing Ron and other evil god believers staring at her with incomparable hatred and abnormal panic, but they didn't take action.

The next second, a golden pistol with a magazine was pressed against Jianna's head, and the mixed-race Imre looked around and said:

"I have already controlled the assassin. You guys check if Congressman can still be saved, and maintain order at the scene. Don't let anyone leave for the time being."

He put on a posture of wanting to take Jianna back to St. Roberts Church or question the assassin about the reason for the assassination and the mastermind behind the scenes on the spot, not letting Cassandra and others make venting actions.

…………

As the "Shadow Tree" sank, intense light shone out from inside. The streets that had been separated in different places returned to their original positions, but they were still in that strange wilderness.

Lu Mian had already sensed that Susanna Mattise seemed unable to provoke his various desires from a long distance away as before, so he turned around, intending to solve Xia Ludi first.

The crimson flames on his body surface burned fiercely, making his clothing turn scorched black, making his skin and flesh appear with varying degrees of burns, continuously bringing pain.

This stimulated his brain, allowing him to maintain a certain degree of sobriety and, with the endurance ability of a "Monk," maintain thinking and action, instead of just focusing on fighting the pain.

Even for a "Pyro," such burning would bring damage, and as time passed, it would become more and more serious, until it endangered his life.

Of course, long before that, Lu Mian's spirituality should be unable to bear it, and he could only let the flames extinguish themselves.

If it weren't for the gift of the "Monk," after the battle inside the "Shadow Tree" and after such a period of self-burning consumption, his spirituality should be a bit tight now.

Seeing Lu Mian turn around, seeing the "Red Boots" Franca holding a brass-colored classical revolver, stepping on a layer of ice condensed on the ground, and rushing toward this side with a sliding, flying posture, Xia Ludi gave up the idea of a sneak attack and prepared to return to the "Shadow Tree," using the environment there and the enhancement of certain abilities to deal with the enemy.

Her body instantly became soft, as if some mucus had been secreted.

She "acted" as a snake-like creature, wanting to use the environment full of vines and branches to return to the brownish-green giant tree quickly.

Just then, Xia Ludi's body froze.

She was like facing a dragon, facing a predator at the top of the food chain, uncontrollably appearing with fear and trembling from instinct, becoming extremely panicked.

She ran around the position where she was currently standing in confusion, as if escaping from an invisible enemy.

Not far from her, where the vines and branches hanging the people of the Golden Rooster Hotel were, the intelligence peddler Anthony Reid walked out from behind the iron-black gas street lamp pole.

His dark brown eyes had turned light gold at some point, and they had become vertical.

He was a "Psychiatrist," a Sequence 7 "Psychiatrist" of the "Spectator" pathway.

What he just used was "Deterrence"!

In very ancient times, this was also called "Dragon Might"!

The brownish-green vines and branches around Anthony Reid that were controlled by Susanna and not driven by the "Shadow Tree" were also deterred, fleeing from his side one after another.

Seeing Xia Ludi lose her reason and fall into confusion, unable to dodge Lu Mian's attack, Susanna, who was crazily absorbing essence, narrowed her eyes and cursed with irrepressible hatred:

"You will all die, you will all die today!"

*Swish, swish, swish! * On the "Shadow Tree," tree trunks that had newly grown and didn't belong to the main body were thrown toward Lu Mian like javelins, wanting to pierce his body and pin him to the wilderness.

Besides using the ability of the "Fallen Tree Spirit," Susanna Mattise hadn't recovered to the level of influencing targets a hundred meters away for the time being.

Lu Mian had long expected this, a roll, entering the area where Xia Ludi was running in confusion.

*Thump, thump, thump* sounds rang out. Those tree trunk javelins inserted into the ground not far from him, just like a hammer hitting the wilderness hard.

Lu Mian stood up, carrying crimson flames, opened his arms slightly, and laughed loudly:

"Come on, kill me!"

If Susanna used saturation attacks to cover this area again, he could still find a way to dodge, and Xia Ludi, who had fallen into confusion, would definitely die!

While shouting, semi-illusory crimson fire crows condensed behind Lu Mian again. They circled, drew several trajectories, and locked onto Xia Ludi Calvino.

The branches and vines on the ground surged crazily, quickly wrapping around Xia Ludi, protecting her inside.

*Boom, boom* sounds rang out continuously. Those crimson fire crows fell on Xia Ludi, blowing up branches, igniting vines, and peeling off the shell of this "actress" layer by layer.

*Pop! *

Franca, who had greatly shortened the distance, cooperated very well and pulled the trigger.

An iron-black bullet flew out from the classical brass-colored revolver, accurately hitting Xia Ludi's head through the gap opened by the fire crows.

That seductive yet pure exquisite face instantly shattered, and organs like eyes, nose, and mouth splashed everywhere with red or white liquid.

The corpse, with only a residual head, ran a few more steps in confusion and finally fell to the ground.

"Go to hell!" Susanna roared.

Along with this sentence, brown branches, green vines, thick trunks, light-colored flowers, and other things surged toward Lu Mian, Franca, and Anthony in various postures.

Although this scene was exceptionally scary, Lu Mian didn't have a danger intuition.

In the case that Susanna Mattise hadn't recovered to a certain extent, this kind of attack that would consume huge spirituality seemed to be just a show.

Lu Mian ran again, carrying the crimson flames that were burning his own flesh and blood, and rushed into the scene that looked like a primitive forest.

Vines were ignited, flowers were scorched, branches were blackened, trunks were avoided—none of them could stop the enemy from approaching the "Shadow Tree."

Suddenly, these things shrank back, taking the people who had been hung up and shrinking back to the side of the "Shadow Tree."

Susanna had already figured it out. There was no need to waste energy for venting anger. It was better to wait for the three prey to close the distance themselves, enter the range where desire could play a role, and then use her most proficient ability to cook them well.

Her unwillingness to her current weakness was one of the reasons why she hadn't chanted the incantation to seek help at the beginning:

Before dragging the sacrifice into the "Shadow Tree," the God-child didn't dare to appear in Trier. And afterward, on one hand, she was confident, and on the other hand, she had to advance the sacrifice to a certain extent and obtain the protection of that ritual before she could use the combination with the "Shadow Tree" to face the God-child directly.

That God-child was abnormally crazy and would never restrain the pollution he might bring for his subordinates.

And that "Lady Moon" only promised to intercept possible destroyers for a period of time. Susanna didn't dare to let believers of other gods enter the "Shadow Tree."

*Thump, thump, thump, * Lu Mian passed through the suddenly empty wilderness and the slightly broken streets, running toward that brownish-green giant tree. Franca and Anthony each chose an entry point and followed behind from different directions.

Those lucky peddlers, pedestrians, and tenants who hadn't been hung up by branches and vines took this opportunity to flee toward the surroundings of the wilderness, fleeing toward the edge.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 262 =====