Eldritch Horror Theatre

”He’s already here?”

Chaumont’s words were startling, and Aike was clearly caught off guard.

Her immediate reaction was to look toward Fu Qian’s position.

What greeted her was the latter raising his glass to the empty air once again.

...

While Aike was left speechless, Chaumont remained silent, sitting there quietly.

After a moment, he finally let out a long sigh.

Almost simultaneously, his demigod bodyguard drew a breath and let out a low growl.

As the shockwave from the growl rippled through the bar, it was as if the noisy crowd had been muted. The room instantly fell silent, and even the blaring background music died away.

”Finally, a bit of peace.”Completely ignoring the crowd thrown into chaos by the sudden change, Chaumont frowned at the clown.

”Did he mention fire just now?”

”Yes.”

Aike still seemed a bit worried that this move would expose them, and her words came out faster.

”But because he was too delirious, I couldn’t get any more details out of him.”

”Could it be that after you left last time, they noticed something off and took precautions in advance?”

”In theory, the chances are slim.”

Chaumont muttered to himself. The next moment, an object appeared in his hand.

Fu Qian saw it clearly. It was a brightly colored flake about the size of a human ear.

At a glance, its surface looked like flowing magma. Even from this distance, he could feel a scorching heat radiating from it.

The next moment, Chaumont simply crushed the flake.

In that instant, a formless ripple surged outward from his body.

Fu Qian even saw the special marks on him grow a shade more vivid, like a fire fed with fresh wood.

So this was where the marks on them came from?

Fu Qian watched with keen interest.

It seemed as though this Divine Emissary, Chaumont, had once visited the Unseen Hill and used the things inside to craft these Talismans.

Regardless, the item really did seem to be related to fire.

His choice to speed things up for this Hunting Squad was correct after all.

Of course, there was an important question now—such a precious item naturally couldn’t be wasted casually, so what was Chaumont’s purpose in crushing another one?

The answer was obvious.

From the few words they had exchanged, he could confirm that they had been waiting for him for quite some time.

Sitting motionless in his seat, Fu Qian silently sensed the changes in his surroundings.

At this moment, the sense of confinement from last time did not appear.

This was not surprising. From their perspective, that kind of confinement was useless against him.

The next moment, Fu Qian realized something and looked down at the floor.

In the dim light of the bar, faint traces of light were actually seeping through the floor.

The light enveloped the entire bar, though it wasn’t intense. The miraculous part was that it shone from top to bottom, seemingly capable of piercing through everything.

At a glance, all the people and objects became translucent.

His physical movements remained unrestricted. He could even see patrons leaving through the door without encountering any hindrance.

But at the same time, Fu Qian had a strange feeling—he had been marked.

So that was it. There really was a trap, only its effect wasn’t to trap people here.

For a moment, Fu Qian seemed to understand what this plan of waiting by the stump for a hare actually entailed.

...

”The effect will last for quite a long time, and it is extremely difficult to remove.”

Right then, Chaumont’s voice rang out again.

He didn’t use any Transcendent abilities; he just spoke as if he was certain Fu Qian could hear him, like a simple monologue.

”Just like what you do.”

”You can choose to show yourself and chat, or you can just leave. But unless you can maintain this level of concealment forever—which I believe is not easy—I will be able to pinpoint your location the instant you slip up.”

Actually, it was quite easy.

Chaumont’s death ultimatum was imposing, but Fu Qian merely mused that the man knew absolutely nothing about a papal bestowal.

”At that time, no one will listen to anything you have to say. Instead, you will face relentless pursuit at any moment.”

”So, have you made up your mind? Do you want to come over and have a drink?”

Had they really changed their strategy? Inspired by him, they had given up on confinement and chosen tracking marks instead.

Listening intently to Chaumont’s words, Fu Qian silently offered his critique.

Judging from the sensation transmitted to his consciousness, Fu Qian actually believed the man’s words.

As a method of a Divine Emissary, the tier of this mark was indeed not low.

According to him, even if he left right now, the moment he exposed himself at any time, he would be instantly pinpointed.

This trap was obviously tailor-made for his previous performance.

But that didn’t mean Chaumont’s plan was flawless.

His activation of this move just now was clearly an act of desperation.

The trap might be formidable, but he first needed to confirm that the prey had even shown up.

After entering, Chaumont had first tried to sense him, then probed with words. Unfortunately, despite all those efforts, Fu Qian hadn’t taken the bait, leaving the emissary with no way to confirm whether he was here or not.

But this guy was also ruthless. Even without confirmation, he gritted his teeth, activated the trap, and decided to take a gamble.

As they say, wealth is found in danger!

While musing over this, Fu Qian actually took off his mask.

...

Almost instantly, Chaumont’s gaze shot over.

This guy really wasn’t bragging; it truly was real-time surveillance.

Under that stare, Fu Qian smiled and walked over, taking a seat beside them.

”It’s actually you! You hid incredibly well. Was it the effect of that mask?”

Aike was clearly shocked by Fu Qian’s ability to conceal his aura, and she asked through gritted teeth.

”I was just keeping a low profile.”

Fu Qian spouted nonsense with great modesty.

”Besides, how can you call it hiding? Didn’t I just greet you?”

Looking puzzled, Fu Qian mimed raising a glass.

”But since you didn’t seem inclined to invite me over for a drink, I let it be.”

...

Fu Qian was obviously stating a fact, leaving Aike momentarily speechless. However, a moment later, she realized something, and her heart skipped a beat.

”You knew we were waiting for you?”

”Why else would I have left a mark?”

Fu Qian glanced at Chaumont’s demigod bodyguard.

”That was an invitation. Honestly, if I hadn’t seen you around here, I would have been quite disappointed.”

”Yet knowing full well that this is a trap, you still came?”

Chaumont’s voice was devoid of emotion.

”So, Mister Andil, what is your purpose?”

”Isn’t it obvious? Naturally, it’s to sit down for a drink and clear up some of your doubts.”

Fu Qian grabbed a glass and gestured for Aike to pour him a drink, his posture radiating absolute confidence.

”Isn’t the reason you set this trap just to catch me so you could confirm a few things?”

”I have to say, the trap was quite interesting. The concealment was ridiculously good; even I didn’t notice anything wrong.”

Fu Qian didn’t even forget to flatter his opponent.

”We had no choice. Given the previous circumstances, dealing with you required extra effort.”

In the somewhat silent atmosphere, it was Chaumont who finally spoke.

”Since Mister Andil is so sincere, then I want to know—is it true that the entire city is awaiting the outsiders?”

”Of course. You all should have felt it.”

Fu Qian nodded.

”How did they know?”

Chaumont exchanged a glance with Stoss.

”Isn’t it simple? I told them.”

Fu Qian said without batting an eye.