Eldritch Horror Theatre

His reasoning was sound.

Fu Qian’s analysis clearly left Excellency Stoss unable to refute it.

Especially since he was a frontline arsonist by trade—a main force of destruction.

”You’re right. Not only does this ship possess a very high Rank, but it also seems to have a certain living will. Just now, I felt resistance—even hatred.”

After a brief hesitation, he shared his firsthand experience.

”So, how high is it?”

Fu Qian listened carefully and asked casually.

Since listening to all sides brings clarity, the assessment of this place by a Tier 2 Transcendent and experienced superior of the Night Watchers was obviously worth considering.

”Higher than me...”

The Old Man’s response was simultaneously humble and shocking.”So we need to find Echo and the others as quickly as possible. Su Gao, do you still have a way to open a passage out?”

Rather than wasting time dwelling on the strangeness along the way, the most practical takeaway right now was that their suspicion about the malice had been proven true.

There truly was a threat hiding in the dark. Not only was it entirely unafraid of the Night Watchers’ reputation, its methods of concealment were also terrifying.

”I can’t open it.”

Unfortunately, Excellency Stoss, known for his swift and resolute action, received this bad news less than a second later.

Demigod Su hadn’t even tried; she simply shook her head.

”When the downward passage closed just now, this place’s connection to the outside world seemed to be severed. At least for now, I can’t get a grasp on it.”

Staring down at the drafty wooden floorboards, she offered a concise explanation. It was obvious she had been trying from the very first moment.

...

Demigod Su’s demeanor was far too convincing. Stoss only hesitated for a moment before dropping any further questions and turning to look at Fu Qian instead.

”I have a method I can try, but it will take effect rather slowly, and there is a high probability it will completely destroy this place.”

Not one to shirk responsibility, Professor Fu responded with almost the same efficiency as Su Gao.

The method he spoke of was, naturally, the Resplendent Tyrant.

Blindly hiding his abilities was meaningless. Dealing with the Night Watchers had been part of his plan all along.

Aside from a few core secrets, there was nothing that couldn’t be exposed, so long as the exposure held value—like right now.

”That can be considered a last resort... In fact, I have similar means, but if we go that route, Echo and the others’ survival will depend purely on luck.”

Faced with Fu Qian’s honesty, Excellency Stoss’s gaze grew rather meaningful.

While signaling that there was no need to rush into using such drastic measures, he frankly admitted that he had his own destructive methods.

”I will try to clear out the remaining ones first.”

He didn’t waste time seeking further opinions. The next moment, the Old Man shifted the topic and looked directly at the remaining Amber human Cocoons.

Truly decisive and ruthless.

Fu Qian wasn’t particularly surprised by this sudden turn of events, but he still praised it inwardly.

During their last trip to Unseen Hill, the operation had essentially been led by Excellency Chaumont. Old Man Stoss had acted more like a top-tier enforcer, his leadership skills hidden.

Seeing him today, it was clear he wasn’t just a brute who relied on martial prowess.

Take their current predicament, for instance: imprisoned here, disconnected from Echo and the others, with Su Gao unable to even open a path back.

Meanwhile, out of concern for the consequences, both he and Stoss were temporarily holding back their more destructive methods.

Under these circumstances, what else could be done?

Of course there was something. One couldn’t afford to let their thinking fall into a rut.

Since the current predicament was almost certainly brought about by the damage inflicted on this ship, they might as well just continue destroying it.

It might invite an even stronger retaliation, but at least it introduced a variable. Couldn’t they try to find an opportunity within that chaos?

Did they really expect to shake hands and make peace with the entity they had already offended, hoping for a happy ending where the doors would just open and let them go?

Setting aside how naive such a thought was, given the current situation, where would they even find the time to show goodwill?

The Old Man remained decisive. Realizing they didn’t have many options, he chose to be cold and ruthless to the very end.

”Ensure Professor Fu’s safety.”

And he wasn’t planning on letting anyone else make a choice.

The next moment, he tossed that sentence to Su Gao, his body transforming into a source of destruction once more.

...

His decisiveness was truly comprehensive.

Watching Excellency Stoss reignite the fires of battle, Fu Qian shook his head, in no rush to make a move.

It was obvious the Old Man wasn’t actually that worried about Fu Qian’s safety; rather, he was worried that Fu Qian would completely disregard it.

From his coordination with Su Gao when capturing the target just now, the level of tacit understanding between him and his partner was clear. In this kind of situation, protecting him didn’t even need to be explicitly ordered.

The core idea behind entrusting his safety to Su Gao was simply to keep a close eye on him and prevent him from doing anything reckless.

As the leader of the operation, while he chose the high-risk approach of being utterly ruthless, he also chose to avoid unnecessary variables as much as possible.

Variables like himself—a character with too many ideas whose actions were hard to predict.

”I’m fine.”

Precisely because he understood this reasoning, Fu Qian proved quite cooperative, smiling as he greeted his newly reappointed bodyguard.

However, this was only one of the reasons.

Clang—

Not long after, with a crisp snap, the Curved Sword in Demigod Su’s hand once again struck a bizarre murder weapon that had appeared out of thin air, successfully drawing out a wail of agony.

It was the exact same sneak attack method displayed earlier. However, the bone spear that had previously seemed indestructible was directly sliced in half this time.

Having completed this motion, Su Gao didn’t hesitate to shift her angle. The next moment, she was already thrusting her blade toward another spot right beside Fu Qian.

Ding—

Another subtle sound of collision rang out. Another one of the Spikes, showing only a faint trace of its presence, was blocked in its tracks, failing to hit its original target, Fu Qian.

It still wasn’t over. The weapon in Su Gao’s hand swung back, sweeping across a spot that appeared entirely empty.

Slash—

There was no sound this time, but the large spray of blood spilling from the void automatically made Fu Qian picture the scene of flesh and bone being cleaved apart by a single sword strike.

...

Hmph, do you understand the true value of growing stronger when facing a strong opponent?

How could the likes of you question the judgment this seat uses to select a bodyguard?

Professor Fu remained motionless. Throughout the entire ordeal, he hadn’t made a single evasive maneuver, displaying complete composure.

This sudden sneak attack was, of course, aimed directly at him.

What a pity that after he had stated he was ”fine,” Su Gao’s vigilance had immediately risen to the highest level, anticipating them the entire time.

As for why he was so certain he would still be the target of the attack?

All is fair in war. After the initial attack failed, if they still wanted to strike, choosing the right target was undoubtedly a highly technical task.

Although they had failed to target him previously, and now Su Gao was even specifically watching over him, it was precisely under these circumstances that the person involved was most prone to carelessness and letting down their guard.

If it truly was the Marr Brothers, judging from their previous interactions, the level of intelligence their brain circuits could muster was limited to exactly this extent.