One-Eyed Monster

Igor and Kadi’s petty argument abruptly ceased at this moment, as if Igor’s hard-hitting rebuke had sufficiently shocked Kadi.

This sudden silence stumped the already disordered Little Black Hands. However, they were battle-hardened veterans through life’s trials and tribulations, and this sudden change did not disrupt their tempo, nor did they loosen their grip...

”COUGH. COUGH.” Kadi felt many eyes watching him, making him feel uncomfortable. But he knew this situation was caused by him, and if he didn’t say something, the awkwardness would continue unabated. ”So, I now feel like that is probably the case!”

Igor let out a sigh of relief; Kadi had finally agreed. Although he seemed reluctant, at least Kadi was convinced. But what was the point of convincing Kadi? Igor didn’t know; he just felt that if Kadi wasn’t convinced, they wouldn’t be able to move forward.

How could I have overlooked such a simple point? Kadi still found it hard to believe his previous thinking and felt a touch of melancholy...

”Our opponents are sure to lead us into a domain they’re familiar with before fighting us, because in their familiar territory, they will be like a fish in water,” Kadi reasoned with himself. His explanation was more straightforward and easier to understand than Igor’s, making it more readily acceptable.

Even Stan Sol found himself giving Kadi a thumbs up internally.

”So, you guess that the opponents are hidden underground?” Kadi tentatively asked Igor. Deep down, he still thought that the opponents dragging them around was completely meaningless, just pure dragging! However, the rationale Igor gave was convincing, so he had no reason to object.

”Not necessarily. I think our opponents are trying to draw us into their traps or similar areas. It might not necessarily be underground; it could be another sealed space,” Igor remarked confidently, implying something profound.

What the hell! The Little Black Hands were entirely baffled. What’s this? Why so complicated? Surely it can’t be THAT complex!

Their mission here was to instill fear into these juveniles, a task proven irksome since their targets displayed little to no complete fear. This itself was annoying enough, but now these juveniles were making things even more convoluted!

No, it wasn’t that the situation was getting more complicated, but that those guys were overthinking it, completely turning a very simple matter into something complex.

The Little Black Hands felt greatly aggrieved. They hadn’t intended to make things so complicated, yet these youngsters insisted on thinking in the most complex ways.

What’s going on here! Their objective was just to create a little bit of fear; why make it so complex? What’s wrong with these youngsters! Can’t we even play properly anymore?

The Little Black Hands’ emotions hit another negative peak, this time high enough to make them contemplate giving up.

But an agreement was an agreement. If they couldn’t complete the task, they would be suppressed and sent back. Even if there was a new agreement then, it wouldn’t be their call whether they could come out.

So, one way or another, they had to instill intense fear in these youngsters...

The Little Black Hands felt they could no longer proceed with the original plan. After a brief discussion, they decided to hold another meeting for further deliberation. This was a major event and couldn’t be decided casually.

WHOOSH.

The Little Black Hands, which had been pulling at Igor and the others by their ankles, vanished in a flash. The speed was so fast it was practically imperceptible; it was as if they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

This strange change surprised Igor and the others. They hadn’t expected the opponents to vanish just like that.

Stan Sol’s surprise was on a higher level than Igor’s and Kadi’s. He was pondering how the opponents could disappear so silently, without making even the slightest sound. No matter how one looked at it, the opponents’ control over their Spirit Power was simply unfathomable. Stan Sol was wondering what method the opponents were using to achieve this. Silently and tracelessly. Even across the entire continent, only a handful of experts could accomplish such feats. This question deserved his deep consideration.

Meanwhile, Igor and Kadi were rather shallow in comparison. They could only see what was on the surface, with little technical depth.

”How did they disappear?” Kadi was completely perplexed. It was simply inconceivable! These foes are simply gutless! Is it really that hard to come out and fight? They’re such chickens, with no guts at all!

”I didn’t even see how they disappeared. Did they burrow into the ground?” Igor scratched his head, looking at the ground around his feet, searching for a trace. Yet, he found nothing.

”Did they burrow into the ground?” Kadi was also curious.

Among them, only Stan Sol knew that these beings hadn’t burrowed into the ground. But even he didn’t know where they had run off to.

Stan Sol was too deep in thought to expend much energy on expressing himself. This communication barrier indeed led them astray, but he knew that silence was his best choice now. He knew that if he tried to communicate, it would only make the situation worse, so it was better for him to remain silent. Letting Igor explore this situation a bit isn’t necessarily a bad thing; perhaps there might even be some unexpected surprises.

Igor stroked his chin, feeling a bit smug at this moment.

He felt his earlier judgment was completely correct. Otherwise, why would these guys retreat so efficiently? It was clearly an emergency measure taken after their intentions were detected. How could such a trick escape his, Igor’s, eyes? They’ve really underestimated me. Thinking back to when Kadi argued with him, so certain that these opponents had no further tricks up their sleeve, it was now proven that his, Igor’s, judgment was accurate. At this thought, Igor felt a surge of smugness. He rarely felt this way, but this time was different. He felt he had completely seen through the opponents’ methods purely through thought. Previously, he had always relied on practice. Reaching this level of insight required a lot of practical experience. The fact that he had completed the deduction through thought alone—what did that signify? It signified that he had reached a new realm!

As Igor immersed himself in his moment of triumph, the Little Black Hands were deep in a heated debate. They were unsure of the exact course to take. It wasn’t as if their abilities were so limited; however, the agreement restricted them from fully displaying their power. It wasn’t that they couldn’t do what Igor had said—find a confined space and then give those boys a good beating... But now, they absolutely had to instill a strong sense of fear in these youngsters...

The Little Black Hands’ discussion was, as usual, heated, and no consensus had yet been reached.