The Posture of Strength

"So what?"

The Monster-Taming Elder cackled wickedly, as if he had devoured many soul temple elders, and said grimly, "What help can rats who've been hiding for years offer you?"

"Their only bargaining chip is mutual destruction. Otherwise, why would you have lived in anonymity for so many years?"

Everyone listened intently to the dialogue between the two sides, their nerves relaxing briefly before tensing up again.

It seemed the Commune Operators were at a disadvantage...

That made sense - if it weren't the case, the mysterious organization would have already stepped in to resolve the San Zhu crisis, and the Stolen Operators wouldn't have repeatedly crossed the boundaries.

The Strong Man's raised smile froze for a few seconds before dropping, his expression becoming resolute. "You've been squatting in others' nests for too long. You seem to have forgotten that our leader is gradually awakening and regaining their former strength."

The Monster-Taming Elder fell silent, then suddenly his energy surged.

The marks on the monsters' foreheads brightened, their auras climbing steadily in resonance with the elder. More than a dozen monsters lunged at them.

"Punishment: Decapitation."

Facing the horde of monsters, another organization member spoke two words without changing expression, his aura also surging.

For a moment, everyone seemed to see executioner's blades rising behind the monsters, ready to behead them...

The ability that had instantly turned the Gumantong into meat paste earlier now hit a wall, only cutting halfway through their necks.

How could this be?

Everyone was shocked - how could there be such a huge gap between SS-Level Monsters?

With half their necks severed, the monsters' heads drooped forward, but no blood flowed...

When the Priest and others clearly saw the wounds, they finally understood the source of their unease.

These monsters were already dead - they were merely puppets and specimens... no, just moving corpses.

That terrifying being had impacted them so deeply that, like the High Priest, they had almost believed it was omnipotent.

Though they hadn't consciously thought so, their subconscious had believed the Monster-Taming Elder could truly control monsters, proving their thinking had changed.

With just a moment's reflection, they should have remembered that monsters could only be suppressed, not completely controlled.

Unless the elder had happened upon a monster nest, he would have had to control the monsters without rest to maintain such numbers.

Not crushing the monsters immediately, the organization member's second attack on the monsters failed to stop the Monster-Taming Elder.

Marginalized since its revival and hoping to be forgotten by opponents, the Gumantong's twelve eyes widened, its face turning ashen as an ominous feeling arose.

"Wait..."

Its body moved faster than its mind, reaching out with its right hand, only to see the High Priest leaving without looking back...

Everyone watched helplessly as the High Priest's group used spatial tools to make their escape, leaving them with nothing but regret.

What a wasted opportunity - if only they could have detained them. If the Commune Operators had followed suit, they could have significantly reduced the masked ones' power...

"Why didn't you act?"

They heard another organization member calmly questioning the Strong Man, their emotion lacking the same regret, instead carrying a hint of certainty.

"You're one to talk!"

The Strong Man regained his hearty laugh, his large hand slapping his companion's back. "You had the chance to stop them, why did you let them go?"

"If they hadn't been unwilling to gamble, your performance would have exposed us, and we'd have had to fight them to the death."

The hearty laugh sent chills down everyone else's spines - deceiving even teammates truly embodied the principle of abandoning humanity.

They recalled their earlier concern about the Strong Man shouting "I reject my humanity!" and their faces grew hot.

This guy admitted it so readily - he clearly had a clear self-awareness.

The Strong Man's large palm kept slapping his companion's back loudly. Everyone began to wonder if he was using this as an excuse to get revenge on his companion.

At this thought, they fell silent. With that deceptively straightforward face, it was hard to say what this cunning person was really thinking...

For some reason, an image flashed through their minds - the scene of Qi Yuan toying with them overlapped with the Strong Man's laughing figure.

Damn it!

Is this what the world of the strong is like?

Thinking this, their gazes toward Qi Yunzheng became complicated. He was from Dragon Country and not weak in power - he only lacked one thing: being a psychopath (crossed out)... mental enhancement, before falling in with their crowd.

It seemed mental enhancement played a bigger role.

But... why did Dragon Country produce so many men... mental enhancers?

Their nerves had gotten quite the workout today. Everyone had truly forgotten about the Gumantong's existence, focused only on sharing information with their team and quickly devising countermeasures.

Constantly relying on the mysterious organization wasn't necessarily good.

For instance...

Dragon slayers becoming evil dragons themselves - in a world with only Commune Operators, would they still maintain their principles?

It was all uncertain.

Thinking of this, they shook their heads and smiled wryly.

Placing hope in others' moral bottom lines wasn't advisable - it was just like others' view of them. They never thought they'd one day have such feelings.

The problem remained unsolved, yet somehow they'd made peace with others being wary of them.

Lost in thought, they didn't notice until the Strong Man caught the Gumantong from some corner, destroyed its domain, and completely extinguished its vitality.

The changing environment jolted them awake. They looked up, searching with their gaze for the two mysterious organization members, but they had vanished without a trace.

This really was...

Jeanna smoothed her messy hair, unable to ignore the devastation around them. Taking a deep breath, she summoned her army to search for survivors.

With her taking the lead, others no longer regretted failing to connect with the mysterious organization, and likewise used their abilities to search through the ruins.

"Hmm?"

Jeanna sensed two vibrant presences from a crevice, directing her army to move aside the stones.

Her eyes lowered, noticing a dust-covered camera lens stubbornly protruding from the gap...

No way...?

The Strong Man had been standing in this spot earlier - if fighting had broken out, there would have been no survivors.

That's why this area was left for last.

Her gaze wandered, discovering a recording device extending from another gap, leaving her feelings extremely complicated.

The war correspondents were even braver than her - Jeanna was momentarily speechless.

When the stones were completely removed, a man and woman were found curled up in the cramped space, their eyes half-open but consciousness hazy.

The army moved them up, and the woman sensitively furrowed her brows, struggling to rise, though her strength was barely there.

As she lay on the floor, Jeanna came to check on her. The woman called out in a weak voice: "Blaine! It's Jeanna! Quick, take the shot!"

The semi-unconscious man heard the voice, his arm twitching as he felt around.

Jeanna: "..."

She suddenly felt these two might have the makings of powerful individuals.