Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Chapter 452: Chapter 361: 1 Arrow Shot, a Desolate God Falls [2]

He stood his ground.

Hu Qi watched the black tornado steadily approach.

The black pillar of wind resembled a ferocious beast, suffused with an aura of destruction. It kicked up a storm of sand and stones wherever it passed.

But Hu Qi’s gaze pierced straight through the gale, locking onto the eye of the storm.

Within that profound darkness, a blurry shadow flickered in and out of view.

With his vision, Hu Qi could clearly make out a strange, two-winged creature.

Its body combined the Features of a lion and a tiger, and it emanated a powerful, chilling aura.

"So that’s the Desolate God you mentioned? The one at Tier Four Peak?"

Hu Qi asked, a strange, almost imperceptible look on his face.

"That’s right. The Desolate God is inside. Its Ability is to control the wind.

That’s why it was named ’Loudra.’ In some legends, that name is synonymous with the Wind God.

Even though it’s only at Tier Four Peak, its destructive power is on par with that of an average Tier Five Desolate God."

Standing to the side, Zhang Ming also stared ahead, nodding gravely.

He didn’t notice Hu Qi’s odd expression at all.

’Is that so? But this is clearly a Tier Five Desolate God!’

The next moment, however...

Hu Qi’s voice, low yet clear, cut through the howling wind and reached everyone’s ears.

"What!?"

The news hit like a bombshell. The faces of the several Tier Three Evolvers, Zhang Ming included, instantly paled.

Their eyes filled with terror and disbelief.

"You... you’re not joking, are you?"

Zhang Ming stammered, snapping back to his senses.

Tier Four Peak and Tier Five. The gap seemed small, but in reality, the difference was like that between heaven and earth.

In this world, a Tier Five Desolate God was powerful enough to destroy any large-scale gathering place.

Only a major city in a war zone, overseen by a Tier Five Human War God, had any chance of resisting one.

Hu Qi offered no further explanation.

In his senses, the Life Magnet Field emanating from the figure within the tornado had already reached the level of a Tier Five.

However...

The aura felt slightly unstable. It was clear the Desolate God had only recently broken through and had yet to fully stabilize its power.

Seeing Hu Qi’s silence, Zhang Ming was about to ask another question when the communicator on his hip suddenly blared.

A sense of foreboding washed over him.

He picked it up. After just a few seconds, Zhang Ming’s face twisted with shock and rage.

"You bunch of good-for-nothing parasites! What’s the point of the gathering place feeding you worthless trash!"

Zhang Ming roared furiously.

As Evolvers, their hearing was far superior to ordinary people’s. Even in such a harsh environment, they heard the voice coming from the communicator crystal clear.

The gist of the situation was this:

"Detection radar shows that the Desolate God codenamed ’Loudra’ has a danger level at the Tier Five threshold.

Our previous assessment was a misjudgment, likely because the gales surrounding Loudra interfered with the radar’s detection."

CRACK!

With a sharp snap, the black communicator in Zhang Ming’s hand shattered into pieces.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging murderous rage that made him want to tear the reconnaissance team limb from limb.

Then, he turned to Hu Qi.

"Sir, that Desolate God really is a Tier Five. We need to retreat, now! As long as we’re alive, there’s still hope."

Zhang Ming’s voice was laced with desperation.

The others quickly chimed in.

"That’s right, sir! A Tier Five Desolate God isn’t something we can fight. We should retreat."

"That’s right. It’s fate. It’s not that we don’t want to protect the gathering place."

These men weren’t persuading Hu Qi out of loyalty. They were so desperate because he had planted something inside them that tied their lives directly to his.

They were afraid Hu Qi would impulsively rush in to fight the Desolate God to the death. If he died, they would die too.

Throughout it all, they never once mentioned the nearly half a million survivors in the gathering place.

At the speed Loudra was moving, it would reach the Pan Mountain Gathering Place in a few minutes at most.

With their mobility, they still had time to escape. The ordinary survivors, however, had no time to evacuate.

’Fight alongside the survivors? What a joke.’

’As superior Evolvers, how could we possibly die alongside these commoners?’

’Besides, leaving the survivors here would buy us some time.’

They assumed Hu Qi would certainly agree to retreat. By suggesting it first, they were even giving him an excuse to do so without losing face.

However, to their surprise, Hu Qi refused without a moment’s hesitation.

"Who told you a Tier Five Desolate God can’t be stopped?"

Hu Qi’s expression was serene, as if the terrifying Tier Five Desolate God were nothing more than an insignificant ant.

The next moment...

Hu Qi spoke.

His voice suddenly boomed like thunder, not only echoing over the gathering place but reaching the ears of every single survivor with perfect clarity.

"Everyone, I am Yin Zuocang, leader of the Pan Mountain Gathering Place.

A Tier Five Desolate God is now approaching the Pan Mountain Gathering Place. Our strength alone is not enough to resist it. However, I have a way to resolve this crisis, but to do so, I will need your help.

Now, pray to the great Sun God! Use every word you know to praise him, to worship him!"

"A Tier Five Desolate God? The Sun God?"

Everyone, survivor and Evolver alike...

...stared at one another in bewildered uncertainty, completely baffled by what Hu Qi had just said.