Chapter 55: The Fourth-Rank Strongest Old Yinbi
In Lubec City, inside a three-story building, several contractors stared in shock at the gradually collapsing Lubec's Embrace.
"To... go this far? What's the point?"
"There's no reasoning with madmen. Either hand over the World Core, or fight them to the death. This is just a greeting."
"Bluffing."
"Look, look over there..."
A female contractor's mouth twitched as she spotted an insect—dense, covering half the city's buildings.
In less than half an hour, the peace and tranquility of Lubec City vanished. In the Apocalypse Paradise's plan, they were supposed to engage in street battles with the Reincarnation Paradise faction within the city. But from the current situation, some madmen from Reincarnation Paradise seemed intent on leveling the entire city.
What shocked the Apocalypse Paradise contractors even more was this: a contractor with status in the Sispanyan government received news that the government was actually evacuating civilians from Lubec City.
When Lubec City was attacked, the first thought of Sispanyan's high-ranking officials wasn't to counterattack, but to evacuate ordinary citizens—a choice made out of desperation.
Blue Dream had given them two options: either remove all civilians from Lubec City, or have the capital bombarded with highly toxic gas shells. A binary choice.
Initially, Sispanyan's high-ranking officials found Blue Dream ridiculous—until an unexploded toxic gas shell landed in their capital.
Blue Dream negotiated with the Sispanyan officials in a slightly amused tone, his exact words: "We're not devils. I'll give you five minutes to consider. In five minutes, over a hundred gas shells will be dropped on Sispanyan's capital.
That gas shell stuck on the capital's government building is no joke." The Sispanyan high-ranking officials compromised—for their own lives and their families'.
Boom!
Lubec's Embrace collapsed, crushing large sections of buildings, sending dust clouds rising dozens of meters high.
City center.
Thump, thump, thump...
A machine resembling a pile driver operated at high speed, emitting pulses of energy. When civilians were hit by these pulses, they instinctively fled the affected area.
Several civilian bodies lay crushed under building debris. A man in a suit, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, sat atop the rubble.
"BOSS, it's almost ready."
Ghost Lady's lips curled upward, her thin lips painted with black lipstick giving off a cold aura. The shockwave swept past, blowing her long hair back.
"Mm, try not to harm civilians. As I said, we're not devils. Besides, we've already reached an agreement with Sispanyan's government."
As Blue Dream spoke, debris from a nearby building flew apart. A man covered in dust, dressed like a school teacher, stood up, protecting two children in his arms.
"You're saving people? That's reassuring. By the way, what you're doing now is considered good."
Blue Dream coughed a few times, making one suspect he had a glass-like constitution.
"I can't understand good and evil. I just wanted to do this."
The school teacher ignored the two children who had run off, frightened by the shockwave. This guy had almost no sense of good or evil—he only did what he wanted. Sometimes he saved people, but other times his actions even made the old yinbi Blue Dream feel a chill.
In truth, the most terrifying thing wasn't the old yinbi, but a personality like the school teacher's. With his attire, he was either an old yinbi or monstrously strong. Clearly, the school teacher belonged to the latter. Even Ghost Lady, his teammate, dared not defy him—and she was a core member of the Arakawa Adventure Group.
"Found him yet?"
Blue Dream spoke, and the school teacher shook his head.
"He escaped, but I'm sure he's still in the city. He used some method to mask the World Core's fluctuations. It was trackable from a distance, but within ten kilometers, that unique fluctuation disappeared."
The school teacher spoke in a nearly emotionless tone.
"That guy's a space-type. It's not surprising he can do this."
Blue Dream crossed his fingers, beginning to think.
"BOSS, what about the others from Apocalypse Paradise? They're also fourth-rank contractors. If we're careless, we might capsize in a ditch."
"Careless?"
Blue Dream looked at Ghost Lady with confusion.
"Do you think Solomon's earlier actions showed any underestimation of Apocalypse Paradise's people?"
"Solomon wouldn't. He's a mage lord, going all out against any enemy."
Ghost Lady grinned. Deep down, she admired Solomon the mage lord—no arrogance, always giving his all against any foe.
"Then do you think Gulu, Citrus Girl, Bai Ye, and Mizusaki, who rushed here at top speed, have any carelessness?"
"Uh... no, just being cautious."
"This is our advantage. Though we're not united, these people crawled out of piles of corpses. Greenhouse flowers may be beautiful, but they can't understand our mindset. If we can't win, we die. So, let's greet our Apocalypse Paradise friends again."
Blue Dream took out a pocket watch—an 'honor' he received during his knighthood in the Sun Kingdom.
"Time's about right. Increase the frequency."
"BOSS, it might hit our own people."
Ghost Lady said this, but she was already adjusting the machine that looked like a pile driver.
"If they get hit, they're not our people."
As Blue Dream finished speaking, a shockwave struck, activating the dampening device in his ear.
Thump! The shockwave spread.
Cracks appeared on over a third of the buildings in Lubec City. This shockwave would continue for at least thirty more times.
The entire city trembled. On the beach area at the city's edge, sand suddenly bounced up, then slowly settled. Ripples spread across the sea surface, and massive waves rolled back into the ocean.
Blue Dream wasn't trying to destroy buildings—he was trying to trigger a tsunami, fundamentally cutting off any possibility of Sispanyan military reinforcements.
If Apocalypse Paradise's contractors were mixed in with civilians, finding them wouldn't be easy. Besides, some had been developing in Lubec City for a while, holding certain statuses that allowed them to use local forces against Reincarnation Paradise.
But Reincarnation Paradise's people had barely arrived before nearly leveling Lubec City. The Apocalypse Paradise faction's plan to rely on local forces fell through.
As for their meticulously prepared street battles, multiple encirclement formations, and using civilians as cover—don't joke. Street fighting in an incoming tsunami? There was no chance for street battles.
Blue Dream saw clearly. He knew Reincarnation Paradise's faction wasn't united, while Apocalypse Paradise was the opposite—relatively cohesive.
Blue Dream wanted to scatter the battlefield, preventing Apocalypse Paradise's contractors from gathering, forcing small-scale skirmishes amidst the natural disaster of a tsunami.
On the beach, Su Xiao closed the war channel. He had seen Blue Dream's plan in the channel, and he had to admit—this fourth-rank strongest old yinbi wasn't just for show.
"Owww~"
Bubu Wang howled, hating the pulse waves. They were too loud for his ears.
Just as Su Xiao was about to cross the beach and enter Lubec City, a short figure walking on the sand caught his eye.
"Hmph!"
The short figure snorted, trying not to look at Su Xiao to avoid getting annoyed.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, as if saying: "Hello there, shorty. Long time no see, shorty."
The short girl in red children's clothing flipped him off. Su Xiao had run into Gulu on the beach. Enemies meeting, exchanging 'greetings' to show 'friendliness'—very 'united.'