Chapter 1269: Assault on Conviction
Over a hundred "ants" shot up like meteors rising from the ground, charging toward the Longhorn Beetle suspended in midair.
They had no precise coordinates, merely stretching out their hands and leaping high as if relying on pure luck. Yet even this chaotic sight startled the Longhorn Beetle.
She shifted her body, carrying the massive "Door" as she dodged frantically through the air.
Precisely because the "ants" attacked without any discernible pattern, the Longhorn Beetle couldn't predict their trajectories. After a few evasive moves, one of them suddenly brushed against her arm.
The "ant" failed to grab hold of her but managed to leave a wound on her body with its long, sharp fingernails.
The "ants" then fell back to the ground, scattering like insects before settling back into formation like pieces on a chessboard.
They maintained a certain distance from one another, careful not to touch.
The Longhorn Beetle clutched her arm and scrambled away in panic, but the crowd gave her no time to recover. Wave after wave of attacks followed.
The swarm of "ants" surged like a real insect horde, springing up and rushing forward like crashing waves.
Whether she was on the ground or in the air, a flood of "ants" would hurl themselves at her.
Though she couldn't grasp how this army operated, it had to be connected to those strange stones. Every time stones of varying sizes fell to the ground, a large number of "ants" would leap up nearby. But the stones didn't land anywhere near her—how could the "ants" possibly pinpoint her location?
Even someone as powerful as the Longhorn Beetle, a "Heavenly Tier" fighter, began to doubt her own abilities in this situation. Her first instinct was that her "Concealment" had failed.
Fortunately, she had spent decades battling in this world. She knew all too well what it meant to doubt one's own "Celestial Arts." She forcibly cut off that line of thinking and continued to hide herself.
She refocused her attention on Old Sun. She understood that her priority now was to kill the man who summoned the stones.
As long as no new stones appeared on the field, the "ants" would lose their coordination. Those stones seemed to be some form of communication between them.
After landing, she crouched low and slowly crept toward the stone-summoning man. The group standing nearby looked somewhat disoriented, their backs turned to her as if they had momentarily lost sight of her.
The Longhorn Beetle sensed this was one of her few opportunities. She didn't know how to win this fight in the end, but killing that man first was undoubtedly the right move.
Just as she reached three steps behind Old Sun, he and the others were still scanning the sky, seemingly searching for her.
The moment she reached out from behind, ready to snap his neck, she suddenly felt a hand land on her shoulder.
"...?!"
A violent shudder ran through the Longhorn Beetle. She whirled around to find a sinister-faced Black Sheep standing right behind her.
"Did you forget... that your real opponent is me?"
The moment those words were spoken, Old Sun and the others swiftly turned and retreated, as if they had anticipated everything.
Black Sheep took a step forward, then swung his fist in a brutal arc, slamming it into the side of the Longhorn Beetle's throat and sending her flying.
A loud crash echoed as the Longhorn Beetle sailed through the air, her conviction crumbling entirely. As a "Concealer," she had not only been seen but struck cleanly and sent flying. No matter how firm her belief, she could no longer avoid doubting herself.
Her body instantly became visible. She tumbled across the ground for some time before finally coming to a stop, gasping for breath after the heavy blow to her throat.
Now, everyone could finally see the Longhorn Beetle's true form. She was a powerfully built woman—though not as muscular as Xiaoxiao, she was still far stronger than an average person.
The Door she had been carrying landed beside her. The crowd turned to look at it. Designed to allow over a thousand "ants" to pass through simultaneously, it was far larger than an ordinary door. Made entirely of scrap metal, it was incredibly heavy.
Aunt Tong saw the Door appear and exchanged glances with Old Deng and the others before circling around to approach it from the side.
The Longhorn Beetle struggled to rise, her gaze locking onto Black Sheep. It was then she noticed that the ground beneath his feet rippled like water.
But how could solid ground suddenly turn to liquid?
Was this how she had been exposed? It seemed they had prepared the terrain in advance, lying in wait for her to take the bait.
Black Sheep stepped forward, stirring the ripples beneath him once more. Yet the ripples were eerily silent—nothing like ordinary water. The ground itself had been "liquefied."
"So you finally showed yourself." Black Sheep clenched his fist and walked forward. "Is killing people from the shadows that entertaining?"
The Longhorn Beetle opened her mouth to speak but suddenly noticed a cluster of stone spikes forming above her head. She tried to dodge, only to find her limbs frozen in place.
"Crap..."
The stone spikes came crashing down, slicing countless wounds across her body. But as a "Heavenly Tier," she had a formidable physique—none of the injuries were fatal.
Then, a bizarre array of "Echoes" began to bombard her. She even felt something gripping her heart.
Black Sheep lunged forward, delivering a suicidal attack, his fist aimed straight at her chest.
The Longhorn Beetle knew his tactics. He had been targeting her vital points all along. If she took this hit, she would most likely be finished.
With that thought, she widened her eyes, opened her mouth, and let out a piercing shriek.
"Ahhh—!"
The deafening sound exploded across the square. Yan Zhichun and Old Sun felt their eardrums ache with excruciating pain. Most of the "Echoes" pinning the Longhorn Beetle down dissipated. With no time to dodge Black Sheep's attack, she met it with a punch of her own.
Black Sheep couldn't evade either. Both of them struck each other's chest with full force, hurtling in opposite directions. A spray of blood filled the air, but no one could tell whose it was.
"Cough..." Black Sheep spat out a mouthful of blood upon landing. The Longhorn Beetle rolled across the ground for a few seconds before vanishing once more.
Su Shan opened her eyes wide again, frantically wiping the blood from her face. She felt her normal vision slipping away, leaving her with only the faint, glowing outlines of those around her.
Yan Zhichun hurried over to check on Black Sheep's condition. Her expression was deeply worried. His body was covered in wounds, and many of his bones were shattered. Under such an assault, anyone else would have been dead.
"Black Sheep..." Yan Zhichun pressed a hand against the bleeding wound on his head. "Rest for now... Our plan is about to succeed."
"Help me up..." Black Sheep gritted his teeth. "I'm on a tight schedule... I still have a tiger to kill. I can't die just yet."
(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!! To everyone reading this: may all your wishes come true and may every day bring you joy. I can hear the echo of 'getting rich quick.')