# 1820
Chapter 1813: Risky Gambit
"Here they come!!"
Gray fog churned across the sea. Lin Qiye stood at the bow of the ship, his voice low as he spoke.
Roars echoed continuously from the distant sea—some sharp and ear-piercing, others shaking the heavens, some chillingly bizarre... He scanned the horizon. The silhouettes of Cthulhu Faction deities emerging from the mist numbered exactly nine!
These terrifying Cthulhu Faction auras, combined with the relentless roaring, completely terrified Ling Lin standing behind Lin Qiye.
Her face pale, she spoke up:
"Commander, did we walk into a trap?"
Lin Qiye didn't answer. Instead, he commanded directly, "Take the rest of the 【Phoenix】 squad and hide in the cabin! Now!"
"Commander, we can fight too!"
"Battles of this scale—you'd be sending yourselves to die if you joined... Go! That's an order!"
Seeing this, Ling Lin didn't argue further. She was now the new captain of the 【Phoenix】 squad and had to shoulder a captain's responsibilities. Gritting her teeth, she charged through the surging spray toward the stern of the exploration vessel, bringing all 【Phoenix】 squad members into the cabin.
As those nine Cthulhu Faction deities appeared, the entire stretch of sea turned violent. Giant waves rocked the three exploration ships so violently they nearly capsized. Salt-tinged seawater battered the deck like rain, creating a clattering symphony.
"It seems the real tough fight is just beginning..." Shen Qingzhu walked to Lin Qiye's side, gazing at the approaching Cthulhu Faction gods, and spoke slowly.
"I thought this plan of ours had failed... I didn't expect An Qingyu to still give us such a surprise."
Lin Qiye turned to look into the distance. Amid the hazy mist, a black-clad figure wearing a hood stood ghost-like on the frozen ice, silently watching their direction.
Destroying Olympus had never been Lin Qiye's true objective... Or rather, not his main one.
This divine kingdom was, at best, merely a piece on the chessboard of Lin Qiye and the Fate Monk—a bait to draw out the real enemy!
The reason Lin Qiye had gone to such great lengths to project a countdown in Chinese characters above Olympus was never to enrage Poseidon and the others. After all, if his sole purpose had been to annihilate Olympus, the obvious approach would have been stealth—ideally, the enemy wouldn't even know they were at their doorstep until they were annihilated in one swift blow. Why give them ten days of preparation time?
That countdown had been intended for An Qingyu in the mist from the very beginning.
Over these four years, the Cthulhu Faction deities led by An Qingyu had been lurking silently in the mist. Even after Lin Qiye launched the "God Hunt" operation, allowing several human gods and special squads to enter the mist to hunt gods, not a single Cthulhu Faction deity had shown itself.
The quieter they were, the more dangerous the situation.
An Qingyu and the many Cthulhu Faction gods remained hidden in the shadows, always holding the strategic advantage. To break this deadlock, Lin Qiye had to force them to reveal themselves voluntarily.
If the previous "God Hunt" failed to draw them out, it was because the "bait" cast was too small. This time, projecting a Chinese countdown above Olympus was essentially telling An Qingyu:
"In ten days, I'm going to destroy Olympus. Do you dare to come?"
To annihilate Olympus, Great Xia would inevitably need to deploy the vast majority of its top-tier combat power. Even Lin Qiye himself would have to act. Several human gods, along with numerous Human Apex—this was already the largest "bait" Great Xia could currently dangle.
This was a risky move... Risk one: projecting the countdown would inevitably alert the Olympian Gods, dramatically increasing the difficulty of destroying Olympus. Risk two: with An Qingyu lurking like a mantis waiting to strike a cicada, the moment Lin Qiye acted here, the enemy could wipe out everyone. Great Xia would be finished.
But Lin Qiye had to take this risk. They were already in the open. He had to seize the initiative of the game!
Judging from the current situation, Lin Qiye's plan had undoubtedly worked.
Many Human Apex and human gods walked to the bow of the ship. They surveyed the Cthulhu Faction gods approaching through the roars, their expressions grave.
"Go. We'll hold the line here." Shen Qingzhu said to Lin Qiye.
"Mm."
Lin Qiye nodded. His body leaped from the exploration ship, dashing toward the figure standing on the ice like a startled swan goose!
ROAR—!!!
Before the ice, two massive silhouettes were flanking toward the exploration ships from left and right. When they saw Lin Qiye charge directly toward the ice, they let out furious roars. A thick cyan-black tail and a scarlet tongue both lashed toward him simultaneously!
Lin Qiye flicked his thumb. The 【White Slash】 at his waist flew from its sheath. His form vanished into the void, evading both strikes. In the black-and-white world, he skimmed across the waves, slipping past the two Cthulhu Faction guardians, and landed steadily on the ice's surface.
In the gray mist, a crimson figure appeared before the black-clad An Qingyu, a long blade in hand.
"Long time no see... An Qingyu."
Crashing waves battered the ice. The wind blew the wide black hood aside, revealing a familiar face. Beneath the dark crimson scar at her temple, a pair of gray eyes gazed平静ly, deep as an abyss.
"Long time no see." An Qingyu spoke slowly.
The two stared at each other, falling into silence simultaneously.
"You've changed quite a bit these four years." An Qingyu's voice was calm, like old friends reminiscing by a fireside.
"Mm." Lin Qiye rubbed the stubble on his chin, speaking helplessly, "Well, being a good Commander-in-Chief isn't easy... My term is now longer than Commander Zuo's."
"That's a good thing."
"Maybe. But you haven't changed at all."
"I don't have as many things to worry about. Naturally, I wouldn't change much."
"Is that so? You don't need to plan for the Cthulhu Faction's future? Or is defeating us on this chessboard simply too easy for you?"
Faced with Lin Qiye's probing questions, An Qingyu paused for a moment, then directly changed the subject:
"How is Takishiro? Is he doing well?"
"He's fine. After becoming the God of Games, he no longer has to worry about his physical body's issues. Recently, he's been hanging around with a beautiful idol."
"Amemiya? I've been analyzing her this whole time. Her abilities are quite special. Even reduced to game data, she can exert considerable power... But her existence also proves that 【Pure Land】's artificial god research is far too narrow. Their research becoming obsolete was inevitable."
Lin Qiye frowned slightly. "From what you're saying... are you also conducting artificial god research?"