Volume 1, Chapter 64: The Dagger is Revealed! Chen Hao's Ultimate Lair!
Li Hexuan's figure slowly rose into the air, suspended above the entire tribe.
He spread his arms.
"Thunder Penalty Domain."
A dark blue lightning energy shield instantly enveloped the entire valley.
Countless predators let out desperate wails as they closed their eyes, awaiting the descent of death.
However, that destructive judgment thunder did not fall.
Crackling... Crackling...
Arcs of lightning, with controllable thickness like spiritual snakes possessing eyes, accurately struck every predator attempting to resist or flee.
As the current entered their bodies, they felt a violent wave of numbness, followed by collapsing limply to the ground, completely losing all combat capability.
They did not die; they were not even seriously injured.
They were simply deprived of the right to resist.
Li Hexuan's control had reached an unimaginable realm.
Slaughter was the lowest form of conquest.
What he wanted was this tribe, this formidable and intelligent fighting force.
At the center of the tribe, the elderly shaman lay limply on the ground.
He looked at the figure bathed in lightning like a god, looked at the Titan war god who had defeated the chieftain with a single punch, and looked at the goddess of life who had summoned the abyss giant vine.
The fanatical belief in totems that he had maintained throughout his life was utterly shattered at this moment.
"God... Gods..."
He dropped the bone staff from his hand and, using all his remaining strength, prostrated himself on the ground, offering the most humble kowtow to Li Hexuan in the sky.
Li Hexuan ignored him.
With a movement of his figure, he landed before the huge totem pole.
He reached out and gently pressed his hand upon the totem pole, which was carved with ferocious alien beasts.
He was going to make this tribe entirely his own.
And the first step was to find Chen Hao's whereabouts.
Li Hexuan's hand pressed against the totem pole, and a faint electric current was injected into it. Instead of destroying it immediately, he closed his eyes and carefully sensed the residual energy fluctuations lingering inside the totem pole. Beyond the raw power of belief belonging to the predator tribe itself, there was also a trace of cold, gloomy energy intertwined with it. That energy originated from the same source as Chen Hao's "Evernight Veil," imbued with the decaying aura unique to the "Abyss" organization.
"Speak. Where is Chen Hao's lair?" Li Hexuan's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every predator and the prostrating old shaman.
The old shaman trembled all over, raising his wrinkle- and terror-streaked face. Having witnessed Li Hexuan's god-like power, his faith had long since collapsed, leaving only the primal instinct for survival. Not daring to conceal anything, he answered tremblingly in broken common tongue: "In... deep within the mountains, inside an abandoned mine. Lord Shadow Envoy... Lord Chen Hao converted that place into his stronghold, and also... also the liaison point for the 'Abyss'."
The predator chieftain, who had been heavily wounded by Zhang Nan's single punch and left with only half his life, was also dragged over by the Dragon Tooth soldiers. Under Canglong's ruthless interrogation methods, he quickly spilled all the intelligence as well, which matched the shaman's confession entirely.
"An abandoned mine..." Li Hexuan formulated a plan in his mind. He turned to look at Canglong, and the two exchanged a glance, instantly reaching a consensus.
"Thunder God Guard, heed my command!" Li Hexuan's voice echoed through the valley.
Three hundred members of the Thunder God Guard straightened their postures in unison, issuing a unified response: "Present!"
"Select one hundred elites to accompany me and the Dragon Tooth Special Task Force in a raid on the enemy's lair! The rest will be under the unified command of Su Mengyi, cooperating with the Dragon Tooth troops to complete the annexation of the predator tribe!"
"Understood!"
"Zhang Nan!"
"I'm here, Brother Xuan!" Zhang Nan had already returned to his normal size, patting his chest and producing a dull, resonant thump.
"You and I are going to go meet our old classmate." Li Hexuan's words carried a cold intent of impending reckoning.
Once the orders were given, the operational efficiency of the troops was astonishingly high. In less than ten minutes, a assault team consisting of fifty Dragon Tooth special operatives and one hundred Thunder God Guard elites had assembled. Guided by the surviving predators, they boarded V-shaped aircraft and hurtled straight toward the abandoned mine deep within the mountains.
The entrance of the mine was concealed by massive rocks and camouflage netting, appearing extremely covert. Several hidden sentries were deployed around the perimeter, but these were completely invisible before the high-tech thermal imaging scans of the Dragon Tooth Special Task Force.
Canglong did not even bother giving the order to infiltrate. Three aircraft hovered in mid-air, and the deep blue electrical glow of the railguns lit up once more.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several beams of fatal light pierced the air, accurately striking those concealed firepower points. There were no massive explosions, only a few muffled sounds, and everything fell silent.
"Execute!"
Li Hexuan took the lead, his figure transforming into a bolt of lightning as he charged into the pitch-black mine first. Zhang Nan followed closely behind, while the warriors of Dragon Tooth and the Thunder God Guard poured in like a tidal wave.
The interior of the mine had long since been remodeled beyond recognition. Emergency lighting fixtures were embedded in the walls, and reinforced alloy defense fortifications were set up at regular intervals. The moment they stepped inside, alarm klaxons blared shrilly throughout the underground space.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Chaotic shouts echoed from deep within the passageway. Immediately following, dozens of figures rushed out from various branching paths. Their eyes were bloodshot, twisted veins bulged across their skin, and they uttered inhuman roars, charging toward the assault team with a disregard for death.
"Death squad members of the 'Abyss', cannon fodder modified by drugs and substandard energy," Canglong's voice came through the communication channel, devoid of any emotion. "Watch out for their self-detonation."
Li Hexuan let out a cold snort.
Without pausing for even a second, he simply extended his right hand forward.
"Electromagnetic Storm."
Hum—!
An invisible force field instantly expanded. A violent electromagnetic pulse swept across the entire passage. The charging death squad members suddenly stiffened, the red light in their eyes instantly extinguishing. The control organs and unstable energy cores within their bodies instantly failed under the impact of the electromagnetic pulse.
Thud, thud...
Dozens of death squad members fell straight to the ground without managing to fire a single round, completely losing all vital signs.
The warriors of the Thunder God Guard and Dragon Tooth did not even get the chance to fire their weapons. Looking at the scene before them, they gained an entirely new level of understanding regarding Li Hexuan's immense power.
This was the strength of a King-tier powerhouse; a single man was an entire army.
The troop advanced like a hot knife through butter, pushing deeper into the mine. Sporadic resistance along the way was easily dealt with. Following the shaman's map, they quickly arrived at the core area of the mine. This section was divided into several functional zones, including laboratories, armories, and a lounge.
Just as they were about to make a direct strike on the deepest control center, Li Hexuan suddenly halted his footsteps before an alloy door labeled "Lounge."
He sensed an aura that was both familiar and sickening.