Chapter 655: Refuge

"This time, the Witchcraft Association has sent four Tier 7s."

"If we were in our prime, our Floating Life Painting would naturally have the victory in the bag. But now, the Fifth Hall is vacant, the Sixth Hall is critically injured and dying, and the Seventh Hall is dead. The only Tier 7 combat power we can mobilize is the Fourth Hall and the Eighth Hall..."

"This means someone needs to hold back the remaining two Tier 7s of the Witchcraft Association."

The voice of the Second Hall sounded from the walkie-talkie.

"...So, one of them is me?" Wang Jincheng stared at the Tier 7 walking toward him and said calmly.

"Your [Reclaimer] has strong frontal combat power. As it stands, you are the only one with a chance to hold back a Tier 7." The Second Hall paused for a moment.

"Remember, you only need to 'hold them back'... Although our Tier 7 combat power is inferior to theirs, they only have one Tier 8. Once the deployment is complete and the situation is temporarily stabilized, I will take action personally to wipe out all their Tier 7 combat power."

Wang Jincheng raised his brows slightly and said half-jokingly:

"Sounds like the advantage is with us."

Bang—!

The next moment, the walkie-talkie in Wang Jincheng's hand exploded out of thin air, as if an invisible hand had crushed it into a piece of scrap metal sparking with fire.

A translucent ghost wandered in the void, and the black robe sneered,

"What? Do you think I don't exist?"

Wang Jincheng's communication was cut off, and his face grew solemn. He stared at the black-robed figure in front of him, and the earth beneath his feet began to tremble violently, as if struck by war drums.

"...Then let me see what you wizards are capable of."

……

Clang, clang, clang!

"All town residents! Pack your bags immediately! Head to the Red Dust main city for refuge!!"

"Repeating again!!"

"War has arrived! The Red Dust main city is temporarily open! Everyone! Head to the Red Dust main city for refuge immediately!!! Abandon heavy and miscellaneous items! Only bring daily necessities!"

Clang, clang, clang!!

Several police officers beat gongs and sped through the town streets. The maximum volume from the loudspeakers echoed in the air, making everyone's heart tighten involuntarily.

On the side of the street, a group of Dusk Society members stood in a row, turning their heads in unison to watch these officers run past in a hurry, but no one paid them any attention.

"It seems the situation is gradually becoming serious." Club J said slowly.

"The goal of the Infinite Realm is to slaughter civilians and refine Philosopher's Stones... The Red Dust Realm must prioritize protecting civilians; otherwise, the more casualties there are, the lower the chances of winning." Bai Ye pulled his hat brim down slightly.

After he finished speaking, everyone suddenly fell silent.

Bai Ye turned his head in confusion and found that everyone else was looking at him in unison, their eyes full of bewilderment.

"Philosopher's Stones?"

"..." Bai Ye was surprised. "What? You guys didn't know?"

Everyone shook their heads simultaneously.

"I only found out when I was investigating the Infinite Realm... The Infinite Lord has awakened. He collaborated with Brand, the vice president of the Witchcraft Association, to assassinate the former president Shang Shaoquan, and also sacrificed a large district to refine Philosopher's Stones..." Bai Ye briefly introduced everything about the Philosopher's Stones.

"I secretly tracked Brand to the church where the Infinite Lord resides and discovered these secrets... However, I was still detected. Later, I faced a joint pursuit by four Tier 7s from the Witchcraft Association. They used some method to cast a curse on me, and I barely managed to hide on the Realm Train to escape... I have no memory of what happened after that."

Philosopher's Stones?

Extracting souls?

Hearing this, Chen Ling's body trembled slightly, and the image of Kong Baosheng's grandmother appeared in his mind involuntarily...

"...I don't know, she suddenly had an attack and was rolling on the ground in pain."

"She hadn't missed a single dose of medicine, I... I don't know why it happened like that..."

"Grandma... she... at that time, it was as if someone was pulling it out of her alive..."

“……”

Kong Baosheng's tearful voice echoed in Chen Ling's ears. He seemed to understand something, and a surge of anger ignited beneath his eyes, his fists clenching involuntarily...

"So that's how it is..."

Before this, although Chen Ling had suspected that the death of Kong Baosheng's grandmother was related to the attack by the Jiangtian Sect, it was only now that he realized it wasn't a natural illness, but a soul being ripped out alive while she was on the verge of death... And this wasn't the final outcome; even if the physical body died, her soul would be forever trapped in the Philosopher's Stone, enduring endless torture.

At this moment, the "Fourth Wall" in the void around Chen Ling trembled slightly with his anger.

Chen Ling was furious, but what could he do... Rush to the Infinite Lord and pry the Philosopher's Stone off his head?

In the final analysis, this was just a war between two realms. Who died, or how many people died, didn't matter... As long as he could reverse the era and restart the world, everything was just void.

As Chen Ling's mood calmed down, the faint black patterns at the corners of his eyes gradually deepened. The trembling of the "Fourth Wall" lasted for a dozen seconds before finally returning to silence.

"In that case, the Red Dust Realm's decision to evacuate town residents is indeed the correct choice." Diamond 10 said thoughtfully. "The towns near the edge of the realm have probably already fallen, and the next will be the towns in the middle ring... Evacuating them in advance not only reduces casualties but also buys time for the Floating Life Painting to fight."

"But can the current Red Dust main city accommodate so many people?"

"After the previous Grey Realm convergence, nearly half of the main city has turned into ruins; it's no exaggeration to say it's paralyzed... Bringing in fleeing refugees at this time will likely put a lot of pressure on supplies."

"But there's no other way. Besides the Red Dust main city, where else can accommodate so many refugees?"

"That's true..."

"In any case, this isn't something we should worry about." Club J said finally.

"How Infinite and Red Dust fight is none of our business. Our mission is just to bury the realm and entomb the Nine Lords... As for which realm to bury or which Nine Lord to entomb, it makes no difference.

We just need to be the 'audience' for this war."

Hearing the word "audience," Chen Ling's mind stirred subconsciously, as if something had flashed through his thoughts.

"Then where are we going now?" Jian Changsheng asked. "Are we going to the Red Dust main city too?"

"People go to the main city to take refuge. Why would we go there? To walk right into a trap?" Heart 9 knocked Jian Changsheng on the head.

"The main city is definitely out. If the Red Dust Realm loses in the war, the main city will surely become a hell on earth... We'd better go to a place that won't be easily affected by the war and won't have too much supervision, and wait for the final 'funeral' to begin."

Club J rubbed his chin with one hand, thoughtful. "Then where else can we go..."

"Liu Town."

Chen Ling spoke suddenly. Amidst the confused gazes of the others, he repeated it firmly,

"...We should go to Liu Town."