Lord of Prayer - Chapter 98 - 86: One of Our Own
Chapter 98: Chapter 86: One of Our Own
In a hallway as devastated as a fire scene, Li Xiaoxiao ran for her life. Behind her, a mass of shadow sped across the floor, in relentless pursuit.
Two seeds fell from her body. After landing, they grew and expanded at a visible rate into countless slender, gray vines.
These gray vines were not vibrant like normal plants; instead, they exuded a dense aura of death, like creations from Hell. They were covered in countless barbs, writhing like a swarm of demonic tentacles.
They grew wantonly through the hallway, spreading and intertwining to form a wall of vines, attempting to block her pursuer.
The Gentleman was currently in his Shadow Transformation state, moving freely through the darkness. Normally, such an obstacle should have been nothing to him, but he seemed wary of it, choosing instead to slip through the crack of a door into an adjacent room to go around.
Behind them, Zhou Chen pulled out his Flintlock Pistol and pulled the trigger.
A crimson, crystalline bullet, wreathed in pale flames, shot out at high speed. Like a heavy round from an anti-materiel sniper rifle, it punched clean through the wall of vines, blasting a hole half the size of a person. Its power was terrifying—Enchanted Alchemy Bullets had double the lethality against Abyssal Creatures!
Pale flames ignited on the wall of vines. The gray vines shriveled violently under the heat, becoming dry and brittle.
Zhou Chen didn’t slow down, smashing straight through the brittle vines in pursuit. But his steps suddenly faltered, and he skidded to a halt.
All sorts of bizarre plants were taking root and sprouting in the hallway.
Cannibal Flowers, Serrated Grass, Devil Vines…
Countless strange and twisted, monstrous plants shot up. Within a breath or two, they grew vigorously and reproduced rapidly, becoming dense and lush, turning the entire hallway into a paradise for Abyssal Plants.
At his feet, slender tendrils slithered toward him like cunning snakes.
Zhou Chen backed away slowly. He recognized these as a type of parasitic plant that would infest blood vessels and muscles like long, thin worms. Once inside a host, they would cause severe contamination, turning the victim into a “vegetable.”
—A literal vegetable, the kind that sprouts plants all over their body.
’This must be Li Xiaoxiao’s Ability… She can accelerate plant growth. After being baptized by Abyssal Power, she gained control over Abyssal Plants, but this scale is just terrifying…’ Zhou Chen frowned.
He didn’t waste his Essence. He slammed open the door to a nearby room, intending to bypass the plants like the Gentleman had, only to find the huge, luxurious room was also being overrun by spreading Abyssal Plants—they were pouring in madly from another door a few meters away.
That pool of shadow was blocked by the wall ahead, with the rampant Abyssal Plants growing behind it. The small space would soon be completely swallowed.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadow. It was the Gentleman, wearing his top hat, black tailcoat, and bow tie, and holding an ornate Walking Stick.
He paid no mind to the madly growing plants behind him, nor to Zhou Chen. He simply raised his silver-inlaid Walking Stick and tapped it lightly on the floor.
TAP.
Instantly, all the architecture within a fifteen-meter radius of the Walking Stick turned to dust and sand.
The walls around the Gentleman, the floor beneath his feet, and the ceiling above all crumbled into sand. His figure melted into the shadows and vanished via Shadow Shifting.
The floor beneath Zhou Chen gave way, and he plummeted downward amidst a sky full of yellow sand.
’He was stunned. ’What kind of Ability is this? Directly altering matter?’’
As he fell, information about countless Forbidden Objects flashed through his mind, but none matched that Walking Stick. Perhaps it was a hidden, mysterious Forbidden Object from Fallen Paradise—before this, the Gentleman had never carried a Walking Stick.
THUD. Zhou Chen landed steadily. The height of a single floor was no problem for him, but he was covered in sand from head to toe, looking like a naughty kid who had just rolled around in a sandbox.
“Jiang Che, I lost Li Xiaoxiao on the third floor. The Gentleman showed up. He has an uncatalogued Forbidden Object that can turn buildings to sand. I suspect it can alter matter. And Li Xiaoxiao’s Ability is controlling plant growth. She also said there’s a hidden passage on the fourth floor that leads straight underground.”
He quickly reported the information to Jiang Che.
“I understand. I’ll have the Operators and Ravens give chase. How are you?”
Jiang Che didn’t seem to be watching from his first-person perspective, likely busy directing the operation.
“I’m fi—”
Zhou Chen’s voice cut off abruptly. His muscles tensed as he spotted several Abyssal Creatures roaming the ruins nearby!
A Fire Slave, a Rotting Hound, and a Minotaur with black flames burning on its horns!
They were all Abyssal species from Chaos Purgatory. Their mere existence constantly radiated contamination. The Minotaur in particular exuded a suppressive pressure, and its Power was likely immense.
’Wait a minute, I’m still a Steward of the Eternal Fire. I’m on their side, so what the hell am I panicking for… But I haven’t undergone the so-called ’baptism’. I wonder if they’ll even recognize me…’
An idea struck Zhou Chen. He took the Holy Fire Ring out of his pocket and put it on, wondering if this Token would work on Abyssal Creatures…
Unexpectedly, the effect was immediate. The moment the hostile Abyssal Creatures saw the Holy Fire Ring, they immediately knelt in worship.
“Leave this place,” Zhou Chen said in a low voice, issuing the command like a superior.
“Yes.” The Minotaur actually spoke human words. It bowed its head to accept the order, then rose and led the other Abyssal Creatures away.
’It can talk? And it has some intelligence?’ Zhou Chen’s thoughts raced. He suddenly called out to them, “Wait.”
“What are your orders?” the Minotaur asked slowly.
“Cyan Whale sent me to find something in the warehouse. Do you know where the warehouse is?” Zhou Chen asked.
“On the second basement level, there is a Room in the Crack, but I don’t know its exact location.” The Minotaur seemed simple-minded and answered every question asked of it.
“I know where it is. The Room in the Crack is… is… is… behind a painting,” the Fire Slave said, struggling to recall fragmented memories.
“Good, I understand. Go and delay them for as long as possible. For our Lord!”
“For our Lord!”
The Minotaur praised him piously, then led the other Abyssal Creatures to intercept the attackers.
’The warehouse is behind a painting on the second basement level. Who knows if that painting is even still there, but I can try my luck…’
Since he was already here, Zhou Chen figured there was no harm in trying and decided to take a trip down to the second basement level.
He wouldn’t be able to catch up to Li Xiaoxiao and the Gentleman; who knew where they had run off to by now. He could only place his hopes on the Raven Team and the other Operators. After all, they were fully prepared and much stronger, so their chances of success were surely higher.
As for him…
With the Holy Fire Ring, he was one of them; the Abyssal Creatures wouldn’t attack him.
And he didn’t need to fear running into the Raven Team or the Star Association Operators either. Everyone had seen his photo before the operation to avoid mistaking him for a follower of the Eternal Fire and killing him on the spot.
Therefore.
’It seemed he was the only one who could wander around the battlefield freely, wasn’t he?’
