Rats in the Shadows

"So strong!"

The purple-haired youth Bodi stared, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Over a dozen bandits had been slaughtered by that crimson giant snake in the blink of an eye! For a Midgod to wield elemental battle beasts to such an extent was simply inconceivable!

"How is this possible? The three Kalu brothers are just dead like that!" The other bandits who noticed this scene had their eyes bulging out of their sockets!

"This target is a tough nut to crack!"

"Let's head over there instead!"

Knowing full well that a powerhouse like Luo Ya was in this direction, the bandits naturally wouldn't continue to charge forward. These large groups of bandits, led by Midgods, fled in terror toward other directions.

Having witnessed that terrifying whip strike, they didn't even have the courage to put up a fight.

"Too strong, too terrifying."

This was the first time these people had truly encountered such a formidable Midgod; he was even more frightening than those Highgods!

"These guys..." Luo Ya glanced coldly at the massive swarm of bandits fleeing like a plague of locusts, but he didn't bother to pursue them, as there were simply too many.

As long as these fellows didn't come looking for death, he couldn't be bothered to lift a finger.

"This kid is quite strong." In the distance, a man in purple robes hidden among the crowd frowned after watching Luo Ya's combat performance. With a flash, he slipped into the shadows, transforming into a ghostly assassin as he crept forward.

The purple-robed man was incredibly fast, and none of the other experts along the way noticed his presence.

"Luo Ya, you are too strong!" The purple-haired youth Bodi looked at Luo Ya with admiration, his face filled with worship.

Yet, he failed to notice a purple phantom emerging from the shadow behind him.

"A Midgod's soul is too weak; he couldn't possibly see through my concealment techniques!" The purple-robed man was brimming with confidence.

As the saying goes, every expert has their specialty; the Laws of Darkness were the most adept at concealment among all the laws. Even a Highgod of the same level would have to focus their attention to detect him.

A Midgod? It was impossible for him to see through his concealment!

"Die!" The thrill of snuffing out a genius surged in his mind. His right hand, clad in a purple glove, swiped gently from the side toward Luo Ya's head!

"Watch out!" At the very moment the purple-robed man struck, Bodi, Milia, and the others finally realized the opponent's presence.

"It's already too late!" A trace of smugness crossed the purple-robed man's face as the blood-colored light in his hand flared brilliantly!

"What!" But just as he thought he was about to succeed, he noticed Luo Ya's cold, indifferent gaze—the look one gives a dead man.

"Bang!" As if swatting a watermelon, Luo Ya's right hand, wearing a Blood-colored Glove, struck the purple-robed man's head first!

"You—" The purple-robed man's face turned to terror, his eyes instantly widening like two copper bells.

The next moment, the purple-robed man's head was blasted apart, and a pitch-black Highgod spark drifted down.

A Highgod of Darkness, dead!

"This, this is a Highgod?" Bodi and the others were completely stunned.

"A Highgod of Darkness who was sneaking up on us... that was close!" Cold sweat poured down Bodi's back. It was fortunate that this Highgod's target was Luo Ya. If it had been him, he would never have been able to react in time!

"This Luo Ya has such sharp combat instincts; to remain so calm and collected under those circumstances!" Bodi couldn't help but admire him even more. No wonder the man could fuse profound mysteries while still at the Midgod stage.

"Luo Ya, are you alright!" Milia and Morti had been given a huge fright just now!

"I'm fine, just a rat hiding in the shadows." The purple-robed man thought he had 'snuck' in perfectly, but Luo Ya had sensed the anomaly the moment he approached this area.

"A rat?" Hearing Luo Ya's assessment, Bodi couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly. Perhaps this was the world of geniuses.

With the precedent of the purple-robed man, even though it seemed no one else was charging toward their area, the group didn't dare to be too careless.

The bandits came quickly and left just as fast. Once the main force began to retreat, the scattered, smaller bandit groups also receded like a tide.

These bandits were clever; although they were ruthless, they wouldn't truly wipe out the Soth Tribe. They only came to 'share' the fruits of the tribe's labor when the time was right.

After all, if they really destroyed this tribe, wouldn't they have to plant the flowers and herbs themselves?

The great battle soon drew to a close, and the day for entering the city was fast approaching.

In fact, inside the space ring of the dead Highgod of Darkness, Luo Ya had found two Metal Lifeforms.

But considering that the distance from Soth Valley to the nearest House City was over twenty million kilometers, and they lacked any presence capable of effectively deterring bandits—such as a Highgod Fiend—Luo Ya still intended to travel to the city with the Soth Tribe.

"Once Morti refines the god spark and becomes a Highgod, traveling in the future will be much more convenient." If a Metal Lifeform had a Highgod inside, it could largely deter bandit forces along the way.

"Mr. Luo Ya, the Soth Tribe Leader thinks very highly of you. If you are willing to join the tribal army, you could immediately become a commander, with a status equal to the other three Highgod commanders..." Inside the tree fortress, a Highgod who looked like a silver-haired butler was trying his best to persuade Luo Ya.

Luo Ya's astonishing performance in the battle two months ago was plain for all to see. Especially that final palm strike, which 'narrowly' counter-killed a sneak-attacking Highgod of Darkness, had caused many to look at him with newfound respect!

In recent times, people had been running to his tree fortress from time to time, wanting to curry favor with him, but Luo Ya was too lazy to see them and had Morti turn them away.

"My goal is to become a Fiend and seek breakthroughs through one dangerous mission after another. Staying in the tribe is too comfortable; it doesn't suit me..." Luo Ya smiled faintly and decisively rejected the Soth Tribe Leader's proposal.

"Become a Fiend?" Hearing Luo Ya say this, the silver-haired butler Kele knew there was no point in trying to persuade him further.

People have different perspectives; some pursue comfort, while others are passionate about a life of adventure and excitement.

In his view, Luo Ya was exactly that kind of person.

"Fiends, even Patriarch Soth gave up on continuing to be a Fiend after experiencing several dangerous missions... Being a Fiend is just too dangerous!" Not to mention the need to first pass the Fiend Assessment, which had an exceptionally brutal screening mechanism.

Even if one successfully passed the assessment and became an official Fiend, there was always the possibility of encountering a powerful enemy during the next mission and dying unexpectedly!

Those who could challenge one high-risk Fiend mission after another and still survive in the end were, without exception, the powerhouses of Hell!

It was just that such people were far, far too few!

"Then I wish Mr. Luo Ya good luck!" Since the other party had made up his mind to leave, the butler Kele naturally would not continue to forcefully persuade him to stay.

Soon, the day of departure arrived. Luo Ya and the other two stepped onto the Metal Lifeform heading toward House City.

"The cities in this Hell are just too few. The entire Liang'an Prefecture spans over a billion li, yet there are only these ten cities. This ratio isn't even one in a thousand; it's truly exaggerated." When Milia first heard this news, she was also somewhat stunned.

Inside the Metal Lifeform, the three of them chatted while watching the scenery.

Thanks to the strength Luo Ya had previously displayed, their cabin was the largest and most comfortable type.

"Those who can gain a foothold in the major cities of Hell are all considered the elite of Hell." Luo Ya thought of the property prices in Hell and couldn't help but shake his head.

To be able to become a resident within a city in Hell was a matter of great pride.