Hello, honored Medium

"What? Bai Jing?"

Before Xu Le could finish asking, Wang Shu actually abandoned White Cicada in the sky, Xu Le beside him, and the three hundred-plus students behind him.

He simply ran toward Gu Beichen.

Xu Le was aghast. Was this what he meant by being trustworthy?

"Hey, you're just leaving us here?"

"Sorry, Xu Le. To me, Gu Beichen matters more than you do."

"Well..."

At those words, Xu Le's eyebrows twitched five or six times before he turned to Wang Man behind him.

"Does he mean what I think he means?"

Wang Man squirmed, looking a little bashful as she said:

"Gu Beichen is so handsome. It's only natural."

Xu Le's eyes slowly widened. Was this really how the world worked?

Gu Beichen pressed his hands together, turning molten fire into a thin line that shot toward the distant sky.

In the distance, a black shadow rapidly approached.

Its figure grew larger in Xu Le's eyes, and more and more people could make out its appearance.

Black wings, black robes, and a body as dark as black jade.

Clang!

Jade-like fingers blocked the fiery ray, and it charged straight through.

Black Cicada! It had finally appeared.

[Black Cicada, level 3 Oddity, Guyinduo.]

Landing hard, Black Cicada stood with its hands behind its back.

Its fingertips had been burned red by the fiery ray. Clearly, Gu Beichen's attack had worked.

Looking at Gu Beichen, Black Cicada slowly opened its mouth.

Beneath its handsome face, that open mouth revealed a set of sharp fangs.

Its short, pointed tongue quivered, producing bursts of chilling cicada cries.

Everyone, including the two Night Watchers, thought this was Black Cicada's attack.

But Xu Le realized it was speaking-and he could understand what it meant.

[A level 2 fire Calamity Sorcerer, a Flame Walker!]

Xu Le instinctively looked at Gu Beichen. Was he level 2, just like Zhang Zhe?

Yet their destructive power and combat strength were on entirely different levels.

A Warlock's abilities truly were incomparable to those of other supernatural beings.

Even at level 2, Gu Beichen could fight back against the level 3 Oddity Black Cicada.

That was something Zhang Zhe, a level 2 Swordsman, simply could not do.

Seeing Wang Shu charge over as well, Gu Beichen frowned slightly.

"Idiot, I told you to watch those people. You probably can't help in a fight like this."

"I've already taken the drugs. Don't worry. I won't drag you down."

Listening to their exchange, practically brimming with romantic tension, Xu Le was speechless.

Their surroundings were still unsafe. Although the Night Watchers' arrival had greatly lowered the students' Heart Energy,

the process of summoning White Cicada, along with Black Cicada's appearance,

had cast another shadow over everyone's hearts.

Many people in the classroom still had excessive Heart Energy, constantly attracting nearby Oddities.

Gu Beichen and Wang Shu could hold off the Oddities coming from Black Cicada's direction.

But they could do nothing about the other directions.

Although the Night Watchers were tasked with protecting the people of the Lighthouse, their way of doing so was entirely different from Zhang Zhe's.

To protect the students, Zhang Zhe had been willing to hurt himself, even sacrifice himself.

The two Night Watchers placed greater importance on their teammates-in this case, Gu Beichen and Wang Shu valued each other more.

Just as Wang Shu had said earlier, to the Night Watchers, teammates mattered more than other people.

That was the principle they depended on to survive.

"We can only rely on ourselves!"

As someone who could see Ghost Form Oddities, Xu Le had a fair idea of what they would face next.

Black Cicada and the two Night Watchers became locked in battle.

Relying on his powerful fire Spell Formulas, Gu Beichen barely managed to hold his own against Black Cicada.

But even a Warlock's abilities could not bridge the gap between their levels.

Whenever he faltered, Wang Shu stepped in, either blocking or taking the blow head-on. Every time Gu Beichen was in danger, Wang Shu intercepted it for him.

Together, they fought Black Cicada to a stalemate.

But that stalemate came at a price!

Gu Beichen consumed vast amounts of Red Moon Spirit, while Wang Shu pushed his body beyond its limits.

They were buying time, waiting for dawn.

And for the other Night Watchers departments to arrive.

"Idiot, hold on a little longer. Dawn's almost here."

"Stop talking. Save your strength."

Shhk!

No sooner had Wang Shu spoken than Black Cicada snapped the Night Watchers War Blade in his hand with a single strike.

Sharp fingers pierced Wang Shu's body and easily severed one of his ribs before a fireball finally forced Black Cicada back.

"Idiot! Damn you, disgusting bug! You're dying tonight!"

Although the words sounded rather imposing, coming from Gu Beichen's mouth, they somehow carried a distinctly foolish air.

Black Cicada spread its hands, looking utterly unconcerned.

Just as Gu Beichen gathered energy to unleash a Forbidden Art, Black Cicada vanished.

With his target gone, Gu Beichen froze for a moment.

He sensed danger, but had no idea where it would come from.

Then a shadow appeared behind him and slashed toward his neck.

"Damn!"

Gu Beichen's entire body tensed. He was about to activate his final lifesaving measure when a tremendous crash came from behind him.

Clang!

The ring of clashing metal and the thud of something heavy hitting the ground sounded behind him.

Gu Beichen hurriedly lunged forward. Once he had put some distance between them, he grabbed Wang Shu off the ground and pulled him aside before looking back.

A golden toad, its skinny little legs dangling, bobbed its head as it held a steel fork and pinned Black Cicada beneath it.

"Nom, nom!"

The toad chewed with great mouthfuls. When it noticed Gu Beichen looking at it, it even remembered to give him a thumbs-up.

"Earthworms are delicious!"

Gu Beichen: ???

Wang Shu: ???

Although they had no idea what the toad meant, it seemed they had been saved.

"Who brought out this ugly thing?"

Despite the disdain in his voice, Gu Beichen knew the creature was probably here to help them.

After hastily stopping his bleeding, Wang Shu looked toward Xu Le.

"Probably... that unusual person the captain mentioned. It should be an Ancient Shikigami."

Indeed, Xu Le had summoned Golden Toad!

Unlike last time, after summoning Golden Toad, Xu Le had voluntarily handed over the earthworms.

He had also promised to offer a Guyinduo Fruit afterward.

The moment Golden Toad received the earthworms, it stuffed them into its mouth and began feasting.

Its table manners were so atrocious that they hardly bore describing.

But upon seeing Black Cicada, Golden Toad had raised a few questions with Xu Le.

"Kid, this one won't be easy to deal with. It's Guyinduo!"

Hearing Golden Toad say that, Xu Le became aware for the first time of the factions among Oddities.

"Are Guyinduo Oddities hard to deal with?"

"More than hard. Make enemies of them, and you'll face endless harassment."

"Then do you need anything extra, Lord Golden Toad?"

"You make me sound insatiably greedy. I'm no match for that one. This time, all I can promise is to do my best."

Xu Le nodded to show he understood, but inwardly, he was shocked.

The level 3 Golden Toad had explicitly stated that it was no match for the level 3 Black Cicada.

Did that mean gods were inferior to Guyinduo?

Then what were Red Moon Lineage Oddities like?

Xu Le knew Red Moon Lineage Oddities existed, but he had never seen one.

"Here I go!"

The toad sprang into the air and hurled itself at Black Cicada.

Although its body looked somewhat cumbersome, surprisingly, both its speed and strength could rival Black Cicada's.

It was also the only being present capable of matching Black Cicada.

Thud!

The steel fork slammed into Black Cicada's head.

Its black, jade-like hat shattered under the blow.

But the toad did not escape unscathed either. Black Cicada's claws pierced straight through its belly, spilling the earthworms it had just eaten all over the ground.

Heartbroken, the toad scooped up the earthworms with its tongue and swallowed them again, only for them to spill right back out.

As it bled, the toad's muscular upper body seemed to shrink a little.

"You bastard! Every Guyinduo is nastier than the last!"

After cursing, the toad charged again, accompanied by Gu Beichen's Flame Line from the side.

"Spell Formula-Spirit-Combat, Flame Line."

Black Cicada tried to retreat and evade the Flame Line, but the toad gave it no chance.

It opened its mouth and bit down on Black Cicada's head, using its steel fork to bind Black Cicada tightly.

It even remembered to laugh through its mouthful.

"Hahahaha! Toads are experts at catching cicadas!"

Shhk!

Amid the toad's wild laughter, the Flame Line pierced Black Cicada's chest-and the toad's belly as well.

More food spilled from the toad's stomach, and its body seemed to grow thinner again.

As though it had lost a portion of its power.

"Another hole! I'm taking a huge loss here!"

Having lost some of its strength, the toad could no longer hold Black Cicada down. With a violent twist, Black Cicada flung it into the air.

It crashed heavily to the ground in front of Xu Le.

"Medium, you saw it yourself. I did my best. Remember to save what I asked for until next time, and bring some more earthwo-"

Before the toad could finish, its body began to distort. With a pop, it turned into a wisp of white smoke and vanished into the air.

Looking at the toad's blood covering the ground and recalling its appearance just now, Xu Le felt both amused and a little moved.

"Thank you. Hurt that badly, I hope you're all right. Oh, right. You're not human, are you?"

Xu Le turned his gaze back to the battlefield. Black Cicada clutched its chest and stared at him with an icy expression.

It no longer cared about Wang Shu or Gu Beichen standing nearby.

At that moment, Xu Le seemed to be its only target.

Black Cicada parted its lips slightly and let out another cicada cry.

Xu Le clearly heard its words.

"A newly awakened Medium must be killed. This is the will of My Lord."

With that, Black Cicada rushed toward Xu Le like a bolt of black lightning.

Having just unleashed Flame Line, Gu Beichen had no strength left to stop it.

Wang Shu tried to intercept it, but simply could not keep up with Black Cicada's speed.

That bolt of black lightning rapidly closed in on Xu Le, drawing closer and closer.

Until it reached him!

Boom!

Smoke filled the air as a tremendous force sent Black Cicada flying.

Layers of white shadows surrounded Xu Le.

White Cicada in the sky finally opened her eyes. As she looked at Xu Le, she spoke softly.

"Hello, honored Medium."