528: Chapter 172: Splitting Up to Take Action 528: Chapter 172: Splitting Up to Take Action Frankly, Xiang Shan also felt that the team was becoming somewhat problematic.

Solo Kill King was a Martial Artist with prominent Inner Strength skills.

However, due to the presence of Hartman, Earth Heroes were considerably suppressed in their development of Inner Strength.

They would progress slowly due to a lack of interaction with the internet.

Solo Kill King’s skills overlapped too much with Xiang Shan’s, yet his level was far below Xiang Shan’s.

Because of the nature of modern automated systems, in an Inner Strength Battle, a person with high-level access could function as a thousand people.

And Cain was essentially a Burrow Dragon with the nature of a local snake, rendering his combat ability even worse.

From this perspective, Xiang Shan would rather have Yuan Wenren as his assistant.

If it were one-on-one, Yuan Wenren would be much weaker than Solo Kill King under most circumstances.

However, Yuan Wenren had a mastery of Firearms Path.

She could set up fire support along Xiang Shan’s retreat path.

Nonetheless, “battle timing” was more critical than “teammates.”

Or rather, on the premise of “guaranteeing a minimum level of combat proficiency,” “timing” was more important than “supporting combat power.”

Yangtze Knight Daijiu Tai’a displayed an “unlimited conceding” attitude when negotiating with Xiang Shan, merely hoping that Xiang Shan would leave and then ensure that their current operation was undisturbed.

This meant they acknowledged that Xiang Shan indeed had the capacity to “disrupt” their activities.

Well, to be fair, based on the strength Xiang Shan had shown in front of the Six Dragons Sect, it enveloped “a close-combat level that is utterly superior to Heavenly Gang and Green Forest” as well as “an Inner Strength level on par with the Iron Heart Dharma King.”

Such high-mobility combat power, with the potential to breach through armies, could indeed “disturb” most matters.

Therefore, the Six Dragons Sect would rather offer a condition that Xiang Shan found hard to refuse, in exchange for a moment of tranquility.

And from the satellite images, protectors of several major cities nearby all showed signs of reallocating military forces to the Shallow Sea or North Pacific islands for activities.

Xiang Shan didn’t know if this was the result of Secluded Crane Knight Order’s demands, or if the Secluded Crane Knight Order had chosen to act at this time because of the situation, but it was definitely related to them.

Yet Xiang Shan simply couldn’t allow the Six Dragons Sect to have their way.

The Six Dragons Sect possessed immense strength and a high degree of organization.

Throughout their long history, there was no sign of them opposing the government or supporting chivalrous acts.

This organization even demonstrated more cruelty and bloodshed in some of their activities than an average Scientific Knight.

They didn’t even dare to disclose the nature, charter, or purpose of their organization.

They couldn’t be considered a “force opposing the Oppressors.” They were more like “a small group of Oppressors parasitizing within the Oppressors.”

And, Xiang Shan had no intention of overturning the organization by himself.

Taking advantage of this “opportunity” to slightly alter the situation in the north side of the new continent and acquiring other resources was his goal this time.

“Brother Cain, you can just pick any place in the southwest direction to lay a Landmine Formation,” Xiang Shan said calmly.

“After setting up the mines, you can find a place to retreat on your own or you can meet up with old Jader and retreat together…”

A Landmine Formation was useful, whether for blocking the enemy’s steps or for disrupting visibility.

And Secluded Crane City had one advantage—there were no civilians here.

“Civilized Protectors” should be driving away marauders for any humans with the intention of reproducing, while also exiling individuals who posed a threat to the community.

Protectors, due to their own staffing issues, were unable to comprehensively shelter all areas, which is why many chose to live as close to Protectors as possible.

But Secluded Crane City was absolutely dominated by the Scientific Knight Order.

The primary duty of the local armed forces was to guard the Scientific Knight Order.

For easier management, those Protectors would prevent civilians from approaching the central region of Secluded Crane City.

Secluded Crane City itself, nestled within the mountains, was not suitable for human habitation.

Therefore, even the family members of middle-ranking officers would choose to settle in other cities.

In this area, many tactics that could easily harm civilians were now viable.

Then, he looked at Solo Kill King.

“Jader, wait for me on Slope B.

There’s a peripheral signal station there.

The countdown is three hours.

If there’s a huge disturbance within three hours, you’re to cause confusion at the edge.

If it goes past three hours, you’ll be responsible for supporting me.

Of course, after four hours, you can do whatever you want before you retreat on your own,” he said.

The two Heroes nodded.

“Now, synchronize our clocks.” Xiang Shan exchanged glances with the two Heroes, sharing information via electromagnetic waves.

After that, Xiang Shan continued his Inner Strength towards Secluded Crane City.

Secluded Crane City—to be precise, the central building of Secluded Crane City and its other affiliated structures, located in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains, were mostly on the mountain.

And that huge building, it looked as if an abnormal claw had fallen from the sky and snapped off an entire peak.

The rest of the guardian buildings were distributed according to the mountainous terrain.

Xiang Shan slowly made his way up along the cliff and stopped by the roadside, lying tightly against the cliff under the cover of a Camouflage Net.

Above him, there was a small signal station.

And the rest of the preparations had long been completed.

When he hacked into the satellite network, he had secretly planted a variety of viruses in different cities’ management systems.

These Gu were very Concealed.

As long as one could bypass the firewall, Xiang Shan could pry open more backdoors, doing much more.

Soon, a transport vehicle stopped here.

It was a medium-sized truck, guarded on both sides by high Mobility Soldiers with wheels for legs.

Seeing the vehicle stop, a Guardian stepped forward and asked, “What happened?”

The truck directly replied, “Temporary Command.

There’s a special operative staying here.

We’re responsible for retrieving his brain and taking him back to the base.”

“Is there such a Command?”

The Guardian appeared puzzled.

But at this moment, they heard a voice message from under their feet, “I’m here.”

The men looked down and were startled.

It was a head connected to a spine.

The vertebrae below the head seemed to have independent motor functions, allowing for small movements.

This person looked like a long snake with a human head.

The Guardian picked up the head, cautiously averting his gaze.

But in that instant, the spine of the head suddenly struck the Guardian’s head from the side.

The blow could not cause injury, but it could adjust the angle of their heads.

In that instant, their eyes met.

The Guardian’s hands trembled slightly.

Behind him, the other Guardians said, “Boss, something’s not right.

We didn’t receive this Command.

This must be a forgery by a master of the Internal Arts…”

“No,” the lead Guardian calmly turned around, “you do not have sufficient clearance.”

He held the head facing the others.