533: Chapter 177: Continue Deeper 533: Chapter 177: Continue Deeper White Hermit’s mind went blank.

He blurted out, asking, “What in the world has happened?”

“This…” Deer K stammered, “Just now…

just…

he…

we, Protector Wan and I, seemed to have caught a trace of the enemy and were tracing the path of their jumps.

Then…

then…”

White Hermit asked, “Then what happened?”

Deer K spoke softly, “It must have been an attack…

Protector Wan’s firewall couldn’t hold up…

it was directly breached!”

Seeing slight trembling in his superior’s hands, Deer K hastily added, “In the last moments, Protector Wan also counterattacked!

The enemy must…

surely, have sustained some damage!”

“Why didn’t you ask for help from the higher-ups…” White Hermit pressed his own head, “What am I even saying…”

The upper echelons of the Six Dragons Sect in the Earth-Moon system had already gotten used to the Iron Heart Dharma King cleaning up the aftermath.

But this place was an exception.

This area was where the Igni Seal resided, acting as the nerve extension of King Aqini.

The Iron Heart Dharma King and King Aqini were both within a superstructure on the Moon.

Their real addresses were almost identical.

And King Aqini could utilize the special protocol within the Igni Seal to establish a dedicated data link, minimizing delay.

The internal strength of Iron Heart Dharma King was far inferior to that of King Aqini.

Under these circumstances, being discovered was inevitable.

The Iron Heart Dharma King, fighting remotely with that enemy, was already at a disadvantage.

If he accidentally triggered the Igni Seal in the midst of battle, then King Aqini would instantly realize there was a betrayal in his midst.

White Hermit abruptly surged forward, swinging a punch that landed squarely on Deer K’s face.

Concerned that his subordinate might fly out and damage the equipment, White Hermit rotated his right arm halfway to force the direction of the punch downward—along with Deer K’s face.

Deer K fell directly to the ground.

The metallic face of this Scientific Knight caved in completely.

Many internal devices shattered, and components clattered down like spurting blood.

This was possible because a Scientific Knight’s biological brain wasn’t located in the skull.

Guardian Zhi then crouched down, looking at Protector Wan.

“Ah Wan, Ah Wan,” Guardian Zhi sighed, “You’d just upgraded to the Mechanical Realm, weren’t you aiming to strive for higher peaks, to see a higher vista?

It’s really…”

Only then did White Hermit pull Deer K up, saying, “Forget it, it was not caused by direct combat.”

For a Scientific Knight like Deer K, this type of “face-smashing” punishment wouldn’t affect his speech or vision.

He said, “Is this the level of internal strength close to that of the Iron Heart Dharma King…”

White Hermit pondered, “Why did this happen?

According to the news received earlier, we had given that dangerous individual some contraband items.

Following standard operational thinking, he should have used those items for an upgrade.

Furthermore…”

He had provoked King Aqini just a few hours earlier.

Wasn’t he afraid of that demon-like person?

“He’s probably targeting us,” Guardian Zhi’s gaze fell on Protector Wan’s torso, “He had already anticipated this.

As we have hidden many secrets in this city, we will do our utmost to avoid being investigated by King Aqini.

And King Aqini, bound by Yawgmoth, would not level the Secluded Crane Knight Order just to kill the thieves.”

“Under this premise, the forces we can mobilize within the city are very limited, only that part ‘completely belonging to the Six Dragons Sect’.”

White Hermit was startled, “The Protectors on the perimeter will also become obstacles for us…”

“You have already moved some of them away,” Guardian Zhi said unconcernedly, “If you need me to hunt him down in the city, I’ll need a few good men to coordinate with me, and it might cause a bit of a commotion.

Of course, we could also just let the guy go.

He’s probably just taking advantage of the situation to loot some valuable materials in the city.”

Decisively, White Hermit said, “I don’t believe it, this Hero is too crazy.

We can’t just let him go.”

Deer K couldn’t help but say, “But Guardian, that guy is very strong.”

In his view, anyone capable of killing Protector Wan instantly was also a grave danger for Guardian Zhi.

“I’ve been partners with Wan for a long time.

I know how to deal with someone whose Internal Strength is far stronger than my own,” Guardian Zhi said, “And because of the ‘Indra’ patch, I had to give up a lot already.”

“Indra” was naturally a jargon developed by Martial Artists who dared not mention King Aqini by name.

For low-ranked Martial Artists, managing an abnormal viewing angle and acquired senses could be very awkward, leading to mental discomfort and fatigue.

However, high-ranked Martial Artists had a very comprehensive way of gathering information.

Hacking into street cameras, others’ Prosthetic Eyes to achieve “Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing,” various kinds of active radars, Drone Formations, and the infrared-ultraviolet spectrum of Prosthetic Eyes were all part of this.

These complex surveillance systems would help Martial Artists better grasp the rapidly changing battlefield.

However, these information input channels all bore traces of “back doors.”

When facing an Internal Strength Master, it might be necessary to abandon these perceptual advantages.

After using King Aqini’s patch, Guardian Zhi didn’t dare to use network-level “support” or “blessings” anymore.

Inside the city of the Order of the Six Dragons, he was originally able to freely access the data from the city surveillance systems.

Now, he had to give that up.

Facing someone with greater Internal Strength than Protector Wan naturally meant giving up even more.

But…

“This kind of giving up can also be seen as a ‘game rule,'” Guardian Zhi said, “It’s alright.

Just ensure to cut down the opponent before the Gu takes effect.”

White Hermit had completely regained his composure, “According to Deer K, there was a moment of stalemate before Protector Wan died.

That mysterious enemy might not be the ‘Nameless’ one who is causing disturbances in the satellite network…

but be extremely careful.

It is said that Nameless’ External Strength also surpasses the range of the ‘First Layer Heavenly Land.’ Additionally, he possesses a Sonicon Blade—probably also leaked from our channels.”

Guardian Zhi nodded, “Very meaningful intelligence.

I will be careful.”

…………………………………

Flames were blazing furiously behind him.

Xiang Shan then climbed out from a maintenance trench of the War Chariot and naturally walked toward the central building of Secluded Crane City.

Firefighters brushed past him.

Some Cybernetically Enhanced People looked at him curiously, seemingly thinking that his mismatched Prosthetic Body didn’t resemble that of someone from the regular forces.

But Xiang Shan simply patted the shoulder of one, walking past like a supervisor.

The individual quickly saluted.

Xiang Shan did not speak, but their friend-or-foe recognition mechanism responded.

While copying the Igni Seal data, Xiang Shan also casually forged a temporary identity verification for himself, which would expire in a quarter of an hour.

He must have done this just after quickly dispatching that guy.