Almighty Genius

Chapter 2265 - 1759: Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace!

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Walking on the road leading to the entrance of the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace, Vincent's face was quite gloomy... The news from the front made him very displeased, his anger already building up, though he forcibly held it back without releasing it.

"Captain Vincent, your people... seem to have suffered quite a loss!"

Standing next to him was an elderly Chinese man in his fifties, his face glowing with a rosy hue, as if he had gained many benefits. Looking at Vincent's iron-blue face, he spoke fearlessly, with a hint of mockery in his words.

"Hmph..."

Vincent frowned slightly, seemingly on the verge of losing his temper, but in the end, he just let out a cold snort.

This old man was not a member of the Hand of the Devil Mercenary Corps, but a master sent by the Six Major Chinese Clans, his strength on par with Vincent's, having reached the Great Grandmaster Level... Evidently, the Six Major Families did not trust the Hand of the Demon people, thus sending someone to monitor them.

This maintained a semblance of peace between the two on the surface, but underneath, they had long been at odds, with this elderly man occasionally provoking Vincent.

The reason was simple: they both had gotten news through their respective channels that there was a team in the Third Floor of the Underground Palace consistently targeting the Hand of the Devil Mercenary Corps, snatching the treasures they obtained.

Since the unfortunate ones were all from the Hand of the Devil, naturally many believed the culprits were from the Six Major Chinese Clans... Vincent thought so, and the Chinese old man thought so as well.

Their thoughts on this matter were naturally completely different...

Vincent felt quite furious and aggrieved, wishing to annihilate the entire Six Major Chinese Clans... but now he had no choice but to suppress this thought and work reluctantly with them.

On the other hand, the old man obviously found the Hand of the Devil people quite displeasing, and was more than happy to see his side robbing their treasures and resources, wishing for his people to strip the Hand of the Devil completely bare if possible.

If not for the necessity of continuing their cooperation, the two sides might have already started fighting...

"Triple Gates of Life and Death..."

As they spoke, they arrived at the Triple Life-and-Death Gates, and everyone stared at the three stone doors, not knowing how to choose.

"Three gates, two lead to life, one to death... Have three people try them out and you'll know!"

Such a choice was very difficult for someone like Qin Fang, who cared for his subordinates' lives, but for the Hand of the Devil or the Six Major Families, it was much simpler. The Chinese old man directly suggested this.

Of course, he looked towards the Hand of the Devil Mercenary Corps, clearly indicating that Vincent should send someone out to be the cannon fodder...

"No need..."

But at this moment, Vincent coldly rejected the old man's suggestion, walking directly to the Triple Life-and-Death Gates, carefully observing the stone doors until he finally discovered a very obscure mark at the corner of the door leading to the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace.

"This gate leads to the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace..."

Seeing the mark, Vincent's face showed a slight smile, then he confidently said.

Qin Fang had been hiding in the dark all along, and only when they reached the entrance of the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace did he covertly blend into the group, naturally observing Vincent's actions clearly.

Sure enough, beside the stone door, there was a very obscure mark, which Charlie had told Qin Fang about, so he couldn't mistake it...

Upon reflection, this mark was certainly left by the Hand of the Demon people, and only Gagarin's group had entered the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace before.

Although Gagarin and his men were all wiped out by Qin Fang, the mark had already been left, and Qin Fang and his party hadn't discovered or removed it in time...

"Didn't expect this..."

Qin Fang was slightly surprised, not expecting Gagarin, who appeared rough, to be so meticulous, having left this mark long ago, sparing these people from unnecessary casualties.

"Doesn't matter, they'll have to go in sooner or later..."

However, Qin Fang was open-minded. Even without the mark, it would only slightly hinder their steps for a moment, not prevent them from proceeding... Rather than delay, it was better to enter the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace sooner.

"Go, enter..."

With the presence of this mark, Vincent's face relaxed significantly. With a wave of his hand, he sent a team into the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace... Of course, he personally wouldn't take the risk of going in, in case it was a trap.

The internal struggle within the Hand of the Demon was also quite serious. Gagarin's strength was slightly weaker than Vincent's, but his desire for power never waned, and Vincent was obviously afraid of Gagarin intentionally setting him up.

"Captain, the path is correct..."

The daredevil squad rushed in, but soon fell silent. Only three minutes later, a blood-covered person dashed out, managing to utter a single sentence before succumbing to his injuries and dying.

"Hiss~~~"

Such a scene indeed left those outside staring in shock.

The team sent in by Vincent was quite skilled, including several experts from the Core Guard Squad, yet they met a fate of total annihilation, showing just how perilous the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace was.

"Vadeli, you lead the charge..."

Both Vincent and the elderly Chinese man expected such losses. The further into the depths of the Underground Palace, the more precious the treasures, but also increasingly dangerous... In their eyes, this situation was hardly noteworthy.

Without a moment's hesitation, Vincent immediately deployed an elite squad from the Core Guard Squad down into the depths.

"Meng Lin, you take your men in..."

The Chinese elder, seemingly unwilling to lag behind, promptly gathered a team from his own ranks and sent them in. His distrust of the Hand of the Devil Mercenary Corps was his sole motivation, suspecting they might be putting on an act.

Especially when Vincent noticed the mark left by Gagarin, indicating some of their party had already reached the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace...

Of course, they were unaware that the first to reach the Fourth Layer, Gagarin, had long since exited and fallen at Qin Fang's hands. The Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace indeed contained no others... If it did, they would likely be mere corpses.

Only Qin Fang knew of these events, and he naturally wouldn't reveal them. Thus, the two opposing camps each dispatched an elite squad speeding into the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace...

"Even if they can't hold out, they should manage to endure for a while..."

Qin Fang briefly assessed the strength of the two elite squads. Though none individually matched Gagarin's prowess, collectively their strength surpassed Gagarin's previous team by a tier... If Gagarin's team could hold out, these squads should fare no worse.

Indeed, these squads entered the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace, and three minutes later, someone emerged from the stone gate.

"The situation inside is dire; we need support..."

Having managed to say only this, they returned to battle within the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace.

"Advance!"

Receiving this report, Vincent and the elderly Chinese man exchanged glances, then simultaneously issued the command. All the gathered troops at the gate surged into the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace, including Qin Fang, who mingled among them and joined the masses inside.

As anticipated by Qin Fang, the stone gate featured a small teleportation array. Entering it led directly to the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace... A moment of darkness appeared before him, briefly blinding his eyes.

Upon entering the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace, a peculiar, decaying scent immediately assaulted their senses, far stronger than in the previous three layers.

After a brief adjustment to the darkness, everyone finally discerned the view of the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace... perhaps not the entire view, but at least the entrance area was more apparent.

"Hiss~~"

The sight caused many to instinctively gasp, Qin Fang included. "Puppet people... so many!"

The Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace was virtually blanketed with puppet people...

The entrance, in particular, was densely packed with countless puppet people, and apart from them, more puppet people beyond sight...

The reason these experts perished so tragically was due to the overwhelming assault of endlessly numerous puppet people...

These puppet people, although not as invincible as the Bronze Warriors outside, were crafted from wood and metal, making them quite resilient and sturdy. Together in vast numbers, their collective power was unimaginably formidable.

To complicate matters, among the countless puppet people, some Bronze Warriors were interspersed...

"Now it's clear why even Gagarin could only flee wretchedly..."

Faced with this scene, even Qin Fang couldn't help but chuckle bitterly as he voiced his thoughts.

Gagarin's prowess was indeed on par with Qin Fang, able to contend with the Bronze Warriors. Yet confronting a sea of puppet people, alongside the occasional pursuit by Bronze Warriors, his survival was extraordinarily fortunate.

As for breaking through the puppet people's assault... better not to dream of it, unless he could fly overhead!

"Fly overhead?"

Qin Fang found himself startled by this sudden thought, instinctively glancing toward the upper section of the Fourth Layer of the Underground Palace, and then... a small smile appeared on his face. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)