Chapter 577: Zong Ge vs Hua Tang – Divine Blessings Bestowed
Hua Tang drifted like a feather, floating above the inn.
Few other gold level fighters mastered flight battle skills. Yet Hua Tang possessed three distinct flight battle skills.
These three battle skills covered three distinct application scenarios. The one he employed now was most suited for covert infiltration.
Hua Tang landed lightly on the inn's roof, the entire process utterly silent.
Magic formations constantly protected the inn's perimeter, and the roof was no exception.
Yet when the magic light swept over Hua Tang's feet, it naturally bypassed him without triggering a single alarm.
In his stealth state, Hua Tang stood openly on the roof, surveying his surroundings.
From his vantage point, he easily observed the patrol teams changing shifts and numerous hidden sentries crouched in corners.
With a dismissive snort, Hua Tang activated his battle skill, vanishing from his spot in an instant, leaving only a few petals drifting behind.
The next moment, he was inside the inn.
The communication device pinned to his collar had been deliberately deactivated.
The interconnected state of these alchemy devices could be detected by certain magic formations, creating a vulnerability.
With his extensive infiltration experience, Hua Tang naturally avoided such minor missteps.
Though Mei Lin's spies couldn't probe the inn's interior, the relevant structural blueprints had already been delivered to Hua Tang.
With just a glance, he etched the layout deeply into his memory.
Recalling the blueprint as he moved, his exploration was swift.
He easily evaded any patrols he encountered along the way.
“This level of personnel and security? To me, it's practically nonexistent.”
“Found it!”
Hua Tang's eyes lit up as his reconnaissance battle skill revealed Zong Ge's blurred silhouette.
“A silver level aura, and the form of a dragonman, it must be Long Fu!” Hua Tang drew a sharp breath, his eyes blazing with intensity.
Little did he know, he had been deceived by a combination of the Deceptive Disguise spell and Anti-investigation and Prophecy spell.
Hua Tang first located the room's main door. Just as he prepared to use his battle skill to push it open, the dozen or so micro-candy pellets in his mouth suddenly began to vibrate.
The vibrations were incredibly subtle, yet Hua Tang immediately sensed the anomaly.
“The shock candy has activated!”
“This means that if I continue to push through the door, I will trigger grave danger.”
“Finally, things are getting interesting.”
Hua Tang gave a cold chuckle as he attempted to decipher the trap.
Yet he found himself utterly unable to locate the crucial defensive warning mechanism.
This setback only fueled his fighting spirit further.
“My current strength and experience should be sufficient to discern any defensive devices within the entire Ice Sculpture Kingdom.”
“Who would've thought I'd encounter something unprecedented while with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps?”
"But that fits their identity, they are arms smugglers, after all. Without any real capability, how could they stir up trouble within the kingdom's market?"
“They clearly aim to break into the market and aggressively sell alchemy arms within the kingdom!”
Hua Tang cautiously tried a second time, only to fail again.
He decisively abandoned the attempt and chose a wall instead.
The opposite side also had defenses, but they were far simpler and easier to bypass than the door.
It took Hua Tang only a moment to slip through the wall.
“This is the Li Jian Clan's inn. They can't make sweeping changes or renovations here.”
“So even with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' powerful surveillance systems, they couldn't establish a complete defense network. There's always a loophole to exploit.”
Hua Tang took a deep breath and quickly scanned his surroundings.
The room's layout matched the blueprint exactly, with only a few simple pieces of furniture added.
Glancing toward the side room, Hua Tang wore his silver fox mask, his pupils constantly glowing pink. In his vision, he could make out the blurred silhouette of a dragonman kneeling in prayer.
Hua Tang didn't rush to search for Long Fu. Instead, he first ransacked the main hall, bedrooms, and bathhouse.
“Where are Long Fu's weapons and equipment?”
“Strange...”
Hua Tang had intended to steal Zong Ge's weapons and gear before the battle.
After searching thoroughly, he found nothing.
“Where did Long Fu hide these things?”
"According to intelligence, they possess gold level storage equipment. During the naval battle at Snake Rat Island, they once stored gold level cannons."
All relevant intelligence had been obtained by Hua Tang.
This was all thanks to Mei Lin's support behind the scenes.
Every action left a trace.
Since escaping Mysterious Monster Island, the survivors' movements had been meticulously tracked by those with ulterior motives. These traces had been compiled into intelligence reports for analysis and interpretation.
“Could that gold level storage equipment actually be portable?” Hua Tang couldn't help but speculate.
Typically, gold level storage equipment was massive and heavy, resembling safes anchored in hidden locations within rooms or ships.
Portable gold level storage gear, capable of being carried, generally had limited capacity.
This was dictated by the current limits of alchemy technology.
“I've been infiltrating this room for so long, yet Long Fu still hasn't detected me.”
“I can afford to be more conspicuous now.”
Hua Tang concluded it would be wiser to first steal Long Fu's equipment.
Thus, he employed another battle skill, one that keenly sensed transcendent auras, enabling him to pinpoint the locations of transcendent items.
Even when these items were concealed, he could detect faint traces.
However, the formidable detection power of this battle skill also meant it couldn't conceal its own aura.
Most of Hua Tang's equipment was designed to suppress, mask, and disguise his own aura. Even so, it could barely cover up this particular battle skill.
Battle skill - High-Energy Scent Detection!
The moment Hua Tang activated it, his nostrils immediately caught an intensely potent transcendent aura.
Not only was it potent, but multiple strands intertwined, delivering a powerful olfactory assault.
The stimulation nearly made Hua Tang sneeze violently!
He swiftly channeled his battle qi to shock his nasal passages, halting the sneeze.
Then, with a look of resentment, he turned toward the side chamber.
He had identified the source.
The source of the powerful aura emanating from the side chamber was incredibly potent.
“Did Long Fu actually equip all his gear onto himself?”
Hua Tang approached the side chamber.
Gradually, he heard the sound of Zong Ge's prayer drifting out from within— Great War God, mighty Military God, for You I shall raise the banner of victory high, I shall...
Hua Tang was suddenly filled with doubt: "According to intelligence, wasn't Long Fu a believer of the Justice Church? Yet this prayer invokes the War God."
“True, the War God's power far surpasses that of the Justice God. It wouldn't be surprising if Long Fu had converted.”
“Or perhaps he worships both deities simultaneously.”
"But regardless, both of these deities belong to the Sheng Ming Empire. These mercenaries likely hail from the Empire!"
As Hua Tang pondered this, a sudden surge of divine power rippled through the air.
A beam of divine light followed, illuminating Zong Ge's form.
“Divine blessing?!” Hua Tang gasped in shock.
Blessed by the deity, Zong Ge was now enveloped in a faint halo of divine power.
Divine blessing - Reveal Enemy Presence!
He abruptly turned, glaring toward Hua Tang's true form and bellowed, “Who goes there?!”
Empowered by the divine blessing [Reveal Enemy Presence], Zong Ge instantly detected Hua Tang.
He halted his prayer, spun around, and lunged forward, fists flying toward Hua Tang.
Hua Tang had no choice but to dodge urgently.
Agile and swift, and having prepared himself, he evaded successfully.
But Zong Ge's follow-up attacks came relentlessly, one after another.
Hua Tang continued to focus on evasion, but Zong Ge's relentless pressure forced him to resort to battle skill to counter.
Bang, bang, bang...
Zong Ge's sweeping strikes created deafening clashes, their shockwaves tearing apart the room piece by piece.
Numerous patrolmen from the Li Jian Clan rushed over to intervene.
“Don't interfere!” Zong Ge bellowed in advance, cutting off their support.
The battle scene was peculiar.
Amidst billowing dust, Zong Ge fought relentlessly, swinging his fists alone.
Amidst such overwhelming pressure, Hua Tang still maintained his invisibility. This scene was transmitted to Mei Lin’s eyes, prompting the Navy Rear Admiral to marvel: when it came to the art of stealth and concealment, Yi Jiu simply couldn’t compare to Hua Tang.
Soon, Zong Ge reduced the second floor of the inn to rubble.
Fortunately, the inn only had two stories, preventing the collapse of higher floors.