Four against sixteen.
The madman stepped forward to block the children, frowning. "How do you want to cooperate?"
The searchlights flickered, completely illuminating the area. The bronze houses were not just one at our feet; they stood in a staggered arrangement within the temple grounds.
At first glance, it looks like a small village forgotten by time, with a narrow path running through it.
"Your Chinese people believe in seeing is believing, so to show my sincerity..." A sly smile flashed across Morris's face beneath his hood.
Without warning, he grabbed the arm of a black-clad servant behind him, lifted him up, and slammed him into the bronze house.
The waiter never expected that he would scream as his body arced through the air, his hood blown off by the strong wind, revealing a pale, young face filled with fear.
The moment their eyes met, he pleaded with them, "Save me, save me! I don't want to die!"
The madman's brows furrowed deeply, and his five fingers twitched beneath his sleeve, but he ultimately did not make a move.
Despite his back slamming against the bronze door with a loud thud, the door remained closed, and the servant slid off.
Just as her body crashed heavily to the ground, blood splattering onto the floor, a soft rustling sound arose, and Ruan Xianxian raised her eyebrows.
The searchlight shone on the foundation, and everyone held their breath. The rustling sound became more and more obvious as the waiter crawled forward on his hands and feet.
Something made a popping sound as it burrowed into the soil, then buzzed as it flapped its wings and swooped down towards the waiter.
The Holy Alliance members instinctively took a step back, and Morris reminded them, "Don't leave the path; it's safe there."
Everyone stared intently and finally saw the thing that had broken out of the ground: a praying mantis, a large praying mantis the size of a palm, its body a pale earthy color.
A pair of foot sickles gleamed with a powerful sheen under the lamplight.
The madman drew his sword, and without any visible movement, the giant mantis was cleaved in two by the sword's energy. The waiter cast a grateful glance at him, while Morris merely sneered.
The next instant, countless mantises burst from the ground, flapping their wings and flying toward the human who had already crawled ten meters and was trying to get up and run away.
With a flap of its wings, it instantly appeared ten meters away, scrambling to land on the waiter and nibbling at him.
The crunching sound of teeth tearing flesh and even bones is chilling.
The madman glanced at Ruan Xianxian without leaving a trace. The latter understood and tried to communicate with the group of palm-sized mantises that crawled out of the ground.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The response was frantic and chaotic; these creatures lacked even the most basic consciousness, driven only by instinct to kill and devour.
Weiwei shook her head at the madman who was watching her reaction.
In just a few breaths, the waiter, who had been struggling and screaming, suddenly widened his eyes to the extreme and stopped moving, holding one hand outstretched.
However, the mantises did not let him go, and the crunching sounds of them chewing never stopped.
In the end, only an empty robe lay there all alone, its internal organs and bones completely devoured in less than a minute.
The people present were all seasoned sorcerers from various countries. Their faces showed nothing but caution, and they began to wonder if they could escape the mantis's prey.
The answer is yes.
The waiter was already seriously injured before falling into the dojo during the fight on the snow mountain, and only Maurice's sudden attack left him with no way to escape.
They could return to the safe zone before the mantis breaks through the soil.
The idea had barely formed when Morris poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm.
"It's no use. Once you touch the taboo here, the praying mantis will follow your aura to the death. Guess how many of these creatures are hiding under this mountain?"
Everyone felt a chill run down their spine.
The exact number is impossible to calculate; saying it's infinite is almost accurate.
The only way to deal with it is to escape quickly. Mantises are worms that live for a hundred days, and they are nothing to fear once they return to the snowy mountains.
But no one can be sure that it has deviated from the normal range, and whether a palm-sized centipede is still afraid of the cold.
The dojo should be protected by an array, and the temperature should be pleasant, around 20 degrees Celsius.
Changing the temperature of a region using formations is something that even the current Bureau 749 can do, let alone in ancient times; it's not difficult.
What's remarkable is that, even after thousands of years, the mechanical insect array set up here is still in operation.
Yes, a swarm of insects.
I wonder if the madman realized that Ruan Xianxian, who has regained all her memories, understood the secrets of this place.
She remained impassive, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes. The most interesting part was yet to come!
Turning his gaze away from the empty robe, Maurice smiled confidently. "Friends from China, shall we cooperate?"
With a wave of his staff, a soft holy light enveloped the mantises, who, having eaten their fill, were unwilling to return and were eager to attack them.
The mantises that were enveloped in the holy light felt uncomfortable and rushed to burrow into the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the land returned to its original state. If it weren't for a piece of the deceased's robe remaining on the spot, it would have seemed as if nothing had happened.
It's even less apparent that countless large carnivorous insects are lurking underground.
"How about that? This is the sincerity of our Holy Alliance."
The madman took a deep breath, raised a finger and shook it, "No, no, no, I can still choose to go out and make full preparations before going back in."
Want to cooperate? Forget about the ancestral treasures that might exist here; you vermin won't even be allowed to take a single vegetable leaf out of the country!
These words sounded domineering, but deep down, the martial arts fanatic was not optimistic.
He has been to countless places over the years, including mountains, dangerous places, and even tombs. Now, with a Taoist temple of this scale, it's unlikely that once you enter, you'll leave so easily.
He said that merely to test the waters.
Sure enough, Morris laughed, a laugh tinged with contempt and mockery as he asked:
"Get out? Where's the exit? Where's the entrance? You came in and started chasing and biting people like crazy, did you even bother to check?"
Upon hearing this, the madman scratched the ground with his toes.
He was only thinking about helping Ruan Yatou break the curse, and when he came in, he chased after Spencer and killed him. He didn't have time to check the entrance or exit.
He's the pinnacle of combat prowess, single-mindedly devoted to martial arts research, but his brain... well, that's about it!
Morris gestured for him to go ahead and see for himself if he didn't believe him.
The madman stood still.
What if he leaves and the Holy Alliance uses the children against him? Such things happen all the time.
The mocking look reappeared in Morris's eyes. Just as he was about to show his tolerance and sincerity again, a gust of wind suddenly came from behind him.
"Moo—"
A massive yak, emanating a chilling aura, charged from the end of the path, its pair of hard horns aimed at Maurice.
No one dared to confront this behemoth head-on.
As for using magic?
Don't joke around. Everyone here is a seasoned veteran. Who knows if using magic recklessly before understanding the rules of this territory might violate taboos?
Alliances, alliances—you must have yourself first, then you can form alliances.
The sorcerers from various countries following behind Maurice made way in perfect unison, allowing the giant yak to carry Maurice away with a single horn.
"Moo!"
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