Chapter 284: Negotiations Break Down

The team member on the right stepped forward impatiently, his spiritual energy pressure bearing down on Su Zhan. "Enough talk. Whether you're a good citizen or not, you'll know after coming back with us for verification. Surrender quietly, and you'll suffer less.""No, sir, I really can't go with you. I... I have an urgent matter at home."

Su Zhan retreated half a step. "I promise, I'll cooperate with your investigation. Can we do it right here? I'll tell you everything."

"An urgent matter at home? I think you have a guilty conscience! Final warning: abandon resistance and cooperate with the investigation, or else..."

The middle-aged man erupted with the spiritual pressure of the Tide Realm. "You'll be killed on the spot!"

The atmosphere instantly became tense, like a drawn bowstring.

The sound of all firearm safeties being clicked off was clearly audible.

The auras of over a dozen Awakened individuals locked firmly onto Su Zhan.

Su Zhan hung his head, seemingly paralyzed by the powerful spiritual pressure.

But hidden in the shadows, the corner of his mouth curled into a cold, sharp arc.

Negotiations had broken down.

Then there was no need to keep pretending.

One at Tide Realm fourth stage, two at initial Tide Realm, and the others... Forget it, those levels weren't even worthy of being considered opponents in his eyes.

With this kind of personnel configuration, they still wanted to capture him?

Did their superiors give them the wrong intel?

Well, it made sense. His superiors didn't know his true strength either. He had only killed a few Stream Realm Awakened, so they probably estimated his threat level to be High-risk at most.

No wonder the other side was so confident.

But even among High-risk threats, there were gaps.

He was at the peak of High-risk tenth stage!

Unless an Abyss Realm or Special-risk entity appeared, Su Zhan believed no one in this world could catch him.

Su Zhan raised his head, his eyes filled with pity. "Since you insist on seeking death..."

As he spoke.

A pressure far more terrifying and savage than the cold, rigid middle-aged man's Tide Realm spiritual pressure erupted violently.

Peak High-risk tenth stage!

"ROAR—!"

Su Zhan's roar shook the night sky.

The pressure shattered the mental defenses of the Aberrant Purge Division members. The ordinary members holding guns felt their legs go weak, almost unable to grip their weapons.

"H-High... peak High-risk Aberrant!"

The middle-aged man's face changed dramatically, filled with utter horror.

He never imagined the target wasn't an ordinary High-risk level, but a peak High-risk tenth stage!

"Attack!"

He roared hoarsely, knowing he absolutely could not retreat. Otherwise, everyone would die. He had to create an opportunity for his teammates.

"Life Soul, Bouldering Giant!"

The cold, rigid middle-aged man roared, his body instantly swelling. His skin turned ash-brown as if covered by a thick layer of rock armor. His arms transformed into massive stone pillars, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, smashing down viciously towards Su Zhan.

This was a powerful defensive-type Life Soul.

The Tide Realm member on the left also erupted simultaneously. "Life Soul, Gale Falcon!"

A pair of cyan energy wings unfurled from his back, his speed skyrocketing as he circled to Su Zhan's flank.

Swinging both hands, countless razor-sharp wind blades shot towards Su Zhan.

This was a Life Soul combining agility and attack.

The Tide Realm member on the right clasped his hands together, pressing them fiercely against the ground. "Life Soul, Thorny Dungeon!"

Countless thick, barbed thorns surged wildly from the ground, entangling Su Zhan's legs.

The barbs carried paralyzing toxins.

This was a control-type Life Soul.

The three coordinated seamlessly.

The Bouldering Giant pressed the frontal assault, the Gale Falcon harassed and sliced from the flank, and the thorns controlled and restricted.

It was a near-perfect hunting formation.

Added to this was the concentrated gunfire from the dozens of members behind.

Several dozen other members also manifested their Life Souls. For a moment, the scene was filled with a riot of colors and dazzling light.

Su Zhan's eyes held mockery.

Facing the whistling attacks.

Su Zhan raised his right claw and gently clenched it towards the front.

"HUMM—!"

A wave of Mist Energy, centered on his fist, exploded outwards like a shockwave.

"CRACK!"

"BANG!"

"RIP!"

The first to disintegrate were the bullets, annihilated mid-air.

Immediately after, the countless sharp wind blades collided with the shockwave, shattering inch by inch.

The wildly growing Thorny Dungeon was carbonized.

The massive stone fist collided head-on with the shockwave.

"BOOM!!!"

In the deafening roar.

The middle-aged man's enormous Bouldering Giant form.

The rock armor covering his entire body instantly became riddled with cracks, then exploded.

He himself vomited blood wildly, flying backwards like a kite with its string cut. He smashed heavily into a distant off-road vehicle, denting the bodywork, his fate unknown.

As for the member with the Gale Falcon Life Soul.

He didn't even see what happened, only feeling an irresistible, colossal force slam into his body. His protective spiritual light shattered like paper, and countless bones in his body broke.

He crashed to the ground, immediately falling unconscious.

The fight, from start to finish, took less than three seconds.

The scene fell into deathly silence.

The gun-wielding members and the other Awakened members.

All froze in place, faces filled with disbelief.

Their powerful Captain and two Adjudants, defeated... in a single encounter?

Su Zhan slowly retracted his sharp claws, his golden vertical pupils sweeping coldly across the scene.

His figure moved across the battlefield as if teleporting.

Within a few breaths.

Only Su Zhan remained alive on the scene.

Su Zhan's membranous wings behind him flapped once, his figure shooting skyward.

Powerful air currents roared beneath the wing membranes, the scenery on the ground rapidly shrinking.

Yet Su Zhan didn't dare relax in the slightest.

He hadn't wanted to use his flight ability at all initially.

This was Daxia, a country with a comprehensive national air defense system and extremely strict airspace control.

A flying unit as large and conspicuous as him, without any prior filing, once detected by military radar, the best-case scenario would be being immediately classified as an unidentified high-risk aerial object, followed potentially by several precise anti-air missiles.

Even if the missiles didn't hit him, they would absolutely expose his precise location and flight trajectory.

And the worst-case scenario would be directly alerting the high-level Awakened stationed nearby.

If it attracted an Abyss Realm or even stronger existence to personally ascend and intercept him, then his troubles would be truly immense.

"But there's no other choice now..."

Su Zhan thought helplessly.

After causing such a huge commotion at the riverbank and killing their high-level combatants, the news would quickly reach the Aberrant Purge Division.

The ground-based encirclement would only tighten instantly, with various checkpoints and patrol teams swarming in.

On foot or relying on ordinary transportation, it was simply impossible to escape this area before they completed their encirclement.

Flight was the only choice to quickly escape the danger at present.

But he also knew flight absolutely could not be sustained for long, nor could it be done conspicuously.

Su Zhan kept his flight altitude extremely low, almost skimming the treetops of the undulating mountains and forests below.

Ultra-low-altitude flight could effectively avoid most radar detection.

After flying for roughly over twenty minutes, covering nearly a hundred kilometers, his Future Vision showed no crisis warnings.

Su Zhan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He couldn't keep flying. The risk would increase exponentially over time.