154: The little mantis protects its master.

Ultimately, the two people who had been glaring at each other decided to cooperate.

The woman was responsible for stealing information from the laboratory, while Xie Ning stood guard near the door, ready to instantly kill anyone who entered.

Just as the woman had expected, it wasn't long before someone entered the laboratory to check on it.

He cut down anyone who came, one by one or two by two.

Xie Ning’s sword rose and fell, as simple as cutting vegetables, without alerting those outside.

“Your sword technique is quite extraordinary and feels very familiar, though it's a bit rusty,” the woman said, glancing back while busy, before asking out of curiosity, “Hey, who is your Master?”

“I refuse to answer. You’d better hurry up. Those outside will soon grow suspicious,” Xie Ning replied without looking back.

The woman looked indifferent and turned back to continue her work.

Sure enough, when the guards outside saw that no one had come out for a long time, they realized something was wrong.

“Charge!”

As the main door swung open, a dozen or so guards rushed in.

Xie Ning’s longsword danced wildly while his other hand gripped an ice blade borrowed from the woman. With one of ice and one of fire, he fought the group of guards—none of whom were above Bronze Rank—leaving them powerless to resist.

Unfortunately, a short-range communication had already been sent out, and more and more guards were rushing toward the Information Hub.

“Hurry up!” Xie Ning took a deep breath as he watched another dozen or so guards running down the corridor from a distance.

The battle unfolded in the corridor by the entrance. It was Xie Ning's first time using a blade, but with the coordination of blade and sword, he didn't make any mistakes.

Little Mantis wasn't by his side, and Bai Ya was in a weakened state, leaving Xie Ning alone to face the endless stream of guards.

In just an hour and a half, he had killed over a hundred people. The scent of blood permeated the air, and fresh blood stained the floor red.

Even though he had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood before, actually facing the fact that he had killed so many people himself still made Xie Ning feel a bit uneasy.

In particular, his numb reaction to killing people as if he were reaping rice terrified him, and he quickly steadied his mind.

“Move faster!”

Xie Ning was exhausted. The sword and blade in his hands now felt as heavy as hundreds of catties, yet he still didn't hesitate to battle the charging Demon Tamers Beasts and Demon Tamers.

Just as he finished speaking, a barely audible 'beep' sounded. The woman immediately packed her things, snatched the ice blade from Xie Ning's hand, and with a sharp cry, swung both blades. Two cold currents swept through, freezing the thirty-plus attackers into ice sculptures. The cold current extended nearly a hundred meters, freezing the entire corridor.

At this moment, her Aura was even stronger than before.

Only then did Xie Ning realize that this woman, who looked to be about the same age as him, was actually a Silver Rank Ancient Martial Artist, and very likely a pure one.

“Let’s go. This place has been discovered; we need to find another spot to plant the bombs.”

“Go!”

With that, the two of them leaped past the ice sculptures and fled into the distance.

After running for less than two minutes, they came to a halt.

A Black-Robed Person appeared before them, accompanied by an undead-type deer.

The woman’s expression turned grim as she looked at the Black-Robed Person. Her lips moved slightly, sending a faint voice into Xie Ning’s ear.

“Be careful. This is Withered Deer, a Gold Early Stage Demon Tamer. He has a Gold Level 2 Bone Nether Deer and a Bronze Rank 8 Flame Deer. He is one of the two Guard Captains of this Experimental Base and is extremely powerful.”

Xie Ning gave a barely perceptible nod, his mind highly focused as he prepared for battle at any moment.

Just then, the Black-Robed Person spoke, but not to the woman who was clearly stronger; instead, he addressed Xie Ning.

“We meet again?”

The word 'again' paired with a questioning tone made it clear that the Black-Robed Person, Withered Deer, had already guessed something, but the question at the end showed he wasn't entirely certain.

“What a coincidence,” Xie Ning smiled faintly, though his brows were tightly knit.

“I heard you even managed to injure the Demon Cat, but no matter how I look at you, I don't see anything special.” The Black-Robed Person lifted his head, revealing a face hidden beneath the hood. His hair was disheveled, and a terrifying scar ran from his upper left temple all the way down to his chin.

As soon as he said this, even the woman, Xie Ning's companion, looked at Xie Ning with a face full of shock.

“Don't look at me like that. Otherwise, where did you think I got all these injuries?” Xie Ning replied curtly, his gaze fixed on Withered Deer. “Better think about how to deal with this guy.”

The more calm and composed an enemy was, talking and laughing, the harder they usually were to deal with.

Withered Deer stood still, but the psychological pressure he exerted on Xie Ning was even greater than that of the Demon Cat Woman, even though his Demon Tamers Beast was one Rank lower than the Soul Hunting Dread Cat.

“The solution is simple: I’ll flee, and you’ll fight.” As the woman finished speaking, she suddenly erupted into action, kicking Xie Ning in the abdomen to send him backward while she herself lunged toward Withered Deer. Her twin blades released a massive amount of cold energy as she shouted, slashing down with an unstoppable Aura.

“Yoo—” A hoarse deer cry rang out as gray mist billowed from the Bone Nether Deer’s seven orifices, forming a skeleton shield that blocked the strike. More gray mist transformed into a dozen two-meter-long spears glinting coldly, stabbing toward the woman from all directions.

Bang, bang, bang... The spears didn't pierce the woman; instead, they were blocked by a protective barrier from Xie Ning.

The two people, who had known each other for less than two hours, did not choose to retreat when facing an insurmountable enemy. They each had their own convictions.

“To hell with you!” Xie Ning’s figure appeared, thrusting his sword with all his might, leaving behind afterimages.

Withered Deer tilted his head, but he was a fraction too slow, and a cut appeared on his cheek. Xie Ning took the opportunity to pull the woman back a dozen meters.

“Take your things back, and don't play these individual heroism games with me!” Xie Ning stuffed the ownerless storage stone the woman had given him back to her, his expression cold and his voice firm.

He had been able to withstand the Bone Nether Deer just now thanks to the defensive bracelet Yan Ruyu had given him, but this item had limited uses and wasn't a long-term solution.

The woman didn't pay much attention to Xie Ning's words; instead, her focus was on the bracelet on his wrist, her face filled with surprise.

She seemed to recognize the bracelet.

“It seems you have some good things on you. In that case, I can't let you use them,” Withered Deer said slowly, touching the blood on his face while staring at Xie Ning's bracelet.

Then, the Bone Nether Deer let out a long cry, and even more mist swept toward Xie Ning.

“Do you have any other ideas?” the woman asked Xie Ning while fighting and retreating, her twin blades only managing to delay the encroachment of the gray mist.

Xie Ning smiled and replied, “Yes. Call for help.”

“What kind of plan is that?!” the woman shouted.

But Xie Ning ignored her. Seeing the gray mist drawing closer, he took a deep breath and yelled, “HELP!!!”

With a 'whoosh,' a silver-armored figure appeared. Its twin blades released a surge of energy, striking the floor with a powerful blow that caused space to become distorted.

The corrosive gray mist that was originally drifting toward Xie Ning and the woman automatically veered off and swept back toward Withered Deer.

“Let’s go! This strike won't hold him for long!” Xie Ning grabbed the woman with one hand and Little Mantis with the other.

In the next second, Little Mantis triggered a sonic burst, carrying the two of them away until they vanished without a trace.

The moment they disappeared, a giant deer head flew out of the gray mist. It was delayed slightly by the distorted space before striking the spot where they had been, smashing out a crater several meters in diameter.

“Curse it! They escaped,” Withered Deer muttered, walking out with a frown.