Chapter 65: I Come! I Save!

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: I Come! I Save!

"Master, Master." Xiao Jiu tapped on the tablet a few times. "The identity of that youth named Annie has been made public. He’s a patient suffering from severe schizophrenia accompanied by extreme violent tendencies. He was supposed to be locked up in an asylum but escaped ten days ago."

"Is that so..." Shen Yun’s expression remained relatively calm. "I reckon we won’t have to wait much longer."

Carpet bombing couldn’t be used within city limits, and the defensive armed forces were only equipped to deal with berserk beasts. Mobile targets like tanks were too large, and they lacked proper tracking methods; once the enemy hid, they would be incredibly difficult to find. If things continued like this, even the nation with the world’s strongest military wouldn’t be able to hold out. Shen Yun actually hoped the US would make a decision soon, because this guy was simply too arrogant. His entire demeanor was practically begging for a beating.

Four hours later.

Annie’s words seemed to be validated as that figure, over ten meters tall, appeared once again—this time in a completely different city. The same scenario repeated itself. The creature wreaked absolute havoc before vanishing just before the military arrived. This time, it even tanked a few missiles from fighter jets with minimal damage. The injured parts of its body directly absorbed nearby corpses to rapidly heal, while the surrounding buildings were severely devastated by the explosions instead. Coupled with the fact that the Corpse Ghost’s movement speed wasn’t slow by any means, it specifically targeted densely populated areas.

The internet erupted into a complete uproar.

"So despicable! Running away the moment heavy firepower arrives!"

"He’s fighting a guerrilla war!"

"Just hit it with cruise missiles!"

"The city that was just attacked is only ten kilometers away from us. This is terrifying! Our whole family is preparing to evacuate, but the countryside is just as dangerous! We have no idea when we might be attacked by wild animals!"

"Incompetent military! They can’t protect us at all!"

"My home is destroyed, and my family is all dead. How much longer do I have to live in this Hell!"

"We need the Thunder God! We need the Huaxia Golden Core! We don’t want Black Magic! We don’t want Mages!"

Everything unfolded exactly as Shen Yun—or rather, every military strategist in the world—had anticipated. The destructive capability of Cultivators was on full display. An agile and highly concealable individual, coupled with immense destructive power, could deal a fatal blow to civilian cities in the rear. Urban environments also severely restricted the use of highly destructive weaponry. As for weaker infantry weapons, even rocket launchers would struggle to pose a significant threat to a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, let alone a massive Black Magic creature with extreme regenerative abilities.

This exact scenario occurred a total of six times within twenty-four hours. Each time, a new video of Annie surfaced, and with every release, he grew increasingly arrogant. Eventually, he even stood on the shoulder of the Doctor Corpse Ghost, laughing maniacally.

"I am the Demon King!" he shouted to the world. "Do you know how the Demon King will treat this foolish world? That’s right, with destruction and ruin! Foolish humans, try and stop me if you dare, but I will plunge you into eternal terror!"

It was an incredibly edgy and delusional speech from a severely schizophrenic patient who had completely forgotten that he, too, was human. In the past, he would have merely been an internet clown good for a quick laugh. Now, however, he had caused catastrophic destruction. And it seemed that everyone was truly left with no choice but to tremble in terror, praying that their own city wouldn’t be targeted next.

Eight hours later.

Following yet another wave of destruction, a new video surfaced showing Annie standing in a highly dimly lit environment, elegantly sipping on a cola.

"Did you think you could catch me? How naive! Annie is everywhere!"

It was shortly after this video that the spokesperson announced the failure of their encirclement operation. Annie seemed to possess some special method to evade technological detection and relocate rapidly. This wasn’t the first time technology had proven powerless against Cultivators, but it was the first time it was publicly admitted.

"The past thirty-two hours have been our darkest day," the spokesperson’s speech continued. "Many have met with tragedy, and countless families have been shattered. Yet, we remain powerless against a single madman, a single terrorist. Now, we sincerely invite the Golden Core powerhouse of Huaxia to assist us in making this terrorist pay the price..."

They had finally relented! The entire world had been waiting for this exact moment. In almost the same instant, the reporters who had long been camping outside the hotel erupted into a frenzy. They chanted the name of the Master of Thunder, demanding that Shen Yun step forward to give a response.

Meanwhile, Shen Yun stood up from the sofa. He had Xiao Jiu return to the Tripod Cauldron, which then quietly attached itself to his body in the form of a smartphone. He then leaped directly out of the window from the fortieth-plus floor. After a brief period of freefall, he came to a steady hover in mid-air.

Cheers instantly surged from below. Countless camera lenses aimed at Shen He as people all over the world watched the most glorious Master of Thunder at this very moment.

"Last night, like many of you, I did not sleep!" Shen Yun’s voice transmitted clearly across the globe through the media. "Our world, our human civilization, has gone through thousands of years of development to reach this point. Everything across the ocean can be displayed right before our eyes in real time, whether it be laughter or pain! So now, I too will transmit my confidence over! I will come! I will save you! I will eliminate all those senseless Black Mages!"

The cheers below erupted once more, matched only by the explosive cheers from those watching behind their screens. To the people of the West, it was as if they had suddenly seen a beacon of hope amid their despair—a hope they had been anticipating for a long time. Even the netizens back home were completely riled up.

"So badass!"

"The Master of Thunder is truly my idol."

"They absolutely never expected that their savior would turn out to be someone from Huaxia."

"Even though he’s just going to help, we can still hold our heads high!"

"Am I the only one worried about whether the Master of Thunder can actually beat that guy?"

"The commenter above is overthinking it. Foreign countries don’t even have a Golden Core. Once our Master goes over, it’ll be an instant kill! Besides, that Annie guy only dares to play guerrilla warfare, running around and bullying ordinary citizens."

"..."

On the other side, after flexing grandiosely in front of the people of the world, Shen Yun began his preparations. For this excursion, he not only had to eliminate the Black Mages from the Otherworld to the best of his ability, but also search for traces of the other Bronze Ancient Hall. If it was truly capable of long-distance relocation, it would be best to move it back to Huaxia. Even if he couldn’t, he had to hide it as securely as possible.

After simply packing up his things, he met with the US representative, a Caucasian man who was merely an ordinary person.

"Thank you so much for helping us." The man’s eyes were slightly red. "My hometown was also destroyed."

"Rest easy." Shen Yun gave his shoulder a firm pat and chuckled softly. "They’re just a few Black Mages. If you all hadn’t spoken up, I was planning to force my way over anyway. Cultivators should be left for Cultivators to handle—and I am the most powerful Cultivator on this planet!"