Ch. 302 - The Specter Oracle

Though Wedding God was only a projection, it carried a fragment of divine essence from a Specter God. Any Specter below its level was completely suppressed in its presence.

Even Shanben Yilang, the battle-hardened psychic, felt his soul tremble at the sight of Wedding God's form. It was as though his very spirit had been frozen. "This... what kind of monster is this?"

He had encountered Class-S Specters before, but as he stared at the projection of Wedding God, it became clear: even the strongest Class-S Specters couldn't compare. They existed on entirely different planes.

"Run!" That was the only thought in Shanben Yilang's mind.

Though he had a backup key to the prison, he hadn't brought it. His original plan had been to retrieve it later. But now, escape was his sole priority.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere to run. The area was teeming with Specters.

Desperate, Shanben Yilang turned and fled, sprinting beyond the oppressive range of Wedding God's energy. Just when he thought he was safe, a swarm of Specters surrounded him.

Fang Xiu stood amidst the ruins, watching the chaos with a calm expression.

"That should be enough. No point in wasting more energy," he muttered to himself.

With that, Fang Xiu dispelled Wedding God's projection. Taking the key, he summoned "wife" and directed her to unlock the cell door from the outside.

CLICK!

The door swung open, and Fang Xiu stepped out, his demeanor unruffled.

By this point, no one in Isleland remained to challenge him. Most of their forces had been killed, fled, or were too preoccupied fighting Specters to notice him.

As Wedding God's suppressive presence faded, some of the nearby Specters turned their attention to Fang Xiu.

Standing amidst the chaos, Fang Xiu murmured softly, "Domain Activated: All Equal."

An invisible force spread outward, creating a suppression zone. Within it, the powers of all Specters were diminished.

Though this effect was temporary, it was all the time Fang Xiu needed.

He began scanning the battlefield for intact bodies, quickly locating several that hadn't yet been consumed by the Specters.

Raising his hand, he activated Taotie's Mouth. A black vortex appeared in his palm, greedily absorbing Spiritual Energy from the corpses.

As energy poured into him, Fang Xiu frowned slightly. "Too slow. The energy is dissipating faster than I expected."

He sped up, harvesting energy while defending himself from occasional Specter attacks.

Even the weaker Specters caught within the All Equal domain weren't spared—they were absorbed to further bolster his reserves.

While this approach might seem ruthless, it actually reduced Isleland's future burden by eliminating some of the Specters they would have otherwise had to fight.

After about ten minutes of focus, Fang Xiu not only replenished the energy he'd used to summon "Wife" and Wedding God but also raised his Spiritual Energy Awaken level to 50%.

At that point, he stopped. Two factors influenced his decision: first, the lack of intact bodies left to harvest, and second, the All Equal domain had dissipated.

Isleland's forces were in complete disarray, retreating in chaos as they fought to escape the Specters.

With no distractions left, some Specters began to target Fang Xiu.

Seven grotesque Specters encircled him, their monstrous forms exuding pure malice.

Fang Xiu remained unfazed. Clasping his hands together, he whispered, "Taotie."

BOOM!

From the ground beneath him, a massive mountain of decayed flesh erupted. Taotie, summoned in its grotesque glory, towered over the battlefield.

Standing atop Taotie's enormous body, Fang Xiu ascended high above the reach of the Specters.

With a powerful leap, he launched himself skyward, vanishing into the clouds.

Moments later, black flames erupted within the clouds, forming two massive wings of fire. 

Emerging from the inferno, Fang Xiu descended like a dark phoenix, the fiery wings propelling him forward. He streaked across the sky, heading for the distant horizon.

Without a single glance back, Fang Xiu disappeared as swiftly as he had arrived, leaving Isleland's Investigation Bureau headquarters in utter ruins—a shattered, chaotic wasteland that would take years, perhaps decades, to recover from.

From that moment, Isleland's Investigation Bureau was no more.

The headquarters was defenseless against the simultaneous onslaught of dozens of Specters, particularly with a Class-S Specter leading the attack and the majority of the others being Class-A.

This terrifying force of Specters was beyond what any nation could realistically withstand.

Perhaps, in time, Isleland might manage to eradicate these Specters, but the cost would be huge.

The devastation would ripple through the nation. Isleland's psychics weren't all concentrated at the headquarters—many were stationed across various cities in different branches.

Once the Specters finished their rampage, they would scatter. Some would vanish into the populace, waiting for opportunities to strike again. Others would establish Specter Domains, carving out territories and asserting dominance over those areas.

When that time came, Isleland would need to mobilize its entire national psychic force, uniting every branch to systematically eliminate the Specters.

It would be a painstaking process, taking a year or two, and costing countless psychic lives in the process.

However, it might ultimately succeed in purging the Specters.

Such a costly endeavor would inadvertently serve humanity as a whole. After all, the Specters' invasion was inevitable. The Specters from the Other Side would one day launch a full-scale assault on the human world.

Allowing a smaller number of Specters to infiltrate first might actually prepare humanity.

Isleland could act as the first line of defense, reducing the Specters' numbers and power before the larger threat descended.

As one of the world's leading nations, it was fitting for Isleland to bear some responsibility for humanity's survival.

…

The next day, Fang Xiu returned to the headquarters.

When he entered, the Director and several team captains were already waiting anxiously in the office.

As soon as he appeared, the Director rushed toward him. "Fang Xiu, was the incident in Isleland your doing?"

Without hesitation, Fang Xiu nodded, admitting it directly.

The room fell silent, and shock spread across the faces of the Director and the others. 

Although they had suspected as much, hearing Fang Xiu confirm it left them stunned.

Fang Moli, standing nearby, finally understood why Fang Xiu had insisted he leave Isleland first and why he had shown no concern for his own safety.

Fang Xiu was a walking catastrophe, a force so powerful that Fang Moli's earlier worries for him now seemed laughable.

"It was really you?" the Director repeated, still in disbelief. He pulled out a file and some photographs. "Look at these—they were taken by satellites."

Fang Xiu glanced at the photos. One showed him soaring through the sky, his black flame wings cutting through the clouds as he departed Isleland.

Another series depicted the ruins of Isleland's Investigation Bureau headquarters, swarming with Specters. The images were nothing short of apocalyptic.

The Director pressed on. "These photos have already gone global. Isleland has formally accused you of masterminding the attack. They've presented the evidence to the world, and every nation is condemning you.

"Some are even calling you a Specter spy, claiming you're colluding with the Specters to destroy humanity. Don't you see? They no longer call you 'The Foreseer.' Now, you're being called the Summoner, the one who summons and commands Specters!"

At this, Xiong Tianguang stepped forward, holding his phone out toward Fang Xiu. "Xiu, check the Global Specter Forums. You're all anyone's talking about. The headlines are insane, and the comments are even crazier."

Fang Xiu took a brief look at the screen.

The top headline read:

"The Specter Oracle—The Emissary of the Specter Gods in the Human World."

The accompanying image showed Isleland in chaos, overrun by Specters, with Fang Xiu flying above the destruction, his black flame wings stretched wide.

Another image depicted him standing atop Taotie, gazing coldly at the devastation below.

While the photo had been captured by a satellite, it had clearly been enhanced for dramatic effect.

The dark, oppressive color palette gave it an apocalyptic tone, as if a demonic figure had descended upon the world.

The image screamed a mood of despair. Fang Xiu, standing alone on a grotesque mountain of decayed flesh, seemed to declare himself the ruler of a world consumed by chaos.

When Fang Xiu traced the image's origin, it was credited to Daily World News—a publication infamous for its sensationalism.

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