This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 267: Taking Refuge

Chapter 267: Chapter 267: Taking Refuge

Chen Ke did not believe that the shot from the Crystal Gun had killed his opponent, and the speed the mysterious figure had just demonstrated had truly astonished him—it was definitely not a speed that normal people possessed.

In just half a breath, the person could disappear from in front of Chen Ke and quickly circle to his side, while also striking his head with the butt of the gun in the same instant.

This was equivalent to moving positions and completing an attack in less than a second. Chen Ke, who was a professional assassin after all, had no way to react to this kind of action.

Thinking it over, since crossing over to this world, the knowledge about Spiritual Energy that Chen Ke had learned and come into contact with was still very superficial. The skills that the mysterious person had just briefly displayed had given Chen Ke a huge shock.

So far in Chen Ke’s understanding of Spiritual Energy, there were only Holy Diamonds that could summon ancient cold weapons and secret stone tablets that could learn skills. Moreover, the Spiritual Ability Users he knew of also belonged to only two categories.

One category included people like Diana and Parker, who indeed had varying degrees of Spiritual Power, but if they did not use Holy Diamonds, they could not perceive each other’s differences.

What was even more fatal was that their type of Spiritual Power was not permanent; they had to periodically undergo a so-called "Drainage" to cleanse it, almost as if they were afraid their bodies couldn’t tolerate the augmentation.

In the year 2006 timeline, Diana, being a CPA agent, was not even comparable to Chen Ke after a Drainage... but before Drainage, Chen Ke guessed that her combat power might not be much less than Ying Baiyi’s.

That is to say, their group’s combat strength depended on what equipment and skills the Administration Bureau provided them; they themselves had no control over their power.

The other category included Bader and Yasla who—no—it’s better to say they—had completely turned into non-human monsters in exchange for total control over their power.

But wasn’t that price too high? Would people really give up their humanity for the sake of chasing power?

Moreover, they seemed not to need the use of Holy Diamonds, instead amassing various powers in their bodies for casual use.

Chen Ke did not envy them; that was not power, it was a curse.

The mysterious person Chen Ke had just encountered could be said to be the third kind of Spiritual Ability User he had faced. They were equipped with next-generation high-tech armor, though not as sci-fi as Iron Man’s, it was still very advanced, and their Holy Relic was actually a gun.

Even now, Chen Ke wasn’t sure if that gun was really a Holy Relic, for based on his own experience using Holy Relics, summoning them didn’t require any special gestures; as long as the diamond was on him, he could summon it by just thinking.

But that person obviously needed to take time to slowly pull the gun out of his palm, so whether that thing was a Holy Relic was still up for debate—it was even possible that the opponent was just trying to show off. Regardless, Chen Ke was very glad he had not given him the chance to shoot.

Besides this, the few words the person had said also greatly intrigued him.

"In your time, the use of Spiritual Energy is still at a very rudimentary stage. Ignorance leads to fearlessness, and fearlessness to disaster, which is why we must stop you from completing the cycle."

The rudimentary stage of utilizing Spiritual Energy... This suddenly made Chen Ke recall his other Holy Relic, the candelabrum that could dispel illusions; due to Chen Ke’s lack of intelligence, he could still use it as a flashlight...

Combining that person’s bizarre speed, Chen Ke couldn’t help but speculate—could it be said that Spiritual Energy could enhance all aspects of a human?

If so, might people become deformed like Yasla?

That was unclear since the person hadn’t taken off their helmet, and Chen Ke couldn’t determine whether they maintained a normal human form like Brother Discouraged.

Moreover, when Chen Ke explicitly told Brother Discouraged that he had a way to take him out of the Great Void, he said he did not come from his time...

This statement was quite thought-provoking.

Even if Brother Discouraged came from the even more distant future and traveled back to 2009, it would be more reliable than staying in the Great Void, right?

But he declined.

This meant that "his time" and the time Chen Ke could understand were two different concepts. Based on what the person said, "Ignorance leads to fearlessness... stopping you from completing the cycle..." it seemed likely these two were not simply from the future.

Honestly, although Chen Ke had already traveled multiple times, he still had little concept of time. In his understanding, the world was three-dimensional—there used to be a notion that time was the fourth dimension, but it was quickly overturned.

Time is just time; it is not linked to dimensions and is more like a measuring unit. One might even say that time is a human-created concept; the universe does not recognize time.

Time was merely a way for humans to perceive the universe.

Chen Ke moved through the alley, frequently looking back although he didn’t spot the silhouette of the mysterious person within the range of his Spiritual Vision. Still, he dared not stop his pace.

The further he ran, the better. Chen Ke had only this thought in mind as quarreling with his pursuer would get him nowhere advantageous. The other’s ability to move was far superior to his own, and they were armed with a gun; a direct confrontation would only lead to his end.

"+30 hours"

"+30 hours"

"+30 hours"

"+30 hours"

...

While Chen Ke was on alert for anyone behind him, a series of lifespan increase notifications flickered at the corner of his eye.

He steadied his steps and saw on the street ahead that three Silver Knights were standing amid the bodies of dozens of soldiers.

They looked at him, shields held in front of their chests, slowly advancing towards Chen Ke.

"Three of them..." Chen Ke tensed up, preparing to unleash his Spiritual Power and blow them away.

"Wait... they are the townspeople," one of the Silver Knights suddenly spoke.

The murderous aura dissipated.

"Hey, why aren’t you taking refuge in the palace?" the Silver Knight asked.

"I got lost..." Chen Ke responded, secreting the gun in his wide sleeve.

"Walk along the main road, join the group of refugees; the guard will guide you to the palace shelter. Move quickly, citizen," another Silver Knight instructed.

Chen Ke nodded and ran in the direction the Silver Knight had pointed out.

"What if he’s a spy?" one of the Silver Knights asked after Chen Ke had left.

"The palace is full of Fan Hede Knights; if he’s a spy, he won’t survive the night," another Silver Knight replied coldly.

Chen Ke soon found the group of refugees the Silver Knights had mentioned and blended in, keeping his distance from the soldiers on the edge as much as possible.

Perhaps it was the darkness combined with the firelight obscuring faces, or maybe the sheer number of refugees overwhelmed the soldiers’ ability to check each one; in any case, Chen Ke miraculously blended into the crowd on the castle’s open ground.

A large group of refugees sat on the lawn, outside the wall was the desperate sound of battle. The end of a medieval siege, the struggle for the citadel, signaled the total collapse of a kingdom when the palace fell.

Chen Ke used his Spiritual Vision to scan the crowd, estimating there were thousands of refugees, with batches of Silver Knights stationed inside courtyard, guarding all the entry and exit points.

Chen Ke sat in place, temporarily without any plans, wanting to see how the ruling class of Fan Hede would handle the situation.

Perhaps the royal family had already escaped through a secret passage? But looking at the arrangement density of the Silver Knights around the city, it didn’t seem like the King had already fled.

Moreover, Chen Ke was very curious about who was responsible for the thunder that had split the catapult outside the city.

The civilians around were all weeping softly; even if not weeping, they were sighing in despair. After all, their possessions had been reduced to ashes, and no one’s mood was good.

Chen Ke looked up at the sky, the black sky had lightened a bit, the clouds reddened by the fire slowly dispersed, and the moon hung in the western sky.

Dawn was approaching.