Facing an Ancient God for a Year

“That’s really great!”

Ailina’s crisp response clearly surprised Lin En.

Squinting for a few seconds, and taking another look at Cross and Fu Qian, he eventually revealed a satisfied smile.

“Indeed, our strategies are aligned.”

“So why are you still babbling here? Do you think this thing feels comfortable on me?”

Ailina looked at him icily, her tone quite impatient.

“Sorry, indeed we need to hurry, please come with me.”

Without saying much more, Lin En stepped aside, making a welcoming gesture.

“Believe me, I deeply understand the pain of the Sinflame.”

It turned out the previous conjecture wasn’t wrong.

The destination Lin En led everyone to was indeed the structure on the slanted wall.

And almost as soon as they entered, a barrage of gazes turned their way.

Scrutiny, vigilance, murderous intent, with less than one percent of goodwill.

And upon noticing the Sinflame on Ailina, they became scorching hot.

This survival group still had about ten people remaining, and they all seemed rather strong, with several from the Middle Tier.

And Lin En by their side was undoubtedly one of the strongest, his level almost at the Fourth Phase.

“You really brought them here? We just lost four of our own to them.”

After a brief silence, a man in black said coldly.

“I’ve confirmed it, the thoughts of these three are completely in line with ours.”

Facing numerous unfriendly gazes, Lin En introduced them calmly.

“And under special circumstances, they too were acting in self-preservation.”

“Now, Ms. Ailina is eager to purify the Sinflame on her, so I’ve invited them over directly, and I’ll take her to the statue now.”

“No rush, since it’s already been proven that your idea doesn’t work so well.”

The man in black didn’t seem to get along with him, snorting.

“Up until now, the Butcher is still alive and well, while we’ve gained almost nothing, even losing several of our own.”

“And the moment is gone, even if we want to start accumulating Sinflame from scratch, it’s already too late…”

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Ailina’s face, a flicker of murderous intent showing.

This guy was planning to kill for the flames!

Fu Qian felt this silently from the side.

The man in black’s implication was simple, this walking embodiment of the Sinflame had walked right into their trap.

But whether to continue offering her to the Goddess of Sin and Punishment for purification was up for debate, especially since prior developments had proved that the Sin Seekers weren’t so effective. Investing further could likely become a strategy of adding fuel to the fire, with no return on the blood spilled.

In such a situation, killing the person to obtain the Sinflame seemed like a way to gain some leverage against the Butcher.

After all, in the end, only one can survive, so it’s not surprising to have such thoughts.

“Is this what you call a team?”

Ailina looked at the man in black with disgust and turned to Lin En.

“You wouldn’t have calculated this from the beginning and led us here, would you?”

Without waiting for his reply, Cross, his face filled with murderous intent, shouted out.

“Please be assured, I have no such intentions.”

Turning to the man in black, Lin En’s expression turned cold, and there was anger in his tone.

“Idiot! If hunting the Sinflame were useful, you wouldn’t be here at all!”

“The reason this team exists is based on our consensus of the current situation.”

“Competing with someone like the Butcher to collect Sinflame is a self-deceptive idea with no meaning. If you have any brains left, get out of the way at once!”

“Whether it has meaning is not for you to decide.”

The man in black stared at Lin En, and even the few people behind him were subtly moving closer.

“No matter what you say, let’s wait until Natalia comes back,”

“Natalia… you should know, she might not make it back,”

At the mention of the name by the man in black, Lin En slightly furrowed his brow.

“No, she will definitely come back,”

The man in black remained unmoved, standing his ground.

Is this a disagreement within their ranks?

Fu Qian looked at this disorganized crowd.

He could understand everyone’s feelings, but at this point, arguing was completely pointless.

If there was really nothing to do, it would be better to wander around and hunt.

The sunk cost was too high, and they didn’t want to abandon the idea yet they also didn’t want to benefit others, right?

As for Natalia, the woman the man in black mentioned, Fu Qian could probably guess what she was up to – just now Lin En had mentioned that they went to great lengths to lead the Butcher away, so she was most likely the bait.

“It seems you all can’t reach a consensus for the time being,”

Seeing the group splitting into factions, looking ready to come to blows at any moment, Ailina scoffed.

Clearly not wanting to entangle further, she made a subtle gesture to Cross, signaling to leave first.

After all, they already knew the location of the statue and could come back at any time.

Moreover, the situation had changed, making it necessary to reconsider whether to proceed with the initial plan.

Cross, of course, was more than willing to leave immediately, but to his surprise, several others had already blocked their way out.

“The three of you, please wait a moment,”

Lin En’s eyes were deeply serene.

“Things are urgent, and if we get separated later, it’ll be hard to find each other again…”

…

Looking at the people both behind and in front of her, Ailina’s expression turned completely cold.

“Are you planning not to let us leave?”

“Don’t worry, unlike them, my strategy has always been consistent,”

Lin En shook his head.

“Right now, there’s just a slight twist. I’ll smooth things out immediately.”

The next moment, he made a hand gesture towards the man in black,

“Ten minutes,”

“If Natalia hasn’t shown up by then, we must do as I say,”

“At that time, everyone in this room will have to surrender their Sinflame,”

He surveyed the room, his presence deadly.

“And after that, regardless of the outcome, this group will disband, and everyone will act according to their own plans, agreed?”

…

“Fine! We’ll go with what you’ve said,”

The man in black hesitated for a few seconds but ultimately agreed.

It was clear that he was still wary of an angry Lin En.

Subsequently, the room fell into a subtle silence, everyone awaiting the return of Miss Natalia.

Of course, Ailina was undoubtedly the center of attention.

No matter the thoughts or which faction, everyone watched her warily, afraid she might slip away unnoticed.

And clearly, whether Natalia could return or not was going to determine Ailina’s fate.

Fu Qian found this spectacle quite interesting.

The next moment, he stepped aside, finding a place to sit down.

“I’ve just thought of a question,”

Ignoring the many wary eyes, he looked at Ailina, whose face was turning Qing.

“Apart from the Butcher, has anyone else been redeemed? How are they doing now?”

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