Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

’This is bad... It’s all over...’

However, it wasn’t just that man and woman who had thrown the situation into chaos.

Not long after he had charged in from the hinterlands, the once clear and gentle Qingxi Stream had turned into a rampaging beast. Not only did it overflow its banks, but the current even surged uphill, swallowing several watchtowers.

”This...”

Colonel Griffin’s pupils contracted.

Within this deluge, the figures of the Ghostly Water Charms flickered in and out of sight amid the churning torrent. They seemed to have completely merged with the river, imbuing it with a soul and Life Force. Under their control, the floodwaters crashed directly toward the mining sites.

A massive, magically modified mining drill was instantly smashed to pieces by the pounding waves.

Immediately after, a towering wave crashed down from above, smashing the roof of a mineral purification center—one that specialized in refining ores with the Separation Refining Skill. The entire temporary structure collapsed in an instant.

The ’River Spirit’ was enraged, relentlessly slaughtering and driving out the outsiders with the force of a thousand-ton flood.

”They’ve got some tricks.”

Su Chen watched from afar, subconsciously thinking it was a nature spirit that had been angered.

The reality of the Ghostly Water Charm was far more severe than the high-threat rating given by the Messenger Intelligence House.

This was to be expected.

The Parasite Swarm incident had indirectly slowed everyone’s progress in exploring the forest. Relying solely on Pigeons, Shadow Crows, and even Spirit Contracted Demon Pets for reconnaissance inevitably led to intelligence gaps.

But no one was in a worse position than the Lorentz Conglomerate.

That afternoon, one of their surveyors had accidentally discovered that this river valley contained extremely rare, ultra-pure Spirit Element mineral crystals.

The veins were exposed near the surface, the reserves were substantial, and the mining difficulty was extremely low.

That’s why they had urgently deployed a Teleportation Gate here to efficiently transport ore and personnel.

At the time of the survey, the only monster threats they saw were some bloodthirsty mosquitos. The river was clear and calm, showing no abnormal Spiritual Energy fluctuations or phenomena. It wasn’t until night fell that the ”surprise” of the Ghostly Water Charm made its grand entrance.

...

”You people really picked one hell of a spot!” Collins roared.

As a powerful reinforcement whom Colonel Griffin had been eager to have join him in hunting down Su Chen, Collins was the director of the Lorentz Conglomerate’s armed security department. His strength was profound, and his profession was even a Four-Star Splendid High Priest.

Logically speaking, the Authorities of this profession should have been able to counter Ghost Spirit Bodies with ease.

But the tricky part was that the Ghostly Water Charm also wielded various types of Spirit Runes.

Its mysterious Psychological Invisibility alone, used specifically on him, was enough to make Collins frequently lose track of it.

The barrage of invisible mental assaults also caused immense pain to personnel with low mental resistance.

To be fair, although Rune Professionals were physically weak, their individual soul strength was generally high. This gave them a certain degree of tolerance to mental attacks, which was a hidden advantage.

Otherwise, who knows how many people would have collapsed from the mental assaults alone.

But what truly frustrated Collins was that the constant harassment from Dongfu City’s Ghost Assault Team was also proving deadly.

After a series of strenuous maneuvers, combined with the Purifying Dragon Breath Bullets used by the armed personnel, they finally managed to push back the charm’s rampage.

But then...

The Ghostly Water Charms used their Spirit Possession ability to take control of the entire river and came crashing back with twice the force.

”What a treasure trove we’ve found.”

Collins was out of options. He had to fall back; he feared that before long, there would be no ground left to stand on in the entire valley.

At that moment, the sound of explosions erupted from the rear.

”Damn it.”

Collins hadn’t even gotten his reinforcements yet, and now the Teleportation Gate was under heavy attack.

The assault corps was originally established to retake a skyscraper occupied by giant shadow spiders. Siege warfare was their primary duty.

As the best of the best within that corps, each member of the Ghost Assault Team carried special sticky compression bombs.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The moment the bombs hit the crystal barrier, their shells cracked open. A highly viscous oil, refined from Cannibal Pine, instantly coated the barrier’s surface. When the unstable, concentrated core inside detonated, it burst into a brilliant flash of light.

The continuous, targeted explosions were deafening.

However, the few Magic Guide Pillars that served as the formation’s core held strong. The high-purity mineral crystals frantically supplied them with energy, and not even a single visible crack appeared in the barrier.

But a member of the Ghost team who made this move was brutally killed by a demonically transformed man.

He was a high-ranking executive from the Lorentz Conglomerate.

A few seconds earlier, the expensive suit on his arm had been torn to shreds by bulging, black-and-red muscles.

After a partial Demon Transformation, his body reeked of sulfur. A Demon Claw, shrouded in an ominous, evil aura, shot out like a viper and pierced straight through the Ghost team member, armor and all.

’Not quite enough.’

The demon-man sneered, pushing up a pair of strange glasses on his nose with one hand.

This wonderful Rune item, obtained from a hidden shop, possessed a spatial Fault Scanning effect. It could clearly predict the spatial landing point of every person within a fifty-meter radius.

Even figures who had slipped into the gaps of reality could be seen clearly.

But seeing them was one thing.

After detecting them, he patiently waited for his prey to return from the spatial rifts.

Several lurking Ghost team members felt his piercing gaze from the real world. Sensing this deterrent, they grew somewhat hesitant.

’Don’t be reckless...’

But one member was ultimately determined to make a desperate gamble, vowing to throw their high-explosive sticky bomb.

Just then, Su Chen, who had been observing the siege from a distance, calmly executed a second spatial jump, now free from any constraints.

’It’s him.’

The demon-man snapped his head up.

As Su Chen was a primary target, the moment he appeared, several hidden elite figures pounced on him, and a dense volley of gunfire shot toward the sky.

But at that moment, Su Chen, at the center of the storm, was as steady as a mountain.

On one hand, the rampaging River Spirit was tying up a significant portion of their forces.

On the other, a spherical Water Mirror Screen had manifested around him, deflecting all incoming Armor-Piercing Bullets and elemental streams.

And this water mirror was nested within a dual-layer composite Telekinesis Barrier.

These two layers of unconventional, absolute defense allowed Su Chen to ignore the attacks for a short time, giving him a window to cast a powerful spell.

VMMMM!

’Molten Core Collapse.’

As the triple-layered composite Technique unleashed a hint of its power, the Mysterious Warlock who was charging back toward him hadn’t even gotten close before he felt the air and gravity beneath his feet being rapidly drained away.

Space trembled violently, and the Magic Energy Crystal barrier below dented into a terrifying arc at the moment of impact.

Before the destructive force could fully spread, the Magic Guide Pillars channeled energy at full power, managing to create a counterforce within seconds and withstand the full might of the Molten Core Collapse.

”Stop him!!”

The demon-man roared, his face contorted in anger.

BOOM!

The next second, Su Chen endured the slight physical and mental strain and unleashed a second Molten Core Collapse.

Against the night sky, another miniature sun came crashing down. A terrifying gravitational collapse and intense heat erupted at the top of the barrier.

Meanwhile, the continuous explosions of sticky bombs from below also rang out; the Ghost Assault Team members had noticed the wide-area killing move and braved the lethal threat to quickly appear and assist.

CRACK!

With a series of shattering sounds, the barrier that had protected the Teleportation Gate for so long shattered like a mirror, turning into a sky full of glittering crystalline fragments.

Su Chen’s figure shot through the layers of smoke like a streak of aurora. The Teleportation Gate below came into view, and many figures who were teleporting in abruptly looked up at the God of Slaughter descending from the heavens.

One person was particularly conspicuous. He wore a crude Bone Armor and emanated a primitive, savage aura. A single glare from him caused the psychic pressure in the air to spike.

Su Chen ignored him, precisely launching a Fireball Technique with his right hand.

BOOM!

The crimson Fireball accurately struck the center of the Teleportation Gate’s energy vortex.

Instantly, the entire Teleportation Gate twisted from the inside out amidst the flames. A chaotic and violent spatial fluctuation swept through the surroundings, instantly wiping out more than half of a squad that had just appeared.

The people nearby were startled by this spatial storm. They paid Su Chen no mind, scattering and fleeing for their lives.

...

The destruction of the Qingxi Stream Teleportation Gate also prevented a security contractor from Oran City from entering the field.

”That guy Wyatt managed to teleport through right before us,” someone said, as the surrounding personnel looked at each other in dismay.

Wyatt!

In their circles, this name not only represented absolute power but was also a symbol of a battle-crazed warrior that made people shudder.

As the leader of the top-tier small group, the Beast Blood Alliance, he didn’t nominally belong to any of the four major allied forces. However, due to his past as a retired special forces soldier, he maintained a casual, cooperative relationship with the military and the military-industrial complex.

”The Lorentz Conglomerate can actually hire him?” someone wondered aloud.

”No, he’s afraid his ranking will drop. He’s worried he won’t be able to hold on to his number one spot.”