Chapter 584: The Arrival of Hell’s Messenger

“The person you’re waiting for?”

Lu Xin froze at the sight of that Dragon Team Leader’s eyes emanating a chilling gleam.

Then the realization struck him—what he meant by ‘waiting for someone’ was referring to the thing approaching now?

Did the Dragon Team Leader deliberately delay time, convinced that his plot had succeeded, telling himself that the delay was intentional?

Was this kid, unable to defeat him and afraid of being killed without due cause, deliberately bringing up topics of interest to test his identity and stall time?

This was simply…

…how could these people be so scheming?

…

With a sense of helplessness at being toyed with, Lu Xin turned his head northward.

He saw clusters of chaotic Mental Power stretching out, where even the glow of the Red Moon was affected, forming wisps of turbulent energy. Beneath this maelstrom, the air flickered and pulsed like unstable images.

Once his vision cleared, Lu Xin spotted a figure in a black cloak drifting over the wasteland to the north.

The figure was extraordinarily tall and gaunt, standing at over three meters.

It was draped in an excessively large black robe, with a hood covering its head.

The robe concealed its entire body, making it impossible to see its face, hands, or feet. Only from the loose black cloak could one surmise that its form was that of a slender, oddly contorted humanoid.

But the strangest part was that, even though its appearance was hidden, faint pale faces could be seen peeking out from beneath the hood, from the oversized sleeves, and from the folds at the chest.

Each face wore a bizarre smile, stealthily emerging from the robe to curiously inspect the surroundings.

It gave off the impression that beneath that black cloak lurked countless furtive figures.

…

“It is…”

Looking at the Mental Monster, Lu Xin suddenly had a thought, his expression momentarily stunned.

At the same moment that Lu Xin saw the Mental Monster, the creature, or rather the faces protruding from its body, noticed him.

They saw Lu Xin, and along with it, the bloody chaos of the environment, which left them momentarily dazed.

“I told you—you could never be that arrogant…”

As both Lu Xin and the Mental Monster locked eyes in stunned silence, the Dragon Team Leader wore an expression of sheer excitement.

He even shouted, “The Messenger has arrived. Await your fate—only by becoming a living sacrifice…”

“You’ve prepared so many parasitic items, yet how do you expect to combat a Messenger with such formidable mental strength?”

“…”

Amid his roar, Lu Xin abruptly stood up, glaring northward, black particles swirling in his eyes.

A trace of surprise and tension flickered across his face.

“He truly has lost sight of himself…”

The Dragon Team Leader was ecstatic. This man actually dared to try striking at the Hell’s Messenger?

He even found it laughable.

He could hardly wait to see that look of terror and despair on Lu Xin’s face…

…and then he witnessed a bizarre scene.

As Lu Xin rose and faced the black-cloaked creature pulsating with eerie murmurs and Mental Radiation, the monster suddenly seemed to sense something, jolting in surprise. Then, the pale faces that had emerged from the robe’s hem, collar, and sleeves all quickly recoiled, disappearing like rats scurrying back into a shadowy corner.

The creature then shrank back two steps before suddenly whirling around and darting off into the distance.

It moved incredibly fast, its cloak billowing, resembling a fleeing noblewoman clutching her skirt.

Its departure took with it the bizarre murmurs, the chaotic Mental Radiation, and even its influence on the surrounding air. In an instant, the area fell into an eerie, almost awkward silence!

“This…”

The Dragon Team Leader was momentarily dumbfounded, blinking in astonishment.

A myriad of expressions merged into one giant question mark hovering above his head.

Something seemed off.

…

…

“Don’t run…”

Lu Xin suddenly snapped to attention and yelled urgently.

The black particles in his eyes grew even denser.

So much so that the Distorted Force Field around him suddenly surged with a new, potent force. Every wisp of air took on a heavy pressure as black shadows spread outward from his feet, resembling a lake of darkness.

Lu Xin’s astonishment and tension were genuine.

What surprised him most was the arrival of the Mental Monster—arriving at a moment when he was least prepared.

What unnerved him even more was that the creature, with no precautions, was much closer than expected when they finally noticed each other—barely a hundred meters apart—which meant the shock inflicted on the monster was far greater than anticipated.

Rather than retreat along the original path, the creature fled in the northwest direction.

Had it lost its way in panic?

He couldn’t let it run wild; if it did, Xia Chong and the others’ plan would be ruined…

In a mix of panic and doubt, Lu Xin quickly reached out to grab it.

When he was about a hundred meters from the Mental Monster—or rather, Hell’s Messenger—the creature reacted swiftly. The moment Lu Xin’s presence was detected, even before the scent of his black particles could fully form, the creature turned and dashed away. Within two seconds, it had darted several dozen meters, rapidly increasing the distance between them.

That distance was simply beyond human reach.

Yet as Lu Xin thrust his hand forward, Father’s chuckle echoed by his side.

The black shadow under his feet, resembling a sprawling lake, suddenly surged forward like a stretched, elongated, black hand, latching onto a spot over a hundred meters away in an instant.

It was an ease he had never felt before.

Even with Father’s help in the past, Lu Xin had struggled to cover such a distance.

After all, this was the wasteland now.

Mental Power behaves differently in areas with life compared to lifeless expanses.

In the presence of people or other living beings, Mental Power can spread rapidly by contaminating them.

As long as one’s will holds strong and plenty of life is around, the propagation of Mental Power can nearly reach infinite distances.

But in the wasteland, it can only rely on one’s own magnitude, extending as a Mental Impact.

Previously, with Father’s assistance, Lu Xin could only manage to extend his power about two to three dozen meters—a distance of roughly a courtyard.

Now, however, he managed to grasp something over a hundred meters away, and still with agility, all while gripping Hell’s Messenger.

This was likely because Father had become the Mental Overlord of Heichao City’s Black Marsh.

His Mental Power was surging.

…

“Shh-lah…”

A shadowy hand, like a massive palm, seized Hell’s Messenger and abruptly retracted, as if clutching a sparrow trying to fly away.

Hell’s Messenger visibly displayed a look of terrified shock.

Its Mental Power rapidly expanded, ricocheting outward.

It was akin to a grenade exploding in the palm, even causing the black shadow to momentarily be flung aside by the released force. Yet, more shadows quickly overlaid it, layer upon layer reinforcing the grip of that giant hand.

“Wah-wah…”

Countless sharp and low, frenzied or twisted cries rang out, resonating directly in one’s mind.

Inside Hell’s Messenger, the myriad pale shadows trembled in fear, screaming and struggling desperately, although under Father’s overwhelming strength, their efforts seemed utterly futile…

Even more terrifying was that these shadows were being dragged right in front of Lu Xin.

The closer they got to him, the more intense their terror, with their Mental Power quivering.

That fear, in turn, augmented Father’s strength further, making the black shadow even richer and more potent.

“Sss-lah…”

As the giant black hand drew Hell’s Messenger to within seventy or eighty meters of Lu Xin, it seemed that the Messenger finally succumbed to despair— or perhaps gave up struggling—decisively tearing its black robe with both hands. Then one by one, pale shadows drifted out from under the robe…

It was those very pale faces that had earlier been furtively peeking out from beneath the cloak.

They all burst forth simultaneously. Under the glow of the Red Moon, they resembled a shoal of pale fish from the abyss, darting about in terror, fleeing into the broken ruins of an abandoned town, through shattered windows, or even directly into the wasteland.

The black shadow quickly retracted, leaving in Lu Xin’s hand nothing but a tattered black robe with a sticky, damp feel.

It looked like clothing worn by corpses.

…

“It can actually disperse?”

Lu Xin hurled the tattered black robe to the ground, frowning slightly.

This piece of black robe wasn’t the true Hell Overlord; the pale Mental Entities hidden within it were.

Lu Xin wasn’t sure of the underlying principle, but he could roughly discern their mode of existence.

He recalled that Xia Chong and the others had mentioned that this Mental Monster—or Hell’s Messenger—was formed through a mysterious ritual. Before the transformation, they were individual beings that, through the ritual, merged into a collective.

That collective was Hell’s Messenger.

But now, these Hell Overlords formed by the ritual had chosen to split apart to escape their bindings.

In an instant, one creature that needed to be captured turned into a dispersed mass of Mental Entities.

…

“Is it really that troublesome?”

Lu Xin frowned slightly, well aware he couldn’t let this group of cash run wild. In a heartbeat, he exchanged a look with Father hidden within the black shadow.

In the next moment, the black shadow expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire ruins town.

“Hell Kitchen.”