Chapter 99 (2/3): Global Announcement, Final Stage

Hopte’s face was deathly pale, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He could clearly feel his Divine Aspect crumbling. 

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he lost.

‘But… How could this be?!’

He staggered backward—his Founding God Divine Aspect, suppressed by a monkey?

He poured all his Divine Power into Ymir’s Manifestation, struggling to stabilize it.

But the monkey phantom didn’t care at all, seizing the opening and crashing down—the Golden Cudgel grew even larger, the clouds above torn apart by its wind, forming a giant vortex.

Then, it fell!

For the first time, Hopte felt death looming so near.

A terrifying pressure enveloped him—every cell in his body screamed to run, but he couldn’t move at all.

“Can’t take it, I absolutely can’t take this…”

Countless thoughts flashed through Hopte’s mind as the Golden Cudgel bore down, his eyes filled with dazzling gold. 

In the end, he steeled himself—

“Body Incubation!”

In the next second, a doppelganger identical to him took his place.

The crushing pressure vanished in an instant, and Hopte didn’t look back as he dove underground, fleeing with all his might.

“BOOM—!”

The Golden Cudgel slammed down, obliterating the doppelganger in a flash—flesh and blood splattering, staining the earth for several meters.

Hopte didn’t dare look back. 

The terrifying pressure behind him left him only one thought: escape.

As the dust cleared, a giant crater appeared, the air thick with blood. 

At the bottom lay a mangled, unrecognizable heap of remains.

Su Fu frowned slightly, retracting the Saint’s Manifestation, and walked to the edge of the pit to check.

“Dead?”

‘He acted so arrogant at first—could he really have died so easily?’

Admittedly, she’d used her full strength with that last strike, especially with the Saint’s Manifestation boosting it. 

But still, this was the top genius of the Norse Pantheon, the chosen of a Founding God—was it really that easy?

She eyed the pile of remains suspiciously, sensing carefully she said, “The Divine Power aura is definitely his…”

By all accounts, this should be Hopte himself.

But something still felt off.

Regardless, dead or not, she still hadn’t found out who was trying to kill her…

***

Hundreds of li away, Hopte finally crawled out from underground.

“Huff… huff… too fierce!”

“That woman is just way too monstrous.”

He slumped to the ground, still shaken by what had just happened.

That terrifying Golden Cudgel, that earth-shattering Divine Aspect—he’d nearly lost his life.

“Damn it!”

Hopte angrily pulled out his Communication Device and, as soon as the call connected he started roaring, “You bastards, what was that garbage intel you gave me?!”

“That Su Fu clearly already has a Divine Aspect! If I hadn’t had my trump card, I’d be meat paste under that damn cudgel by now!”

“I don’t care!” Hopte raged, “I already went all out. Whether she’s dead or not, this time counts as me finishing the mission!”

“What you promised me—you must deliver, or else—”

He was about to utter his threat when he was calmly interrupted on the other end: “Alright, we’ll count it as mission accomplished. You may withdraw.”

Hopte was stunned, momentarily speechless, ‘Wait, they’re really counting it?’

He’d just wanted to test their reaction, but then…

He suddenly realized what they meant, and his expression turned ugly.

“What do you mean by that?!”

“So you never actually expected me to kill her? You just wanted me to test her strength?” Hopte’s anger flared, veins bulging on his forehead.

“So to you, I’m just a disposable scout? A tool to be tossed aside after use?”

The other side was silent for a moment, then let out a light laugh: “What we promised, we will deliver. Isn’t that enough?”

Hopte paused, realizing it was pointless to argue further. 

He spat, “It better be! Otherwise, when this exam is over, I’ll let the whole world know—”

He nearly ground his teeth as he spat out the last words: “You—are pregnant.”

With that, Hopte abruptly hung up, ripped the Communication Device from his ear, and smashed it to the ground.

Once he was sure no more messages could be sent, his expression shifted. 

The fury was gone, replaced by a thoughtful look.

Clearly, he hadn’t gone all out just now. 

In fact, when he saw Su Fu reveal her Divine Aspect, he’d already started plotting his escape.

Why?

Obviously, taking down an opponent with a Divine Aspect meant a whole different price.

His anger earlier was just an act to drive up his fee, but he hadn’t expected the other side to just accept the mission as done so easily?

Hopte frowned deeply, “Something’s off. I didn’t kill Su Fu—how is this mission completed?”

He stood, patted the dirt from his clothes, and muttered, “Those old schemers must be up to something…”

***

By the crater at Flame Mountain, everyone rushed over, still reeling from what they saw.

“He’s… dead?”

Beaten to death with one blow?

Theresa couldn’t believe it. 

Even though all the Divine Power auras pointed to it being Hopte, it just didn’t make sense.

Pity she knew little about the signature Divine Skills of those clan heirs. 

In truth, few could ever guess what trump cards they might possess.

Even those famous skills—those were only the ones they chose to reveal, just to build their reputation.

Theresa’s expression was grave as she turned to Su Fu, “Whether he lives or dies is another matter. The urgent task now is to figure out—just who sent him to ambush us?”

The man’s gone, but the mastermind behind the scenes still hasn’t been uncovered.

“Isn’t it obvious?” George said angrily.

“It must be someone sent by the Seven Great Clans, that damn Achilles, or another of their clan heirs. Otherwise, who besides them could command someone of Hopte’s level?”

“They must have seen how powerful Boss is and want to eliminate her as soon as possible!”

Yi Congling stood to the side, a bit puzzled. “But they’re all the way in the Women’s Kingdom. How would they know what Boss did?”

“Wait!” Suddenly, she thought of something. 

“Do you guys remember those people who escaped to the Women’s Kingdom? Could it be that they tattled on us to the Seven Great Clans?”

With this, everyone looked at each other. 

To be honest, it did make sense.

Theresa came to a realization: “Right! Before that, they didn’t send Hopte after us. But right after, suddenly they did.”

“So, they must’ve told the Seven Great Clans’ examinees about Su Fu blowing up a mountain, made Boss out to be a potential threat, and that got the clans feeling threatened—so they sent someone to deal with us?”

It all made sense. 

Normally, the Seven Great Clans wouldn’t be interested in so-called commoners like them.

They’d always seen themselves as above others. 

If it weren’t for learning this news, and realizing Su Fu might threaten their status, they wouldn’t have acted personally at all.

“This is just too despicable,” George fumed. 

“They just can’t stand seeing commoners make it. They’re terrified of being outshone.”

Yi Congling was so angry she was shaking. 

She’d already had her mouth forced shut by these people before, and now they were just as shameless as ever.

No—actually, now they weren’t even pretending anymore. 

They just directly sent someone to take them out.

She puffed up in anger, “So doesn’t that mean this is just the beginning? More will come after? Shameless!”

“We never even disturbed their map when we passed by. Now they’re jealous because we’re progressing faster.”

George clenched his teeth so hard it seemed they might shatter, “Do they really think this way they’ll get good results?”

“Hmph! I hope they drink more Subhuti River water, and have eight kids in one birth! This pisses me off.”

Theresa was also furious, but then saw Su Fu frowning deeply, looking very serious.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, “Is something off?”

Su Fu shook her head slightly and spoke slowly, “I was just thinking… are those who escaped really that important? Can the Seven Great Clans’ examinees really believe whatever those people say?”

She muttered to herself, “Something feels off…”

“You mean…” Theresa hesitated.

Su Fu suddenly looked up at the group and asked, “What if… the Seven Great Clans’ examinees already knew about us?”

“What do you mean?” Everyone looked puzzled.

“I mean, it wasn’t those five who went to report us, but rather… the clan examinees had already been watching us and proactively sought them out to learn more.”

“But how is that possible?” George spread his hands. 

“How could they know in advance we’d clear the map so fast? That you’d be so powerful, Boss?”

“Wait…” Theresa’s face suddenly stiffened as she remembered something. 

“Do you all remember… who ranked fourth in the college entrance exam?”

George instantly understood, “Sis, you mean Merlin Apollio?”

“His main god is Apollo. And Apollo, besides being the famous sun god, is also…”

“The god of prophecy,” Theresa finished solemnly. 

“And more importantly, it’s said he’s received the Heavenly Technique ‘Trigonon Tripod’ from Apollo, a Divine Artifact that delivers prophecies.”

Everyone fell silent.

“So you’re saying…” Yi Congling gulped nervously, “Merlin foresaw Boss was dangerous? Saw we’d rise? So after confirming it with those five who escaped Flame Mountain, he sent Hopte to kill us?”

“If that’s true…” She took a deep breath and said, “We’re in big trouble.”

The wind had faded to almost nothing. 

Sunlight filtered through the smoky clouds above Flame Mountain, stretching their shadows long on the ground.

Su Fu’s face was grim as she spoke, “Then what just happened is a completely different matter. If it was the former, it means it was just a spur-of-the-moment plan. The fight just now was nothing more than Hopte’s failed assassination.”

She looked up at everyone and said,  “But if it’s the latter…”

“Would a so-called great prophet like Merlin really not foresee Hopte’s failure?”

Everyone finally caught on.

Theresa’s heart thudded; a thought flashed through her mind. 

She said, “So Hopte’s failure was probably part of his prophecy too?”

They felt as if a giant net was silently descending from the sky, covering them with no way to escape.

This was the terror of the great prophet.

He didn’t face them directly, fighting with sword and blade, but used his foresight to lay out trap after trap behind the scenes.

Perhaps every choice they thought was their own was actually leading them step by step into his final snare.

Especially for a Seven Great Clans’ prophet, whose abilities were truly terrifying. 

They could take this talent to the peak, predicting their opponents’ actions dozens of moves ahead.

“But…” Yi Congling frowned, still confused, “So Hopte was chosen as his killer? But why him? What’s so special about him?”

She shook her head, “I really don’t get what this move is for…”

Yi Congling couldn’t see it, but Su Fu knew.

She looked up at the sky, as if her gaze could pierce the clouds and see the one pulling the strings.

Perhaps, she’d already guessed how Merlin planned to deal with her.

Why choose Hopte?

Because he has Elemental Immunity. 

To take him down, you’d have to use the Great Sage’s power and once the Great Sage manifests… 

She already knew the answer, who would that attract?

‘The Bull Demon King.’

Suddenly, Su Fu smiled—a dazzling smile.

Everyone else:”….” 

‘Don’t do that, Boss. That smile is creepy.’

A chill ran down their spines, ‘She was definitely angry to the point of laughing, right? She must be!’

“It’s over, Boss is really pissed off now…” Yi Congling muttered, shrinking behind Theresa.

George swallowed and hid behind Theresa too.

Theresa: “….”

‘This is what you call brothers? Friends?’

“Think you’ve planned for everything, huh?” Su Fu let out a gentle laugh, her tone soft and bone-chilling. 

“Can’t take the exam properly, just have to mess with me?”

Her smile only grew brighter, but her eyes still revealed a killing intent that couldn’t be hidden. 

“About this whole pregnancy thing of yours… this isn’t over.”

She smiled, “Pregnancy is so hard—giving birth, continuing the bloodline, thriving and preserving the race.”

“Such a sacred and noble thing, of course, should be widely publicized.”

“Don’t you all agree?”

Everyone: “…..”

‘What a vicious scheme.’

A blow to the heart!

***