The situation on the battlefield on the ground remained deadlocked.

From within that heavy earthen sphere, dull “thump thump” sounds continued to emanate.

Thanks to the sneak attack by Vic, the earth-element Legendary Psychic, that powerhouse from the Fire Thief Cult had been trapped inside the mud ball with no chance of escaping ever since.

Most of the time, in battles between superhumans at the Legendary level, the initiative is a crucial factor.

When Loren landed not far from that immensely heavy earthen sphere, the voice of Agent Vic timely came from beneath the ground.

“Mr. Loren, please wait a moment, I’m almost finished here as well.”

“Need any help?” Loren asked with utmost consideration.

“N-no… no need, you’re too expensive…” Vic’s voice drifted up from underground.

“I recall you said the Energy Department is footing the bill?” Loren sounded somewhat puzzled.

“If the other party pays too much at once, they’ll find excuses to deduct some of the Security Bureau’s funding in the future,” Vic’s tone carried a note of helplessness.

Even though they were both powerful departments, the relationship between the Energy Department and the Security Department wasn’t particularly harmonious.

Especially regarding funding issues, this had always been a flashpoint for conflicts between the two sides.

This was also one of the Federation Council’s restrictions on the Security Department. Since its establishment, the Security Department’s operational funds had always been allocated by the Energy Department.

That same year, the Federation Council also enacted the “Federation Administrative Departments Comprehensive Management Act,” which stipulated that Security Department agents could not participate in any investments or business ventures.

Everyone knew that when a massive intelligence agency became solely focused on making money, something truly terrifying would emerge.

Therefore, the means to restrain this massive intelligence agency had to be sufficiently powerful and effective.

This also led to the Security Bureau often resorting to less-than-honorable methods to raise its operational funds.

Even in some highly profitable businesses within the Federation, the Security Bureau could only participate by supporting proxy agents.

Of course, as compensation for the Security Department, it was also granted direct oversight authority over the Energy Department and the military.

Over time, this gradually formed a situation within the Federation where three powerful departments kept each other in check.

The Energy Department was responsible for funding the military and the Security Department.

The Security Department could directly oversee the military and the Energy Department.

The military, meanwhile, was directly accountable to the Federation Council, so it could correct deviations in the Security and Energy Departments when appropriate.

……

“Has the Security Bureau fallen to the point of having to watch the Energy Department’s mood?” Loren stared at the thick earthen sphere not far away, asking seemingly casually.

“The situation within the Radiant Flow Star Domain is quite complex. Here, our primary focus isn’t oversight, but rather suppressing some excessively rampant cult organizations.”

“In our work, reducing unnecessary trouble is very important.”

Vic’s explanatory voice came from beneath the ground.

Loren understood, shrugging his shoulders, “In that case, Agent Vic, please proceed as you wish.”

After speaking, Loren once again ascended into the high sky.

After distancing himself from the battlefield on the ground, Loren found a suitable vantage point in the night sky and leisurely began observing the fight.

A spectacle at the Legendary level wasn’t something one saw every day…

Perhaps because Loren was observing from the sidelines, or perhaps because after such a prolonged stalemate, that Fire Thief Cult powerhouse no longer had the strength to resist.

The situation on the ground finally began to change.

That earthen sphere compressed from endless soil suddenly began to slowly contract…

The muffled sounds of counterattacks from within the sphere also intensified accordingly, becoming incessant.

The sphere’s volume consequently became unstable, sometimes expanding, sometimes shrinking.

Seeing this, Vic, located underground, silently began accelerating the sphere’s contraction speed.

The surface of the heavy earthen sphere began emitting a dazzling yellow glow.

Simultaneously, the sphere began rotating violently.

Soon, the counterattack sounds from within the sphere gradually diminished until they disappeared.

As if reaching a certain critical point, the sphere’s contraction speed also gradually increased.

Within seconds, the heavy five-meter-diameter earthen sphere was rapidly compressed into a miniature sphere just a few centimeters in diameter.

The battlefield above ground fell into silence.

The overall situation was now decided.

Vic’s figure slowly rose from beneath the ground, reaching out to catch that thick earthen sphere now less than ten centimeters in diameter.

He toyed with the immensely heavy yellowish-brown sphere in his hand, a smile appearing on his stern face.

“Don’t come to the Federation in your next life. If I remember correctly, your name is Nomir, right?”

After delivering his victory speech, Vic casually stored the heavy earthen sphere into his spatial storage device, showing no intention of restoring the sphere that had swallowed up several kilometers of ground to its original state.

Vic looked up, gazing at Loren observing from the night sky, and softly said:

“Thank you for your assistance tonight, Mr. Loren. The payment will be delivered to the Interstellar Hunter Association by noon tomorrow.”

Loren, who had been observing with his psychic ability high in the sky, naturally heard Vic’s words. He gave a slight nod toward Vic below before directly turning and flying in the direction of the Interstellar Hunter Association.

Loren didn’t tell Vic that the devil had completely perished. He merely pretended that the devil had only been driven back to the Abyss.

Proving the other party’s death would require revealing too much of his own intelligence—that wasn’t cost-effective.

Most importantly, the new ability Loren had acquired clearly indicated to him that it was best to pretend he had only chased the devil away.

Loren, now a Ninth Tier Psychic, had gained a new ability tonight that was difficult to evaluate as good or bad. Loren named his new ability—”Guidance of Fate.”

[Whenever he is confused, he always receives guidance from Fortune.]

Perhaps because that devil’s evasion magic was too powerful, or perhaps because the danger Loren faced tonight wasn’t particularly intense.

This new ability leaned more toward support, offering some help in combat but not very directly.

Its enhancement to Loren’s combat abilities was more like something akin to “combat lock-on.” It couldn’t directly cause damage but made Loren’s attacks more accurate and lethal.

When that Legendary-tier devil transformed into a sky full of bats, Loren, having gained his new ability, could always find the opponent’s true body immediately.

An illusory golden thread, visible only to Loren, constantly indicated the devil’s new position.

As long as Loren remained confused about the devil’s location, this illusory golden thread would continue pointing toward the devil’s true body’s position.

In Loren’s daily life, however, this new ability was somewhat… perverse.

Just now, when Vic mentioned the payment would arrive tomorrow at noon, a flicker of confusion or dilemma passed through Loren’s mind…

What Loren was wrestling with was, “Should I expose part of my divination ability to prove that devil was killed by me?”

Thereby receiving the 8 million Spirit Stone reward, instead of just the 5 million for driving the opponent away.

This question troubled Loren briefly.

Then, an illusory golden scene appeared before Loren’s eyes.

In the scene, tomorrow at noon, Loren sat with Ayla Morningstar in a restaurant corner, reaching out to accept a spatial ring containing 5 million Spirit Stones.

This was a scene that had not yet occurred.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep