Chapter 152: The Sharp-Footed Tribe

The silver radiance of the teleportation disk flared, carrying Qin Hao and transporting him a thousand kilometers away.

The territory of the Aus-Kangaroo Country ranked fifth in size on Blue Star, making it vast. Among the seven invading civilizations attacking Oceania, five were operating within the borders of the Aus-Kangaroo Country.

The remaining two had headed toward peninsular nations such as West Asia.

Qin Hao glanced at his surroundings, his nostrils catching a pungent, fishy scent.

The scent of the Sharp-Foot clan.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Hao's eyes, and he strode off in a specific direction.

Before long, he located his target.

The legs of the Sharp-Foot clan were exceptionally slender and tapered, numbering six in total. Their upper thighs clustered together like broom bristles, while their lower legs splayed outward like lotus leaves. Their bodies were lean and withered, possessing four arms and triangular, hairless heads, bearing a striking resemblance to oversized mosquitoes.

Regardless of gender, they all wore long robes that concealed their bodies. Because of this attire, they appeared more like a civilized, intelligent race than the Ancient Demon clan did.

At this moment, five Sharp-Foot individuals were gathered together, facing a group of more than thirty human evolvers.

"Rest assured, we are merely a civilization that was conquered and subjugated after the Kaya civilization invaded our planet. They forced us into slavery, and we had no way to resist."

"My own civilization suffered from invasion, and I loathe invasion just as much, so we will not harm you."

"However, to avoid being detected by the deities, you must still come with us and perform daily prayers, channeling your faith energy so that the deities can sense it. Only then will the deities refrain from continuing their attacks."

The human evolvers exchanged glances, feeling that what these Sharp-Foot creatures said made a certain amount of sense.

More importantly, these Sharp-Foot individuals were all Tier 3 evolvers. They had no reason to lie; if they wished to harm them, they could simply resort to force without going through all this trouble.

In an instant, these people clung to them as if they had found a drowning straw.

"Alright, I'll go with you."

"Going with you must come with some perks, right? Are you responsible for providing our food?"

"Indeed!"

The gentle expressions on the faces of the Sharp-Foot individuals stiffened slightly. They had not expected these humans to be so insatiably greedy.

Yet, for the sake of their grand plan, they still needed these humans.

"Of course, we can provide food."

Hearing this, the humans finally set their minds at ease and agreed to follow them.

It was precisely at this moment that Qin Hao abandoned his concealment and stepped forward.

"Count me in!"

***

Qin Hao communicated with the group of Sharp-Foot individuals using his mental power.

The Sharp-Foot member who had previously been speaking with the humans swept a glance over Qin Hao. A sudden sense of foreboding rose in his heart, but upon a closer, more detailed probe, he discovered nothing amiss.

Assuming it was merely his imagination, he dismissed the investigation.

"Welcome to our ranks, friend. May we all live together in peace."

"Let's hope so!" A bizarre smile played at the corners of Qin Hao's mouth.

Qin Hao's mental power had already reached Tier 4, making him stronger than these Tier 3 evolved Sharp-Foot beings. Consequently, his mental power easily shielded his presence, rendering them entirely incapable of detecting his true strength.

True to form, the Sharp-Foot creatures noticed nothing unusual and proceeded to move out, taking Qin Hao and the other humans with them.

Along the way, the other humans conversed cautiously, relying on spoken language rather than mental power.

The mental power of the Sharp-Foot clan enveloped them completely, yet these evolvers remained oblivious, just as the Sharp-Foot beings failed to detect Qin Hao's actions.

However, since these people spoke at a rapid pace and Qin Hao could not understand their language, he remained silent the entire way.

Within the procession, a black-haired, brown-eyed young woman approached Qin Hao and greeted him in a familiar, comforting tongue.

"Are you from Hua Nation?"

Qin Hao raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her.

"Yes!"

Having endured more than two months of the apocalypse, the young woman had borne immense pressure. Suddenly meeting a compatriot caused a sudden ache in her nose, and tears spilled from her eyes.

Qin Hao's expression softened slightly, though he offered no consolation.

In the midst of the apocalypse, words of comfort were utterly pale and meaningless.

He knew this young woman must have suffered greatly, but at the very least, she was still alive.

"Hello, my name is Pang Qiuning. I'm an overseas student from Hua Nation. Are you one too? Which university did you attend? I haven't seen you before."

As she spoke, Pang Qiuning wiped away her tears and continued, "It has been so long since I last encountered someone from Hua Nation. I suppose the old saying is true: when compatriots meet in a foreign land, tears well up in both their eyes!"

Cast into a foreign country, struck by sudden catastrophe, with not a single relative by her side and no way of knowing whether her family was still safe, Pang Qiuning was overwhelmed by a desire to confide in someone.

"I am not an overseas student," Qin Hao said.

Pang Qiuning felt that Qin Hao's attitude was rather cold, but having no other source of support, she could only continue talking to him.

"Then did you come here for tourism?"

Qin Hao smiled.

***

"You could say that, with a bit of alien-invader hunting on the side."

Pang Qiuning froze.

Hunting invading civilizations?

Weren't the invading civilizations something that had only appeared over the past few days?

She stared at Qin Hao in astonishment, then lowered her voice and asked, "Y-you just arrived in the Aus-Kangaroo Country? How did you even get here?"

This time, Qin Hao fell silent, merely looking at Pang Qiuning with a faint smile.

Suddenly, Pang Qiuning felt as though Qin Hao's figure had grown towering and immense, exuding an aura of absolute reliability.

At the same time, however, a wave of anxiety gripped her heart, as if she were harboring a deep-seated dread of whatever events might unfold in the future.

Was this man planning to go to war with the invading civilizations? But those invaders were Tier 3 evolvers with terrifying strength; they were far too dangerous to provoke.

Countless thoughts raced through her mind, but her physical body had no choice but to keep moving along with the Sharp-Foot clan, until finally, they were all herded into an opera house.

The Great Opera House of the Aus-Kangaroo Country had once hosted countless musical galas and possessed a vast interior, but it had now been entirely occupied by the Sharp-Foot clan.

On the stage, a two-meter-tall idol came into view before the gathered crowd.

The exterior of this idol, however, belonged unmistakably to the Sharp-Foot race.

The others, having never laid eyes on a divine idol before, were instantly cowed by the oppressive, dignified aura radiating from it. Yet Qin Hao could see at a glance that this idol lacked true divinity.

The so-called majesty was merely an illusion emitted by the rare materials used in its construction.

This was likely no sacred idol at all, but merely a medium designed to propagate faith energy.

By the time Qin Hao arrived, a full thousand humans had already been gathered inside the Great Opera House. Among the mere 200,000 survivors left in the entire Aus-Kangaroo Country, this was by no means a small number.

The mental energy of the Sharp-Foot priest permeated every corner of the hall.

"Give thanks to the protection of the Lingyue God, which has allowed the holy spirits of Blue Star to survive. You must revere the deity, worship the deity, and contribute your mental energy. From this day onward, you shall pray here without ceasing, praying for the blessings of the god."

"Those whose faith energy is strong shall be rewarded with treasures, star-energy crystals, and food."

"Those who lack faith shall be punished, cast out, or even put to death."

The Sharp-Foot clan finally bared their fangs.

They were harboring malicious intents beneath a compliant facade, attempting to establish their own deity. In reality, this so-called Lingyue God was nothing more than a mere Tier 8 evolver.

And before the reversal of time, that very entity had died by his own hand.