Because Bai Cheng had expended a lot of energy earlier to resist the explosion, this time, after activating the powered railcar, she didn't achieve the fivefold speed burst she had before.

Bai Cheng reduced the energy output, looking at the rapidly receding scenery outside the window and the rising mist. She estimated the speed was still about three times the original railcar's speed.

This speed was completely sufficient; it wouldn't take long to return to the train.

However, they hadn't traveled far before a sudden change occurred.

The sea surface at the wake of the powered railcar suddenly surged, and then an extremely terrifying aura instantly erupted.

The waves burst apart, and the surrounding air seemed to distort. Immediately after, a blue figure leaped out. He quickly scanned the sea around him, and in an instant, he spotted Bai Cheng and the others in the speeding powered railcar.

At the same time, Bai Cheng also once again felt that familiar, heart-pounding power.

"It's a Merfolk Clan Town Guardian Level!" She immediately frowned, and simultaneously, the energy output from her palms instantly maximized.

The powered railcar's speed surged, once again increasing to over 700 kilometers per hour.

But the Merfolk Clan Town Guardian did not choose to pursue; he merely showed a disdainful smile at the corner of his mouth.

The next second, he inverted the trident in his hand and then plunged it into the sea.

An invisible energy instantly spread outwards at an extremely fast speed, quickly sweeping past Bai Cheng's powered railcar, as well as the vast surrounding sea area with him at its center.

At this moment, the sea within the range seemed to be controlled by this Merfolk Clan member. The surrounding waves instantly rose, forming a circular high wall.

But that wasn't all; the powered railcar, which should have been speeding, instantly suffered immense pressure. All the equipment on the railcar also malfunctioned, completely losing power.

"What kind of ability is this?" Bai Cheng was startled.

Looking at the towering wall of waves flowing backward before her, she had no doubt that even if the powered railcar hadn't lost power, crashing into it directly would likely only result in plunging into the sea.

Turning back to look at the Merfolk Clan Town Guardian in the distance, at least several hundred meters separated them. He hadn't moved, yet the power he emanated alone firmly controlled the surrounding sea.

Now that she thought about it, Bai Cheng's initial idea of escaping a Town Guardian Level's pursuit by relying on speed was simply naive.

They seemed to possess [N O V E L I G H T] an ability to manipulate terrain; this was definitely not just a racial talent of the Merfolk Clan.

"This is troublesome..." Bai Cheng glanced at Zi Yuan in the back seat, finding that she was still in the midst of her breakthrough.

But it was too late for Bai Cheng to analyze the current situation or issue commands. The Merfolk Clan Town Guardian in the distance instantly vanished, reappearing above everyone's powered railcar.

The next second, Lan Xiaoyu and Lü Duo instantly attacked. This time, even Bai Cheng held nothing back.

The only thing they could do now was stall for time.

Bang, bang, bang, bang! Bai Cheng, holding Destiny, quickly fired all four bullets, then decisively summoned her scythe and unleashed a charged attack.

At the same time, Lü Duo's charged arrow arrived in an instant, and Lan Xiaoyu also summoned her steel behemoth to bite at the incoming enemy.

Bai Cheng and her two employees, a total of three War General-level individuals, almost entirely used their strongest techniques, all attacking the Merfolk Clan Town Guardian above.

The opponent, however, merely curled his lip in disdain: "Mere War Generals, how can you ants casually provoke a Town Guardian!"

Then, a transparent barrier appeared around him, which then violently expanded outwards, effortlessly shattering all incoming attacks into dust.

Forget about stalling the opponent; the reality was they couldn't even delay him for a second.

Seeing the attack about to land, Zi Yuan in the back seat instantly opened her eyes.

"Miss, let Zi Yuan handle it!"

Clang! The blade was unsheathed, and an endless glow of light erupted. The surrounding waves instantly dissipated, and the oppressive power that had been suppressing them completely vanished at this moment.

By the time Bai Cheng regained her senses, Zi Yuan's figure in the back seat had completely disappeared.

She had appeared above the Merfolk Clan Town Guardian at some unknown moment, then brought her blade down.

The surrounding space distorted at this moment. Below, Bai Cheng felt that all the elements in the entire space were surging towards that purple blade that had been swung.

The opponent clearly hadn't expected a Town Guardian to suddenly appear before him. The same speed left him no time to react, forcing him to rely on instinct to respond in a panic.

But just as he raised his trident, the blade light struck down even faster.

Pfft! The Merfolk Clan Town Guardian's hard scales on his chest were cut open like tofu, and a deep, bone-visible wound instantly appeared from his left shoulder to his right abdomen.

He tried to struggle, but Zi Yuan's second, follow-up strike completely severed his head.

【Your employee has successfully killed a Town Guardian Stage 3 Merfolk Clan member, obtaining a loot item: Blue Employee Card * 1...】

Looking at the message that suddenly popped up on the screen, Bai Cheng was also a bit surprised. Zi Yuan had just broken through, and her level was clearly still at Town Guardian Stage 1.

Yet, facing a Town Guardian Stage 3 enemy, she managed to instantly kill him so easily?

Besides the inherent difference in their aptitudes, Bai Cheng couldn't think of a second possibility.

After all, Zi Yuan had Immortal-grade aptitude, while that Merfolk Clan Town Guardian was only Excellent-grade.

"It seems the gap in strength caused by differences in aptitude will become more and more apparent as levels increase..." Bai Cheng drew this conclusion.

Fortunately, everything was thrilling but ultimately safe.

After killing this Merfolk Clan Town Guardian, the wall of waves collapsed, and the powered railcar resumed operation; everything returned to normal.

Bai Cheng immediately said, "Thank you for your hard work, Zi Yuan. Let's hurry and leave."

After all, she wasn't sure if there would be more pursuers. The top priority was to return to the train and quickly rendezvous with Yu Nian and the others to continue their journey.

"Yes, Miss!" Zi Yuan's figure flickered and reappeared inside the railcar.

The vehicle once again began to speed across the sea, and along the way, Bai Cheng also learned from Zi Yuan about the abilities mastered by the Town Guardian Level.

Completely different from previous levels like War General or Elite, those levels could only be described as enhancing one's physical strength.

However, once one reached the Town Guardian Level, they would master an extremely crucial skill: suppressing surrounding elements, rendering all elements other than those they controlled ineffective.

Since this was the sea, the home turf of the Merfolk Clan, that Town Guardian Level had displayed such exaggerated power.

"So, for a War General-level to defeat a Town Guardian Level, merely relying on numbers is completely ineffective?" Bai Cheng raised an eyebrow. Reaching the Town Guardian Level undoubtedly brought about a qualitative change in strength.

"That's right, Miss. As long as the surrounding elements are suppressed, most War General-level individuals will lose a significant portion of their combat effectiveness," Zi Yuan explained.

Moreover, the physical qualities and abilities of any Town Guardian already overwhelmingly surpassed those of a War General, not to mention having a counter skill.

"Understood. It seems I'll have to extensively acquire magic crystals after we return."

As the powered railcar traveled, imperceptibly, the outline of the train had already appeared before Bai Cheng's eyes.

And upon noticing Bai Cheng approaching, they immediately began to slow down...