Star Gate

Chapter 72: Demon Hunters’ First Battle (II)

What kind of organization could send so many supernaturals for a single operation? And what was Li Hao relevant to that so many supernaturals would come after a mundane? Were the eight families this important?

Liu Long’s face flickered through a variety of expressions before he shouted, spitting blood that evaporated in the air. He took out a tiny crystal ball from his waistband and crushed it.

BOOM!

Another loud explosion rocked the area when the crystal ball burst open. Liu Long fled, setting himself on a course that would intersect with the route Li Hao and the others were taking.

There was more than one team of supernaturals in motion!

In that case, some of his arrangements might run into snags. He’d done his best to exercise generosity when estimating the enemy’s strength. Ten Darkmoons for a mundane and the Demon Hunters with only one Sunderer? There might not be ten Sunderers in all of Silver City and the Night Watchers combined!

Was there a need for this??

Liu Long wanted to break out in loud curses. Seriously, is this necessary??

“Let’s go!” Ghostfaces set off in hot pursuit.

Liu Long stomped downward and caved in the ground with a rumble. His foot connected squarely with another Ghostface’s head, denying the other the chance for an ambush. This wasn’t his first rodeo! Nonetheless, it was surprising that there was someone here who knew how to travel through dirt.

Scarlet shadows pursuing the soldiers were within touching distance of the slowest ones. A diminutive figure abruptly flashed through the rainy night and scurried toward the men.

Yun Yao!

Indeed, the shape resolved itself to be the Demon Hunter team doctor when it paused. She wore something akin to an anti-poison face mask. Nothing appeared in her line of sight, but as her gaze moved back and forth, different colored areas materialized in front of her. It was a modified supernatural probe!

The scarlet shadow was invisible, but that didn’t mean it was impossible to detect. While it didn’t possess supernatural abilities, it raised a faint cloud of energy whenever it moved or attacked.

Yun Yao caught sight of a brilliantly red area for a split second.

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There!

Ten crystal balls, the kind that Liu Long had just brought out, appeared in her hands. They were ice crystals filled with mysterious power. Once crushed, they created an explosion. While the scarlet shadows may be untouchable in terms of physical attack, Liu Long and the others had analyzed that mysterious power could inflict some effect.

It was a pity that time had been too short for Yun Yao to do anything other than modify a single pair of detection glasses. She meant to give it to Liu Long, but the chief turned her down. As a Sunderer, it was easier for him to sense those things.

Since Yun Yao and the others were yet to set foot into Sunderer of Hundreds, it was impossible for them to discover the shadows without external tools.

BOOM!

The patch of bright red shattered after a loud explosion!

Yun Yao couldn’t see anything other than the red area scattering. Panther, however, saw the pursuing shadows fly apart from the mysterious power. They… swiftly regathered, albeit at a slower pace, and remained fully intact.

“Arf arf arf!” When frantic barking sounded, Yun Yao didn’t hesitate to run off with the little black dog. The scarlet shadows completely redirected toward the fleeing human and dog!

Thus, the soldiers made a clean getaway. No one said anything given that this was the plan. If true danger appeared, they as mundanes were to escape first. The Demon Hunters had assigned Yun Yao to cover their retreat.

……

Panther ran with all its might. The little black dog could effectively dodge the scarlet shadows because it could see them. Yun Yao knew of this, so she kept fast pace despite her diminutive stature.

“Panther, avoid those things and head for the north,” she panted.

Run north!

Li Hao and the others were there, as was Liu Long headed in that direction to convene. It would be safer if they were all together.

The team also had other arrangements. Everything that’d taken place thus far was to lure these guys over there. Although the team had almost died here, the plan was still in motion. Staying alive was success.

Danger nipped at her heels as Yun Yao began faltering. Another figure swiftly flashed up to them at this time—an extremely fast Wu Chao. Landing from a roof, the skinny man grabbed Yun Yao and spun on his heel. Not even Panther could outrun him.

“What are you doing here?!” Yun Yao gasped. With Wu Chao here, that meant there were only Liu Yan and Chen Jian with Li Hao!

Wu Chao should be with Li Hao as his speed could ensure Li Hao’s safety at crucial moments. The young man was too weak.

“Li Hao sent me to you. He says he won’t die, that his teacher will help at a critical moment,” Wu Chao flung out before falling silent. He couldn’t afford to disrupt his breathing. Hauling Yun Yao over his shoulder, he focused on running.

“Arf arf!” Panther’s urgent barking sounded behind them. Wu Chao scooped up the little dog without second thought, carrying Yun Yao over his shoulder and lugging Panther with the other hand. It was like the wind was beneath his feet as he made remarkable time to the outskirts.

Two Ghostfaces materialized behind them; there were only two scarlet shadows left in pursuit.

“They’re meeting up!”

“Wu Chao and Yun Yao of the Demon Hunters… The Demon Hunters huh? They’re crazy!”

How dare mere Slayers of Tens be involved!

“After them!” the two growled and set off in hot pursuit. All of these people would die tonight!

……

At the same time, the northern quadrant of Silver City.

Chen Jian and Liu Yan sandwiched Li Hao between them. Instead of traveling on foot, they sat in a car that sped for the city outskirts. Liu Yan held a small dagger in her hand and alertly scanned the surroundings with a vigilant expression. Although Chen Jian was in the driver’s seat, he barrelled forward without paying much attention to the conditions on the road.

Li Hao had heard violent explosions within the city and glimpsed fiery sparks that shot for the sky. He was very startled that the captain had arranged for massive amounts of hot weapons within the city, swiftly found the enemy’s hiding place, and launched a successful attack.

However, hot weapons weren’t almighty unless an overwhelming amount of cannons were deployed to carpet bomb Silver City. That would mark the end of the city and countless mortals would die. It was an impossible thought. Unless supernaturals were encountered in the wild, hot weapons were often greatly limited in effect inside the city!

The Demon Hunters were nowhere near heartless enough to flood the city with explosives and turn innumerable citizens into burial goods.

A loud explosion rang out ahead of the speeding car. The bridge in front had been detonated!

Countless figures emerged out of the rainy night. Li Hao’s eyes focused on them to see—martial masters! Not supernaturals! The ones blocking their way were martial masters!

He could see they were martial masters because they were the same as the Demon Hunters; a faint hue of mysterious power surrounded them. This surface level energy indicated that they’d once absorbed mysterious power, but failed the crossover.

“Ghostfaces?” Liu Yan and Chen Jian swiftly alighted from the car and prepared for battle. “The Ghostface organization? You’re attacking inspectors from the Inspectorate—do you really think the Night Watchers are impotent?”

Zhou He belonged to a group called Ghostface that answered to a supernatural organization. This time, Ghostface also sent out its martial masters.

“Leave Li Hao behind!” someone shrilled from the crowd. They wore masks of vicious ghosts in a possible bid to avoid detection. The voice was so distorted that it was most likely not an accurate representation.

“Alright!” Liu Yan agreed without protest, eliciting jerks of surprise. She pulled out the gun tucked into her waistband and fired a round of shots. “Let’s go!”

She grabbed Li Hao and ran while still shooting. They couldn’t afford to be bogged down here, not to mention she was no match for them. This group seemed to be led by a Sunderer, so guns would be ineffective on him.

As expected, one of the Ghostfaces flashed to and fro, dodging the bullets. He spread his arms like an eagle’s and flung himself at Li Hao and the others! The rest of the martial masters also employed their arts to close the gap. Their only mission was to prevent Li Hao from leaving the city. They could not kill Li Hao, but the others were to be shown no mercy!

The Ghostface leader didn’t understand the commands, but supernaturals had their own plans in mind. They didn’t deign to tell him anything, so he didn’t ask. All he knew was that successful completion of this mission would reward him with three inductions.

Those upstairs would provide him sufficient mysterious power to make three attempts at crossing over. If he still failed after that, he would have to accept his bad luck. But he stood a high chance of success, at the very least. Every Sunderer required at least dozens to one hundred cubes of mysterious power for an induction.

Someone with multiple notches on his belt like Liu Long faced a tall threshold for ascension, to say nothing of the Ghostface leader. He could only place his hopes in the supernaturals commanding him.

……

Li Hao gasped for breath and barely maintained the breathing method. He adjusted his air and stabilized his footsteps, following Liu Yan and the others. The muddy path slowed them down, but it also provided the benefit of obstructing their pursuers.

Rat tat tat!

A string of shots rang out behind them. Oh what the fuck?!

Aren’t you guys martial masters? Do you have any shame in using guns??

Plink plonk plink!

Chen Jian’s shield deflected countless bullets. He protected his vitals and covered Li Hao and Liu Yan with his massive body. Although the young man was saved from death by scattered fire, they wouldn’t make it out of the city at this rate.

Liu Long was yet to appear and they didn’t know what the current situation was. Wu Chao and Yun Yao had gone to meet him. Liu Yan was the strongest left on the scene, but she wasn’t a Sunderer and they were being chased by one.

“Sis…”

“Shut up!” Liu Yan snapped. Talking during a chase easily led to distraction and throwing off one’s tempo. They would be in incredible trouble if they were caught.