Chapter 391
Long Haochen held out his hand, giving a polite introduction, “Hello, we are the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad, and I’m the captain, Long Haochen. We are honored to have fought by your side.”
“Commander grade?” Tian Qing looked dazed, “Brother, are you joking?”
While speaking, Long Haochen took off the cloak concealing his face, and sheltering it from the sand.
Seeing that handsome and young face, Tian Qing immediately became speechless.
It was not only him, but the same went for all the comrades of his team. Right before, when Long Haochen showed his powerful burst of power, leaving them full of shock, the only point they didn’t understand was that Long Haochen wasn’t fighting clad in Mythril Foundation Armor. For someone who inflicted such serious damage to Jacques Demons of the eighth step like him, becoming a Mythril Foundation Knight should be no problem at all! But that was unless he had even better choices of equipment.
“It’s really unexpected to see that you are this young. But no matter what, I want to thank your team for your prompt help on the behalf of my comrades and myself. If not for your timely appearance, I’m afraid that we would have hardly made it out alive today.”
Long Haochen asked with a puzzled tone, “Senior, given your team’s strength, handling these two Jacques Demons shouldn’t be so difficult. So
why…”
The promotion from commander grade to king grade of a Demon Hunt Squad would encompass a qualitative leap. It was not only about the cost of a million contribution points, but most of all about the fact that all members had to reach the seventh step of cultivation. And to agree to pay such a price, this Demon Hunt Squad surely had already sufficiently powerful equipment. Even only at the seventh step, a Demon Hunt Squad formed of powerhouses with excellent equipment should absolutely not find it difficult to handle two Jacques Demons of the eighth step, especially with the fact that this clan wasn’t privileged with the inheritance from a demon god. As for those lower grade Jacques Demons, it was even more needless to say, as it was showed in their previous battle with Long Haochen’s group.
With a bitter smile, Tian Qing cut, “Don’t bring it up, we were really out of luck this time. Our mission was originally to get into the Major Jacques City to kill two Jacques Commanders of the eighth step. But who knew that under ambush, the Jacques Chiefs would have gotten help from a Demon Hunters Remover squad that ambushed us. Although we inflicted serious damage to the opponent, we also suffered great losses, four of us sustained injuries, and we also had a great consumption of spiritual energy. Although by relying on pills, our situation was a bit better, the Jacques Demons chose this time to surround us. With difficulty, we finally managed to rush out of their encirclement, but because that annoying Demon Holder appeared suddenly in the sky, we turned out unable to shake them off, and you know about the rest.”
“A Demon Hunters Remover? What’s that?” Long Haochen asked full of doubt.
Tian Qing replied, “Demon Hunters Remover squads are accurately speaking somewhat similar to us Demon Hunt Squads. They are a new organized system that the demons put in place to handle us.
It was set up a bit more than one year ago. As the Alliance’s strength kept growing further and further, the strength of Demon Hunt Squads like us also increased, and the demons had to pay more and more attention to the damage inflicted by us to them. They were left without choice but to come
up with new measures against us. Thus came the concept of the Demon Hunter Remover squads, acting to eliminate the Demon Hunters. Selected from the elites among demons, each Demon Hunters Remover squad is constituted of ten members, and led by a captain who is a powerhouse at the eighth step at least. The captain is either a Devil Dragon, a Moon Demon or a Star Demon, making him the most powerful of the team. The members will all be at the seventh step or above, and to make it even worse, some particularly powerful Demon Hunters Remover squads are fully constituted of demon powerhouses at the ninth step. The classifications for Demon Hunters Removers are still in the midst of being investigated.
Demon Hunters like us dare go complete diverse missions in demon territory, but that’s mainly because of the lax control inside the demon territory. While these Demon Hunters Removers can also come to our Alliance, they just don’t dare. After all, demons are far different in external appearance and aura from humans like us, and the higher ranked demons who have an humanoid shape are less in number, and don’t have the guts to take such risks. Thus, these Demon Hunters Removers are using all their energy to handle us in demon territory. Over the past year, at least ten Demon Hunt Squads were already slaughtered at their hands. And this time, we also suffered greatly.”
Long Haochen took a deep breath, “Do you know how many squads of Demon Hunter Remover there are currently?”
Tian Qing replied, “According to the information we got, roughly a hundred squads of Demon Hunter Remover have been created, and they are commanded by the Demon God Emperor, only following his directives. From today onwards, your team has to be even more careful when acting in demon territory. These Demon Hunter Removers are very hard to handle. Some of them are actually even equipped with some powerful equipment, and although they are imitating our Demon Hunt Squads, the demons have their own natural advantages. Also, high rank demons don’t need cultivate much to get a strength above the seventh step.”
Long Haochen replied, “Since things are this way, we will have to hurry up and leave this place. The defeated demons from the Jacques Clan must
have reported our whereabouts to the Demon Hunter Removers.”
Tian Qing nodded, “That should be the case. Then, we’ll be following you for now. Let’s head for the closest team section.”
Long Haochen replied with hesitation, “That does not really conform with the rules. At our grade, we don’t have access to the team sections.”
The so-called team sections are secret bases for Demon Hunt Squads in demon territory, specialized for providing Demon Hunt Squads of the king grade or above with a place to rest, reorganize and restock their supplies.
This isn’t discrimination toward lower ranked Demon Hunt Squads, but due to the fact that the lower ranked Demon Hunt Squads shouldn’t have to carry out extremely difficult missions. Setting up these team sections in demon territory took large amounts of manpower, physical resources and natural resources from the Alliance. Thus, the more powerful Demon Hunt Squads were naturally prioritized.
To give a simple example, the Demon God Slayers’ Demon Hunt Squad was concealed near Modu Core City, in an area hidden beneath the surface.
The Demon God Emperor once gave the order to search thoroughly around the Core City, but still didn’t discover the whereabouts of the team section. From this, the great utility of a team section could be seen.
Tian Qing patted Long Haochen’s shoulder, “Don’t say these words as if you were an outsider. Rules are meant to be broken when necessary. Do you really think that team sections are absolutely forbidden to use for general or commander grade Demon Hunt Squads? As long as a team of the king grade or above is leading them, there’s absolutely no problem for entering, and the nearest one is inside Major Jacques City. Aren’t they chasing to kill us? Then we shall do the very opposite of what they expect, and return there. I’m really unwilling to leave things at that. After we get back to our peak condition, we’ll set Major Jacques City in complete confusion.”
While saying this, the powerful Mythril Foundation Armored Knight’s eyes lit up brightly.
Which of the Demon Hunters that managed to reach the king grade weren’t on continuous expeditions? Without strong characters, how could they walk this path? After all this time, countless demons’ blood was stained on their hands.
Tian Qing and his team were clearly extremely familiar with the nearby terrain. Under their lead, the two Demon Hunt Squads moved in a very large circle, and in no less than a whole day, reached the Major Jacques City at their full speed.
Though they couldn’t imitate Long Haochen’s group’s disguise as Moon Demons, the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad had their own methods. They used a so-called Gem of Imitation, to transform their looks into the appearance of Jacques Demons, escorting Long Haochen’s group to the Major Jacques City.
The Major Jacques City was in obvious chaos. The city’s defenses weren’t tight, and at least no one searched Long Haochen’s group, letting them enter the town without problems.
Tian Qing told Long Haochen that Imitating Gems could store illusion power, but that their storage needed them to go through a rather troublesome process. But in demon territory, it was considered to be an essential item for powerful Demon Hunt Squads. Long Haochen’s group having just entered commander grade, they didn’t come into contact with such an item.
Major Jacques City was the capital of the Jacques Province, but wasn’t very big. Just like the overwhelming majority of the demon cities, it appeared somewhat subject to destruction. Tian Qing brought Long Haochen to a restaurant run by humans, leading them to the rear of the kitchen, and the following process shocked them completely.
On activation, the back of kitchen made a total change, revealing the entrance to a cave, which the thirteen people entered. After that, the
entrance to the kitchen returned to its original state. To Long Haochen’s great surprise, he found that his perception was unable to scout the external world from the inside of the cave.
In other words, this cave entrance was completely screening all probing abilities. And right after entering the cave, Long Haochen noticed that its entrance, connecting the cave and the kitchen, was over one meter thick. Undoubtedly, inside was some precious special alloy very possibly reinforced with magic arrays.
In fact Jacques City wasn’t any strategic town, so since they already invested in such a big team section for this town, it was no wonder that the Demon Hunt Squads could move so freely in the demon territory.
Both sides were inlaid with some extraordinary crystals, and this place seemed to be equipped with a very good ventilation system, leading to a very relaxing atmosphere.
When heading downwards, they advanced for more than thirty meters in depth before encountering a flat surface, they continued to advance for twenty meters, and then a little room appeared. All the rooms were arranged very simply, with beds, tables and chairs in each. In total, there were roughly twenty rooms, which was enough for three Demon Hunt Squads to rest and reorganize. The only thing was that there was no one here right now, and inside was some specialized storage with large amounts of food and clean water.
“Let’s have a rest first, everyone. Brother Long, can I have a talk with you?” Tian Qing asked.
Long Haochen nodded.
The two of them entered a room, and the others naturally looked for other rooms to rest by themselves.
Tian Qing invited Long Haochen to sit, “Currently, our two Demon Hunt Squads are the only ones present here. I’ll not be thanking you again: this feeling will stay engraved in the minds of all of us members of
the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad. Please don’t call me senior or anything, and we should simply address each other with our names.”
Tian Qing had a very straightforward character, and didn’t ask Long Haochen for his age or the secret techniques he used to kill the Jacques Chief of the eighth step. Every Demon Hunt Squad had their own secrets, and even if everyone was fellow soldiers, asking their fellow’s secrets couldn’t do any good.
Chapter 392
“Yes”, Long Haochen gave his agreement.
“This time, we have suffered a great loss, almost dying here. I am not resigned, but this time, the Jacques Demons suffered a huge blow as well, especially since one of their chiefs died. This has affected Major Jacques City greatly, and is bound to cause the whole Jacques City to change. I reckon that even more Demon Hunter Removers will be searching for our traces. I have an idea, and I think we should discuss it to see whether it would be feasible.”
Long Haochen replied, “Please speak, Brother Tian Qing.”
Tian Qing asked, “For what mission did you enter the demon territory this time? This plan will likely take quite a long time to be achieved. If you are on a rushed mission, leaving us after getting some rest is also okay. This team section is connected to the outside of the city, so you can directly leave the city from here.”
Long Haochen replied, “We are not on any rushed mission. This time, we took some Slaughter Missions and entered the demon territory to execute them. Mentioning it, I also have to thank you. One of our missions was to kill a hundred Jacques Demons, and you helped us to complete it.”
Tian Qing gave him the reply, “If things are like that, then there’s no problem. Aren’t those Demon Hunter Removers trying to get rid of our Demon Hunt Squads? And they already inflicted us so much damage. If we don’t respond to them, the demons will start becoming arrogant. Since
some Demon Hunter Removers are going to come here in search for traces of us, then we should just…”
Saying this, his eyes were full of severity. His right hand, stretching forward, made some ear-piercing slashing sound in the air.
“Ambush the Demon Hunter Removers?” Long Haochen asked.
Tian Qing nodded to him, “There are spies from our team section inside Major Jacques City. However, we will have to live in seclusion for some time before the ambush, at least for half a month to fool those Demon Hunter Removers. If I’m not guessing wrong, many of the slaughtering missions you have taken should be mainly directed at demons of the seventh step. And Demon Hunter Remover squads are also mainly formed of demons of the seventh step from the top three clans. This way you can complete your missions at the same time. How about it? Are you interested? The danger is enormous, so you should think this through before replying. In case you decide to accept, we shall start planning.”
Long Haochen gave his reply without any hesitation, “All right, we’ll cooperate with you.”
Tian Qing looked at him, somewhat hesitant.
Long Haochen showed him a smile, “I will not hide the fact that we have accepted a total of sixteen Slaughtering Missions in the demon territory, and will have to kill some of the demons allocated in Modu City to accomplish all of them. After all, Moon Demons, Star Demons and Fiend higher-ups normally live in Modu Core City and are among the targets we are aiming for. If we can accomplish these here, it will naturally be for the best. Besides that, we’ll also have your support.”
Tian Qing gave him a dumbstruck look, “Sixteen Slaughtering Missions? You really dared accept that many?! Were you really planning on aiming for the demon headquarters without even having the support from the team sections? Given your guts to take on so many missions, it’s no surprise your strength is so incredible at such a young age..”
Long Haochen smiled, “Since we are going to ambush the Demon Hunter Removers, scouting will be extremely important. Can the spies from our side accomplish that?”
Tian Qing nodded before giving a reply, “You can be at ease on this. Along with the vast amount of money invested into building the team sections, our help here is just as enormous. Our spies here are humans of the demon society, who total to a large number. They bring news at regular intervals, we only need to decide what to do with it. Of course, we cannot possibly ambush every single Demon Hunter Remover, thus we have to remain secluded for a period of time. When we’ll have stayed here long enough for the number of Demon Hunter Remover squads to decrease to some extent, we can take our chances. Be at ease, we have learned our lesson this time, we’ll certainly be more careful, and won’t leave them another chance like that.”
After planning their next steps, the two Demon Hunt Squads started living at the team section, treating their injuries and recovering their strength.
After Long Haochen’s burst of power, it took him no less than seven days to recover completely. This was the extent to which Haoyue put his potential to maximum use. But this state only lasted for a short time, and also came with strong side-effects. Yating was also weakened for a long time, and needed about five days to recover. But she left Long Haochen a message, saying that the Aria of the Goddess of Light was able to completely fuse with her, and would even be able to absorb her to make her a part of itself. But Yating felt somewhat afraid: if not for her sufficiently powerful strength, she’d perhaps be unable to ever separate from it again.
If she really fused completely with the Aria of the Goddess of Light, the real glamour of the sword would then undoubtedly reappear. But in that case, Long Haochen would also forever lose Yating, while also being unable to truly control the Aria of the Goddess of Light with his current strength.
Fortunately, Yating wasn’t any ordinary Light Elemental Fairy, but one that already evolved thrice, and fused with the Saint Spiritual Stove. This
increased her knowledge and her ability of reasoning by a great extent, so as long as she didn’t give her agreement, even the Aria of the Goddess of Light would be unable to absorb her as a sword soul by force.
During these seven days, information kept coming from the outside, which Tian Qing shared with Long Haochen without holding anything back. To their great surprise, Major Jacques City had suddenly become lively, and at least seven teams of demon powerhouses similar to Demon Hunter Removers were reported to have been seen.
Given the strength of their two Demon Hunt Squads, handling one Demon Hunter Remover squad was absolutely no problem, handling two was possible with relatively good odds of success. But when facing three Demon Hunter Remover squads, especially in the midst of various enemies and the possibility of reinforcements joining them, they were bound to be defeated.
Long Haochen’s group was still better off, since no matter what, they had the Tower of Eternity as a path of retreat. But this wouldn’t do for Tian Qing’s group. Given Long Haochen’s current cultivation, even with the intention, transporting them all to the Tower of Eternity was impossible. To say nothing that the Tower of Eternity was a secret that was really better off not being leaked.
For this reason, the two Demon Hunt Squads could only keep resting, and didn’t dare act rashly.
The Major Jacques City also spent a large amount of manpower to search for them. They searched madly for over three days before slowly easing down. It was fortunate that the team sections were an extremely well-kept secret, and that its concealment was sufficiently good, leaving them undiscovered. This made Long Haochen realize the importance of the team sections to Demon Hunt Squads all the more.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Long Haochen was sunk in an ocean of light. Ever since his awakening as a god’s chosen one, his cultivation speed could be said to have progressed more rapidly than ever before.
In the pit of his stomach, his brilliant golden spiritual cavities looked somewhat different. His current spiritual cavities were roughly egg-sized, emenating soft light. With each of Long Haochen’s breaths, some light essence was absorbed by them. Around his spiritual cavities, the drops of liquid spiritual energy seemed like a group of stars revolving around it, and the very sticky liquid spiritual energy was transferred at a speed that seemed slow, but all of it was pure and condensed.
Long Haochen’s cultivation was already approaching the seventh step, but even ordinary powerhouses of the seventh step couldn’t compete with him in a battle of consumable spiritual energy. The reason for that was very simple: Long Haochen’s spiritual energy was a lot purer than theirs, and even if they used the same abilities, his consumption of spiritual energy would naturally be much lower.
Even if another ordinary person possessing the light elemental attribute trained his spiritual energy to this level, his speed of cultivation was bound to be greatly affected, and raising it would be extremely hard. But Long Haochen felt that his own spiritual energy increased as he breathed. In fact, over the past year of seclusion, if not for the time he spent bringing his comrades to the second floor of the Tower of Eternity to have aerial battle training, as well as the time spent training on newly learnt abilities after getting promoted to the commander grade, he would actually have reached the bottleneck of the peak of the sixth step long ago.
The reason why Long Haochen didn’t push it was to accumulate experience.
After so many years of cultivation, Long Haochen found out that when cultivating at peace, the difficulty was in the lack of accumulated experience. A breakthrough of spiritual energy not only needed comprehension and control over spiritual energy, but also to go through countless battles for training. After all, it was only through constant use that the spiritual energy would cycle.
Thus, he was in no rush to reach the bottleneck of the sixth step, but preferred going through uninterrupted battles, since he believed that this
way, at the time he would reach the bottleneck between the sixth step and the seventh step, passing it would be a lot easier.
Memories from the time with his father re-emerged gradually to his mind.
The changes from the sixth to the seventh step also encompassed a qualitative leap. When one advanced to the sixth step, the condensation of the spiritual cavities implied the change from an ordinary vacation to a powerhouse. After getting spiritual cavities one could battle for long stretches of time.
“The spiritual cavities emerge at the chest, and help to condense our spiritual energy. However, how much total spiritual energy can our body bear? Only 10,000 units. In other words, at the time one set of spiritual cavities reaches its limits, your cultivation will be unable to advance further. If you try to forcefully break through this limitation, you will very possibly cause damage to your spiritual cavities, and bring danger upon yourself.
So, the way from the sixth to the seventh step is not a breakthrough anymore, but a creation. What if your strength keeps increasing? Your single set of spiritual cavities will already be close to its limit at this point. Then, isn’t the most appropriate solution to open up some new spiritual cavities? This is the fundamental process of breakthrough from the sixth to the seventh step. By opening up your second and third set of spiritual cavities. This process mustn’t go wrong, otherwise you won’t be able to bear it.
The second set of spiritual cavities is located in the underbelly, whereas the third set of spiritual cavities is located in your brain. At the time your second set forms, you will have broken through to the seventh step, and when your spiritual energy will entirely fill up your second set of spiritual cavities, your third one starts forming. That’s one of the greatest dangers in the process of cultivation, and you’ll have to be careful about everything: be sure not to advance prematurily.
I cannot tell you the details about the methods for constructing spiritual cavities. You’ll have to rely on your own comprehension for that.”
Chapter 393
Recalling his father’s teachings, Long Haochen couldn’t help but feel moved, Father, I am about to break through to the seventh step. Can you believe that? I’m still not even seventeen yet! After I break through to the seventh step, I will go to the Knight Temple to look for Mother and you. I will do this immediately after we complete our Slaughter Missions.
After it’s done, I will participate in the trial to become a Mythril Foundation Armored Knight. I will get a Mythril Foundation Armor to stand in front of you.
Reaching this point, Long Haochen’s self-esteem arose spontaneously. Indeed, he didn’t expect himself to reach the seventh step at such speed, it was simply inconceivable.
Ever since separating from his parents, Long Haochen’s life could be said to be very rich, yet filled with serious cultivation, as he completed one mission after another with his team, with Cai’er accompanying him. However, in some lonely nights, he couldn’t help but reminisce about his parents, and fondly remember them.
His mother’s warmth and love, his father’s severity and power were engraved deeply in his mind. In this life, Long Haochen’s most deeply engraved memory was from the time when Odin Town was ambushed by demons, while he accompanied his father and learned about his Divine Throne.
It was a scene he wouldn’t ever forget. Although Long Haochen was very young at that time, back then, he secretly had pledged himself to one day sit
on a Divine Throne just like his father.
Cai’er was sitting across Long Haochen. Ever since entering the demon territory, everyone in the team lost the calm they had in the Alliance. They were always in a very alert state, using all their free time for cultivation.
The benefits a year of seclusion brought them were in the midst of manifesting. After the long accumulation of experience, everyone’s cultivating speed increased. This was especially true for Long Haochen whose control over his spiritual cavities was extraordinary by the time he broke through to the sixth step.
During their one year of seclusion, Long Haochen had spent the great majority of his time with bringing his comrades to get battle training in the Tower of Eternity, intending to familiarize everyone with the spiritual cavities through unceasing training. This was a very proper choice, because except for Cai’er and himself, their other five comrades mainly broke through to the sixth step due to the help from the Tower of Eternity, resulting in their foundation not being firm enough. After this year of hard training, their cultivation could be said to have stabilized, and with the gains from the Tower of Eternity, all his comrades had improved immensely.
Cai’er’s cultivation was second only to Long Haochen, having just broken through the 7,000 units barrier recently. Their other comrades were close to the 6,000 units barrier, but this speed could already be called astonishing. Except for Cai’er, the fastest in gaining spiritual energy were naturally Long Haochen’s two retainers, Han Yu and Sima Xian, who benefitted from the Innate Talent Sharing, and progressed very fast relying on the physiques gained from having their innate internal spiritual energy raised to eighty units. The slowest was as before Chen Ying’er, but for some reason, everyone could feel that changes in Chen Ying’er’s manners were gradually appearing.
Major Jacques City.
After several days of disturbance, the capital of Jacques Province gradually regained its calm. However, the attack from the Demon Hunt
Squads of the Alliance a few days ago still inflicted a serious blow to the Jacques Clan, which was in itself not such a strong clan.
Because of their slow reproduction speed, the Jacques Clan rarely appeared on the battlefield. Their total quantity wasn’t high, so this blow was considerable, especially with the death of one Jacques Chief, which severely hurt the moral of the Jacques Clan.
A team of ten was entering Jacques City, led by a tall man clad in orange. Intense fluctuations of spiritual energy exuding from his cloak already revealed his identity as a Star Demon.
Behind him followed nine demons of different nature, but none missed to emit a powerful aura.
Walking with vigorous and determined steps into Major Jacques City, all the demons and humans of the city stepped out of their path.
Without any doubt, this team was a squad of Demon Hunter Removers.
The Demon Hunter Removers numbered a hundred teams, commanded directly by the Demon God Emperor. Thus, every member of the Demon Hunter Remover squads was as proud as one might well imagine.
The Demon God Emperor held a supreme position in the demon race, but the setting up of the Demon Hunter Removers undoubtedly consolidated his rule even further. Yet no one from any race dared utter a word of objection.
The setup of the Demon Hunter Removers naturally had instantaneous effects, and many Demon Hunt Squads from the Temple Alliance had already suffered losses at their hands. Some lost members and some were even exterminated completely by the force of these powerful Demon Hunter Remover squads, specialized in handling the Demon Hunt Squads.
The hundred Demon Hunter Remover squads were also ranked based on their strength, from the strongest to the weakest. The three most powerful Demon Hunter Remover squads were led by demon gods among the top
thirty-six. They entirely consisted of powerhouses at the ninth step, hence they called themselves Demon God Teams.
Each of those encompassed ten powerhouses at the ninth step, whose power was supreme. The fact Demon Hunter Removers were organized in teams of ten was directed at better handling the Demon Hunt Squads’ teams of six.
After the Demon God Teams, the next lower ranked teams were called Demon King Teams. Their makeup was simple: their team leader was obligatorily at the ninth step, and these Demon King Teams totalled ten.
Following them were the Dragon Teams, Moon Teams, Star Teams and Demon Teams that didn’t differ by much in strength.
As the name implied, the Dragon Teams would naturally be led by a Devil Dragon and the Moon Teams and Star Teams would have a Moon Demon or a Star Demon as their team leader, while the remaining Demon Teams were of more inferior quality.
Aside from the ten Dragon Teams, Moon Teams and Star Teams, the rest were all Demon Teams.
The Demon God Teams and the Demon King Teams aside, the strength of the remaining four types didn’t differ that much. It was only that the teams with a Devil Dragon, a Moon Demon or a Star Demon as a captain would have a better cohesion, and also were a little bit stronger.
This Demon Hunter Remover squad was undoubtedly a Star Team.
The members of this Star Team felt gloomy these days. The Demon Hunter Removers were already established for more than a year, yet for some reason, their team always had bad luck. From the beginning to now, they never had encountered a human Demon Hunt Squad, and their chief, Xing Suo, was very thirsty to battle with a human Demon Hunt Squad.
After the establishment of the Demon Hunter Removers, they got the full support of the demon resources, and all human alchemists and artisans from
their side worked to make equipment for them. However, the equipment wasn’t given for nothing, and only by killing members of Demon Hunt Squads would they gain more preferential treatment.
However, finding Demon Hunt Squads wasn’t easy at all, and at least until now, they had never encountered any, and hence didn’t gain any reward.
Ten days before, the Demon God Emperor suddenly ordered them to search the Jacques Province, and after ten days of search, they didn’t even spot the shadow of a Demon Hunter.
The other Demon Hunter Removers had already returned to give their report or inspect another place. But an order came from above: three teams of Demon Hunter Removers, including their own, had to keep searching in the area of Major Jacques City for a month.
“Team leader, this order from above is just too nonsensical. Do they want us to search for thin air? It’s still nowhere as good as fighting the armies of the Temple Alliance on the border.” A relatively sturdy demon behind Xing Suo complained.
This person reached a height of 3 and a half meters, his shoulders extending to two meters breadth, and his sturdy hands looked like gigantic pillars. His whole body was covered in black leather, and his face was covered by a full beard, to the extent that he looked like a person. But the fierceness in him as well as his black hair revealed his real identity.
The demon race with the highest physical strength, Demonic Bears.
The Demonic Bear God Valefor, ranked sixth among the seventy two demon gods, was known for his extraordinary strength, standing like a wall in battle. Under his banner, the Demonic Bear Clan focused on power as their core. If the Devil Dragons could be called the kings of the demons, the Star Demons their brain and the Moon Demons their spirit, then, the Demonic Bears could be called their guards. Their powerful guards.
With their terrifying attack and defense, they were unyielding existences on the battlefield. This was a terrifying clan with the opportunity to reach the ninth step through the cultivation of their external spiritual energy. Of course, they also had their shortcomings, like their inability of flight no matter their strength as Demonic Bears.
Xing Suo let out a snort, “Stop with your nonsense. Act as the orders come. It’s already noon, let’s look for a place to eat for now.”
The Demonic Bear let out a laugh and stopped complaining. His massive figure was standing behind Xing Suo like a protective barrier.
In the team, Xing Suo and him had the highest positions, while the other members were merely powerhouses at the seventh step. As for him, he was at the peak of the seventh step, and Xing Suo was a powerhouse at the eighth step. And a Star Demon of the eighth step was an absolutely terrible existence.
The group of ten demons strolled through the city, looking for a place to eat. As Demon Hunter Removers, they obviously didn’t need to pay for their meal. Just a Demonic Bear could ruin the business of a whole restaurant.
As they stepped forward, the expression on the face of the Star Demon suddenly changed, and he stopped his pace. He suddenly aimed the staff in his right hand at the ground, causing a strong orange radiance to suddenly burst out from his body.
An illusory looking figure flashed at this time, letting out strident sounds of breaking while bursting out of that orange colored radiance.
Xing Suo let out a snort. He drew back and on his chest appeared traces of blood. Fortunately, the necklace on his neck released a powerful black glint, which protected him from being severely injured, making this a light wound.
“Human assassin!” Xing Suo called out in fury, lifting up the staff in his hand again. He conjured terrible and sticky darkness essence and sent it at
the direction of that already visible figure. This was Elemental Shock, the most effective rapid attack for mages of the eighth step?
Mages indeed feared assassins, but in case they seized the counterpart in their line of sight or brought distance between them, an assassin could only become a target for the mage.
Of course, Xing Suo didn’t have any need to create some distance. The moment he suffered the attack, the Demonic Bear immediately stood before him, and the others flocked nearby, like bolts of lightning ready to pierce that white clad assassin.
Chapter 394
The assassin remained motionless for a moment, before he immediately turned around. Spreading his spiritual wings and flapping them with full power, he tried to escape like a bolt of lightning.
But would Xing Suo let him off? His low and rapid chant burst out like an explosion, and the staff in his hand pointed forward. An orange hand appeared from it, stretching out to grab the assassin. This was the Star Demonic Grasp, the greatest control spell used by Star Demons.
In the eyes of the Star Demon, that assassin was already dead. As the most powerful magic race amongst demons, the Star Demon had very good awareness. It was precisely that perception that saved his life right before, when he noticed the existence of the assassin just in the nick of time. Even as a powerhouse of the eighth step, he was still weak against assassins. After all, Star Demons were a purely magic race. The magic used by the Star Demons was extremely powerful, but when attacked without warning, they were in immediate danger.
Through the previous attack, he could sense that this was a human assassin of the seventh step, but his cultivation was bound to be rather high, at least at the fifth rank of the seventh step, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to sneak up to him and damage his defensive equipment. But so what? The Star Demonic Grasp was one of the most powerful innate spells used by Star Demons. It was not only extremely fast to chant and release, but was most of all a control spell of the seventh step. Breaking free from it would take quite some time for an assassin, and this was enough time for his team and him to tear the enemy to shreds.
However, as a very dense killing intent filled the eyes of the assassin controlled by Star Grasp, Xing Suo was immensely shocked.
A very dense killing intent burst out from the assassin, and immediately, a dark golden flash of light glinted, like a devastating storm. Countless dark golden colored blades appeared instantly, causing violent explosions which destroyed the Star Demonic Grasps control. Meanwhile, from a house a hundred meters away, a white light instantly illuminated the surroundings. It fell on the assassin and changed his direction with a strong pulling force, tugging him in the direction of the house.
“Kill them.” With this shout of fury, an orange radiance was released from Xing Suo’s back, and his spiritual wings were unleashed. The other demons also followed his lead, and except for the Demonic Bear, the others flew at high speed towards the direction of that white glow.
Among the ranks of the Demon Hunter Removers, the Demonic Bear was running towards the assassin. Making use of their ability of flight, the other demons chased in the direction of the white glow, while Xing Suo stayed a little behind in his capacity as their team leader.
Suddenly, Xing Suo who was in the midst of accelerating in his flight had a cold feeling of terror befall him. In his mind, he wasn’t feeling the existence of any enemy nor danger, yet his instincts were telling him that a catastrophic situation was about to appear.
As a powerhouse of the eighth step, Xing Suo didn’t spend any time thinking, and with a dense flash in his eyes, a strong orange glint scattered from his body, launching an attack in the air around him.
No one?
Due to sensing a threat to his life, Xing Suo launched this all out attack. Given how powerful the Elemental Shock of a powerhouse of the eighth step was, it was fortunate that they were in the air when an explosion covering over a hundred meters diameters occurred, otherwise Major Jacques City would have suffered a calamity.
However, to his astonishment, the full power attack he launched in all directions didn’t have the slightest effect, instead, that sense of danger coming from his deepest inner self became all the more powerful.
Something is not right, the enemy was not around! Xing Suo suddenly realized that his defense was lacking in one place, the air.
Right at that time, a furry grey radiance appeared, without emitting the slightest trace or fluctuation of spiritual energy, yet, it gave off a sad and beautiful touching feeling. Without even a mere figure appearing, all that appeared was the condensation of the grey luster from samsara.
Xing Suo’s response was in the end too late. Now, all he could do was to set all his energy free and burst out with his full spiritual energy. Spreading his spiritual wings with a furious cry, he raised his staff.
However, that all-directional full force attack from just before had consumed a huge portion of his spiritual energy, and even as a powerhouse of the eighth step, after launching an all-out attack, he needed some time to recover his spiritual energy. But that poignant grey color descended right at that time, making perfect use of the opportunity.
Right at that time, all the Demon Hunter Removers instantly stopped in their tracks, unconsciously looking up to the sky. They also had a feeling of crisis due to their instincts and looked up, right when the sky darkened.
The sky turned grey, as if invaded by dark clouds, and the dense killing intent seemed to hover above all that.
Pop.
Neither his spiritual wings, his staff, his skull or the spiritual energy that was rapidly depleting could resist the force from being taken in by that poignant grey radiance.
Xing Suo had an expression filled with disbelief, as his body froze in midair.
Right at this moment, a pair of deep black spiritual wings were unfolded in midair, being attached to an elegant figure.
Also, right at this time, a golden figure appeared in the sky like a lightning bolt. It reached those black wings, before a burst of bright light abruptly erupted from its chest. The next instant, the figure with the black spiritual wings didn’t even give those Demon Hunter Removers the time to make sense of the development, disappearing in the brilliance of the golden light.
Xing Suo, who had had a lifeless look up till now, slowly fell from the sky, with his orange spiritual energy particular to Star Demons still igniting. However, his soul was already destroyed, taken by the Spiritual Stove of Samsara.
The golden light flashed again, and with a sweep from that golden figure, the corpse of the demon Xing Suo disappeared. The golden figure drew an elegant curve at low altitude, before heading for a cloud high up in the sky. All the Demon Hunter Removers looked dumbstruck, unable to conceive what had happened just before.
How could Xing Suo possibly have died just like this? Wasn’t his death just an inconceivable sight? And more importantly, according to their senses, the enemy who just appeared wasn’t that powerful, yet they managed to kill Xing Suo, Star Demon of the eighth step! How was it possible for him to die in an ambush like that?
The Demonic Bear shouted in fury, “What are you waiting for, instead of going after them?” During this shout, his right foot stamped violently onto the ground, producing an ear-piercing bang that crashed a large area of surrounding buildings, turning them into a pile of rubble.
The other Demon Hunter Removers finally reacted, and the eight powerhouses of the seventh step hurried to the sky, going right after that golden figure that was shrinking in the distance.
The Demonic Bear, being unable of flight, could only stand in the same place, looking up to the sky. To his astonishment he found out that the
golden figure had four spiritual wings, and that his flying speed was so fast that it was far beyond compare with the Demon Hunter Removers.
Suddenly, the Demonic Bear felt a shiver. In the clouds, could it be…
“Don’t follow! Come back!” He shouted, facing the sky.
However, standing in the middle of a town, with the other Demon Hunter Removers already above a hundred meters high, the buzz and noises along with the undulations from their spiritual energy canceled all the sound from his shout. All he could do was to watch those eight Demon Hunt Removers in the sky disappear from his sight.
The massive Demonic Bear suddenly had a feeling similar to the one of getting struck by lightning: Fooled… We were just fooled!
From the moment the assassin appeared and had stopped the attack, they seemed to have fallen into an elaborate trap. The death of Xing Suo turned their Star Team Demon Hunter Remover squad into a headless dragon, and in the fury and panic, they fell head-long into their enemies’ trap. However, nothing about that could be changed now.
The Demonic Bear relied on brute force, but this didn’t mean he was a muscle brain.
On the contrary, being a high-ranked demon, his intelligence wasn’t inferior by much to Xing Suo’s. After his short period of stupor, he immediately raised his hand, throwing a black golden ball, which pierced the skies before blowing up in midair, forming an immense purple black cloud.
This was the emergency signal of the Demon Hunter Removers. Now, all they could do was to wait for the other Demon Hunter Removers to rush to their help, hoping that his teammates would last against the ambush from the Demon Hunt Squads.
From the strength the humans displayed before, it should be a king graded Demon Hunt Squad that they encountered. Their side was after all
formed of eight powerhouses of the seventh step, and should be able to resist for some time against a king grade Demon Hunt Squad.
Unfortunately, the Demonic Bear was mistaken. They indeed encountered a king grade Demon Hunt Squad, but there was also another commander grade Demon Hunt Squad which was no less dangerous than the king grade squad.
Lying in wait in the clouds was the true main force, formed of five king grade Demon Hunt Squad members plus five commander grade Demon Hunt Squad members.
While the Demon Hunter Removers seemed to be in no mood to consider their actions, the clouds in the sky turned bright and colorful.
The battle only lasted for a short time, and along with muffled sounds of battle, the headless Star Team Demon Hunter Remover squad was exterminated.
Although these Demon Hunter Removers were at the seventh step, being stripped of their leader and most powerful other member, Xing Suo and the Demonic Bear, how could they resist against an elite king grade and an elite commander grade Demon Hunt Squad?
When the last corpses were retrieved, Long Haochen and Tian Qing exchanged a meaningful glance, and everyone flapped their spiritual wings, rapidly following their route of escape.
After living in seclusion for more than ten days, they finally got the opportunity they were waiting for. Ever since Xing Suo’s group entered Major Jacques City, they were already under their watch.
Their strategy was very simple: their two assassins were supposed to ambush the Star Demon acting as their team leader, and then be rescued by Long Haochen using Yating’s Saint Spiritual Stove. Afterwards, Long Haochen would lure the enemies into the sky.
However, in their original plan, Cai’er and the assassin were supposed to do their best to inflict some damage to the Star Demon, so that he wouldn’t be able to join the battle. But no one had expected that the Star Demon would actually be killed by Cai’er’s Dagger of Samsara.
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The most shocked were naturally the members of the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad, who would never have expected a commander grade Demon Hunt Squad to have already reached such a terrifying level of strength. Were they really at the sixth step? Despite the massive gap of grade, they actually didn’t look affected in the slightest. How could this be?
Yet during the battle in midair, which was the first cooperated battle between the king grade Demon Hunt Squad and Long Haochen’s group, they noticed that everyone seemed to have a piece of Legendary Tier Equipment. From the start of the battle till the end, their attack, power, and cooperation with each other was flawless. During the duration of the air battle, four of the Demon Hunter Removers were killed by the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad, earning them half of the merit. With Cai’er killing the Star Demon, the utility of the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad was more than what they had hoped for.
According to the agreement between Long Haochen and Tian Qing, the corpses of the demons would belong to whichever of the two Demon Hunt Squads delivering the fatal blow. The profits aside, the contribution points tile would record the kills by itself. During the attack, the two Demon Hunt Squads launched their attacks from two different directions.
After going through this battle, Tian Qing was amply convinced that it wasn’t by luck that Long Haochen’s group had managed to kill a Jacques Chief of the eighth step.
Just what had they managed to do? Long Haochen led their assault, with a Light Elementary Fairy at his side who was able to use the power of a
Saint Spiritual Stove to get the attention of four of the Demon Hunter Removers. And with his own power, Long Haochen managed to repel the attacks from the four Demon Hunt Removers to give his comrades the chance to launch their attacks from the air.
And those allies of his, just what were those people? Their techniques and attacks were simply unheard of. A shield used as a battle axe, a huge ball used to launch destructive smashing attacks, and one squad member that made a phoenix appear. And the fiercest of them was still their summoner, just what did she call out? Wasn’t that a Devil Dragon? With its appearance alone he left those demons half-dead of fright, so that they didn’t even put up a fight. The results were obvious, and that terrifying four-headed mount of Long Haochen’s didn’t even participate in the fight.
If one could say that during the battle against the Jacques Demons, the seven members of the king grade Demon Hunt Squad were shocked by the fighting strength of the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad, then this time, they were totally numb.
Even though Tian Qing clearly understood that he shouldn’t ask about the secrets of other people, he felt too curious about the fact that a commander grade Demon Hunt Squad, only reaching the sixth step, would match their own king grade Demon Hunt Squad in fighting strength. Never before did he hear of such a powerful commander grade Demon Hunt Squad, and furthermore, given the number of their Demon Hunt Squad, they should have advanced in grade pretty recently. However, he could still see that Long Haochen’s comrades were mainly powerful regarding burst strength and no more, yet their burst attacks were really terrifying.
Actually, it was no wonder that Tian Qing found this hard to comprehend. Who could have guessed that Long Haochen’s team was actually entirely equipped with spiritual stoves? And the overwhelming majority of their group even had fused spiritual stoves. This was the most important reason for the high level of burst power of the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad.
The two Demon Hunt Squads quickly landed afar, after reaching the place Tian Qing found somehow by following natural landmarks. A rock
moved , revealing a dark cave. They entered after they first concealed all their traces.
This path was also leading to the team section.
After everyone entered the team section, their faces were brimming with excitement.
A sure kill with one attack. With the exception of the Demonic Bear, this whole Demon Hunter Remover squad had been destroyed, including even one Star Demon at the eighth step. One might well imagine their outstanding military service from that alone. The death of a Star Demon of the eighth step was one of the missions accepted by Long Haochen’s group, one which had huge rewards. This was also what pushed Cai’er to take risks aiming for the enemy’s life.
“Haochen, where’s your comrade? Is she alright?” Tian Qing inquired. Actually when Cai’er killed the Star Demon in one blow, her attack even caused changes in the sky, giving them a great shock.
Long Haochen shook his head, replying, “She’s all right. Let us rest and reorganize for now.” Lin Xin who used the Spiritual Stove of Blue Fire Phoenix and Sima Xian who made use of the Spiritual Stove of Purple Thunder looked both somewhat pale, clearly from the secondary effects of the spiritual stoves. They all needed some rest. After saying this, he hastily returned his comrades to their respective rooms, not giving Tian Qing the time to inquire any more.
Seeing the figure of Long Haochen’s back as he left, Tian Qing sighed secretly. After suppressing his curiosity, he still found not asking too much was for the better.
Cai’er had been transported to the Tower of Eternity by Long Haochen, and although he looked rather calm, he was actually burning of anxiety deep inside. Cai’er and him had always been together, which was to say, no one could understand Cai’er better than him.
Under normal circumstances, even by using the power of the Spiritual Stove of Samsara, she could not instantly kill a powerhouse of the eighth step, even if that powerhouse of the eighth step was purely specialized in magic like a Star Demon.
This wasn’t the first demon of the eighth step that Long Haochen faced, and his comprehension regarding the power of the eighth step was really profound. In particular, given her perfect concealment when Cai’er launched her attack, making a sure kill in one blow, something was bound to have happened. Thus, after finding out that something was wrong with Cai’er, Long Haochen had no choice but to take the risk of exposing the Tower of Eternity by sending her there. He prefered to take the risk rather than staying any longer on the battlefield, where it was really too dangerous for her.
For the rest of the battle, Long Haochen also kept going all out, to take care of the battle as fast as he could to return as soon as possible. The reason was naturally to examine Cai’er’s condition, and not because he was in a hurry to return to his room.
With a glint of bright light, the Eternal Melody was reactivated. Long Haochen transported himself to the Tower of Eternity very impatiently right after getting back to his room.
Although they could already train at the second floor of the Tower of Eternity, the entrance of the tower was still on the first floor.
Cai’er was quietly sitting there, cross legged, and in one glance, Long Haochen’s look immediately changed. This was because he abruptly realized that he could feel no sign of life from Cai’er’s body, while she sat there like a sculpture.
“Cai’er!” Long Haochen called out in anxiety, but still, he was in the end no impetuous person who rashly dared to touch Cai’er’s body. Cautiously crouching closer, he used his great mental force to scout for Cai’er’s breath.
At such a close distance, Long Haochen finally managed with difficulty to sense traces of Cai’er’s fluctuations of spiritual energy. The feelings of
unease in him gradually turned into surprise. Cai’er’s breath was still present, but it was very weak. And the spiritual energy in her seemed to have blended in with her surrounding environment, as if she turned into a part of the Tower of Eternity. Since none of her habitual killing intent was emitted, she gave off the feeling of being one with the world.
Could it be that Cai’er is having her awakening as a god’s chosen one? Long Haochen wasn’t certain, but felt faintly that although Cai’er’s current state couldn’t be described as good, it wasn’t a dangerous one either.
“What a foolish girl you are, to act so recklessly.” Long Haochen sighed lightly, but had an indulgent look towards Cai’er. Sitting near her, his gaze didn’t strayed from her, sensing some changes in her aura. Before Cai’er awoke, he could absolutely not leave her side.
As Long Haochen guessed, it was obviously not by using her normal strength that Cai’er managed to kill Xing Suo in one blow.
According to Long Haochen and Tian Qing’s plans, the assassin from their king grade Demon Hunt Squad was supposed to try assassinating the Star Demon.
Their assassin was a powerhouse of the seventh step, and an assassin at the seventh step had certainly some chance of success in killing a mage at the eighth step. Based on their original plans, they didn’t have extravagant hopes of success to kill the Star Demon, and only hoped to inflict some serious damage. Not familiar with Cai’er’s strength, Tian Qing gave her the mission of assisting in the assassination from the sidelines.
However, the first time the Star Demon’s senses saved him, the assassin of the seventh step was found out faster than expected. Although he gave his all to launch his attack, it only inflicted light wounds on the Star Demon and did nothing more. However, the intervention of the assassin of the seventh step attracted without a doubt the attention of all the Demon Hunter Removers. And right at this time, Cai’er, who was using the Necklace of Invisibility in combination with her own ability of the sixth step, Invisibility, stayed floating at a distance of a hundred meters from the ground, waiting for an opportunity.
Cai’er understood very clearly that to get rid of this Demon Hunter Remover squad within the shortest period of time possible, the most important matter was to suppress the fighting power of the Star Demon acting as their leader. Otherwise, given the great power of Star Demons and that unstoppable Great Prophecy Technique, when trying their utmost against them, some casualties would very possibly occur.
Thus, right at that time, Cai’er only had a single thought, and that was to try her utmost against that Star Demon. As for how much she’d be able to do, she didn’t give it much thought as she knew that Long Haochen would definitely come to save her in case of mortal danger.
This absolute confidence got rid of any worries from Cai’er’s side, and her determination brought her into a very special state. The Saint Daughter of Samsara was not inferior to the Scion of Light in the slightest, and an unprecedented power emerged in Cai’er’s body.
Right then, Cai’er’s eyes and mind were solely focused on her target, as if nothing else except for that Star Demon or herself existed in the world. While having an absolute focus, vanishing entirely, and raising her senses to their ultimate level, Cai’er disappeared entirely. Just like Long Haochen sensed it before, in her previous attack, she became like a cloud in the sky, a gust of wind among the clouds. Even the Star Demon of the eighth step had no way to sense her existence.
Under these circumstances, the Dagger of Samsara and the Spiritual Stove of Samsara produced an unprecedented destructive power that appeared in Cai’er’s mind. Right at that moment, she felt her own senses merge with each other, drawing all their power from her instincts. She herself didn’t even understand how she launched such a blow.
Chapter 396
After completing this blow, Cai’er lost her six senses, and her whole body remained as an integral part of nature even as it got transported by Long Haochen to the Tower of Eternity.
This time, the loss of her senses wasn’t due to the aftereffects of the Spiritual Stove of Samsara. After fusing three spiritual stoves, Cai’er could already use the Spiritual Stove of Samsara once without suffering its backlash, and after this use, she only needed to rest for a period of time to avoid the aftereffects the next time she used it. Of course, if she wanted to exert a greater deal of the power of the Spiritual Stove of Samsara by, using it several times in succession, it would still cause the same backlash as before.
Her special state lasted for three days and three nights, after which the changes in her aura calmed and Long Haochen’s worries settled. He knew that Cai’er must have been immersed in a comprehensive state.
While the other members from the Demon Hunt Squad rested and reorganized in the team section, the whole Major Jacques City was caught in a frenetic state.
The sudden strike of the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad and the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad, and their success in killing a Demon Hunter Removers squad brought a massive shock to the group of demons living in the city. Demons weren’t idiots; for them to still have gotten raided by a Demon Hunt Squad after searching for such a long time, what did it mean? It meant that the Temple Alliance ought to have a hiding place in the surroundings.
With the momentum, a second underground search was done thoroughly in Jacques City, and six more Demon Hunter Remover squads assembled again in the city. The Demonic Bear, only survivor of the Star Team Demon Hunter Remover squad, was fuming, and searched even one meter deep underground.
The whole Jacques Clan was mobilized by this calamity that happened in the Jacques Province.
The situation outside was very tense, to the extent that even the news conveyed to the team section were becoming rarer and rarer. However, Tian Qing didn’t worry. Given how immense the team sections of the Temple Alliance were, reaching a depth of ten meters, and given their specialized barriers, even the finest powerhouse of the ninth step wouldn’t be able to find its location when exerting his mental force in search for them. As for digging one meter deep, would they really find the place?
Demon Hunt Squads never lacked in patience. After the achievement of killing a Demon Hunter Remover squad, even staying there for several months would be very ordinary for them. This wasn’t the first time such a situation occured.
Sky of Jacques City.
Ah’Bao had a grave expression, standing in a room arranged by the Jacques Demons he looked outside of the window.
Behind him, nine demon powerhouses stood calmly. Yue Ye was among these nine demons, but there was no trace of Leng Xiao.
Although being the son of the Demon God Emperor, among Demon Hunter Removers, Ah’Bao wasn’t much privileged. The team he commanded was just an ordinary Dragon Team type Demon Hunter Remover squad. Except for the fact that he was already at the eighth step of cultivation while Yue Ye only reached the sixth step of cultivation, the other members were all at the seventh step.
The experience in the Illusory Paradise brought Ah’Bao great shame and humiliation. He made the pledge to kill the human that disgraced him, before taking Yue Ye as his wife. Thus, he requested to lead a Demon Hunter Remover squad even with his standing as prince of the demons, and led his team to thoroughly search for traces of Long Haochen and his comrades.
Ah’Bao was completely certain that Long Haochen was a Demon Hunter, and the captain of a Demon Hunt Squad. As long as this was the case, he would definitely have to come to the demon territory at some point. For this reason, he had been waiting for an opportunity and for news.
When he learned about the raid that happened during these past days in Major Jacques City, and especially received the report about a golden figure on the battlefield, he was certain that this golden figure was most likely Long Haochen. This was what led him to bring his own team and wait for ten days.
Although on the surface, Ah’Bao didn’t seem much privileged, who in this bunch wouldn’t know of his status as the demon crown prince? Moreover, even at the eighth step, which other team leader of a Demon Hunter Remover squad could possibly compare with him? Therefore, after his arrival here, the whole Major Jacques City was under his complete control.
The second search was already over, and there were still no clues. It looked as though those two Demon Hunt Squads had vanished from the face of the earth since then.
“Brother Bao, the search is already over. Those Demon Hunters should have already left the area. It seems to me that we shouldn’t keep wasting our time here.” Yue Ye said in a low voice to Ah’Bao from behind.
Ah’Bao shook his head, the expression on his face looking cold and stern, “No, I am certain that they are still in Major Jacques City. It’s just that we don’t know where they are hidden. During the last few days, I carefully asked around several times, and learned that the emergency signal was timely launched by the Demonic Bear, and that the closest two Demon
Hunter Remover squads took less than a quarter of an hour to come to their aid. And while arriving, those squads had a good overview over the situation from the sky. So if those Demon Hunters escaped on land, they should definitely have found some traces. However, the Demon Hunters just disappeared, yet no one saw them escape. According to our intelligence, it’s very likely that there is a team section of the Temple Alliance somewhere in Major Jacques City, and they should be hidden there. I guess they are waiting, waiting for us to relax our vigilance to escape or keep attacking. But if they want to have a battle of patience? I’ve never been lacking in that regard.
I have already prepared an inescapable trap, and don’t believe that he will still be able to escape from me this time. I will personally kill him, before present you his heart as a gift of marriage.”
Just like human powerhouses collected demon crystals, demons liked to take the heart of human powerhouses as spoils of war. To them, a human heart indirectly moisturized by the spiritual cavities was an absolutely good gift.
Ah’Bao didn’t notice that after he said this, Yue Ye’s eyes flashed with traces of hatred. They were just hidden extremely well and very fast.
Yue Ye didn’t follow the matter any further, because she understood clearly that when Ah’Bao was really determined to do something, even the Demon God Emperor would hardly be able to change his mind.
Among the young demon generation, Ah’Bao was undoubtedly the most outstanding. Being the successor of the Demon God Emperor, he was not the same as the other Devil Dragons. His strength was gained through his own efforts, bit by bit. At the time of his birth, he hadn’t been any different from a weak human baby. This was a process every successor of the Demon God Emperor, carrying his bloodline, had to go through. Only this way could they skyrocket in strength after breaking through to the ninth step, becoming a respected member of their generation of demons.
However, his brilliance and standing as successor of the Demon God Emperor made Ah’Bao susceptible to a weakness that was yet not seen as a
weak point by other people. That was his pride. More nicely said, it was his absolute confidence in himself.
And Yue Ye happened to not like this trait. She knew that, although Ah’Bao was treating her well, he would never think things through from other people’s point of view. Even a suggestion from her would very rarely be paid any heed to by him.
Yue Ye had no choice but to acknowledge that Ah’Bao’s choice was proper, because she also knew clearly who was part of the Demon Hunters. Wasn’t the place where Long Haochen’s team separated from the Yue Ye Merchant Group near the Jacques Province? This was what made her all the more anxious. Yet, she was neither able to persuade Ah’Bao to leave, nor did she have any way to warn Long Haochen because she didn’t know where he was. Right when Ah’Bao made his resolve to act, Yue Ye also made a resolve deep in her heart to do all she could if the time came, even if she had to use herself as a bargaining chip to help them escape. After all, her own life was in the hands of that girl.
Originally, Yue Ye had already accepted her fate. Who would dare oppose a marriage decided by the Demon God Emperor and the Moon Demon God? She absolutely didn’t dare, and didn’t have the heart to resist. But her originally fixed marriage was delayed due to Long Haochen. When Ah’Bao told her the news with an ashamed and uneasy feeling, Yue Ye actually discovered that she rejoiced about these news. This gave her all the more reason to help Long Haochen. As long as he didn’t die, perhaps she would not need to marry Ah’Bao. When she’d reach an age high enough to lose her beauty, perhaps he would not be interested in her anymore.
Team section.
“Haochen, good news came. The Demon Hunter Removers are already retreating, and now, only one team is remaining in the city. They should be staying at the castle of Jacques City. What do you think? Should we give it a try?” Tian Qing’s eyes gleamed.
After pondering for a moment, Long Haochen asked, “Couldn’t this be a bluff? Although this time, the demons have been searching for another
fifteen days, they still left too quickly without any results. I find that abnormal.”
Tian Qing nodded in admiration. Haochen looked young, but his character was extremely steady.
“What you’re speaking about isn’t impossible, but risking our lives is originally our mission. We are always in danger, but danger is also synonym for opportunity. We have been staying here for too long. When we act again, we’ll have to leave this place no matter whether it turns out as success or failure. For this reason, we have two options. First, to leave without acting. Or second, to attack that team of Demon Hunter Removers staying in the city before leaving. The searches outside should have ceased, and the frequency of the news reports we are receiving from our people keep increasing. If you are still unsure, how about we wait for more information for some days, before finally coming to a decision.”
Long Haochen cheerfully agreed, “Okay, then let’s do as big brother Tian Qing says.”
Three more days passed in the blink of an eye, and news kept coming from the outside, indicating all kinds of happenings. Those Demon Hunter Removers indeed all left, but the demon side dispatched a Fiend Cavalry of one thousand to help guarding the Jacques Province. The news indicated that soon no more Demon Hunt Removers would stay to guard the city.
“Haochen, we cannot keep waiting. According to the news that just came, the last Demon Hunter Remover squad is already outside the city, and should be about to leave. This is an extremely good opportunity.”
Long Haochen still had some hesitation, “Big brother Tian Qing, this time we got quite good results here. How about going for the dependable way and leave this place now? In another place, we can also ambush Demon Hunter Removers.” For some reason, in his unconscious mind, he felt a certain feeling of danger, as if some indistinct eyes were watching him all the time.
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Tian Qing wrinkled his brows, somewhat unsatisfied with Long Haochen’s reply. In a deep voice, he declared, “How about doing this, Haochen, I will not force you. This time, our team will be the main force of the operation, and your group will be providing support. If it really turns out to be a trap from the demons, you can immediately flee and not care about us. ”
While he spoke these words, Tian Qing’s tone clearly became rougher. Although his team received great favors from Long Haochen’s group, being a king grade Demon Hunt Squad, they had always been having great autonomous power, and Tian Qing was the absolute core of his team. Therefore, he felt very confident about his ability in making decisions. Owing favors didn’t mean submission, all the more for a king grade Demon Hunt Squad with a high rank such as them. Tian Qing’s group had just experienced a huge setback, so this second operation was their best opportunity to show their strength.
Since they devolved the authority to this extent, Long Haochen naturally had difficulty to say anything more, and could only accept Tian Qing’s plans with a nod.
The plan was rapidly carried out, and Long Haochen followed the agreement, letting Tian Qing’s group lead the attack while his team would support them from the rear. After all, the enemy didn’t know there were two Demon Hunt Squads here. Having a force in reserve would greatly increase the safety of the two teams. Regarding this point, Tian Qing didn’t feel discontented after further reflection. Being more dependable wasn’t bad at all, after his own team attacked successfully, they would give some gains as
payback to Long Haochen’s group. As long as they succeeded, his comrades would recover from the blow their self-confidence just took.
During their negotiations, they received the information that the last Demon Hunter Remover squad was already heading out of the city.
Making a prompt decision, Tian Qing took a heavy tone, “Let’s go. We will be heading out now, and intercept them outside. An attack outside of the city will be even more effective than inside, at least we won’t have to worry about the Jacques Demons surrounding us.”
Long Haochen nodded to him, “Big brother Tian Qing, be extremely careful. If you notice something going wrong, we will shield you by acting as diversion. Then you’ll have enough time to quickly withdraw as we have our own means to get away.”
“Yeah.” Tian Qing gave an indifferent reply, turning back to lead his own comrades. Actually, he didn’t mind Long Haochen’s last comment. Being a king grade Demon Hunt Squad, would they let a commander grade Demon Hunt Squad shield them while they escaped? That would be too great a loss of face. Moreover, he didn’t believe there was any problem with his plan.
The group of thirteen appeared from nowhere, with the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad in front and the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad in the rear. Everyone was already entirely equipped.
Cai’er quietly followed Long Haochen. If one paid careful attention, they would notice that a change appeared on the current Cai’er compared to before. The coldness emanating from her seemed to have vanished, becoming less distinct compared to the past, even her eyes looked a lot more gentle than before. But upon careful inspection, one would also notice that Cai’er’s reserved look made her all the more terrifying, as if she was hidden deep inside a bottomless pit.
After three days of rest, Cai’er recovered her senses, but didn’t manage to start her awakening as a god’s chosen one. But that day of becoming one with her weapon for the first time made her ability even more effective, giving her a lot more power.
After returning to the team section, Cai’er had stayed secluded till they headed out. She had the strong feeling that her awakening as a god’s chosen one was about to happen anytime now, and that she was now very close to a turning point. Very possibly, what she lacked for the awakening to start wasn’t effort, but a bursting flash of comprehension.
Everyone were powerhouses of the sixth step or above, so even when advancing underground under Tian Qing’s lead, their speed was great. When they saw the light again, they appeared outside of Major Jacques City.
Without need for Tian Qing’s instruction, the mage and priest of his team got moving , launching Falcon Eye and Eyes of Truth to scout the field ahead of them.
The mage reported in a low voice, “Found them. It’s a group of ten that just came out of the city, lead by a black-clad young looking demon, of indiscernible race. However, his aura is extremely powerful, and it’s very possibly a Devil Dragon. If so, we are going to encounter a Dragon Team type Demon Hunter Remover squad.”
The priest immediately reported, “No invisible enemy lying in wait within a thousand meters, everything is regular.”
Tian Qing asked the mage, “Any traces of an ambush nearby?
Investigate more carefully.”
The mage nodded, reinforcing his output of spiritual energy and launched Eagle Eye in all directions. This mage’s greatest ability of detection could even detect invisible demons, this spell available to mages of the seventh step, helped to scout at a range of up to at least ten kilometers. When focusing on a smaller range, its detection would become more detailed.
A short time later, the mage replied, “Everything is normal. The demons already left the city, and don’t look about to fly, only advancing rapidly toward the Central Province. The black-clad youth aside, there’s also a girl cloaked in white, with an humanoid appearance. Her cultivation or race cannot be seen. At their back, there are four other humanoid demon
powerhouses and two bestial demons, one Jacques Demon and a Demonic Bear. I can say with confidence that except for the black clad youth, at least two of the other humanoid demons are pure magic users. They are leaving at fast speed, so we already don’t have the time for an ambush. I suggest meeting them head on. We should have odds of seventy percent to get rid of them.”
Tian Qing nodded, giving a loud shout, “Go!” As he said that, he abruptly drew his own heavy sword. Lifting the golden shield in his left hand, a dazzling dark golden radiance spread out from him. With a low roar, an immense Earth Dragon appeared in front of him.
This was a magical beast of the eighth step, Vajra Dragon, the most powerful kind of Earth Dragon, comparable with a human powerhouse of the seventh step. More importantly, its defensive ability was immense. When contracted with one, a knight gained one more ultra-strong meat shield, that even a powerhouse of the eighth step wouldn’t be able to kill in a short time.
Tian Qing straightened his posture, directly climbing on the back of his Vajra Dragon. The warrior and the assassin also mounted the dragon. Their summoner of the seventh step held a silver colored crystal ball in his hands, murmuring some chants of incantation, before three glows of light flashed, and three Lightning Panthers, magical beasts of the sixth rank, appeared before everyone. The mage, the priest and he himself each mounted one of them.
At this time, their battle attainment as a king grade Demon Hunt Squad emerged. Of course, they could rely on their spiritual wings to snipe on the enemies from the air, but Demon Hunter Removers weren’t any weaklings, let alone a Dragon team type Demon Hunt Remover squad, which was the hardest existence to handle aside from king teams. Thus, they were economizing their spiritual energy. Moreover their existence wouldn’t be noticed as easily on the ground.
Lightning Panthers were magical beasts with ordinary attack and defense, but as wind elemental magical beasts, their speed was as fast as lightning. This ability made them undoubtedly the best mounts for mage type
vocations. Right after getting on the back of the magical beast, the mage immediately grabbed his staff and started a low-chant, letting the Lightning Panther run as it pleased. It was as if he was stuck on its back and could therefore remain focused on his chant, without the slightest distraction or rush. The group of six rapidly rushed towards their enemy on the only possible road they had found by the use of the Eagle Eye.
Everyone in the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad was naturally looking at Long Haochen.
With a purple flash in his eyes, Haoyue’s immense figure appeared before everyone.
Already reaching eleven meters in height, Haoyue’s body could already be described as massive, and those two immense bulges on the sides of his heads appeared all the more distinct. Besides his four heads that were sticking up, it could clearly be seen that the bulges that had originally shrunk regrew through the past year, now reaching a noticeable size again. The now already had a size close to the other heads, as if they would emerge at anytime. This was even more true now that Haoyue ate quite a few magical crystals. After the consumption of all those crystals his faintly discernible terrifying aura even occasionally gave Long Haochen some great shock.
The seven of them were all seated on Haoyue’s back, but Long Haochen alone was standing on top of Little Light’s Head. Meanwhile, Haoyue strode forward vigorously on his four limbs, chasing after the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad. Nonetheless, under Long Haochen’s directions, he trailed a kilometer behind them, and did his utmost to look for covers hiding his huge body.
Long Haochen was actually very hopeful and fearless himself. After their previous ambush, over ten of their sixteen Slaughter Missions were already completed, and the greatest achievement among them was the completion of the mission to kill the Star Demon which was second only in difficulty to the one consisting of killing a demon god. The mission of attacking the seventy-second placed demon god, who was located in a remote province, required all of them to go all out to handle him. But for them, giving their
all was enough. But the Star Demon was a different matter, the overwhelming majority of Star Demons were living in Modu Core City, to say nothing of a Star Demon of the eighth step. In case they acted in the Core City, staying undiscovered would turn out to be really difficult. Due to the terrifying pressure of the Demon God Emperor, the Temple Alliance never managed to set up a team section in Modu Core City, moreover, countless demon powerhouses were also present there.
They really didn’t think that they would accomplish an extremely difficult mission like killing a demon god, thus everyone was a lot more relaxed. Over these past two months, they already completed most of their Slaughter Missions, and this naturally permitted them to take it slower from then onwards.
They just hoped that this second attack would also succeed.
The two Demon Hunt Squads rushed forward at rapid speed, and Tian Qing still took great care of Long Haochen’s side, occasionally changing positions and wielding his sword to tell Long Haochen about their situation, while mainly hinting that the distance to their enemies was still far.
Chapter 398
Long Haochen suddenly felt his heartbeat accelerating, as if some immaterial force was affecting him. In front of them, Tian Qing just relayed the message that the enemy was only three kilometers away, and that they would launch an attack in roughly two minutes.
Long Haochen suddenly turned his head towards Lin Xin and shouted, “Lin Xin, Eagle Eye! Hurry up, examine if there’s not anything strange with that Demon Hunter Remover squad!”
Lin Xin reacted immediately, sensing that something was amiss with Long Haochen’s behaviour. Not daring to relax, he hurriedly waved the Fire Crystal Staff in his hand and released an Eagle Eye Technique.
During this time, the two Demon Hunt Squads were advancing forward, still approaching the enemy.
Long Haochen asked eagerly, “How did it go?”
Lin Xin furrowed his brows, “I saw the enemy. It’s very strange, I feel that the man leading them is quite strange. There’s a hat on his head, covering his face, yet I feel that he’s very familiar. Also, the girl in the white cloak behind him feels very familiar as well. Wait! That’s her!”
Lin Xin suddenly cried out in alarm in front of his whole team, and Long Haochen asked in a rush, “Who?”
Lin Xin replied, “That’s Yue Ye! The girl in their team is Yue Ye! No good! Could their leader be the one from that time….”
Right, while using Eagle’s Eye to scout, Lin Xin learned that the girl standing as second-in-command of this team was removing her cloak exposing her face. Although it only lasted for an instant, the purple hair around her face and her close to perfect looks were seen clearly by Lin Xin. Wasn’t that clearly Yue Ye?
Long Haochen instantly looked sullen, “We have been fooled, this was a trap!” He looked forward, at the group of Tian Qing. But right then, Tian Qing just crossed the hillside, disappearing from Long Haochen’s line of sight.
Strong magic fluctuations instantly erupted, and even from afar, they could clearly sense the temperature fall, as terrible fluctuations of energy rose. Obviously, the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad was going all out in their attack, and Long Haochen’s realization was a bit late.
Right, that group leaving Major Jacques City unhurriedly was formed of Ah’Bao and his dragon team type Demon Hunter Remover squad.
After coming to an accurate judgement, Ah’Bao took time to lay an inescapable net to trap Long Haochen’s group. Their methods were very simple: First of all, they did their utmost to stay out of the range of detection of the Demon Hunt Squads, before retiring the other Demon Hunter Remover squads one after another. Thereby, they gradually made Long Haochen’s group relax their vigilance. When they left the town, their goal was naturally to pull the snake out of its hole. But how could they bait out the fish without giving Long Haochen’s group the opportunity for an ambush?
Ah’Bao’s stratagem wasn’t anything brilliant, but rather absolutely simple and effective. Long Haochen and Tian Qing were both intelligent people, but sometimes, truth and deceivement were not easy to tell apart, especially with Ah’Bao’s absolute confidence in his plan. This was also the reason why he placed the troops for his ambush very far from the city.
The instant Yue Ye took off her cloak, Ah’Bao shot her an unsatisfied glance. And right at that time, intense magic fluctuations suddenly
announced the appearance of a Demon Hunt Squad with six members, rushing towards them.
Not that person. This was Ah’Bao’s first judgment. But no matter what, it was still a Demon Hunt Squad. And furthermore, for a Demon Hunt Squad to have the courage to attack him, it should at least be a king grade Demon Hunt Squad, thus getting rid of it would already be quite a big accomplishment.
A grim laugh escaped Ah’Bao’s mouth, and with a cold shout, he ordered, “Defensive formation.” right after saying that, he waved his right hand and shot a purple-black ball of light into the sky, which exploded with an intense light.
This was the signal, the signal to launch the ambush.
The immense Demonic Bear strode forward in large steps, and right then, powerful magic erupted.
Ice Storm, an ice crowd spell of the seventh step.
The 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad had only a total of three pieces of Legendary Equipment: the shield in Tian Qing’s hand, the Silver Crystal Ball of their summoner, and the staff of their mage. This was the optimal pattern of allocation that most Demon Hunt Squads would choose, ensuring the Demon Hunt Squads’ best survivability and attack power. Without a doubt, the mage was their most powerful attacker.
Ice Storm was a large scale spell, for which even a mage of the seventh step needed at least a minute to cast. But even so, this spell was the most powerful one of the ice element for the whole seventh step.
Moreover, the mage from the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad was chanting slowly, delaying the use of his magic to increase the condensation of the magic power even further.
Fistsized snowflakes streamed from the sky, producing an ice-cold and overwhelming feeling. Moreover, they were accompanied by unsurpassable
whizzing sounds. Each snowflake was as destructive as a sharp blade, cutting the air apart, and severing everything in their path. In the midst of the terrible whizzing sounds, the snowflakes were accelerating, and the king grade Demon Hunt Squad followed, advancing with overwhelming speed.
Ice Storm wasn’t a pure water elemental spell, but also included the wind element. The staff from the mage of the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad was also of the rarely seen dual ice and wind element, giving this spell an even greater power. When used right, it clearly carried the might and power of a fire spell.
One could see that during the use of the spell, the mage’s face gradually became paler. From this, one may well imagine how massive the burden on him was.
This was an absolutely unavoidable spell, covering a scale of several square kilometers. Ah’Bao and his demon allies rapidly gathered, while the Demonic Bear interlaced his fingers and stood upright and unafraid. One could watch all his hairs hardening, and some deep purple-black ripples covering his body. He stood like a protective shield, about to resist the powerful incoming attack.
Two black-clad youths slowly stood behind him, emitting a deep purple radiance from their hands, and to one’s shock, a staff appeared in the hands of each of them. Furthermore, they radiated very powerful magic fluctuations. Although they didn’t reach the Legendary Tier, they were an existence at the peak of the Glorious Tier. In fact, demon mages would rarely use staffs. Darkness element staffs could only be made by demons themselves, given that the Temple Alliance would never make staffs of this element! From the appearance of two of them, the level of power of this dragon team type Demon Hunter Remover squad could easily be discerned. Even without Ah’Bao’s presence, the strength of this Demon Hunter Remover squad was already far above the group Long Haochen’s team had encountered before.
Ah’Bao’s body slowly straightened up, standing in the center of their team. In front of the overwhelming Ice Tempest, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he suddenly took off his hat, before smashing a powerful fist to the sky.
Right when this fist erupted in the sky, it tore the space apart, and those snowflakes were suddenly crushed, rendered unable to reach them.
Powerful magic and strong defense. Right as this clash occurred, the most dominant event on the battlefield was the ear-piercing breaking sound, and the tempest of ice and snow slowly gathering in the center after covering the area of a square kilometer. Gradually, a massive tornado of snow and ice formed, hitting the ten demon powerhouses.
This spell was the trump card of the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad, as well as the greatest attack this mage could use. In the same way as Lin Xin’s Phoenix of Blue Fire, the use of this attack drained all energy from him and made him lose all his battle force at once.
While the Ice Tempest spread out, the others from the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad naturally didn’t stay idle, but rushed straight forward at an astounding speed. Their priest already released healing abilities to help the mage recover his spiritual energy. The summoner also started to chant rapidly, summoning one magical beast of the sixth step after another, aiming straight at the Demon Hunter Removers. Tian Qing lifted his sword above his head, brazenly meeting the Demonic Bear head on, while their assassin became invisible, and the warrior took out a gigantic axe.
The main reason why Tian Qing was confident in his ability to ambush this Demon Hunter Remover squad was fundamentally because of their powerful spell Ice Storm. He had immense confidence in their mage. According to his calculations, this spell would at least be able to weaken the enemy forces by a third, greatly affecting their troops, while at the same time , causing a loss of speed on their side due to the ice and freezing temperature. If so, the rest of the battle would naturally go on their pace, and Tian Qing was confident in being able to end this battle in short time, before instantly escaping. He planned to return to the same team section as before to rest and reorganize. As long as this worked out, even staying hidden for three more months was no problem to them, and they would afterwards leave this place to fulfill other missions.
The instant Ice Storm covered all of their enemies, Tian Qing seemed to think this mission was already completed. However, when he was a hundred
meters away from the enemies, his face changed greatly yet again.
He anticipated the resistance of the Demonic Bear, since after all, Demonic Bears were well known for their defense. However, the defense of their middle and their rear went against his expectations. With Ice Storm being an omnidirectional attack, having strong defense on only one side was insufficient. Still, the enemies managed to defend against it at all sides.
The two demons in the rear produced an immense barrier, constantly repelling the attacks from Ice Storm, and although supporting it was strenuous and forced them to launch spells one after another, they still held well against it. Most importantly, that black clad young man floating in the air, annihilated the great majority of the power from Ice Storm with his fists, lessening the power of their spell at least by half. Although they were still affected by the freezing cold, at least until now, there were no signs of true injuries among the people in their ranks. In fact, that mage from the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad couldn’t maintain this spell for too long, because after all, his magical power was limited.
Chapter 399
It looked as if this Demon Hunter Remover squad would indeed not be easy to handle. But even so, the current Tian Qing didn’t show the slightest intention to cower and let Long Haochen’s squad provide support. Moreover, the enemy was in the end still weakened by the Ice Storm.
The Vajra Dragon charged once again, lowering its immense head and aiming straight for the Demonic Bear. Currently, the Demonic Bear was still using both of his hands to defend his head and was unable to resist the charge of the Vajra Dragon. In the sky, the Ice Storm components had now the size of ice chips, and none of the snowflakes landed on Tian Qing.
A terrible battle unfolded right then. Tian Qing’s strength exploded completely, and one could see the head of the Vajra Dragon clash against the body of the Demonic Bear.
In some regard, Vajra Dragons and Demonic Bears were similar existences. They both possessed strong defense and attack power, but were slow, and not capable of flight.
Bang!
The hardest part of the Vajra Dragon, his head, clashed against the arms of the Demonic Bear. The demonic bear’s body was huge but the Vajra Dragon was still domineering in comparison, to say nothing that the Vajra Dragon still benefitted from the momentum of his charge.
Under normal circumstances, a Vajra Dragon of the same grade would best a Demonic Bear, and although it wouldn’t be enough to inflict serious
damage to the counterpart, at least pushing the Demonic Bear aside would be no problem. According to Tian Qing’s calculations, its attack would be followed by his team’s warrior and himself. They would swarm the enemies’ ranks to kill the demons, relying on the burst of power from Ice Storm, which should at least have greatly reduced the fighting power of the enemies.
However, he made one more miscalculation.
In the midst of a violent explosion, the Demonic Bear’s feet left a profound ravine in the ground, but the attack didn’t knock him down, because a black figure accurately landed right at the back of the Demonic Bear, steadying his defense with his hands.
This Demonic Bear now looked like an immense shield. Even with its defensive power, under these circumstances, he couldn’t help but make a stuffy groan as blood gushed out of his mouth and nose.
However, the price the Demonic Bear paid in form of these injuries, undoubtedly brought them great benefits. Tian Qing immediately felt like coughing out his blood, and his originally powerful ability, also combined with Storing Power, naturally changed targets. His heavy sword violently struck against the Demonic Bear, instead of aiming at the weakened enemies on their rear.
The figure supporting the Demonic Bear from behind was naturally Ah’Bao, who didn’t omit to hit the sky with another punch to counteract the Ice Storm, while blocking the enemy. However, he could still not cover all sides, and a large quantity of snowflakes was still closing in on them from all directions. However, the other demons weren’t newbies either! Being powerhouses of the seventh step, resisting the Ice Storm for some time was no problem for them.
Bang!
The Demonic Bear’s body glinted with golden light, and with another stuffy groan, he still didn’t draw back. He relied on his brute strength to block Tian Qing’s offense, while stamping the ground one time after
another. The intense vibrating of the ground he caused stopped the Vajra Dragon from launching a second attack.
Right at this time, Yue Ye made a frail shout, and created purplish black ripples all around her. Instantly, an illusory figure appeared in the air, and aimed precisely at her.
A Fiend Demon of the seventh step unfolded his wings and ascended, immediately blocking the king grade assassin with his blood coloured heavy sword, compelling him back.
At this time of the battle, Tian Qing and his king grade Demon Hunt Squad were already in a passive position.
Tian Qing never expected the enemies to be so hard to handle. The Ice Storm was already weakening, and although the large quantity of magical beasts called by their summoner already joined the battle, those magical beasts could only delay the attacks of the enemies for some time. They were far from powerful enough to wound them.
What could they do know? This was the time for Tian Qing to make a choice. Making prompt decisions while wearing his Mythril Foundation Armor, he whistled long while facing the sky.
This was his signal for Long Haochen. At this moment, he already couldn’t afford to save face. He discussed with Long Haochen before that if the enemy would really be hard to handle, he’d ask for the help of Long Haochen’s group. Together, they would handle the enemy as fast as possible before escaping. Currently, with the strength of their Demon Hunt Squad alone, handling this Demon Hunt Remover squad was impossible. Therefore, they could only request Long Haochen’s help.
However, for the third time of the day, Tian Qing miscalculated. Long Haochen’s team didn’t immediately join them, but another whistle sounded from the rear, coming from Long Haochen.
At this moment, Tian Qing’s morale finally reached its bottom. Long Haochen’s whistle meant that they were caught in an ambush. The enemies
really had premeditated all this. “Withdraw!” Tian Qing shouted with no hesitation, sweeping his shield forward, and launching a shield charge against the Demonic Bear. This was done using his full strength, plus the might from his shield of the Legendary Tier, and managed to repel the Demonic Bear three steps back.
“Want to escape? That’s too late!” Ah’Bao’s cold voice resounded in the air, and his black figure appeared in front of Tian Qing the next instant.
Ever since the defeat he suffered in the Illusory Paradise, a deep hatred towards these Demon Hunt Squads festered in Ah’Bao, choking him from deep inside. Even in his capacity as the demon crown prince, making his position majestic beyond compare, he still had lost at the hands of Long Haochen. His anger wasn’t something that could be dispelled over time. After finally encountering a human Demon Hunt Squad with difficulty, how could he let Tian Qing’s group go so easily?
Ah’Bao’s attacks were always like that: simple, effective and direct. Bang!
Even by relying on his Legendary Shield, as well as the defense from Divine Obstruction, Tian Qing suffered greatly from this punch.
Surrounded by the golden glint released from the use of Brilliant Body, he was still forcibly pushed ten meters back by this punch, with a feeling of numbness still remaining in his left hand.
The peak of the eighth step! Tian Qing’s expression changed greatly. In fact, his current internal spiritual energy already surpassed 20,000 units, so with the addition of Divine Obstruction and his Mythril Foundation Armor, as well as his Legendary Shield, only a powerhouse at the peak of the eighth step could repel him with such an attack.
Ah’Bao charged into Tian Qing like a tornado. Launching one fist after another, he covered him with unyielding attacks.
Tian Qing wasn’t so easy to handle either. After determining the enemy’s strength, he battled for his life and tried to escape, constantly using abilities to weaken Ah’Bao. However, he was secretly in distress. Ah’Bao’s speed was far greater than his, so withdrawing was already completely impossible for him. Right at this moment, he sensed powerful auras approaching them from all sides.
I was mistaken in the end. I truly regret not listening to Haochen’s suggestion!
However, Tian Qing was after all a veteran with several years of experience, and although he felt painful inside, at this time his mind was extremely focused. And this time he made the appropriate decision.
“We are withdrawing! I’ll be staying behind to stop them, don’t care about me Join Haochen to break out together. Go, now!” Saying this, Tian Qing shouted indignantly while looking up to the sky. Igniting a golden flame around himself, he suddenly turned around, directly abandoning his sword to hold his shield in both hands, knocking it fiercely against Ah’Bao.
Ah’Bao’s attacks were still too powerful. Those attacks that looked simple and direct actually possessed an incredible power, as if carrying the strength of heaven and earth. All his punches transcended Tian Qing’s whole imagination.
However, Tian Qing was still a Mythril Foundation Knight, and was powerful in his own right. His many years as a Demon Hunter were the origin of his powerful strength and battle experience. At this moment, he made his whole strength burst out, not only igniting his body with holy fire, but also his flame of life. He was already fighting with all his might.
His goal was simple: to sacrifice himself to give his comrades the opportunity to escape.
In battles against demons, many Demon Hunters had already been forced to make this kind of choice, and being a Guardian Knight as well as their captain, he knew that something like this might happen one day. Thus, he
didn’t have the slightest hesitation. This attack was his choice, and he naturally had to bear the consequences of it.
“No, Captain, I’m not leaving.” The king grade warrior snarled, breaking out with his pair of battle axes at full strength, launching Tornado Strike. The powerful offensive power instantly cut through two demon powerhouses, and he frantically aimed at Ah’Bao.
“Captain, the team cannot lose you. Hurry up and go!” A blood colored glow covered the axes, precisely from using Madness.
Indeed, a warrior was still a warrior, and even without a piece of Legendary Equipment on him, Ah’Bao still had to suddenly step back when faced with the fast spinning attack. With a loud and clear dragon cry, the air seemed to be torn and an explosion erupted, as that rotating warrior was kicked back.
Bang!
With a violent spurt of blood, even this warrior in the state of Madness was sent flying by the power of Ah’Bao’s kick. While the blood from in his mouth spurted in an arc, his two battle axes were almost simultaneously dropped.
“Failure is the mother of success.” This saying applied not only to humans, but also to demons. After his battle against Long Haochen, Ah’Bao pondered about his painful experience and trained bitterly in seclusion. Therefore, his strength increased greatly. Now, not only did his cultivation reach the peak of the eighth step, but his fighting strength as a whole, as well as his comprehension of real combat were completely different from before. At this very moment, it could be seen that his whole body was covered with a layer of black scales, while his blood red eyes were full of blood-thirst.
Tian Qing clenched his teeth bitterly, raising his shield, and knocked once again against Ah’Bao. His only thought was now that no matter what, he would do his utmost to save his comrades.
However, no matter which Demon Hunt Squad, after fighting together for such a long time, how would one easily abandon his comrades? Tian Qing thought like this, but his comrades were the same as him!
A bunch of differently colored flames ignited on the battlefield, belonging to every member of the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad. They agreed by chance to make the same decision of igniting their flames of life, with an unanimous thought: they’d rather die here together than leave their comrade here by himself.
Bang, Bang, Bang
At every fierce strike Tian Qing’s body would shiver violently. However, he still relied on his own strength to forcibly block Ah’Bao. Not only that, but he also simultaneously took care of the other demons.
Chapter 400
The Ice Storm was not completely ineffective: even if Ah’Bao was even stronger, he wouldn’t possibly be able to cover all of his allies. Although the Ice Storm had already stopped, every Demon Hunter Remover aside from him was slowed down to a great extent. Three of them even suffered wounds of different severity.
Thus, although Ah’Bao instantly turned a detrimental situation into an advantage, these Demon Hunter Removers weren’t able to counterattack immediately .
Right at this time, a golden glint of light abruptly appeared on the battlefield, carrying an overwhelmingly brilliant aura of light.
Clang! With an ear-piercing explosion, Ah’Bao’s body suddenly stopped in his tracks, and immediately, his blood colored eyes were erupting with violent sparkles.
That’s him!
Spreading his four wings, Long Haochen descended promptly after launching this blow. Yating’s slender figure appeared above his shoulder, aiming a white glint accurately at Ah’Bao. Long Haochen flapped his four wings and appeared at the back of the demons’ ranks. Erupting with Demon Wiping Flash, he enveloped several surrounding demon powerhouses in its range, blocking their attacks. Meanwhile, everyone from the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad arrived and regrouped with the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad in this counterattack.
“Haochen!” Tian Qing called out.
Long Haochen shouted loudly, “The enemies are surrounding us on all sides. Immediately break out of their siege, we will be staying behind. I have my own ways to get away from the battlefield, so go now!”
The sudden addition of Long Haochen’s group immediately changed the present situation. The four headed Haoyue rushed forward in large strides, and everyone in the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad was prepared since long before. With the addition of these strong troops, no matter how strong Ah’Bao was, winning would undoubtedly prove to be hard for his Demon Hunter Remover squad alone.
However, as soon as Long Haochen’s group appeared on the battlefield, in all directions of the sky, many glinting lights approached the place fast, and at rough glance, they numbered over fifty.
Encountering Long Haochen again, Ah’Bao currently felt his blood boiling. With a loud roar, a pair of purplish black dragon wings appeared on his back, and after withdrawing from the battle with Tian Qing, he immediately went after Long Haochen.
But Long Haochen didn’t continue to tangle with Ah’Bao. In a flash, his four wings flapped again, dodging him.
“Big brother Tian Qing, quickly go! Otherwise it will be too late!”
Long Haochen shouted desperately once again.
Tian Qing replied with a bitter smile, “Haochen, you go. During this battle, the one in command is me. And since I am the current commander, you must listen to me. Quickly go with your team!”
Long Haochen shouted back in fury, “You’re really wasting time! I said that we have the ability to flee from the battlefield. Have you forgotten how I made Cai’er disappear at that time?”
“None of you will be leaving!” Ah’Bao suddenly stopped in midair, not chasing further after Long Haochen. Lifting his right hand, he emitted an
orange radiance and formed an orange colored barrier covering everyone present on the battlefield, including the Demon Hunt Removers under his command, as well as Long Haochen and Tian Qing.
Long Haochen felt his surroundings freeze, and he suddenly stopped in the midst of his acceleration. But it was not only him, Tian Qing and the others, along with Ah’Bao and all the other demons were stuck inside, as if everything in this orange space turned immobile.
Emitting a dense glint from his eyes, Ah’Bao stared at Long Haochen with an ardent look, “I will be paying back the shame you brought upon me. Only your blood can wash off this shame. Today, you will definitely die. ”
Long Haochen’s breath was now extremely heavy. He didn’t know which technique Ah’Bao just used, but it didn’t seem like an ability belonging to him. However, this was not important. This technique obviously didn’t make any difference between their enemies and their own side. Perhaps this hinted that the time of confinement wouldn’t be that long, but it was enough in this situation, because during this short while, the demons lying in ambush were approaching.
Those were fifty Demon Hunter Removers; a total of fifty Demon Hunter Removers! This formidable force was nothing they could contend against at the present time. Even escaping would be very difficult. Long Haochen even had no assurance to be able to activate the Eternal Melody for his comrades and himself to escape.
Desperate straits! Right, they were now in absolutely desperate straits.
The choice of joining the battle or not had been up to Long Haochen. He could have lead his own allies to break out of the siege or use the Eternal Melody to escape.
However, even if Tian Qing’s judgement was wrong, how could he possibly give up on his own allies on the battlefield? Thus, he showed up here with no hesitation.
If Tian Qing had listened to his suggestion, and had immediately turned around to break out of the siege with his comrades, perhaps Long Haochen’s group would still have had the chance to leave the battlefield after separating from them. But what Ah’Bao used seemed to be a particular ability of the Star Demons, and now it was already too late.
It was now not only the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad that was in a dire situation, but also the 64th commander grade Demon Hunt Squad.
The orange light disappeared gradually, and the Pull ability of the Saint Spiritual Stove still reached Ah’Bao, but he seemed to have no more but a sarcastic look as reaction. The masses of Demon Hunter Removers were already surrounding them on all sides, and an intense darkness filled the air. Powerful undulations of spiritual energy were unleashed from the encircled Demon Hunters that all had ice-cold looks.
The members from the 17th king grade Demon Hunt Squad temporarily paused the ignition of their life energy, all having determined look. Since they couldn’t leave, they would all stay here, and kill their way out. After all, since the day they became Demon Hunters, they were resigned to the fact that their deaths would probably come from the demons’ hands. And this day seemed to have arrived. “Stand back, all of you.” Ah’Bao suddenly shouted loudly.
From his order, the dragon team’s Demon Hunter Removers drew back, temporarily creating a distance between the Demon Hunters and themselves. Long Haochen and Tian Qing’s two Demon Hunt Squads were gathered together, taking advantage of the opportunity, but the encirclement of the other fifty Demon Hunter Removers had shrunk the distance by a lot.
Sixty Demon Hunter Removers against one king grade and one commander grade Demon Hunt Squad; this was already a battle without suspense. No matter how excellent Long Haochen and Cai’er were, if a crowd battle started, they would only be able to curse at the final results. Of course, by relying on the activation of the Eternal Melody, Long Haochen at least had the confidence to be able to bring along two other people, but how could he abandon his other comrades?
Tian Qing stood upright and unafraid at Long Haochen’s side. He didn’t give Long Haochen any apology, as apologizing wouldn’t do any good. Since the situation was already this dire, there was already no way to make up for his mistake. All he thought of doing now was to sacrifice himself to try to create an opportunity for Long Haochen’s group to escape. However, this was indeed quite too hard. Especially seeing so many powerful demons, particularly that black-clad young man. In the past series of exchanges, even after Tian Qing had ignited the flame of his own soul, in front of his attacks, he could only retreat by defeat little by little. And furthermore, that black-clad young man seemed to have not gone all out yet.
Ah’Bao didn’t give a single glance to Tian Qing, Guardian Knight and most powerful in cultivation among those two teams. His eyes only held Long Haochen and his unforgettable memories of the pain he received from that blow of Long Haochen’s sword, he was never able to forget.
“You are Long Haochen, I’m not mistaken on your name right?” Ah’Bao’s cold voice pierced the hearts of every Demon Hunter like a terrible gust of wind.
These were a whole sixty demon powerhouses. Amongst them, the powerhouses of the eighth step numbered at least six, and they were accompanied by more than fifty powerhouses of the seventh step. Even for an emperor grade Demon Hunt Squad, getting away from here would be no easy thing.
“I am Long Haochen.” Taking large strides forward, Long Haochen exchanged a glance with Ah’Bao. If the current Ah’Bao could be said to be a volcano ready to erupt at anytime, then the current Long Haochen was like a deep and quiet pool. The man and the demon were standing face to face, their gazes meeting each other in the air, and Long Haochen didn’t yield in the slightest.
Ah’Bao furrowed his brows, declaring, “The last time we met in the Illusory Paradise, you left me with unforgettable memories. I really didn’t think that you would reappear so fast, and in this kind of situation. I wonder if you have other tricks to save yourself from an unescapable death this time as well?”
Long Haochen calmly asked back, “How would you know without giving a try?”
A dense smell of gunpowder filled the air in an instant, and the powerhouses on both sides were prepared to intervene at anytime.
Ah’Bao suddenly laughed, relaxing his clenched fist a bit, “Very well. I have no choice but to admit that you deserve being treated as my rival. Even if your strength is pathetic compared to mine, I am still willing to accept you as my enemy. You should feel honored of that.”
Long Haochen also laughed at him, showing a great indifference while revealing a smile full of self-confidence on his handsome and very bright face, “Unfortunately, I have never regarded you as my rival, and this won’t ever happen unless one day, you succeed to your father’s current position. In my eyes, there exists only one rival, and that’s him.”
Ah’Bao’s look finally changed. In this state of absolute advantage, he was trying to humiliate Long Haochen with his words, to break his self- confidence before annihilating all the the humans around, thus regaining that lost self-confidence of his. But who expected that Long Haochen not only wasn’t fooled, but also counterattacked.
“Do you even see yourself? And you still want to challenge my father? All right, then don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. If you win against me, I will release all of you now. But otherwise…”
“No need for otherwises, just come at me.” Long Haochen advanced with large strides, without even summoning Haoyue to fight with him.
Haoyue lifted his four large heads, looking at Long Haochen with an ardent look. As if he just received some instruction, he lowered his heads once again.
“Haochen!” Tian Qing called out in worry.
Long Haochen turned around and looked at him, and from his point of view, Tian Qing had a determined look. Strong remorse was filling him, as
he seemed to be mumbling some words.
Ah’Bao slowly raised his hand, and all the demon forces retreated, leaving an open space before him.