More supernaturals rushed to the scene in short order. Someone knelt for a close look and whispered, âThis is strange. These clothes show irregular cuts and damage. Black Armors use swords... Are they not the ones behind this?â
He was examining the late Li Dahuâs clothing. It was a portion that Liu Long had punched through, thus leaving a hole. Although the clothes had been hacked to pieces and it looked like a sword had done it, there were certain other traces to be found as well.
Li Hao and his comrades had left in such a hurry that they didnât have time to collect the clothing or create a more realistic aftermath.
Some supernaturals vanished as soon as these words were uttered. No matter if they were true or not, they meant that this place was becoming ever more dangerous. It was fine if this postulation was false, but if true... Didnât that mean there was internal strife between supernaturals?
Who knew how these Yama powerhouses had died? What if some other organizations had purposefully lured the soldiers here? Or perhaps theyâd been fighting each other and the Black Armors appeared to kill them all!
The observing Yama powerhouse swiftly left with a piece of clothing. He needed to find Yao Cheng as soon as possible to tell him that someone had died, and possibly not to the soldiers! Heâd sensed a hint of lingering aura, so it might be martial masters behind it!
Of course, he couldnât easily voice this aloud. Once he did, the Sword Sect would come under the greatest suspicion. However, this faction always presented a neutral, nonthreatening front. It wasnât a good idea to brashly declare war upon them.
Additionally, they didnât appear to have any martial masters that knew the aura. Hong Yitang once grasped it, but he was a supernatural now.
Quiet gradually returned to the streets.
......
In the alley from earlier.
Li Hao, Liu Long, and Liu Yan heaved for breath, their hearts still racing.
âI made a severe mistake,â Liu Long raised his earlier point again. âThese battle spoils have nothing to do with me. Thatâs one point. The other is that Iâll be bait from now on, the two of you stay back!â
Li Hao didnât say anything. These were the team rules set by Liu Long himself. The young man wouldnât oppose it if the captain wished to follow them.
Liu Yan was panting as well and grunted, âI have my revenge! I donât need any rewards either. You can have it all, Li Hao!â Joy and a bit of helplessness crept into her voice. âI killed Li Dahu! I...â
âRevenge your ass!â Li Hao hissed. âYama is your enemy. They sheltered the Qiaos and Li Dahu despite their crimes. Do you think killing just one Li Dahu is sufficient revenge? Youâre so naive!â
Liu Yanâs joy at executing her vengeance immediately vanished. Yama weighed on her like a massive mountain from overhead. That carefree sense was nowhere to be found. Indeed, Yama was the chief offender, but damned if Li Hao wasnât annoying!
Delivering these words at this time was too much of a blow to her mentality. Liu Yan didnât know what to say and felt an emptiness in the wake of the joy that vanished. Fine then, pretend I didnât say anything.
âKeep an eye out for me,â said Li Hao. âI need to absorb some more mysterious power. We collected a bit of earth, wind, and fire this time. What a pity that we havenât come across any water energy!â
It was getting a bit painful, his kidneys were at too great of a deficit! Of the five elements, heâd absorbed the most of fire and earth energy. Metal and wood lagged far behind, and there wasnât any water to be had this time. If this continued, his visceral organs would be gravely imbalanced!
A person flashed through his mindâa mid Solar. There would be no more imbalance if he absorbed all of her energy. His kidneys would be the strongest then! A mid Solar would contain at least 1500 cubes of water energy.
The thought left as soon as it formed. That person would not be easy to take down. While a mid Solar might turn into a real pig after playing the pig for too long, their spontaneous reaction time and defensive ability wasnât something that a Sunderer like him could break. He could try as a Dominator, especially armed with Stellaris and the aura of the sword. He might be able to defeat her then!
A sense of urgency nipped at Li Haoâs heels. He would break through as soon as he melded the two auras together. As for five auras? His teacher could have fun with that. He was fine with two. It didnât matter if it was harder to comprehend the aura as a Dominator. He could deal with that when he was a Dominator.
In this environment, his very survival was at stake if he wasnât a Dominator.
Li Hao furiously absorbed their new gains along with dwindling energy from the little sword. He was worried that there wasnât sufficient sword energy for him to advance to Dominator. How was he supposed to replenish it given current circumstances?
Tendrils of mysterious power flowed into his body, bolstering his five visceral organs apart from the kidneys. His heart and spleen, in particular, were noticeably stronger than the others.
......
At the same time.
Yao Cheng of the Yama organization regarded a scrap of cloth in his hand with an unpleasant expression. âHu Po is dead!â
Hu Po was a Sunflare thatâd crossed over from being a martial master and was quite strong. The organization had placed great value on him as a budding talent in Silver Moon. But now he was dead!
Earth energy was highly useful when it came to the Black Armors. Losing one earth supernatural at this time was a greater loss than two or three fire supernaturals. Fire was too heavily restricted at the moment.
It was because earth energy was so effective that he sent Hu Po out with some men. Yao Cheng estimated that theyâd be able to minimize danger within acceptable parameters even if they ran into the soldiers.
But Hu Po had still died!
Yao Cheng glowered. Were Black Armors really behind this? Why didnât that seem to be entirely the case? Hu Po was no idiot. Why would he antagonize a ten soldier squad? Was it that someone didnât want the earth supernatural to live since that gave Yama more chances to capture Black Armors?
âHow many are dead?â he asked.
âUncertain,â a subordinate murmured. âOther than confirmation of Hu Po and his men, our uniforms have appeared at other locales as well. Thereâs at least five Darkmoons and one Sunflare thatâve died!â n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yao Chengâs face darkened. Itâd only been how long, but theyâd already lost six! This was the least of their losses as well. There were still some groups outside with their current status unknown. If this continued, wouldnât they lose all of their people after exploring the nearby streets?
Heâd brought eight with him and was joined by a few more later on. They numbered roughly a dozen. There werenât that many Yama members in the ruins, how was he supposed to explain himself to the Revolution King that heâd lost so many at once?!
He brooded as his thoughts traveled here. âI need to report to the Revolution King. Be careful. Also, we canât be the only ones to scout these streets. Itâs far more dangerous than we expected, we need to work together with the others!â
The situation couldnât continue as is!
His men didnât have any opinions, so he swiftly vanished on the spot.
......
Within the darkness.
There was a clearing outside the ancient city where large numbers of supernaturals were gathered. Hu Dingfang swept a look over the surroundings a few times and glowered when he didnât see Li Hao.
When Yama members came forward to demand an explanation as to why the Night Watchers hadnât previously mentioned the soldiers in armor, Hu Dingfang stared coldly at the Revolution King.
âAnd are you willing to tell me what treasures and dangers that exist in the ruins that Yama has discovered?â he asked frostily. âIs something wrong with your brains or mine?â
âHu Dingfang, do you really think youâre invincible here?â The Revolution King wore an arctic expression on his face. âDo you honestly think a late Solar is on par with a Nova?!â
In terms of strength, Hu Dingfang was a bit weaker than them, but the guyâs arrogance knew no bounds! He showed no face to Violet Moon or the Revolution King. Did he think the Night Watchers reigned high and mighty??
Celestial had ever been a mysterious organization and might not participate in this encirclement, but the same might not go for Violet Moon. It would be more than easy for the Revolution King and Violet Moon to move against Hu Dingfang and Hao Lianchuan. Did this guy have a death wish?
âGo ahead, just try!â Hu Dingfang answered calmly. âThe Tiger Wings havenât prepared that many city annihilation missiles, just ten. If I donât make it outâif Iâm not the first one out of those doorsâyou can yourselves to eat ten missiles. Donât think too highly of yourself, Revolution. Do you really think I didnât come prepared?â
He glared sharply at them and sneered, âI bet you havenât the balls to do anything! Or do you think reinforcements from the central region can hold off the missiles for you?â
The Revolution King scowled! Not just him, but so did Violet Moon send a chilly look at Hu Dingfang.
City annihilation missiles!
This was part of the basis for the armyâs confidence. These weapons of mass destruction were top secret. Each province only had a few and they were all army property. As capable as the three great organizations were, they werenât strong enough to infiltrate the higher levels of the military. In fact, the military partnered with the supernatural organizations in some provinces. That was another story entirely.
In Silver City, only the commanders of the three armies could wield city annihilation missiles. Hu Dingfang was one of them as well as the other two commanders. The overall commander-in-chief had such authority as well.
Violet Moonâs indifferent voice cut through the air as soon as Hu Dingfang finished speaking. âSo this means that the missiles will be fired if you die in the ruins? We have to ensure your safety as well? How ridiculous!â she snorted. âLetâs see who has the right to command the missiles when youâre not around.â
âMy wife!â answered Hu Dingfang. âMy wife is wonderful in aspects, but not in keeping the bigger picture in mind! If I die and donât make it out, she wonât think of the bigger picture. Try her if you donât believe me!â
The assembly frowned. Who wouldâve thought that Hu Dingfang would go to these depths? They said nothing more after thinking it over. If city annihilation missiles were indeed fired, then everyone would die. Violet Moon and the Revolution King stood a chance of survival as they carried origin weapons and held the strength of a peak Solar. They should be fine if they needed to escape at a pivotal moment. At the same time, heavy injuries were inevitable.
However, if everyone they came with died, they wouldnât be able to explain themselves either. They were just the leaders of a branch, not headquarters.