Chapter 141: Handling The Corpse
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Hong Zhuang did not believe that Lin Huang was dead when she first heard the news from Lu Xuan. She thought that Lin Huang would escape the training camp instead of dying. She soon realized that Lu Xuan was not joking.
"Are you sure that Lin Huang is dead?" Hong Zhuang frowned.
"I confirmed this with Scarface." Lu Xuan explained.
"I'm coming over now." Hong Zhuang hung up the phone.
Soon, a black metal door appeared in Lu Xuan's room. It was opened and a lady in black coat walked in, there was a red Purple Crow logo on the left side of her collar. Hong Zhuang kept the door and said to Lu Xuan, "Bring me there."
Lu Xuan nodded and summoned a red wooden door. The duo stepped in and entered Scarface's office. The first thing they saw was the coffin that made of gold velvet wood.
Hong Zhuang she did not even look at Scarface and asked directly, "How did he die?" Scarface told her the story and showed her the video clip in the training room. Hong Zhuang frowned and kept quiet after she saw the video clip. She then looked at Lu Xuan, "Bring out the dead body."
"Put it there." Hong Zhuang pointed at Scarface's desk. Scarface did not dare to disagree and nodded, "Yes, put it here. The table is big." Lu Xuan placed Lin Huang's body on the table. Hong Zhuang then walked over and said, "Flip him over so that his back is facing upwards." Lu Xuan then flipped Lin Huang's body. Hong Zhuang took a good look.
"There's a bite wound by a Ruinshade Wolf. His neck is broken, probably from the wolf's attack. What caused his death, however, was the Giant Horned Rhino's stomps, his organs are all destroyed. From the corpse, it seems to match what the video showed us…" She mumbled to herself as she analyzed his body.
Hong Zhuang was still frowning after she checked Lin Huang's dead body. Although everything matched the video clip, her instincts told her that whatever event had transpired was not as simple as this.
"Have you done a DNA test?" Hong Zhuang asked Scarface.
"A DNA test? No." Scarface shook his head, "I was the one who brought him here and there's video proof as well so there shouldn't be any mistakes?"
"Get someone to run a DNA test now." Lu Xuan was clearly annoyed when she patted Scarface's shoulder.
He called a staff immediately to run a blood test. Minutes later, a lady in doctor attire came in."
"Run a DNA test for the corpse and compare it with Lin Huang's DNA." Hong Zhuang said to the doctor without even looking at Scarface.
"Do it right now!" Scarface shouted.
The doctor then took a sample from Lin Huang's dead body. Five to six minutes later, the result showed that the dead body's DNA matched Lin Huang's DNA. "It's the same person."
Scarface and Lu Xuan then looked at Hong Zhuang in disbelief, "How could this happen…"
"You can leave now." Scarface lowered his voice as he spoke.
"Master Hong Zhuang, Lin Huang had great potential but since he was fated to die, there was nothing that he could do to escape." Lu Xuan spoke.
"He had the opportunity to summon his monster. He wouldn't die if he summoned the vampire. Why didn't he?" Hong Zhuang shook her head. She still thought that there was a missing piece somewhere in this puzzle.
"Under normal circumstance, the first thing people do when they're attacked is either to avoid or to attack back. He probably didn't see that coming. He probably reacted based on instinct. With his limited battle experience, he wouldn't have thought of what we would have done instead." Lu Xuan explained.
"Perhaps after he attacked the Ruinshade Wolf, he wanted to summon the vampire to protect him but the Giant Horned Rhino was too fast. That was why he did not have the time to summon the vampire." Scarface speculated.
Hong Zhuang opened up after they both spoke their minds, "That's true, I cannot expect a 15-year-old kid to have the same experience that I do… I overestimated him… Too bad, he had such great potential. Such a waste for the vampire that went through two mutations too…"
Summons for an Imperial Censor existed in a separate dimension when they're not summoned. When an Imperial Censor dies, the separate dimension would collapse and all their summons would die. If the monster was summoned, it would be freed as a wild monster upon the Imperial Censor's death. That was the reason why Hong Zhuang thought it was such a waste; she had her eyes on the vampire since they first met.
"Master Hong Zhuang, would you like to bring his corpse with you or …" Scarface asked.
" He's dead now, why would I want his corpse?" Hong Zhuang glared deadly at Scarface and Lu Xuan, "All I asked was that the both of you to look after this kid for three months, was that too much to ask? Now that he's dead, how dare you ask me whether I intend on bringing him along with me?!"
"Master Hong Zhuang, it's our fault that this happened. We did not complete the mission that you requested. It's your right to punish us." Lu Xuan and Scarface had planned to apologize to Hong Zhuang.
"Stop that, don't you think I have no idea what the both of you are up to." Hong Zhuang was cold as she replied in anger, "It's impossible that I would let this incident go just like that!"
"However, there is a way you two can redeem yourselves." Hong Zhuang said as she licked her lips.
"We'll do our best!" Although the both of them knew that Hong Zhuang's request would not be easy, they did not want to owe this lady anything.
"Find an Imperial Censor who owns a monster that has mutated twice within a year; the person cannot be above 18-years-old and if you do manage to find one, I'll pretend this incident never happened. However, if you fail again, you know very well that I hold grudges." Hong Zhuang grinned.
The both of them were in trouble. There were very few Imperial Censors in the first place and it was almost impossible to find an Imperial Censor who owns a monster that mutated twice and was below 18 years of age. Both of them had lived for 100 years and they have only encountered a person like Lin Huang this one time. To top it off, the mission had to be completed within a year. It was mission impossible.
However, they did not reject her request but nodded in agreement, "We'll try our best to complete the mission!"
After sending Hong Zhuang off, the both of them looked at each other.
"What should we do? Where can we find an Imperial Censor who is like Lin Huang within a year?" Scarface looked helplessly at Lu Xuan.
"What's the rush, at least we have a buffer period of one year. She'll leave us alone for now."
"What can one year do? Do you think you can be upgraded to an elite member within a year or do you plan to hide somewhere?" Scarface said sarcastically to Lu Xuan.
"If I could become an elite member, I wouldn't be scared of her. Don't even think about escape. The consequences would be far worse if she found me." Lu Xuan shook his head.
"At least we get to think of a way within the one year. If you have someone good here, you can send him over to her. Maybe she won't be mad anymore but it does not necessarily have to be someone like Lin Huang.
"That's true, maybe I should loosen the recruitment criteria for the training camp." Scarface nodded.
Lu Xuan left soon after that. Scarface then looked at Lin Huang's body on his table. He walked towards him and stared at his dead body, "Lin Huang oh Lin Huang, please rest in peace. According to the law, we usually tossed corpses down the cliff to feed the monsters. It would be a shame if I treat you like everybody else. Since we know each other, I shall listen to what your roommate asked of me, which is to burn you into ashes so that nobody would see you like this."
Scarface heard what Lin Huang said to Xiao Mo the other night. After spending some time to cremate Lin Huang's dead body, he placed his Emperor's Heart Ring and equipment rings into the urn. He then delivered the urn to the address in Wulin Town. Later, he spread the news of Lin Huang's death. Everyone in the training camp was shocked by the news…
Chapter 142: Accidental Encounter
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The conversation between Hong Zhuang, Scarface, and Lu Xuan, what Scarface did to his dead body, Lin Huang heard and saw everything. He did not expect Scarface to be so kind to cremate Lin Huang's dead body like what Xiao Mo asked. He even sent his ashes back to his home in Wulin Town.
However, Lin Huang sensed danger because the Purple Crow now had his personal details. Although the Purple Crow had announced his death, there were still records of his personal details. He could still be discovered.
In the training camp, most of the people were happy when they heard about Lin Huang's death. Lin Huang was too powerful and because of that, he took most of the attention and enjoyed the limelight. Most of the people who feared him actually despised him. Lin Huang's ability made them look mediocre. However, there were people who thought it was a shame too. Li Li had always treated Lin Huang a source of motivation. Although he was much older than Lin Huang, he thought that as long as he could catch up to Lin Huang, he would be stronger.
The saddest person had to be Xiao Mo, he had been staring into space in his room. Lin Huang was the only person who helped him in the training camp, he even saved his life. Xiao Mo had always been grateful to Lin Huang, he wanted to return the favor when he got out of the camp. However, he could not do that anymore now that Lin Huang is gone.
Without Lin Huang as his support, many people who were jealous of Xiao Mo created trouble for him. Many bullies crowded outside of Room 1121.
"Xiao Mo, you were having the best time of your time a few days back. Lin Huang is dead, why do you look like your father just died?"
"I heard Lin Huang gave you some of his points. I suggest you give us the points so that we leave you alone!"
"Xiao Mo, you should accept our challenge, don't force us to start a deathmatch with you!"
…
"What are you guys doing!" Li Li knew Xiao Mo would have a difficult time since Lin Huang left so he dropped by to visit him. He did not expect to see that. The bullies left once they saw Li Li.
"Are you alright?" Li Li walked to Xiao Mo and asked.
"I'm okay." Xiao Mo shook his head and looked at Li Li, "Is Lin Huang really dead?" He still could not believe Lin Huang was gone forever.
"Thank you for helping me earlier." Xiao Mo held his head down again as he caressed the bronze-level equipment ring on his left middle finger. Lin Huang gave him a sword equipment ring last night.
"How about you stay with me?" Li Li suggested.
Xiao Mo looked at him and forced a smile but shook his head, "Thank you, that won't be necessary."
"How about… I move in with you." Li Li countered.
"That's not it." Xiao Mo shook his head and smiled, "I've promised Boss Lin Huang that I would be stronger once he leaves. Although he's no longer living, I still have to keep my promise."
Li Li nodded, patted Xiao Mo's shoulder and left.
Lin Huang had been wandering around the training camp the entire day, he saw everything. He was touched. Although Purple Crow was an evil organization, not all of the people here were evil. At least Scarface, Li Li, and Xiao Mo were good-hearted.
Since the mission time limit was almost over, Lin Huang dove underground and left the camp in his Specter form.
"Congratulations, you have completed the chain missions. You've been awarded Advance Card x2"
Just when Lin Huang was almost out of the training camp's coverage, Xiao Hei sent him a notification.
"I'm finally free!" Lin Huang stretched his back.
After leaving the camp hundreds of kilometers behind him, Lin Huang checkout out his coordinates on his Emperor's Heart Ring. He realized that he was located in the far west of Division7, it was far away from Baqi City and Wulin Town.
"How should I go back now, I shall get to a foothold as a human." Lin Huang left his Specter form and transformed back into a human. He then altered his features, height and changed his clothes, wearing a cloak behind him. He then set his destination, heading to a C-grade mid-sized foothold and summoned the Alexandrian Eagle.
It was already nighttime when he arrived at foothold No.7C357. After he entered the city, he was thinking of his accommodation as he would have to scan his identity if he was to stay in a hotel. He registered with the Purple Crow before so it might notify the Purple Crow, he did not want to reveal himself like that.
"Seems like it's time to fake an identity or else there would be many restrictions." Lin Huang frowned.
After strolling around in the area, Lin Huang noticed that the foothold was one that was under the Purple Crow's jurisdiction. This was not the only foothold as there were more than 10 footholds that the Purple Crow controlled. There was a Hunter Association here but there must be people who were connected to the Purple Crow. With his grayish-black cloak, Lin Huang walked into the Hunter Association, he took out a Life Crystal when he got to the reception.
"I need a fake identity." Lin Huang spoke in a deep voice.
"Sure, please follow me." The receptionist was a short, middle-aged man who was quite friendly after receiving the Life Crystal. Lin Huang was brought to a cellar which was connected to the bar next door. It was crowded with many drunken men and women.
The short, middle-aged man brought Lin Huang into a room. There was a skinny man who looked like he was in his 20s kissing a blonde lady on the couch.
"You got a customer!" The short middle-aged man shouted.
The man glared at the short, middle-aged man and Lin Huang while he put on his pants. He then lifted the lady's chin, "Hey baby, I have some business to deal with. I'll get back to you."
The lady was half naked on the couch, and even though Lin Huang was in the room, she did not cover herself at all. She winked at the man and said, "Don't take too long."
"Don't worry, it'll be quick." The man spanked the lady's naked butt.
After he put on his clothes, the skinny man walked towards the short middle-aged man, "What does he want?"
"He needs a black card." The short middle-aged man said, "Deal with him, I need to make a move."
The short, middle-aged man then left.
"What kind do you need?" The skinny man looked at Lin Huang.
"What are the choices?" Lin Huang asked.
"The cheapest one will only get you into a hotel. The slightly more expensive ones can get you a ride in the Demonic Crystal Spaceship. The ones which are even more expensive can get through the Hunter Association and Union Government; you can even use it to get a hunter's license. The most expensive kind can turn you into royalty with all the perks that come along with it. As long as you can afford them, I can get anything for you."
The skinny man laughed, "I'm using the identity of the member of a royal family, it got me many perks."
"I want the one that can get me a hunter's license." Lin Huang decided after hearing all the available options, "You're sure you can do it?"
"Don't worry, some of the Purple Crow elite members even got their fake identities made here." The obnoxious face the skinny man had made him look like he was not lying.
"How much would it cost?" Lin Huang nodded in agreement.
"100 pieces of Life Crystals. I accept Life Crystals only, not Life Crystals pieces, not credit points either. Also, no negotiation." The skinny man revealed his price.
100 pieces of Life Crystals were equivalent to 10,000 years of Life Crystal pieces and 10billion credit points. The price was sky-high.
"Sure." Lin Huang said without hesitating. "However, I have a question."
"Do tell." The skinny man was stunned at how easily Lin Huang agreed to the price.
"If a fake identity that allows me to pass through the Union Government cost me100 Life Crystals, then how much would the identity of a member of a royal family cost?" Lin Huang asked.
"It depends on which level of royalty you're talking about. No matter which level, it would cost at least a complete transcendent monster's carcass." The skinny man laughed.
Lin Huang was quiet.
"Please take off your cloak. Stand here, I will take a picture of you." The skinny man laid down a white cloth and waved to Lin Huang.
Lin Huang took off his cloak and revealed his 25-year-old face. It was his face when he was on earth. The blonde lady on the couch saw Lin Huang and winked at him, "Handsome, join our fun later?"
Lin Huang looked at the skinny man in shock.
"I'm open-minded, if you're willing to, I don't mind." The skinny man shrugged his shoulders.
After the photoshoot was done, the skinny man took awhile before getting to Lin Huang.
"Create a name for yourself, I will get the machine to generate the other details for you. Only you can see your personal details, I won't be able to see it. That will protect your privacy."
"Ye Xiu." Lin Huang gave the name. It was the MC's name in a web novel that he read once. He loved the novel very much which was why he could remember the name.
"Ye Xiu, that's a good name." The skinny man laughed. After the name was inserted, the details were registered.
Within three minutes, a new Emperor's Heart Ring was sent to the skinny man via a device.
"It's done, take a look." The skinny man passed the ring to Lin Huang.
Lin Huang then put on the ring on his left middle finger. After the identity scan was done, Lin Huang took a look at his new identity. He then placed 100 pieces of Life Crystals on the table.
"Thanks." Just when he was putting on his cloak, Lin Huang saw a ball under a bench nearby. He was stunned, he used his foot to get the ball out, it looked like a football.
"What is this?" Lin Huang could not help but ask.
"This is called football in my hometown, it's considered a toy. I made this myself in memory of my hometown." The skinny man was not surprised at Lin Huang's question.
Lin Huang could almost tell who the skinny man really was but he suppressed his excitement and said, "Give me your contact details if I need you again in the future."
"Sure!" The skinny man agreed immediately.
Chapter 143: Daxi City
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lin Huang smirked as walked out of the bar where the skinny man was.
"Yang Ling…" Of course, he knew it was a fake name. Lin Huang traded one billion credit points to his new account with 10 Life Crystals. After getting to know the landing point of the Demonic Crystal Spaceship, Lin Huang then left the plaza where the spaceship was.
He arrived at the plaza around 10 at night. He looked around the hotels nearby and found one with a vacant room. He checked himself in immediately. The new Emperor's Heart Ring was successfully used, there was no issue in Lin Huang's hotel check-in at all. As he had no idea how to return to Baqi City yet, he booked two nights at the hotel.
After entering the hotel room, Lin Huang started to move the things that he used most frequently from the old Emperor's Heart Ring to the new one as well as the storage ring that was given by Leng Yuexin. He also copied his contacts into the new ring and kept the old ring. He did not plan to use the hundreds of billions of credit points in his old ring as he was not sure if that would notify the Purple Crow of his whereabouts. He wanted to be careful. It was 1 a.m. when he was done with his stuff, he then went to bed in exhaustion.
He woke up after eight the next morning. After breakfast, he returned to his room and started to look at the route back to Baqi City. Foothold No.7C357 was called Daxi City by the locals, it was at the far west of Division7. Meanwhile, Baqi City was located in the middle of Division7 facing the south. To be able to get to Baqi City from Daxi City, he would have to cross half of Division7.
"So far away…" Lin Huang let out a sigh. As the distance was too far away, the network showed no Demonic Crystal Spaceships that departed from Daxi City to Baqi City. If he were to ride on the spaceship, he would have to change stations twice. The first journey would take more than four months while the second and third would take more than three months each. The entire journey would take at least 11 months.
"I can't be doing that. By the time I get back, Lin Xin would have already graduated from school." Lin Huang gave up the plan to ride on the spaceship. After browsing the network for a long time, he finally found a workable route. He would get to foothold No.7A28, a huge foothold which was the closest to foothold No.7C357. From there, he could get to No.7A12, a foothold that was closest to Baqi City through the long-distance intra-dimensional portal. Then from No.7A12, he could get back to Baqi City through the long-distance intra-dimensional portal.
It did not matter if the distance was long or short, both could be completed within seconds. The only issue was whether he would be able to use the intra-dimensional portal as one would need to book it one month prior to the travel date.
For the long-distance intra-dimensional portal from a C-grade, small-sized foothold to an A-grade, large foothold, it would require him to pre-book his travels anytime from 10 days to half a month prior to the travel date. He then took a look at the long-distance intra-dimensional portal from Daxi City to foothold No.7A28 and the earliest date he could travel was 12 days later and the earliest date he could book the super-long-distance intra-dimensional portal was 33 days later.
Lin Huang raised an eyebrow when he saw the price of the tickets. He knew that dimensional portals within C-grade footholds would require at least 10,000 credit points but the price for long-distance intra-dimensional portals was 10 times the price compared to the regular tickets for dimensional portals; costing 680,000 credit points. The tickets for the use of the super-long-distance intra-dimensional portal was even more ridiculous as it was tens of thousands times more than the price of a regular ticket.
From foothold No.7A28 to foothold No.7A12, it would cost him 1.6 billion credit points.
Lin Huang did not book the ticket because he did not have sufficient credit points in his new Emperor's Heart Ring. Feeling helpless, Lin Huang went to the credit bureau and traded 100 Life Crystals for 10 billion credit points. He then headed back to the hotel. He spent 1.6 billion credit points to book all three tickets from Daxi City to foothold No.7A28, from foothold No.7A28 to foothold No.7A12 before the final trip to Baqi City. He finally had a concrete plan.
"I will have to stay 12 days in Daxi City, 21 days in foothold No.7A28 and one to two days in foothold No.7A12 before I arrive in Baqi City." Lin Huang looked at the route and thought that was the fastest he could get back to Baqi City but it would still take him more than a month.
Daxi City was under Purple Crow's jurisdiction, it was an open city with a very flavorful nightlife scene. However, that had nothing to do with Lin Huang. The more powerful the human and monsters he encountered in this world, the more stressed he was. He had always felt like he was too weak in this world, where even the slightest thing could kill him. He did not want to risk his life at all.
"There's a level-2 wild zone nearby, I'll train my Wildfire Sword skill over there. Although I might not be able to accumulate the complete sword skill in 12 days, that's sufficient for me to accumulate quite a few card pieces." Lin Huang soon made arrangements for what he was going to do for the next 12 days. The level-2 wild zone was less than 20 kilometers to the west of Daxi City. After lunch, Lin Huang headed to the wild zone riding on the Viridian Wolf.
After arriving deep in the wild zone and into the area of bronze-level monsters, Lin Huang recalled his Viridian Wolf and started to train his Wildfire Sword skill and whenever monsters saw him, they would plunge towards him but Lin Huang would end them. Within an hour, there were monster carcasses everywhere.
However, he did not stop training until it was 10 at night. He collected all the monster carcasses and returned to the city. For the following week, Lin Huang left the city early in the morning and returned late at night to train in his sword skill. He had accumulated more than 400 card pieces but he had yet to combine them into a complete skill card. Whenever Lin Huang asked Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei would tell him that the card pieces were insufficient.
Although he had yet to obtain the skill, Lin Huang was familiar with the skill now. It was almost as powerful as Thunder Sword . Since the card pieces were not enough, Lin Huang would have to accumulate the card pieces one by one. He had been killing monsters for a few days and by accumulating card pieces in the training tower, he now had seven monster card pieces that could be combined into complete cards. However, he chose not to combine them. The seven monsters were nothing out of the ordinary and he would rather redeem some other Monster Card or FunctionCard that could be of more use in the future. If he was to combine them into a complete card, there would be 10% damage to the card pieces.
On the eighth day, the sky was dark as Lin Huang left the hotel room. It looked like it was going to drizzle. However, he decided to head to the wild zone anyway and return when it rained. The weather remained the same until noon; rain had yet to pour. Lin Huang found a tree and planned to rest atop the tree. Just as he was eating his snack, he heard something strange from above him. He looked up at the sky and exclaimed, "What the f*ck?!"
Chapter 144: Virtual Eye
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A strange noise came from the sky as a black sigil appeared in the air. The sigil looked like there was a black, ferocious scar that caused a crack in the sky. It extended both ways and stopped when it was more than 10 meters long. After it had stopped growing horizontally, it began to grow downwards and soon, a gigantic black eye opened. It looked like it was God's eye looking down on the world.
"A Virtual Eye has opened…"
Although Lin Huang had never seen an actual Virtual Eye before, he knew immediately that it was a Virtual Eye when he witnessed it firsthand. The first ever Virtual Eye was opened 800 years ago and ever since then, it became something frequent that happened almost everyday almost everywhere. It could happen outside the safety zone, within the safety zone, places that are less populated or even those that are more densely populated.
This time, it happened less than 20 kilometers from Daxi City, it was considered a dangerous distance as it would take 10 minutes for the monsters that traveled on land to arrive in the city. There would be a bigger problem if there were many flying monsters. However, when the Virtual Eye appeared, the siren in the city went off and defensive shields of footholds went up. Lin Huang would not know about all these as he was outside the foothold.
Now that the Virtual Eye was opened, he did not have the time to run away. He used a Specific Transformation Card instead and hid in the tree in his specter form. Many monsters were coming out of the Virtual Eye on invisible parachutes. Lin Huang's jaw dropped as he watched helplessly. It almost looked like monsters were raining out of the sky.
"There are so many silver-level and gold-level monsters…" Lin Huang frowned, "At least the monster horde mostly consisted of nightmare-level and even disaster-level monsters… Hopefully, there won't be many transcendent monsters.."
The monster horde grade was categorized into violent-grade, nightmare-grade, and disaster-grade…
The violent-grade monsters were mostly made up of iron-level and bronze-level monsters with a minimum of silver-level monsters. Most of the transcendent monsters would not be involved in a violent-grade horde. On the other hand, nightmare-grade hordes would see more silver-level and gold-level monsters with some of the transcendent monsters participating. As for disaster-grade, most of the horde would be made up of gold-level monsters and there would be at least one transcendent monster.
From the amount of gold-level monsters, Lin Huang could tell that it was a disaster-grade monster horde. The only thing that he was not sure was how many transcendent monsters there would be.
"Please don't do this to me, I'm only four days away from leaving this place through the dimensional portal." Lin Huang was upset.
A disaster-grade monster horde would be difficult even for a B-grade, huge foothold. It was impossible for Daxi City which was a C-grade, mid-sized foothold to handle such a monster horde. Lin Huang could predict that the entire Daxi City would be completely destroyed in less than a day.
There would usually be one transcendent guarding the city in a C-grade foothold but there would be at least three transcendent monsters when it came to a disaster-grade monster horde. There were not many gold-level hunters residing in a C-grade foothold. The number of Gold Hunters were much lesser than the gold-level monsters that were descending from the sky. It was a sure-lose battle.
As soon as the city was attacked by monsters, the dimensional portal would remain closed and Lin Huang would not be able to leave the foothold like he planned to. He could use a Small Destruction Card to wipe out all monsters below transcendent-level but that would not stop the transcendent monsters from destroying the city. The fate of the city would remain the same but his fate would change; he would be targeted by transcendent monsters.
There was nothing he could do to help. It was chaotic in Daxi City. Ever since the warning for the Virtual Eye was broadcasted, everyone rushed home to seek refuge. Ordinary people could not join the battle with monsters and they were fearful of the monster horde. It was unfortunate because as soon as a person was diagnosed with a fear of monsters, they would be forced to go for a psychotherapy session to overcome their fears afterward.
Staff from the Purple Crow did their best to calm the situation down and within minutes, the streets were empty. Most of the Purple Crow staff headed to the west of the foothold while a small part of them guarded the east gate. Fortunately, there were only two gates in the foothold so the hunters could gather and focus on these two gates instead of being scattered everywhere.
Xie Yu was the guardian of Daxi City, he was an old man with white hair. He chose a secluded location because he wanted to enjoy his life in peace. He never expected for such things to happen within two years from the time he took up this position. With his vision, he could see the monsters coming out of the Virtual Eye clearly. He knew very well that it was a disaster-grade horde. It was impossible for him to fight the transcendent monsters on his own.
"Should I fight or should I run?" Xie Yu hesitated and finally made his decision.
"Gah, since I am only left with few years of Life Light, I'd rather die here with dignity instead of dying shame in a couple of years to come."
After he made up his mind, he flew towards the sky and headed to the west gate.
Two men and a lady were enjoying their drinks at a restaurant without a roof.
"The guardian from the Purple Crow has headed out. I have always thought that members of the Purple Crow would run away to save themselves in such situations." It was the lady who spoke.
Her hair was red with two braids and she wore a short denim skirt that revealed her legs. From the length of her legs, anyone could tell that she was tall. It was just that she happened to be sitting down so nobody could tell exactly how tall she was.
"Purple Crow has their own law. If he ran away like that, I don't think they'll just let him go like that." The man in sunglasses said. He wore a chinese suit with neatly combed hair.
"Boss, this is Purple Crow's territory. Don't you think they would handle this?" The lady with red hair said to the middle-aged man on her right.
"Although this is Purple Crow's territory, the people are innocent. If we don't do anything about this disaster-grade horde, millions of people will die because none of them would dare leave." The man in sunglasses disagreed with what the lady said.
"But if we intervene, our identities will be revealed and we'll fail our mission. Liang Song, don't forget what we're here for." The lady with red hair looked at the man in sunglasses.
"If the city gets destroyed, our mission would fail as well. If we're going to fail our mission anyway, we might as well save the people." Liang Song pushed his sunglasses up as he spoke calmly.
"Alright, stop arguing. The safety of the people is our priority." The middle-aged man who sat at one corner finally spoke. He then looked at the lady with long legs, "Zhou Qian, when you get back, I want you to write down the Hunter Code a hundred times!"
"Boss, please don't be ruthless…"
"200 times!" The middle-aged man stared at her. He had big eyes and thick eyebrows with a four centimeters scar on his lip. His kind face turned ferocious.
"Leader, should we fight now or should we start fighting only when the guardian is dead?" Liang Song asked.
"The transcendent monsters have not arrived yet, let's wait." The middle-aged man waved his hand.
Meanwhile, Xie Yu arrived at the west gate. Before the monsters landed on the ground, he started killing them. A purple sword appeared, he pointed his sword in the air, countless aero blades were formed and sliced towards the monsters. Countless monsters were cut in half by the aero blades, they were like pieces of papers.
Lin Huang was watching from far.
"A sword skill combined with the wind element. The area of attack is amazing!"
Lin Huang was not the only one looking, the three people at the roofless restaurant saw him in action as well.
"The area of attack isn't that bad but the strength of a sword skill such as this is nothing to shout about." Zhou Qian comment negatively.
"If you compare your advantage to someone else's disadvantage, nobody would ever be better than you." Liang Song criticized her, "Why didn't you say that his area of attack is much wider than yours, which is more suitable to handle such a monster attack?"
"Liang Song, why are you finding fault with me?" Zhou Qian stared at him.
"I'm just telling the truth." Liang Song said in all seriousness.
"Alright, shut up the both of you. Before we participate in the battle, nobody talks! Whoever speaks first will have to write down the Hunter Code a hundred times. The second time you speak will get you two hundred times!" Once the middle-aged man said that, the both of them no longer dared to speak a word.
In mid-air, Xie Yu had been killing the monsters on his own for more than an hour. He had no idea how many monsters he had already killed. It was Lin Huang's first time seeing a transcendent fight at such a close distance, he looked like a weapon that would never run out of ammo.
Suddenly, the monsters that were coming out of the Virtual Eye slowed down. Lin Huang could hear a strange roar from within the Virtual Eye. Soon, gigantic claws with scales were seen on the edge of the Virtual Eye. Lin Huang knew that the transcendent monster was coming…
Chapter 145: The Transcendent Monster Arrives
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Countless monsters were coming out of the Virtual Eye. Xie Yu killed more than half of them while they were still descending mid-air but there were still many on the ground. Xie Yu did not have the time to care about those that were on the ground. Meanwhile, the Purple Crow staff rushed from the west gate to join the battle.
Since they had a transcendent as their guardian, most of the monsters were taken out by the transcendent alone which was comforting to the people. It was just a matter of time before Daxi City was destroyed by monsters.
Every time a Virtual Eye opened, a transcendent monster would come with it and it would be at least a nightmare-grade monster horde. The Virtual Eye that was opened near Daxi City was definitely brought with it a horde that was a higher leveled than a nightmare-grade horde judging from the amount of gold-level monsters that came with it. A disaster-grade monster horde would have at least three transcendent monsters.
"That looks huge…" The leader Zhu Nian frowned.
The lady with red hair, Zhou Qian pointed at her lips, indicating to the leader that she wanted to speak.
Zhu Nian sighed and nodded, "You may speak."
"From its size, it should be a giant. However, looking at the claws, it seems to be more like a demon or a sky dragon. If it was a sky dragon, it would wipe us all out except for the leader but if it was a demon, the old man would not be able to handle it on his own." Zhou Qian spoke her mind about what she observed.
"Hopefully, it's not a sky dragon. A sky dragon doesn't get along with other monsters. A monster horde of this grade would have at least three of them if it was a sky dragon. By then, aside from our leader, the rest of us must flee." Liang Song said.
Gigantic claws came out of the Virtual Eye in the middle and a loud roar echoed in the air. Aside from Xie Yu, there were many Purple Crow reserve members that were looking into the sky. Based on how its head looked, it appeared to be a dragon but since none of them had ever seen such a monster before, nobody could tell what it really was.
The gigantic dragon climbed down slowly from the Virtual Eye. Its gigantic stature filled everyone's eyes, causing the people immense stress. Even Lin Huang had never seen a creature of this size. Its head alone was almost 1,000 meters long and was filled with thorns. It certainly did not look friendly. It was more than 20,000 meters long with grayish-black scales covering its body. A deadly aura lingered all over its body. Its three gigantic eyes were grayish-white, there were no pupils. From the top of its head all the way to its tail, there were countless white thorns that were hundreds of meters long.
After it got out of the Virtual Eye, it extended its black wing and roared at the city. The entire city was like a toy town to it.
"Is this a sky dragon?" Zhou Qian was uncertain.
"The aura it gives of doesn't feel like that of a sky dragon. It feels more like a spiritual monster." Liang Song shook his head.
"Both of you are wrong. It's an undead monster." The leader Zhu Nian finally spoke. He was frowning, "Undead dragons are more difficult to deal with compared to sky dragons… The worse thing is that there will be more undead transcendent monsters arriving…"
Many hunters would never want to encounter undead monsters because they possess a unique skill to keep themselves alive. Just like the Six-Armed Demon, to kill it, one had to attack its mask to kill it. Attacking any other part of its body would prove futile. As for the Vile Marionette, it had the Robust ability and can only be killed after many repetitive attacks…
Those were the conclusions of the people who had encountered those monsters before. Now, they were faced with a monster nobody had faced before, its skills and powers were a mystery.
"The undead monster is going to cause problems." Zhou Qian frowned.
Xie Yu who was fighting mid-air outside of the west gate of Daxi City frowned as well. Since he was closest to the monster, he could sense that it was slightly more powerful than himself. If it indeed had a unique skill to keep itself alive, Xie Yu could confirm that he would lose in this battle. However, he was determined to fight anyway. The gigantic dragon took aim at the city but soon, it noticed that there was an obstacle not far away from it.
It locked its eyes on the human that was blocking its way.
"Human, die!"
After a sudden roar, the dragon monster attacked Xie Yu with its gigantic claws. Although it was huge, it was still as fast as lightning. Xie Yu remained focused as he knew he had to fight with every fiber in him this time. He took out his sword and leaped forward, disappearing from where stood earlier.
He then appeared on top of the dragon's head and pointed his sword at the dragon beneath him as he screamed, " Lightning Sword !"
Just then, there were golden tendrils of lightning that sparkled around the purple sword. It then transformed into a golden bolt of lightning heading towards the dragon's eye.
"That was quick!" Zhou Qian, who stood at quite a distance exclaimed.
The dragon did not have the time to escape when the lightning pierced through its eye.
"Did it hit the dragon?" Liang Song was uncertain.
"No, it had some kind of unique ability." Zhu Nian frowned as he shook his head.
Xie Yu, who was in the battle was overjoyed when he saw the attack hit the dragon. However, his smile disappeared once he realized that his attack missed the monster. Just as Xie Yu was about to escape, a gigantic dragon tail slapped him and he fell hard towards the ground far away…
Chapter 146: Ghastly Clown
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At a roofless restaurant in Daxi City, Zhou Qian was shocked at what she just saw.
"I saw the attack hit it, what happened? How did the monster disappear?"
Zhou Qian and another two men were watching Xie Yu fighting the transcendent monster outside the west gate.
Liang Song was frowning too, he could not figure out what just happened.
"The dragon was not its real body, it was an illusion." Zhu Nian explained.
"Illusion, how could it be?" Zhou Qian could not believe it.
"It was an illusion ever since it appeared, am I right?" Liang Song seemed to notice something.
Zhu Nian nodded, "This is one incredible monster. It casted an illusion that covered such a wide area that even we were deceived."
"No wonder. When the first transcendent monster appeared, it seemed like nothing was happening at the Virtual Eye. It appears that all the transcendent monsters used the illusion as cover to come out at once." Liang Song finally figured it out.
"They came out when the dragon created the illusion of it coming out of the Virtual Eye." Zhu Nian nodded his head.
Suddenly, the defensive shield on top of the city was continuous attacked. The entire foothold was shaking.
"It's attacking the defensive shield!" Zhu Nian spoke the obvious.
The strength of a C-grade foothold was limited. There were cracks appearing in three different locations because of continuous blows by the transcendent monsters.
Everyone in the city was scared. Many ordinary people were shivering, some were even crying.
"Leader, should we fight now?" Liang Song could not wait anymore.
"Can you see the monsters?" Zhu Nian asked him back.
"No, I can't." Liang Song shook his head.
"So what are you going to fight then?" Zhu Nian asked again.
"But... Once the defensive shields are broken, they would attack the citizens." Liang Song tried to reason with him.
"It's about being strategic." Zhu Nian shook his head. Liang Song was influenced by the adrenaline rush.
"What's the rush, the old man is still alive." Zhou Qian pointed towards Xie Yu's direction.
The two heard a loud crash and looked in the direction the sound was coming from. Xie Yu was hit and came crashing down to the ground. A white glow emerged and countless white droplets were seen 10 kilometers away. Lin Huang dove underground immediately. Just when he found a hiding place, countless white droplets similar to raindrops shot up the sky. It looked like white raindrops that defied gravity, returning to the sky.
Xie Yu had combined elemental power with his sword skill, Lin Huang watched in admiration. Xie Yu noticed that the dragon was not the actual body of the transcendent monster so he began attacking in a wide area to figure out exactly where the transcendent monsters were.
Under such pressure, the bodies of the transcendent monsters were marked by the white droplets. Although they did not reveal their true selves, it was good enough to locate them.
There were a total of four transcendent monsters. Just as Xie Yu was getting ready to attack, there was a fiery explosion that came from Daxi City. The flame almost shot through one of the transcendent's body and the transcendent monster fell to the ground as it groaned. Soon, a gigantic carcass appeared on the ground. It was a Spectral Three-Headed Boa that was almost 1,000 meters long. It was the mastermind behind the illusion.
Once the Spectral Three-Headed Boa was dead, the illusion was broken. The three remaining transcendents revealed themselves before everyone. There was a Lava Giant, a Four-Winged Swordfiend and a Ghastly Clown that looked like a human but nobody could make out what monster that was. The sudden death of the Spectral Three-Headed Boa stunned the three transcendent monsters. The transcendent monsters were not the only ones who were shocked; Xie Yu who just got up from the ground was stunned as well. He did not realize that there were other transcendent humans in the city.
At first, he thought they were his partners from the Purple Crow. However, he was surprised when he saw them descending from the air. The three of them were not dressed in the Purple Crow's coat.
"Boss you're brilliant to have recognized that it was a Spectral Three-Headed Boa." Zhou Qian looked at Zhu Nian in admiration.
She finally showed how tall she was when she stood up. Although she was wearing a pair of flats, she was over 1.9 meters in height.
Hearing Zhou Qian groveling, Zhu Nian rubbed his nose, "I… actually had no idea which of them casted the illusion. I just attacked one of them. It was just a coincidence…"
Liang Song and Zhou Qian looked at each other. Zhu Nian pretended like he did not see their expression as he recalled the golden spear he used to kill the Spectral Three-Headed Boa.
"I didn't expect that there would be three more transcendent humans in this small area that I'm in charge of." Xie Yu knew that the three of them concealed their aura when they entered the city, it was obvious that they did not want him to know about their existence. Now that they revealed themselves to help, they could be from the Hunter Association or Adventurer Paradise.
"Guardian, if you have anything to say, we shall talk about it after we have killed these transcendent monsters and the rest beneath them." Zhu Nian pointed to the direction of the three transcendent monsters. Xie Yu hesitated before he nodded, he did not want Daxi City to be destroyed by the monsters. Since there were people who were willing to help, he should welcome them with open arms.
"Sly humans... How dare they hide four holy fire-level humans in such a small C-grade foothold. However, it will be useless because all of you will die, today! Hehehe…" The Ghastly Clown did not seem to fear them as it laughed eerily.
"Hey ugly! Don't you know how to count? There are four of us here and only three of you there." Zhou Qian shouted at the Ghastly Clown.
"Lady, you have such a pretty face…" Just after it said those words, a mask appeared in the hand of the Ghastly Clown. It then placed the mask on its face and transformed its face to look exactly like Zhou Qian.
"From now on, this face belongs to me…"
Zhou Qian was shocked. Suddenly, she spoke the exact words that were coming out of the Ghastly Clown's mouth, "It was three against four, isn't it four against three now? Hehehe…"
Just as Zhou Qian uttered those words, she attacked Zhu Nian who was standing next to her…
At the same time, the other two transcendent monsters rushed towards Xie Yu and Liang Song.
Chapter 147: The Scary Clown
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
700 years ago, during the new epoch, a transcendent had said this before, "Don't ever underestimate an unknown monster, especially an unknown transcendent monster!"
Without a doubt, what he said came true here, today.
Nobody knew what the Ghastly Clown actually was and the special abilities it possessed.
This caused Zhou Qian, who was one of the transcendent to become its puppet.
Everyone including Zhu Nian had never expected Zhou Qian to fall under the Ghastly Clown's control.
Zhu Nian noticed it because of Zhou Qian's abnormal behavior.
When Zhou Qian was about to strike a heavy blow on Zhu Nian, Zhu Nian lifted his spear and the shaft of his spear blocked the blow.
However, Zhou Qian's attack caused Zhu Nian to retreat about 30 meters away.
"Oh, a little girl that's good in close combat. I love it! Hehehe…" Zhou Qian said something strange.
"Zhou Qian, fight it! Get it out of your body. Don't be controlled by it!" Zhu Nian yelled at Zhou Qian.
"It's useless. As long as I have my mask on, she will not be able to get rid of me. Hehehe…" The Ghastly Clown smiled wryly and said.
Zhu Nian stepped one step forward in the air and pounced on the Ghastly Clown.
The Ghastly Clown immediately transformed its face into Zhou Qian's face and smiled at Zhu Nian without moving.
The next moment, Zhou Qian flashed through the air and appeared in front of Zhu Nian, blocking his way.
Zhu Nian wanted to bypass her but he was hit by her consecutive attacks. He did not want to hurt her so he could only dodge her attacks passively.
On the other hand, Xie Yu and Liang Song were having a tough time too.
The Lava Giant had been attacking Xie Yu non-stop. It seemed like it was not afraid of any kind of attack. When Xie Yu stabbed its his body with a longsword relic, the effect was similar to cutting into an armor relic of a higher rank.
However, the Lava Giant had a terrifying amount of strength. Xie Yu could only defend against its attacks.
On the other hand, Liang Song was in a tangle with the Four-Winged Swordfiend.
The Four-Winged Swordfiend's lightning-fast attacks were scary. The sharpness of six of its forelimbs was on par with a sword relic. It could easily chop off anyone who was not prepared for its attack.
Liang Song could not keep up with its speed at all. He was just trying to avoid the attack as the number of wounds on his body increased.
Lin Huang was nervous, seeing three transcendent totally incapacitated, unable to fight back at all.
On the ground, the Purple Crow staff and other influential members were all involved in the fight with the monster horde.
If this continued, the monsters would probably wipe out Daxi City.
"Eh, settle the woman first! Stop dodging her attacks." Xie Yu saw that Zhu Nian was not giving his all against Zhou Qian so he yelled at him as he could not stand it anymore.
Zhu Nian frowned. He knew that what Xie Yu said was right. If he could not get rid of Zhou Qian, it would turn the battle into a four versus one when both of them were killed. Regardless of his abilities, it would be difficult to fight back.
"Zhou Qian, please forgive me." Zhu Nian decided not to avoid her attacks anymore.
He pointed his gold spear at Zhou Qian.
Zhou Qian leaped towards Zhu Nian again.
Zhu Nian took one step forward, as if the whole world was within his control. He brushed across Zhou Qian instantly. His spear then pierced through Zhou Qian's chest, coming out from her back.
Zhou Qian's body was limp. Zhu Nian immediately reached out and held her in his arms.
At that moment, Zhou Qian did not care about her wounds and struck a blow to Zhu Nian's chest.
Zhu Nian frowned. He pulled his spear out and chopped off both her arms.
Zhou Qian then gradually regained her consciousness. Looking at Zhu Nian who was holding her, she burst into tears and whispered, "I am sorry…"
"It's okay. It's not your fault." Zhu Nian patted her shoulder and carried her to the ground. "Get some rest."
"Tsk tsk tsk… You are being so cruel to your female subordinate. Didn't it hurt to hurt her?" He heard the voice of the Ghastly Clown again. Zhou Qian's mask had disappeared and it had returned to its original look.
"I haven't felt anger like this for years. You really are getting on my nerves." Zhu Nian turned back to face the clown and lifted his spear again, pointing at the Ghastly Clown who was floating mid-air.
"Aww, I'm so scared… Hehehe…" A mask appeared in the Ghastly Clown's hand again. "Who should I transform into? Give me some suggestion."
"I would suggest that… you die now." Zhu Nian's spear thrust through the air and his body appeared in front of the Ghastly Clown in an instant. Zhu Nian stabbed the spear that resembled a dragon into its face.
"You're so... Rude…" The Ghastly Clown's body began blurring into the background, making it look like an illusion or a shadow. Even its voice sounded like a featherweight voice.
Zhu Nian was stunned and his face turned grave when he failed to kill the Ghastly Clown.
Soon, a sound was heard coming behind him, "Guess who I've transformed into?"
Zhu Nian did not turn his head around but threw his spear backward. However, he missed it.
The next moment, a shadow pounced on him suddenly. He made a wrong move and avoided the shadow. He took a look and realized that he was Liang Song, dressed in a Chinese tunic.
"Here is a multiple choice question. Do you prefer a female subordinate or a male subordinate? Hehehehe…" Apparently, it was the Ghastly Clown who said these words.
"Is this the only trick you have up your sleeve? You dare not fight me face to face and only rely on dirty tricks like these." Zhu Nian roared. When he looked around, there were no traces of the Ghastly Clown.
"Hehehehe...You won't get to me in this manner. It only works on human like you with low intelligence. It's not going to work on me. Perhaps... I'll give you a chance to fight me face to face when I'm in a good mood." The next time the Ghastly Clown appeared, it was standing behind Liang Song. It looked exactly the same as Liang Song.
"Since you want to play a game, let's get it on!" Zhu Nian shouted in a deep voice. He dashed forward once again. This time, he was running towards Liang Song.
Bullets rained from the gun in Liang Song's hand. However, none of the fired bullets touched Zhu Nian's body. He then threw his spear and it penetrated Liang Song's chest but just as it penetrated Liang Song's body, the gold spear changed direction and flew towards the back of the Ghastly Clown's head.
Just as he was about to kill the Ghastly Clown, he could vaguely sense an unusual wave coming out its body. He immediately stopped his attack.
"It's such a waste. Three centimeters more and your male subordinate would have burst into pieces." Liang Song was originally standing on the left. Unexpectedly, they had switched positions. The one who was standing there was now the Ghastly Clown. The position where the Ghastly Clown initially stood at had was now where Liang Song was.
Zhu Nian broke into a cold sweat because he almost smashed Liang Song's head into pieces.
"Hehehehe… I've already said this earlier. Play by my rules and such things won't happen. Of course, if you enjoy the excitement, I don't mind playing this game with you." The Ghastly Clown seemed to have full control over the battle.
When Zhu Nian was staring at the Ghastly Clown with fear, the results of the battle his comrades were fighting became clear.
Being attacked by the Lava Giant and the Four-Winged Swordfiend, Xie Yu was unable to defend himself. His defensive relic was broken.
His brain was sliced in half by the Four-Winged Swordfiend while his body was crushed into minced meat. The Four-Winged Swordfiend then threw his crushed body into its mouth.
Liang Song had basically lost his combat abilities and Zhu Nian faced an undesirable situation he did not expect. What was initially a four versus three battle had become a one versus three battle…
Chapter 148: Zhu Nian Has Gone Insane
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The transcendent monsters had usually experienced once mutation and after a brain transformation, their intelligence was beyond human intelligence.
Of course, there were some exceptions. Very few of the transcendent monsters had never experienced mutation and these monsters would normally possess incredible combat abilities.
There were also some of them that had gone through two or even three mutations. These monsters were even scarier. Aside from having abilities that were on par with human geniuses, they could also evolve to possess a higher degree of intelligence.
During the fight, Zhu Nian could confirm that the Ghastly Clown was a monster that had gone through at least two mutations. In the beginning, it already had full control over the battle, causing everyone to follow it.
Zhu Nian was facing an undesirable situation. Not only that it one versus three, the opponent had Liang Song as a hostage.
"Tell me what your rules are." Zhu Nian observed the situation and calmed himself down. He knew he was at the losing end and had to find a way to be at an advantage.
"Hehehehe… A holy fire-level, it is difficult to find food tastier than you. I'll give you a chance. If you can win both of the transcendent monsters, I'll give you an opportunity to fight me in person but if you lose to them, not only will I kill both your teammates but everyone in this C-grade foothold as well." The voice of the Ghastly Clown filled the air. Everyone could clearly hear it including all of the residents of the foothold.
Many of them stole glances at Zhu Nian. They prayed that he could reverse the situation.
Zhu Nian looked serious and nodded his head, "Okay, I accept."
"Hehehehe… Very good! Let the game begins!" The Ghastly Clown announced happily in the mid-air.
At almost the same time as he finished his words, the Lava Giant and Four-Winged Swordfiend ran towards Zhu Nian.
The speed of the Four-Winged Swordfiend was extremely fast. In just a blink of an eye, it appeared in front of Zhu Nian.
Six forelimbs were coming towards Zhu Nian at a terrifying speed and they were in the form of sharp blades. It resembled six swordmasters attacking him with a sword relic. Six beams of black light appeared and moved extremely fast causing the air to crackle and crack.
Zhu Nian remained calm. He then lifted his hand with as little movement as he could and the gold spear in his hand had transformed into a thunderbolt that fought against the beams of light.
Only the sound of colliding metal could be heard.
"Go away!"
With a loud growl, the gold thunderbolt suddenly transformed into a shadow of a whip-like weapon, hitting the stomach and waist of the Four-Winged Swordfiend. Its body was blown away as the attacks struck and cracks appeared all over its hard armor.
The next moment, the Lava Giant was about to strike a heavy blow to Zhu Nian's body from the left. The blow was accompanied by an immense power and a terribly high temperature.
Zhu Nian who was hanging in mid-air immediately reclaimed his spear. He had no means of retreating and he had to defend against the heavy blow.
The spear had transformed into a golden lightning dragon that slammed into the Lava Giant.
"Bang!"
A loud thud was heard which sounded very much like an explosion. The ground began to vigorously shake.
Zhu Nian looked smaller in size compared to the Lava Giant; he was like an ant. However, his ant-like body remained stationary. He was firmly rooted in mid-air, at the position where he was standing.
After a short while, something shocking happened.
Spider webs-like cracks began to appear on the Lava Giant's right arm where the spear hit it.
The Lava Giant that was always proud of its strength and defensive power began to roar in anger.
Red flames gushed out from its eyes and mouth. The red lava began to flow from his body and seemed like a tattoo that ran through his body that eventually covered its entire body.
Zhu Nian knew that the Lava Giant had gone on a rampage. Its rampage had multiplied the strength, speed, and defensive power of the Lava Giant.
"Roar!"
After a thunderous, angry roar, the Lava Giant took another blow at Zhu Nian again.
"It is useless to go on a rampage. There is a big gap between our combat abilities." Zhu Nian said calmly. He was not afraid of the Lava Giant at all.
He then took out his spear again. However, he did not attack it like he did earlier. Soon, the Lava Giant's attack hit his spear but no sound was heard.
It was just a simple attack and the Lava Giant's arm collided with his spear. However, the body of the Lava Giant became stiff and its arm became distorted; changing shape as it hit the spear.
Within a short while, its distorted arm had reached its peak and the arm began to collapse.
It was silence. No sound was heard and the Lava Giant's right arm broke into a pile of crushed rock.
The Lava Giant roared in a fit of rage. Just as it was about to attack again with its left arm, the spear in Zhu Nian's hand transformed into a gold whip abruptly and was being thrown towards its left arm.
Within the next few moments, Zhu Nian chopped off the Lava Giant's left arm causing it to quickly flee.
At that moment, Zhu Nian grabbed his spear and holding onto the shaft of the spear, he took aim at the Lava Giant's forehead and the golden spear shot like an arrow towards the Lava Giant.
Just as the Lava Giant was about to dodge the attack with its broken arm, the spear became faster mid-air all of a sudden. It resembled a gold thunderbolt that embedded a hole right through its blazing left eye and the back of its head.
The Lava Giant growled from the excruciating pain it suffered. The lava and flames in its body slowly went out. Eventually, it had completely turned into a pile of rocks scattered all over the ground.
Then, the Four-Winged Swordfiend quietly appeared behind Zhu Nian.
Six beams of light from the six blades shone on Zhu Nian's six vital parts. The beams of light were about to cut through Zhu Nian's body.
However, at the very next moment, a golden spear penetrated through the Four-Winged Swordfiend's head from the top and half of the spear appeared from its lower jaw.
"I've been waiting for you…"
Zhu Nian smiled wryly and twisted the spear. An immense power was released from the spear and the head of the Four-Winged Swordfiend exploded in an instant. Blood splattered all around.
Then, the remaining light beam that shone on Zhu Nian's body instantly became dim.
After killing two transcendent monsters, Zhu Nian kept his spear away and looked at the Ghastly Clown, "I think it's time you fulfilled your promise?"
Chapter 149: Defeated by Just One Skill
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Clap clap clap…"
The Ghastly Clown clapped and a wry smile was plastered on its face.
"Hehehehe… well done. You did not disappoint me. I'll give you this little brat back."
As soon as the Ghastly Clown finished speaking, Liang Song's mask automatically disappeared, revealing the Ghastly Clown's face.
Liang Song became limp and fainted.
Zhu Nian rushed to him, held his arms and gave him a tube of medicine. He then left him at the entrance of the city.
He gradually floated into the sky as he looking at the Ghastly Clown.
"Why do you look so serious? Are you worried that I'll use my control skill to take over your body?" The Ghastly Clown laughed, his big red mouth widening when Zhu Nian did not fight back.
It had a white mask on with red lips and black eyes. It looked like an overly exaggerated creature. Especially its red lips that occupied half of its face, terrorizing everyone when it smiled.
"Don't worry. I won't use that skill on you." The Ghastly Clown waved its hand.
"For some reason, I don't think you can anyway!" Zhu Nian was slightly relieved as he heard this. "Have you ever played Shogi? Once the general is caught, the entire game ends regardless of what pieces you have remaining. You're now the general. If you are controlled, the game would be too boring."
"Moreover, you have proven yourself to bring me more joy. That was why I gave you a chance to challenge me."
The Ghastly Clown had absolute confidence in itself and everyone seemed like pieces on a chessboard to it.
"Are you sure? Aren't you afraid that the joy that I'm bringing you can cause you death?" Zhu Nian's aura grew stronger.
"Let's see if you're capable of doing so! Hehehehe…"
"Our leader seems to be getting serious…" Liang Song had regained his consciousness. He turned his head and looked at Zhou Qian.
Zhou Qian nodded her head and smiled a little, "When he gets serious, something bad is going to happen to someone."
"Yes, his combat ability is about to achieve immortal-level. No ordinary commander-level monster can handle that." Liang Song agreed with Zhou Qian.
Lin Huang was hiding underground and even he could feel Zhu Nian's aura. The powerful aura he gave off was beyond what all the transcendent monsters Lin Huang had ever met could ever give off. It seemed like he had taken it to another level.
"How could a transcendent be so powerful? He can trigger astronomical change solely with his aura…" Lin Huang noticed that under Zhu Nian's aura, the haze that the Virtual Eye caused had disappeared. Even the sun appeared.
Zhu Nian was hanging mid-air with a golden spear in his hand. Soon, his aura had reached its peak and at that moment, he disappeared abruptly from the ground.
Many of the transcendent-level and gold-level hunters witnessed that amazing scene. Even Liang Song and Zhou Qian who were holy fire-level could not get a hold of Zhu Nian's movement.
"It seems like we have to train harder and be stronger. It doesn't feel good to be a hindrance." Liang Song sighed and nodded his head.
After Zhu Nian's disappearance from mid-air, a beam of golden light suddenly came towards the Ghastly Clown. The golden light appeared suddenly at a terribly fast speed.
Nevertheless, the Ghastly Clown was not showing any signs of nervousness and in fact, it was smiling. It moved its body slightly to dodge the oncoming golden light.
Zhu Nian did not stop attacking. As soon as the first beam of golden light disappeared, the second beam of golden light attacked it from another direction. Similarly, it appeared without notice and reaching its maximum speed… Close behind the second beam was the third beam of golden light, the fourth beam, the fifth beam…
About 3000 beams of golden light shot towards the Ghastly Clown but missed. It was unbelievable. Not a single beam of light hit him. Lin Huang and the rest of them had no idea what skill Zhu Nian used.
"How it could be…" Zhou Qian had an unbelievable expression on her face.
"Did he just dodge our leader's 3000 Strands of Worry ?!" Liang Song was frightened.
Zhu Nian was hanging in mid-air but disappeared for quite a while. He then suddenly appeared, his face red as he looked at the Ghastly Clown, "You have been fooling us all the while. You are actually a chief-level monster and yet you pretend to be a commander-level monster."
"I never said that I'm commander-level, you assumed I was." The Ghastly Clown spread his hands.
The combat ability of a commander-level monster was comparable to that of a human holy fire transcendent. The Lava Giant and the Four-Winged Swordfiend that Zhu Nian killed earlier were both commander-level.
The Ghastly Clown was a chief-level monster. Its combat ability was on par with that of a human immortal-level transcendent.
The monster world had a strict hierarchy.
A chief-level monster could cause severe damage. If it had sufficient time, it could gather at least 10 commander-level monsters and ten of millions of monster in a horde, triggering a destruction-grade monster horde. The effect by such a monster horde was beyond what a disaster-grade monster horde could do. Destroying the Grade-B big-sized foothold would be a breeze.
The combat ability of the chief-level monster alone would be powerful enough. In the Hunter Association, only the immortal-level transcendent hunters are able to fight against such monsters.
Zhu Nian had never expected to meet such a powerful opponent.
"Just because I am chief-level you're going to retreat?" The Ghastly Clown laughed at Zhu Nian's expression. "If you're going to escape, I won't stop you. However, your subordinates and everyone in this city will become my food. I think it'll take me less than five minutes to devour everyone here."
Everyone who was watching the battle heard this.
Although many of them could not understand the true extent of a chief-level monster's power, they knew that Zhu Nian was incapable of defeating the Ghastly Clown.
"A chief-level monster…" Liang Song's and Zhou Qian's facial expression had changed.
Of course, they fully understood what a chief-level monster could do.
"A chief-level monster? It seems like its stronger than the uncle…" Lin Huang was not sure how the combat ability of a chief-level monster would be like. However, he knew that Zhu Nian was very powerful. He was stronger than most of the transcendents that he had met. "I wonder if I can use the Seal Card on him…"
When Lin Huang was still hesitating, Zhu Nian had already made up his mind.
"I am a member of the Hunter Association. Regardless of the type of monster and number of monsters that I encounter, protecting the residents is my responsibility. If you want to wipe out the city behind me, you'll have to do it over my dead body."
"About 60 years ago, the first thing that my teacher taught me was that a foothold will never die if hunters were present! 60 years have passed and I have forgotten many of the things he had taught me. However, I won't ever forget this one fact until the day I die!" Zhu Nian explained his decision.
While he was talking, his body gradually gave off a gold aura that resembled a layer of fading golden flames. As time passed, the flames burned more vigorously and the gold color turned brighter. He looked like a burning sun in the form of a human.
"You should know that even if you overdraw your Life Fire, you won't be able to defeat me. The difference between a holy fire and an immortal-level transcendent could not be compensated by overdrawing one's Life Fire. If you were a genius, I might be afraid of you. However, you aren't. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken you 60 years and you're still not at immortal-level yet." The Ghastly Clown no longer smile. Although his opponent was a lot weaker than him, The Ghastly Clown respected him.
"Yes, I'm not a genius. I can barely be called talented. I know that I won't be able to defeat you even by overdrawing my Life Fire. However, I'll never change my mind. I live by these four words – Fight to the death!"
After uttering the last word, he had completely transformed into a human-like flame that looked like a comet, rushing towards the Ghastly Clown.
The beam of golden light streaked across the sky in an instant and appeared in front of the Ghastly Clown.
"Hehehehe…" The Ghastly Clown smiled again. He gradually extended his hand that was wearing a white glove.
The beam of golden flame was blocked by his palm at a distance of fewer than three centimeters away. He could not move any further.
Zhu Nian attempted to release himself and retrieve his spear. However, he realized that the spear seemed to be attracted by a strong force, like gravity causing it to remain stationary.
"I've told you before. There is a huge difference between our combat abilities. Now I'll teach you the meaning of the difference in our power." As he finished saying those words, the Ghastly Clown squeezed its fingers. Cracks began to appear on the spear relic tool that was floating in mid-air.
"How can this be?!" Zhu Nian was stunned when he saw this.
He was holding a 3-star relic. The relic was unbreakable but the Ghastly Clown broke it with a snap of his finger.
Before Zhu Nian could respond to this, the parts of the spear closest to the cracks began to disintegrate…
The Ghastly Clown smiled, with another palm pressing against Zhu Nian's chest through the flames.
The next moment, Zhu Nian's body was smashed onto the ground.
He was defeated by just one skill…
"Shit, he's too powerful!" Lin Huang stared at the Ghastly Clown floating in the air, "Xiao Hei, use the Seal Card on this clown!"
Chapter 150: The New Monster Card
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lin Huang would only use the Seal Card when he encountered a strong monster.
He didn't know how a chief-level monster looked like but since this monster defeated Zhu Nian, Lin Huang was certain that this monster was stronger than the ordinary transcendent monsters.
In addition, if he did not seal the monster now, all the Daxi City residents would perish and if that happened, he would have to change his return route to Baqi City.
Taking all these into consideration, Lin Huang had finally decided to use the Seal Card.
"The Seal Card can only be used one time. Once it's used, you cannot reverse the action. Are you sure you would like to use it?"
"Yes."
"Please select the target that you would like to seal."
Lin Huang pointed at the Ghastly Clown hanging in the mid-air. Then, a gold arrow appeared on top of the Ghastly Clown's head.
"Seal him." Lin Huang nodded his head.
"Sealing target is a monster that has gone through twice mutation. It meets the sealing requirement"
"Sealing target is a chief-level monster. After being sealed, the target's combat abilities will be restricted by the host. It can only exceed the host by one level."
"Are you confirmed you would like to seal the target?"
"Confirm!" Lin Huang nodded his head without hesitation.
"Sealing…"
Right when the notification from Xiao Hei arrived, the Ghastly Clown in the air was not moving at all. After a while, the Ghastly Clown's body turned into a blue flare and vanished from the sky.
"Sealing is completed!"
"Congratulations, you have gained an Epic level monster card – Ghastly Clown."
Lin Huang immediately tapped open the new monster card that he had just obtained.
"Monster Card"
"Rarity: Epic"
"Monster Name: Ghastly Clown"
"Type of Monster: Undying species"
"Combat Level: White Silver 3 Star"
"Skill 1: Mask - Control"
"Skill 2: Mask - Position Swap"
"Skill 3: Life Mask"
"Skill 4: Deception Magic"
"Skill 5: Fatal Trap"
"Skill 6: Telekinesis"
"Summoning Limit: Activated"
"Cark Remarks: Trainable"
"It has six skills?!" Charcoal the dragonkin and Bai only possessed five skills even though they were also Epic level. Perhaps the Ghastly Clown had higher-leveled combat abilities previously.
Lin Huang read through all of the skills to familiarize himself with them.
"Mask - Control: Replicate any of the faces within one's field of vision. By wearing the mask, one can have complete control over the owner of the face."
"Remark 1: The level of the one being controlled cannot exceed the controller by one level or more."
"Remark 2: There must be at least a three minutes interval before replicating the next mask."
"Remark 3: Replicated mask can be saved. However, the effect will only work when the mask is worn."
"Remark 4: The controlling effects will only work if the mask was replicated from an actual real face."
"Remark 5: Upon completion of the mask replication, if there are changes in the user's face such as serious disfigurements or plastic surgery, the effects of the mask would be rendered useless."
"Mask - Position Swap: The user and the one being controlled could change their position at any time."
"Life Mask: The one being controlled could bear adversity faced by the controller for one time. (Including, but not limited to, cursing, controlling and death effect)."
"Deception Magic: It is a magic that allows the user to switch between the reality and illusions. It has an incredible deception effect."
"Remark: It will only work on creatures that do not exceed the level of the user by one or above."
"Fatal Trap: Create countless unexpected traps to hunt or kill prey."
"Remark: The ability of the trap is limited. It will only work on creatures that do not exceed the level of the user by one level or more."
"Telekinesis: Telekinetic powers that allow the user to distort or move any object."
"The skills are indeed powerful. However, there are many restrictions." Lin Huang was amazed after looking at six of the skills.
"Would you like to extract the skills?" He received a notification from Xiao Hei.
"Oh yeah, I have an empty slot." Lin Huang just remembered that after the integration of skill that he had done earlier, he could still extract skills another time. He immediately nodded his head and said, "Extract the skill."
"Congratulations, you have gained a skill; Mask - Control ."
Although there were many restrictions in using Mask - Control , it was undoubtedly a very powerful ability.
Keeping the Monster Card that he had just obtained, Lin Huang looked towards the monster crowd that had just ended.
"I could settle this using a Small Destruction Card but it would reveal my current location…"
All of a sudden, Zhu Nian emerged from the underground.
The golden flames surrounding his body had disappeared and there were cracks in his green armor relic. It was a 3-star defensive relic. Though it was not yet broken, it seemed to have lost its defensive powers due to the damages caused.
Despite having the armor as protection, it was not easy to withstand the Ghastly Clown's attacks but he knew he had to get off of the ground and endure the pain because if he didn't, a massacre would have happened.
As he flew mid-air, he looked around and there were no traces of the Ghastly Clown. This made Zhu Nian wonder. "Where is he?"
"Leader!" At the entrance of the foothold, Liang Song's voice was heard. He struggled to stand up.
When Zhu Nian saw this, he flashed and appeared in front of him. He then held his arm and asked, "What happened to you?"
"I'm fine. The clown turned into a blue flame and disappeared just now." Liang Song explained.
Zhu Nian could not believe this as he had never seen this happen before. How could a chief-level monster disappear just like that? This would probably only happen in stories.
"Bro, I saw it too, its true. It turned into a blue flame and disappeared." Zhou Qian nodded her head too. "If you don't believe us, you can ask the others. Many of them saw this."
Zhu Nian saw the rest of them nodding their heads. He had no choice but to believe them.
"It's okay. We'll talk about this later. Let's settle the monster horde first." Zhu Nian shook his head. He might as well not to think about this. Then, he looked at the monster horde.
Thanks to the armor relic that had defended against the attack, he was not seriously injured. Although he did not have his long spear with him, it would not affect his ability to kill monsters that were below transcendent level.
He extended both of his hands and opened his palm. Beams of glowing light that resembled a storm were created, gushing out into the air.
The glowing beams seemed to have eyes. They went around the humans and showed no mercy when they encountered monsters, penetrating through their bodies.
Millions of monsters were slaughtered in an instant.
There were monster carcasses everywhere in Daxi City.
The Virtual Eye that hung in the air gradually disappeared after a short while.
Ensuring that he had cleared all of the monsters, Zhu Nian stored the two transcendent monster carcasses as well as Xie Yu's dead body. He then summoned the dimensional portal and left with Zhou Qian and Liang Song.