Star Gate

Chapter 393: Luring the Snake Out of the Cave (III)

“Then let’s add another,” Violet Moon suggested. “Three Solars should have an easier time of things.”

Blue Moon thought for a bit and nodded in agreement, calling upon another person. “Zheng Ping, you go too!”

A man with nondescript features nodded in the crowd. The others paid more attention to him—he was stronger among his peers as he was a late Solar. The previous two had been initial and mid Solar.

The group looked at Violet Moon, startled that just a few words from her had induced Blue Moon to add more personnel. Blue Moon was a Nova, but it looked like he quite respected Violet Moon. She was just a peak Solar, but he had to show her face when she spoke up.

Three Solars, of which one was a late Solar. Violet Moon had nothing else to say now. These three would be able to overcome their enemies even if they met a peak Solar and would stand a chance of defeating the other. They wouldn’t have much trouble unless they ran into a Nova.

The matter of the Skywave base being destroyed had come to an end. They had much more to do at the moment. Blue Moon had summoned so many powerhouses to Silver Moon not just for the ruins of Battle Heaven, but also the more important task of capturing Li Hao!

“The coordination of the four institutions, the involvement of the Silver Moon Guards, and the fact that Li Hao has gone to the Guards...” Blue Moon’s intelligence reports were thorough enough. “Two transport trucks left the Guards yesterday, some say that it was Li Hao taking his team out for training. But after a thorough investigation through the night, we did not find any traces of the Silver Moon Guards.”

Red Moon attached quite a bit of importance to the occurrence and sent people for a close look. However, the report that came back was that it was two empty cars. Earlier reports indicating that there were occupants in the carriages could not be confirmed.

“We need to continue setting a watch on them,” Blue Moon determined. “And to continue exerting enough pressure on Silver Moon. If the Guards really mobilize, we might be able to draw Li Hao out of the city!”

There were only rumors of the young man setting foot outside the capital with no actual sighting that indicated he was truly out. Therefore, Blue Moon desired to further suppress Silver Moon so that they sent out the Guards. Li Hao would very potentially be with them in that case. Even if he wasn’t, Red Moon was confident of destroying the Guards’ base as soon as they deployed en masse.

The Guards were located on the northern outskirts of White Moon City, close to the Moon Sea. If they snuck in through the sea, Hou Xiaochen wouldn’t be able to react in time if they were fast enough.

A hubbub of conversation broke out. Not many were aware that their main mission was Li Hao instead of Battle Heaven! Although they all knew that the organization highly valued the matter of the eight families, they’d thought that Red Moon’s powerhouses were converging for the purposes of the ruins and Hou Xiaochen.

To many people, Li Hao was still the half step Dominator who’d killed Sun Moxian. After all, it’d been less than a month since that fight.

......

Evening of September 16.

An abandoned town could be found on the northern side of Rift Canyon. Typically, only sand and dust swept through the area, but there was certain activity to be found there tonight. Some occupants were in town, laughing and chatting as fragrant meat and wine wafted from a blazing bonfire.

It was the same trick as last night, a camp that proclaimed to the entire world that here were rich children out for a lark. Wang Ming’s energy ring was particularly eye-catching in the firelight.

“This place is nice, it’s so quiet! There’s a different kind of beauty to it!” he roared with laughter. “We don’t need to worry about safety—who dares provoke us in Silver Moon? We don’t need to be afraid of the three great organizations either, they can’t afford the consequences if they do anything to us!

“The White Dragons will immediately declare war on us if they so much as touch us! My grandpa is someone they cannot offend!”

His voice was loud and carried far; the three ladies quickly chimed in with agreement. All of them started boasting how much influence they wielded in their families and how great their status was. If anyone dared cross them on this leisure jaunt, those miserable souls were asking for death!

The group of five had conducted themselves in a very flamboyant manner during the day. Anyone in the area would’ve noticed them a long time ago.

Within the darkness.

Li Hao stood on a dilapidated roof and looked around coolly with sharp eyes. There were supernaturals around Wang Ming’s group! However, the young man frowned. These supernaturals looked to be operating solo and weren’t part of the three great organizations. Had they not attracted those of the organizations this time?

Loud shouting started in the distance as some supernaturals could no longer hold it in. They ambushed the group, but Wang Ming and the others quickly noticed them. The two sides were embroiled in a scrappy melee and a supernatural called out, “Work with us, nearby brothers! We’ll take out these fat cats together and split the spoils!”

Some more supernaturals appeared to join the fray. One of them was a Sunflare. Li Hao remained watching silently and didn’t interfere or care about their fight.

“You’ve got some nerve to attack us!” Wang Ming’s voice was furious and brash in the darkness. “I’m going to butcher you all and take your mysterious power!”

RUMBLE!

The sounds of fighting traveled out far. Li Hao’s eyes shifted as he focused in one direction several hundred meters away from the battle site. A small ball of light hovered there, quite noticeable in the darkness.

The young man grinned—now that was more like the three great organizations! As brazen and arrogant as they were, they were cautious in most situations to avoid falling into a trap. The supernaturals first on the scene had been out in the open. That did not jive with the style of the three great organizations, so he’d determined that they were working alone.

What took place now was more their modus operandi, so which of the three had come?

Li Hao’s form jumped from place to place as he kept an eye on the proceedings. The ball of light swiftly disappeared after observing the situation for a bit. The young man quickly tracked it through the darkness. He lit up after several thousand meters—so many balls of light!

There were at least twenty of them and no Solars, just Darkmoons and Sunflares. There were no signs of scarlet shadows, so it was probably Celestial or Yama.

......

Fighting commenced in earnest after half an hour. The Demon Hunters were much more ferocious tonight and worked in tandem. Although a lot of problems still plagued their coordination, the martial masters were swiftly improving upon them.

Their opponents were people who loved smearing paint on their face—Yama.

Celestial had a fondness for capes, Red Moon liked masks. Only Yama didn’t have requirements when it came to outerwear, but they liked putting paint on their faces to indicate how different they were. It was also a sign of their identity—the three great organizations all had their unique characteristics.

Even Liu Long was thick in the middle of things. Yama’s supernaturals were of high caliber and they had several Sunflares in the field. It hadn’t been long since Liu Long progressed to Dominator, a level that put him on par with Sunflares. Thus, he was part of the fighting to increase his experience battling Sunflares.

The battlefield was slightly chaotic as impacts sounded continuously. Black armor was continuously sent flying, but always swiftly replaced by more. Some of the minor teams were practicing their Ten Rings Mountain Seal Formation; Liu Yan was leading her team in killing a mid Sunflare. Their movements weren’t synchronized, but she was able to collect the internal force of ten people after battle had commenced for ten minutes and drive her blades into the enemy’s heart.

Hong Qing chose differently from Liu Yan. Her team was also assembled in a formation, but not to concentrate their power on her alone. Ten swordsmen struck at the same time and sent sword qi racing over the scene. The Earthturner Sword was present, churning the skies and overturning the earth!

The ground ruptured from the blow, as did the Sunflare that they’d surrounded!

Sunflare after Sunflare fell as Yama was quickly defeated. The sound of martial masters cheering rose from the crowd. They were so much stronger in their second battle compared to the inaugural one of last night. The team was further elated by the might of the formation!

Morale soared and one of the Slayers that didn’t advance last night succeeded over the course of battle.

The slaughter continued for a while, ending when Liu Long erupted with the Nine Forged Force and hacked a late Sunflare to death.

Then it was time for cleanup and mysterious power collection...

The team was old hats at this part of the process. The dead were moved to another locale for burial. After their mysterious power was collected, there was no further use for their bodies. Being exposed one day later would buy the Demon Hunters more time.

“Demon Hunters!” Liu Long growled, raising an answering wave of shouts from the rest.

“Demon Hunters!”

Li Hao’s instructions weren’t needed this time. The team captains directed their teams to retreat and locate a hiding spot for the night. They would strike again tomorrow night.

Significant gains after two big victories buoyed everyone’s spirits. Martial masters were further overjoyed that their minor teams had killed Sunflares by themselves. The saying that martial masters below Dominator were less than supernaturals seemed to have been overturned.

......

And so the Demon Hunters became active throughout the land, killing members of the three great organizations. More than one hundred supernaturals were dead or missing after four days, stirring up currents of activity throughout Silver Moon.

......

Within a mountain cave.

“Celestial has lost a branch!” Half Mountain declared coldly. “Seventeen supernaturals have gone missing, which means they are probably dead. Not only us, but the same goes for Red Moon and Yama. Intelligence indicates that martial masters may be behind it. That brings one person to mind—Li Hao!”

Celestial had been the first to receive word that Li Hao had left the Silver Moon Guard camp. However, the young man vanished after that.

“Additionally, I’ve received another report having to do with the grandson of the White Dragons vice commander. He and his merry band have been having a ball throughout the province the past couple of days. They are frequently sighted at places close to where the branches disappear!”

Wang Ming and his friends had raised attention from the three great organizations after all, since they were an ostentatious group that happened to show up close to where a base would disappear. It raised the suspicion that they were possibly bait thrown out by others.

Losing more than a hundred supernaturals over four days was an enormous loss for any organization.

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