Chapter 104
Chapter 104
“Mars Encroaches on the Stars!”
An Operations Department member brought down a monster with an arrow. Tang Yuanxiao immediately conjured an enormous fireball around it, and the flames swallowed its entire body in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, not even a scrap remained.
Working with the other team members, Tang Yuanxiao was making exceptionally smooth progress clearing the monsters and ghosts.
After the giant threw him to the outskirts, he had charged along with the others, trying to break through the defensive line formed by the monsters and ghosts and fight his way back to the giant.
But…
Slow. Far too slow.
He had not come here to clear out little ghosts.
As a member of the Operations Department’s Third Operations Squad, Tang Yuanxiao was one of the department’s mainstays.
He should have been in the center of the battlefield, fighting the people of the Eleventh Realm, rather than trapped here by a horde of little ghosts with no way to break free.
Tang Yuanxiao was still a considerable distance from the giant, and the monsters and ghosts before him seemed endless. No matter how many he fought or killed, there were always more.
He could not help growing irritated.
Faster. He had to be faster.
If they could not kill those two people from the Eleventh Realm promptly, the Old Royal City would suffer even greater casualties.
“Blazing Stream!” Tang Yuanxiao drove a flaming fist into a monster’s wide-open mouth, his blows growing ever more vicious.
Just then, he suddenly heard an enormous crash.
The giant that had been wreaking havoc a moment ago had fallen to the ground.
Tang Yuanxiao froze, then was overjoyed.
Reinforcements from the other Operations Department squads must have arrived!
To deal with that giant so quickly, whoever had come must be a core member of another Operations Squad.
His confidence soaring, Tang Yuanxiao looked toward the center of the battlefield and saw a black figure leaping up and down.
Not enough. Still not enough. There were too few of them.
These two people from the Eleventh Realm were extremely difficult to deal with. If another Operations Squad had sent only one person, that person probably would not be able to hold them off either.
The burden on his shoulders was still heavy. Tang Yuanxiao’s expression darkened, and he fought even more fiercely, pressing forward so he could join the battle sooner and help kill those two from the Eleventh Realm.
The path was almost clear now. He was drawing ever closer to the giant.
When he reached the center of the battlefield and saw the scene clearly, he froze.
The person controlling the battlefield was not any Operations Squad member he knew. A stranger? Not exactly. He had only just met them.
It was those two women in skirts.
The enormous giant was now on the ground, pouncing and hopping like a frog. Apart from that, he had no means of attack left.
The tall beauty with long hair and a black dress kept drawing throwing knives from various places about her person and hurling them at the giant.
The giant’s back and face were already densely studded with knife handles. The sight alone could make anyone with a fear of dense clusters recoil.
Though the giant still moved, the long-haired beauty in the black dress seemed to be walking him like a dog. Only the leash could neither be seen nor touched. The movements of the person controlling him were fluid and effortless, as though they required very little exertion.
And on the other side?
The dark, skinny man who had crouched on the giant’s shoulder lay motionless in a pool of blood.
Xie Qingling had already put away her blades.
She slid Bloodsworn back into place on her body and looked up to see Tang Yuanxiao.
She also saw what a sorry state he was in.
They stared at one another. Tang Yuanxiao’s lips moved, but he could not get a word out.
These two women who had looked as though they were here to cause trouble and hold everyone back, whom he had almost abandoned on the way, had actually taken down both people from the Eleventh Realm.
Xie Qingling spoke first.
“You’re late,” she said.
“The battle’s already over.”
Tang Yuanxiao: “…”
He knew.
He could see that.
Tang Yuanxiao was still in shock.
Each year, barring anything unexpected, the top ten by points on the Rookie Ranking were transferred to headquarters. That meant the best recruits of the year all gathered there. The environment at headquarters helped them develop faster, too. Overall, the strength of its Operations Department squads should have far surpassed that of department members in regional cities.
Tang Yuanxiao was used to fighting bloody battles alongside his teammates from headquarters. The members who came from the regions always slowed the overall pace because they could not keep up with their swift, fierce attacks. Sometimes they even had to spare attention to protect them.
Seeing the giant dealt with so quickly, Tang Yuanxiao had instinctively assumed a core member of an Operations Squad had come to reinforce them and save the situation. Who would have thought… it was these two.
Were the regional cities this strong now?
Countless thoughts flashed through Tang Yuanxiao’s mind in an instant. Shock surged through him like towering waves.
Xie Qingling ignored him and walked straight to the man lying in the pool of blood. She picked up the wooden box containing the mother gu.
Inside, a fat white worm was wriggling.
Xie Qingling tipped the worm onto the ground and stepped on it.
At her movement, the giant hopping and pouncing along the ground suddenly stiffened all over and stopped moving.
He collapsed limply onto the ground and lay still too.
Xie Qingling shouted into the air, “The offspring gu is on its back! Kill the offspring gu!”
Hearing her, Shen Huaizhou pinched a throwing knife between his fingers and looked closely. Beneath the skin of the giant’s charcoal-black back, a worm was wriggling rapidly, about to break free of the skin and escape.
The throwing knife immediately shot from his hand, pinning the crawling worm squarely in place.
They seemed to hear a wail like a baby’s cry, but it vanished almost at once.
It was over.
Xie Qingling tossed the wooden box to the ground. Looking down, she noticed the pitch-black Yinshan Ghost Token.
It belonged to the Yinshan School.
She did not know whether it could still be used. But waste not, want not: she picked it up too and tucked it at her waist.
The two most troublesome people from the Eleventh Realm had been dealt with. Only some little ghosts remained.
These little ghosts did not inflict much damage. There were simply a lot of them, and they were persistent.
Tang Yuanxiao had already cleared away many monsters and ghosts on his way here. Few of those remaining on the battlefield were still able to fight.
Without the people from the Eleventh Realm causing trouble, the remaining cleanup was straightforward.
As Tang Yuanxiao set fires and burned the enemies away, his eyes kept darting toward Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou.
He looked as though he had a great deal to say.
Neither Xie Qingling nor Shen Huaizhou paid him any attention. They did not even glance at him, simply continuing to fight and clear away the monsters and ghosts.
About half an hour later, all the monsters and ghosts on Twelfth Street, East District, had been cleared.
When Xie Qingling came to a halt, she looked at the wreckage covering the street, the bodies of monsters and ghosts, and the severed limbs. Her gaze was filled with complicated emotions.
Her Soul Recall had already worn off.
When she realized the Spirit inside her was about to run dry, she had withdrawn her divine ability. The girl on whom she had used Soul Recall had fallen to the ground again, covered in blood and filth.
Xie Qingling searched for a while before she found the girl’s body among the wreckage.
The girl still gripped her Meridian Mandarin Duck Axes. She lay on her back, her eyes staring at the sky without a trace of life reflected in them.
Xie Qingling knelt and closed her eyes with one hand. “Rest in peace.”
She laid her flat on the ground. Lying there on her back, the girl looked as though she were asleep.
Only after doing all this did Xie Qingling return to Shen Huaizhou’s side.
By now, Xie Qingling was in a sorry state, covered in blood and grime.
Shen Huaizhou was doing all right. Apart from his somewhat disheveled clothing, he was still fairly clean. He had mainly helped Xie Qingling by controlling the monsters and ghosts, and had seldom needed to attack personally. Even when he did, his attacks were ranged, so the flying blood could not splash onto him.
Xie Qingling looked at him enviously. “Too bad my aim’s no good. Otherwise I’d practice throwing knives like you. You can stab people from a distance. Convenient and elegant.”
“Your way is better,” Shen Huaizhou said. “Charge in with your blades, draw blood with one stroke, take a head with the next. It makes your opponents tremble at the mere mention of you. Much more intimidating.”
Xie Qingling: “…”
He could stop making her sound like some great demon who killed without blinking.
Tang Yuanxiao watched them as he contacted the Logistics Department to come clear the site.
So they were a man and a woman.
Tang Yuanxiao’s feelings grew even more complicated.
After finishing the work at hand, he came over and asked, “Which city are you from?”
Xie Qingling stood properly, maintaining a show of respect for her superior, and answered just as respectfully, “We’re from an obscure little place. Surely we needn’t trouble your distinguished ears with its name.”
Shen Huaizhou nodded in support. “Mm. A little place. Obscure. Not worth mentioning.”
“…” Tang Yuanxiao took a deep breath.
Composing his expression, he asked again, “Who’s the Director in charge of you?”
“We wouldn’t dare speak our Director’s name,” Xie Qingling replied.
Shen Huaizhou nodded. “Mm. Wouldn’t dare.”
The corner of Tang Yuanxiao’s mouth had begun to twitch.
He took a long look at the innocent, guileless Xie Qingling, then at the aloof, utterly unapproachable Shen Huaizhou. At last, he made up his mind.
“I admit…” Tang Yuanxiao paused and swallowed his pride. “I admit I was a little loud earlier.”
“You’re both very strong. I’d like to know which city you’re from.”
“Talented people like you should come to headquarters. There’s a bigger stage here. Your abilities wouldn’t go to waste.”
Tang Yuanxiao had finally found the right way to talk to these two.
Shen Huaizhou still said nothing, clearly leaving all the talking to Xie Qingling.
“We’ll need to ask our Director’s opinion first,” Xie Qingling said.
Hearing this, Tang Yuanxiao said no more. There was plenty of time. Since they were regional members who had come to provide support, they would not leave any time soon.
He continued contacting the Logistics Department to handle what remained.
Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou stood beside the ruined street, watching the Logistics Department members gradually arrive and carry away the bodies of three department members on stretchers.
Three people had died in one battle.
And this was only the battle in one neighborhood.
They did not need to ask about the casualties to know that these three were certainly not the only people who had died in the Old Royal City today.
Xie Qingling let out a long sigh. “Future City really is so peaceful…”
“It is.”
“Do you think you’d want to stay at headquarters?” Xie Qingling asked.
“I don’t know.”
Before, he had complained that there were too many people here and too much noise. Now, he did not know.
It seemed Shen Huaizhou’s thoughts had changed a little, Xie Qingling thought.
While they were reflecting on all this, blue lights suddenly lit up on their earpieces.
Having finished the Directors’ meeting, Ling Fang contacted his two troublesome team members.
“Where are you two?”
Xie Qingling: “…”
Shen Huaizhou: “…”
They had forgotten about that.