Star Gate

Chapter 233: Slaying Sunflare (I)

Chapter 233: Slaying Sunflare (I)

Footsteps sounded on the streets. A supernatural held his breath in a corner, freezing in place. His mysterious power was compressed into his body; not a particle leaked out. Listening intently in the darkness, he sighed with relief when the sound slowly faded away.

Solars easily handled Black Armors, but he couldn’t. As a Plenilune, he could summon the wind and rain in the outside world so long as he didn’t run afoul of the three great organizations and Night Watchers. Not even the Sword Sect would easily move against a Plenilune.

But here, all of the organizations had sent their elites. More importantly, a group of Sunflares had died as soon as they entered the ancient city. Darkmoons weren’t worth anything in comparison.

These Black Armors were easily identifiable as the lowest level soldiers of the ancient city. However, they could still kill Darkmoons or even Sunflares! There were too many restrictions against supernaturals in this place.

A tragic tinge crept into the supernatural’s thoughts when his thoughts traveled here. He didn’t want to explore anymore, but as a Yama member, there would be nothing but death in store if he dared desert now.

Yama had raised them. Desertion was betrayal. No one who betrayed a large organization ever met with a good end.

The hairs stood on the back of his neck while his thoughts kept him company. A sharp sword stabbed forward in the dark!

Pfft! A head tumbled to the ground. Three Black Armors soundlessly appeared behind him.

The soldiers were accompanied by the sound of footsteps. When the footsteps drifted away, that indicated the soldiers were gone. Anyone who made the observation would draw this conclusion, and this was the proper concept to hold. Black Armors walked on the ground, but these three were fake.

When the footsteps disappeared was when supernaturals were most relaxed. After the fake trio created the sound of footsteps, they quickly silenced it in the darkness. At that time, it was child’s play for martial masters to noiselessly approach supernaturals that were doing their best imitation of mundanes.

Everyone knew to not release mysterious power when Black Armors were around. But without their superhuman abilities, supernaturals were just ordinary people. They died to a single sword stroke!

Li Hao didn’t recognize his victim. Judging from the apparel, it was someone from Yama. Other than staying away from Night Watchers when he was on the hunt, it didn’t matter which of the others he killed. A Plenilune was better than nothing. They might gain fifty cubes from this supernatural—this was no Sunflare, after all. These also weren’t ideal circumstances to fully extract mysterious power. It would be a job well done to claim a portion. Thus, he’d get roughly twenty-five cubes from this Plenilune. That amount would be quickly absorbed.

There was no need to clean up the corpse as the city’s ground was the best processor. This area would return to what it was before long. Everything and the body would be swallowed whole.

This was a city that ate people! So long as one was not seen committing the deed, the darkness hid many evil and dangerous things.

Moments later, footsteps sounded again. This was the cue for the living to take cover! Their suits of black armor were the best possible protective tool. As for mysterious power, Li Hao absorbed it as they walked. Who cared if some was lost with this crude procedure?

There were supernaturals everywhere, so many for the taking! They could kill another one after digesting this one. There would always be another that came along.

Li Hao bore no goodwill for the major organizations. The same went for Liu Long. Other than the Night Watchers, supernaturals were all heretics in his eyes. They were the source of misfortunes that plagued the world. One dead was one less that roamed the land!

Behind them, the headless body slowly sank into the ground.

......

In a location not too far away from Li Hao and the others.

Hu Po—Li Dahu—waited with two Darkmoons. Their expressions grew consecutively darker the longer they waited. Staring at the house ahead of them, they had to conclude that their comrade was dead.

Li Dahu had had three Darkmoons under his command moments ago. He sent one of them into a structure that was possibly a tavern. Instead of a deeper investigation, however, all that came back was a muffled thump and no sign of other movement.

These houses seemed to be monsters that ate people. Anyone who went in never ventured out again.

“Damn it!” Li Dahu cursed, irritated. The guy was dead! This place was too dangerous! They needed to avoid the constantly patrolling Black Armors while exploring the premises. All of the houses were off limits. Whoever entered one disappeared.

Should they turn back now? How would they explain themselves if they did? Was he supposed to report that the houses ate people and... nothing else?

Li Dahu looked in the other direction of the street. There was some faint light to be found there. It might be the inner city that the Night Watchers spoke of if as was brighter there. Maybe they should take a look in that direction?

But what if it was very dangerous?

“Screw it!” he hissed. There was no need to continue to wait, that subordinate was likely dead. The next wave of Black Armors would soon be upon them if they continued to stay here. They were familiar with the patrol schedule by now. A squad of ten would pass by in roughly ten minutes.

Although he and his men were Sunflare, Li Dahu didn’t dare run afoul of these soldiers. He might not be able to defeat ten, and even if he did, he’d attract more soldiers to his position once he utilized his supernatural abilities. He was dead then as well.

What a pity that they hadn’t run into one patrolling alone! He was also very interested in these suits of armor. Unfortunately, the soldiers in this area all moved in packs.

In actuality, there were ones patrolling alone as well. It was just that those that surveyed the immediate three streets had all fallen to Li Hao and his companions. There were certainly more than three streets in this city. The solo Black Armor on the others might’ve been eliminated by others or not discovered yet.

Footsteps sounded at this time. Li Dahu’s ears twitched and he flattened himself to the ground with his two men, retracting his mysterious power into his body. A strange look entered his eyes. There didn’t seem to be that many footsteps.

Indeed, compared to the other teams of Black Armors, they could immediately tell from the echoes that this one was small. The others were easily identifiable as a sizable contingent.

The soldiers slowly came into view through the gloom—it was indeed a small number!

“Three!” muttered the Darkmoon next to Li Dahu. He kept his voice down, but still received a vicious glare for his efforts. They weren’t supposed to talk!

Li Dahu was also surprised. Only three? That meant the Yama scouts faced only three Darkmoon. If there weren’t that many soldiers, then the level of threat they posed would lessen enormously. He was an earth supernatural and thus somewhat effective against these Black Armors. He could put down a layer of stone over the ground beneath their feet. It wouldn’t be a large area, but would be suitable for their purposes.

Three Black Armors!

Li Dahu was tempted. With how few of the soldiers there were, he’d be claiming three suits of armor by himself if he could capture all three. The Revolution King had paid the price of a dozen lives and required the personal efforts of a Solar to obtain roughly eighty. If he could claim three here...

He’d earn significant merit if he offered them up instead of hiding them for himself, wouldn’t he? Perhaps he could reconvene with the main body if he had these three. He wouldn’t have to risk himself in further investigation. And with this level of merit, perhaps he’d be rewarded with an audience with the Revolution King.

Li Dahu had originated as the captain of a security detail. The Qiaos seemed to be in frequent contact with Yama before, but they’d been eliminated in the recent past. Although he was a Sunflare, it felt that something was missing without the Qiaos. That family had been a constant source of money and wealth to trade for mysterious power. Now that he lacked this channel...

Various thoughts tempted Li Dahu, but he kept a firm grip on his desires for now. Let’s keep an eye on them for a bit longer!

......

In the distance.

Since Li Hao, Liu Long, and Liu Yan weren’t Black Armors, they moved according to instinct. Being martial masters, their eyesight was very keen. They easily caught a glimpse of the three hidden underneath a nearby eave. While they were unmoving, the trio would have to be blind to overlook the three living people.

Liu Long suddenly raised his arm to hold Liu Yan back. However, she hadn’t made a move. Liu Long thought that she wouldn’t be able to control herself, but she did. After coming to the ancient city, she understood how dangerous this trip was. While she was crazed with hate even as a veteran martial master, it didn’t make her stupid. She knew long ago that there was a connection between the Qiaos and Yama, but still controlled herself.

She bided her time even when Qiao Peng continuously harassed her. It was obvious that Liu Long was underestimating her capacity to hold it together!

Li Dahu!

Indeed, they were seeing Li Dahu—also known as Hu Po in the Yama organization. He was who Liu Long and Liu Yan wished most to kill on this expedition.

Liu Yan’s footsteps remained as if before. They didn’t alter just because she saw her husband’s murderer. Liu Long was more at ease to see that she carried on as usual.

The three continued walking like they didn’t see the Yama members. Their footsteps marched in unison as they slowly left the others behind. However, the trio soon sensed something different. The Yama members... were following them?

The Night Watcher trio didn’t immediately attack because it was harder to eliminate a larger group. It would easily give rise to an undesirably large disturbance. Thus, they chose not to take action even when they saw their targets. Who would’ve thought that the supernaturals would be so bold as to follow them instead? The Night Watchers weren’t thinking of attacking, but the Yama members were!

How... impressive!

There was another ten soldier squad on this street. Li Hao and the others knew that it would be here soon, so they continued walking without a hint of anything out of the ordinary. Out of sight from their followers, Liu Long made a gesture with his hand.

Do we kill them?

The three were following them! Supernatural levels were easy to identify, not to mention that Li Hao was able to tell with a glance that they were one Sunflare and two Fullmoons. It placed them on similar footing with the trio—one Dominator and two Sunderers.

But the Night Watchers were Black Armors at the moment and their opponents didn’t dare employ too much mysterious power. If there were no surprises, it was the trio that occupied more advantages. Their only concern was that the Black Armors behind them would arrive before they had a chance to exterminate the Yama members. That was the real point of trouble. Escape would be nigh impossible once they were embroiled by the ten soldier squad.