Star Gate

Chapter 84: Sunflare (III)

The vitality of a Darkmoon was much stronger than a Sunderer. The Sunderer that Li Hao attacked earlier died soon after suffering a similar round of blows, but the Darkmoon was still standing and could strike back!

Li Hao met his opponent head-on; he had his own plans in mind. He would not dodge or evade because if the enemy broke the ice crystal dome instead, their mysterious energy would flare back to life. The situation was salvageable if the supernatural lingered to do battle. Great trouble would ensue if he ran.

Thanks to cosmic power, Li Hao could recover from any injury that stopped short of losing a limb. Therefore, he let the other stab the dagger into his stomach. Although enormous pain briefly made him lose composure, he maintained sufficient muscle tension to wrap both hands around the supernatural’s neck and whisk one upward, pulling the man’s hair up. The other hand plunged the dagger into the back of the supernatural’s neck!

Pfft!

The dagger was deflected sideways with a metallic screech, but it ripped the back of the neck open!

“AHH!” An anguished cry rang from the man’s lips as his mysterious power almost fully dispersed. Li Hao yanked firmly on the handful of hair and drove the blade in again, putting all of his strength into a mighty stroke that tore through the wound!

CRACK!

The blade ran out of flesh and blood—Li Hao had nearly cut straight through the supernatural’s spine! Blood sprayed out of the wound and the head nearly toppled down from the bleeding stump!

Even the young man was caught off guard by the horrific sight, but he didn’t stop there. Internal force surged to vibrate the dagger. Li Hao stabbed it in again and again, stroke after stroke!

After an indeterminable period of time, someone called from outside, “Li Hao?”

The killing intent in the young man’s eyes abated and he looked down at the corpse separated from its head. He furrowed his brows and threw away the thing in his hand. Taking time to wipe himself off on the other’s body, he didn’t leave the shipping container until he was clean.

……

“Is he dead?” Liu Yan and the others were on high alert outside the shipping container and approached with caution. The vice captain heaved a sigh of relief when the young man walked out. Li Hao didn’t follow the team when they rushed inside.

A few moments later, Liu Yan and Yun Yao walked out with pale faces. Chen Jian also looked at the young man with an odd look. He was so… brutal! Is this kid really a rookie? How many strokes was that? He dismembered the corpse!

Normally unflappable, even the portly man found hairs on the back of his neck raising. How in the world had Li Hao managed to pull that off? Had he grabbed the supernatural’s head and stabbed the body again and again?

So vicious!

Liu Yan’s expression was likewise jarred out of normalcy—it took her a while to recover.

“Are you alright?” she whispered after a long exhale. There was a Darkmoon inside, dead at Li Hao’s hands!

Li Hao had tricked a Sunderer before this. As things were turning out, the young fellow killed a Sunderer and a Darkmoon over the quick span of a night. Were these really accomplishments achievable by a Slayer of Tens?

Even though both opponents had underestimated Li Hao, it still took a bold, meticulous, and extremely valiant mental state to accomplish these acts. Otherwise, it was impossible for the average person to lie without a flicker of change on their faces and play whatever role was needed to fool these powerhouses.

At the very least, Liu Yan didn’t think she was capable.

“I’m fine!” Li Hao looked a bit wan, but quickly recovered and grinned brightly. “They’re all bad guys! Evil never triumphs over justice, and we are justice!” He swiftly recovered his fighting spirit after a round of self-hypnosis. “Justice always prevails! We uphold justice, eliminate evil, and safeguard dao!”

He suddenly really liked this saying. So long as I stand on the side of justice, it’s right and reasonable that I kill them!

Liu Yan was reassured in some aspects to see the young man recover, but more worried in others. What if the kid turned into some sort of warped soul? Look how fast you’re bouncing back from something like this… What’s your heart made of? Even a veteran like her needed some time after the sight inside.

“If we survive this mission… I’ll help you with some psychiatric rehabilitation,” the normally genteel Yun Yao said softly. Liu Yan always says she’s perverse, but I think she’s absolutely wrong. She just hasn't met someone more twisted than her, and here we have Li Hao! He’s a rookie! Is he really okay, mentally speaking?

“Sure!” Li Hao nodded. He didn’t mind accepting help from teammates. Rehabilitation was rehabilitation, it was no big deal. The scene had been a bit overwhelming when it was right in front of him, but he readily put it out of mind when he couldn’t see it any longer.

“Li Hao, if you survive this incident… I believe it’s only a matter of time before you have a seat at the table, whether in the supernatural or martial master domain!” Yun Yao added, looking at the young man with a very different gaze. Many people would suffer sleepless nights so long as he lived.

“Don’t say that, Sis Yun,” a shy Li Hao protested awkwardly. “I’m just a Slayer, not even a supernatural. That’s a bit much…”

No one responded.

“Moving on,” Liu Yan took a deep breath. “We don’t know what the situation is with the chief. Let’s make our preparations. He’ll come here if he’s still alive. We should drag the container outside to make it easier for him to enter. If supernaturals accidentally barge in, it’ll be as easy as breathing for a Sunderer to kill Darkmoons!”

There was no possible outcome other than death for supernaturals with their power suppressed! Li Hao wouldn’t have found it so easy to kill the water supernatural if it wasn’t for the container. The enemy’s mysterious power put up supreme defenses that even Liu Yan would find tough to break, much less Li Hao.

The young man marshaled his attention with a chuckle. “Yep! I’ve discovered that supernaturals tend to be arrogant and gullible. None of them built any foundations or knowledge after gaining their strength. It’s actually quite likely that they’ll barge straight in!”

If it was a martial master or someone as crafty as his teacher… Ahem, someone as experienced as a veteran, they would easily see through Liu Long. But supernaturals?

Those guys were easy to hoodwink and thought themselves superior to martial masters. It was impossible to not fool them.

No one mentioned Li Hao killing someone anymore. Chen Jian, however, looked piteously at Li Hao, then at Wu Chao on the ground. With a pleading look, he hoped that the young man wouldn’t forget their comrade. Could the lad share some of that strength and save a life? Wu Chao was dead without a doubt otherwise, not even Yun Yao would be able to save him.

Li Hao didn’t say anything—he hadn’t forgotten. It was just that when he conducted some energy into Wu Chao’s body, he found the injuries were too severe to quickly patch up. Thus, he shared sufficient cosmic power to just keep the man alive. Everything else could wait until this matter was over.

……

As the team rearranged the warehouse, Liu Long and his pursuers closed in on the meeting spot. The deputy chief had killed three of the ten supernaturals in the original ambush, Yuan Shuo killed one, the Inspectorate gunned one down, Li Hao dispatched another, leaving only four chasing Liu Long and Yuan Shuo. There were suddenly a lot of dead on the enemy’s side.

Yuan Shuo had caught up to Liu Long; his face was an unhealthy mix of white and gray. Liu Long dragged the old man along, immensely afraid that the old guy would die somewhere along the way.

“Hang in there, old man Yuan!” Liu Long said frantically. He didn’t know what the situation was with Li Hao and the others, but old man Yuan might be the first to die tonight.

“Don’t worry… I can still… hold on for a bit…” Yuan Shuo panted and glanced behind them. There were four supernaturals furiously giving chase. They didn’t concern him; it was the splendor that shone like the sun that he spent more time sensing!

Just one Sunflare? If the supernaturals had sent only one Sunflare, they were doomed to fail tonight. Based on what Yuan Shuo knew, the Night Watchers had also sent a Sunflare. Therefore, the enemy might not find success even if he didn’t deploy his full strength.

One Sunflare, ten Darkmoons, and multiple martial masters… They think highly of Li Hao!

This caliber of team made sense for Yuan Shuo, Liu Long, the Night Watchers, or the Inspectorate. Someone like Li Hao didn’t even need to be considered. Or had they sent a Sunflare to oversee things because their plans of many years had been exposed?

If it really was one of the three great organizations behind the operation, things wouldn’t be so simple!

Either I don’t make a move, or I have to inflict massive losses if I do!

Losing top tier talent would be the only reason why the enemy called the operation off. Losing just one Sunflare might not have an effect or cause them to redouble their effort. Sunflares were strong, but there were dozens of them in Silver Moon. The three greatest supernatural organizations wouldn’t necessarily be concerned about losing someone of this level.

Therefore, Yuan Shuo decided to keep waiting!

The other side’s powerhouse might not reveal themselves at first light. Experts were usually prudent and emerged only when they were sure there was no ambush in the wings. They, too, had to be careful of the Night Watchers lying in wait.

I’ll leave that one for the Night Watchers! They’ve sent out their Sunflare. If there’s any more powerhouses on the scene, they won’t make a move until they’re certain this isn’t a trap! Yuan Shuo didn’t spare as much thought for Li Hao as his student was safe for the time being. These people needed the right moment before they killed the lad. This was why he wasn’t feeling any urgency.

As for the others, he wasn’t as concerned. If they really were to die, it was still worth it if they took out a premier existence with them.

……

Even further in the distance, as the chase continued.

An old man held Wang Ming as the two flew through the air.

“Elder Huang, do we not act yet?” Wang Ming asked earnestly. Yuan Shuo and Liu Long seemed like they would fall at any second!

The old man carrying him quietly looked around and answered slowly after a moment, “We’re not there yet!”

Not there yet? Wang Ming didn’t have a chance to come to an answer before he was thrown away.

“Go find Hu Hao and Li Meng. The three of you shall work together to kill those guys!”