Chapter 383: The Long Night Approaches (3.5k)
The night, accompanied by a slight frost and mist, imbued the western docks where Aers departed with a sense of desolation. Three solitary figures rested on a long bench; one leaned back, one was hunched, and the third lay flat…
“Tap, tap…”
Footsteps slowly approached. Old Man Eir, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, blew a smoke ring and squinted, asking softly, “Liu, where are your companions?”
“Mr. Eir, it’s just me and Yuko returning.”
Liu Gang slowly raised his head, his face appearing stiff. After a long while, he turned to Eir and said softly, “Could you bring over the scalpel that’s on the boat?”
“This is sharper than a scalpel. Using this—when do you plan to leave here?”
Eir was slightly stunned, his gaze following Liu Gang’s, looking at the somewhat foul-smelling corpse. He frowned, then took out a small knife from his ring and tossed it over.
Taking the knife, Liu Gang stared at the corpse for a long time before exhaling a breath of white mist and uttering two words:
“Now.”
…
At the Death Forest, a green phantom stood within a massive explosion crater. A feather, its color already dim, appeared in its hand.
“Go…”
Slowly looking up towards the sky, it tossed the feather upwards. Watching the green stream of light flash by, it bowed slightly towards the silver-white armor on the ground. Then, its body slowly turned into speckles of dust and dispersed.
…
Outside the international metropolis, about two to three kilometers from the city gate in a desolate area, the atmosphere was tense. A troop of about a dozen soldiers surrounded a jeep.
The soldiers’ gleaming weapons, illuminated by the headlights, carried a chilling aura. It was evident that they were prepared to take action against the people inside the vehicle.
“Gentlemen officers, our band was passing through and did not carry any unauthorized personnel—and we just came from the central Yela Military Base to perform for the Yela military.” A bald driver stepped out of the jeep and walked towards the leader of the opposing group. He then drew a black card from his sleeve, bowed, and respectfully handed it over.
“Sir, this is a small token of our appreciation. There is two hundred thousand dollars inside.”
The leading Yela officer pinched the black card between two fingers, then glanced at it. Confirming that the card was indeed a high-capacity bank card, he grinned. “You understand some of the rules, I see.”
Hearing the other party’s voice, the bald driver secretly breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously retreated towards the car. “Since that’s the case, sir, could you have your subordinates spread out a bit and allow our vehicle to pass?”
“Of course… but I need to inspect it thoroughly.”
The military officer waved his hand with a smile, but his eyes narrowed as he looked at Katherine in the rear window. He licked his lips, then a white light burst from his hand. He then shouted to the surrounding soldiers, “Arrest everyone and search them one by one, and let me have a chat with the lady inside.”
Immediately, everyone inside the car had a drastic change in expression. Many quietly clenched their weapons. The bald driver also took a deep breath, forcing a smile. “What does the officer mean by this? Our lady is acquainted with Colonel Kyle of the Central Military Region. Do you happen to know him?”
“Colonel Kyle? A true Battle King expert oneself…” The military officer narrowed his eyes, his gaze locked onto Katherine’s face. He then sneered, “But they all died in the Death Forest. The lady inside should come down soon! I highly suspect you are connected to the large-scale deaths of the central Yela army.”
As soon as the officer’s voice fell, the rear car door “clicked” open, and a graceful figure slowly stepped out, her gaze calmly fixed on the officer.
Upon seeing Katherine’s face, greediness erupted in the officer’s eyes. He then made a gesture of invitation and said with righteous indignation, “Please, madam, accompany me to the inspection room for a check. Otherwise, your companions will be treated as Mokala.”
“He doesn’t plan to let us leave at all!”
Hearing this, Katherine’s face instantly turned cold, a flicker of anger in her eyes. White light flashed in her hand, and a Western European longsword appeared in her palm. Her body suddenly shot towards the officer.
“Heh heh, you don’t have Battle King level strength. How could you possibly break through the encirclement?” Seeing Katherine charge, the officer chuckled. He casually blocked with his silver-white long saber, and then, like lightning, struck her longsword.
“You’re also a Battle King?”
Instantly, the longsword bent in a bizarre manner, and Katherine spat out a mouthful of blood. Her body staggered backward, her rosy cheeks turning slightly pale. She looked up in horror.
“Heh heh… this is the east city gate of the international metropolis. To prevent those rats from slipping in, naturally, we need Battle Kings to guard it.” A lower-ranking soldier behind the officer chuckled, his smile seeming to mock her overestimation of her own abilities.
Seeing his lady in distress, the bald driver’s expression stiffened. He turned and said sternly, “Sir, our lady is from the Bear Country’s Catherine Family and was once ennobled by the Romanov royal family. The family also has several Battle King level experts.”
“Heh heh, what does the Catherine Family matter? As long as I publicly declare that you were all killed by the Aers army, they will continue to trouble this unlucky country.”
The officer stopped pretending, shrugged, and sneered. With absolute strength, there was no need to put on a facade of righteousness for Katherine and the others.
Then, a powerful and peerless aura slowly emerged from his body. The pressure generated by his external qi forced many people in the convoy to retreat rapidly. The very shape of the car even dented slightly.
“Yela has gone completely mad. Listening to them, it’s highly likely caused by the large number of casualties in central Aers.”
Facing the officer’s formidable aura, Katherine’s expression gradually became serious. She took out a bottle of crimson potion from her storage bag and circulated the frost qi in her body to its limit…
This potion was made by burning bloodlines, which could forcefully increase strength by burning bloodlines but would have a certain impact on one’s foundation, i.e., the initial coagulation blood value.
The bald driver beside her saw the crimson potion, and his expression sank. He then took out a few “Dust Thunders” from his pocket and suddenly shouted, “We’ll cover for the lady!”
Hearing this, several people in the car also got out, each holding a few “Dust Thunders,” preparing to throw them. The advantage of alchemical items being superior to ordinary landmines was precisely that they could transform from landmines into grenades.
The same applied to “Dream Flowers.”
However, just as the tense atmosphere was about to break, and a small skirmish was about to erupt, a light laugh slowly descended from the sky, sounding abrupt and chilling in the desert.
“Yela really doesn’t play by the rules. I originally planned not to intervene in the battlefield, but I didn’t expect you dogs to still be unable to change your ways.”
The sudden laughter directly shattered the tense atmosphere in the desert. Everyone looked up in astonishment. In this war zone already surrounded by Yela, who would dare to directly curse them?
The officer’s expression gradually turned cold. He slowly raised his head, and like everyone else, his gaze turned towards the night sky.
However, when their gazes met the sight of the ice-cold girl in the black dress in the sky, the soldiers’ expressions subtly changed. Who was this person dressed like the god of death?
Unlike the soldiers’ confusion, Katherine stared blankly at the sky, the first to react. She instinctively exclaimed, “Is it that alchemist lady from before?”
“Didn’t she go with Jialuo?”
The bald driver was stunned for a moment, then looked up blankly, clearly still not having processed it.
“Do you know this place is already occupied by my Yela? Do you not fear being killed as a Mokala terrorist for speaking such nonsense?” The officer stared intently at Su Jiu, then said in a deep voice. He had never seen this person before, but when he scanned her with his mental power, he couldn’t detect her level at all.
“This is a bit of a distance from the city gate, isn’t it?” Ignoring the officer, Su Jiu glanced at the distant city wall and muttered to herself. Then, a faint bloody glow appeared on her fingertips. Accompanied by a whistling sound, her figure suddenly vanished.
“Kill these people. They cannot be allowed to leave this country alive.”
With twitching eyelids, the officer’s gaze constantly swept around, but his search was fruitless. He then let out a loud roar, tightly gripping his saber and desperately searching for Su Jiu’s trail.
As the roar fell, the dozen or so soldiers who had surrounded them also let out a stern cry. However, before the colorful external qi could surge from their bodies, sharp whistling sounds could be heard in their ears.
In the next instant, sharp claws pierced through their chests, drawing drops of crimson blood. Then, the vitality in their eyes rapidly dissipated. As their consciousness was about to vanish, they forcibly turned their heads, only to see a pale, emotionless little face.
“Isn’t she a doctor and an alchemist? She instantly killed these elite soldiers, all of whom are Battle Generals. Even in the lady’s family, very few people possess such strength.”
Seeing the soldiers being cut down like grass, the bald driver’s face twitched uncontrollably. His gaze finally fell on the girl standing with her back to the Yela officer. His heart was filled with dread. What was her purpose for coming to the Yela battlefield?
However, as he was contemplating this, another small figure descended from the sky, continuously digging out the magic crystals from the beast pets that had died beside the corpses. From time to time, she would wipe the bloodstains with tissues.
“Is that her pet? It looks very similar to a person, but I can feel a powerful oppressive aura from it.”
Swallowing hard, Katherine’s gaze was filled with a hint of horror as she looked at the “Little Red Hat” picking mushrooms. She involuntarily put down the potion in her hand—she had a feeling that the opponent’s pet was also far superior to her.
Seeing these elite personal guards so easily dispatched, the officer’s heart skipped a beat. He mechanically turned his neck towards the figures in the black dress. He had no idea when the opponent had appeared behind him!
No more delay! Her strength is too bizarre!
A flicker of light flashed in his eyes. The officer’s arm trembled, and scorching heat surged from the blade. He tapped the sand with his toes, abruptly turned, and his body transformed into a blurry shadow, charging towards Su Jiu with waves of heat.
“Be careful!”
Seeing the officer suddenly attack, Katherine’s heart tightened, and she quickly called out a warning. However, just as the warning fell, she saw Su Jiu transform into a beam of light, moving even faster and with a stronger aura, directly passing through the officer’s body.
“Drip, drip!”
Shaking the blood from her claws, Su Jiu turned and smiled lightly at Katherine, signaling that she was fine. She then kicked the officer’s body, which was frozen mid-action, away.
Looking at the Battle King level officer with a large hole in his chest, the members of the convoy exchanged glances, each able to see the astonishment in the other’s eyes. The bald driver’s eyes filled with reverence. He quickly reacted and clasped his fists towards Su Jiu, saying:
“Thank you, Your Grace, for your assistance.”
They were not a simple band. Being called a band meant they were more like subordinate members of Katherine’s family. Naturally, they knew what this scene meant—instantly killing a Battle King!
She was undoubtedly a top-tier Battle King expert, someone even the family treated with respect.
Su Jiu waved her hand at them, took two steps forward towards the officer, squatted down, smiled, revealing fangs, and her claws glowed with “blood gushing” light. She said softly, “I ask, you answer. If you don’t answer, I’ll make you wish you were dead. If you answer well and I’m happy, you can live.”
“…Alright.”
The officer looked at the crimson bloody glow on Su Jiu’s fingertips and quickly nodded like pounding garlic. Just looking at the red glow made his entire body feel as if his blood had solidified—definitely not something good.
“Very obedient, a good child…”
Encouraging her with a smile, Su Jiu suddenly raised her hand, extended a slender finger, and asked softly, “First question—how is the situation at the International Grand Hospital?”
