**Chapter 720: The General’s Abilities**
Just as the heroes’ defense line was, under pressure, was retreating steadily, and mist with a dual…
Chapter 720
The General’s Abilities
Just as the heroes’ defense line was
under pressure, was retreating steadily, and mist with a dual
pressure, the situation was precarious. Suddenly, a steady roar like a mountain
exploded from the rear of the battle formation: “Everyone, fall back! Let me!”
Accompanied by this roar, a tall and burly strongman, his skin a
rock-like grayish-brown, suddenly stepped forward! His feet were rooted to the
ground as if they had grown there. He was the hero ranked seventy-eighth—[Boulder] Kamiya Ishihiko!
“Rise!!!”
Kamiya Ishihiko’s arm muscles bulged. Earth-yellow energy condensed to its limit
in his hands. Then, he slammed his palms onto the ground!
RUMBLE—!!!
The entire battlefield trembled violently! It was as if some colossal being was
awakening underground! The next moment, in front of the frontline where the heroes
were clashing with the Berserk Combatants, an incredibly thick rock wall,
five meters high and tens of meters wide, erupted from the ground! The wall’s
surface was rough and uneven, exuding a heavy earth element aura, like an
insurmountable natural barrier, temporarily blocking the incoming tide of enemies!
Bang bang bang! Dong dong dong!
The Berserk Combatants seemed to have completely lost their reason. They
simply crashed and slashed against the rock wall without fear of death,
letting out dull thuds, but only managing to leave shallow white marks without
breaching it!
But this was only the beginning!
“Rock Spear Forest!”
Kamiya Ishihiko roared again, raising his hands! Beneath the feet of the
obstructed combatants, sharp and thick stalagmites suddenly shot out like
bamboo shoots after a spring rain! These stalagmites were incredibly sharp,
instantly piercing many combatants who couldn’t dodge in time! While they
couldn’t instantly kill these enhanced enemies, they effectively disrupted their
charging formation, causing significant chaos and delay!
“Earth Wave Tremor!”
He then stomped his feet, and a powerful shockwave spread outwards in a
fan shape from him! The ground turned into surging waves, rising and falling
violently! The Berserk Combatants standing on it were thrown off balance,
stumbling and unable to stand steadily, their attacks momentarily halted!
Almost at the same time, on another side of the battlefield, a nimble
figure led a small team of heroes wielding melee weapons, like a sharp blade
inserted into the enemy formation! This figure moved with extreme speed,
wielding a short sword that flickered with a cold light, his movements elegant
and deadly. He was the hero ranked sixty-fifth—[Word Spirit Master] Yuzawa Yu! His
figure was hidden beneath his hooded hoodie, his build slender and swift.
Most peculiar were the three fist-sized energy orbs of various colors
floating around him. These orbs seemed to possess sentience, dancing with his
movements.
“Heal!” Yuzawa Yu uttered a low cry, and an orb flew towards an injured hero
lying on the ground, merging into his body. The hero’s wounds began to heal at
a visible rate, and a trace of color returned to his pale face!
“Sharp!” He let out another light hiss, and another orb attached itself to
the short sword in his hand. The short sword instantly spat out a sharp blade
aura about a foot long. His figure flickered, and like a ghost, he swept past
a Berserk Combatant. Under the blade’s light, the combatant’s tough protective
suit and enhanced muscles were easily sliced open as if they were made of
paper!
“Shield!” The third orb transformed into a semi-transparent energy shield,
defending him and his teammates from laser fire and arrows from the flanks!
“Follow me! Clear this area!” Yuzawa Yu’s voice was clear and crisp. He led
this team composed of heroes skilled in surprise attacks and close-quarters
combat, specifically targeting enemies attempting to flank or harass with
long-range weapons. His word spirit orbs had a wide range of applications,
greatly enhancing the team’s survivability and combat efficiency.
Their target was very clear: the [Witch] Kirie, who was still leisurely
twirling her umbrella in the rear, and the Black Robe Elder beside her, who was
controlling the endless stream of combatants by playing his flute!
If the abilities of these two could be disrupted, the tide of the battle
could instantly turn!
Kirie also noticed this assault team heading straight for her, especially
their leader, Yuzawa Yu. The innocent smile on her face remained, but her eyes
turned colder. The speed at which she twirled her umbrella slightly increased,
and more strange mist began to pervade the Yuzawa Yu’s team.
Meanwhile, on the outer perimeter of the battlefield, atop the ruins of a
partially collapsed teaching building, a well-disguised sniper was tightly
locking onto the Black Robe Elder, who was continuously playing his bone flute
and emitting cyan energy threads, through his high-powered scope.
This sniper was the ace of the police sniper unit, codenamed “Eagle Eye.”
The attack that previously ambushed Andre was launched by him and his team.
Through the scope, he had observed the battlefield situation and instantly
understood that the little girl in the strange dress and the Black Robe Elder
were the keys to the confrontation! Upon discovering that the team led by
Yuzawa Yu was targeting the little girl, he decisively set his sights on the
Black Robe Elder.
“All teams, listen to my orders. The target has been marked.”
He held his breath, his heartbeat dropping to its lowest. His finger rested
firmly on the trigger. The crosshairs of the scope were locked firmly onto the
Black Robe Elder’s head. At the same time, his special ability activated, and
he saw a red reticle appear on the Black Robe Elder within his field of vision.
This virtual reticle could also be shared with colleagues with whom he had
established a mental link.
It was through this ability, which had no significant practical use on its
own, that their sniper team had become the ace unit of the police force. Eagle
Eye didn’t say anything further. Years of working together had given him the
understanding that truly excellent snipers would find the same opportunities,
just as they had simultaneously fired at Andre before.
With this thought, Eagle Eye slowly held his breath, no longer thinking
about other things, but focusing on the enemy before him, watching the enemy’s
breathing to find the optimal moment.
Now!
*Bang!*
A slight shot, muffled by a silencer! A specially made sniper bullet,
engraved with anti-magic runes, tore through the air at several times the
speed of sound, silently heading towards the target!
The moment Eagle Eye pulled the trigger, he clearly saw through the scope
that the specially made anti-magic bullet had accurately hit the back of the
Black Robe Elder’s head!
“Hit!” Eagle Eye muttered inwardly, a cold hunter’s smile instinctively
curling on his lips. This type of bullet was specifically designed to target
energy shields and defenses. Even if it couldn’t kill in one shot, it would
definitely heavily wound the target and disrupt that annoying chanting.
However, the smile on his face lasted less than half a second before it
froze abruptly! He saw that the Black Robe Elder, who had been shot, indeed
let out a piercing scream and lunged forward, his bone flute flying from his
hand. But… before the falling figure touched the ground, it began to rapidly
wither and blur, finally dissipating into thin air like a punctured balloon,
turning into a wisp of smoke!
Illusion?! A substitute?!
A chill shot straight from the base of Eagle Eye’s spine to the top of his
head! He abruptly looked up, not because the target hadn’t died, but because—it
was too quiet! Apart from the sound of his silenced shot, the anticipated
ensemble of his teammates firing simultaneously did not occur! This was completely
abnormal! With the shared marker he provided, and given the skill and tacit
understanding of his elite teammates, even with a slight difference in timing,
not a single shot would have been fired!
The only explanation was…
Eagle Eye’s heart suddenly contracted. He could no longer hide. He violently
turned his head, attempting to locate his teammates through the observation
holes of their sniper positions or via communicator.
However, the moment he turned his head, a sinister laugh seemed to whisper
by his ear, almost freezing his blood!
“Hehehehehe… Are you looking for them?”
Eagle Eye stiffened, and with great difficulty, slowly turned his head
completely. He saw that behind his concealed sniper position, in the shadows,
the Black Robe Elder whom he thought he had killed with a single shot, stood
there completely unharmed! In his withered, skeletal hand, he casually held
several… no, they could no longer be called corpses, but several extremely
thin, twisted human skins, devoid of moisture and flesh, thin as paper! Faint
fragments of police combat uniforms still clung to those skins!
They were his teammates!
“You! How can you be here?! Damn it!” Eagle Eye instantly understood that
they had long been exposed! This bizarre old man, using some unknown method, had
fooled their reconnaissance, even creating an illusion to lure him into firing,
while his true body had silently crept up behind them, eliminating all his
teammates!
His survival instinct made his right hand flash towards the pistol at his
waist! But as his hand just touched the gun grip, a terrifying and irresistible
force of suction suddenly came from the direction of the Black Robe Elder!
*Gulp!*
Eagle Eye felt his body completely out of his control, as if being dragged
by an invisible rope. His feet left the ground, and he was pulled violently
towards the Black Robe Elder! The Black Robe Elder casually raised his withered,
skin-and-bones arm, forming a claw with his five fingers, and precisely seized
Eagle Eye’s entire head as he flew towards him!
*Gulp gulp gulp gulp—!!!*
Indescribable, immense pain instantly swept through Eagle Eye’s entire
body! He felt as if his soul was being forcibly torn from his body by an
immense force! He let out an unformed guttural sound, his eyes bulging, and
from his seven orifices, wisps of red energy gas, with a hint of life’s glow,
were forcibly drawn out, converging like a trickling stream into the Black Robe
Elder’s skeletal palm!
In just two to three seconds, Eagle Eye’s robust body visibly withered at
an alarming rate. His skin lost all its luster, tightly clinging to his bones,
eventually becoming like his teammates’, just a light, twisted human skin.
The Black Robe Elder acted as if he had done a trivial thing, casually
tossing this new human skin aside like trash, piling it with the remains of
his teammates. He cast a sinister gaze over the now silent sniper position,
letting out a satisfied guttural sound from his throat. His figure slowly
faded, disappearing as if merging into the shadows.
…
Several seconds later, she withdrew her hand. A trace of solemnity appeared
on her face beneath her hood, and she murmured, “The soul was forcibly
extracted and absorbed so thoroughly… not even a speck of residue was left.
Soul-based abilities, huh…”
She stood up, and a [Ghost Gate] unfolded before her once more. This time,
the portal opened parallel to the ground, like a deep abyss leading to another
dimension. She manipulated death energy, rolling the shriveled human skins into
the [Ghost Gate]. Although these materials had lost their souls, Kazumi, being
frugal, was never picky. She had come for this purpose this time.
After completing this, the [Ghost Gate] closed, and the surroundings returned
to silence. Kazumi stood in place, her gaze directed towards the intense energy
fluctuations and shouts of battle erupting in the distance. She lingered no
longer; a pale green light flickered around her, and her figure instantly
vanished from the spot, heading towards the most intense central area of the
battle.
