Chapter 1451: Efficient... Hunt

Chapter 1451: Chapter 1414: Efficient… Hunt

The kitten was wearing the same bone-white armor that had been forged with [Smaug] last time.

It ran on all fours, jingling and clanging.

Leading the way towards Luoxia Palace, the Redanian soldiers, who were about to leave Sandy Island, only saw a flash of bone-white, interwoven with white, black, and yellow, and the kitten dashed directly up!

“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”

Rong Buqiu made several consecutive jumps on the steep steps, sometimes stepping on the shoulders and helmets of the Redanian soldiers blocking the stairs.

But those who were stepped on only felt as though the weight of a mere cat had borrowed their strength as it passed.

Rong Buqiu’s [Light Body Skill] was practiced even better than Lann’s.

With a final pounce like a little tiger, the armor on Rong Buqiu and Lann, both bone-white, clashed, but neither of them minded.

The Three-Floral Kitten was already clinging to Lann’s shoulder.

Dikoschek had just managed to grasp what was happening, his mind still processing the information.

But Rong Buqiu was already urgently speaking!

“Boss, you were right, meow! Someone is trying to storm the island from the sea outside!”

“Their aggressive demeanor is unmistakable! The Qilin is about to use lightning to destroy their ship, meow! But…”

The Elu Cat was hurriedly trying to report the situation to Lann, explaining the circumstances.

Dikoschek blinked his eyes, thinking to himself, is this the Cat People mentioned in the intelligence reports?

That agile maneuver earlier—if they were serious in a fight, such speed and agility were no joke.

And this ‘Qilin’?

Can summon lightning… Is this the name of a [Druid Heaven Controller]?

Another figure connected to the [Hunting Marquis] by his side and yet unknown to them.

The head of espionage was now, almost instinctively, categorizing and organizing this information in his mind without showing any reactions.

But suddenly, a large shadow loomed, layering atop the dawn twilight already darkened by the Qilin’s thunder-summoning clouds!

Rong Buqiu hadn’t finished speaking yet, but Lann had already seen it.

A great ship rose directly from beneath the sea off Sandy Island!

This ship was enveloped by a glowing, magical translucent sphere of protection, with sea water still hanging on it, crackling with sparks!

In the stunned faces of Dikoschek and the Redanian soldiers, a merchant ship about the size of the Swenlin they had sailed on crashed into the area near the Gastang Palace Tower under some sort of control!

A thunderous crash and flying debris!

Even though they had descended to the mid-level of Sandy Island, the collapsing and falling rocks still scared the civilians witless!

The soldiers instinctively lifted the few available shields over their heads.

They were on a secret capture mission and naturally hadn’t brought much in the way of equipment like shields suitable for direct confrontation.

Rocks clattered and banged down from the quaking rock island, and even those with shields were so battered they could only instinctively shout and scream to release their fear.

And those without shields could only curl up instinctively or find a sheltered place to hide.

Fist-sized stones rolled from the mountain, pounding into the thick greaves with a ‘pang’ that left deep dents.

And it fractured the shin bones of the soldiers beneath the greaves.

The anguished wails and cries spread instantly throughout Sandy Island!

All the extravagance and revelry, the atmosphere of hospitality created for the Wizard Summit’s welcome banquet since the previous night, vanished like dew under sunlight at that moment.

It remained a huge rocky seashore, one of the two great academies of the mages.

But at that instant, the scent of iron and fire mixed with blood spread uncontrollably!

Unlike the cries and screams, battle cries and war shouts erupted from where the ship collided with Sandy Island.

“Dh’ oine!”

From the cold sea breeze came intermittent ancient language words, meaning ‘human’.

And it was not hard to understand the identity of the one who shouted those words.

“Squirrel Faction!” Dikoschek’s face, full of horizontal flesh, darkened, “Francisca! That elven bitch!”

He actually didn’t understand ancient language, but just hearing this one word was enough.

And having just used [Alder’s Rune] to blow away many falling fragments, Lann put down his left hand, which was making a hand sign.

In a very short time, he first looked meaningfully at the already burning, molten stones of the ‘candle-like’ high tower.

The change in his gaze completed in an instant.

When Rong Buqiu, flying out with a [Thunder Cat Sword] to block many stones for others, landed back on the shoulder, Lann’s eyes had settled completely.

“I knew it,” the young Demon Hunter murmured with a slight hint of helplessness, “always talking about a [Magic Array], only to set up a flag.”

“My lord! Duke!” Dikoschek was now in a sorry state, his mouth that had just been drinking water speckled with limestone from shattered stones.

Although the falling rocks had temporarily ceased, he instinctively arched his large, sturdy body and ran to Lann’s side, speaking with a hateful voice.

“There must be renegade sorcerers among the warlocks still uncaught! Now the Squirrel Faction has been ushered in! That ship is almost as big as ours, and with a bit of squeezing, it can hold at least two hundred Squirrel people!”

His face was serious, as if he immediately realized the problem with that large ship.

“The Squirrel Faction being sent in now can only be to cause maximum carnage! Carnage to the Northern warlocks! They specialize in causing damage once dispersed!”

The Squirrel Faction, these guerrilla-style non-human races, one of their major characteristics is… killing upon sight, and the wider the involvement, the better.

Just as Iophis once laid bare his thoughts to Lann.

The majority of the non-human races have actually realized that their own kind is on a downhill path to destruction.

Their current actions are more of a self-destructive act to find more people to drag down in revenge rather than rebellion.

If these people had a vial of poison, they wouldn’t pour it into a household’s water tank but into the village’s well.

Killing more people would be the only way not to waste the poison.

Lann doesn’t engage in racial criticism or discrimination, because extremists from any race are just such scum; there’s no difference.

But it cannot be denied that: excluding those who cooperate with Lann like Iophis, the Squirrel Faction’s general recruitment target in regular times is often the most extreme among the non-human races.

So, Dikoschek is not wrong. Once the Squirrel Faction lands on Sandy Island, their intent and style, as well as subsequent actions, are predictable.

But Lann glanced at Dikoschek and the still-frightened, peeking Redanian soldiers.

“No, you still have to leave Airetusa.”

“What?” Dikoschek exclaimed anxiously, “Sir! Lann!”

He changed his form of address twice to stress his urgency.

Finally, he suppressed his own fear and anxiety and forced a bargaining tone.

“I know, with your skills, two hundred Squirrel members are not enough to challenge you!”

“But this is not an open, unobstructed battlefield, facing direct confrontation!”

“The Squirrel Faction won’t gather for a direct confrontation! They intend to scatter and kill more people! Kill more warlocks!”

“You’re ultimately just one person! You can’t cover both sides! Let us clear the Squirrel Faction together!”

“On the mages’ side, reach this point, Lady Tishaya and Gehart of Elle, even if stubborn or unwilling, should have started acting! What wizard in this world can withstand them both?”

Dikoschek used his analysis and logic to persuade Lann, genuinely sincere at this moment.

Niflgaard, because of the battle on Sodden Mountain two years ago, fears the Northern Great Mages. The Northern people aren’t foolish. They cherish this rare advantage against the Southern Empire.

Despite the noted mages at the Wizard Summit from the North, most of the mage group are hedonists, researchers, opportunists trying to become politicians.

How many truly know how to fight?

Mages hold immense destructive power, but in real combat, those without experience or focus, being taken down by an arrow at the first moment, is not unheard of.

The Squirrel Faction specializes in such ambush, surprise attack tactics.

Besides, Dikoschek had heard from Philippa Eilhart that because of the truly highest tower on Sandy Island—Tor Laura.

The chaotic and unordered portals will distort teleportation magic across the entire area, even daring not to open a teleport for fear of it being akin to suicide.

To escape the influence range, they must at least get as far as Luoxia Palace!

Continuing like this, in a while, the mages on Sandy Island won’t know how many will die!

However, the situation abruptly shifted from ‘matters mostly solved, with details remaining’ to ‘anti-magic array failed and someone dropping a merchant ship’s worth of Squirrel people!’, reaching this intense escalation.

Yet Lann did not adopt Dikoschek’s suggestion, sending the Redanian soldiers back to Airetusa to counter the scattered, chaos-inducing, and murderous Squirrel Faction.

“Go, Dikoschek.”

He simply said, watching as the spy chief patted the head of a small cat person on his shoulder, then rubbed a certain ring on his hand.

“For your sake, now, take them and leave.”

So, with a vague premonition, the spy chief said no more, only looked worriedly at the top of this rocky island, then carefully retreated, leading his still-terrified soldiers away.

And as Dikoschek led people away, around the same time, the clamorous shouts of battle and screams began ringing out in splendid Airetusa.

Two almost identical sounds, both gloomy and distant, like bell chimes in rain-soaked fog, echoed in Airetusa.

A faint green light, strangely appearing in this twilight dawn.

A not particularly tall figure, clad in earth-tone leather, triangle hat, one hand grasping a carving knife, the other a hunter’s firearm, was the first to appear, stretching his shoulders.

Following closely was an old hunter in a raven mask, adorned with a bird-feather cloak.

“You’re certainly busy,” Henrik muttered from under his mask. “So quickly into trouble again.”

“But the scenery here is nice,” the Crow Hunter Erin turned towards the sea. “Is this dawn? Or dusk? I really never tire of the sunlight.”

Lann shook his head, “Now isn’t the time to chat, Henrik, Erin. I need to conduct an efficient hunt.”

“Efficient… hunt?”

The two old hunters from Yan’an tilted their heads towards each other, then nonchalantly nodded.