Book 9: Chapter 24: Chased

Qin Lun grinned without answering. Another Pentagram Crystal Mirror bloomed beneath his feet. With a crisp sound, he soared into the air, intending to vault directly over the heads of the three opponents.

Seeing this, flashes of anger flickered across the faces of the three opposing him. While it was true they lacked the ability to fly, Qin Lun casually leaping over them from above, his vulnerable points completely exposed, clearly meant he looked down on them.

“Get down here!” A brawny man behind the handsome youth took two swift strides forward. Raising both hands high, he bent over and slammed them fiercely onto the ground.

This burly man had coarse, strong features and stood nearly two meters tall. His powerful muscles strained the seams of his black suit. Glaring at Qin Lun in the air, a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.

Seeing their companion attack, the handsome youth and the other Apostle instantly and tacitly dispersed, forming a simple triangular formation.

“Thud!” Despite the forceful impact, the concrete ground only made a muffled sound. Then his palms sank into the pavement as if pressing into soft dough, disappearing without a whisper.

Qin Lun appeared to underestimate his foes, but the perception beam formed by his Clock Eye never lost track of the trio. He could “see” that with the burly man’s slam, a shockwave seemed to plunge deep into the earth below.

“Whoosh!” Just as Qin Lun reached the apex above the big man’s head, he suddenly felt an immense, unseen force yank down on him. It not only canceled the upward momentum from his Elemental Burst but also pulled him straight out of the air, plummeting him directly towards the center of the triangular formation.

“A gravity control area skill!” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow. Like flight skills, such abilities were rare; they were a core skill for MT-type Apostles.

After delivering this blow, exhaustion immediately washed over the big man’s face. A Novice Apostle had limited Stamina, and being a power-and-defense-focused MT, his Spirit wasn’t that high either.

However, his companions reacted quickly. The slender youth among them twisted his face into a snarl, then blurred and vanished, reappearing instantly behind Qin Lun as he fell. His curved, hook-shaped dagger angled ninety degrees from his wrist, stabbing towards Qin Lun’s spine like a woodpecker’s beak. The dagger’s tip glowed with a sinister green sheen, clearly coated in potent poison.

Yet the handsome youth didn’t join the attack. Instead, he flipped a hand and produced a silver rapier. His eyes sharp, he focused intently on Qin Lun’s form, poised to dash in and finish the job if needed.

The clock hands in Qin Lun’s right eye suddenly sped up. The Clock Eye accelerated its user’s thoughts and perception, creating a virtual temporal stasis.

Now, within Qin Lun’s spatial awareness, time flowed slower and slower. Whether it was the burly man finishing his slam and rising, or the poisonous assassin striking from behind, their movements crawled like snails.

Of course, the Clock Eye’s temporal freezing effect wasn’t tied to agility. Qin Lun’s own physical speed couldn’t match the accelerated perception either. He simply used the enhanced cognitive processing to formulate superior combat responses.

Nevertheless, Qin Lun was a Second-Order Apostle. Excluding gear bonuses, his 78 points in Agility were his highest single attribute. Recently promoted, it was even higher than most ordinary Second-Order Apostles.

But the assassin behind him wielded Teleportation and Backstab with seamless mastery; it seemed like a continuously accelerated combo skill. Qin Lun only barely managed to block the attack as he turned to defend.

Qin Lun’s left hand now held Demon’s Song, somehow sliding perfectly inside the ninety-degree angle between the assassin’s wrist and dagger. His right arm snaked around the assassin’s underarm, pinning his shoulder in a classic grappling hold, locking the dagger-wielding arm.

Simultaneously, with a flick of his wrist—Bang! Angel’s Praise spat flame. A white tracer round flashed, streaking towards the assassin’s temple. His relentlessly practiced Gun Fu once again showcased the lethality of close-quarters gunplay.

Yet, even at point-blank range, Qin Lun missed. The assassin before him shimmered and vanished, reappearing beside the burly man without a trace.

However, the assassin’s rapidly heaving chest and the hairs standing stiff on the back of his hand betrayed his inner turmoil.

Two consecutive Teleports seemingly taxed him. While such bodily martial skills didn’t consume much Stamina, they placed significant strain on the muscles. Compared to Stamina, which could be replenished with food at any time, this kind of bodily burden was harder to recover from.

Qin Lun’s eyes flickered. He didn’t press the attack immediately. He finally shifted his attention away from the Rolls-Royce ahead, turning fully to examine the three standing before him.

Despite only one brief exchange, he felt slight surprise. The two who had attacked worked in perfect synergy and possessed impressive abilities. The handsome youth who hadn’t attacked seemed like the leader and likely kept some skill in reserve. A combat group like this, even if they were only Novice Apostles, demanded his serious attention.

The burly man and the assassin exchanged a glance, immediately recognizing the gravity reflected in each other’s eyes. The combo of the big man’s Gravity Control and the assassin’s Teleport Ambush, simple as it seemed, was ruthlessly effective. It had always been their signature killer move; few fellow Apostles escaped unscathed.

Ordinary Apostles, caught off guard by Gravity Control, typically lost balance, becoming easy prey for the assassin’s sneak attack. Yet the foe they faced today almost effortlessly lifted their tried-and-true killing tactic. Moreover, his seamless counter—a grappling takedown integrated with gunfire—clearly stemmed from a unique Gun Fu technique.

Adding to that the crystal mirror magic shown during the chase, and the lack of visible physical impairment even under Gravity Control…

“A Second-Order Apostle…” Though they had sensed they’d hit a hard target when retreating from MI7, confronting such a strong enemy still felt slightly unreal.

“Wasn’t this a team mission in a Low Magic World? Why are there competitive team tasks?” The big man muttered low in annoyance, looking towards the handsome youth beside him, a trace of questioning in his eyes.

The handsome youth waved a hand, signaling for calm. He stared intently at Qin Lun, speaking cautiously, “Friend, killing each other in this world gains you nothing. Your target over there is Defense Secretary Brown Lewis. Kill him, and your quest should be complete. As for these British VIPs here… we are willing to pay a price to exchange for them. What do you say?”

Qin Lun narrowed his eyes almost into slits. He smiled shyly. With his right hand holding Angel’s Praise, he gestured lightly towards the Rolls-Royce behind the three men and asked plainly, “Tell me the truth. Who is in that car?”

A flicker of tension crossed the handsome youth’s face. His mind raced through instant calculations, but ultimately, he decided on honesty. They had all learned about the terrorist attack in Washington D.C. recently. If the Nazi, Hydra, could infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., they likely had high-level spies in Britain too. Lying and provoking a foe of this terrifying strength seemed far worse than telling the truth to show sincerity.

“The person we protect is Lady Integra, head of the British HELLSING Organization. I believe compared to Brown, the quest reward she yields must be much lower.”

“Hmm, hmm, okay!” Qin Lun scratched his head, smiling in apparent delight. “Since you’ve shown such sincerity, I should give you a good piece of intelligence in return.”

“You might not know yet… this world actually isn’t a team story mode anymore… it’s Kill Mode…” Qin Lun turned his head pointedly towards the big man, clearly having heard his earlier grumble.

“Kill Mode? Impossible!” The big man and assassin exchanged a glance, suspicion and disbelief warring in their expressions. “The Star Void doesn’t issue two different world mode prompts for the same world.”

“Heh, possible! Under the condition of an invasion by the Superstring Space… the Star Void can’t update the prompt information quickly!” Qin Lun gave them a meaningful look and continued, “Of course, under the present mode… there are still no drop rewards for killing other Apostles… but… if Reincarnators are mixed among you… that’s a different story…”

Qin Lun stretched his lips wide, revealing a gleaming row of white teeth. “Now I give you a chance to clear your names. Display your Main Quest on your Team Channel. If you can vouch for each other… then I…”

Qin Lun didn’t finish. Among the three men facing him, one suddenly erupted backwards. Twisting in mid-air, he leapt onto the roof of a low shop fronting the street and vanished inside the building.

“He is the one!” Qin Lun’s gaze sharpened, but he didn’t chase immediately. Instead, he looked up and shouted, “Lace!”

“Hmm!” A crisp voice called down from above Qin Lun’s head. A small, dark shadow breezed past, trailing after-images as it nimbly slipped into the cluster of buildings.

“He was a Reincarnator?!” The big man and the assassin facing Qin Lun looked momentarily stunned. The one who had just fled was their ‘leader,’ the handsome youth.

In truth, Qin Lun had already suspected earlier, but hadn’t been certain. The big man and assassin’s coordination earlier was too practiced, implying a long partnership. Their tactics were built around one-hit kills, not sustained pressure.

As the triangular formation held position, the handsome youth shouldn’t have idly waited earlier. He should have joined the assassin to flank Qin Lun and exert maximum pressure. Had he attacked simultaneously, Qin Lun’s defense would have been far tougher.

The handsome youth hadn’t attacked because he remained unsure of the enemy’s true power. If they failed to land a quick kill and the fight dragged on, his Reincarnator status could be exposed.

His apparent leadership position? Likely an act, secured by convincing strategies that impressed the other two— a hallmark of an elite Reincarnator. He had probably been using the big man and assassin as shields, staying hidden to land the finishing blow and steal the kill.

The strategy was cunning: present himself as the leader of the two Apostles to mask his true identity. However, his Main Plotline as a Reincarnator naturally differed from theirs— a distinction impossible to hide from Qin Lun, who understood the underlying system.

“Whatever. Helped rid you of that viper trailing close by. You’re welcome.” Qin Lun looked at the two still rooted in shock, unable to resist curling his lip. Compared to their earlier combat prowess, this reaction speed was truly pathetic. No wonder they had been used as mere cannon fodder.

“Now you have two choices. One: continue blocking my path to pursue Integra… and die right here. Or two… you go with my companion to chase down that viper. Make up the loss of your main mission objective by harvesting the bounty on hunting a Reincarnator. What will it be?”