Book 9: Chapter 33: The Target

A moment later, Monica gently pushed Qin Lun away, brushed the hair by her ear, and gave the young man a half-scolding look. “We are on a battlefield. Let’s focus on the main task. Have you found the target?”

“Yes, I found them long ago!” Qin Lun smiled and pointed at a distant alley. “Look over there!”

Two groups were fighting where Qin Lun pointed. One side had two people, and the other had five. Based on how they kept eating food and using potions during the fight, they all seemed to be Apostles and Reincarnators.

Strangely, the side with fewer people was winning. The two were almost completely overpowering the other five, and it was only a matter of time before they won.

“Oh? Interesting. Is this an internal conflict?” The Queen of Sandstorm frowned for a moment, then covered her mouth and chuckled. “Those two seem pretty good!”

“Yes, they are strong!” Qin Lun watched the fight, his eyes gleaming. If he weren’t with the Queen of Sandstorm, even he wouldn’t dare act rashly. It wasn’t that there was no hope of winning, but it would take too much time.

The two Madame Monica referred to were a man and a woman. The woman was tall with brown ear-length short hair, dressed in black leather and high heels, looking like a modern lady from a fashion magazine cover. The man was of average height, with a cold face, a large gold ring in his right ear, and a black cloth covering his eyes, though it didn’t seem like he had an eye injury.

The blindfolded man held two curved blades. The blades were emerald green and translucent, like long daggers made of jade or strange sickles.

During the fight, he often combined the handles of the two curved blades to form a crescent-shaped blade nearly a meter long. It would spin and fly out, leaving deadly green trails in the air. Each attack from the spinning blade let out a sharp whistling sound and seemed quite powerful.

Even though his eyes were covered, the blindfolded man’s Perception seemed very high. The chaotic explosions around didn’t affect his attacks.

Just as Qin Lun pointed at the fight, the spinning crescent blade cleanly sliced through a stainless steel street lamp as thick as a bowl. The cut was smooth and even, making both of them flinch.

The beautiful, fashionable lady, however, acted even more fiercely. She carried what looked like an oxygen tank on her back, like one used by a diver, with a metal tube at the opening seemingly connected to her leather outfit.

When first seen, the lady didn’t have any weapons in her hands. But when she attacked, various weapons would mysteriously appear. There were samurai swords, metal shields, long-handled hammers, and even a flamethrower. This made it clear what the oxygen tank on her back was for.

Monica and Qin Lun watched carefully for a while and realized that these weapons were transformed from parts of the lady’s body. It seemed she had a metal transformation ability, and the quality of the weapons she created was quite good.

In the battle, attacks from the opposing five—whether firearms or cold weapons—were almost all blocked by the metal shield the lady transformed, causing no harm to either of them.

The other five didn’t perform as well. One of the women among them was seriously injured, being held by a young man hiding at the back of the group. Only the other three were struggling to hold on.

…

“Leader, what should we do?” One of the three fighting in front, a thin man with long hair, glanced at the couple behind them and looked anxiously at the burly man beside him who was like a iron tower.

“Yeah, Leader, with those two we can’t escape. Hugo’s group hasn’t arrived yet; they must be held up by other Reincarnators. If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to either!” Another boy with a thin face and peach fuzz on his lips also looked nervously at their Leader.

“Iron Leader, we made a contract. If you leave now, you won’t get the item!” The young man holding the woman behind them was sweating profusely, pleading desperately. “Please wait a little longer. There are more Apostles here than Reincarnators. Even if your planned helpers don’t arrive, someone else might pass by.”

“Nonsense! No item is more important than our lives!” The long-haired man glared at the young man, and in his distraction, he almost got his head cut off by a curved blade. Although he barely dodged it, a cut was left on his cheek, scaring him into silence and making him focus on the fight.

The man called Iron Leader had a bare, bronze chest, showing a tough guy demeanor. But now his face was gloomy, and as he fought, his eyes shifted, clearly weighing the pros and cons.

Actually, the five of them weren’t from the same team. The three were one group, while the couple behind them were temporary Apostle members who had joined them.

Upon receiving the Reincarnator information, Tietuo’s team was initially overjoyed. Because they were a fixed trio with smooth coordination, they had high hopes of shining in this Death Hunting Mission.

Most importantly, their team happened to have a temporary member at that time—the fashionable modern lady.

When they entered this world, the three were already puzzled by the modern lady’s appearance, as Star Void rarely assigned a temporary member to a fixed team like theirs.

After being notified by a friendly team, the three finally understood and immediately confirmed the modern lady’s identity as a Reincarnator. However, instead of verifying further, they seized an opportunity to attack directly.

But the lady was very alert, and the strong defense of her metal transformation ability surprised the three. Their initial attack failed, and they gradually found themselves at a disadvantage, fighting intermittently and chasing through several streets.

It was at this time that the four in the fight encountered the blindfolded man and the Apostle couple. However, similar to their situation, the Apostle couple, despite having more people, were no match for the blindfolded Reincarnator. Moreover, the wife in the couple was seriously injured, becoming a complete burden.

Among unfamiliar Apostles, there was no sense of loyalty to speak of. Tietuo’s three didn’t want to get involved, but the husband of the Apostle couple was good at reading expressions and didn’t want to let go of what might be their only saviors—Tietuo’s team.

He timely showed Tietuo an extremely precious item and offered it as a reward, asking Tietuo’s three to help them fight off the two Reincarnators.

Recalling that he had already called for another friendly team before the fight started, Tietuo reluctantly agreed and signed a contract.

However, the battle didn’t go as they had imagined. The blindfolded man’s frontal combat power wasn’t stronger than the modern lady’s, but his terrifying Perception indirectly boosted his companion’s combat effectiveness. The combination of these two Reincarnators showed an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

If not for their caution against the Apostles’ final life-risking counterattack, the fight would have ended long ago. But even with their caution, the two Reincarnators slowly tested the limits and most of the trump cards of Tietuo’s three. The battle was nearing its end.

“If we didn’t escape at the beginning, it’s too late now. The other side still has a lot in reserve!” Tietuo’s eyes flashed sharply, and he said through clenched teeth, “Without injuring one of them, even if we split up and run, at least one of us three will die. Who do you hope it will be?”

The long-haired man and the thin-faced boy shuddered, exchanged glances, and showed determination in their eyes. In their memory, Tietuo, who came from a military background, might not be the strongest Leader, but he rarely made mistakes in judging situations.

Having come this far together, they naturally didn’t want to leave anyone behind. They knew they weren’t the best Professional Apostles; joining a large team would only make them cannon fodder. Finding dependable companions who would live and die together wasn’t easy. Without the other two, how long could one survive alone?

“Leader, I’m sorry for dragging you two into this!” The thin-faced boy gave a bitter smile. The item the young couple had shown was exactly what he needed.

“Hah, Monkey, don’t talk nonsense. Having lived this long in Star Void, I’ve already had my fill!” The long-haired man licked his dry lips and forced a smile. “How about this: we two stay and let the Leader go. Among us three, only he meets the strength standards of a large team.”

“Hehe, thinking of escaping? Did you ask us?” Even though the three were only talking in the Team Channel, their meaningful glances didn’t escape the notice of the two Reincarnators.

The pretty lady gave a charming smile, let out a sharp cry, and leaped into the air. Her long legs joined together and suddenly transformed into a huge metal drill. With a twist of her waist, the spiral drill let out a loud roar as it headed straight for the three opposite.

“Alice!” Just as his companion unleashed her big move, the blindfolded young man suddenly twitched his ears and shouted sternly.

The huge metal drill in the air abruptly stopped. Two thin steel cables shot out from its sides, deeply embedding into the walls on either side of the street, forcibly halting the attack. After the modern lady reappeared, she gracefully leaped and landed beside the blindfolded young man.

Being able to advance and retreat so effortlessly with such a powerful attack showed that the lady hadn’t pushed Tietuo’s three to this point by luck alone.

“Uka, what happened?” The lady looked at her companion in confusion.

“Who’s there? Show yourselves!” The blindfolded young man called Uka ignored her, instead turning to look at a dark alley to the left.

As Uka shouted, the space in front of them wavered almost imperceptibly, as if an invisible wall of air rushed into the alley.

A point of blood-red light suddenly appeared in the dark alley. The red light, like a dancing firefly, swiftly drew several elegantly curved blood-red lines in the air.

“Crack!” As the blood lines moved, the space before the Apostles and Reincarnators seemed to shatter like glass, breaking into several fragments. The fragments appeared to be highly compressed air, dissipating quickly after shattering.

“An air barrier… psychokinesis?” A calm voice came from the alley. “Not bad.”

“Clap, clap!” With the sound of gentle applause, a dark figure strolled out from the alley.

“Trying to act mysterious!” Alice’s eyes turned cold. She lightly tapped the tip of her high heels, leaped up, and charged toward the dark figure.