Chapter 342 - 17: Conflict 2

Chapter 342: Chapter 17: Conflict 2

"What happened in the city? Why would they need to do something so extreme?"

Li Hua’s actions caused a commotion among the crowd. Some people got in their cars and headed back, while others became even more determined to stay put. Several residents even secretly pulled out their communicators, typed out messages, and sent them off.

Inside Black Salt City, the Eye of the Celestial God was ready to depart when they received a message from their scout at the GS8-F4 intersection.

So, they found several construction vehicles, boarded them, and set off in a formidable convoy.

...

"The GS8-F4 intersection is just ahead. Everyone, stay hidden. We’ll approach quietly and make this quick."

Near the GS8-F4 intersection, a Hovercar came to a stop in the distance. A five-person Extraordinary Squad emerged—the Thunder Squad.

The Thunder Squad was known for its precision strikes and rapid mission completion. They were a well-known local Extraordinary Squad on Cuiwei Star, currently serving the Hass Clan as Honored Guest Elders.

"What rotten luck. We just finished a mission, and now the Hass Clan has roped us into assaulting the Corps’ defensive line. Can’t these nobles just live their lives in peace? Helping them with minor troubles is one thing, but why attack the Corps?"

The squad members were reluctant to take on this mission.

"We take their money, we solve their problems. Since we’re in this line of work, we have to be professional. When the fighting starts, everyone stay hidden. Don’t let anyone see your faces. As long as no one sees our faces, we can deny everything. The worst they can do is haul us in for questioning," Captain Lei Zhou said reassuringly.

"Boss, do you have any idea what the Hass Clan is up to? They’re being so secretive. Something about their manor... it gave me a really bad feeling."

Squad member Wang Wei asked the captain as he stepped out of the vehicle. As the team’s scout, he had a remarkably sharp sixth sense.

When he entered Hass Manor after finishing a mission that morning, he’d sensed that the estate was permeated by something unsettling, but he hadn’t been able to pinpoint what.

Just then, the butler had found them and invoked their mandatory mission quota for the year, ordering them to clear the intersection.

So he had dragged his captain, who’d wanted to stock up on Spirit Crystals, and they had left immediately. Trusting his intuition, the others hadn’t complained and had all followed him out.

"How should I know? In any case, since your intuition was blaring warnings, leaving was the right call."

"This is our last mandatory mission for the year. Once we’re done, we’re heading back to the Cuiwei Corps’ Extraordinary Team garrison. We need to get away from that hornet’s nest."

"Alright, enough talk. We’re almost there. Quiet, everyone!!!"

With that, Lei Zhou put an end to the conversation.

Ahead of the squad, the road seemed to come to a dead end. A massive forest now stood where the open highway should have been.

The squad members knew at once this had to be the work of the Extraordinary Being guarding the intersection. It was a clever method, completely cutting off the highway. Even if they could force their way through, clearing a path would take a significant amount of time.

"What a pain. We’ll have to chop down trees after the fight! But that’s a job for the Eye of the Celestial God. We just need to take out the Extraordinary Being guarding this intersection."

"Cloak!"

Lei Zhou gave the order.

The five-person squad was encased in their gear from head to toe, not a single patch of skin exposed to the open air.

At their captain’s command, they each tapped a button on their forearms. With a ripple of distorted light, the five figures vanished.

...

"RUSTLE... RUSTLE..."

The soft sound of footsteps echoed from within the forest. Over the squad channel, Xu Qi whispered, "The ground here is so hard, it’s digging into my feet. This is really uncomfortable to walk on!"

In the forest Lin Yu had conjured, the ground was paved with a layer of Steel Earth Spikes, designed to harm any creature that passed over them.

The squad’s boots were made of high-grade materials, so while the Steel Earth Spikes didn’t penetrate them, the pressure from the sharp points still made the team members extremely uncomfortable as they walked.

Furthermore, the squad members failed to notice that with every step, the durability of their boots was steadily decreasing. Hairline cracks were already beginning to form in some places, a clear sign of damage.

"Keep the chatter off the squad channel. From now on, combat-related communications only."

Lei Zhou cut off his squadmate’s discussion about the ground. He, too, felt that something wasn’t right, however, so he bent down to carefully inspect the ground and his boots.

"CLINK."

A soft clink sounded as Lei Zhou’s tactical dagger struck the ground.

The forest floor was far sharper and harder than he had anticipated. No wonder they could feel the points even through their high-grade, 100,000-credit combat boots.

Had they been wearing ordinary shoes, they would have noticed something was wrong with the ground the moment they entered the forest.

"Fall back. Something’s wrong with this ground, it might be a trap. We’ll find another way in."

Lei Zhou made the cautious decision.

"Boss, something’s wrong! I’m sensing a lot of hostility!"

But it seemed his decision came a moment too late. Wang Wei’s warning came crackling over the squad channel.

The moment Lei Zhou’s dagger had touched the Steel Earth Spike, Lin Yu had detected the squad in his forest. With a single thought, all the cacti in the woods snapped into a combat stance, glaring menacingly at the spot that was empty save for the briefly-revealed dagger.

"FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!"

A continuous volley of sounds tore through the air. Lei Zhou’s ears twitched, and he instantly roared, "Shields up!"

The squad members reacted instantly. A Spiritual Shield flared to life around each of them, their forms suddenly outlined in the air. An instant later, a dense volley of cactus spines pelted against the shields.