Chapter 1542 - 974: Unexpected Order_2

Chapter 1542: Chapter 974: Unexpected Order_2

"What a waste of ti—"

Before he could finish, the five of them almost simultaneously froze.

In the datafied system interface built into their retinas, the icon representing the Night Watcher internal communication "Channel" began flashing violently, and a conspicuous mission directive popped straight into their field of vision:

[Emergency Directive – Night Patrol Command]

Squad Number: NM-07 (Shadowtrace Squad)

Immediately terminate all current non-emergency missions; all current non-emergency missions will be automatically handed over to other personnel.

The entire squad is to return at once to Ring Tower City South City Headquarters and report to Judgement Court Seventh Coordination Office — Demon Hunter Affairs Division.

A mission briefing will be delivered in person upon arrival.

Priority: High.

Teleportation permissions have been temporarily granted to the Squad Captain.

— End of Directive —

The directive came abrupt yet unmistakable.

After a brief silence, Sleepy yawned hugely and drawled, "See? I told you, the easy days..."

The good days were about to be over—at least, in his eyes, this counted as good days.

These teammates of his were all doom-mongers, complaining every day, and now look what happened.

"Ring Tower City!"

Nightingale’s eyes lit up instantly, cutting Sleepy off, her voice brimming with barely contained excitement and anticipation.

"A direct summons from Headquarters! High priority! Could it be... could it be they’re transferring us to the Tariel Continent?!"

It was a very reasonable guess.

Mainly because aside from being sent to the Tariel Continent, they truly couldn’t think of what other place they’d be transferred to.

If someone was throwing this kind of money at them, they were clearly eyeing their particular traits.

They were Demon Hunters; their specialty was hunting those damned Cultists and Demons.

Now there were only a handful of Demons left in the world, and the only place they were likely to appear was the Tariel Continent.

After all, that place had once been invaded by the Abyss and was still in utter chaos.

Sharp Claw also stopped complaining, licked his lips, and a faint feral gleam rekindled in his eyes. "Finally... something interesting?"

Even the ever-steady Rock raised his brows, his thick fingers rubbing along his gun’s frame, showing a hint of interest.

Only Shadowtrace’s gaze remained as calm as a deep pool beneath his mask. He coolly confirmed the directive and teleportation permissions, then spoke in a low voice.

"Directive confirmed. Finish collecting, clean up all traces immediately. Prepare for teleportation. Target: Ring Tower City, South City Headquarters Teleportation Plaza."

As he activated the permissions, a stable Teleportation Gate unfurled silently before the five of them, radiating a gentle blue halo.

This was the Night Watchers’ latest technology.

It had started being equipped a little over a month ago, and only among Night Watchers who had reached Level Ten.

And it could not be used universally.

The reason it was rolled out, of course, came from Kana’s Subordinate God, who was also the strongest combat force in the Night Watchers’ own world.

The God of Teleportation — Bobo.

She was called the god who governed Teleportation Gates.

Moreover, she had originally been a research-type Scholar, radiating her own Power and then linking it into the panel.

Thus this kind of teleportation capability came into being.

Among non-Legendary powerhouses, such convenient teleportation abilities were still rather rare.

This was also their first time using it.

So there was inevitably a bit of novelty.

An unknown new mission was waiting ahead for this "few stray kittens" Demon Hunter squad.

Nightingale’s guess was like a stone thrown into the lake of their hearts, stirring different ripples in each of them.

...

The glow of teleportation faded.

Familiar air, tinged with a bit of Alchemy dust and a faint energetic hum, rushed into their nostrils.

The five members of Shadowtrace Squad were standing at the edge of a secondary Teleportation Plaza somewhere in Ring Tower City.

"Hoo... finally back."

Nightingale took a deep breath; though the air was laced with the complex smells unique to a city, compared to that disgusting blend of rotten earth, Ratman stench, and lingering blasphemous mutterings in the Lebia underground Relic, this was practically heaven.

She ran a hand through her dark-purple hair, feeling that there was still tunnel dust clinging to it.

"Tsk, filthy as hell. Captain, before we report in, can we swing by ’Nightfeather Bakery’? I’m dying for Granny Evelyn’s ’Star Dew Berry Pie’, and those hot ’Moonlight Honey Bread’, that crispy crust..."

"Eat, eat, eat, all you think about is food!"

Sharp Claw rolled his shoulders; his bones still felt slightly swollen after reverting from dire-wolf form to human.

"We should go to ’Black Iron Armory’ first and see if they’ve got any new Claw Blade whetstones, that’s what matters! The last one’s almost worn flat."

He reminisced about the oil and Metal smell drifting from the corner of that Weapon shop. "But let’s still hurry up; we can check the mission first, prep later."

Rock steadily checked his "Demon Hunter II Type" firearm and chimed in.

"My tool kit needs a few more custom widgets; ’Gears & Wrench’ should still be open."

He was thinking of that hardware store packed with precision parts and strange tools.

Sleepy let out another huge yawn, his eyelids already drooping.

"I only want to find a hammock from ’Shadow Travel Agency’... bask under some artificial warm light... and nap..."

He was daydreaming about that shop selling comfy Magic bedding, where the soft hammocks could auto-adjust temperature.

Shadowtrace’s pair of ghostly green eyes swept over the familiar street outlines and the distant Ring Tower main structure soaring into the sky. His expression behind the Metal mask was unreadable, but his voice carried a faint, barely detectable relaxation.

"No rush. The directive says to report, not immediately. However..." He glanced at Sharp Claw.

Sure enough, Sharp Claw was already pacing impatiently, every now and then pulling out his somewhat worn Alchemy pocket watch to check.

"Yeah, no rush! But the sooner we report, the sooner we’re done! Who knows what sudden whims those Judgement Court geezers will have? If we waste time and miss out on a new mission, then what?"

He rubbed his fingers agitatedly, clearly full of curiosity and anxiety about this sudden recall.

Just then, a fist-sized Alchemy Sphere, glowing with soft blue light, glided silently to a stop before them.

The runes in its core flickered once, and it spoke in a pleasant mechanical female voice: "Deep contamination detected. Executing standard Purification protocol. Please do not move."

Before they could react, a gentle white mist sprayed from the bottom of the sphere, instantly enveloping the five of them.

The mist carried a faint fresh scent and quickly neutralized and stripped away the underground filth, blood reek, and that faint trace of profane aura lingering on their clothes, skin, and even hair.

A few seconds later, the mist dispersed, and the five felt as if they’d just taken a refreshing hot shower, even their Spirit felt invigorated.

"Purification complete. Welcome back to Ring Tower City, Warriors."

The Alchemy Sphere chimed, spun nimbly once in the air, and flew off toward its next target.

"Thanks, little guy."

Rock, rarely, offered a word of thanks to the receding sphere, straightening his now-fresh collar.

With that attention-grabbing stink gone, the five of them felt much more at ease.

They left the Teleportation Plaza and merged into the busy yet orderly flow of people in Ring Tower City.

Though Sharp Claw kept muttering "Hurry up, hurry up" under his breath, the others tacitly slowed their pace.

After all, they were already in Ring Tower City, and the Judgement Court Headquarters was just up ahead. This rare, brief walk back into everyday life was worth savoring.

They walked along familiar streets, watching the diverse storefronts on either side, the hurried pedestrians, and the transport Mechanical Bodies occasionally gliding by at low altitude. A long-missed sense of "home" slowly seeped into nerves that had only just crawled out of the dark underground.

Nightingale inhaled greedily, trying to pick out among the many aromas from various restaurants that unique sweetness belonging to "Nightfeather Bakery."

Sharp Claw’s gaze was involuntarily drawn again and again to Weapon and armor shops.

Sleepy walked almost with his eyes closed, basking in the warm, gentle light falling from the artificial sky dome.

Rock kept an eye on the display windows of the tool shops along the way.

Shadowtrace walked in silence, his ghostly green eyes sweeping the surroundings, as if gauging the subtle changes in the city since he’d been away, yet also as if simply enjoying this rare moment of peace.