Chapter 1544 - 975: The Demon Hunters at This Moment (Part 2)

Chapter 1544: Chapter 975: The Demon Hunters at This Moment (Part 2)

Viper and the "Iron Jaw" behind her—a burly man built like a small hill, his skin gleaming with a metallic sheen—exchanged a glance, each catching a trace of understanding and a faint, subtle emotion in the other’s eyes.

Iron Jaw split his mouth in a wide grin, revealing a smile framed by metal braces on his teeth. "Sounds suffocating enough. But..." His tone shifted, his gaze turning deep, "for the Judgement Court to drag all of us in from every corner and pile us together like this, I’m afraid this is far from just ’boring’."

Just then.

The heavy doors of the Administration Division slid open without a sound, and a young man in a Judgement Court assistant’s uniform, his expression severe, appeared at the entrance. His eyes swept precisely over the people gathered outside, including the just-arrived Demon Slayers squad.

"NM-07 Shadowtrace Squad, NM-03 Bloodstain Squad, NM-05 Ghost Claw Squad, NM-09 Sentinel Squad, and... the Soul Guardian sequence ’Demon Slayers’ Squad."

The assistant’s voice was clear and formulaic: "Please follow me at once. The meeting is about to begin."

The crowd fell silent immediately; the casual chatter evaporated in an instant, replaced by a professional solemnity.

Without need for more words, the squads, under the assistant’s guidance, moved into the Judgement Court headquarters, silent and swift.

They passed through familiar corridors lit by soft Alchemy lamps, the air filled with the mingled scents of documents, parchment, and a certain Purification incense.

The assistant did not lead them to the familiar briefing rooms, but instead walked toward a deeper passage seldom visited.

Eventually, they stopped before a massive alloy gate, several times thicker than an ordinary conference room door, its surface engraved with complex protective sigils.

The gate slid open to both sides without a sound, revealing the scene within.

What met their eyes was not the small tactical room they had imagined, but an extremely spacious strategic conference hall with a soaring dome.

On the cold Metal walls, a gigantic Holographic Tactical Star Map floated, a complex model of the Abyssal layers slowly rotating at the center.

The long conference table was forged from some kind of dark Crystal Stone, large enough to seat the members of a dozen squads.

At this moment, there were already many figures seated around the table.

The eyes of Shadowtrace, Viper, and all the Demon Hunters were instantly locked onto the figures at the main seat and along both sides.

An invisible pressure clenched their hearts at once.

On the main seat sat the former Tower Master of Yongyuan Village, now a high-ranking Legendary Powerhouse of the Night Watchers—Steward Curse Blade.

His signature Demon wings were not retracted, merely folded quietly behind his back, and a pitch-black Giant Sword leaned at an angle beside his chair.

The blade seemed to drink in the light, radiating an oppressive aura that made one’s heart throb.

His sharp, chiseled face was devoid of expression, his eyes like a frigid pond in the Abyss, calmly watching the people file in.

On his left sat Anstek the Stargazer.

This Prophet of Yongyuan Village had a conspicuous third eye, tightly shut, in the center of his forehead. Even closed, it seemed capable of seeing through human hearts.

He was unconsciously tapping a finger on the tabletop, as though deducing something, a mysterious and tranquil aura surrounding him.

What was even more shocking was that there were several other figures by the table whose presence was equally unfathomable.

Judging from their attire and insignia, each and every one of them belonged to the Night Watchers’ core circle of Legendary Level figures.

When they swept their gaze around the room, Shadowtrace and the others sucked in a sharp breath.

Not only were the highest ranks present, but seated below were several squad Captains of Demon Hunters they knew, as well as two other Elite squads from the Soul Guardian sequence.

Adding in the squads that had just entered...

This was practically every Demon Hunter within the Night Watcher system who still existed and retained combat capability, whether Ordinary squads or Soul Guardian Elites, all gathered here.

The air seemed to solidify.

A heavy pressure suffused the conference room like something tangible.

The complaints and expectations on the faces of the Shadowtrace squad were long gone, replaced only by grave solemnity and a faint, disbelieving shock.

Viper and Iron Jaw also put away their earlier ease; their gazes became razor-sharp and utterly focused.

They exchanged another look, seeing the same message in each other’s eyes.

The problem was a hundred times more serious than anything any of them had imagined.

To make such a grand mobilization, gathering this "sharp blade" specially forged for slaying Demons and abominations in its entirety here, the target they were pointing at... there was likely only one place worthy of such "honor."

The Abyss front, the Blood Battle Battlefield.

The heavy alloy gates closed behind them without a sound, cutting off the distinctive solemn echoes of the Judgement Court headquarters.

In the wide strategic conference hall, Alchemy light globes cast a cold, bright radiance; the air was tinged with the faint sweetness of Purification incense, interweaving with the dim blue glow of the Holographic Tactical Star Map and Abyss model.

Shadowtrace Squad, Bloodstain Squad, Ghost Claw Squad, Sentinel Squad, and the Demon Slayers Squad—these descendants of Yongyuan Village’s Demon Hunters—quickly took their seats under the assistant’s guidance.

The seats around the long Crystal Stone conference table were filled in an instant; a dozen squads, dozens of battle-hardened Demon Hunters, all sat in utter silence, their gazes uniformly fixed on the main seat.

Steward Curse Blade sat straight at the head, the Demon wings behind him slightly folded, the pitch-black Giant Sword "Curse Blade" leaning at his side, its body seeming to devour the light.

On his sharply chiseled face, a rare hint of gentleness appeared.

His molten-lava gaze slowly swept across each face present—Sharp Claw’s feral wildness, Nightingale’s keen edge, Rock’s steadiness, Sleepyhead’s languid sloth, Viper’s bite, Iron Jaw’s resolve, and many more familiar or half-familiar faces.

Most of these faces bore the brand of Yongyuan Village blood.

In the rough lines of these children, you could faintly see the shadows of their fathers’ generation.

In a corner, a silent huntress had a touch of Limoanna Flower’s allure in her brows and eyes.

There was even a young squad member whose third eye had not yet manifested, yet faintly exuded the bloodline traits of Anstek the Stargazer’s mystery.

Steward spoke slowly, his voice low and deep, carrying the long-unheard warmth of an elder, breaking the oppressive silence of the room.

"Look at you..."

He dipped his head slightly, an unconcealed satisfaction and delight in his eyes.

"You all carry the blood of Yongyuan Village. Once, we curled up on that cursed land, struggling in agony under the torment of the Demon Bloodline.

"Terkel passed messages of despair from within the Shadows, Videl’s arms ran wild in bestial transformation, children like Isabella could fall into the Abyss at any moment... We were like moles underground, praying for the slightest thread of life in filth."

He paused, his fingertips lightly tapping the Crystal Stone tabletop, producing a crisp echo, as if knocking on past memories.

"But now? You stand here, at the heart of the Night Watchers—Ring Tower City.

"No longer half-Demons barely clinging to life, but Demon Hunters who make evil abominations tremble and Demons cower! Level Ten is the threshold, and Legendary is no longer just a Legend.

"This Power, this glory, was something we dared not even dream of back in the crumbling towers of Yongyuan Village."

Steward’s tone carried the pride unique to an elder, his voice echoing through the silent conference hall.

"With the Weapons in your hands, with the skills tempered by searing hatred, you have purified the filth of the Main World, making the Evil God’s Shadow no longer dare to easily descend.

"The seeds of Yongyuan Village did not rot in the dark; instead, they have grown in the soil of Order into blades that rend Chaos. As someone who watched your fathers, even your grandfathers, struggle in the mire, I... am very gratified."

This small exchange of pleasantries flowed like a warm current, dispersing the chill pressure in the conference hall just a little.

Nightingale straightened her back; the wild light in Sharp Claw’s eyes softened somewhat, and even Viper’s tightly pressed lips relaxed a fraction.

Rock silently stroked his gun stock, while Sleepyhead, for once, opened his eyes wide and did not yawn.

Everyone felt that recognition rising from deep within their blood.

However, Steward’s expression abruptly hardened.

His molten-lava gaze sharpened in an instant like a blade; the warmth vanished, replaced by an elder’s stern authority.

"Next comes what you want to know."