Mist shrouded the area, visibility was very low.
Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes glanced sideways, looking at the members of this "do-or-die task force."
Apart from himself, there were Guo Shi and three other aspiring Martial Artists.
There were also three formal Martial Artists, one named Heavy Artillery Gunner Lei Hong, another Bai He Xue Dao Ren, and the last called Flying Dragon Sword Zhan Quan.
These three formal Martial Artists showed no arrogance; instead, two of them were despondent, clearly having already pushed their Qi-Blood to the limit as members of Blade Team, much like an ordinary person who had just run ten thousand meters being asked to run again—it was enough to make them piss blood!
The last one, Flying Dragon Sword Zhan Quan, who knows where they scooped him up from, had cold eyes and cradled an Ironwood Sword in his arms.
Regular wood wasn’t of much use in the Spirit Realm, but his sword, obviously an heirloom, must have been forged from some special material. Comparable to steel, it was recognized in the Spirit Realm and undoubtedly possessed extraordinary lethality.
At this moment, the eight of them were lurking atop a residential building’s rooftop, overlooking a garden below.
This place was supposed to be the green belt of the neighborhood, with a small garden laid out and a two-meter-wide stream winding through it like a moat, complete with a pavilion and adjacent exercise equipment.
But now, this isolated island had already turned into a hellish battlefield.
Blood and severed limbs were scattered everywhere, and tall horned demons patrolled back and forth, clustering around a strange, oval-shaped luminous object in the center.
The luminous object resembled a mirror, with one or two large horned demons occasionally stepping out of it.
"Is that the wormhole?"
It was Zhong Shenxiu’s first time seeing a wormhole in the flesh, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, "The marvels of creation are so extraordinary."
"Stop sighing for now, there are forty-nine horned demons here. If anything goes wrong, the outer horned demons will quickly come to reinforce..." Heavy Artillery Gunner Lei Hong seemed to recall something: "But the key issue isn’t that. Among this group of horned demons lurks an even more formidable Heavenly Demon, fast, with limbs like blade edges. Otherwise, our first mission wouldn’t have failed... the Tan Brothers kicked unbeaten through the southeastern third district, but were cut down by it with a single slash..."
"Damn it, this is sending us to our deaths."
Bai He Xue Dao Ren muttered under his breath: "We’ve already carried out one mission. After the Qi-Blood explosion and subsequent weakness, it’s hard for us to exert effort again in a short period. They’re forcing us to gamble with our lives."
With that statement, everyone fell silent.
They were all either Martial Artists or aspiring Martial Artists. Even though they were considered wealthy, they had families to consider and couldn’t ignore this threat.
Duty bound them; even if unwilling in their hearts, they had to put on an act and go to their deaths.
This was for those who were still alive. As long as one had concerns in their heart, they couldn’t escape this.
"What are you all saying, such disheartening words? As Martial Artists, isn’t it our duty to protect our home and country?" Guo Shi’s voice was slightly uncontrollable: "If more of them come out, how many people will die?"
Zhong Shenxiu watched with a cold eye, inwardly acknowledging the complexity of human nature. There were people like Xue Dao Ren, fearing death and clinging to life, as well as the courageous and bold like Guo Shi.
He chuckled and said, "It’s no use talking about anything right now. The key is to think about how to do our best to complete the mission... The higher-ups have already promised that if we succeed, we aspiring Martial Artists will immediately get our official titles."
"Heh, what’s so great about being an official Martial Artist?" Xue Dao Ren said disdainfully: "You youngsters are taking it too seriously... It’s just that recently, there have been fewer appearances of the Heavenly Demon. If it were during the times when wormholes appeared frequently, the Martial Artist Association promoted many members outright... Once you become an official Martial Artist and get that treatment, can you still run away from mandatory missions and drafts?"
Zhong Shenxiu smiled, actually knowing that if he put on the White Bone Armor unexpectedly, he really could run away.
But by running away, he would not only let others, like Uncle Niu, down, but Hua Wu’s obsession would also be dashed, the cost too great.
"There are many instances ... Some official Martial Artists have a few years of glory, while others perish on a single mission. Who could be as lucky as Tang Long?"
Xue Dao Ren sighed: "With strength and fame, he seized the opportunity to climb to the upper echelons of the Martial Artist Association... Mandatory missions don’t even reach him."
He seemed quite keen to continue the conversation endlessly, which was also a form of passive resistance.
Anyway, there are countermeasures for every policy.
Guo Shi couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke in a grave voice, "Why talk about such useless things? Haven’t you heard that the screams in the community are getting fewer and fewer?"
That meant the survivors in this community were almost wiped out.
"In such a situation, there’s actually no way out; we can only fight for it! Later, we’ll pick a direction, break through it, destroy the insect hole, and then run for our lives."
One of the three prospective Martial Artists, a tall and skinny man with dark skin, chimed in.
"That’s right, I’ll go all out, I can take on three horned demons," Guo Shi clenched his teeth; he was truly risking his life. Judging by his previous close calls with just two, he wouldn’t last twenty moves against three.
The other three were even less capable than Guo Shi.
Zhong Shenxiu glanced at the tall and lean man who had claimed one, surprised that this man with thick eyebrows and big eyes was also of such low calibre. He thought for a moment, then stated a number, "Five!"
Upon hearing this, Xue Daoren’s eyes lit up, "Young friend, your strength is not bad. With this, it’s about enough..."
There was limited space; forty-nine horned demons couldn’t possibly attack all at once. Being able to withstand so many would certainly create an opportunity.
No one thought Zhong Shenxiu was lying; this was something they would have to verify with their lives.
"With that being said, the Blade Demon can be left to Brother Zhan Quan and me," Lei Hong spoke up again. "We were caught off guard by the Blade Demon’s sneak attack before, but it certainly won’t happen again. As for the task of destroying the insect hole, we will leave it to Brother Xue."
"Ah... this old man still has to fight with his life on the line."
Xue Daoren shook his head with a sigh, knowing his strategy of delaying was not widely accepted.
After all, they were all still in their twenties or thirties—full of hot blood!
Outside the garden, eight figures dashed out like fierce tigers escaping their cages.
"Protect the nation, kill!"
Guo Shi shouted loudly, his Qi-Blood burst forth once more, his Rolling Stone power surged, sending a horned demon flying while drawing the attention of two nearby.
The remaining three prospective Martial Artists had bloodshot eyes, desperately intercepting the horned demons to create opportunities for Xue Daoren and the others.
They moved quickly, jumping over the small river in a single leap, arriving just outside the pavilion.
Five or six horned demons roared and pounced towards them.
Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes narrowed slightly. Beneath his skin, a layer of White Bone Demon Armor that hovered between reality and illusion emerged.
Even if the operation seemed hopeful for success, defensive measures always needed to be in place amidst a horde of enemies.
The White Bone Armor could appear or disappear at will; now it formed a thin film-like layer under the skin, seemingly no different from before, but its defense had already reached a certain pinnacle.
"Damn demon, taste my White Bone Claw first!"
He moved his shoulder, his arm stretched out dramatically, and his nails, sharp with White Bone True Qi, pierced through a horned demon’s head, creating five bloodied holes, utterly ferocious.
Even the three full-fledged Martial Artists seemed somewhat stunned by his side.