Chapter 308 - Just Lead the Way

An hour later, they arrived at the underground bar of the blue-eyed hunters. The dim lighting created a hazy, disorienting atmosphere that was typical of such places. Though the bar's minimalist decor lacked an aura of extravagance, it still had a sense of elegance and grandeur. The faint scent of alcohol lingered in the air, mingling with the soft background music.

Usually, the bar of the blue-eyed hunters was quite lively at this hour. These hunters had been in training since they were children and constantly risked their lives from day to day. Though they possessed abilities far beyond ordinary people, deep inside, they still harbored suppressed feelings of frustration and restlessness.

The bar served as both an intelligence outpost and a place for them to unwind. Many would have a drink before a mission, or indulge in a bottle after it ended. Toasts, loud conversations, and the clinking of glasses were common, and when the mood struck, someone might sing loudly or make a scene. But today, the bar was eerily quiet.

Even though most of the seats were occupied and an unusually large number of blue-eyed hunters had gathered, their movements were cautious and subdued. Shadows moved in the dim light as figures sat silently, drinking and exchanging quiet glances.

Each hunter wore a large, black trench coat. When the hunter was seated, the fabric revealed the combat gear strapped to their thighs, waists, and even chests. Each hunter also had a dark-colored shoulder bag that bulged with weapons.

The atmosphere in the bar felt oppressive, as if a looming storm was about to hit. It felt like the prelude to a dangerous mission.

The creak of a door broke the silence.

Someone pushed open the door to the underground bar and quickly stepped inside. The dim light revealed the figure of the newcomer.

The tall woman with sharp, refined features wore a large black trench coat, revealing only her tightly-clad legs in black boots. Her short hair and piercing gaze gave off an air of coldness.

In terms of style, she was strikingly cool and imposing.

"Ice Blade..."

A hunter in the shadows muttered softly.

It was the woman's nickname. Her assassination missions were as precise and ruthless as a cold blade. Unlike Ossie's four-man team, Ice Blade worked alone.

Nevertheless, her mission success rate was an impressive seventy-five percent. She had even once managed to kill a mid-tier Blood Race member on her own.

Though it had involved a great deal of maneuvering and strategy, it was a testament to her skill. She had been tracking a target in the neighboring city of Mirror Lake over the past few days, and had rushed back after hearing some news. Ossie, a hunter, had taken the initiative to contact a group of mysterious forces. Now, both sides were in the lower meeting room of the bar, discussing what appeared to be a major operation.

"Where's Ossie? In the meeting room?" She asked, standing under the dim light.

"Yes," replied a middle-aged hunter tending the bar, who was temporarily maintaining order. He nodded in the direction of the meeting room.

"I'm heading down," Ice Blade said, immediately turning toward the stairs.

She passed two hunters guarding the stairwell and descended to the second level, where she was met by a closed meeting room door. Taking a deep breath, she reached out with a calloused hand and knocked gently.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Who is it?" Ossie's voice came from inside the room.

"It's me, Ice Blade."

"Come in and shut the door."

The door creaked open, and Ice Blade quickly stepped inside, closing the heavy door behind her. She then turned her attention to the room.

It was much brighter here compared to the bar above. The center of the room had a long conference table, though it was unoccupied. Instead, the group sat in a cluster of couches near the bookshelves in the corner, engaging in low conversation.

Ice Blade recognized all the hunters on her side.

But it was the three unfamiliar, imposing figures seated on the opposite couch that caught her attention.

The man on the left was tall and muscular. His body was lean and strong, like a fierce leopard. His dark, deep-set eyes and rugged facial features gave off an aura of danger. His eyes were a rich black, with a faint red glimmer, like an anglerfish lurking in the depths of the ocean. He sat with his arms crossed, silently listening to the conversation.

The young man in the middle had an elegant appearance and gave off a scholarly air. His long braid rested casually on his shoulder as he sipped from a cup of hot tea, his right leg crossed over his left.

The last figure seemed to be somewhere between a youth and a young man. He had the most delicate features but carried a demeanor completely at odds with his appearance. His gaze was as cold as a sharp wind. His golden hair shimmered like strands of sunlight, and he had a cigarette between his lips, the blue-red glow at its tip flickering faintly.

As Ice Blade approached, she overheard their conversation.

“Mr. Feng Liusi, do you have any knowledge of the direct bloodline of the Blood Race residing in the Alphama Mountains? These Blood Race possess special abilities, the Gift of Blood, which allows them to transform into monstrous bats and achieve a second combat form. They are vastly different from the Blood Race branch line, and their combat power can sometimes surpass an entire level," Ossie explained.

Feng Liusi glanced at Cassius beside him, who shook his head and responded, “The direct bloodline in the mountains may be slightly stronger than those outside, but at most, their best fighters reach the level of a pugilist. There's no need to worry; they're just a bunch of road-blocking minions...”

Though Cassius spoke lightly, Ossie heard him clearly. He frowned slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable, but he continued, “I understand the three of you are incredibly powerful, but the direct bloodline of the Alphama Blood Race is no trifling matter, and they have numbers on their side. Three years ago, they completed the Blood of Immortality ritual, and the number of powerful figures within their ranks has skyrocketed. Furthermore, there are rumors of ancient monsters among the Alphama direct bloodline who have been slumbering for ages. These beings are at the monster level...”

“I know,” Cassius abruptly interrupted.

He glanced at the hunters, including Ice Blade, who had just approached the sofas, and said, “Let's cut to the chase—what's your goal? Stop beating around the bush, it's a waste of time.”

Ossie hesitated for a moment, then finally said, “I just want to confirm your capabilities. I'm not here to make demands or set conditions. We not only have the location of the Blood of Immortality ruins, but we also know the exact location of the Alphama direct bloodline's lair. We just fear the three of you might not be able to handle it...”

Cassius's eyes lit up. He had been expecting Ossie to change his mind and start negotiating terms, but it turned out their goal remained the same. They still wanted to act as guides to lead the way to not one but two key targets.

They were certainly persistent when it came to leading the way.

Cassius snapped his fingers, a faint smile crossing his face. “Well then, just lead the way, and we'll handle the killing...”

At 9 p.m., the group set out. The Mercury Hunters, cloaked in trench coats, disappeared into the darkness, splitting up like the flow of an unseen tide toward the Alphama Mountains.

As they moved, Ice Blade spoke to Ossie. “Are they really capable? Every direct bloodline member with the Gift of Blood is a formidable opponent. They are monsters who are very skilled in physical combat. They also have powerful Blood Race elders, not to mention those ancient beings still slumbering... What if they awaken?

“There are only three of them. They may be strong individually, but can they face an entire Blood Race clan? Even with our support, we could be overwhelmed by their numbers...”

Her cold voice drifted through the dark forest.

“No worries. The slumbering ancient ones won't wake easily. From my observations, these three should barely match the strength of the direct bloodline elders, and that's enough. We never intended for outsiders to annihilate the entire Alphama direct bloodline—this is just an opportunity to weaken the lower and mid-level members,” Ossie replied calmly. However, he had no idea that the situation would turn out to be far more chaotic than he had imagined.

Boom!

A mist of blood exploded in front of Cassius, who remained expressionless as he walked forward at a slow, steady pace. His boots stepped over the body of a headless corpse that twitched slightly, its nerves not yet fully dead.

A few steps later, he suddenly lunged forward. Cassius's hands clamped onto the grotesque head of a bat-like creature like the jaws of an orca and twisted lightly.

Crack!

The head, along with the spine, was pulled out in one swift motion, and blood sprayed out like a fountain.

To the sides, a figure, draped in what seemed like a red veil, weaved through the forest as if taking a leisurely stroll. His fingers, glowing a transparent red, trailed through the darkness, leaving behind streaks of light. Direct descendants of Alphama Blood Race in the Blood Gift state continuously charged at him, only to end up screaming in agony.

As Feng Liusi flowed through the forest, his hands danced in the air like the conductor of an orchestra. Every twitch of his fingers cut through both the air and the tough bodies of the Blood Race. His Death's Fang Force was so concentrated that it seemed tangible, and its destructive power was terrifying. It only took a graze to kill any Blood Race member. Occasionally, a nearby tree would be accidentally caught in the crossfire and fall with a heavy thud.

They were like bulldozers tearing through saplings.

Meanwhile, Saint Feinan was still getting accustomed to his Spiral Eye Slash technique. The long sword in his hand had reached a second form, extending to an astonishing length of 1.8 meters. The blade now had ripple-like black flames rolling along both edges.

A casual swing bisected a Blood Race member of the direct lineage at the waist, spilling blood and guts all over the ground in a gruesome scene. Turning swiftly, Saint Feinan slashed upward, slicing a bat-like monster that had flown down from a tree, cleaving it from its groin all the way to its head. It was split clean in half, falling apart into two distinct halves.

What should have been an extremely dangerous and serious mission to mercury hunters had now become a leisurely hunt for aristocrats on horseback.

***

"Was that... an elite from the Blood Race?"

"Doesn't look like it. Probably just some weakling."

Two hunters emerged from the dark forest and saw the scene before them. A creature, half-human and half-bat, full of brutal, bestial rage, howled at the sky. Its face was hideous, with savage tusks protruding from its mouth. Its powerful body was covered in black and red fur.

The beast charged madly at the blond youth standing in the clearing, but it was sent flying more than ten meters away with a swift kick. Half of its body was nearly torn apart. Its flesh quivered as clean, glistening white bones were revealed beneath.

A moment later, the bat creature was grabbed and lifted into the air by sheer brute force.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The beast's body was swung in a wide arc through the air before being slammed hard into the ground, half of its body sinking into the dirt. Then, it was lifted again and smashed against a large boulder half the size of a person. The boulder shattered on impact, spraying blood and rock fragments everywhere.

A flash of red light flickered in Cassius's eyes as a savage aura passed between his brows. He shattered the creature's leg with a final, brutal swing. Its mangled body flew through the air in a parabola, but it was then pinned to a tree through the chest by a leg bone that had followed.

A heavy thud echoed through the forest.

Just three meters away, Ice Blade and Ossie both shuddered, as if they had felt the bone piercing through their own bodies. They exchanged a glance, and both saw the shock and fear in each other's eyes.

The creature that had just been brutally beaten to death was not some weakling, nor even an elite from the Blood Race. It was an elder from the direct lineage. Barely half a minute ago, it had mysteriously appeared, dressed in a black robe, blocking Cassius's path with a cold and arrogant demeanor.

Half of its face was hidden in shadow, and its aura was powerful. As soon as it opened its mouth, it declared its intention to kill Cassius and torture him by skinning him alive.

And then... nothing more happened.

It had been treated like a ball, kicked around repeatedly, and eventually killed by Cassius as if it were a mere toy.

"Are we almost there?" A voice spoke, and a blond figure suddenly stepped out from the shadows behind them.

The one-eyed Ossie nearly jumped out of his skin. A second ago, this person had been fifty to sixty meters away, and now, in the blink of an eye, he was right behind them. With this speed, he could easily kill someone...

Taking a deep breath, Ossie managed to respond, "We're close. The stronger the resistance we face from the Blood Race direct line, the nearer we are to the blood sacrifice site for the Blood of Immortality. The Alphama Blood Race's stronghold is nearby too, inside a dark cave with hollowed-out inner walls..."

"A cave?"

Cassius raised an eyebrow, something clicking in his mind. He recalled that the fake-death pill he had obtained during Twilight's era had come from a cave in the Alphama Mountains, which had seemed to be another entrance to the Akaba Ruins. He hadn't expected the Blood Race's lair to be there.

"Lead the way. Let's head to the blood sacrifice site first."

Cassius grabbed both of their shoulders, and they disappeared from where they stood. It was as if they had become a shadow refracted by the moonlight, traveling at a speed far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

In two other locations, Feng Liusi and Saint Feinan also sensed Cassius speeding up. They unleashed a quick barrage of attacks, killing off the surrounding Blood Race members instantly.

They tore through the direct lineage Blood Race's blockade like meteors chasing the moon, heading straight for where Cassius had disappeared.

If one watched from high above, one could see three figures shooting through the forest like arrows toward the Akaba Ruins, where a large number of Blood Race direct bloodline members had gathered.