Chapter 234: Slaying Sunflare (II)

Li Hao was suddenly very regretful that he didn’t know how to transmit his voice. His teacher knew! Of that, the young man was well aware of. When he once asked how to learn, his teacher responded that it required fine precision over the aura or for a supernatural to enter the Solar level. Otherwise, one had to speak out loud.

They’d be able to discuss a plan of attack if he knew how to transmit his voice. Although Liu Long was a Dominator, he hadn’t mastered the skill as he’d only just grasped the aura. He was yet to comprehend its intricacies. But he was close since he was a Dominator. He’d soon learn the skill that didn’t seem very useful, but in actuality was quite handy.

When Liu Long asked if they should kill their followers, the most bloodthirsty Liu Yan responded with a minute gesture

—no.

However much she burned for revenge, she didn’t wish for everyone to act on an impulse. That would expose the trio.

The squad of ten soldiers would be here soon. If it was just one Yama member following them, the trio would be confident of swiftly eliminating that person. But when it came to three, any one of the supernaturals could easily get away if the slightest mishap occurred. Alternatively, large disturbances might echo through the area and drag down the three Night Watchers into danger.

Li Hao focused on thinking things over instead of replying. After a while, he ever-so-slightly pointed at his feet. They couldn’t talk and hand gestures weren’t universal. This would be a test of their teamwork. If the two of them couldn’t understand him, then they would have to give up the opportunity.

Within the armor, Liu Long first thought that the young man meant that he was going to shake the ground through his aura. But Liu Long quickly realized he was wrong. Being the team captain, he swiftly understood Li Hao’s meaning.

The supernaturals’ first plan of attack against Black Armors is to separate them from their connection with the ground. Earth supernatural Li Dahu will certainly use his abilities to isolate the soldiers. Without energy from the ground, the soldiers will gradually lose their ability to move. So... we’ll attack when they think the Black Armors are incapacitated?

Liu Long was no fool. As captain of the Demon Hunters, he’d continuously led with a mixture of vigilance, boldness, and attention to detail. Granted, he was an idiot in Yuan Shuo’s eyes, but he grasped the young man’s intention!

They should seize the opportunity to ambush Li Dahu!

Immobilized Black Armors would put the three Yama members at ease. At the same time, martial masters were the group with the strongest powers of concealment. This was a marked difference to supernaturals; the latter found it difficult to even play dead. Any powerhouse that drew near a supernatural would sense the vitality of their mysterious power.

Liu Long thought it through and felt this was a very viable tactic. However, he was the same as Li Hao—worried that Liu Yan didn’t understand.

If Liu Yan chose to attack the Yama members even when the earth was under the latter’s control, then not only would the plan be in shambles, but it would also draw attention from the organization. It might even result in a massive battle that brought unwanted consequences to them.

Gazes from two Black Armors flicked to Liu Yan. Li Hao registered that Liu Long seemed to have understood him. The chief had some skill to his name and could understand the plan. The key was Liu Yan...

It wasn’t that he thought women were dumb or that she was a bimbo, but Liu Yan nursed a deep enmity toward Li Dahu. What if rage overcame her reason when the other was close? That would be the greatest trouble of all.

Liu Long had to make another hand gesture when there was no response forthcoming from their third team member.

Play dead!

Hand gestures were only useful for short commands. Play dead, ground, earth...

Liu Yan understood the combination.

Got it!

However, Li Hao and Liu Long remained concerned. They couldn’t afford a misunderstanding at this juncture!

As if she knew that her comrades didn’t trust her, a resigned expression crossed Liu Yan’s face. Were women just supposed to suffer prejudice like this? She really understood the plan! It was one thing for Liu Long to think of her this way, but Li Hao was a rookie! How dare the little bastard doubt a veteran commissioner inspector??

Aren’t we just supposed to play dead and pretend we’re immobile when Li Dahu locks the ground away? Do you really think I’m an idiot? And then we take advantage of the opportunity to counterattack. Who wouldn’t understand this logic??

While irritated, she also knew that this was no time to be careless. She had to make another gesture.

You, shorty!

Liu Yan directed this at Li Hao.

The young man understood! So everyone really was on the same page. She wanted him to take care of the shortest of the three. The tallest was Li Dahu—it went without saying that Liu Long would focus on him.

If Li Hao was in charge of the shortest, then the remaining Yama member was naturally in Liu Yan’s purview. Once their targets were set and the plan decided, there would be no misunderstandings or extraneous trouble during execution that would result in one of their quarry escaping.

Li Hao and Liu Long finally relaxed upon seeing Liu Yan’s last hand gesture. It would be easy for Liu Long to take out Li Dahu. All he needed was to utilize the Nine Forged Force in the ambush and kill the initial Sunflare with one punch. He’d be utter trash if he couldn’t manage the deed. A Dominator Yuan Shuo could kill Solars! If Liu Long couldn’t kill an initial Sunflare under the cover of a sneak attack, then even Li Hao would think less of him.

Honestly speaking, the Night Watcher trio wasn’t afraid of direct frontal combat. But this wasn’t the time for it. Li Hao sorely lacked earth energy and one Sunflare could supply roughly three hundred cubes.

The Yama members continued following stealthily behind them. They were quite bold as to keep only a short distance between them and the soldiers. When the footsteps began fading away, Li Dahu muttered, “Those three Black Armors are all Darkmoons! It’ll be easy if I spontaneously isolate them from the ground and their energy source. The key thing is, we need to be quick about it! Based on my observations, another team of soldiers will be here shortly. We need to capture these Black Armors before they come. If we do, we can reconvene with the larger group and be much safer in these ruins!”

The two Darkmoon were sorely tempted. This was shaping up to be a very dangerous place. Unfortunately, Darkmoons had no right to offer their opinions in this expedition.

“It shall be as Milord Hu Po says!” the two swiftly responded. So long as their superior could control the three soldiers and prevent them from being reinforced by the city, they were confident of eliminating the three Black Armors. Isolating them for a minute would fully immobilize the soldiers. They could then bring the suits of armor back to their main delegation.

Li Dahu hesitated at this time. Should he send one of them to stand guard? What if they failed to notice the arrival of more Black Armors? But... since the soldiers were accompanied by the sound of footsteps, there didn’t seem to be a need for that.

What he should be concerned with was fellow supernaturals blundering in and taking advantage of the situation. But their ripples of power were noticeable, so he only needed to consider the martial masters of the Sword Sect...

The sect’s strongest martial master was Hong Yitang’s daughter. The man wouldn’t send her out as a scout. Any of his other martial masters were initial Sunderer at most. Even if they ambushed him... he was an earth Sunflare. Was he afraid of being attacked by an initial Sunderer?

Li Dahu wanted to snigger at the thought. It wasn’t a good idea to be too prudent! This uncharacteristic concern was all thanks to the influence of their environment.

“Then you two need to quickly corral them when we go in a moment. Don’t let those Black Armors land outside the range of my control. We’ll be in for it then,” he reminded. “Also, make sure they stay within range during that one minute. Don’t let them run out of the area!”

They’d learned through previous battles that one minute was the duration it took to immobilize the soldiers. If that wasn’t met, it was possible that the suits of armor would retaliate.

“Also, minimize your supernatural ripples to the smallest degree possible. Don’t throw off light or create sound.” He looked at one of them. “You’re a fire supernatural, so your light is the most noticeable in battle. You’re in charge of observing the surroundings!”

“Yes, milord!” The two didn’t dare say much. Fire supernaturals indeed couldn’t behave too wantonly in these battles, not unless they were attacking with the larger delegation. Fire was too blatant in an ambush. The other supernatural was a wind supernatural and wouldn’t stand out too much in the fight to come.

The three caught up with the soldiers after deciding on a course of action. Black Armors didn’t move that quickly, but were very speedy in battle. Although they’d fallen behind, the Yama members soon drew even with the soldiers again. They smiled to see the three Black Armors ahead like the fat sheep they would soon be.

......

Li Hao and his companions also smiled beneath their visors. They’d thought that the Yama members had given up on the idea when they ceased following the soldiers. Good, they were in pursuit again! This was very good, it wouldn’t waste their discussion.

Whether it was supernaturals or martial masters, they were very decisive once they decided on what to do. The three soldiers were walking when a very faint burst of mysterious power snaked toward them. They reached for their swords at the same time, but their feet seemed to sink into a swamp. Layers of earth energy covered the ground and mired the trio’s feet in something akin to mud.

As for whether or not it would halt the supply of energy—how would the trio know? But they’d seen what Black Armors would do under these circumstances. They struggled to walk through the swamp and pulled out their black swords, waving it around.

The Yama members rushed out of the darkness. Mysterious power emanated from Li Dahu as he grunted, “Hurry and attack them. Exhaust their reserves of energy!”

The wind supernatural released blades of wind, keeping the disturbance to a minimum. Black Armors made no sound to begin with and the Yama members were concerned they’d draw attention if their movements were too big, so they purposefully kept their voices down too.

Li Hao, Liu Long, and Liu Yan struggled fiercely! But they did so with decreasing strength as time went on. Upon seeing that he was almost out of the supernatural swamp, Liu Long began regretting struggling so ferociously.

How am I supposed to keep the act up if I walk right out of his control zone?

As much as he regretted his actions, Li Dahu was even more horrified. These Black Armors put up a bigger fight than the soldiers they’d met before. He had experience attacking them, they didn’t have so much strength to their name!

They’d almost made a huge blunder! He was forced to increase the amount of mysterious power he was bringing to bear and throw it at the biggest soldier. Was it the bigger the Black Armor, the stronger it was? He’d almost let this one get away!

While Li Dahu was frightened into sweating massively, Liu Long sighed with relief to feel the power increase around him.

Damn that was close. We would seriously have a problem on our hands if I managed to walk out. If I somehow stopped moving at the perimeter... Li Dahu’s not an idiot.

Thank goodness!