February 6, 2023, Early Night, Two hours less before the Lantern Festival began
On the top floor of the main pagoda at Hunter headquarters.
Kai Zen, a short young man with long dark pink hair, fought against a young monk who was no less powerful than him.
Inside the meeting room of the Hunter China division's high-ranking officials, the sound of clashing metal echoed. Sparks flew as two pieces of iron collided.
"Annoying.." Kai Zen was chewing gum while fighting. He had been watching the view of Qincheng from the balcony on the highest floor of the pagoda. Before Gui Wuxing suddenly appeared and struck him from behind with a xizhang staff.
Clink. Clink.
Kai Zen's waist was grazed by the sharp tip of the xizhang. Not deep, but enough to draw blood.
Now the two of them exchanged blows. Kai used a single-bladed sword in his hand. And Gui with his xizhang staff.
While the two fought fiercely. In the middle of fifteen-story pagoda. Stood two five-star Hunters, the Horse Shengxiao and the Monkey Shengxiao, in front of the Goujian sword relic.
"Guan Zen."
"Uncle Liu."
The two stood calmly facing each other a few steps apart.
"Someone told you to guard here."
"Someone told you to take something from here."
"Who is it? Luxia?"
Guan Zen shook his head.
"It seems he's right. Someone will come here just to take the Goujian sacred sword."
Liu Xingsheng fell silent.
Silence. The two of them were waiting to see who would make the first move. Tense. But both were ready for any possibility.
"Fighting you is the worst possibility for us."
"Worst possibility? Where's that square glasses guy?"
"He's been dealt with by one of apostles. So my current task is to get rid of you, Guan Zen."
Liu pulled off the black glove on his palm. Guan prepared to draw his sword.
Both immediately advanced simultaneously.
Slash!
Guan Zen drew his sword first and slashed at Liu's head after Liu managed to punch Guan Zen's stomach with his palm, sending Guan Zen flying back several steps.
"Ugh.."
The attack wasn't fatal, but it was enough to leave a bruise in the middle of his stomach.
A head rolled on the floor and disappeared into dust. Liu still stood in his place without moving a single step. The one who advanced just now was a clone he created at the same time Guan Zen charged.
"Your clone magic is indeed terrifying, Uncle Liu. So practical." Guan tried to stand upright, ignoring the pain in his stomach. "You can create clones and adjust their power to be similar or less as you wish. But it won't last forever. You'll quickly run out of mana if you continuously summon clones equivalent to your original strength."
Taking a stance, Guan Zen prepared to advance once more.
Liu smirked. Blue veins bulged tautly on his neck.
"I can summon three clones like that. But to defeat you, Guan, I only need to use one."
Guan Zen stomped on the floor until it cracked and stepped swiftly towards Liu.
Slash! Blar!
Liu had predicted it and he split himself, one clone was allowed to be hit by Guan Zen's blue flame slash, splitting its body in two, another from Guan Zen's open side, he pushed Guan out onto the balcony.
Thud!
Crashing into the wooden railing until it broke, both floated in the air and fell from middle floor of the fifteen-story pagoda. Below the pagoda, a sea of Liu's clones was waiting.
Liu gripped the collar of the warrior's robe Guan was wearing tightly, before kicking him very hard in the stomach. Making Guan fall like a bullet to the ground.
BOOM!
A one-meter crater was created, Guan landed on his back facing the ground. He coughed several times, feeling the pain of the impact. He had managed to block the kick that could have pierced his stomach with his sword just now.
Immediately getting back on his feet, just straightening up, dozens of Liu's clones immediately charged at Guan, who was wiping blood from the corner of his lips.
"Annoying.."
**
"Timon, take the sword and run as planned."
In Gui's ear, Liu's command could be heard from the voice transmitter attached to the back of his neck.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Gui jumped back after receiving three consecutive slashes from Kai Zen's blue flame sword.
"That's enough, short boy. I'll kill you next time. I have an important task to do."
Running towards the exit of the meeting room on the top floor of the pagoda. As soon as he reached the door, it slowly opened, then gunshots and a water sword shot past Gui's face.
The water sword grazed his left eye, a bullet lodged in his neck, but he still managed to survive and jump back from the impact of a green flaming staff that emerged from behind the door.
Blaze!
Sizhu spewed a large green flame forward. Burning several stone pillars in the meeting room.
Clink. Clink.
"This isn't fun. You should have stopped chasing me here."
From the exit of the meeting room. Sizhu, Elizabeth, and Mei Mei stood side by side. Blocking Gui's exit.
Gui stood tall with a wound in his left eye and blood gushing profusely from his neck. The arrival of Sizhu and his friends was unexpected.
"We came to get the silver coin you stole, Gui!" Mei Mei exclaimed with a wide smile, pleased that her shot had hit Gui.
Not far behind Gui, Kai Zen stood guard with his blue flame sword. While in front of Gui, there was Sizhu with a green flaming staff, Elizabeth holding water swords in both hands, and Mei Mei aiming her pistol at his head, ready to fire at any moment.
"You're surrounded, Gui. Surrender. The man I know is more obedient to the peace taught by Buddha. Rather than obeying the whispers of the devil."
Sizhu pointed his green flaming staff forward. Staring at Gui seriously.
"Ah? You mean this kid? He is indeed a devout monk. He came here because he was ordered by the five-star Hunter, the dragon shengxiao, Jianying Ren. Honestly, I've only been deceiving you these past few days.
"Because this kid is already dead."
Gui pulled out the bullet lodged in his neck, not caring that blood was gushing out profusely.
"Who are you..?" Sizhu asked cautiously.
If what he said was true, since when did Gui die?
As if he could read Sizhu's mind, Gui replied.
"Yes, he's dead. This boy named Gui died in the forest two nights ago when he was chasing Paulus's disciple.
"I am the one assigned to infiltrate here and steal the Goujian heirloom sword. I am the fifth servant, my magic is to possess corpses and use their magical talents and memories. My name is..
"Timon the ghoul."
Sizhu, Elizabeth, and Mei Mei frowned in disbelief.
Gui died on the first night?
While the three young people were thinking, the wounds on Timon, who was wearing Gui Wuxing's body, closed and disappeared without using any healing magic. His left eye twitching and normal again.
"We have to kill him immediately, Sizhu! He is an Arch Witch!" Mei Mei immediately realized the identity of the person in front of them. Timon was a low-level Arch Witch who possessed special dark magic to inhabit corpses and use the powers that the corpse once had.
Sizhu immediately rushed forward along with Elizabeth, who threw two water swords, and Mei Mei, who fired her pistol. From behind Timon, Kai Zen aimed to decapitate him.
Clink. Clink.
"噬光之闇,其霧蔽眾生之目.
蔽我目,以賜我闇中之視;
蔽吾敵之目,使陷於幽冥之深.
"Shì guāng zhī àn, qí wù bì zhòngshēng zhī mù.
Bì wǒ mù, yǐ cì wǒ àn zhōng zhī shì;
Bì wú dí zhī mù, shǐ xiàn yú yōumíng zhī shēn.
"(Oh, darkness that devours light, your mist obscures the eyes of all beings.
Obscure my eyes, to grant me sight in the dark;
Obscure the eyes of my enemies, and plunged them into the deepest darkness.)"
Thick black mist spewed all over the top floor of the pagoda. Some of the mist exploded outwards. Making the view of the top floor of the pagoda from the outside look like it was covered in a thick black nimbus cloud.
And in there, no eyes could see, no ears could hear, no hands could feel.
Except for one person, Timon. Who plunged the sharp tip of his xizhang into his opponents' bodies one by one.
Elizabeth, Mei Mei, Kai Zen lay limp in pools of blood on the floor.
Sizhu knelt. From the center of his chest, Timon's xizhang staff pierced from behind, through to the front. Creating a large enough hole in the middle of his chest.
Coughing blood, Sizhu did not fall. He was still kneeling, ignoring the severe pain in his chest.
He stabbed the floor with his still-burning green fiery staff so hard that it stuck. With his mouth smeared with his own blood, Sizhu tried to speak.
"Tenth... staff technique; 火霧之幕! Huǒ... wù zhī mù! (Curtain... of Fire Mist!)"
Blaze!
***