After three months of sluggishness, the front-line defense area of the Northwest Pioneer Space suddenly began a full-scale counterattack. Moreover, it wasn’t just a single probing attempt, but an offensive that blossod on all fronts. What was going on?
Hidden deep within the Chaos Mist, in a secret base, a mysterious figure in a black robe flickered in and out of view amidst the dense, dark fog. After listening to the report from his subordinate, two points of light suddenly appeared within the black robe. They looked like his eyes, or perhaps they genuinely were.
"You’re saying that the Pioneers of the Northwest Pioneer Space have suddenly launched a counterattack? Did they call for reinforcents?"
"We can’t tell for now, but it’s likely, sir. I suspect they’ve intermingled experts among the ordinary Pioneer Teams, waiting to lure us in."
"Hmm... Even if they have hidden experts among the regular teams, there are only so many experts. It’s impossible for every team to have experts mixed in. Scatter our n."
"Scatter? Wouldn’t that be walking right into a trap?"
"Everyone knows they’ve cast out a fishing hook. You all need to figure out a way to eat the bait but avoid being caught by the hook. If you can’t even manage that, you’re a waste of the organization’s training, and you’d deserve to die."
"Yes, I understand, sir."
Fishing is a battle of wits with the fish. A fish wants to eat the bait, but that doesn’t an it gets hooked every ti it bites. If a fish is clever enough, it can definitely find a way to eat the bait without harming itself. But if it can’t eat the bait without harm, the fish won’t choose to be hooked. Everyone in Paradise Bird understood this principle.
Thus, although the counteroffensive at the frontline was blazing like wildfire, the unpredictable Shadow Assassins did not appear. For instance, consider so students whose acting wasn’t up to par, or those Star Martial Warriors with formidable strength. Their teammates would be locked in a life-or-death struggle with Exotic Beasts, yet they would stand aside with folded arms, waiting at ease. Wasn’t this blatantly telling everyone they were experts, just waiting for Shadow Assassins to co knocking? Then there were those who, despite not striking an ’I’m an expert’ pose, clearly possessed strength that towered over others. Did they really think the Shadow Assassins were blind?
However, there were a few whose acting was up to par, feigning great difficulty. They did manage to attract Shadow Assassins, but fishing requires patience. If they acted rashly the mont a Shadow Assassin appeared, an Exotic Beast would often interrupt, allowing the ’hooked fish’ to escape. This scenario occurred repeatedly; while the counterattack progressed smoothly, the actual catch was few. Even if so acted well and chose their timing correctly, once the Shadow Assassins saw no hope of escape, the Brain-eating worm in their heads would imdiately activate, whether they wanted it to or not. Even Wang Lan had no counter for this tactic.
Wang Lan’s team of four was also among the many actors, and they happened to be the ones with truly exquisite acting skills. Their team configuration consisted of four people: Jiang Xinyu as the main attacking Mage, Wang Lan as a dical Attribute Star Martial Warrior, Xu Xiangwen in close combat, and Xie Sisi serving as support.
They followed a Pioneer Team to besiege a tribe with roughly a hundred Exotic Beasts. Perhaps due to lack of experience, the team of four was thirty ters away from the main force. This distance was negligible for experts, but it could be fatal for newcors to the Pioneer Space. Ten Exotic Beasts had already cornered Wang Lan’s team of four, with two beasts on the retreat path towards the main force. The distant main force kept urging Wang Lan’s team to close the gap quickly and not to stray, but the four were embroiled in a tough battle with the beasts, attempting to break away and reach the main force several tis but failing each ti.
To the two Shadow Assassins lurking in the darkness, their eyes glinting with green light, Wang Lan’s four novices looked like walking experience points, ripe for the picking.
"Shall we go for it?"
"This Pioneer Team is quite strong, and their coordination is masterful. Their leader is also an expert at the Galaxy Stage or higher. Based on intel from our comrades, this Pioneer Team probably isn’t bait."
"Right, I’ve seen this Pioneer Team before. I’ve thought about taking them down a few tis but never got the chance. These four might really be newbies; we can take this score."
"Alright, let’s get a little closer and wait for an opportunity to strike."
Just then, Jiang Xinyu sent an ice spike flying, knocking an Exotic Beast away, while Xu Xiangwen imdiately followed up with a coup de grâce. At that mont, another Exotic Beast suddenly leaped from behind and pounced toward the unsuspecting Jiang Xinyu. As a dical Attribute Star Martial Warrior, Wang Lan instantly noticed Jiang Xinyu’s peril and exclaid in shock, "Xinyu, watch out!" He dashed towards Jiang Xinyu.
In an instant, two figures erged, shooting towards Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu like ghosts. Their timing was impeccable and their speed so astonishing that if Wang Lan hadn’t been their target, he might have applauded. In the eyes of the two Shadow Assassins, Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu were as good as dead. In such a circumstance, two novices at the peak of the Star Shine Stage couldn’t possibly have the experience to cope; this squad was dood.
What a pity for these young lives.
What a waste of this seemingly promising dical Attribute Star Martial Warrior.
Suddenly, the two assailants felt a blur in front of their eyes, and then their vision changed. Wang Lan’s hands crackled with thunder, and he instantly grasped their foreheads. Thunder needles imdiately pierced into their heads, precisely killing the Brain-eating worms that had just activated. That reaction took place within a fleeting 0.2 seconds.
Seeing the joyous smile of triumph on Wang Lan’s face, the two Shadow Assassins were utterly bewildered.
What’s going on? Where am I? What just happened?
The next second, they realized with a start, Damn it, we’ve been had! As soon as the thought of being captured crossed their minds, the two Shadow Assassins paled with fright. They had seen what happened to comrades who got caught. Their heads would burst open, and a plump Brain-eating worm that had feasted on the contents would crawl out—such a sight could fill them with lifelong regret. But then, they were confused again.
The Brain-eating worm... it didn’t activate? We’re still alive? We’re alive! This is great—!
Just as a feeling of happiness began to swell from the bottom of their hearts, and a smile had begun to spread across their faces—suddenly, Wang Lan’s body surged with Star Power. His overwhelming spiritual power instantly invaded the minds of the two n, reading their mories. After a long while, the two Shadow Assassins, now turned into idiots, were casually discarded on the ground by Wang Lan.
"Eh? What’s the deal with these two?" Xie Sisi, ticulous and vigilant, looked at the two n thrown down by Wang Lan. "Why are they still smiling after you caught them? Could there be a plot?"
Normally, when caught by Wang Lan, one would show terror. Especially after a Spirit Engraving, the expression of horror would freeze on their face before becoming expressionless due to becoming an idiot. But the smiles on the faces of these two... even as idiots, they looked so... happy!
"There’s no plot. It’s probably because... life is full of ups and downs, I guess."
"Did you find any clues?"
"They have a base deep within the Chaos Mist. They do belong to Paradise Bird, but not the faction we encountered previously. It’s rather laughable, actually; Paradise Bird is apparently divided into human and Demon Clan factions."
"Human faction, Demon Clan faction? Aren’t they all traitorous spies?"
"Paradise Bird has been around for a long ti, possibly a thousand years. Through a millennium of evolution, Paradise Bird, though still the enemy of the entire world, isn’t as simple as before. Currently, within Paradise Bird, the human faction actually holds the advantage. Eighty percent of Paradise Bird consists of humans, and only twenty percent are of the Demon Clan. Moreover, it seems like there’s so discord between the human and Demon Clan factions, as if they are competing for dominance. But regardless, Paradise Bird is the enemy of all humankind. This operation is being spearheaded by the Demon Clan faction. As for their objective, this low-ranking mber doesn’t know. The reason they can avoid being attacked by the Exotic Beasts is because they have a special crystal implanted in their bodies. It’s a new invention by the Demon Clan that can shield their presence from the Exotic Beasts’ perception. While Exotic Beasts have eyes, noses, and the five senses, their way of distinguishing friends from foes is still through sensing Star Power. Even if their eyes register a human as not one of their own, they primarily rely on this perception. If they can’t sense a target’s Star Energy Fluctuation and Star Power level, they’ll classify it as harmless. Also, the leader of this operation is a Star Martial Warrior known as the Heart Demon."
"A human?"
"He doesn’t know, but from his perspective, the other party seems to be human. I more or less know the approximate location of their base. Guys, feel like taking on a big job?"
Looking at Wang Lan’s expression and tone of voice, the other three felt as if they had returned to their high school days. They all broke into knowing smiles.
"Let’s do it! With Lanzi, the Titled Strongman, leading, why wouldn’t we?"
"Exactly. With our team’s current strength, it would be inappropriate not to."
"Let’s take down their base!"
Xu Xiangwen had the Heavenly Eye for reconnaissance, while Jiang Xinyu and Xie Sisi supported Wang Lan in the main attack—collectively, the four of them were a war machine. Wang Lan led the four with his Earth Travel Skill. The Chaos Mist in the Northwest Pioneer Space was rather dangerous. Within the Chaos Mist, Exotic Beasts were rampant, and once humans were discovered, they would be attacked en masse. But this was relative to most Star Martial Warriors, not Wang Lan and his companions. All so-called dangers ultimately boiled down to a lack of strength. If one possessed sufficient strength, danger beca a path clear of obstacles.
They didn’t know how large the Northwest Pioneer Space was; in fact, no one did. Yet, this group’s base was located a staggering five hundred kiloters deep within the Chaos Mist. This was beyond the limits of what human Star Martial Warriors could explore. Typically, human scout teams would only venture a hundred kiloters into the Chaos Mist. The deeper one went, the greater the chance of encountering Titled Strongman level, or even Abyss level, Exotic Beasts. Even without battling any Exotic Beasts, the journey alone took the four of them a full eight hours.
"Commander Bai, Wang Lan just relayed information to ." In front of Bai Shaoqi, a hummingbird emitted a series of radio waves, which ford words in Bai Shaoqi’s mind. The hummingbird had to stay by the entrance to the Pioneer Space to maintain urgent contact with Wang Lan so that it could receive news from the outside world at the earliest possible mont and inform Wang Lan imdiately.
"Oh? Has Greedy Wolf made so gains?"
"He successfully captured one alive and perford the Spirit Engraving. The masterminds are indeed Paradise Bird, and he’s learned the location of their base, deep within the Chaos Mist. Wang Lan is already leading his team to assault it."
"Inform Greedy Wolf to be very careful and avoid taking risks."
"Received."
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