Ji Xinghuo stepped off the train and, walking out of the station, he saw a bustling tropolis.
"Yanhuang City!"
Standing beside him, Chi Zhonglin looked around and exclaid, "It’s been so long since I last ca here. When I first arrived in the Star Realm, I was always in Yanhuang City; it was only later that I went to Olympia. If it weren’t for the Star Gate being in Olympia, I would still prefer this place, as it feels more like ho."
Ji Xinghuo nodded. As long as the Star Gate remained, Olympia’s advantages could never be replicated.
Yanhuang City was located more than four hundred kiloters east of Olympia.
It was a key city for the Asia-Pacific Community in the Star Realm, second only to Olympia.
"We’re going out of the city."
Ren Mian led the team onto a bus.
Ji Xinghuo looked out the window at the cityscape; the architectural style of Yanhuang City had a distinct Oriental flair, with white walls and black tiles, and deep courtyards that seed to transport one back to an ancient city from a thousand years ago.
With a population exceeding five million, Yanhuang City was the third-largest in the Star Realm after Olympia and New Feicheng, and second in terms of urban area. The city walls too were exceptionally high, and from several kiloters away, one could see a towering wall stretching out ahead.
The bus stopped at the base of the city, and four people disembarked.
"Eastern City Gate."
Gazing at the large characters on the city gate, Ji Xinghuo thought that stepping out from here and moving not far ahead would an entering the territory of the Beiluo Shin Clan.
This hunting expedition was not aid at ordinary monsters but at the Beiluo Shin Clan.
Humanity’s greatest enemy on Earth!
Last night, when Ren Mian revealed the hunting plan, Ji Xinghuo was startled, and Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi also had grave expressions.
A deep-seated hatred for the Beiluo Shin was a common sentint shared by all Earthlings.
In 2033, not long after the Star Gate opened, the Beiluo Shin invaded Earth, causing two billion deaths in just the first year. The subsequent decade-plus of resistance left an indelible psychological scar on all humanity. Even today, the pain resurfaces whenever people recall that period of history.
In the Milky Way, Earth is 25 light-years away from Beiluo Shin.
In the Star Realm, however, their Star Gates are only 548 kiloters apart—practically face to face!
Within the realm governed by the Sky Feather Royal Court, there are eight Star Gates scattered throughout the Thousand Peak Abyss Forest. The distance between other Star Gates is at least three to four thousand kiloters, with only the Earth and Beiluo Shin being the closest to each other.
This proximity is a great misfortune for Earth.
Because the Beiluo Shin’s Star Gate was activated over a thousand years before Earth’s, the Beiluo Shin people entered the Star Realm earlier and ca into contact with supernatural powers, which enabled them to bring trendous calamity to Earth.
In 2051, under the enforced diation of the Sky Feather Royal Court, a peace treaty was signed between both sides.
The treaty stipulated that humans from Earth and the Beiluo Shin Clan were not to encroach upon each other, with the boundary being the midpoint line between their respective Star Gates.
The midpoint of the Star Gate lies southeast of Olympia, 274 kiloters away. With this as the borderline, both races constructed a military defense line spanning over two thousand kiloters.
It was both a defense line and a front line.
This extensive defense line is manned jointly by countries from Earth; however, the main contributions co from the Asia-Pacific Community and the Arican Federation. The southern end of the line is New Feicheng, which falls under the United States’ jurisdiction, and the eastern end is Yanhuang City, part of the Asia-Pacific Community. From east to south, along with the tens of thousands of fortresses, bastions, and defensive installations, they protect Olympia behind them.
"Little Chi, you rent four mounts," Ren Mian said to Chi Zhonglin, not far from the city gate, where there was a horse shop.
Ji Xinghuo chuckled to himself internally.
Soon enough, Chi Zhonglin ca back leading four horned horses.
The four mounted up and rode out of the city.
As they left the Eastern City Gate, Ji Xinghuo saw the vast expanse of mountains and forests.
Hunting teams followed the main road for a while, then dispersed into the wilderness, vanishing from sight like streams flowing into the ocean.
"We will follow the main road all the way to the front line," Ren Mian pointed towards the east.
The four spurred their horses into a quick gallop along the well-constructed, smooth roads that posed no danger. In less than an hour, they arrived at a colossal military fortress nad "East Pole Pass."
East Pole Pass was built between extrely steep valleys, and it controlled the passage there.
Small teams could scale the mountains to circumvent East Pole Pass, but for large military movents heading to Yanhuang City, the fortress was an obligatory point of assault.
Upon entering East Pole Pass, the atmosphere was extrely somber, with everyone wearing serious expressions.
While Chi Zhonglin returned the mounts to the horse shop, Ji Xinghuo observed his surroundings.
Thick and towering fortress walls were fitted with rows of steam crossbow guns; watchtowers were everywhere, and the Asia-Pacific Community’s Star Realm Army was all around—the interior of East Pole Pass was essentially a vast military camp housing over thirty thousand soldiers, not to ntion the presence of two Legendary Mutants detected by magnetic field sensing.
The hunting teams entering and leaving East Pole Pass were in a hurry, without lingering.
"Let’s move," Ren Mian said, leading the team out of the fortress. She looked solemnly at the endless forest ahead and warned, "Just a few kiloters further and we will be in the Beiluo Shin Clan’s territory. Don’t let your guard down; danger could arise at any ti."
"Our destination is far from East Pole Pass, approximately four thousand kiloters."
"Throughout this journey, we need to be constantly vigilant and try to avoid the enemy," she paused, "but if there’s an opportunity to act, we mustn’t miss it."
"Understood," the three nodded.
Though Earth and the Beiluo Shin signed a peace treaty over 170 years ago, the agreent holds little sway as frictions have been constant, erupting into two or three significant conflicts almost every year, with an average Star Realm war breaking out every thirty years.
On the borderline, the hunting teams from both sides constantly infiltrated, sneaked in, and assassinated each other, and death was unceasing.
Beyond East Pole Pass, there was a road that stretched into the forest.
If one followed this road for about a dozen kiloters, one would see a military fortress of the Beiluo Shin Clan, facing East Pole Pass from afar.
Ji Xinghuo’s group of four did not take this road; after Ren Mian determined the direction, they headed slightly northward, shuttling through the forest.
The forest of Thousand Peak Abyss was extrely lush; tall trees ford a canopy that blotted out the sky. From top to bottom, there were multiple layers, with less and less light reaching the lower levels. The vegetation was rather sparse at the lowest level. One would see colossal tree trunks in every direction, dark and intricate, and it was very easy to get lost.
Ji Xinghuo perked up his spirits, his magnetic field sensing spreading outward.
The magnetic field within an 800-ter range mapped in his mind, and he adeptly sorted through various types of magnetic fields as if using different filters to form distinct sensory images.
Chi Zhonglin walked in front, with him and Ren Mian in the middle, and Jiangnan Caiyi lagging just a bit behind, remaining vigilant.
Ren Mian was almost constantly watching Ji Xinghuo.
Ji Xinghuo was the team’s "eyes," while she was the "brain." The two of them had to regularly exchange information to command the team’s next move.
After half an hour, Ji Xinghuo made a hand gesture and stopped in his tracks.
"What’s the situation?"
Ren Mian imdiately initiated Mind Link.
Ji Xinghuo pointed in the direction to the left, "There is a group of Shadow Wolves over there, a total of eight. Should we take action?"
"Don’t," Ren Mian answered almost without hesitation, "Every fight that happens here is dangerous and might attract the enemy. Avoid the wolf pack."
"Alright."
The team detoured a stretch of road, widening the distance from the wolf pack.
Ji Xinghuo ntally sighed in pity.
Ren Mian didn’t know that his magnetic field sensing distance was 800 ters; she had always thought it was only around 300 ters. The discrepancy in their scouting range was around sixfold.
He was confident that they could always be on guard against the enemy and would quickly be able to hunt down the wolf pack and harvest Spiritual Origin Energy.
In the following hours, Ji Xinghuo detected monsters two or three tis, but apart from the one that entered within 300 ters, he did not ntion the rest.
All the way, they hadn’t yet encountered a fight.
Just as Ji Xinghuo was beginning to relax, he suddenly felt a surge in his heart, but he did not show it on his face.
To the right front, magnetic field sensing had revealed a very concealed observation post, built about twenty ters above the ground in a tree, hidden amongst lush leaves, blending into the shade. If one were to just look with their eyes, it would be very hard to spot.
Ji Xinghuo didn’t raise the alarm prematurely; instead, he continued to observe.
There were "people" in the observation post!
He sensed five biological magnetic fields, one human-shaped, similar to an Earth human’s physique but with a distinctive tail; three others were also human-shaped but smaller, only a bit over one ter tall, petite and nimble; the last magnetic field was the most peculiar.
If it weren’t for Ji Xinghuo’s extensive experience in identifying biological magnetic fields, he might have overlooked it.
This biological magnetic field was extensive, almost rging with the tree observation post, its shape dispersed, resembling hundreds of entangled branches forming a large mass, with a core inside that seed to be its brain.
"Beiluo Shin Clan!"
Ji Xinghuo recognized it instantly.
The Beiluo Shin Clan was a collective term; unlike Earth, which only had humans, they consisted of four different races.
Their mother planet orbited the star "Beiluo Shin," a gas giant nad "Beiluo Shin b" with the nickna "Dagon," and this planet, three tis more massive than Jupiter, had over two hundred moons, three of which gave rise to four races.
The most hospitable environnt was on "Biyu Forest," only half the diater of Earth, with a thick atmosphere; over 40% of its surface was water and ocean.
Biyu Forest’s ecosystem was highly developed, giving birth to two races: the Dagon people and the "Vine Spirits."
Another moon, "Grey Ring," was ruled by the miniature insect-like "Gorak," who, due to Grey Ring’s low gravity, possessed wing mbranes that allowed for short-distance flying, making them extrely agile.
The furthest from the mother planet and with the harshest environnt was "Night Star," which bore the hard-shelled, cold-blooded "Stone Lizard People."
Before the Star Gate was opened, the four races waged war among themselves for thousands of years.
However, after the opening of the Star Gate, the Dagon people, with their superior talents, gradually gained the upper hand, defeating the Vine Spirits with whom they had fought for centuries, and ultimately unifying the three moons. They integrated the four races into what is now known as the Beiluo Shin Clan.
The Dagon people leaped to beco the ruling class of the Beiluo Shin Clan, followed by the Vine Spirits, while the Gorak and the Stone Lizard People were the ruled, at the bottom of society.
That creature with the strange magnetic field shape was one of the Vine Spirits.
They were a half-animal, half-plant race, hermaphroditic, self-reproducing, with no fixed shape, and they naturally possessed the power to control plants, hence nearly the whole race were Plant Witches.
The three small human-shaped forms were Gorak.
This insect race was proficient in flying, had very sharp hearing, and a few possessed mastery of illusion abilities, so in the Beiluo Shin Clan’s forces, they were responsible for reconnaissance and assassination.
The human-shaped magnetic field belonged to a Dagon person, the commander of that observation post.
As for the Stone Lizard People, Ji Xinghuo did not detect any.
He continued walking silently, and when they were only a little over three hundred ters away from the observation post, he suddenly halted, made a gesture for silence, and pointed up towards the concealed spot in the tree.
"Beiluo Shin Clan!"
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