Ji Xinghuo and his two companions hid in a dimly lit cave, not making a sound, their breathing slowed to the lightest.
It was the last day of Peak Month, and it was dayti outside.
They had been out hunting the enemy for over fifty hours now, yet their gains were less than expected.
Ji Xinghuo keenly noticed that, starting from yesterday, the Beiluo Shin Clan’s arrangents had undergone noticeable changes, especially the patrol teams.
He had discovered several tis that legendary warriors were hiding among the patrol teams, their numbers several tis that of before; clearly, the Beiluo Shin Clan had called in many legends from elsewhere to target the three of them.
Even so patrol teams that didn’t have legends contained several Fourth Rank enemies.
The Stone Lizard People warriors had even been replaced with Second and Third Rank ones, disguised as ordinary patrols.
To strike without understanding the situation would be imaginable.
Just monts ago.
The three were discovered by a legendary strong one who didn’t chase them with great fanfare but instead stealthily tracked them from afar and seed to grasp the range of Ji Xinghuo’s perception, keeping a distance of about two thousand ters, secretly orchestrating a surrounding maneuver.
Ji Xinghuo didn’t notice at first.
Fortunately, he always had a premonition in his mind, heightened his perception concentration, and the Wanxiang Star Pupil finally caught sight of the enemy!
This legendary strong one was over three thousand ters away, hidden in invisibility, thinking he was flying very covertly in the sky, unaware he had been exposed.
Ji Xinghuo was greatly startled.
But he didn’t react at all, pretending to be unaware, using a dense forest to escape the enemy’s vision and hide in this cave.
After a while.
Ji Xinghuo said, "We should leave now."
The legend was a Gorak, very rare. When he discovered the disappearance of the trio, he searched the area many tis. His magnetic field sensing had locked onto him, and he’d already been out of the magnetic field range for a long ti.
There were no other Beiluo Shin Clan ambushes in the magnetic field sensing, either.
Jing Ji let out a breath.
"That was close!"
He still wore a scared look on his face; if not for Ji Xinghuo’s warning, he wouldn’t have noticed the legendary pursuer.
"Could it be a bluff to make us reveal ourselves?" Yuan Chongzhen was very cautious.
"It’s possible," Ji Xinghuo nodded. "We’ll continue to hide here for an hour and make sure there’s no signs of them before we leave."
Both agreed.
Jing Ji glanced at his backpack, which contained the spoils of today’s battles, with bounties adding up to just a few million. Each person could only get just over seventy points. Today’s gains were lower than the monthly average of the past, by far too much.
"It looks like I’m going to lose," he said with so resignation.
"Not necessarily."
Ji Xinghuo pondered and shook his head, "The Beiluo Shin Clan’s grand gestures this ti shouldn’t be entirely due to us, Alex and his team play a role too."
Alex’s team had already wiped out entire Tower Camps or outposts four tis.
In terms of destructive power, they were definitely on par with the trio.
The wholesale elimination of a Tower Camp dealt an even bigger morale blow to the Beiluo Shin Clan, and they certainly wouldn’t sit idly by.
If Alex and his team failed to hold back, they were likely to capsize. Once they encountered a legendary strong one, it would an certain death. The probability of escaping was very slim, and if Alex’s team of three died, Jing Ji would naturally win the bet.
"Alex’s luck can’t be that bad, can it?" Jing Ji was skeptical.
"It’s not a matter of luck," Yuan Chongzhen said. "Xinghuo’s perception is so strong, and he almost fell for it. I don’t believe Alex and his team have stronger perception than Xinghuo. They’re probably in big trouble this ti." He seriously added, "We’ll win as long as we make it back alive."
Jing Ji’s expression grew serious, "Then let’s head straight back to Midpoint Fortress."
"Agreed."
Ji Xinghuo didn’t want to take risks anymore either.
Moreover, he felt that it was no longer appropriate to hunt the Beiluo Shin Clan in the near future.
Although Earth and Beiluo Shin were deadly foes, there were so tacit understandings, maintaining a relative balance on the defense lines, not investing infinite resources and manpower, nor engaging in senseless consumption, always keeping the conflict at a lower intensity.
His trio and Alex’s side, by hunting the Beiluo Shin Clan rampantly this month, had sowhat disrupted the balance.
Continuing in this vein, war was inevitable.
Ji Xinghuo did want to take part in the war; one could gain a large amount of Spiritual Origin Ability on the battlefield, but as the instigator, he would undoubtedly be the pri target.
The Beiluo Shin Clan would be out for blood on sighting him, with legends and even Heavenly Kings hunting him. Amidst the chaos of battle, Earth’s strong ones might not be able to protect him.
So it was better to stay as far away as possible.
The three spent a long ti hiding in the cave; Jing Ji cast Silent Illusion to cover their tracks as they cautiously left the cave, guided by Ji Xinghuo.
All along the way, the trio weren’t quick-footed.
They would have normally taken out any patrol teams or solitary enemies they encountered,
But today, Ji Xinghuo always took detours in advance, avoiding any chance of combat.
The hunting ground was very far from Midpoint Fortress, over three hundred kiloters, and they had gone over a hundred kiloters deep into the enemy’s rear defense line. It took them four to five hours just to cross the buffer zone and return to Earth’s side of the defensive line, where they could finally relax a little.
Jing Ji glanced at the sky; Star Night was fast approaching.
Today was the last day of Peak Month. Tonight, there would be only a Star Night lasting 24.8 hours, with no darkness.
Tomorrow would usher in "Night Moon," with darkness following daylight, but it would last only 272 seconds before the next Star Night began. Each passing day, the darkness would extend by 272 seconds, and the weather would grow colder, signaling the start of a nine Star Realm Month-long cold season—equivalent to 1.85 Earth years.
"This ti when I return, I’m going to rest for a while," said Jing Ji, with a hint of a smile on his face. "I haven’t been back to Earth for three months; my daughter probably won’t even recognize ."
Ji Xinghuo had long heard him talk about his daughter, who was just over two years old.
"I’ll return to Sword Valley Fortress. It’s much calr and safer than Midpoint Fortress, and I will continue hunting," Yuan Chongzhen stated.
He was the oldest of the three, at forty, and was saving funds in an effort to ascend to Legendary status.
However, attaining Legendary status was extrely difficult and was still far off.
A thought stirred in Ji Xinghuo’s mind.
Sword Valley Fortress was located to the east of Olympia, more than five hundred kiloters from Midpoint Fortress. The terrain was extrely treacherous. It was nearly impossible for the Beiluo Shin Clan to launch an attack on Olympia from the direction of Sword Valley Fortress, which is why it hosted fewer stationed troops and bounty hunters.
"Xinghuo, don’t you have any plans?" Jing Ji asked, seeing him remain silent.
"I haven’t decided yet."
Ji Xinghuo scratched his head, thinking he would ask Yuan Chongzhen after getting back.
If the conditions at Sword Valley Fortress were suitable, he could join Yuan Chongzhen. He planned to hunt down a few dozen mbers of the Beiluo Shin Clan each day—not too many, as to avoid drawing attention.
Little by little, the accumulation would flow like a steady stream...
Suddenly.
Ji Xinghuo’s magnetic field perception detected a lurking target on Earth’s defense line’s side, motionless, yet it didn’t seem like an ambush.
Because it was a human.
He didn’t alert his teammates; instead, he continued walking forward for a few hundred ters.
"This person seems familiar."
Observing the magnetic field characteristics carefully, Ji Xinghuo finally rembered and was imdiately startled; it was Alex!
But Alex seed to be in very bad shape.
Ji Xinghuo stopped in his tracks. Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen imdiately looked over. Such behavior usually indicated that Ji Xinghuo had discovered sothing.
"What’s wrong?" Jing Ji activated the Mind Link.
"I found Alex," Ji Xinghuo replied. He briefly described Alex’s situation. Both teammates wore faces of shock and bewildernt, but in the end, they decided to go and take a look.
The three, under the cover of Silent Illusion, approached Alex, who was hiding in a swamp. His entire form lay subrged under the water, perfectly blending in with the murky algae, covered by a thick layer of aquatic plants. The murky water was tinted dark red, but this was hard to discern under the Star Night.
If Ji Xinghuo hadn’t pointed it out ahead of ti, the others would never have spotted a person hidden there.
"Alex."
Jing Ji called out the na, and the sound seed so stark in the desolate swamp.
Swish swish...
The swamp water began to move. A stream of blood rose from beneath the surface, quickly standing tall and twisting into a human shape as it erged from the mire. He shook off the aquatic plants covering him, revealing his pale skin—but at that mont, his face was paler than usual.
It was indeed Alex. He looked at Jing Ji and the others, his expression extrely surprised: "Jing Ji? How did you—Cough, cough..."
Before he could finish speaking, Alex coughed up blood.
Seeing his condition, Jing Ji frowned. "You look quite bad." His gaze swept around. "Where are your teammates?"
"They’re all dead." Alex swallowed back his blood and replied indifferently.
"What happened?"
"We walked into an ambush."
Alex briefly recounted what happened. A few days ago, he and two teammates targeted a Beiluo Shin stronghold, not a large one. The garrison consisted of just over four hundred people. If they could eliminate them and add the spoils they had gathered over the past few days, they would basically have won.
Today, after several recon missions, they had decided to make their move.
But it was a trap.
A Legendary mber of the Dagon people was hidden inside the fortress, and it was unclear how long he had been lying in wait. They had barely initiated their assault when they were discovered. The three of them resisted with all their might, but the battle was over in re minutes. The Dream Weaver was killed on the spot, and Alex and the Evil Wind Guest could only flee separately.
The Legendary Dagon prioritized pursuing the Evil Wind Guest. Alex saw his teammate killed from afar, but dared not go to his rescue.
What followed was a relentless chase.
The Blood Butcher was exceptionally tenacious, and Alex managed to escape back to Earth’s defense line, but he could no longer hold on and temporarily hid in the swamp.
Ji Xinghuo and the others exchanged glances. It was as they had guessed.
The bet was already won.
However, there wasn’t much joy on Jing Ji’s face; this victory was different from what he had imagined. He was about to ask more questions when Alex interrupted him: "We must leave imdiately. That Legendary Dagon might still be nearby, looking for ."
"Let’s go!"
With a drastic change in expression, Jing Ji turned and ran.
He had run a few steps when he realized that Ji Xinghuo hadn’t followed. Ji Xinghuo gazed at the other side of the swamp, his expression more solemn than ever. "He’s already here!" he said in a deep voice.
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