Star Gate

Chapter 247: The Second Passageway (IV)

“I’m not going into the house!” Hao Lianchuan frowned. “Deciding my fate through luck... I’m better off relying on strength instead! I accept the outcome even if the soldiers kill me. You guys can go through the house if you wish, I won’t be and the Night Watchers aren’t allowed to! If we must, then those below Sunflares can make the attempt. They stand a good chance of succeeding!”

Some among the Night Watchers scratched their heads. They couldn’t hide their supernatural ripples. If everyone else could, then the agency would be at a great disadvantage! But since the deputy director had given his orders, they weren’t in a position to contradict him.

Perhaps they’d be in an even more disadvantageous position then. The others might treat them as protective charms—if they were going to be discovered, it was the Night Watchers who would draw notice first.

At the same time, there were indeed those who felt that it was better to rely on one’s own strength than luck.

“Whatever you wish of your own volition!” said the Revolution King. “But those who don’t take that passageway will retain noticeable supernatural ripples. They will form a team to draw Black Armor attention and create opportunities for others. I trust the Night Watchers have no second opinion about this?”

Seeing that Hao Lianchuan was about to refuse, Revolution insisted coldly, “There’s risks to both options! There’s danger in the second passageway and there’s danger to being bait. If you think being bait is more dangerous, then go through the house!

“No one is an exception!” He turned to the crowd. “Either you walk through here or you’re bait to distract the soldiers! Those who take the passageway will listen to orders and work with the bait team to ambush Black Armors! Our expedition will be a failure if we don’t clear out the soldiers!”

It was a good proposal that factored in the risks of all sides. Hao Lianchuan acquiesced after thinking about it for a moment.

“That works! The Night Watchers will not be going through the second passageway. Anyone else who is unwilling can stay with us!”

The large organizations conversed among themselves, splitting the crowd into two. There were roughly one hundred and fifty people left in the expedition team. A little more than half—approximately eighty—chose the house. Only a few Solars were willing to try this path—Yao Cheng of Yama, Violet Moon of Red Moon, and Hong Yitang of the Sword Sect.

The two Solars of Celestial didn’t opt for this, neither did the female Solar of the Sword Sect or the Revolution King. Li Hao was a little surprised by the distribution. Hadn’t they all been raising a fuss to take the second route? And now the Revolution King chose to stay behind!

Perhaps he did so to counterbalance the Night Watchers. Who knew the true reason? As for Violet Moon choosing the passageway, Li Hao guessed it was because she was injured. The Silver Armor had his sights on her after attacking her for so long earlier. She might be concerned that noticeable supernatural ripples would result in continued attention from the soldier.

Die! Please die! Li Hao prayed. None of these people would be missed if they died inside. According to Hao Lianchuan, the stronger one was, the higher the fatality rate. However, that didn’t mean there was no chance of survival. Perhaps the deputy director had attempted the passage before. Li Hao didn’t ask if he had. If this was the case, then being alive now meant that there was still a chance for Solars to survive the house.

“We’ll split into two groups. The bait group will go into hiding as soon as they enter the city. They’ll draw attention from the Black Armors when the second group leaves the house. Violet Moon, bring those people over and attack them from behind. The Silver Armor is our first priority. We also need to throw all of the Black Armors out of the city as much as possible. There is nothing to fear about the Silver Armor when it doesn’t have an army behind it!” The Revolution King detailed several arrangements.

“Additionally, don’t brashly approach the inner city. While there may be more to harvest there, there may be greater danger! This expedition is obviously very different from previous excavations. Don’t throw away your life for a moment of greed! If the second group does not appear a minute after we’ve engaged the soldiers, then we’ll withdraw as well!”

He couldn’t give these people an opportunity to strike off on their own. Although Yao Cheng was part of the second group, the Revolution King still had to be on his guard. If there was no sign of the second group after a minute, the bait group would retreat. The Black Armors would certainly eliminate the second group when they returned to their posts.

“Don’t go thinking that everyone is as despicable as you, Revolution!” sneered Violet Moon.

“It’s just a precaution!” The Revolution King said nothing further after they decided on the plan of attack. Violet Moon walked off with those who wanted to try their luck; all the first group needed to do was wait. A messenger would come back after everyone left the house. That was when the offensive would start.

......

The group acting as bait waited in silence. Hu Dingfang walked up to Li Hao and looked expressionlessly at the young man. “Stay close to me in the fighting to come, but not overly close. It’ll be too dangerous if you’re right next to me!”

Li Hao nodded. The army commander silently flicked another glance at him. It was good enough if the lad didn’t wander off.

The group waited patiently and with some anticipation as to the results. Most were hoping that the second group lived, whereas Li Hao wanted nothing more than for all of them to be dead.

A dark figure flashed through the city after roughly ten minutes. A cloaked person swiftly ran over—a Celestial member. That organization had also sent their people inside.

The messenger’s presence was slightly weighty and not very stable. It murmured at the edge of the plaza, “Things aren’t looking too good... Master Yao Cheng of Yama didn’t exit the house. Master Violet Moon’s injuries seem to have gotten worse. Swordmaster Hong appears to be fine...”

The Revolution King’s presence fluctuated when he heard the report. What?! Yao Cheng was dead?! Why?? He wanted to explode with anger! How was this possible!! Yao Cheng was a Solar! How could he disappear without a sound like this?!

“We suffered significant losses aside from the great personages. Twenty-two are dead, only sixty made it out alive...”

One-fourth of the second group had been lost!! Was this a worthwhile trade?

It was difficult to say whether it was worthwhile or not. The groups had been formed out of personal preference and death was inevitable. However, no one fathomed that they could possibly lose a Solar.

The Revolution King was beyond livid! He didn’t care about the others, but Yao Cheng!! Damn it! Yama had lost too much since the start of this expedition! He forced down raging frustration in his heart and replied ponderously, “Understood!”

The Yama powerhouses around him were likewise in somber moods. Apart from Red Moon, Yama had suffered the most on this excavation.

Taking a deep breath, the Revolution King turned to the others. “Hu Dingfang... Hao Lianchuan... Are you ready?”

“We can go anytime!”

“Then... let’s begin!” They needed to eliminate these Black Armors as soon as possible.

Powerhouses set foot into the plaza and roused their mysterious power. Formidable supernatural ripples roiled through the city. A Silver Armor appeared in the sky after the span of a breath, Black and Bronze Armors swiftly converged beneath his feet and ran for the plaza at high speed.

Battle was about to break out once more!

......

Inside the city.

Violet Moon was ashen-faced in a small alley, as was Hong Yitang white as a sheet. The two Solars viewed their actions with slight regret at the moment.

It was difficult to describe what’d taken place in the house, but they’d lost Yao Cheng and suffered severe injuries themselves. Violet Moon’s heart ached the most for her Armor of the Thunder God. It was gravely damaged and could no longer manifest around her. It had to stay inside her body to be nurtured back to proper condition. That was the root cause of her anguish.

Her own strength would be severely affected by the lack of an origin weapon. Her defensive skills had been very strong before, but now they were enormously weakened!

As pained as she was, she still smiled to see the Silver Armor fly away. The second passageway was effective. Otherwise, the soldier should be flying to her since she was closer. Although she’d paid a hefty price, the trouble to come belonged to the Revolution King and others.

“We’ll wait a minute before setting out!” she transmitted to Hong Yitang. It was time for those guys to feel the pressure and suffer some casualties. “Did you see the medallion?”

“I think I did...” Hong Yitang transmitted back after some thought. “But it seemed to be separated by a layer of something. Did leader Violet Moon see it too?”

“I saw a flash of golden light... I’m not sure if it was the medallion or not.”

The two fell silent, yet certain that there was treasure inside the house. What a pity that they couldn’t lay hands on it. Violet Moon was already considering if she should grab Li Hao when there was a chance to and force him inside the house for a look.

Explosions rang in the distance. Battle was underway!

The second group waited a little while before following Violet Moon and Hong Yitang’s lead in surreptitiously approaching the plaza. Their obscured supernatural presences gave them the opportunity to ambush the city’s defenders.

......

Li Hao struck out with the Earthturner Sword and sent a Black Armor flying. The situation was chaotic around him as fights broke out everywhere!

There were many soldiers, but the Solars were as if their illustrious name. They were also quite bold in this engagement and rushed directly into groups of soldiers! Hu Dingfang and the Revolution King jointly preoccupied the Silver Armor. The remaining Solars charged into the Black Armors and threw them out of the plaza in droves!

However, there were too many soldiers to contend with at the end of the day. Bolstered by the ground and possessing strong defenses through their armor, it meant that only Solars exercised a slight advantage against the Black Armors. Sunflares were unable to gain the upper hand and the eight Bronze Armors were also no end of trouble.

If reinforcements failed to arrive soon, they would have to withdraw.

Li Hao didn’t care about that. He simply struck again and again, utilizing his sword aura. These soldiers were perfect targets! There was no need to worry about damaging them; all he needed to do was focus on attacking. He had to give it to Hong Yitang—the man’s sword was very powerful. The earth shook with every stroke that Li Hao deployed and it didn’t show signs of breaking when he melded his sword aura with it. Previous swords started shattering as soon as he attempted that fusion. What a good man!

Li Hao was in the stage of nurturing his aura. All of these Black Armors were his sparring partners. An anguished scream echoed in his ears; he ignored it. He had effort only to spare for himself at a critical moment like this.

He clutched a bone in the chaos and operated the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. It was the bone that the Revolution King had given him earlier. Water energy surged into his body—he wasn’t the only one to do so. Supernaturals absorbed energy throughout the course of battle to replenish their reserves. Thus, the young man didn’t stand out for his actions.

Li Hao was very irritated that the Revolution King had given him water energy instead of fire, and an additional fifty cubes at that! What if his kidneys were so fortified that it propelled him into Dominator? That would be incredible trouble!

With all these people around him, he wanted to make the breakthrough with none the wiser. Hence, Li Hao kept himself in check. He needed to be restrained even after he balanced his five elements again.

As strong as the Black Armors were, they were truly incompetent when it came to determining direction. They relied solely on supernatural ripples and sound. Li Hao started trying different methods against them, such as flicking them into the air with a sword stroke!

He wanted to practice how to send opponents flying; these soldiers were the best targets. Black Armor after Black Armor rose into the air as Li Hao had a great time on the battlefield. He drew near Hao Lianchuan whenever the situation became a little too dangerous. Although the deputy director wanted him to stay close to Hu Dingfang, the commander was fighting the Silver Armor. Li Hao wasn’t in the habit of courting death.

After balancing his five visceral organs and strengthening his internal force, the young man started practicing the Nine Forged Force...

A minute passed in the blink of an eye. Powerful surges of mysterious power erupted at the rear of the soldiers!