Chapter 1449: Hao Ren Deserves an Oscar
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When the silvery white bolts tipped with mighty magic power pierced through the air, they left behind crisscrossing blazing trails in the sky. The bolts penetrated the protection spells and enchantments like paper. That was followed by offensive magic from the Letta runes, which destroyed the witches’ defenses in the cemetery. To survive in the Dark Ages, the witches had earlier laid down layers of defenses in the forms of enchanted tombstones and twisted dead trees around their lair. Those objects, the witches’ primary s.h.i.+elds, could only momentarily delay the advances of the demon hunters.
The witches finally got their act together after their initial panic. Madam Marie and Hessiana became the ones whom the others looked to for instructions. Their shouts of command prevented the witches from doing anything stupid in panic. Under the cover of the mysterious fog, the witches hid and retreated to a narrow strip of land in the southwest corner of the cemetery. The witch, Helen, chanted a spell, and the tombstones around the open s.p.a.ce came to life, turning into black stone guards covered in moss. The guards formed another line of defense, holding back the remote strike of the demon hunters.
*Boom!*
Almost as soon as the stone guards rose, a dazzling, silvery-white fireball whizzed in a parabola through the air and landed on one of the guards. The supposedly indestructible stone guard, which had a robust anti-magic ability, shattered in an instant. Sacred Flames vaporized most of its broken pieces before they even crashed to the ground.
“The stone guards are crumbling. They can hold up for a few more minutes at the most,” Hessiana said quickly. “What the h.e.l.l. They are no ordinary demon-hunter squad. Only the elites could unleash such destructive power!”
Hao Ren glanced at Little Bat and said, “It seems that even if your previous plan were successful, it would still be useless. The strength of these demon hunters is not what you think.”
Hessiana seemed to be quick in admitting her miscalculation. “The intense interest the demon hunters are showing towards this place is a surprise. It seems that they still see Vivian as a threat even though she is in hibernation.”
While Hessiana spoke, Hao Ren had another question in mind.
Are these demon hunters coming for Vivian? Isn’t Vivian a deterrence to the demon hunters? Why would the demon hunters look for trouble with the Countess although they know that she has rarely caused any trouble before? Hao Ren asked himself.
What was wrong with these elite demon hunters?
The demon hunters appeared to be using their firepower to pin the witches into a corner. Perhaps their extreme discipline made them very cautious although they were only raiding a bunch of half-human witches. Up to that point, the demon hunters were still using bolts and spells to go against the resistance in the cemetery. It seemed like they wanted to play the long game of exhausting their enemy.
However, the game of exhaustion would soon be over.
Hao Ren looked up towards the west of the cemetery. His peered through the thick fog and saw several figures moving. The demon hunters had crossed the fences and animated trees. Their actions only meant one thing: the killing had just begun.
Hessiana threw out a few corrosive b.a.l.l.s of blood. The blood b.a.l.l.s, which contained the power of death, landed before the demon hunters and immediately exploded into clouds of toxic fog. The demon hunters were wary and halted their advances.
“We are on the defensive here. Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are good when it comes to a siege.” Hessiana snorted. “We must find a way to get out. It is close to the full moon; if we can get out, I will be able to harness the power of the moonlight to shake them off. But there are two caveats.”
“What caveats?” Madam Marie quickly asked.
“First, we cannot break through the blockade. You even have difficulty looking after yourselves, who can break the demon hunters’ defense? Second, we need someone to stay behind to buy us some time. Even the slightest would be good enough.”
The witches and Bain, the wizard, looked at each other. But Hao Ren already had an idea.
“No problem,” Hao Ren said quickly as he opened his Dimensional Pocket and took out a weird-looking weapon, at least it was weird in the eyes of the witches. “Lily will lead the charge to break the siege… Lily, put this on. You need this weapon.”
Lily looked at Hao Ren as he put the equipment on her. “But I am better at close-quarters combat.”
Hao Ren waved his hand. “This thing is much better than a large sword. Your goal is to break the blockade, not to engage the demon hunters. Thus, firepower will do the job better than anything else.”
Before Lily knew it, Hao Ren had finished equipping her with a ma.s.sive case of ammunition on her back, and a six-barrel machine gun in each hand. The writer, now, looked like the Terminator.
As he hung the weapons on Lily, Hao Ren leaned over and whispered to her, “Bring everyone and storm out of here. Do not engage the demon hunters—I need them.”
“Mr. Landlord, are you planning to dupe them?” Lily blinked.
“I have questions to ask them. It is unusual for the demon hunters to come looking for trouble with Vivian; something must be wrong.” Hao Ren flipped open the safety lock of the machine guns and checked that the ammunition case was in good order. “Leave marks on your way out. I will catch up with you soon.”
Hessiana watched as Hao Ren hung a ton of weird stuff on Lily’s back. Curious, she asked, “What are those? Can you use them against the demon hunters?”
“It may be a little hard to annihilate those individuals, but clearing a way out is not a problem at all.” Hao Ren grinned as he looked at Little Bat. Hessiana had never seen modern weaponry at this time, yet she would be an arms maniac 600 years later. “You can go with Lily, I will stay behind.”
“Are you sure about that?” Hessiana looked surprised. “It is dangerous.”
“I know what I am doing, do not worry.” Hao Ren had a confident look on his face. “A man like me who mingles with an ancient Blood Clan member like Vivian would not be that weak, don’t you think?”
Hessiana bit her lip and stared at Hao Ren for a long while. “In that case, be safe. You are one of the very few friends that Vivian has. One death will be too great a loss to bear.”
Hao Ren was stupefied.
The kid was so unskilled with her words back then!
The last few stone guards fell under the demon hunters’ bombardments. The figures in the fog had sped up, and their magic energy in the air grew stronger. Hao Ren hurried Little Bat off. “Go now while you can!”
“I owe you a favor!”
With Lily leading the charge, Hessiana and the witches barged in a direction towards the dense fog. Soon, they all disappeared before Hao Ren’s eyes. A few seconds later, Hao Ren heard the rattling of machine gun fire in the fog.
Just as Hao Ren guessed, the demon hunters had laid siege on the periphery of the cemetery. But he was confident that Lily had no problem in breaking through the barrier with two heavy machine guns in hand and her mad-dog state of mind.
Hao Ren was getting ready.
He had changed into a demon hunter’s suit and hung the demon hunter’s gear that Ha.s.se had given him on his body. Hao Ren took advantage of the chaos that Lily created, s.h.i.+fted his position, and waited for the right moment before he took out an emblem and injected his spiritual power into it.
It was a silver coat of arms, the size of a palm. The pattern of a blade in the shape of a cross was engraved on it. After the spiritual injection, the silver coat of arms began to glow.
It was an amulet that the demon hunters often equipped themselves with. The charm was said to dispel low-level threats of magic and improve self-healing abilities. On the chaotic battlefield, it could also be used as a prop for remote identification between demon hunters. Hao Ren had learned from Ha.s.se how to use his mental power to activate the gadget.
As expected, when the amulet emitted a unique frequency of magic energy, Hao Ren was able to mentally perceive that some of the demon hunters had stopped pursuing the witches. Other demon hunters also showed signs of hesitation. The sudden emergence of a “friendly” force in the evil lair surprised the demon hunters.
A moment later, a few demon hunters emerged from the thick fog. When their signature black suits came into view, Hao Ren jumped out and shouted, “In the name of Coldpath, all of you have just ruined my efforts for the past half month!”
He sounded blunt and rightful, as though he had the moral high ground. There were also some hints of frustration and irritability in his voice. Hao Ren suddenly thought that he deserved an Oscar.
When the demon hunters heard his shouts in the name of Coldpath and sensed the magic energy in the air, they scurried over. They saw a man in a demon hunter’s suit, looking irritable and leaning against a half-collapsed tombstone.
A demon hunter who looked like the team leader came up to Hao Ren and sized him up. “You are?”
“A Stalker,” Hao Ren replied with his arms crossed. He maintained the aura of a demon hunter. “I have been following these witches for half a month. And you lot just screwed everything up!”