CHAPTER 1017: DEVIL SQUAD

Chapter 1017: Devil Squad

Soul Reaper crushed East Sea Region fleet captain Bai Ze as easily as squashing a bug.

Without the slightest hesitation, he tossed the corpse aside, his icy gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

His brain had been implanted with a primary command overriding his killing instinct—to eliminate a target codenamed [Chaos].

Soul Reaper couldn't sense Chaos's presence, and a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Completely naked, he walked through the minus sixty-degree snowy wasteland, searching for his prey.

By the time Huaxu Kingdom's command center confirmed Bai Ze's death, Soul Reaper had already disappeared into the vast toxic miasma.

From beginning to end, no one ever learned how Bai Ze died.

Li Tianyang's mood grew increasingly oppressive.

Watching Jiangnan Region achieve victory after victory while his own forces suffered repeated setbacks made him feel utterly humiliated throughout the entire command center.

Yet aside from impotent rage, he had no other recourse.

He didn't even know what was hidden inside that metal coffin.

The command center could only issue warnings for everyone to exercise extreme caution.

......

As time passed, various superhuman teams gradually approached the Mist Valley area.

Most teams had encountered source sprites during their exploration.

Every survivor had gained tremendous rewards from these encounters.

Through this experience, the high command of both major regions finally understood why Shengjing Region had been able to acquire power surpassing the entire Huaxu Kingdom ahead of them.

Beyond possessing the most powerful weapons and military systems, they had also previously discovered a Divine Source in the Qinling Mountains.

It turned out the Divine Source's value wasn't limited to helping people break through Delta-level bottlenecks.

Even the accompanying substances of the Divine Source could produce numerous powerful individuals!

Consequently, most teams had shifted their primary objective to hunting source sprites.

Only individuals like Billy the Kid and the Four Spirits still focused their attention on the Divine Source itself.

However, teams like those from Jiangnan Region and the joint forces' foreign superhumans understood that the Divine Source was beyond their reach.

Instead, finding source sprites offered opportunities they could actually seize.

Makipo City, located northeast of Mist Valley.

Here resided Jiangnan Region's Demon Squad.

Under captain Lu Huang's leadership, they slowly approached Mist Valley.

Based on experience, they'd discovered that the closer they got to the Divine Source's core area, the higher the probability of encountering source sprites. RＡＮŐᛒËʂ

By now, their objective had shifted to hunting source sprites.

The entire Demon Squad consisted of twelve members.

They were now one of the few teams still operating as a complete unit.

For reference, consider the Tianlong Pirate Crew.

In combat between high-level superhumans, numerical advantage might not translate to actual superiority if the level disparity was too great.

Instead, numbers could become a liability.

However, the Demon Squad had maintained exceptionally good luck.

From their island landing until now, they hadn't encountered any joint forces superhuman organizations.

This was largely because Zhang Yi had eliminated so many joint forces superhumans, drawing most of the attention.

But as they approached Mist Valley, their good fortune couldn't last forever.

Lu Huang walked through the toxic miasma, accompanied by his tall, curvaceous deputy captain Li Yue.

The other ten team members operated in dispersed formations, gathering intelligence in the surrounding area.

One team member stood on a tree branch, watching an energy detection device showing faint reactions.

"Captain, energy reactions detected southwest."

Upon receiving this intelligence, Lu Huang nodded coldly.

"Just as we anticipated. The closer we get to the Divine Source's location, the more numerous these accompanying creatures become."

Li Yue smiled and bent down, whispering close to his ear, "Captain, but moving forward also increases the likelihood of encountering danger!"

"Ah, I know."

Lu Huang's tone remained as detached as ever.

Though young, he wasn't foolish.

However, encountering such a rare opportunity to rapidly enhance his power—how could he possibly let it slip away?

Throughout their journey, they'd found source sprites twice.

The entire Demon Squad's strength had been upgraded.

His own superhuman ability index had now reached approximately 9500 points.

Of course, the ability index was a conceptual measurement requiring professional assessment.

But high-level superhumans could make rough estimates based on experience.

"If I can advance further, or even find those large source sprites they mentioned, might I approach Epsilon level?"

A glimmer of anticipation appeared in Lu Huang's eyes.

In this apocalypse, strength meant everything.

"If one day I obtain unparalleled power, even my monstrous form might gain universal acceptance!"

He thought to himself.

The team member who detected the energy fluctuations asked, "Shall we advance?"

Lu Huang responded immediately, "Don't rush! Everyone proceed according to plan, advancing toward the energy source in dispersed formation."

"Remain vigilant. The path ahead grows increasingly dangerous."

The communication channel echoed with the team's unified response, "Yes, Captain!"

Through the dense toxic miasma, streams of light scattered like meteors, racing toward the energy source.

Lu Huang turned to look at his deputy captain Li Yue.

"Li Yue, stay close behind me!"

His eyes matched his expression—icy cold, as if utterly disinterested in the entire world.

His beauty seemed unreal, almost mask-like.

Yet when speaking to Li Yue, he tried to inject some warmth into his voice.

"I can already sense danger approaching!"

He took a deep breath, "When I can no longer control my killing intent, you must stop me immediately. I fear my demonic state!"

Li Yue's face blossomed into an incredibly sweet smile, creating a stark contrast with Lu Huang's demeanor.

She smoothed her long hair, and due to their twenty-centimeter height difference, when she spoke to Lu Huang, he found himself directly facing her generous chest.

"Yes, Captain!"

Lu Huang watched for several seconds before silently turning his gaze toward the distance.

"Let's proceed!"

......

Deep within the thick fog, a massive crater sank into the ground. Judging by the surrounding structures, this might have been a large underground parking lot.

At the crater's depths stood a silver-gray metal cage.

A fiery red little sprite was trapped inside the cage, looking up blankly at the sky.

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, a gigantic monster watched from afar.

Its head bore dozens of eyes, with green liquid dripping from its mouth that had already corroded through the stone pavement.

A breeze stirred.

Wind generated by rapidly moving prey.

Throughout the surrounding structures, countless imperceptibly fine, elongated white threads began to tremble in response.

Author's Note