Chapter 986: Azure Dragon

The news of Baldier's death quickly spread throughout the entire Star Island.

If Hermit Boone's death only shocked everyone greatly.

Then Baldier's death was nothing less than a bolt from the blue, completely unacceptable to the entire upper echelons of the Colombian Navy!

Because Baldier's reputation was simply too immense.

A top-tier superhuman with a superhuman ability index of 9800 points.

No matter which faction in the world he belonged to, he would be considered core combat strength level.

For such a figure, even if one couldn't say he was invincible on Star Island.

Killing him would absolutely be extremely difficult!

With Epsilon-level superhumans not taking action, it was even hard to imagine exactly how it could be accomplished.

General Huo En didn't conceal the truth, because doing so on the battlefield would be incredibly dangerous.

All members of Hell's Lock received this intelligence.

General Huo En spoke into the microphone: "Listen, there's a somewhat troublesome individual who's appeared on the island. He's already taken down Uller, but there's nothing to fear about that. In terms of overall strength, we still hold an absolute advantage!"

[Billy the Kid] Yasin Canero took a deep breath upon hearing the news of Baldier's death.

The death of the number three position below him also gave him a sense of sorrow for a fellow's demise.

He somewhat impatiently interrupted Huo En's motivational speech.

"Alright, what I want to know now is how much intelligence have you gathered about that guy? We can't just let Uller die in vain, right?"

Every sacrifice has its value.

Baldier's death indeed brought the Colombian side substantial intelligence about Zhang Yi—one could even say, nearly complete intelligence.

After all, in combat against superhumans of Baldier's level, there was no possibility of holding back strength.

And this intelligence would guide the remaining members of Hell's Lock to respond effectively when encountering Zhang Yi.

Especially for Canero.

When this deputy captain of Hell's Lock mastered intelligence about the opponent's abilities, his own capabilities could easily kill the other party.

Huo En coughed once to ease the awkwardness of being contradicted by a subordinate.

"The intelligence will be transmitted to you immediately. Please be sure to proceed with caution in your upcoming missions."

His brow suddenly furrowed, a flash of killing intent appearing in his eyes.

"If the situation gets out of control, I may have no choice but to deploy [Soul Reaper]!"

At the mention of that name, the expressions of all Hell's Lock members changed drastically.

Some showed fear, some wore pained expressions, while others closed their eyes tightly, opening them again filled with pity.

Canero moved his lips and said in a low voice, "If it truly comes to that, I will spare no effort to avoid reaching that outcome."

...

General Huo En then issued a massive bounty for Zhang Yi to other members of the joint forces.

He didn't mention that Zhang Yi had killed Baldier, only informing them of Zhang Yi's abilities and requiring them to do their utmost to intercept and kill Zhang Yi.

This was to buy enough time for the Hell's Lock members.

However, the bounty amount as high as 5 billion was sufficient to make others suspicious.

In the mist, a woman dressed as a shrine maiden, with straight-across bangs, skin colder than ice and whiter than snow, murmured softly:

"Regular captains only have bounties of a few hundred million points, yet this [Chaos] actually reaches 5 billion! He must be a top-tier powerhouse from the Huaxu Kingdom, not to be provoked lightly."

This one was a top superhuman from one of Neon Pirate's two major organizations—Izumo.

The most powerful superhuman organization in Izumo was an institution called [Pillar of the Gods].

The shrine maiden's name was Karasenshu, codename [Tsukuyomi].

After receiving the intelligence from the Columbus Ocean command center, flickering light appeared in her eyes.

"Such high value seems more cost-effective than competing for the Divine Source."

It wasn't that they didn't want the Divine Source, but with the Colombian Navy present, even if they obtained it, they absolutely couldn't keep it.

Might as well settle for the next best thing and pursue other benefits.

Beside Karasenshu, a young man with somewhat long hair, not wearing a helmet but instead clad in black metal armor, showed an expression of distrust.

"Is the Colombian Navy trying to use us as cannon fodder? For them to issue such an enormous bounty, it must be an enemy very difficult to deal with."

"Tsukuyomi, you're not foolish enough to die for them, are you?"

The second-in-command of the [Pillar of the Gods] organization, divine codename [Kagutsuchi], real name Amatsu Tenshi.

Karasenshu's cold red lips curved slightly, the edges of her narrow phoenix eyes darkened with smoky makeup, giving her an evil and eerie feeling.

Her red and white shrine maiden attire was patterned with golden trim, and within her wide sleeves, something strange seemed to be hidden, continuously wriggling.

"Kagutsuchi, remember, the lower overthrows the higher!"

"Whether it's the Huaxu Kingdom or the Columbus Ocean, they are all stepping stones for us to climb to the top!"

"The sun shines brightly, the gods bless Yamato! In this chaotic era where heroes rise together, why can't our Neon Pirate seize this opportunity to stand atop the world!"

She gave a bewitching smile: "Let's start here on Star Island! Let them also witness the power of our Neon Pirate!"

...

Everyone on the island had their own thoughts.

For the superhumans of the two major regions, Zhang Yi's success did indeed give them some encouragement.

However, Zhang Yi himself wasn't necessarily particularly happy.

He knew that after killing two [Hell's Lock] members, he would become the joint forces' most wanted target for elimination.

At such a time, he couldn't continue to be conspicuous.

He also needed some time to recover the large amount of superhuman energy he had consumed.

After all, the battle with Baldier hadn't been that easy for him.

"Let's go, we'll quietly wait for how events develop."

"I've already muddied the waters, they should start fighting among themselves now. Let's just wait quietly."

Zhang Yi took Hua Hua and Lele, left Golden Phoenix City, and came to Yuming City in the border area.

Then he found a hidden basement, using the Absolute Barrier Between Two Realms to completely isolate his, Hua Hua's, and Lele's presence from the outside world.

After that, he ate large amounts of food prepared for him by Yang Siya and began covertly hiding.

Arana City around Mist Valley.

East Sea Region, Qinglong, stood on the snowy ground carrying a gray-green backpack.

Before him, a group of reconnaissance troops soldiers were reporting the situation ahead to him.

"Captain Qinglong, after we arrived here, we can no longer advance forward. Ahead is already the edge of Mist Valley, the concentration of toxic miasma exceeds the safety indicators."

"With our protective equipment, we cannot proceed deeper inside."

The reconnaissance squad leader wore an apologetic expression, deep in his eyes showing a longing for life.

At the same time, there was also deep unease.

As reconnaissance troops, this operation itself carried enormous risks.

Not just from the island's toxic miasma and dangerous creatures, but also from the pressure from their supervision teams.

If Qinglong gave the order, even knowing it meant certain death, they would have to continue forward.

Author's Note