Star Gate

Boom!

Sword qi ignited; there were a lot of Sword Sect disciples on the scene. Rays of sword qi raced through the area. The earth supernaturals in front had time to jump back with shock and reenter the earth, but those who’d just popped up didn’t have space to react.

BAM!

A series of techniques rained down on their heads. Internal force exploded and ripped the ground apart. Two earth supernaturals who didn’t have a chance to retreat were killed beneath the ground.

The Demon Hunters were attacking in a haphazard way. Everyone had their eyes on the same target and sometimes got in each other’s ways. When the team captain noticed the disarray, they roared for order.

“Split up, don’t clump together!”

There were too many people crowded together in an attempt to take out the enemy. People jostled for position and shoved each other out of the way. As disorganized as they were, so was Red Moon. The ground abruptly opened up as a boulder moved out of the way, disgorging a dozen supernaturals. The two sides looked at each other before Red Moon members yelled, “Enemies at the gates, it’s martial masters!”

The Demon Hunters immediately realized that the boulder was covering the entrance.

“They’re underground, hurry and kill them!”

Boom!

Several martial masters rushed over as the supernaturals regained their footing. Some of the latter called upon supernatural abilities while others summoned their scarlet shadows. A chaotic melee developed between the two sides.

......

Li Hao watched silently from a tree in the distance. Liu Long returned before long, fresh blood on his ax.

“It’s done!” he breathed out.

Li Hao nodded; Liu Long followed his gaze down and frowned. “Too disorderly! They’re a complete mess and the teams are all jumbled together. Some of the Sunderers show absolutely no desire to work together. They’re all going after the enemy in their own way...”

He’d be beside himself with urgency if he was in charge of the group. But with Li Hao here, he was much more at ease, even if the disarray in front of him was immensely irritating.

“That’s why we skipped the training portion and sent them directly into the field.” Li Hao nodded. “They’ll know what the problems are after this battle.”

BOOM!

Battle continued in an eruptive fashion beneath them. As more Red Moon Sunflares charged up from below, they quickly forced back the martial masters that held an advantage. One of the peak Sunflares was a metal supernatural. He punched out and sent the charging Wang Chao flying. Although the latter was a late Sunderer wearing a suit of armor, his head still spun from the blow!

“Defensive types up front while I take care of the Sunflare!” Liu Yan roared angrily. “Don’t get pushed around!”

Hong Qing was also in a frenzy. She was very strong, but kept out of the action by her own fellow disciples. “Team one, charge to the left!”

......

The Red Moon powerhouses thought they’d encountered the Black Armaturas at first. But once a full pitched battle was underway, they could tell that these black armored martial masters were even more disorganized than themselves. Only a few supernaturals died at the start!

The hulking leader’s eyes darted around as he thought of something. “Kill them! These are suits of black armor and it’s the Sword Sect inside! How dare the Sword Sect ambush us! Hong Yitang is probably nearby too, so hurry up and kill them! The armor is highly valuable and upstairs will give us one mysterious power stone for each set!”

Black armor, martial masters... The Sword Sect was the first to spring to mind. The armor was no longer a secret after Battle Heaven, and the sect had been lucky enough to walk away with some. The only factor that Red Moon needed to take into consideration was that Sword Sect Solars could be nearby.

If they weren’t, then this jumbled assembly of martial masters would be theirs sooner or later, even with strong defensive abilities.

Eyes grew bloodshot when the supernaturals heard that each set of armor would fetch one mysterious power stone. Someone soon yelled, “Work together, everyone work together! Martial masters are trash before they reach Dominator. Set up an earth trapping formation according to our routines, c’mon!”

The Red Moon members mobilized concerted action as orders were called out. Earth supernaturals shook the ground and formed pits in the dirt. The martial masters were confined to one area and were easily tripped up by random holes in the ground if they tried to advance.

“Fire types are in charge of long range attacks, wood types trip them up, flight types close in for direct combat. Let’s go!” The Red Moon supernaturals acclimated to the situation more easily than the Demon Hunters. They had extensive experience fighting in many areas. While the group was unfamiliar with each other, it was enough to split up duties in a generalized fashion.

Balls of fire hurtled toward Liu Yan’s group!

Rumble!!

Martial masters wearing black armor were forced back. Wood energy surrounded them and accelerated the growth of shrubbery on the ground, tangling martial masters in their branches. The armor was hard to break and possessed immense defensive abilities, but did nothing to prevent capture.

Several Sunflares were in charge of the offense. A peak metal Sunflare punched martial masters into the air, incapacitating them even if he wasn’t able to kill them. The flight supernaturals quickly knocked their targets back down, whereupon countless branches stretched out from the ground. If a martial master was skilled enough to avoid the branches, they might land in a huge hole and be covered by an endless stream of dirt.

Having just taken the upper hand, the martial masters were quickly forced back as the battle continued. The team captains struck fiercely, able to harm and kill the enemy because they themselves were quite strong. However, the effects were less than ideal and they quickly had no alternative but to retreat.

If it wasn’t for their equipment, the Demon Hunters would’ve quickly lost half their number over the short course of the engagement. While the Red Moon side lacked superior equipment and had been ambushed, they lost only eight supernaturals before stabilizing the situation.

......

Liu Long frowned ferociously. “Ai!” he sighed and looked at Li Hao. This was the team that the young man wanted to lead in battle against powerhouses. To be honest, they were a motley crew. There were already eight martial masters that’d been captured. They were either locked in place or buried by dirt, unable to move.

As strong as the sets of black armor were, the martial masters inside would be shaken to death if power reverberated through them. They weren’t invincible!

Li Hao watched silently, thinking back to the army of Battle Heaven. They might not be stronger than these martial masters if fifty of those troops were here, but half of these supernaturals might be dead after their concerted opening moves. It would take another charge at most to fully eliminate the supernaturals.

Such were the elite troops of the ancient civilization. These martial masters were a scattered bunch without clear leadership.

Li Hao had taken a position to prevent their quarry from running, but now... these supernaturals weren’t trying to run at all. They wanted to eliminate the Demon Hunters and seize the armor. If it wasn’t for their Sunflares being wary of Hong Yitang and sending their scarlet shadows to find the man, the Sunderer team captains would’ve long fallen to the combined pressure of Sunflares and scarlet shadows.

The armor could prevent part of the shadow’s incursion, but the martial master was still affected. A scarlet shadow lay on Liu Yan and attempted to invade her body through the, eating away at her internal force.

As more martial masters were captured and there was still no sign of Hong Yitang to be seen, the Sunflares were emboldened. Roaring, they attacked with increasing viciousness and forced Liu Yan and the others back. A powerful defense only ensured preservation of one’s life. It didn’t enable any sort of effective counterattack.

The other team captains grew frantic. They’d thought it’d be an easy mission, but reality gave them a harsh blow. More and more martial masters were captured and immobilized off to the side.

“Switch up!” Li Heng roared. “Sword cultivators on one team, defense on one team, and close quarters combat on another...”

The teams were so unorganized to the point that they were severely interfering with other people’s operations.

“Sword Sect disciples, follow my lead,” Hong Qing immediately followed up. “Don’t lose your composure!”

“Kill!” The remaining martial masters abandoned their preset teams and made adjustments themselves. Defense in the front, offense to the rear, some people smashed the ground with internal force so that the ground could not serve as the Red Moon base.

Such was actual combat. This was when they could make swift improvements. It would be hard to see effects that quickly in outright training.

“Those adept at body methods follow me. We kill the flight supernaturals!” Wu Chao roared and leapt into the air. He was exceedingly fast as he raced into the sky, followed by some martial masters confident in their body methods. They all aimed for the supernaturals in the sky!

Supernaturals were superior whether in the sky or on the ground. There were very few techniques that martial masters could employ in comparison, but the armor closed the gap somewhat.

Casualties appeared on both sides as the situation stabilized. Liu Long’s knitted brows relaxed. Martial masters were not idiots, after all. After a few adjustments in the face of danger, they’d finally found their footing despite losing a third of their number. They could now hold their own against the enemy.

“Hoo!” Liu Long breathed out. Li Hao smiled faintly as well. There were still people with their heads on straight in the Demon Hunters. To be honest, he didn’t really understand military formations. But some of the team had naturally assembled into them, making it much easier for them to withstand supernatural attacks.

He observed closely, taking everyone’s performance into account. It was roughly five minutes since battle started and the disturbance was significant. Thankfully, they were in the wild. If supernatural ripples continued to oscillate as they continued, it was only a matter of time before greater powerhouses happened upon the scene.

Just as both sides flailed at each other, the leading Sunflare jerked his head up in alarm. A ray of sword light flashed through the air, like a ferocious tiger breaking free of its cage. The strongest Sunflares standing in the front exploded when the light arced through the void!

Four Sunflares were dead on the spot! The supernaturals dissolved into instant mayhem. Hong Qing and the others were gripped by shock. Sword aura! That was Li Hao’s sword aura!

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