Shadow Warrior

Chapter 44: Shadow Warrior

"Heh, so what if I did?"

The shadow turned around, letting out a mocking laugh.

Through the dim light, Principal Zhang could see that the face beneath the black robe was nothing but pitch-black darkness.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What, surprised? I'm used to hiding my face."

"By now, I can't even remember what I originally looked like."

The shadow spread his hands and shrugged, instead scrutinizing Zhang Dashan's features.

Gazing at the silver-white hair and the face covered in wrinkles and age spots, the shadow couldn't help but sneer: "Has the Pet Beast Guild run out of people? Why send a half-buried old geezer like you to guard this place?"

The shadow spoke with disdain, as if he didn't consider Principal Zhang worth noticing at all.

At that moment, countless black shadow threads extended from Principal Zhang's own shadow, binding him and his pet beast Hellfire tightly in place.

"Ah-ha, didn't expect that, did you? My Shadow Warrior can catch you and your pet beast off guard and bind you up."

"Feel despair—the Shadow Bind of my Shadow Warrior can seal your movements."

"No one can break free from the shadow's restraint."

"You can only wait helplessly for death to come."

The shadow looked as if he had everything under control.

"What exactly is your goal? Stirring up a Beast Tide to cause chaos, brazenly infiltrating the Pet Beast Guild's Secret Vault."

"What are you searching for?"

"That unknown virus—you're the one who spread it, aren't you?"

Principal Zhang didn't struggle at all. Utterly calm, he laid out the shadow's intentions on the spot.

From beneath the black robe came the shadow's hearty laughter: "Who would've thought, you old geezer, your reasoning skills are this sharp."

"You saw through my plan at a glance. What a pity—smart people never live long."

The shadow crooked his finger, and the shadow threads binding Zhang Dashan spread to his neck, like a pair of large hands squeezing his throat tight.

"Don't forget to tell the King of Hell—the one who killed you is me."

The shadow snapped his fingers, and the shadow threads immediately tightened and constricted.

But the shadow saw a smile on the old man's face. There was no panic at all.

"You're about to die, and you're still laughing! What are you laughing at?!"

The shadow said with some irritation. He felt that Zhang Dashan was mocking him.

This was something the shadow, with his strong sense of pride, could not accept.

At that moment, black flames spread from the old man's body, burning the shadow threads one by one, sending large plumes of Black Smoke scattering into the air.

In the blink of an eye, the old man, Hellfire, and the restrained Pet Beast Master were all free.

"How is that possible? How could my shadow threads be burned by flames?"

"They're formless things—how could they be scorched away like silk threads?"

The shadow's heart skipped a beat. A sudden ominous premonition struck him.

"Shadow Warrior, attack now."

Hearing the shadow's command, the old man's shadow began to stretch and elongate, forming a knight entirely covered in shadow.

It stood two meters tall, clad in glossy black armor, its head shrouded in black Mist.

The Shadow Warrior held two black Shadow Spears in its hands and thrust them fiercely at the old man.

A tearing sound cut through the air, and arcs of black electricity crackled along the spears.

The old man simply extended two fingers and clamped down on the spear tips, letting the black electricity surge into his body with a crackling sound.

No matter how hard the Shadow Warrior struggled, it couldn't pull the spears free from the old man's fingers.

Black flames erupted from the old man's fingertips, spreading along the black spears and onto the Shadow Warrior's body.

In an instant, the Shadow Warrior was covered in black flames. It wailed as it dissolved into countless wisps of Black Smoke and vanished into the air.

"No!!!"

The shadow stretched out a hand in despair. He could clearly feel his contract with the Shadow Warrior break.

The Shadow Warrior had been instantly killed by black flames?

How was that possible?

The Shadow Warrior was a formless pet beast—how could it be burned to ashes by fire?

"Hellfire, take this man down."

Hellfire's body burst into green flames. It took a step forward, its heavy footfalls thudding against the ground.

The ground cracked wherever it passed, green flames burning upon the earth.

Hellfire swung its massive fist, smashing toward Shadow's head.

Shadow's body instantly dissolved into countless strands of Black Smoke.

A sharp glint flashed through Zhang Dashan's eyes: "Hellfire."

Countless black flames appeared in midair. As the Black Smoke touched the Hellfire, it let out a piercing shriek.

Zhang Dashan coldly observed it all. Only after the Black Smoke had vanished completely did he turn his gaze to the door of the Pet Beast Guild's Secret Vault.

"This person from the Gospel Association must have set their sights on something specific, daring to take such a risk and stir up a Beast Tide."

"I wonder what the situation is with the Beast Tide now. Hopefully nothing unexpected happens."

At the entrance of the Jiaying City Pet Beast Guild, beside the Stone Lion, the Black Smoke coalesced, and Shadow's illusory form reappeared.

"If it weren't for my Death Substitute Doll pet beast, which consumed one of its lives, I might have been finished off by that old man already."

Shadow spoke with lingering fear.

His plan had completely failed—losing both the bait and the prize. It filled Shadow with a deep sense of defeat.

"Forget it. I'll let you off this time. Once I've recovered from my injuries, I'll quietly scheme for that Seven-Orifice Exquisite Jade."

"This is just a minor setback."

Shadow staggered away, dissolving into the darkness.

At that moment, Ye Bai followed Zhang Lingxue to the vicinity of the Cold Storage Warehouse.

Before they could even get close, they heard a series of rapid gunshots.

Explosions rang out from time to time—the battle was clearly intense.

Berserk Blood Rats surged like a tide, crashing against the first line of defense.

Many Pet Beast Masters picked up heavy weapons and began spraying bullets at the Berserk Blood Rats.

Every bullet struck a Berserk Blood Rat, and a strong stench of blood spread through the air. But any injured Berserk Blood Rat was quickly devoured by its own companions.

"Berserk Blood Rats are just disgusting—can't kill them all, can't even count them."

"Yeah, and the worst part is their blood is poisonous. After killing so many Berserk Blood Rats, we haven't gained a single benefit. The cost-performance ratio is terrible."

"Even the Blood Cores they drop—dogs wouldn't touch them, let alone fetch a decent price."

Another member of the Pet Beast Guild said, deeply frustrated.

The Blood Cores contained violent energy. Earlier, they had dug out the cores and tried to feed them to their own pet beasts to boost their strength.

But not a single pet beast was willing to swallow a Blood Core. They all showed expressions of disgust.

Of course—ever since they bonded with their Pet Beast Masters, they had been living the good life, eating meat at every meal.

These bloodstained Crystal Cores held less appeal to them than a bag of beast feed.

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