"Hmm?"
The sudden sound of something breaking the air might have gone unnoticed by the others, but Gao Xu detected it.
His hand, reaching toward Xu Qianqian, suddenly stopped. He then swiftly turned around to face the direction from which the sound had come.
There, a figure descended from the sky, bringing with him increasingly loud sonic booms and waves of air.
"Bang—!"
A thunderous rumble appeared without warning. The surging gale carried sand with it, transforming into a sandstorm that swept through the area.
Xu Qianqian was blown away.
The family Hunters closing in from all around were blown away as well.
Xu Yanyan had just recovered from her serious injuries and gotten to her feet when the sandstorm blowing straight at her sent her staggering from side to side.
In an instant, the entire area enclosed by the thin, transparent barrier was filled with sand, with howling gales raging within.
At the center of the gale and sandstorm were two fists.
Two fists that had collided.
"Bang!"
Amid the muffled impact, the two figures that had exchanged a punch were sent flying apart, opening up some distance between them.
The sandstorm also dispersed in that instant, allowing everyone present to clearly see what had happened.
"What...?"
Xu Yanyan was the first to raise her head. She looked ahead somewhat disheveled, then froze.
The others were the same, all revealing astonished expressions.
Especially Xu Qianqian, who had already been prepared to accept her fate. After suddenly opening her eyes, she immediately saw a figure standing with his back to her.
"Whoosh!"
A fierce wind swept past, making the stranger's cloak flap and roar incessantly.
Black clothes.
A cloak.
A mask.
A hood.
This was a mysterious figure whose appearance could not be seen at all.
"...Who are you?"
Gao