The Hunt Begins

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~

Missiles streaked toward the canyon, trailing long flames like a meteor shower. Their sonic booms cracked through the sky like a string of thunderclaps.

The moment the missiles reached the canyon, time seemed to freeze for an instant. Then came a deafening roar, as if the world itself were collapsing.

In a flash, flames soared into the sky. The fireballs from the explosions blazed like scorching suns, lighting up the dark canyon.

Flames, thick smoke, and dust engulfed the canyon. Explosions, shattering rock, and landslides blended into a deafening symphony of destruction.

The Serpent Great Elder stood frozen on the cliff, ice-cold from head to toe.

"It's over. It's over."

He closed his eyes in despair, his heart wracked with regret.

"How dare humans!!!"

Beside him, a Serpent Priest stared wide-eyed, furious and shocked. "They don't even care about their own Psionic Users?"

"Humans are so ruthless, even colder-blooded than our snake race!" another Serpent Priest said, trembling with rage.

The Serpent Great Elder clenched his fists and said in a low, hoarse voice,

"They aren't Psionic Users."

"Not Psionic Users?"

The Serpent Priests could hardly believe it. "But they're clearly wearing Special Forces Uniforms. Could it be..."

Suddenly, a terrible suspicion came to mind.

That was right. Who said that people wearing Special Forces Uniforms had to be Psionic Users?

Could it be that they were all...

"Clones!"

The Great Elder's voice trembled with fury. "They're all clones, bait thrown out for us."

The Serpent Priests were struck as if by lightning when they realized the truth.

Using nothing but a group of clones, humanity had wiped out all of the Green Scale Tribe's elite forces, along with tens of thousands of Serpent Tribe warriors.

Humanity had paid only with a few worthless clones and missiles. They, on the other hand, had lost the foundations and future of several Serpent Tribes.

Pfft~~~

One Serpent Priest couldn't accept the truth. Qi and Blood surged in him, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"Great Elder, what should we do now?" the Serpent Priest stammered, his thoughts in utter disarray.

"First... save our people."

The Serpent Great Elder gritted his teeth. He knew very well that the most rational choice was to leave immediately and not linger for a moment.

But he simply couldn't abandon the younger members of his tribe. He had watched some of the children grow up with his own eyes, and some were even close blood relatives.

They said the snake race was cold-blooded.

But to the Snake-men, they could turn a blind eye to anything except their Bloodline and tribe. Those were carved into their very bones, things they could never let go.

"Understood!"

At that moment, the Serpent Great Elder's words were like a royal decree, giving the panicked and helpless priests a sense of direction.

The priests quickly sprang into action, doing everything they could to search for their tribespeople.

Unfortunately, after several rounds of missile strikes, the little snakes they had used as spies had suffered heavy casualties. The survivors fled in terror, making it difficult to access their shared vision.

So they could only follow their previous battle plans and search for their people in the areas where they might be.

Meanwhile,

"Bastards, bastards!"

Looking at the scene before him, as catastrophic as a Natural Disaster, the Great Priest of the Red Snake Tribe trembled with rage. His hatred for the Green Scale Tribe's Great Elder had reached its peak.

If not for the Green Scale Tribe, how could they have fallen into this trap?

With so many elite warriors lost, the Red Snake Tribe was finished. They would never have a chance to rise again.

And the Green Scale Tribe was to blame for all of it.

"Great Priest, what should we do?" a Serpent Warrior asked in panic.

"Retreat! Now!"

The Great Priest of the Red Snake Tribe gritted his teeth and made a decisive choice.

"Hiss~~"

The Great Priest of the Red Snake Tribe released his Mental Power and called out.

Soon, a Giant Burrowing Snake burst from the earth and crawled before the Great Priest.

"Go!"

The Great Priest of the Red Snake Tribe leaped onto the Giant Burrowing Snake's back, his eyes fixed in a venomous glare on a distant spot.

At that moment, his hatred for the Green Scale Tribe far surpassed his hatred for humanity. Once he returned, he would unite all the Serpent Tribes involved in this battle and slaughter the Green Scale Tribe to the last member!

The various Serpent Tribes reacted in different ways. Some went to rescue their people, while others left at once.

Inside the high-altitude aircraft, everyone gazed through the windows at the vast canyon below, ablaze with flames.

"After that round of bombing, those little snakes must be almost wiped out."

Xiao Yunlong sat close beside Qin Tian and said with a grin, "This operation's gone so smoothly. Don't you think our Earth Dragon Squad deserves the most credit?"

"If we hadn't captured Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng, we wouldn't have been able to lure the snakes out like this."

"Qin Tian was the one who captured them. Don't take credit for his work," Liu Zhaozhao said, rolling her eyes.

"Sure, Qin Tian was the one who caught them!"

Xiao Yunlong replied without a hint of shame. "But I helped too! If I hadn't suggested we rest there, Qin Tian might not have heard them talking."

Liu Zhaozhao chuckled. "You really have no shame."

Xiao Yunlong cupped his hands. "Thanks for the compliment."

Qin Dadi watched them with a smile. He knew this was how teammates eased their tension before battle.

The bombing had probably killed seventy or eighty percent of the Snake-men, but some had definitely survived. Those survivors would be tough opponents.

They were scattered across the vast canyon, and the missiles couldn't target them precisely. The Special Forces Teams would have to take care of them.

It was an extremely difficult and dangerous mission, but the Military Merit Points would surely be substantial if they completed it.

Truthfully, Qin Dadi didn't want to take part. He, Xiao Yunlong, and Liu Zhaozhao had already earned enough Military Merit Points to exchange for an Ability Enhancement Potion and a Bloodline Potion. All they needed to do now was wait safely for the war to end.

Unfortunately, this was an order from the Military Department, and the Earth Dragon Squad was on the list of participating forces.

Orders were orders. They could only obey.

"Captain, don't worry."

Just then, a voice sounded beside him.

Qin Dadi snapped back to his senses and saw an exceptionally calm face.

Qin Tian laid Hidden Kill across his lap. Feeling the weightlessness as the aircraft descended, he spoke slowly:

"Trust me. I'll bring everyone back safely."

Looking into Qin Tian's calm, confident eyes, Qin Dadi nodded solemnly, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

"I trust you. I always have."

"I trust you too." Xiao Yunlong put an arm around Qin Tian's shoulders.

"Me too."

Liu Zhaozhao's eyes shone brightly.

Over the past ten-odd days, they had been through so much together.

In their eyes, Qin Tian was a thoughtful, cautious, powerful, and utterly reliable teammate. With him there, the Earth Dragon Squad had an anchor to hold them steady.

No matter how fierce the storm outside, they would remain unshaken.

Whoosh~~~

The aircraft hovered in midair, several dozen meters above the mountaintop below. The cabin opened, and a rope dropped straight down.

Qin Tian slung Hidden Kill over his back, grabbed the rope with one hand, and leaped out under his teammates' watchful eyes.

The wind slammed into him, and his clothes snapped in the gale.

Qin Tian gazed down, his eyes deep, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile.

The night is my stage.

The hunt begins!