New Talent—Black Gate

"The ability user is dead."

Qin Tian's voice was soft. The night was very friendly to certain orcs—shadow cats, shadow catmen, and the snake-man before them.

The ability user had hidden himself well; it was nearly impossible to spot him with the naked eye. But the heat radiating from his body was like a bright lamp in the darkness to the snake-man.

In contrast, the vast majority of special operations soldiers lacked night vision ability, and the infrared detection equipment they wore was greatly diminished in effectiveness against the snake-man.

In terms of vision, the human side was clearly at a disadvantage—the enemy in the dark, themselves in the light.

This grand play of luring the snake out of its hole tonight might not go as smoothly as anticipated.

"Dead?"

Xiao Yunlong and the others' expressions shifted slightly. Who would have thought that the ability user who had just dealt a critical blow to the snake-man had already fallen?

Though they didn't know each other, as fellow Imperial special operations soldiers, hearing of a comrade's death inevitably weighed heavily on their hearts.

Ding ding ding~~

The battle below was nearing its conclusion.

After taking a bomb ambush, the snake-man was severely injured and could no longer withstand the siege of the three psionic users. The steel knife in his hand grew heavier with each swing, and the wounds on his body multiplied.

The snake-man knew that if things continued this way, he wouldn't escape death. He made a decision on the spot.

"Hah~~~"

The snake-man opened his mouth, spewing thick green poison gas that spread in all directions.

The terror of snake venom was known to all.

The three psionic users immediately dodged, holding their breath, afraid of even a trace of the poison gas.

Seeing this, the snake-man decisively chose the weakest direction, whipping his tail and sprinting away.

As he fled, he squeezed every last drop of toxin from his poison sac, continuously releasing poison gas, forcing the three psionic users to keep their distance.

Watching the prey slip from their grasp, the three psionic users were both anxious and furious, but wary of the snake venom, they dared not pursue recklessly.

Just as they thought the snake-man would escape, suddenly, his tail exploded, snapping in two.

"Ahhh~~"

A sharp, piercing scream rang out as the snake-man writhed in agony on the ground.

"A shooter!"

The three psionic users' hearts jolted, and they immediately looked behind them.

On a cliff face, four figures stood side by side. The night blurred their features, but one of them slowly holstering his gun was clearly captured by their eyes.

"That brother has some class."

One of the crew-cut men chuckled. Judging by the wound's fracture pattern, if that shot had been aimed at the back or head, it would have been a sure kill.

But the shooter had only severed the snake's tail before holstering his gun, clearly not intending to steal the kill.

"Not bad. We can go make his acquaintance later; he did us a favor."

The three quickly advanced and, under the snake-man's terrified and despairing gaze, chopped off its head with a single stroke.

This scene was captured by the battlefield recorder on their chests. After the war ended, the battlefield sky eye would evaluate and settle the score, eventually awarding the soldiers military merit points.

Shua shua shua~

The three moved like agile apes, scaling the cliff face, and soon arrived before the Earth Dragon Squad.

"Brothers, we're Storm Squad from the 158th Regiment. Thanks for earlier."

Captain Huang Siwei said with a smile.

The Earth Dragon Squad exchanged glances, their expressions complicated.

The Earth Dragon Squad's reaction puzzled Huang Siwei and his men. They were about to say something when Qin Tian spoke.

"Your teammate is dead."

What!

Huang Siwei and the other two were stunned and immediately called out:

"Third, Third, do you copy?"

Over the combat earpiece, no response came from their teammate. Their hearts slowly sank.

"Where is he?" Huang Siwei's voice trembled.

Qin Tian pointed to a distant big tree. "On that tree."

Huang Siwei and his two men sprinted over, with the Earth Dragon Squad following behind.

Soon, they found the big tree.

Two bodies lay beneath it.

One had a knife wound in the back, face down on the ground.

Another snake-man's head was blown apart, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

"Third, Third!!!"

Huang Siwei clutched his teammate tightly in his arms, calling his name, his voice cracked and broken from overwhelming grief.

The two teammates beside him stood nearby, biting their lips, bodies trembling slightly, tears streaming uncontrollably.

Qin Tian's eyes lowered, his heart unusually heavy.

This scene reminded him of Dai Jun and Lin Chao—comrades and brothers he'd treated like his own limbs, dying horribly before his eyes. The pain and despair of that could perhaps only be understood by a soldier.

Dai Jun could have survived, living out his days with a prosthetic eye and limbs. If commended by the Empire, he might even have recovered through treasures like Life Spirit Liquid.

But Lin Chao's death shattered his mental defenses. He believed he'd caused Lin Chao's death.

So at that moment, his only thought was to die alongside his brother.

Xiao Yunlong, Qin Dadi, and Liu Zhaozhao's eyes were reddened. They'd experienced the same scene before—the sacrifice of their former teammate Huang Xun remained a scar in their hearts, hard to forget.

"My condolences."

Qin Dadi said in a low voice.

Hearing this, the tough men could no longer hold back and burst into loud sobs.

"Xu the Third, we promised to go home together!"

"Bastard, I won't allow this! Who said you could leave first!"

Their cries were like the howls of a wounded beast, filled with endless pain and despair, echoing through the empty night, wrenching at everyone's heart.

Qin Tian stood silently to the side, all five senses fully extended, transforming into a Humanoid Radar to scan the surroundings, preventing any snake-men from taking advantage of the moment.

A few minutes later, the three men's sobs gradually subsided.

Huang Siwei laid his teammate's body flat beneath a tree, stood up, faced Qin Tian, and bowed deeply, choking out:

"Brother, thank you."

From the wounds on the two bodies, Huang Siwei had already deduced the situation.

The snake-man had attacked Xu Yang from behind, driving a blade straight through his heart. Immediately after, the snake-man was shot in the head by a sniper.

Without that sniper, after killing Xu Yang, the snake-man in front of them would have immediately joined up with the other one. By then, Storm Squad would have risked total annihilation.

It could be said that this sniper not only avenged Xu Yang but also saved their entire squad.

Qin Tian silently accepted the bow. Saying something polite at this moment would have felt out of place.

"Brother, which unit are you from?" Huang Siwei asked.

Qin Tian: "319th Legion, Earth Dragon Squad."

"319th Legion, Earth Dragon Squad."

Huang Siwei repeated it, then said solemnly: "Good, I'll remember that. If I make it back alive, I'll definitely buy you a drink."

"Mm, take care!"

Qin Tian nodded.

Huang Siwei took a deep breath, waved his hand, his tone carrying resolve and killing intent:

"Let's go. Kill snake-men. Avenge Third!"

The two teammates beside him gripped their War Blades, killing intent flaring in their eyes.

The three nodded to Earth Dragon Squad, then picked a direction and continued forward, quickly disappearing into the vast darkness of the night.

On the battlefield, they could only temporarily leave their teammate's remains behind. After the war ended, they would bring Xu Yang home.

"Let's go too," Qin Dadi said.

"Alright!"

As the three turned around, Qin Tian lightly touched Xu Yang's body with his foot. A blue light orb flew out and drilled into his chest.

[Name] Black Gate (Blue)

[Type] Active Talent

[Description] Open the Black Gate, connecting two spaces.