Volume Three: The Academy Runs Wild-Black Wings' Assailant (Part Three)

"I'm sorry, Lady Black Crystal, I failed..."

The young girl— Gold Silver Grass— murmured softly.

"So, I'll leave the rest to you."

Then, the sniping occurred as expected.

There are no flashy lights.

There were no messy or unsightly effects.

There was no calibration performed specifically for the purpose of accuracy.

It's simply about quality and speed.

"Depend on----!!!"

Only Wu Cangsheng reacted.

Only he understood what that fleeting blackness meant.

In the void, some invisible, enormous entity stirred and collided head-on with that black figure!

Boom!!!!!!

The deafening impact nearly ruptured eardrums; the aftershocks alone caused the platform to crumble. The dark figure was thrown off course, hurtling towards the exterior wall of the adjacent building.

Ding!!!!

Another loud bang, and a large chunk of the building's sturdy exterior wall was torn away, exposing the interior furnishings like internal organs. Right in the center of the damage, a feather was stuck straight out.

The feathers were as tall as an adult, completely black, and subtly reflected the sunlight.

Hiss...

Then, the feather disintegrated into countless tiny black fragments, which dissipated in the wind.

Only then did the shocked crowd realize what had happened.

"It's a terrorist attack!!!"

"Run! Run! Run!"

"Don't push me!!!"

"Black Crow! It's one of Black Crow's men!!!"

People scattered and fled, and several Enforcement Team struggled to maintain order. Gold Silver Grass seized the opportunity to break free of her restraints and escape.

Wu Cangsheng's gaze was icy as he looked in the direction from which the feather had been fired.

"... Itakua, adopt defensive mode."

The air trembled slightly, and something invisible and inaudible let out a low growl, responding to its owner.

"Squad A will monitor the plaza to prevent further attacks from Black Crow members. Everyone else, calculate the specific sniping positions immediately."

"Clear..."

The team members answered immediately, but their voices were clearly hesitant. What kind of monster could launch such a terrifying sniper attack? Could it be the legendary Black Raven Leader, Black Crystal?

This is practically a kinetic weapon.

It utilizes the kinetic energy of a hypersonic "warhead"—a feather—to directly destroy the target.

With its high quality and high speed, the shockwave it generates has an unimaginable range, so there's no need for precise aiming when sniping, because a single shot can wipe out a large area.

"--Second shot!!!"

A second black beam pierced the air, and Wu Cangsheng roared. The invisible entity immediately took action, and another violent collision occurred in the void! The shockwave of this attack swept over all the nearby team members, and the weakened Yekaterina cried out in pain. This attack was even more powerful than the previous one!

"Tsk--!"

Wu Cangsheng was furious. To deal with such a powerful sniper, he had to keep moving! But unfortunately, he had the old woman as a burden, so he couldn't leave even half a step!

"Well done, Black Crystal! So that's what you were planning!"

The first phase involves having the ability user who creates dry ice launch an attack. Success on the first attempt is ideal, but even if it fails, it will divert the attention of the Enforcement Team.

In the second phase, to guard against the dry ice, the Enforcement Team will definitely deploy fire-controlling ability users, which will inevitably accelerate the sublimation of the initial dry ice. Then, the mist-controlling ability users will use the white smoke generated by the sublimation of the dry ice as cover to assassinate Yekaterina. Similarly, if the assassination is successful, the mission will be accomplished; if it fails, the third phase will begin.

In the third phase, having calculated that Wu Cangsheng would not dare to leave Yekaterina or take her away casually in order to protect her, Black Crystal directly launched a long-range bombardment. In this way, wave after wave of attacks could very likely kill the old man, and with luck, Wu Cangsheng could also be eliminated at the same time!

The three stages, one after another, may not seem particularly clever at first glance, but they are implemented flawlessly!

Boom!!! Boom!!!! Boom!!!!!

The third one! The fourth one! The fifth one!

The feathers were being launched at increasingly faster speeds and with shorter intervals, and even Wu Cangsheng was feeling his strength waning. The old man behind him was trembling like a candle in the wind, in imminent danger of dying! Unfortunately, none of the other Enforcement Team dared to help, because Wu Cangsheng was the only one capable of withstanding the bombardment of the Black Crystal head-on!

Eleven, twelve, thirteen --

The invisible entity in the void let out a mournful cry, retreating repeatedly under the bombardment of the black feathers, as if it had run out of fuel.

"I know, Itakua, this can't go on... but for now, hold on!"

We must break this deadlock as soon as possible.

However, even if Gersus is summoned, the passive defensive strategy will not change unless the Flying Leech is summoned again. But the moment the Flying Leech is summoned, one will be completely defenseless, which is tantamount to suicide.

"No choice, we have to risk it! We just need to seize those five seconds! Come out, Flying Water—"

Sa----

A new attack occurred, drawing Wu Cangsheng's attention.

But the black-feathered arrow wasn't aimed at him; it was fired straight into the sky.

Did it miss? -- Just as he was wondering this.

Boom!!!

Like a muffled thud as a water balloon bursts, the enormous black feather exploded in mid-air, transforming into countless tiny Black Ghost feathers, no bigger than the palm of your hand, which drifted and fell to the ground.

If this weren't a battlefield where life and death hang in the balance, but rather a scenic viewing area, this sight would surely be breathtaking.

"What the hell is that?!"

Wu Cangsheng waved his hand, and the invisible entities— Itakua and the newly summoned Flying Leech— immediately created a gust of wind, scattering countless black feathers. Even so, the trajectory of the light, floating feathers was unpredictable; two feathers landed on Wu Cangsheng—

In that instant,

"...?"

The world became quiet.

The battlefield, which had been filled with constant explosions, suddenly became completely silent, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Wu Cangsheng looked around blankly. The explosions and landslides continued unabated, but he couldn't hear anything.

It's not just hearing.

Hiss— Wu Cangsheng sniffed hard, searching for the smell of gunpowder and blood in the air, but he couldn't smell anything. It was as if he had a stuffy nose, and a sense of incongruity slowly crept in.

Looking around at the people, they saw that they had been hit by several or even a dozen feathers. Some were clutching their heads and screaming, some were covering their eyes, some were staring blankly at their arms, and many more were lying on the ground, trembling slightly, with bewildered expressions.

After a brief moment of realization, Wu Cangsheng immediately understood the situation.

My "feeling" has been taken away.

He touched two feathers and then lost his sense of hearing and smell. The two feathers correspond to two different senses; if I'm not mistaken, each time he touched a feather, he lost one of his senses.

How many senses do humans have? The five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Broadly speaking, intuition should also be considered one.

In other words, if you touch six feathers, you're doomed.

"She actually has such an ability..."

The feathers are still falling.

And the next sniper shot is about to come.

Use the tanky Itakua to block the sniper shot, then use the agile Flying Leech to deflect the falling feathers?

Having already lost its hearing and sense of smell, if it were to encounter feathers and lose its sight as well, it would truly be doomed!

It's here!

The black light approached rapidly.

Wu Cangsheng, prepare to fight!

Boom!!!!!

The explosion rang out again—of course, Wu Cangsheng couldn't hear it anymore, but the dazzling flames unfolding in mid-air still attracted his attention. Just as Hei Yu approached, something red collided with Hei Yu from the side, blocking the attack.

A figure with long pink hair appeared in front of him.

"Don't block my way!!!"

With a powerful punch, the henchmen blocking her way—or rather, those with the strength of cadres but who were no more than henchmen in Xiao Wu's eyes—were sent flying before they could even use their abilities, each one smashing the railings into shape. Xiao Wu didn't give them another glance; she desperately propelled her legs forward while staring straight ahead at an inconspicuous office building only a few hundred meters away.

That's where the black feathers were launched.

Whoosh--!

Three black feathers shot towards her simultaneously, each easily exceeding the speed of sound, but her firing speed was also above the speed of sound! The three missiles, formed from a large amount of spiritual energy, whistled out and collided with the black feathers in mid-air. The impact at such close range was enough to overturn a heavy truck, but Xiao Wu's speed did not decrease at all. The newly appeared wounds on her skin healed quickly, constantly giving her the strength to move forward.

Wu Cangsheng was unaware that the sniper fire he was enduring was only a small fraction of what he was experiencing.

Most of Black Crystal's firepower was drawn to Xiao Wu, who was approaching with unstoppable momentum. Deadly sniper fire came wave after wave, shattering the rooftops Xiao Wu passed by. Coupled with the obstacles that always seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere, even Xiao Wu was finding it extremely difficult.

Even worse, when the first sniper shot came, Xiao Wu used the Form 108: Rhino Strike without thinking, and the result was that Xiao Wu could no longer feel the concrete rooftop beneath her feet, nor could she feel the strong wind coming towards her. Her sense of touch was taken away the moment her fist touched Kuroba.

Despite the various unfavorable conditions, Xiao Wu's advance did not stop. With her superhuman physical abilities, the support of dual pistols, and a self-healing ability that almost surpassed biological limits, she was getting closer and closer to her destination!

"Okay! Once we reach this distance—"

Xiao Wu suddenly stopped, her left hand unleashing a powerful barrage of Black Star that destroyed the approaching Black Feather, while her right hand wielded White Night—

"White Night, Gun Array IV-- "

A dazzling stream of light condensed at the muzzle of a gun in the white night—

"--Aurora, 70% effort!!!"

A dazzling, multicolored light projectile shot straight into the sky, tracing a vibrant trail before exploding into countless shimmering streaks of light that rained down on the target office building!

A rain of light poured down on the office building, instantly obliterating the reinforced concrete roof and crumbling the side walls. After this carpet bombing, the entire upper part of the office building disappeared.

Xiao Wu wasn't worried about the lives of civilians. Since the Black Raven Leader —the legendary Black Crystal —was hiding in the building, they would never allow anyone unrelated to the Black Crow to stay inside and disturb her.

Xiao Wu stood still, supporting her knees and panting heavily. Even for someone as strong as her, suddenly using 70% of the power of Aurora was still too much.

"Did it work...?"

Unfortunately, the answer is no.