Douluo: Starting by Crafting a Gun Chapter 18

However, the Soul Hunting Guild is currently short-staffed, and since Shen Feng and Oscar possess sufficient strength and are internal law enforcement officers of the guild, there are naturally not so many rigid rules to follow.

Tracking, hunting, tracking, hunting—in this cycle, Shen Feng and Oscar are like bounty hunters, chasing down soul masters who violate the rules of the Soul Hunting Guild everywhere.

In nearly a year, Shen Feng and Oscar have completed over twenty missions of various ranks.

They have hunted one four-ring Soul Ancestor, six three-ring Soul Elders, twelve two-ring Soul Grand Masters, and nearly a hundred one-ring soul masters and ordinary people who acted as accomplices.

The long periods of tracking and fighting, having experienced so many events and tragedies, have caused the young Shen Feng and Oscar to shed the youthful naivety that should belong to their age, replacing it with the coldness and weathering of adults.

Outside a mountain stronghold, Shen Feng and Oscar are lurking in a nearby dense forest, the thick bushes perfectly concealing their figures.

"Xiao Feng, this mission is troublesome. The target is actually hiding in this bandit den and won't come out."

Shen Feng frowns deeply: "The bottom line of the Soul Hunting Guild cannot be violated; those who break the rules must die."

"Our influence is just starting to grow, so we can't let our reputation be ruined."

Oscar nods: "I know, but the intelligence says that besides our target, there is also one Soul Ancestor, three Soul Grand Masters, and three hundred ordinary bandits inside."

"If we want to wipe them out completely, besides using extraordinary means, we might need to request reinforcements."

"Besides, attacking bandits isn't our mission, not to mention these bandits are known to be private troops raised by some noble."

Shen Feng ponders for a moment: "Has our Soul Hunting Guild received a mission to wipe out this group of bandits?"

Oscar takes a small booklet out of his Soul Tool and begins flipping through it with a rustling sound.

"Yes, the bounty isn't much; it was raised by villagers from several villages, totaling only twenty-three Gold Soul Coins, sixty-seven Silver Soul Coins, and seventy-eight Copper Soul Coins."

Shen Feng chuckles: "Too bad for them, we'll take this mission."

"Start preparing to blow up the mountain; we'll wipe them all out at once."

"As for which noble we offend, I'll let my old man handle it when the time comes. We are only responsible for completing the mission."

Oscar's attractive peach-blossom eyes curve slightly, and he licks his lips gently: "I am a killer. I have no feelings, no money. My heart is cold, my blood is cold, and my feet are cold."

Shen Feng raises his hand and pats Oscar on the head: "Stop acting up, hurry up and get to work."

Oscar rubs his head and giggles: "Don't you think this is cool? A cold-blooded killer, avenging poor civilians, fearlessly wiping out a group of private troops raised by noble lords."

"Yeah, yeah, you're the coolest. Hurry up and act; I don't want to be greeted by long blades and sharp arrows when I charge in."

As night falls, the perimeter of the bandit stronghold has already been quietly rigged with plenty of explosives by Shen Feng and Oscar.

In an open space two hundred meters away from the stronghold, ten mortars are already set and ready.

Shen Feng looks at the sky; dark clouds cover the moon, leaving everything pitch black, and a cold wind blows, sending shivers down one's spine.

"Very good. A dark, windy night is perfect for killing and arson. Time waits for no one."

"Xiao Ao, same old rules: fire suppression first, then precision strikes. I'll charge, you provide support!"

Oscar pats his chest: "Always ready."

Shen Feng nods and vanishes into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

Oscar rubs his palms, his internal soul power surging and extending from his fingertips like silk threads, which then flexibly wrap around the arm-thick shells.

Puff, puff, puff, puff—

Accompanied by a series of shells leaving the barrels, the distant bandit stronghold is instantly engulfed in explosions, with flames shooting into the sky and screams echoing endlessly.

Most of the ordinary bandits are stunned by the shock in this moment.

Although the soul masters know these are the firearms of the Soul Hunting Guild, they have no effective way to defend against them and can only scatter and flee.

Rumble—

After a brief pause, deafening explosions erupt again around the stronghold, and the survivors who had just escaped are instantly wiped out.

This is the result of Shen Feng finding the right moment to detonate the explosives.

After two rounds of violent explosions, Oscar immediately packs up the scattered mortars and rushes toward the ruins of the bandit stronghold at high speed.

By now, Shen Feng has already stepped through the broken gate of the stronghold, illuminated by the sky-high flames.

"Come out. I've already sensed you."

Standing in front of a collapsed house, Shen Feng wears a mask, his eyes cold.

Rustle—

The rubble is pushed aside, and a blood-covered middle-aged man pops his head out.

"How did you find me?"

Shen Feng ignores him, instead flicking his right hand to pull a portrait from his wrist guard, carefully comparing it.

"Yellow-rank level seven target: Bishi Mountain bandit leader Jing You. Martial Soul: Trident. Level: forty-three Soul Ancestor. Is that you?"

"Kid, don't look down on me!" Jing You lets out a roar and suddenly lunges forward.

White, yellow, yellow, and purple soul rings flash one by one. A light flashes across his right hand, and the trident instantly fires a beam of energy directly at Shen Feng.

Shen Feng moves his feet slightly, dodging the soul power beam by turning to the side.

Jing You seizes the opportunity, blue soul power rising from his body, and charges fiercely at Shen Feng with the trident in hand.

Shen Feng's eyes turned sharp. He swiped his left hand across his thigh, snatched up his pistol, and fired.

Bang—

With a single gunshot, Jing You's left leg snapped instantly, and his charge came to an abrupt halt.

Shen Feng stood his ground, aiming the muzzle at his head: "Where is Jing Bian?"

"Pah!" Jing You spat at Shen Feng: "A hound of the Soul Hunting Guild, just kill me. I will never betray my brother."

Shen Feng nodded: "Brotherly love, I shall grant your wish."

"Third Soul Skill: Heavenly Net!"

Just as Shen Feng intended to pull the trigger, a large net suddenly descended from the sky, trapping him within.

"Brother, well done!!"

Just as Jing You was pleasantly surprised, Shen Feng smirked, his finger tightening on the trigger.

Bang—

The gun fired, and a bowl-sized hole was instantly blasted into Jing You's chest. Blood surged wildly, and he died on the spot.

"Brother!" Jing Bian shouted, his second soul ring lighting up: "You lackey of the Soul Hunting Guild, I will make you pay with your life."

"Fishing Net Cut: Lingchi!"

The next moment, the net trapping Shen Feng began to contract rapidly.

Shen Feng smiled faintly, one yellow and one purple soul ring appearing beneath his feet.

"Second Soul Skill: Thunder Flash!"

A flash of purple-black lightning streaked by, and Shen Feng vanished instantly. The tightening net fell limply to the ground.

Jing Bian's pupils contracted, his face filled with terror: "Where is he? Where is he? You damn hound, if you have the guts, come out! Come out!"

"Are you looking for me?"

Shen Feng's cold voice appeared behind Jing Bian. The Leiming Blade, flickering with purple-black lightning, was already pressed against his neck before he even realized it.

Yellow-tier Level 5 Target: Jing Bian, Martial Soul: Fishing Net, Level: 39, Target confirmed!

Crimes committed: During the mission, dissatisfied with the employer's words and actions, slaughtered 19 ordinary humans without cause to vent anger, showing no mercy to the old or young, using cruel methods.

Jointly adjudicated by the Soul Hunting Guild and the Star Dou Border City Martial Soul Branch Hall.

"Wait, wait, I plead guilty, I'm willing to provide compensation—"

"Execution is mandatory!!"

Puchi—

Blood sprayed, and a large head flew into the air.

Shen Feng flipped his hand to retrieve a wooden box, catching the head.

"Yo, you're still the best, finished so quickly."

"Unlike me, I only took care of three Master-level soul masters."

At this moment, Oscar also walked out from the firelight behind Shen Feng, carrying three heads in his hands that were still wide-eyed in death.

Turning his head to glance at Oscar, Shen Feng nodded expressionlessly.

"As long as it's done, take advantage of the darkness to clean up the battlefield. We withdraw before dawn."

Oscar chuckled and tossed the three heads onto the ground.

"I get it. We do the job, but we can't get caught red-handed, or it'll be trouble."

Shen Feng nodded: "Right, things without evidence are just slander. Deny everything, and it'll blow over."

"If we get caught in the act, those nobles will definitely band together and make a scene at the Guild again."

Oscar pulled up his mask and spat on the ground: "Those dog nobles, they'll stop at nothing for their own interests. Raising bandits and outlaws to wreak havoc on the land—they've done plenty of that."

"If we lined them up and shot them, we might hit an innocent, but if we killed nine out of ten, we'd definitely catch the ones who slipped through the net."

"When I become a Title Douluo in the future, I'm going to wipe them all out."

Shen Feng chuckled: "Sure, sure, whatever makes you happy."

"But there is a lot of injustice in this world, and our strength is still too weak. We can only play by other people's rules."

"We can skirt the edges, but if we get too reckless, we'll have entire armies surrounding us."

"Sigh~" Oscar sighed, pulling his mask up in frustration: "I know, I was just talking, venting a little."

"Forget it, same old rules. You take the outside, I'm going inside to find the treasure."

Shen Feng waved his hand: "Go on, go on. Leave this to me."

Over the past year, Shen Feng and Oscar had traveled to many places and witnessed many things.

The good, the bad, and the even worse—extortion, the heartlessness of the wealthy, bullying, and pillaging—they had seen plenty of these human tragedies with their own eyes over the past year.

Having seen so much, the sense of injustice that a youth cannot help but voice naturally filled Oscar's chest; it was what people called being a "furious youth."

In truth, Shen Feng was also quite annoyed, harboring a surge of anger within his heart; otherwise, he would not have proposed wiping out this band of bandits directly this time.

However, his twenty-plus years of life experience from his previous life made him more rational and better at exercising restraint, knowing exactly what should and should not be done.

When weak, one must keep a low profile; secretly punishing the wicked and promoting good is fine, but once brought out into the open, they would undoubtedly face a frenzied counterattack from the noble class who controlled the resources.

Their Soul Hunting Guild was still very weak right now; let alone going head-to-head against Heaven Dou, Star Luo, or Martial Soul Hall, even any random high-level Soul Master Academy in the Bala Kingdom could chase them around everywhere.

However, over this past year, the Soul Hunting Guild had developed extremely rapidly, even reaching a cooperation agreement with the Martial Soul branch hall in the border city of the Star Dou Forest.

Martial Soul Hall would provide a sum of money to place bounties on evil Soul Masters within the Soul Hunting Guild.

The rogue Soul Masters in the Soul Hunting Guild would take the money to do the job, tracking down criminals and hunting souls.

Martial Soul Hall could reduce the combat casualties of their own Soul Masters, the Soul Hunting Guild could use Martial Soul Hall's channels to quickly build their reputation in the Soul Master world, and the rogue Soul Masters could complete missions to exchange for bounties.

A win-win-win situation—why wouldn't they do it?

After all, hunting soul beasts is soul hunting, and hunting Soul Masters is also soul hunting; both involve putting your head on the line to trade for wealth, so there is actually no significant difference between the two.

Just like this Soul Elder named Jing Bian, whom Shen Feng and Oscar were hunting down, his criminal record was held at the Martial Soul branch hall in the Star Dou border city.

If Shen Feng and Oscar took his head back to turn in the mission this time, they would be able to collect two bounties at once from the Soul Hunting Guild: one from the internal bounty of the Soul Hunting Guild, and the other from the commission bounty of Martial Soul Hall.

Two hours later, Shen Feng dug a large pit in the ground and threw all two hundred or so corpses he could find in the bandit stronghold into it.

"Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng, come quickly and look, I've found their treasury."

Just as Shen Feng was planning to lay these corpses to rest, Oscar's voice, filled with surprise, suddenly drifted over from the darkness of the stronghold.