At last, after the fiends entered the "business-class cabin" ahead, the metal lifeform finally set off. It sliced through the sky, and its enormous purple-black silhouette vanished in an instant from above the gates of Luoyue City. A distant black speck was all that remained on the horizon, and in the blink of an eye, even that was gone.
Hodan closed his eyes and waited for someone from Fiend Castle to explain the mission. Before long, the silver-robed old man who had greeted them at the entrance appeared at the front of the cabin.
"Everyone!" The silver-haired old man smiled and spoke loudly. "A total of one thousand people are taking part in this Fiend assessment. I'm sure you all know that the assessment is extremely dangerous, with a very high death rate. And yet you still came... At the very least, you have the courage to become fiends."
"I'll get straight to the point. Those of you who know fiends well should know that fiends can take on missions at Fiend Castle. These missions are divided into ranks!"
"As for your assessment mission, we selected a one-star mission from a large number of available tasks, one suited to your level. Once you meet the requirements, you'll become one-star fiends."
"Mission location: Howling Wind Valley. It's also the only route from the outside world into Silvermoon City. The bandits in Howling Wind Valley have seriously disrupted Silvermoon City's peace, robbing passing merchants and harming the city's interests. So Silvermoon City issued a Fiend Mission to wipe out the bandit gang in Howling Wind Valley. The mission token is a wrist guard worn by the bandits. It's a unique identifying mark among them."
"You must bring these wrist guards to Fiend Castle to prove that you've completed the mission."
The rear cabin immediately erupted into a hubbub as everyone discussed the matter among themselves.
In truth, this was one of the most ordinary missions. Silvermoon City would occasionally send people to sweep out the bandits to keep the city in order.
"Quiet," the silver-haired old man called out. "There's one more thing I must tell you. The bandits have three leaders, and they're extremely powerful. Your mission is to wipe out the bandits, but they won't just sit back and wait to die. You'll face the three leaders' fierce attacks, as well as the desperate assaults of the Divine-level experts throughout the bandit camp. Of course, we also have powerful fiends to hold their leaders in check."
"This trip to Howling Wind Valley includes more than just you," the silver-robed old man continued with a faint smile. "There are also some two-star and three-star fiends, and even a four-star fiend squad. You probably noticed some fiends joining us when we set off. Their mission is to deal with the bandit leaders."
"But the other Divine-level experts are your responsibility. So how things turn out depends on you. Remember, as long as you turn in the wrist guards, it doesn't matter what methods you use."
No one present was a fool. They knew that the silver-robed old man was indirectly saying that it didn't matter if they fought among themselves over the wrist guards. As long as they managed to get them and deliver them to Fiend Castle, that was enough.
Hodan opened his eyes and asked, "If I bring back a leader's wrist guard or head, will my fiend rank increase?"
Hodan's words caused an uproar throughout the cabin. But when everyone saw that he was a Highgod, they said nothing. If a Highgod didn't deliberately reveal his aura, no one could tell how many Mysteries he had fused. Even a Highgod who had refined a divine spark had the strength of a three-star fiend. Everyone turned to the silver-robed old man, evidently hoping to hear the answer from him.
The silver-robed old man didn't keep them waiting. "Actually, this was originally a mission for four-star fiends to advance to five-star fiends. We simply split off the lesser targets for you. Of course, if you manage to kill a leader, then once you return to Fiend Castle, you'll become a five-star fiend."
At last, after about half a month, they were only a few hundred miles from the mission site. A fiend with brownish-yellow hair emerged from the front cabin. His long hair hung loosely, and his gaze was icy.
Hodan saw the Fiend Badge on his chest. It was a four-star fiend badge. The badges all looked the same on the surface; only a special method could reveal their rank. Hodan's own family had quite a few Seven-Star Fiends, so he naturally knew how to identify them.
These people were probably the main players in this mission. After all, they were the ones who had applied to become Five-Star Fiends, while Hodan and the others were merely along for the ride, responsible for dealing with the ordinary Divine-level experts.
"Everyone, we know you've come to take part in the Fiend assessment." A voice rang out in the minds of all one thousand people, including Hodan. "My mission is to deal with the bandit leaders, and it's more dangerous than yours. Your mission is to kill the ordinary bandits. I hope you won't hold me back. All right, get ready. We're leaving."
"He can transmit his voice to everyone? That must cover at least several hundred meters."
Voice transmission by divine sense was very difficult in Hell.
That meant the speaker's strength was close to that of a five-star fiend.
The brownish-yellow-haired man continued transmitting by divine sense. "We're heading to Howling Wind Valley now. All one thousand of you, follow me."
Then—
Led by the brownish-yellow-haired man, with two four-star fiends at the head of a group of more than twenty fiends, they all rose into the air and flew toward Howling Wind Valley.
The thousand people taking part in the Fiend assessment also took flight. Hodan mingled with the group and flew toward Howling Wind Valley with them.
The two four-star fiends accompanying the brownish-yellow-haired man were a man in black robes whose face was impossible to make out, and a burly man in green robes. As soon as the brownish-yellow-haired man took off, the two four-star fiends rose into the air almost simultaneously and flew straight toward Howling Wind Valley. The other fiends followed right after... Then the thousand-strong group Hodan was with immediately followed them.
The three streaks of light reached the skies above Howling Wind Valley in an instant. The brownish-yellow-haired man looked around at everyone and said, "Get ready. I'm about to attack."
He took a deep breath. With a roar, he began to rise higher into the air. Then, with a flip of his hand, a long green sword appeared, its entire length radiating a bloodthirsty aura of slaughter. It had clearly tasted the blood of many powerful people.
Then he gripped the green sword in his right hand. Divine power gathered as a strange fluctuation began to build. When his divine power reached its peak, he swung the sword toward the bandit camp.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The instant the sword came down, countless blades of wind formed into a storm. Then the storm gathered into a tornado that roared toward the entire bandit camp. Space twisted wherever it passed. Trees were uprooted, and the tornado tore buildings apart, scattering debris through the air.
When the tornado reached the center of the camp, it suddenly stopped, then transformed into countless whirling blades. Countless blades of wind split off from the tornado, slicing through the bandit camp again and again. The ground was covered in countless sword marks.
Before this tornado, which was like a natural disaster, the weaker bandits had their divine bodies and souls torn to pieces.
Hodan was stunned. Was this the Dimensional Blade Mystery of the Wind Laws? He hadn't expected this wind cultivator to develop such a wide-ranging attack skill.
Before you continue