With his mind and body moving in unison, his figure blurred in an instant. A flash of light slashed through the nearest Borisin, and purple blood gushed out as his head was severed from his body.
Just then, the same blade flashed across the bodies of several Borisin, and purple blood gushed out almost simultaneously, spraying onto the surrounding ground.
At that moment, the last remaining Bu Borisin dodged the blade that was within arm's reach, and just as its claws were about to grab a Foxian.
A flash of green sword light appeared, Borisin's upper and lower body were burned cleanly in two by the scorching green flames, slowly sliding down from the cut and falling to the ground.
"Phew... Well done, Hotaru."
The clones that had just been slain burned to ashes in the air, and the blood on the blades slowly dripped onto the ground. All the Borisin around were lying on the ground, but no civilians were injured.
"You did a great job too, hero?"
The Firefly deliberately dragged out its syllables, which instead revealed a hint of provocation:
"If our names weren't on the wanted poster..."
"Ugh, I just can't do anything with you--"
Hanxing shook his head helplessly and moved closer to Firefly, one hand reaching down to her calf and the other around her neck.
"Hmm--?"
Firefly let out a short gasp, then felt her feet leave the ground, and her face instantly turned bright red.
"Why... so suddenly?"
"Hey, you've been teasing me all this way, aren't you happy?"
A slight smile graced Hanxing's face, and her eyes turned blue.
"Leave the rest of the journey to me."
"Seriously, are we really going to be watching these two stinking bastards the whole way?"
On a distant rooftop, two figures, one in red and one in purple, watched everything unfold, their eyes scrutinizing each other.
"Following the general's orders is what we should do."
Moze stared coldly at the commotion below, brandishing the dagger in his hand with a flourish.
"Yes, yes, yes, I've practically memorized phrases like 'Such a powerful person must have an impressive background.'"
Jiaoqiu closed his eyes, waving his fan back and forth.
"I said, he saved my life after all, is it really okay to 'repay' him like this?"
"The more powerful and mysterious an individual is, the more vigilant we must be. That way, we'll have a plan in place should they change their tactics."
Moze's voice remained indifferent, just as the saying goes, "There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests."
"Speaking of those two, I've heard some rumors about them."
Jiaoqiu opened her eyes, which were filled with calculation:
"There's a rumor in Penacony: the wicked Stellaron Hunters [ Sam ] hides a silver-haired girl beneath his mech. And she's always accompanied by a young swordsman."
"Do you think it will be either of them?"
Moze's voice was devoid of emotion; it seemed to be purely analytical.
"That power fluctuation... it's at least at the Emanator level. And it possesses two completely different blessings..."
After a moment of silence, Jiaoqiu spoke again:
"His bounty will be no less than that of the [ Destiny's Slave ]."
" Luofu, and even the entire Xianzhou Alliance, may be in deep trouble--"
Moze sighed softly and entered stealth mode once more.
"Remember their every move, especially the silver-haired girl's. Just compare it with [ Sam's ] fighting style, and you can draw a conclusion."
Jiaoqiu wore a smile, and the air on the rooftop fell silent again, as if the conversation had never happened.
Soon, Hanxing and his companion arrived at the end of the clue: the area beneath a teahouse. The teahouse was bustling with activity, showing no sign of impending doom.
Why... does it end here?
Firefly shrank back in Hanxing's arms, her eyes filled with wariness.
"It seems... there's only one possibility left--"
Hanxing glanced around solemnly, then slowly lowered his hand from around Firefly's legs and drew the knife from thin air.
"The very nature of this place is a trap!"
The moment Hanxing finished speaking, the hidden enemy emerged from the shadows and leaped down from the railings of each floor of the teahouse. But surprisingly, it was not Borisin who jumped down, but Mara-Struck.
"Why do these things with branches growing from their heads receive so many blessings of Abundance?"
As Hanxing muttered to himself, his hands moved. The Netherworld transformed into dozens of throwing knives, their tails tearing through space, leaving several deep green streaks in the air.
"Soul-annihilating strangulation!"
Soon, a deep green sphere enveloped the entire teahouse, and four throwing knives were neatly inserted directly beneath each approaching Mara-Struck, with bright green threads extending from them firmly binding the Mara-Struck in mid-air.
The soul does not lie.
Hanxing silently recited a phrase. As soon as he spoke, the souls of all the Mara-Struck were pulled before him. Just as he was about to examine something, he found nothing:
"No, they're a bunch of mindless monsters; they can't possibly have any intelligence—"
Hanxing cursed under his breath, and the silk threads tightened instantly, tearing the soul in front of him into pieces.
The throwing knife transformed back into a longsword and flew back into Hanxing's hand. The green curtain retracted its sword tail, and everything returned to normal.
"This is... Mara-Struck?"
Firefly looked at the corpse lying on the ground, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes:
"Judging from his clothing, he used to be a member of the Cloud Knights. What's he doing here?"
"And how did they manage to get a bunch of mindless monsters to carry out such an organized attack?"
Hanxing carefully examined the corpse on the ground; there appeared to be traces of damage to its hands and feet from the blast wave.
"They were probably tied up, and after realizing we'd fallen into a trap, they used explosives to free themselves and attack us."
The two looked at the teahouse again. The once bustling place was now deserted, and they could faintly smell gunpowder and wolf-hair brushes wafting from upstairs.
At the spot where the Mara-Struck had just leaped down, the beams and pillars showed clear signs of damage from sharp weapons. It seems they went to great lengths to capture these Mara-Struck.
"It seems the trail ends here."
Hanxing gazed at the sky, then looked down at Firefly:
"How about we go get some tea?"
Why did you suddenly think of this?
Firefly's eyes were full of doubt, but she only saw Hanxing bring her face closer:
"We have two acquaintances following us, let's go!"
Firefly's expression changed, but she quickly suppressed it:
"Okay, I'm a little thirsty, I want to try their signature dish!"
The two figures quickly disappeared into the crowd.
"Damn it, he's found us!"
Moze cursed under his breath and turned to look at Jiaoqiu:
"There's no other way. We should go report to the general, tell her our suspicions, and then... consider this mission over?"
With a smile on her face, Jiaoqiu turned and left.