"Hmph, I absolutely won't tell you. Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"
The waiter adopted a fearless stance, even moving closer to the Firefly -shaped sword.
"Sigh... Next time you accept a mission, remember to gather the intelligence first. After all, the last thing I'm afraid of is a stubborn person."
Hanxing smiled coldly, his eyes turning blue as the Prison of Fiery Eyes was activated. The waiter's world instantly changed. Hanxing crossed his arms and quietly watched it all.
"How long will it take this time?"
Firefly stared at the waiter trapped in the illusion, her face expressionless.
"Two minutes? Anyway, if I can't get any information, my soul won't lie."
Hanxing watched all this, a smile appearing on her face, and then said nothing more.
"Damn it... which bastard brought me here?"
The waiter looked up and saw a huge blue sun hanging high in the sky, constantly radiating enormous heat, with distorted air rising around it.
Just as he was about to try to move his hands, the unseen threads slowly tightened, fixing his wrists firmly in place. Several skeletons emerged from the ground, each holding a rusty knife.
"Before you reveal the information, the skeleton will slowly tear you apart, and the flames from the sky will scorch your soul. Now, enjoy it."
The illusory image of Hanxing's blue eyes disappeared, leaving only the waiter bound by an invisible cross on the field.
" Hanxing! You beast—"
The loud insults carried further and further across the desert, eventually being blown away by the wind and disappearing without a trace.
"Hmm, it seems like it's about time."
Hanxing glanced at the clock on the wall. Two minutes had passed, and the surrounding civilians still dared not approach, merely watching from a distance.
"3,2,1"
Hanxing's finger fell, and the waiter's dazed gaze returned to focus.
"No... I beg you, I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything!"
The waiter was clearly still not fully alert and was muttering to himself unconsciously.
"Alright, confess honestly, and I'll grant you a swift death."
The cold Hanxing delivered its verdict, its azure eyes fixed on its prisoners of war, its voice devoid of any warmth.
"It was... it was Long Taoran! He did it! He colluded with Borisin to revive the Vidyadhara!"
The waiter's voice was almost panicked, as if he was afraid the man in front of him would do something else.
" Taoran... I understand. Now, you can die."
Hanxing's eyes lit up again, but this time it was different. Not long after, the waiter collapsed to the ground.
"Was he... dead cleanly?"
The Firefly's voice carried a hint of sympathy as it tentatively asked.
"Yes, the gravitational pull of three days will instantly tear his soul apart, without any pain."
The blue light in Hanxing's eyes went out; a peaceful death was the gentlest gift one could give to their enemy.
"Long Taoran... it seems to be a member of the Vidyadhara. Dan Heng should know something. Let's go find him after we've dealt with Hoolay's matter."
Firefly stared at the waiter's corpse and spoke coldly.
"This guy... attacked us twice, who gave him the guts?"
Hanxing glanced at it, and blue flames ignited, burning the corpse to ashes.
"It seems we still need to take action to resolve the issue of Hoolay."
Hanxing covered her face with her hands, and the eyes peeking through her fingers turned into a pattern of overlapping red once more.
"Not bad for recovery--that guy Hoolay... he'd better wash his neck and wait."
At this very moment, Hoolay in the distance.
"The monkey hiding in the shadows... come out!"
At this moment, Hoolay and his group were standing in a courtyard. After consuming the potion, his body had transformed into a robust, muscular Foxian. Despite this, his senses remained undiminished, and he kept a close eye on the two people outside the wall.
"It seems we've come at the wrong time?"
Jiaoqiu stepped out from beside the doorway, staring at the Borisin in the courtyard:
You look so pathetic for failing to catch me.
"Didn't catch you? Hmph--"
Hoolay let out a burst of laughter, or more accurately, a mocking laugh:
"See? Modu, just as I said. Foxian are born lowly. Even if they escape, they'll crawl back to our clutches."
"Well, you've misunderstood."
As the purple mist dissipated, Moze's figure appeared from the side:
"We're not here to return to your clutches, but to make you... fall before our blades!"
"Fall down! Hahaha--You must have made a mistake."
Hoolay took two steps forward, revealing all his claws and fangs. "I'll first rip open your throat, so you can feel the warmth of blood spraying onto your body, and the icy coldness of your body as it stiffens!"
"So, are you... ready?"
A slight smile played at the corner of Jiaoqiu's eye as he tossed a smoke bomb to the ground.
Red smoke rose, and a strong, pungent odor filled everyone's nostrils.
"Cough cough... Damn it, this is filled with chili powder!"
Modu kept rubbing his eyes and coughing violently. Hoolay, on the other hand, showed no change in expression, simply waving his hand to disperse the smoke.
"You despicable beast—"
Hoolay was about to explode in anger when he noticed a note on the ground. The note contained very simple words:
"Once you arrive at the Skysplitter, we'll give you a glorious death."
"Hmph... Hmph hmph hmph--"
Hoolay laughed as he read, "A bunch of lowly beasts, daring to boast about giving me a glorious death?"
"Then, descendants of Du Lan, let this so-called Battleship become our new hunting ground!"
after a while.
Qiong, Feixiao, and Yanqing arrived late, and the commotion on the field was relatively small, with not many people gathering around. Upon seeing the three arrive, Jiaoqiu and Moze landed from the rooftop nearby.
"Wait, don't move."
Feixiao transmitted his voice to Moze through the earpiece. The group subconsciously looked around, and there seemed to be only some seemingly harmless Foxian nearby.
"They're going to declare war."
"Yes, I've been suppressing the urge to tear their throats open. After all... Hoolay us to stay here so we could see..."
The Foxian around them kept closing in, the distance between the two groups kept shrinking, and the sounds became clearer and clearer:
"You, the renowned Merlin's Claw, Borisin's mortal enemy, do you truly have the ability to participate in... this hunting game with him?"
"Hunting is no game. It's a war to the death. Prepare to die, you wretched creature!"
Feixiao stared at the Buli henchmen who had transformed into their original forms and were surrounding him, his gun and sword already appearing in his hand. Yanqing made a sword gesture with his hands, and Qiong took out a baseball bat. Moze gripped his dagger tightly, Jiaoqiu picked up a feather fan, clutching spices in his other hand.
Battle is about to break out!