Chapter 153: Slaying Solar, Destroying Sunflare (II)
“Arf arf arf!” Panther barked with a small strut. Its nose twitched as it sniffed through the darkness.
The little black dog had been cleaning up the perimeter! Li Hao hadn’t taught it this skill. The young man glanced at Yuan Shuo—had his teacher?
“I didn’t teach it that,” the professor laughed sardonically with a bleeding mouth. “That dog is afraid of death and wanted to hide, but then discovered we were strong enough to kill our opponents. So now it’s afraid that we’ll yell at it for its cowardice, so it barks a few times to let us know that it’s putting in work too!”
“......”
Li Hao blinked, then broke out in laughter. He laughed and laughed until both teacher and disciple coughed up blood at the same time. Both of them had utilized the Incantation of the Blade of Blood. Li Hao was better off as his aura was weak. He couldn’t bring too much power to bear, but that also meant his backlash was less. Yuan Shuo, however, was gravely injured.
The young man quickly offered up the jade sword. Yuan Shuo took it without protest and operated the Breathing Method of the Five Styles to absorb a bit of sword energy. He stopped when his injuries stabilized and wouldn’t lead to his immediate collapse.
The professor quickly returned to the site of battle and sectioned the headless corpse on the ground into a dozen pieces. He piled all of the pieces together, swiftly jogged to the silver car, and took out an energy storage box. Yuan Shuo opened the box and put everything inside, then stood with the box in one hand.
“Clean up the blood, I’m going to take a look outside the city!” He rose into the sky with an angry bellow. “Don’t think of running, Red Moon vermin!”
Yuan Shuo broke through the air like he was chasing an enemy.
“The Qiaos have colluded with the evil supernatural organization known as Red Moon!” Li Hao promptly shouted. “They deserve death! To me, Inspectorate! Arrest everyone involved with the Qiaos!”
His angry shout brought a series of uniform footsteps from the distance. Mu Sen arrived before long, bringing a solemn group of heavily equipped inspectors with him.
Li Hao knew they would quickly be on the scene when he saw Mu Sen from far away. The Inspectorate wouldn’t ignore a massive battle erupting in their homegrown.
“A Solar ambushed my teacher!” the young man called out. “Teacher’s off in pursuit. Seal off the premises, Inspector General Mu!”
Mu Sen waved a hand without a word. The inspectors quickly sealed off the area. The inspector general was shocked when he took a better look at closer quarters. Another battle with a Solar! Were Red Moon Solars so worthless? How dare they send another when one had already died?
He saw Qiao Peng’s corpse and those of the bodyguards. The black shadow had dispersed and Qiao Feilong’s body was nowhere to be found. There were only some splatters of blood on the ground.
Where is Qiao Feilong?
The question flashed through his mind. Mu Sen only asked about the enemy. “Did the Solar get away? Or is Professor Yuan being chased by the enemy?”
The Solar’s presence had vanished just as quickly as it’d appeared. The inspector general had come quickly enough, but all he saw was a sea of fire and a blade the color of blood. He didn’t know any details.
The blade of blood likely belonged to Yuan Shuo and the sea of fire to a fire Solar.
But now? Did it mean that Yuan Shuo held the upper hand if Li Hao stood here, unharmed? If that was the case, the professor was terrifying!
“If you have any requests, Inspector General, please feel free to voice them. I think my teacher will consider them.”
“No need!” Mu Sen rumbled. “I only have one thing to say. Next time... and I hope there’s no next time, but if there is, let me know ahead of time! You should know that a sudden battle, especially one of the Solar level, can easily cause massive casualties!”
Thank goodness it’d taken place in the commercial district and there was a curfew in place tonight. Who knew how many would be on the streets otherwise?
The inspector general could tell from this that the group was prepared. Otherwise, a curfew wasn’t necessary for tonight.
“I understand.” Li Hao nodded without responding further.
Various thoughts flashed through Mu Sen’s mind; they were close to the Inspectorate. “That Solar... Will we see them again next time?”
“No.”
Dead! Mu Sen reeled with shock. Although he had his guess, it was still stunning beyond belief to hear that the other was truly dead. A second Solar! Yuan Shuo was terrifying, absolutely terrifying.
“But everyone is to know that they escaped!” Li Hao supplemented.
“I understand!” Mu Sen nodded. Although it would enhance Yuan Shuo’s reputation and make him foremost among Silver Moon if the truth got out, that would also place him in greater danger. Saying that the enemy got away made the situation much safer—the caveat being that none of the three great organizations were willing to admit that they’d lost a Solar.
Was it an unknown Solar? It had to be, or there was no concealing the matter. No one would know about the death of an unknown Solar.
The car stopped as they talked; the Inspectorate was so quiet tonight that it was eerie. A formidable presence rose into the air—Hao Lianchuan was still holding down the fort. All of Silver City’s supernatural personages were gathered here tonight, nearly one hundred of them.
If he left after Mu Sen’s departure and during Liu Long’s absence... who knew what else would happen tonight? Thus, he didn’t move despite anxiety besieging him on all sides. The lack of a distress signal from Yuan Shuo was another major reason why he stayed. Perhaps Yuan Shuo can handle whatever situation he found himself in.
Hao Lianchuan slightly relaxed with relief when he sensed Mu Sen and Li Hao’s return. Their footsteps were resolute—a sign that the issue wasn’t great. So where was the Solar? There was a fire Solar!
Hao Lianchuan was already trying to determine which faction’s Solar was here tonight. There were limited numbers of them and they were mostly known, even when hidden. A fire Solar... Red Moon seemed to possess one, but most of their resources were concentrated in the central region. Was their Solar here on a solo mission to kill Yuan Shuo?
Were they crazy?
Yuan Shuo had a Solar notch on his belt and the director himself was here. Much of this didn’t make sense.
The two returnees entered through the door as Hao Lianchuan grappled with his thoughts. Every head in the hall snapped to them. Mu Sen carried a large blade in his hand and brimmed with portentous killing intent.
“Director Hao, someone attacked Professor Yuan and there’s been a massive battle on the city streets,” he solemnly explained with fury. “They ran from the premises and the professor is giving chase...”
“Is he alright?” Hao Lianchuan intoned.
“We’re not sure.” Mu Sen walked forward, as if wanting to make a report to the director. Hao Lianchuan, however, furrowed his brow and looked at his colleague. Although it was difficult to see through Mu Sen since he was a martial master, their proximity meant that Hao Lianchuan could sense the active state of the man’s internal force.
A revolt?
Has Mu Sen revolted and wants to ambush me?