Chapter 85 – Victory Conditions of the Battle

『Qilin Blade』—Gao Xu.

This was an existence even Su Ming knew of.

He was a relatively famous Upper-Rank Professional in Longyao City. Although he was a Four-Star Hunter, in terms of reputation alone, he might even surpass some Five-Star Professionals.

The reason was simple.

Not only was his Blade Art astonishing—having been invited to the Demon Hunter Academy several times to teach and explain combat techniques related to Blade Art—but he also wielded a high-performance alchemical weapon. While his combat power might not quite match that of a Five-Star Hunter, he could hold his own without falling behind for a short period.

Because the name of his alchemical weapon was Qilin Blade, people used the name of this saber as Gao Xu’s title.

Several years ago, this renowned 『Qilin Blade』 was recruited into the Xu Family, becoming one of their retainers.

And now, such a person had appeared here.

“Young Miss.”

Xu Yanyan involuntarily put away her weapon.

“……”

Xu Qianqian also wore a grim expression as she sheathed her dagger.

Gao Xu parted the crowd and approached both Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan.

“With the battle imminent, it is inappropriate for you two Young Misses to openly fight here.”

Gao Xu spoke these words in an extremely cold voice, openly reprimanding both Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan.

Xu Yanyan wanted to say something but was silenced by a glance from Gao Xu, clicking her tongue in frustration.

As for Xu Qianqian, ever since Gao Xu appeared, her mood seemed to have plummeted to the bottom. She remained grim-faced and said nothing.

The two young ladies of the Xu Family did not dare to be overly disrespectful in the presence of such a renowned Upper-Rank Professional and Family retainer.

If even these two young ladies were like this, the others present were even more so. After Gao Xu appeared, they hardly dared to breathe loudly.

On Su Ming’s side, Lei Hao, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei were slightly moved.

Clearly, meeting a genuine Upper-Rank Professional, a true powerhouse among Hunters, left them unable to remain calm.

This was an existence capable of rivaling even Upper-Rank Phantom Demons.

They were the elite of humanity, numbering only around a few hundred in the entire Longyao City.

Even on a global scale, such individuals were a minority among minorities, respected and revered wherever they went.

This was the Upper-Rank Professional—the core strength humanity truly relied on to counter the invasions from the Spirit Demon Abyss.

On this Defense Line, Gao Xu was the strongest person, the greatest reliance for everyone here.

His appearance directly intimidated the entire scene and subdued both Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan.

Even Su Ming felt an involuntary pressure rise within him upon seeing the other.

“This is… an Upper-Rank Professional…?”

Seeing for the first time an existence revered by the world as a true powerhouse, Su Ming’s emotions were somewhat stirred.

Gao Xu was unaware of Su Ming’s feelings, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.

He didn’t even pay further attention to Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan. Seeing that the two had settled down, he immediately turned to the middle-aged soldier beside him.

“My apologies for the embarrassment, Commander Duan.”

Gao Xu offered a slight apology to the middle-aged soldier, informing everyone present of who this middle-aged soldier was.He was the commander of this defense line, the supreme leader in charge of all military personnel here, responsible for all garrison affairs and battle decisions along this line.

“Salute!”

Someone shouted, prompting the soldiers surrounding the entire venue to step forward in unison, saluting Commander Duan in perfect synchronization.

Commander Duan nodded to the crowd, then smiled at Gao Xu.

“Young people are indeed full of vitality.”

Commander Duan seemed unconcerned about the matter.

Of course, he recognized Xu Qianqian, and he certainly knew Xu Yanyan as well.

The two Young Misses of the Xu Family, with their noble bloodlines and profound backgrounds, belonged to a clan that ranked among the top powers in all of Longyao City. Their influence was so great that it could even interfere with the decisions and policies of the Base City.

Although Commander Duan was a high-ranking official in the Base City, leading an army, he was reluctant to offend the Xu Family.

Therefore, for such a minor incident, Commander Duan naturally preferred to let it pass if possible.

Gao Xu also refrained from making any further comments on the matter, simply saying:

“Shall we begin soon?”

His abrupt shift to the main topic made it clear to everyone that Gao Xu hadn’t taken the earlier conflict to heart at all.

In his eyes, it seemed like nothing more than a farce, unworthy of mention.

Fortunately, Commander Duan also had no desire for the internal conflicts of the Xu Family to become a focal point of attention in this camp.

Thus, Commander Duan swept his gaze over everyone present.

“Allow me to introduce myself.”

Commander Duan spoke thus.

“I am the commander here, the highest authority of this defense line. My surname is Duan.”

Upon hearing this, all the Professionals present saluted Commander Duan.

As the commander and the highest authority of the defense line, his rank was high enough to warrant respectful treatment from the Professionals.

Of course, the Professionals did not regard him with the same awe they reserved for Gao Xu.

Although Commander Duan held a high position, he appeared to be an ordinary person. Leading an army did not necessarily mean he could command the respect of Professionals.

In this world, Professionals had long become an indispensable mainstay, their status more transcendent than that of soldiers or officials.

Under such circumstances, the Professionals’ polite treatment of Commander Duan was largely due to his high rank.

For an ordinary person, these self-important Professionals would not show much respect.

Commander Duan seemed well aware of this, so he avoided unnecessary words and got straight to the point.

“Next, I will explain the garrison arrangements for this defense line and the strategies for dealing with Phantom Demons. I hope you will cooperate actively and work together to resist the invasion of the Phantom Demons.”

As he spoke, Commander Duan pointed to the large screen in the venue.

“Please look here. This is the current defense line layout of Huaming District.”

Commander Duan’s words drew everyone’s attention to the screen.

On it, the map of Huaming District began to change.

First, in the southeastern area, a red circle appeared, pulsing like a beating heart.

Surrounding this circle, lines resembling walls emerged one after another around the map, heavily enclosing the circle.

Commander Duan’s voice rang out at just the right moment.”In approximately one hour, the entrance to the Spirit Demon Abyss will open. As you can see, its location is precisely at the circle in the southeast direction.”

“We have already established multiple defense lines around the entrance, especially at the frontline where Professionals will first engage the Phantom Demons. Each line is assigned numerous Professionals, including powerful Upper-Rank Professionals.”

“Our current defense line is in the north, which is the safest in terms of location and direction, but we must not let our guard down.”

“After all, if we fail to hold this line, casualties are one thing, but the arriving Phantom Demons will be unimpeded and may flow into the urban areas, causing massive casualties.”

Commander Duan pointed to one of the defense lines on the northern part of the map.

That was their current defense line.

Su Ming observed that there were three major defensive barriers constructed from multiple lines ahead of their position, while only one defense line remained behind them.

What did this signify?

It meant that if this line were breached, only one defense line would remain to block Phantom Demons from leaving Huaming District through the northern route.

If even that final line were broken through, Phantom Demons heading north would encounter no resistance—either continuing outward along the northern border or turning into the city.

At that point, tens of thousands of citizens would become prey for the Phantom Demons.

Fortunately, the pressure here wasn’t particularly intense.

“Phantom Demons possess an attraction to crowds—the more people in an area, the more likely they are to head in that direction,” Commander Duan explained.

“Based on this characteristic, most Phantom Demons will likely gather toward the eastern and southern routes leading directly to the city. Those coming north will be in the minority.”

Although these northern-bound Phantom Demons would still be numerous, after being resisted at the frontline and blocked by three major defensive barriers, the number reaching this line would be significantly reduced.

By then, any Phantom Demons breaking through to this position would mostly be scattered remnants that slipped through previous defenses, unlikely to include Upper-Rank Phantom Demons.

Thus, this defense line wouldn’t face excessive pressure.

“Our mission is to eliminate every single one of these remnants that make it here. Ideally, we should let none pass through, because only one defense line remains behind us, and beyond that lies no force capable of resisting the Phantom Demon invasion.”

Commander Duan spoke with utmost seriousness.

“After being filtered through the frontline and three major defensive barriers ahead, the number of Phantom Demons reaching us will be greatly diminished. With your capabilities, you should be more than sufficient to handle these stragglers.”

The main combat force for this battle consisted of the various Professionals, as conventional military forces could only play a limited role.

“I’ll provide detailed combat instructions later. For now, let me outline our victory conditions.”

Commander Duan moved his finger from pointing at the defense lines on the map to indicate the circle marking the entrance location.

“After the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance opens, the President of the Sorcerer Guild will lead several key elders to seal the entrance using the Hundred Spirit Arts’ 84th sequence Advanced Spell Formula—[Distant Abyss Gate].”That is an extremely rare sealing-type Spirit Art among the Hundred Spirit Arts. Aside from the forbidden arts ranked beyond sequence 90, this Eighty-Fourth Style stands as the strongest among sealing-type Spirit Arts.

The Sorcerer Guild is the largest organization of Sorcerers across all major Base Cities, forming the most powerful faction composed of Sorcerers.

The President of the Longyao City Sorcerer Guild is the strongest Sorcerer in all of Longyao City, and also the only Six-Star Sorcerer in the city.

As for the elders of the Sorcerer Guild, even the weakest among them are Four-Star Sorcerers, each being an Upper-Rank Professional who has undergone Awakening and possesses Vision Marks.

When such a group of Sorcerers jointly employs the Eighty-Fourth Style to Seal the entrance to the Spirit Demon Abyss, success would bring the entrance under complete control.

Therefore, the victory condition for humanity in this battle between Longyao City and the Spirit Demon Abyss is remarkably straightforward.

“Our victory condition is to hold off all Phantom Demons until the Sorcerer Guild successfully Seals the entrance.”

“Once the entrance is Sealed, we will advance the battlefront in one decisive push, gathering all our strength to exterminate every Phantom Demon on the spot.”

“Thus, we shall achieve victory in this campaign.”

Commander Duan’s voice rang out with powerful clarity, reaching every person present.

(End of Chapter)