Chapter 116 – Overdid It?

Northern Region, Fourth Defense Line.

After a full day and night of guarding, the defense mission of this line finally came to an end.

“All Professionals within the defense line, please proceed to the central assembly hall for a meeting.”

“All Professionals within the defense line, please proceed to the central assembly hall for a meeting.”

“All Professionals within the defense line, please proceed to the central assembly hall for a meeting.”

In the camp, the broadcast announcements echoed continuously, compelling all Professionals within the defense line—whether they were engaged in frontline combat or resting under the shift rotation system—to immediately head to the assembly hall where they had gathered the day before to attend another meeting.

Commander Duan arrived early, his expression still stern, showing no signs of relaxation despite the successful sealing of the Spirit Demon Abyss.

Gao Xu stood beside Commander Duan, arms crossed, maintaining his usual aloof demeanor.

The other Professionals and student squads also arrived one after another.

Xu Yanyan, along with the Xu Family Hunters, occupied a corner of the assembly hall.

Xu Qianqian blended into Li Wei’s squad, her face expressionless.

Unlike Xu Qianqian, Li Wei and the others appeared rather disheveled, each exuding an indescribable weariness.

There was no helping it.

Unlike Xu Qianqian, who had been focusing her attention on the Xu Family, Li Wei and his team had been engaged in continuous combat since arriving at this defense line and were now thoroughly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

But this was largely their own doing.

As the strongest squad in the Demon Hunter Academy, both Li Wei and the other top students in the squad possessed an innate arrogance.

Unlike other student squads that focused solely on their missions and defense duties, they were restless and sought to take advantage of the war to hunt more Phantom Demons, earn more contribution points, build their reputation, exchange for precious treasures, enhance their strength, and secure higher evaluations to achieve outstanding results upon graduation.

To this end, aside from the routinely uncooperative Xu Qianqian, everyone else in Li Wei’s squad had pushed themselves to the limit over the past day and night, barely resting and constantly fighting on the frontline to eliminate as many Phantom Demons as possible.

Unfortunately, despite being considered the best in the academy, they still fell somewhat short compared to seasoned Professionals, resulting in their ideal hunting plans being executed less smoothly than expected and leaving them in a rather sorry state.

In short, they underestimated the enemy, overestimated themselves, underestimated the war, and overestimated their capabilities. In the end, amidst the relentless assaults of the Phantom Demon army, their achievements were meager.

Had it not been for the support of Senior Professionals on the frontline, they might have suffered severe injuries or even perished on the spot under the merciless attacks of the ferocious Phantom Demons.

After all, they were still just students.

In a war where even Upper-Rank Professionals had to fight desperately, even a defense line in the relatively safe rear was still quite challenging for mere students.

If they had acted like the other students—holding their positions, diligently performing tasks within their capabilities, either charging into battle alongside Senior Hunters in coordinated efforts or staying with the Sorcerer group in the rear as emotionless artillery tools—they wouldn’t have ended up so disheveled.Unfortunately, these self-proclaimed elites always sought greater achievements. In their pursuit of slaying more Phantom Demons, they unknowingly strayed from the main force and ventured too deep into enemy territory, inevitably ending up in a sorry state.

Now, they appeared rather disheartened, their confidence clearly shaken, a far cry from the high-spirited demeanor they had displayed upon their arrival on the first day.

Li Wei, in particular, dared not even glance in Xu Qianqian’s direction.

Recalling how he had initially planned to use this opportunity to showcase his abilities, overshadow Su Ming, and prove to Xu Qianqian who the truly outstanding one was, Li Wei now felt nothing but shame.

He could barely take care of himself at this point—how could he possibly engage in petty rivalries?

Even the two Henchmen by Li Wei’s side, after enduring this ordeal, no longer mentioned Su Ming at all.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to dwell on it, but they simply lacked the energy to do so.

It could only be said that this experience had truly dealt them a blow.

Under such circumstances, thoughts of Su Ming had long been pushed to the back of their minds.

Naturally, Su Ming and his group arrived as well.

With the exception of Jiang Wanyu, who was still recuperating, the remaining five members of the team made their way to the venue.

The group’s overall morale was quite good.

After some rest, both Lei Hao and Ye Bai had regained their composure.

An Zijin and Yao Beibei were also full of energy, clearly having gotten ample rest.

As for Su Ming, his condition was better than ever. His mutated right hand, concealed beneath fingerless gloves and bandages, showed no signs of abnormality. With his long sleeves covering it, no one could detect the secret of his right hand. Even upon close inspection, one could only faintly discern fine cracks on his fingers, though they were barely noticeable.

Naturally, no one could perceive how much Su Ming had changed.

Seeing Su Ming and his group looking so spirited and composed, several people on Li Wei’s side couldn’t help but lower their heads, too ashamed to face others.

Without comparison, there would be no sense of injury. Next to Su Ming’s group, they appeared utterly disheveled.

Thus, including Li Wei himself, they now felt a sense of guilt, unable to meet Su Ming’s gaze and even praying that he wouldn’t look their way to mock them.

However, Su Ming’s attention was nowhere near Li Wei and the others.

He was unaware of Li Wei’s schemes and had no idea that his henchmen had ever considered teaching him a lesson.

For Su Ming, his true focus lay on the situation with the Xu Family, his own transformations and gains, and even the progression of the war itself—all of which mattered far more than Li Wei and his group.

So, although it might seem inconsiderate, Su Ming truly didn’t pay much mind to Li Wei and the others. At most, he might think, “Ah, the follies of youth.”

It could only be said that, compared to what Su Ming truly cared about, Li Wei and his group were simply too insignificant and inconsequential.

Especially now that Su Ming had obtained the Bloodline of the Nightmare Species, become a Dual Professional, awakened the Vision Mark, and gained powers like the Silver Arm and Demon Binding, someone of Li Wei’s caliber was no longer worth his attention.

Thus, Su Ming didn’t even glance in Li Wei’s direction, nor did he pay any attention to Xu Qianqian or Xu Yanyan. Instead, he chatted idly with his teammates, seemingly at ease.”What is he going to say this time?”

“Probably the follow-up plan for the war, right?”

Lei Hao and Ye Bai were both focused on Commander Duan, waiting for him to speak.

“So, does this mean the war is really coming to an end?”

“That’s great…”

An Zijin relaxed her expression, and even Yao Beibei patted her ample chest, looking relieved.

“Don’t celebrate too soon.”

Su Ming, however, felt that things were far from over.

Sure enough, once most of the personnel had gathered, Commander Duan began his address.

“I’ve called everyone here today to discuss the subsequent operations.”

Commander Duan was as stern and serious as he had been when the war began yesterday.

“As you all know, the Spirit Demon Abyss Entrance has been successfully sealed. From now on, no more Phantom Demons will manifest. We no longer need to hold back an endless tide of Phantom Demons—this war has reached its conclusion.”

“Next, our task is simple: we will launch a campaign to eliminate the Phantom Demons that have already manifested but have not yet been destroyed.”

“Once we eradicate all the Phantom Demons currently present in Huaming District, the war will be over.”

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

On it, the map of Huaming District was displayed once again.

“According to the original plan, after the successful sealing of the Spirit Demon Abyss Entrance, all defense lines will gradually advance from the rear, eliminating Phantom Demons along the way and merging with the forward lines. We will continuously integrate the combat strength from each defense line, encircling the Phantom Demons in Huaming District and gradually narrowing their area of activity, pushing them toward the central frontline.”

“Then, by concentrating all the Professionals and military forces in Longyao City, we will annihilate all remaining Phantom Demons in one decisive strike, completely liberating Huaming District.”

“At that point, the war will officially be declared over.”

The straightforward and clear operation plan allowed everyone present to quickly grasp it.

In other words, they would no longer be passively defending but would instead take the initiative to attack.

“For now, we need to wait for the rear defense lines to advance and merge with us before pushing forward to the third defense line together.”

Commander Duan pointed to the area between the third and fourth defense lines.

“During this period, we must eliminate as many Phantom Demons as possible in this area to reduce the enemy’s numbers. This will prevent delays in advancing the battle lines and ensure that the heavily pressured frontline receives effective support.”

Commander Duan went on to explain that he would categorize and assign different areas based on factors such as the difficulty of subjugation and the detected number and strength of enemy reactions. These tasks would then be allocated to different squads.

Shortly after, the Professionals in each squad received text messages on their phones, informing them of the areas they were responsible for.

Su Ming and his group also received a message.

“B-5 Zone?”

Su Ming murmured, and everyone looked up at the map on the large screen.

The map had now expanded to show the distribution of the area between the third and fourth defense lines.

The so-called B-5 Zone was located relatively close to the central area.

The most dangerous central area was marked as A-1 Zone.Surrounding the A-1 Zone were five B zones.

In other words…

“Were we actually assigned to a key zone?”

Lei Hao was somewhat stunned.

“How could that be?”

An Zijin and Yao Beibei also exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with astonishment.

“With our abilities, we shouldn’t have been deployed to such a zone.”

Ye Bai was equally perplexed.

Only Su Ming, after a momentary daze, understood.

“Damn, we overperformed.”

That was exactly what had happened.

(End of Chapter)