Chapter 127 – Gao Xu Gravely Injured

“Sir!”

From a corner of the collapsing battlefield, Xu Yanyan’s exclamation rang out.

One second earlier, just like Xu Qianqian, Xu Yanyan had been swept away by the shockwave without any resistance, becoming a tiny solitary boat in the storm, completely unable to control her movements.

However, Xu Yanyan was in slightly better condition than Xu Qianqian. Even though she was swept away by the shockwave, she could still barely protect her entire body, avoiding crashing into rocks and suffering further injuries.

Just as Xu Yanyan was being tossed about in the shockwave, feeling dizzy and nearly losing consciousness from the disorienting sensation, a figure cut through the shockwave and carried her away.

This person was naturally Gao Xu.

But at this moment, Gao Xu’s condition was extremely dire.

“Pfft!”

With a spray of blood, Gao Xu awkwardly knelt on one knee on the ground.

His entire body was covered in blood, appearing utterly miserable.

His scales had shattered piece by piece, as if trampled by a giant.

Even more alarming, blood was seeping from his nose, mouth, and muscles all over his body.

Most terrifying of all, the renowned Qilin Blade in Gao Xu’s hand was now covered with cracks, looking as if it might shatter at any moment.

“Damn it…!”

Gao Xu looked at the Qilin Blade in his hand, feeling the intense pain coursing through his entire body. Even his demonized, ferocious face twisted slightly.

Amid his anger, Gao Xu also seemed to harbor some fear, with lingering trepidation visible in his eyes.

“Sir!”

Though shocked and horrified, Xu Yanyan quickly rushed to Gao Xu’s side and helped him up.

During this time, Gao Xu canceled his Demonization, his ferocious appearance rapidly fading away as he returned to his original form.

Even so, Gao Xu remained in a pitiful state. His blood-soaked appearance looked as if he had been mauled by countless wild beasts, covered in horrifying wounds that were shocking to behold.

Xu Yanyan couldn’t believe that the renowned ‘Qilin Blade,’ whom her father held in such high regard and who was famous throughout the world, could be reduced to such a miserable and wretched state.

“Could it be that Sir has lost?”

Though unwilling to believe it, Xu Yanyan couldn’t help but entertain this thought.

Unaware of Xu Yanyan’s thoughts, Gao Xu spoke weakly while coughing up blood the moment he was supported.

“Quick, we need to leave this place.”

Gao Xu said through gritted teeth.

“Sir?”

Xu Yanyan’s eyes widened.

“We miscalculated.” Gao Xu coughed a few times and whispered, “Xu Qianqian has mysterious powerful supporters behind her. That person’s power is terrifying. We can’t continue to engage with him.”

Gao Xu truly hadn’t expected that Su Ming’s right hand still concealed even more terrifying power.

He had thought that the Silver Arm’s power output at five percent was already Su Ming’s limit, and that after his Demonization, he should be able to easily handle Su Ming. He never imagined that this was far from the Silver Arm’s true limit.

As a result, he, a respectable Four-Star Hunter and renowned Upper-Rank Professional, had actually been severely wounded to this extent by a lower-rank hunter. This filled Gao Xu’s heart with both humiliating anger and fearful apprehension.

Xu Yanyan’s heart was also filled with uncertainty, her face similarly looking quite unpleasant.”Who exactly is that? Why does Xu Qianqian have such a powerful expert supporting her?”

Xu Yanyan was both jealous and resentful.

One must understand that gaining the support of an Upper-Rank Professional was no easy matter.

The entire Longyao City only had a few hundred Upper-Rank Professionals. After being distributed among various major Families and factions, the number of Upper-Rank Professionals in each organization was actually quite limited.

Even for a top-tier Family like the Xu Family in Longyao City—a major Family ranked just below those Super Families with Seven-Star Hunter and Nightmare Species Bloodline Legacies—the number of Upper-Rank Professionals they had cultivated themselves was only a handful.

Even including retainers recruited from outside like Gao Xu, the entire Xu Family had fewer than ten Upper-Rank Professionals.

Among these fewer than ten Upper-Rank Professionals, more than half were from the older generation of the Family Head’s era. Even if they wanted to support a junior, they wouldn’t personally intervene like this, only making arrangements behind the scenes.

Of the remaining Upper-Rank Professionals, some remained neutral, while others stayed aloof from worldly affairs, completely unconcerned with miscellaneous matters. Therefore, the number of Upper-Rank Professionals that Xu Yanyan’s father and Xu Qianqian’s father could actually mobilize was surprisingly small.

For example, Xu Yanyan’s father only had Gao Xu as the sole Upper-Rank Professional he could mobilize around him. The other Upper-Rank Professionals who chose to support him were all Family elders who wouldn’t easily help him with shady dealings, nor could Xu Yanyan’s father casually command them.

The situation was the same for Xu Qianqian’s father—he only had one Upper-Rank Professional around him whom he could order about. That person usually provided close protection for him and must have left Longyao City with him, no longer in this Base City.

Under such circumstances, Xu Yanyan only had Gao Xu as her assistant because her father had spoken up to mobilize him.

But what about Xu Qianqian?

Where did she find such a high-level expert to fight desperately for her?

An external ally?

But with the Huaming District battle still ongoing, how could any Upper-Rank Professional in Longyao City have spare capacity to come to another Defense Line and cause trouble?

Or was the other party an unregistered Professional not on record? A privately trained soldier cultivated in secret?

Who would have the capability to secretly cultivate an Upper-Rank Professional as a private soldier?

Could it be an Underground Professional?

Xu Yanyan racked her brains, considering every possibility.

But Gao Xu didn’t give her time to think.

“Now isn’t the time to think about these things,” Gao Xu said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. “That guy’s power is still causing effects. This area is about to be completely destroyed. With such a big commotion, other Professionals must have detected the situation here. Even the camp and Base City might have already noticed. We need to leave here quickly.”

“What about Xu Qianqian?” Xu Yanyan bit her lip, extremely unwilling to concede. “Are we just going to let her go like this?”

“What do you want to do?” Gao Xu looked coldly at Xu Yanyan. “Do you really want me to fight to the death with that mysterious expert?”

Xu Yanyan fell silent.

She knew this was impossible.

Losing a precious Upper-Rank Professional just to kill Xu Qianqian would simply be not worth the gain.Xu Qianqian may be important, but she is ultimately still young, not even of graduation age. She might pose a threat to Xu Yanyan, but she is not the greatest threat to Xu Yanyan’s father.

For Xu Yanyan’s father, the greatest threat is Xu Qianqian’s father—his own younger brother, who possesses considerable ability.

The death of Xu Qianqian would greatly impact the Xu Family’s future and deal a blow to her father, but it would not hinder his eventual ascension to the position of Family Head.

If it were possible to kill Xu Qianqian’s father, then it might be worth it for Gao Xu to take a gamble and risk it.

But merely targeting Xu Qianqian alone…

“I understand.”

Xu Yanyan took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration in her heart, and nodded.

Only then did Gao Xu’s expression improve somewhat.

“Don’t worry, your performance was impeccable. The failure of this mission is not your fault,” Gao Xu said. “I will personally report to your father and explain the situation clearly. I believe he will not blame you.”

Hearing this, Xu Yanyan’s expression also brightened considerably.

What she feared most was disappointing her father and being seen as inferior to Xu Qianqian.

If she could avoid these two outcomes, the failure of the mission became somewhat easier to accept.

“Let’s go,” Gao Xu said. “Leave this place and find me a spot where I can recuperate properly.”

As he spoke, Gao Xu felt a sense of helplessness.

He had already taken a healing alchemical potion, but the potion’s effects were completely ineffective, unable to restore his injuries.

“It seems that power isn’t just strong,” Gao Xu murmured to himself.

A look of wariness once again surfaced in his eyes, mixed with a hint of envy.

Such a terrifying ability—if he could possess it, he might even be able to threaten a Five-Star Professional, and even a Six-Star Professional would not dare to underestimate him.

“To have a right hand mutated with such a fearsome power—that person’s origins must be extraordinary.”

The Mutation Traits of a Hunter largely depend on the Bloodline they possess.

In other words, the abilities of the original owner of the Bloodline determine what kind of Mutation Traits a Hunter who inherits that Bloodline might develop.

Xu Qianqian’s blood-sucking trait is common among Phantom Demons, so it offers little reference value.

Yao Beibei’s keen instincts, however, are different. Such exceptional senses suggest that the Phantom Demon from which her Bloodline originated must have possessed senses distinct from other Phantom Demons, allowing Yao Beibei to develop such sharp perception after her mutation.

By the same logic, Su Ming’s right hand possesses such an overpowering ability. What kind of Phantom Demon’s Bloodline could have granted him such a formidable mutation?

The thought made Gao Xu feel increasingly uneasy.

“This matter must be reported to that person.”

With this in mind, Gao Xu and Xu Yanyan left the area together.

Soon after, the place collapsed into ruins.

……

B-2 Zone, outskirts.

Here, there was a rather lush mountain forest.

Within the forest, rows of fruit trees stood neatly arranged, clearly the result of artificial cultivation.

This mountain forest was specifically used as an agricultural base for growing fruit trees, vegetables, and other farm products.”Tch!”

With a faint whistling sound through the air, a figure holding a badly injured young woman leaped down from midair.

They landed in the mountain forest, hiding among the fruit trees, quickly disappearing from sight.

“Cough, cough…”

Faint coughing echoes reverberated through the woods.

The black-cloaked figure finally came to a stop and set down the young woman in his arms.

“Drink.”Su Ming took out a potion, deliberately using a cold, deep voice as he tossed it toward Xu Qianqian.”

Xu Qianqian caught it but didn’t drink, looking at Su Ming with an unreadable expression.

Silence spread between them.

(End of Chapter)