Chapter 418 – Su Changhe and Su Lili

“Pfft!”

A cold gleam sliced through the air like a lurking venomous snake, striking from an extremely tricky angle to pierce through an Underground Professional’s chest, sending blood splattering everywhere.

“Ah!”

The Underground Professional immediately let out a wretched scream, his eyes widening before the light in them gradually faded. Having lost all signs of life, he collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Only then was the cold gleam withdrawn from the Underground Professional’s chest by its wielder, revealing its full form.

It was, unmistakably, a sharp dagger.

Xu Qianqian gripped a pair of daggers tightly, her beautiful eyes sharp as lightning, her expression icy cold.

At this moment, Xu Qianqian was drenched in blood from head to toe.

Some of the blood belonged to her enemies, some was her own.

Xu Qianqian appeared to have been fighting for quite some time, seemingly on the verge of exhaustion. Her chest heaved violently, her breathing was rapid, and faint wounds could be seen all over her body, evidence of the grueling battle she had endured.

Yet even in this state, Xu Qianqian didn’t dare relax in the slightest. Her body remained tense, her gaze fixed intently ahead.

There, numerous Underground Professionals had surrounded her.

Among these Underground Professionals, the three leading figures exuded exceptionally formidable auras.

Without a doubt, all three were Upper-Rank Professionals.

Xu Qianqian stood alone against three Upper-Rank Professionals, fighting until she was nearly drained of strength.

“Still not planning to give up?” one of the Upper-Rank Underground Professionals shouted at Xu Qianqian.

The other two gripped their weapons, watching Xu Qianqian with mocking eyes as they let out scornful laughs.

“To still refuse to surrender even at this point—truly worthy of a Young Miss from a great Family. Your willpower is quite admirable.”

“Fighting to this extent for a bunch of ants—utterly foolish.”

They commented on Xu Qianqian in this manner, dripping with sarcasm and ridicule.

“Bastards!”

“You all deserve to die!”

The insults hurled at Xu Qianqian by the Underground Professionals enraged the crowd behind her.

Upon closer inspection, there were actually people standing behind Xu Qianqian.

And quite a number of them, at that.

Among these people were men and women, old and young—most surprisingly, they were merely ordinary civilians trembling in fear before the brutality of the Underground Professionals.

Only a portion wore Academy uniforms—students from the Demon Hunter Academy.

The ones who had shouted in anger moments earlier were two of these students.

One was a burly Hunter, the other a slender Sorcerer.

They were none other than Su Ming’s former roommates, Lei Hao and Ye Bai.

One wielded a greatsword, his body covered in wounds, while the other looked pale, as if he had expended much Spirit Power—both were in poor condition.

But seeing Xu Qianqian, who had fought to protect them until she was battered and exhausted, now being insulted by their opponents, Lei Hao and Ye Bai burned with rage. Along with several other students, they prepared to charge forward.

“Don’t come any closer!” Without turning her head, Xu Qianqian stopped Lei Hao, Ye Bai, and the others, saying, “You’re no match for them. Advancing would only be suicide. Fall back!”

As she spoke, Xu Qianqian reached into her robes and pulled out a vial of alchemical potion, downing its contents without even glancing at it.This was already Xu Qianqian’s eighth time taking the drug.

To protect the many people behind her, Xu Qianqian was clearly fighting with everything she had.

Yet her efforts only earned her the enemy’s mockery.

“Why bother?” said the leading Upper-Rank Underground Professional, shaking his head with an air of indifference. “You’re at the end of your rope. Dragging this out with us will only buy a little more time—you’ll still die.”

“Instead of fighting us to the death here, why not seize the chance to escape Longyao City? You might even manage to cling to life until the ‘King’ reshapes the world.”

“Just hand over Su Ming’s parents and his two roommates, and we’ll let you go.”

“What do you say? Think it over carefully.”

The other side’s words stirred fresh anger in Lei Hao and Ye Bai.

“Pah! A bunch of filthy Underground Professionals!” Lei Hao spat contemptuously and cursed angrily. “You think you can use us to threaten Su Ming? Don’t even dream of it!”

“To deal with an eighteen-year-old rookie, you actually resort to threatening the people around him?” Even the usually quiet Ye Bai was now cursing aloud, shouting, “How dare you call yourselves Upper-Rank Professionals? You’re not even worth a one-star Lower-Rank Professional!”

Lei Hao and Ye Bai’s words resonated with many others.

They truly couldn’t understand what these Underground Professionals were trying to achieve by threatening an eighteen-year-old rookie who had just debuted.

Little did they know…

“Shut up!” an Upper-Rank Underground Professional snorted coldly. “What do you insignificant ants know?”

“Do you have any idea what kind of monster that so-called eighteen-year-old rookie you’re talking about really is?” another Upper-Rank Underground Professional sneered. “Forget it. No matter how much we explain to you country trash, you wouldn’t understand. Just cooperate quietly—it’ll be better for you and for us.”

With that, several Upper-Rank Underground Professionals raised their weapons and signaled the surrounding Underground Professionals to tighten the encirclement.

Xu Qianqian immediately raised her dagger, assuming a defensive stance.

Just then, another voice came from behind Xu Qianqian.

“Young Miss Xu, hand us over. There’s no need to sacrifice your precious life for Mortals like us.”

It was the voice of a middle-aged man—resonant, steady, mature, carrying a touch of calmness and a hint of resignation.

The middle-aged man was being protected in the closest position by Lei Hao, Ye Bai, and the others, with a middle-aged woman leaning against him.

The two looked like an ordinary middle-aged couple you might see anywhere on the street, utterly unremarkable.

Yet it was precisely this unremarkable middle-aged couple that every Underground Professional was staring at intently.

Clearly, this middle-aged couple was the target of those Underground Professionals.

The middle-aged man—Su Changhe.

The middle-aged woman—Su Lili.

They were Su Ming’s biological parents.

“Young Miss Xu! Come back!”

Following Su Changhe, Su Lili also spoke up.”You are the Young Miss of a great Family, a Genius of the Demon Hunter Academy, a descendant of the Xu Family, with a noble status and extraordinary Bloodline, and a powerful Professional. You should be fighting for the fallen Longyao City, striving to save more people who are worth saving, not here, sacrificing your precious life for us insignificant ordinary people!”

Su Lili’s words plunged Xu Qianqian into a moment of silence.

The civilians protected by Lei Hao, Ye Bai, and the other Professionals either showed fearful eyes, expressions of relief, anxiety, or were on the verge of tears, displaying a wide range of emotions.

Some agreed with Su Changhe and Su Lili’s words, unable to bear watching the Xu Family’s Young Miss risk her life for them.

Others, unwilling to die here, wanted to be rescued and escape, growing furious at the words of the Su couple.

Different people revealed different thoughts in this moment.

Even Lei Hao and Ye Bai wanted Xu Qianqian to stop worrying about them and find a chance to retreat herself.

There was no other way.

For their sake, Xu Qianqian had fought all the way, suffering countless injuries and shedding so much blood that she was nearly exhausted.

If not for the batch of expensive alchemical potions she carried, which could heal her wounds and restore her stamina and energy, Xu Qianqian might have collapsed long ago, unable to hold on until now.

As for themselves, they could hardly even help her, let alone avoid being a burden.

If she hadn’t been constantly concerned about them, Xu Qianqian would have evacuated with the Xu Family long ago, never ending up in such a dire situation.

Thus, Lei Hao and Ye Bai also spoke up.

“Don’t worry about us anymore, Senior!”

“You’ll die if this continues!”

Lei Hao and Ye Bai shouted one after another.

But Xu Qianqian showed not the slightest hesitation.

“You cannot come to harm,” Xu Qianqian said calmly. “I promised Su Ming I would take care of you in his absence.”

For that person’s sake, she could not retreat.

Otherwise, she would never be able to overcome the guilt in her heart.

“Miss Xu…”

Both Su Changhe and Su Lili were deeply moved.

In their eyes, this was an incredible thing.

The esteemed Young Miss of the Xu Family, regarded as the future successor of her Family, was going to such lengths all because of a single promise to their son—wasn’t that truly unbelievable?

Until now, the Su couple still couldn’t comprehend what kind of incredible luck their foolish son had stumbled upon to meet such a beautiful and noble Young Miss and form such an unimaginably close bond with her.

For the ordinary Su couple, this was an immense blessing that could make their ancestors’ graves smoke with joy.

If the situation weren’t so dire, the couple might even have exclaimed, “How could our son be worthy of this?”

Of course, to their opponents, this was not a cause for celebration.

“I advise you not to be ungrateful,” a high-ranking Underground Professional coldly interjected.

In response, Xu Qianqian replied with an even colder tone.

“If I believed your nonsense, that would truly be ungrateful,” Xu Qianqian said with an icy expression. “Do you think I don’t know you’re just trying to lull me into complacency?””Since your targets include Su Ming’s family and friends—not just his parents, but even his roommates—then my name must also be on your arrest list, correct?”

“As the largest mercenary organization in the underground world, with such formidable influence, I don’t believe you’d be unaware of my relationship with Su Ming.”

“Probably, it’s not just us—even Yun Langyue and An Zijin are on your list, aren’t they?”

Xu Qianqian’s series of retorts and accusations left the group of Underground Professionals speechless.

Their silence precisely confirmed that Xu Qianqian had hit the mark.

In other words, these Underground Professionals never intended to let Xu Qianqian go.

Xu Qianqian responded with biting sarcasm.

“To deal with Su Ming, your organization 『Sin』 truly spares no extremes.”

Xu Qianqian had come to realize that these Underground Professionals valued Su Ming highly, yet also viewed him with hostility and apprehension.

Though she didn’t know what Su Ming had done, it was clear that 『Sin』 couldn’t easily handle him, hence resorting to such underhanded tactics.

These Underground Professionals were likely acting on orders from higher-ups, deliberately sent to capture her and the others.

They saw her and the rest as bargaining chips to use against Su Ming, which explained why they’d been spouting so much nonsense—their goal was to make them surrender without resistance.

Otherwise, they could have simply swarmed in and started slaughtering outright.

Their restraint was solely because they wanted to take her alive, along with Su Ming’s parents, Lei Hao, and Ye Bai.

Seeing how cautious and restrained they were, Xu Qianqian had reason to believe this operation couldn’t afford the slightest mistake.

If not for Longyao City’s current transformation—no longer relying solely on a few top families but bolstered by powerful reinforcements from Major Base Cities, including two Seven-Star Professionals—forcing 『Sin』’s elite forces to focus on dealing with them, the team sent to capture them might not have been just a few Upper-Rank Professionals leading a group of lower-ranks.

“Tch…”

Having their thoughts laid bare irritated the Underground Professionals.

The most hot-tempered among them snorted coldly.

“Since she’s seen through us, there’s no point wasting words. Let’s take her down together.”

The others nodded in agreement, their eyes beginning to gleam with Killing Intent as they stared at Xu Qianqian.

They did want to capture Xu Qianqian alive, which was why they’d been holding back, afraid to charge recklessly.

But now that she’d exposed their plan, to fulfill their superiors’ orders, they had to act quickly.

After all, if Xu Qianqian died, there were still Su Ming’s parents, Lei Hao, Ye Bai, and the others, right?

They were all targets too, especially Su Ming’s parents, whose priority even surpassed Xu Qianqian’s.

To capture that couple, even if they killed Xu Qianqian, their superiors probably wouldn’t punish them.

With that thought, the leader made a decision.

“Move out. No more holding back.”

Hearing this, the other two Upper-Rank Professionals also steeled themselves, releasing their Killing Intent.

The rest of the Underground Professionals followed suit, no longer concealing their intent or holding back, unleashing their Killing Intent and ferocity.

In the next second, the group of Underground Professionals charged toward Xu Qianqian as one.

“Senior!”

“Young Miss Xu!”Lei Hao, Ye Bai, and the Su couple couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

Xu Qianqian listened to these exclamations while gripping her dagger, watching the horde of Underground Professionals charging toward her, yet her heart remained eerily calm.

“It seems this really is the end.”

Xu Qianqian seemed to see her own demise approaching.

Yet even so, she chose to raise her dagger and charged forward without hesitation, meeting the death-bringing enemy head-on.

That fearless stance, that lone figure standing against a hundred foes, would forever remain etched in the eyes of all those she protected.

Until a dazzling stream of light swept through like a comet.

“Boom!”

When the comet struck, a deafening roar accompanied by shockwaves erupted like a nuclear bomb hitting the earth.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh—!”

Countless Underground Professionals were swept away by the shockwaves and thunderous blast, vanishing like kites with severed strings in the blink of an eye.

Lei Hao, Ye Bai, and the others also cried out, nearly toppled by the rolling shockwaves.

Only Xu Qianqian, just as she was about to be swept away, was caught and held by a pair of strong, powerful hands.

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(End of Chapter)