Starforce Warriors

Chapter 236: A Terrifying Legend

Chapter 236: A Terrifying Legend

The night was deep and dark. On the luxurious rooftop terrace of the Huatong Building, Ye Guanzhen stood steadily under a wind umbrella. A cold and sinister smile flickered across Ye Guanzhen’s eyes as he gazed at the distant city walls engulfed in flames and the slums that had descended into chaos.

The city had fallen. Even if it was only lost for an hour, it was a significant disgrace for the city leader and the garrison commander. Blame from above was inevitable.

Tan Zhenwei, you shouldn’t have forced me to use such a risky method. Since you refused to back down and insisted on staying for these worthless peasants... Heh, I’ll let the very people you want to protect turn against you and overthrow you.

I’ll see to it that your cherished reputation as an official is trampled into the mud. I want to see the expression on your face when the people you tried to protect reveal their ferocious fangs to tear you apart and drink your blood.

Peasants are foolish. They will always be nothing more than a rabble. All I need is a little strategy to easily manipulate their emotions.

"How are the arrangements coming along?" Ye Guanzhen asked without turning his head.

Standing behind him, Ye Changlin quickly replied, "As per your instructions, the mercenaries recruited at an exorbitant price through the darknet of Lanfu Base City in the Northwest Region have already infiltrated the slums. This time, we hired the veteran team Greyfield Reapers, which includes a Five Spirits Realm expert. They will surely be able to eliminate Li Xiaofei."

"Good. Bring me his head; that’s the only explanation I can give to the Gu family," Ye Guanzhen said with satisfaction.

A genius of the Gu family had perished in Liuhe Base City. As their partner, he had to give them an explanation. At the same time, after investigating the reasons behind the failure of the previous night's operation, Ye Guanzhen realized that he needed to adjust his plans and strategies.

This source of trouble known as Li Xiaofei had to be removed immediately. Although Ye Guanzhen held himself in high regard, he was not stubborn. He would not underestimate a young genius who could overpower the God-Slaying Squad in a head-on confrontation.

A swift and decisive action was necessary to nip this genius in the bud as soon as possible. Therefore, even before the crisis of the Ye family was resolved, Ye Guanzhen had already devised a plan. He spent a large sum of money to hire top experts from the Lanfu Base City's darknet to eliminate Li Xiaofei.

The goal was encapsulated in one word: speed! So fast that neither Tan Zhenwei nor Li Xiaofei would have time to react.

Ye Guanzhen glanced at his watch. According to the plan, the Greyfield Reapers team should have already successfully infiltrated the slums. The plan was to take advantage of the chaos caused by the invading beast horde and the confusion on the city walls and silently eliminate Li Xiaofei. Then, they would shift the blame onto the star beasts.

In Ye Guanzhen's eyes, although this plan had many flaws, it didn't matter as long as the objective was achieved. Li Xiaofei was doomed.

He took a glass of red wine from his female secretary and leisurely sipped it. He had lost the last round, but setbacks were inevitable on the road to the pinnacle. In the end, he would still be the winner.

***

The slums were in complete chaos. More than half of the main forces of the Cloudy Sky Gang were assisting in defending the city walls, so when the first star beast roared, baring its ferocious fangs as it charged into the slums, many people were caught off guard. Death descended in that instant.

The beast horde surged into the slums like a flood breaking through a dam, rushing in with uncontrollable ferocity. Flames blazed as cries and screams echoed in the air. The guards of the Cloudy Sky Gang quickly mobilized to intercept the star beasts while they evacuated the elderly, women, and children.

Amid the chaos, a dozen figures arrived outside the Guang'an neighborhood. The leader, clearly a man, had long gray hair that flowed like a waterfall over his shoulders. Although he stood there, it was as if he didn’t exist at all. His feet were floating ten centimeters above the ground. He was at the Five Spirits Realm! Only a strong expert of the Five Spirits Realm could hover in the air like this.

The people behind him were all dressed in black night-ops suits, each wearing specially designed gas masks. They moved like specters in the mist.

"The employer demands that we eliminate the target's entire family. Leave no one alive."

"Boss, should we charge in directly?"

"No, the target has the ability to kill high-level experts at the Meridian Expanding Realm, so we must not underestimate him. Stick to the usual plan. Set up a poison formation, deploy interception traps, and surround the entire neighborhood to prevent the target from escaping."

"Understood."

"Boss, some warriors are rushing towards us."

"They're just the low-ranking members of the Cloudy Sky Gang. They're here to protect their president."

"Send in the beastmaster to control the star beasts and eliminate the small fry. Make it look like they were killed by the star beasts."

"Roger that."

"The poison formation is set."

"The traps are in place."

"Everything is ready."

The members of the Greyfield Reapers exchanged information swiftly and efficiently in the helmet's communication channel.

Suddenly, one member spoke, sounding surprised, "Twelve o'clock... What is that?"

The Five Spirits Realm expert leading the group felt a sudden, inexplicable chill and looked up. A graceful figure floated in the mist of toxic fumes that hung like dust, shooting toward them with the speed and eeriness of a bodiless ghost.

In the next instant, the communication channel was filled with the agonized screams of his team members. Before the Five Spirits Realm expert could react, he felt his vision spinning, and his consciousness began to fade.

In the final moment before he lost all awareness, he caught a glimpse of a scarred woman's face. The contours of her face were delicate, with parts of her skin smooth and radiant like porcelain, but it was marred by a bizarre scar that stretched across it.

Her eyes were devoid of pupils and filled with a haunting grayish-white mist as they emitted a chilling frost, as if she were a reaper from hell. A wave of terror surged through him. A terrifying legend about the scar-faced woman suddenly surfaced in his mind. But it was too late for him to do anything. Darkness enveloped him as he succumbed to an eternal silence.

A minute later, when Li Xiaofei rushed out of the neighborhood, he found nothing amiss.

"Boss..." Li Junjie, covered in blood, rushed over at the head of a group of gang members. This loyal right-hand man had always been unwavering in his dedication.

"Protect my aunt and sister, and retreat eastward," Li Xiaofei ordered without hesitation. "I’ll go take care of the star beasts."

"Boss, let me go with you."

"Get lost."

"Alright, understood."

Li Junjie and his warriors began guiding the people from the neighborhood towards the rear, ensuring their safety. Meanwhile, Li Xiaofei strode boldly towards the advancing beast horde, ready to face them head-on.

Swish, swish, swish.

Sword energy swept across the battlefield. The Six Meridian Divine Sword rivaled the sharpest of weapons as it moved with an unpredictable and ghostly speed. Wherever the sword energy passed, star beasts howled in agony and fell one after another.

"The boss is here!"

"It's the president!"

"We're saved!"

The warriors in the chaotic battlefield immediately found their anchor when they saw him and began to converge towards his position.

"Everyone, get behind me," Li Xiaofei commanded as he leaped into the air.

"Cloudy Sky Gang disciples, protect everyone as they retreat." He shouted, taking his vanguard position. "Those holding the rank of Incense Master or higher, follow me and slay the star beasts to protect the civilians."

Li Xiaofei quickly took command of the situation as he organized the offensive. His strength was evident as star beasts fell like wheat before a scythe wherever he passed. The newly emboldened Cloudy Sky Gang pushed the beast horde back as they attacked.

The battle finally ended when dawn finally broke. The garrison regained control of the B12 district's walls, driving the remaining star beasts outside the city. The star beasts that had breached the city were mostly low-grade cannon fodder. The few Grade Two star beasts that appeared were swiftly exterminated by the combined forces of the garrison and other factions.

However, the slum was largely in ruins. The new order that had been painstakingly established had been destroyed by the beast tide onslaught. A deep sense of unease gnawed at Li Xiaofei.

How could the city walls have fallen?

He made his way to the B12 district's ramparts with this question in mind.

"There was a traitor in the city defense forces," Wu Junzhuang said angrily. "Someone shut down the energy defense system here, murdered the stationed soldiers, and deliberately allowed the star beasts to enter the city."

Li Xiaofei could hardly believe his ears. That someone would commit such a heinous act was beyond his comprehension. This wasn't a war between nations or a struggle between factions. This was a battle for humanity's survival.

"Have you found out who it was?" Li Xiaofei pressed for answers.