Nine Star Burden

Chapter 180: Fire in the Hole

Two female Archer Star Beads, 1200 yuan.

Wonderful~

Plus one yellow bow, 10 points.

“Jiang Xiaopi, you’ve changed,” Xia Yan said while staring at Jiang Xiaopi silently.

Jiang Xiao was dumbfounded.

“You’re no longer the little buzz-cut boy who only knows how to suck up to me. You’ve become a toxic healer who only knows how to kill,” Xia Yan said dejectedly with a sigh.

Jiang Xiao was speechless.

Xia Yan asked, “Will you continue evolving in the future?”

Evolve?

What am I?

A pokémon?

“Cut it out, I don’t even have a single Star Technique and all I can do is kill low-level creatures of other dimensions. I’ll have to depend on you to fight in the real battles,” Jiang Xiao said as he picked up a weapon.

One of the bows was made of wood while the other was made of gold and was painted with yellow paint. Jiang Xiao’s hand trembled a little and he tried to weigh it, only to realize that it was relatively light.

Those savages definitely wouldn’t leave such useful weapons untouched. Jiang Xiao reckoned that what the staff said about there being weapons lying around for them to pick up was just plain bullshit.

Xia Yan swiftly cut the head of the savage and grabbed the bloodstained Star Bead with two fingers before placing them into Jiang Xiao’s pocket. She asked softly, “Should I continue?”

“The two below are too near,” Jiang Xiao said in frustration.

“Same thing. We’ll go together,” Xia Yan said while leaning against the cliff on top of the cave and looking down.

“Well, okay.” Jiang Xiao knelt on one leg on the edge of the cliff and looked down.

“Kill the one on the left that’s carrying the yellow sword while I kill the one on the right,” Xia Yan said as she turned over effortlessly, hooking her arm around the edge of the cliff that she was hanging off of.

Jiang Xiao sighed and repeated her actions.

In the woods far below, Li Weiyi saw a couple carrying giant swords and hanging off the cliff, seemingly behaving uniformly.

1... 2... 3!

Jiang Xiao looked at Xia Yan’s lip movements and the two of them let go at the same time.

Xia Yan released her grip and fell from the sky.

When she stepped on the shoulder of the swordsman, the other swordsman’s skull on the side had already been pierced by a bloodstained half-toothed sword!

With a dull thud, Xia Yan picked up the dagger and trampled on the corpse to make it fall onto the ground. The assassination was extremely quick and effortless for her.

She was both excited and nervous.

She loved such a thrilling life, but she was also afraid of hearing the footsteps of savages in the cave behind.

Han Jiangxue and Li Weiyi quickly caught up, collected the yellow weapons, and handed the Star Beads over to Han Jiangxue for safekeeping.

“Xia Yan, take the lead and barge in to assassinate as many as possible with a dagger. Xiaopi, follow me. Li Weiyi, stay at the back,” Han Jiangxue instructed resolutely.

Without hesitation, Xia Yan dashed out into the tunnel. This time, it was no longer pitch dark like the one they went to previously. Instead, there were a few torches in the tunnel.

That was what a normal savage den should look like.

Previously, there was a couple that eloped and lived in the tunnel. Hence, there was no torch in the tunnel.

Maybe they like it dark.

Hmm...

The team moved forward, only to realize that the tunnel was getting wider and wider and was almost circular.

There were several straw mats on the ground and the sounds of the savages sleeping could be heard.

Xia Yan frantically raised her right arm and clenched it before making several hand gestures at them.

They carefully walked towards the circular room and managed to see the figures of the savages under the torch.

It was essentially not a room, and the back was connected to a passage. However, it was relatively empty and spacious in there with numerous straw mats and a few savages resting.

The four sneaked in quietly, and everyone except Han Jiangxue drew out their daggers.

Jiang Xiao, Xia Yan, and Li Weiyi walked towards one savage each. Han Jiangxue coughed gently and they swiftly killed it.

Regardless of how his teammates killed the savages, Jiang Xiao pressed his palm against the nose and mouth of a savage in order to make as little noise as possible. Holding the dagger in his other hand, he immediately slit his throat.

Their actions were all captured by the cameras on their foreheads and transmitted to the makeshift base camp in the Arsenal.

Dozens of people were staring at the near-hundred screens and monitoring the constantly switching scenes.

Although there were plenty of participants, the examiners knew which teams were the elite ones. Hence, they were willing to pay more attention to Team No. 76.

When they saw the amazing coordination and execution, they couldn’t help but feel shocked.

At a base south of Beijiang Province, two tall figures stood in dimly lit rooms and stared at four split screens on the large TV in front of them.

The tall and burly man said, “Not bad. Very neat.”

A slender figure at the side looked less broad and burly than an actual man. He said in a hoarse voice, “His qualifications are great, and he’s very hard-working too.”

The man turned around and looked at the expressionless Second Last. She rarely praised anyone. Hence, her compliment was extremely significant.

“The commander said that if you still can’t get over that mission, he will remove your name from the Light-chasers and you will become a Guardian Of The Night from now on,” said the man.

After staying silent for a while, Second Last asked, “Have you gotten over it?”

Captain Xu Li sighed without answering.

Second Last said coldly, “So... he won’t become the new Third Last.”

Xu Li said helplessly, “The higher-ups gave us new members several times before, but you never expressed your opinion.”

Second Last answered, “I don’t recognize them, so it’s impossible for me to trust them unconditionally during the first mission.”

Xu Li said, “You’re a soldier and so are your new teammates. You have to trust them and their loyalty.”

Staring at Xu Li expressionlessly, Second Last said, “I’ve trusted my teammates before. That’s why there are only two of us left on the team.”

Xu Li gaped for a long while before questioning in anger, “So you trust him? A kid?”

Second Last pursed her lips and said, “I saw some potential in him, so I’m grooming him on my own now.”

“If you don’t give in, you can only become a Guardian Of The Night again. Guardians Of The Night have restricted freedom and he won’t become your apprentice anymore,” Xu Li said.

Second Last clenched her fists and stared at the figure on the screen. She looked down and remained silent for a long while. She said, “Where do I go?”

Upon hearing Second Last’s words, Xu Li’s face stiffened.

...

At the same time, Jiang Xiao’s team had also harvested four Silver Quality Star Beads and one yellow sword in the tunnel. They had conquered two swordsmen and one archer, which would allow them to be awarded 30 points.

The four of them quickly continued with the journey while making their footsteps as light as possible. The thrilling assassination required much less effort than fighting with actual swords and spears.

Xia Yan arrived at a corner of the tunnel and pressed her back against the stone wall before popping her head out. She was greeted with the sight of a winding tunnel that began to turn brighter as they approached. A figure seemed to be moving as well.

They wondered if it was going to be another bifurcation or a separate cubicle.

Xia Yan frantically retracted her head and stuck her fingers up at everyone, gesturing for them to walk.

Han Jiangxue nodded and switched places with her. She then squatted down and looked over, only to see two savages walking towards them.

Han Jiangxue waved her hands and a few layers of overlapping space appeared in the corner. Unfortunately, she wasn’t walking side by side with Xia Yan.

Through the overlapping space, Han Jiangxue watched as a savage walked into her Sky Smasher. She gently raised her left hand and a gust of wind swept through, after which the savages at the back began to yell and vanish into the Sky Smasher.

The savage’s short howl came to an abrupt halt, but it was rather ear-piercing in the quiet tunnel.

The numerous savages roared continuously at the cave opening. After a few seconds, they were shocked by a stern male voice.

Everyone was intimidated. Even if they were to start a battle, the feeling of danger was just too thrilling.

The cave fell into silence again and the four of them looked at each other. Under Han Jiangxue’s command, Xia Yan crouched and walked forward.

They finally arrived at the entrance where the light was bright. Xia Yan took a deep breath before turning over and moving towards the other side of the opening.

Han Jiangxue, standing on the left, raised her brows and glanced at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan quickly placed her dagger back into the sheath on her thigh and placed her hand on her sword instead. She said gently, “There are too many, we can’t assassinate them.”

Han Jiangxue reached out and Star Power condensed on her palm, after which flames sprung up and condensed into a fireball.

“Li Weiyi, get your Scorch ready. Xia Yan, activate Burning Flame and wait for my command,” Han Jiangxue said as she leaned against the wall.

Li Weiyi walked towards Han Jiangxue and arched his leg, after which he pressed it against the wall and got ready to fire.

“3... 2... 1!” Han Jiangxue threw her blazing fireball into the cave as if she was throwing a grenade.

Jiang Xiao added, “Fire in the hole~”