Chapter 29: The Shadow Demon Guild

The two men walked straight toward Xu Han.

The warrior looked down at Xu Han with an arrogant sneer. “Hey, kid, which hunter group are you from?”

Xu Han didn’t even look up, continuing to carve the flesh from the Gale Wolf King.

Seeing this, the mage’s face darkened. “Hey, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”

“Put the meat down right now! Meat from a boss-level beast like this isn’t for lowlifes like you to eat!”

The warrior sneered, “Exactly. People from logistics should be satisfied gnawing on bread! You want meat?”

“But if you kneel and beg me, maybe I’ll toss you a bone to chew on. How about that?”

Xu Han’s brows furrowed slightly. “Where did these flies come from? Get lost.”

At those words, the two men’s expressions changed instantly.

The warrior raised his greatsword, the tip hovering just five centimeters from Xu Han’s back. Towering over him, he threatened, “Who are you calling a fly?”

“Believe me, I could cut you down with a single strike!”

“I’ll have you know, I’m from the Dark Ghost Hunters!”

“For someone like you, even if I kill you, your captain wouldn’t dare come looking for trouble!”

Xu Han glanced back at him. The Dark Ghost Hunters? That name sounded familiar.

Suddenly, he recalled that among the top ten beast hunter groups in Donghai City, the ninth-ranked was the Dark Ghost Hunters. Rumor had it their captain was a second-tier expert, level fifty-nine, just shy of breaking through to the third tier, stalled only by a promotion quest. They had supposedly hunted a second-tier bronze-level boss, which earned them a spot in the city’s top ten.

Seeing Xu Han’s calm face, showing no intention of begging, the warrior’s anger flared even more.

He sneered, “So, you’re not planning to kneel, huh? Then let’s give you a taste of pain first!”

The greatsword pressed forward, aiming for Xu Han’s shoulder.

But just as the sword was about to pierce his shoulder, Xu Han’s figure vanished in an instant!

The blade struck empty air!

The warrior froze. “Where did he go?”

A casual voice sounded from behind him. “Right here.”

Startled, the warrior spun around—only to find Xu Han standing there, expressionless, a dagger in his hand.

“I detest flies.”

With a swift motion—

The Tooth of the Furious Dragon flashed as a crimson afterimage, slicing toward the warrior’s neck.

The warrior’s face changed, but he was a seasoned veteran with lightning-fast reflexes. He raised his greatsword to block.

Clang!

The dagger struck the blade, ringing out sharply. The force jolted the warrior’s arm numb, and the greatsword flew from his grasp, clattering to the ground.

His face went ashen and he reached out to retrieve it, but a cold sensation touched his throat, and suddenly the world turned upside down.

Thud...

His head tumbled across the ground like a soccer ball before coming to a stop.

The mage beside him stared, dumbfounded, at the headless corpse. He couldn’t fathom how his companion had been dispatched without the slightest chance to resist.

Who on earth was this young man?

Xu Han turned to the mage. “Now it’s your turn.”

The mage’s face blanched in terror. He raised his staff and shouted, “Entangling Vines!”

The gem atop his staff glimmered faintly. The earth beneath Xu Han’s feet cracked open, and several vines shot out like venomous snakes, aiming to bind him.

But with a sweep of his dagger, Xu Han’s searing flames reduced the vines to ash without effort.

The mage collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale. Finally, he understood: he had provoked someone he never should have.

“I beg you, spare me!” he sobbed. “I’ll give you everything, anything, just please let me go!”

But Xu Han’s face remained cold as he advanced step by step.

“Don’t kill me! Please, I beg you, don’t! I... I can tell you a secret!”

The mage shrieked in terror.

Xu Han raised an eyebrow, crouched down to stare into the mage’s eyes, and uttered a single word: “Speak.”

The mage stammered, “In the center of Woodland Town... the gold-tier boss has left its lair!”

“It... it seems to be searching for something. The whole center of Woodland Town is in chaos...”

Xu Han was surprised. The gold-tier boss had actually left its lair?

He’d studied the reports—supposedly, that gold-tier boss almost never left its nest, preferring to remain inside.

For it to come out now, something truly important must have been taken!

The mage asked nervously, “I’ve told you everything. Will you let me go now?”

Xu Han replied coolly, “I never promised to let you go.”

With a flick of his dagger, the mage’s head flew from his shoulders and crashed to the ground.

Xu Han turned toward the center of Woodland Town.

“So, Woodland Town is about to erupt into chaos. Still, this could be an opportunity.”

He collected the two men’s gear into his spatial ring, then headed deeper into the town.

...

Meanwhile, deep within Woodland Town.

Two men in close-fitting clothes were hurrying toward the outskirts. One carried an iron cage.

Inside the cage was a small, golden-furred kitten. The kitten clung to the bars, pawing furiously in an attempt to break free. But its claws and teeth were too delicate—no matter how hard it bit or scratched, it couldn’t make a dent.

One man sneered, “Don’t bother struggling, little one. This cage is custom-made. Not even your mother could break it quickly—she’d need half a day of chewing.”

The other, face icy cold, snapped, “Enough chatter. Move.”

He glanced back toward the depths of Woodland Town, feeling a terrifying presence rising there that made his scalp tingle.

“The president’s plan is truly ingenious—using the gold-tier boss to attack the city and create chaos to accomplish his goals!”

“Yeah, but we’d better run fast. If we get caught, we’re dead.”

“Relax. With the president’s magic and this cage masking the scent, that gold-tier boss won’t find us anytime soon.”

The two quickened their pace, dashing out of the town.

...

Xu Han pressed on through Woodland Town. The deeper he ventured, the stranger things became. He’d walked for over an hour and hadn’t encountered a single beast! Had someone dealt with them all already? But there were no beast corpses, not even signs of battle.

Recalling the mage’s information, Xu Han sensed something major was about to happen in Woodland Town.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted, shaking the earth like an earthquake.

“Despicable humans! You dare steal my child! Die! I will make you pay! All of you go forth! Destroy the human city!”