Chapter 100: The Thunderous Roar of Power
Chapter 100: The Thunderous Roar of Power
"Hello."
Ji Xinghuo reached out his hand in greeting. He had been observing Yuan Chongzhen ever since he entered the room.
The man was likely a few years older than Jing Ji, around thirty-five years of age. He looked mature and stood at a height of over 1.9 meters. Although he didn't appear particularly robust and leaned towards being slender, that was just an illusion.
One could never judge the strength of a half-beastman by their physique.
In battle, they could take on various beast forms, and their human form was actually their weakest state.
Moreover, Yuan Chongzhen was a super half-beastman, having mastered at least five different beast transformation forms. His strength was bound to be formidable and versatile.
Both the magnetic field intensity and the etheric fluctuations bore testimony to this fact.
Ji Xinghuo noticed the doubt in Yuan Chongzhen's eyes, but the latter didn't voice his thoughts. They shook hands and nodded to each other before taking their seats.
"Chongzhen here isn't much of a talker. He's usually quite silent, so please don't take it personally, Xinghuo," Jing Ji explained, seeing the slightly awkward atmosphere.
Ji Xinghuo nodded, "It's fine."
He could also tell that this super half-beastman might not be the easiest to get along with, but he didn't seem to have any malicious intentions either.
"Have you eaten dinner yet?"
Jing Ji asked Ji Xinghuo, and upon receiving a negative reply, he immediately called for a waiter and ordered some food. "We just got here too, and we're hungry. Let's eat and talk at the same time."
Yuan Chongzhen suddenly asked, "Are you really a mid-level ranger?"
He had been sizing up Ji Xinghuo ever since he arrived, and even though he had heard about him from Jing Ji, he still found it hard to believe that a mid-level ranger could possess such strength.
"Yes and no," Ji Xinghuo replied softly, thinking that they would be working together for at least a stellar month. He couldn't keep too many secrets from his teammates. "I'm a mid-level anomaly, but not a ranger. My profession template is a Magnetic Rogue."
"Magnetic Rogue!"
Jing Ji was stunned, but then his expression turned to one of realization.
"No wonder..." He shook his head repeatedly, "I was wondering when rangers had become so powerful. It makes sense now that you're a Magnetic Rogue."
Yuan Chongzhen's eyes were also filled with surprise, but the doubt had been replaced with curiosity.
"You two have to keep this a secret for me. Don't let it get out," Ji Xinghuo said with a smile.
"Of course," Jing Ji assured him, his face filled with envy. "I've heard that Magnetic Rogues have the strongest perception. Nothing can escape magnetic field sensing. With that ability and the archery skills of a ranger, as long as you don't encounter a legendary powerhouse, you'll always have the upper hand in battle. You can choose when to fight and when to leave, and the initiative is always in your hands."
Yuan Chongzhen added, "Our hunting plan just got a lot more solid!"
"Definitely!"
Jing Ji was delighted and raised his glass, "Let's toast to the formation of our trio with this cup."
"Cheers."
The three clinked their glasses together and drank.
The waiter brought their food into the private room, and as they ate, Jing Ji said, "Let's not waste any time. As soon as we finish this meal, we'll set off."
Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen both agreed.
After the meal, the trio left the bar and soon exited the gates of the Midway Fortress.
It was already a starry night, and the sky was dotted with stars. The Milky Way hung upside down, and the moon cast a faint glow on the horizon, tinged with a hint of azure.
"Where are we going?" Ji Xinghuo asked.
"Follow me," Jing Ji replied, "Tonight is our first time fighting together, so let's play it safe. I scouted out a hidden sentry a few days ago. There aren't many enemies, just about a dozen or so. With a bit of caution, we should be able to wipe them all out."
A dozen enemies was considered playing it safe? Ji Xinghuo was taken aback. If this was their idea of playing it safe, then what would a direct attack on an enemy watchtower entail?
Jing Ji's figure began to fade, leaving only shallow, semi-transparent silhouettes under the starlight. He could turn completely invisible, but to make it easier for his teammates to follow, he left a faint trace of his presence, visible only within a ten-meter radius.
Ji Xinghuo also activated his stealth state and kept up.
Beside him, Yuan Chongzhen's body lowered, and he instantly transformed into a large black panther, his form melding with the darkness, even more stealthily than Ji Xinghuo's stealth effect.
"Shadow Panther!"
Ji Xinghuo nodded inwardly.
This was a more common transformation ability among half-beastmen. Upon transforming, they gained all the abilities of the corresponding beast.
The Shadow Panther was known for its shadow-stepping ability, as well as its incredibly fast running speed, agility, balance, and explosive power, making it excellent for ambushes.
However, there seemed to be something different about the Shadow Panther that Yuan Chongzhen had transformed into.
Ji Xinghuo had hunted this type of monster before, but the magnetic field of the Shadow Panther before him was unique, with an unusually large range that seemed to be linked to the surrounding space somehow. The panther's eyes were a distinct gray, emitting a mist-like energy outward, and a similar phenomenon could be observed on its claws.
The two humans and the panther raced through the night.
At first, Jing Ji had been concerned that Ji Xinghuo might not be able to keep up, but when he saw how easily he kept pace without making a sound, he increased their speed.
Two hours later.
The trio had crossed the buffer zone and entered behind the defense line of Beilu Shimen.
"It's right ahead," Jing Ji said, coming to a halt and pointing at a hill in front of them. His voice sounded in Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen's minds, "There's an entrance in the bushes on the slope at the foot of the hill. Can you see it?"
The three were hiding about five hundred meters away from the slope.
Based on Jing Ji's route changes, Ji Xinghuo judged that his perception range was about five hundred meters.
Jing Ji had strong eyesight and possessed dark vision.
However, what he relied on even more was his sense of hearing; he could hear faint sounds from very far away. The combination of these two sensory abilities made his perception extremely sharp.
"There are a total of eighteen enemies."
"Three are Dagonians, one is a Fourth-rank and the other two are Third-rank; there's also a Third-rank Vine Elemental; four Second-rank Golokaks; and the remaining ten are all Second-rank Stoneling Lizardmen."
"There are four people keeping watch at the secret sentry post, and the other eight are already asleep."
Ji Xinghuo described the situation inside the sentry post in detail, including the internal layout, the locations of the other two hidden exits, and the traps outside the post.
Both Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen were stunned.
"Is that true?" Jing Ji blurted out.
Even though he had heard about the power of magnetic field sensing, this was still too exaggerated. It was as if Ji Xinghuo had seen everything with his own eyes. In fact, he had already believed it in his heart, because during their reconnaissance a few days ago, there were indeed eighteen enemies in this sentry post, and their ranks were exactly as Ji Xinghuo had described.
Ji Xinghuo smiled faintly.
Jing Ji took a soft breath and began to devise a strategy: "I'll go first and take out the sentries. Then I'll release a silent mirage to cover up the sounds of our battle. You two will enter through the other two exits and kill them. Be careful not to let anyone escape from the sentry post."
He drew a simple map of the sentry post on the ground and asked Ji Xinghuo to mark the locations of the other two exits.
Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen each took one exit.
"No problem," they replied.
With the strategy decided, the trio immediately took action.
Ji Xinghuo stealthily made his way around to the back of the hill, where there was an exit hidden beneath some rocks. At the same time, Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen also took up their positions.
"Let's move," Jing Ji said.
In Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field perception, Jing Ji's figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the two Stoneling Lizardmen guarding the entrance. His dagger slashed out, and a black strand as thin as a hair flashed by, causing the heads of the two lizardmen to roll to the ground.
After killing the two sentries, Jing Ji raised his hand, and an invisible force field instantly spread out, enveloping the entire sentry post.
At this moment, Yuan Chongzhen also took action.
He instantly transformed into a gigantic ape, nearly three meters tall, its body resembling black iron. With immense strength, he charged into the entrance and punched one of the Golokaks, turning it into a bloody mess.
A deafening boom echoed through the sentry post.
This punch had startled everyone inside, but the sound did not escape the post.
Ji Xinghuo also sprang into action. With a casual push, he moved the rocks covering the exit out of the way. As he was pushing, his right fingertip erupted with a bolt of lightning that shot into the post.
A painful cry rang out.
By the time Ji Xinghuo fully opened the exit, revealing the cave entrance, he saw a Stoneling Lizardman lying on the ground, its chest completely pierced by the lightning.
He continued forward, his right hand gripping the Thunderous Battle Blade and his left fingertip dancing with electric sparks.
Crackle!
Another bolt of lightning shot out, striking a Dagonian who had just rounded the corner. The lightning hit the Dagonian squarely in the face, but it did not die immediately. Its thick icy armor saved its life, but it was still severely injured, convulsing on the ground.
Ji Xinghuo did not immediately finish it off.
Through his magnetic field sensing, he saw that the Fourth-rank Dagonian was already engaged in battle with Jing Ji.
Meanwhile, the other Dagonian, along with several others, was trying to break through towards Ji Xinghuo's position. Apparently, they planned to escape through this exit.
Yuan Chongzhen was chasing after them, but he was entangled by the Vine Elemental.
If it had just been the two of them, even with their superior strength, it would have been difficult to achieve a complete annihilation of the enemies.
But now they had Ji Xinghuo.
He stood at the exit of the passage, raising his left hand.
The rotating magnetic field had been activated, and currents of electricity flowed beneath his skin, converging at his left fingertip. Bright silver-white electric light illuminated the entire passage, as bright as day.
The Third-rank Dagonian and its companions—six Stoneling Lizardmen and two Golokaks—had already rushed into the passage.
They saw Ji Xinghuo blocking their escape route.
The Dagonian shouted an order, and they charged towards Ji Xinghuo. This was their only way out, so they had to fight with all their might. Moreover, they had the advantage in numbers, and they could use the Stoneling Lizardmen as cannon fodder. Without hesitation, the lizardmen obeyed the order and rushed forward with their weapons raised.
A thunderous roar shook the secret sentry post, deafening to the ear.
A lightning bolt thicker than an arm instantly struck from one end of the passage to the other, piercing through the bodies of all the creatures that stood in its path.
The lightning even blasted through the walls, striking the inner chamber of the sentry post, and hitting the Fourth-rank Dagonian.
The Dagonian had not expected an attack from behind, and its body instantly went numb. Taking advantage of this opening, Jing Ji, who had already held the upper hand in their battle, flashed forward and stabbed his dagger into the enemy's heart.
On the other side, Yuan Chongzhen easily crushed the Vine Elemental.
The battle was over.
In less than half a minute, the eighteen enemies in the sentry post had all been killed, and most of them had fallen to Ji Xinghuo.
The trio converged inside the sentry post.
Jing Ji emerged from the shadows, and Yuan Chongzhen returned to his human form. Both of their faces showed shock. Jing Ji couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this the power of a Magnetic Rogue? It seems too easy!"
(End of Chapter)
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