The Record of Unusual Creatures

A noise outside interrupted their discussion. Hao Ren turned his head around and looked at the temple entrance. “Is Lanina already here?”

But he quickly realized that he had been mistaken; it was the sound of screams and explosions.

“We are under attack!” A demon hunter suddenly appeared in the hall, shrouded in magic mist. “The eastern tower is under attack!”

Teuton’s eyes were already on the weapons shelf not far away. When the siren sounded, he disappeared in a flash. A second later, he reappeared a dozen meters away, carrying a huge cross, which looked like a war hammer. He strode towards the exit, shouting, “Harrell, take the people to the Rune Hall. Zoe, bring your men to the eastern tower. The rest, come with me!”

Hao Ren and Vivian exchanged looks and followed White Flame from behind.

The new wave of attacks by the Council of Elders came earlier than expected. This round of attack was particularly fierce. When they rushed outside, fire, explosions and battle cries filled the air. The Council of Elders was sending its men, and they were crossing the void. However, they were easy to spot. The regular demon hunters were dressed in black, but the elite soldiers of the Council of Elders had two bright silver rims on their collars. These silver rims were not just a mark of honor but also the best Identification, friend or foe (IFF) System during the fight.

Several triangular flying crafts flew in from the darkness. These giant, skate-like flying crafts were equipped with heavy ballistics and enchanted guns on both sides. While they flew over the temple, they shot lightning bolts and enchanted explosive arrows. After a round of violent bombing, the heavily-armed soldiers jumped down from the flying crafts and stormed into the temple like beasts. The temple guards counterattacked using the artillery and rune stones that were on the ground. Teuton’s elite soldiers lunged out from the side and directly engaged their enemies who were coming from the darkness.

Sacred silver daggers flashed in the darkness while enchanted arrows ripped through the air along with the screams of death. Sacred flames burned and Letta runes shone brightly from all the magic! It was a battle of exquisitely complicated demon-hunter combat techniques. The temple and the void outside the square were engulfed in a deadly firestorm. Watching on the sidelines, Hao Ren was dazzled. For the first time in his life, he had witnessed the most powerful supernatural race on the planet showcasing their deadly combat skills.

Every demon hunter was a veteran warrior, skilled killer, and a master in various weapons as well as hundreds of combat techniques. No one in the world had ever spent as much energy as the demon hunters in honing their combat skills. No one was as gifted as them in so many types of combat skills. The scene of the demon hunters moving around in a flash and the dazzling glow of the runes looked like there was a bee colony in the storm. In the melee battle, everyone was a hunter as well as prey.

Hao Ren quickly snapped out of his awe. Pulling out the spear and gun from his Dimensional Pocket, he said, “Let’s go and help them!” He then followed White Flame, running towards the fiercest part of the battlefield.

The soldiers of the Council of Elders were obviously much more powerful than the other demon hunters. They were not only skilled and well-equipped but also experts using powerful runes. Hao Ren thought that their combat skills would be rusty after being stationed in Coldpath for so long. But he was wrong; these soldiers were surprisingly skillful. He stormed into battle with his Steel Membrane Shield activated. Immediately, there were already a dozen magic bombs greeting him. The soldiers of the Council of Elders locked on him as soon as he came in, preventing him from rocking the boat.

Bolts hitting him on the Steel Membrane Shield created a series of sparks. He had to watch out for the soldiers who were emerging and attacking him like ghosts out of nowhere. Now, he was besieged. He had managed to dodge some 20 attacks, but he had been slashed 70 times in a row.

He realized that he was no match for the skills of these masters of weaponry.

Deciding to do what he did best, he activated his shield, stood before the enemies and shouted, “You sons of a b*tches!”

A white shadow swept past Hao Ren and flew around like a whirlwind. It was Lily. Wielding her Frostfire Claws, her hair fluttered in the wind, and she looked marvelous. A soldier of the Council of Elders suddenly emerged from behind and attacked her with a sacred silver dagger, but Lily was not bothered to even look back; with a quick back kick, she hit her attacker and sent him flying. She also ridiculed Hao Ren, “Your combat skills have not improved, Mr. Landlord,” she said.

“I do not have the feral instinct like yours, mind you!” Hao Ren talked back as he looked around. More demon hunters who were sent by the Council of Elders had arrived. The battle escalated. The enemies were not only targeting the temples but also the spire, where the entrance was.

A translucent shield and a load of guards were protecting the entrance of the Stellar Spire. The Council of Elders would not be able to break through the defense for now.

Finally finding White Flame in the chaos, Hao Ren asked, “How could they come so close? Is the defensive line around the spire not secure?”

“The situation deteriorated after I left two days ago!” White Flame replied loudly. “How long will it take for the reinforcements to arrive?”

“They should be here any time now,” said Y’zaks. His rough voice was heard nearby. He had transformed into his demon form, raging with demonic flare. He prevented the soldiers of the Council of Elders from getting close to him. Y’lisabet sat on her papa’s head, throwing lava balls at their enemies like an auxiliary turret, mounted on the head of the great demon. Y’zaks looked in the direction of the tall spire. “Lanina is leading the army… Wait, I actually let Lanina lead?”

Hao Ren wondered why, but he quickly realized; the succubus was directionally challenged! “Could she have gone to the South Pole instead?”

Lily, who had been running around, now came up to Hao Ren. “How can that be possible at all? There’s only one way from the portal to Coldfrost Citadel—and it is a straight line!” she said.

“She got lost walking in a straight line in Helcrown,” Y’zaks said, feeling distressed. “Can you believe that?”

Listening on the side, cold sweat started to trickle down White Flame’s forehead. But there was no time to worry about that. “We should hold the enemies down here! The guards have not found any enemy reinforcements. They are here just to exhaust us. They will retreat if they can’t gain any advantage.”

Hao Ren could only count on White Flame’s judgment while he played the role of a main tank in the chaos, throwing explosives at the enemies. Explosives like grenades inflicted little damage to the demon hunters, who were capable of unlimited, near-field teleportation ability. However, these small explosives could disrupt their rhythm and formation, making it hard for them to launch more powerful magic or runic weapons.

The battle continued, and it seemed that White Flame was right: there were no forthcoming enemy reinforcements.

But Hao Ren felt a sense of incongruence; he was wondering why the enemy had not retreated after so long.

He looked up in the direction of the Stellar Spire; something was happening under their nose without them knowing. The enemies were shifting their offense from the command post to the Stellar Spire’s platform. A large group of the Council of Elders’ soldiers gathered in the void around the platform, but they did not attack. It was as if they were waiting for something.

Half of the spire guards were pinned down by the side of the temple, and almost no one had noticed these subtle changes.

“This is not good!” Hao Ren became nervous. “Their target’s that platform!”

White Flame came next to him and said, “No worries, there is a shield covering the entrance of the Stellar Spire—”

Before White Flame’s voice trailed off, a white light flashing across the void in the distance interrupted her.

The white light hit the platform of the Stellar Spire, producing a loud sound akin to the glass being shattered. This was accompanied by a distorted lightning field. The platform split into two the instant the shield broke.

Even a third of the spire’s roof was smashed.