Chapter 100: Thunder’s Display of Might

“Hello.”

Ji Xinghuo reached out his hand.

He had been observing Yuan Chongzhen since he entered.

Yuan seemed a bit older than Jing Ji, around thirty-five, mature-looking, and over six feet tall. Though not very muscular and somewhat lean, that was misleading.

Half-beasts never judge strength by size.

They’re weakest in human form but can shift into various beast forms during battle.

Moreover, Yuan Chongzhen is a superior half-beast with at least five beast transformations, ensuring his immense and balanced power.

The strength of his magnetic field and ether fluctuations proved this.

Ji Xinghuo saw the doubt in Yuan Chongzhen’s eyes. They shook hands, nodded in greeting, and sat down without further comment.

“Chongzhen is usually quiet, don’t mind it,” Jing Ji explained, breaking the silence.

Ji Xinghuo nodded, “No problem.”

He too had sensed that the superior half-beast was not easy to get along with but held no ill intentions.

“Have you had dinner?”

Jing Ji asked Ji Xinghuo who said no, then promptly called over a server to order some food, adding, “We’ve just arrived, and I’m hungry too. Let’s eat and talk.”

Suddenly, Yuan Chongzhen asked, “Are you really a mid-level ranger?”

He had been sizing up Ji Xinghuo, and despite hearing about him from Jing Ji, was skeptical a mid-level ranger could be so capable.

“Yes and no.”

Ji Xinghuo thought since they would be teaming up for at least a month in the Star Realm, he shouldn’t hide much, whispering, “I’m a mid-level mutant, not a ranger. My vocation template is ‘Magnetic Field Berserker.’”

“Magnetic Field Berserker!”

Jing Ji was startled then realized something.

“No wonder…” he shook his head saying, “I was wondering when rangers got so powerful. Now it makes sense with the Magnetic Field Berserker.”

Surprise also filled Yuan Chongzhen’s eyes, but he no longer doubted, only curious.

“You must keep this a secret. Don’t tell anyone outside,” laughed Ji Xinghuo.

“Of course.”

Jing Ji expressed understanding and then said enviously, “I’ve always heard Magnetic Field Berserkers have the strongest perception. Nothing escapes your magnetic field. With this ability and your ranger shooting skills, unless you meet a legendary fighter, you always have the initiative on the battlefield; whether to attack or retreat is up to you.”

Yuan Chongzhen also commented, “Our hunting plan is even more solid now!”

“Indeed!”

Jing Ji was thrilled, lifting his glass to say, “To celebrate our new three-man team, let’s drink to that.”

“Cheers.”

The three clinked glasses and drank in one gulp.

The server brought their food into the private room, and as they started eating, Jing Ji said, “No silly delays. We’ll head out right after this meal.”

Ji Xinghuo agreed along with the other.

After the meal, the trio left the bar and quickly exited the gates of the Midpoint Fortress.

It was already starry night, with countless stars and the Milky Way hanging upside down in the sky, while silver radiance spread a faint blue glow.

“Where are we heading?” asked Ji Xinghuo.

“Follow me,” replied Jing Ji. “Tonight marks our first joint battle. We should play it safe. Let’s start by clearing a watchpost I scouted a few days ago. There are only about a dozen enemies there. We should be able to eliminate them all with some caution.”

A watchpost with about a dozen enemies is considered playing it safe?

Ji Xinghuo was taken aback. Would not playing it safe mean directly attacking an enemy tower?

Jing Ji became nearly invisible, fading to just faint, translucent outlines that bolted under the starry sky. He could become fully invisible, but he showed slight traces so his teammates could keep up, visible only within ten meters.

Ji Xinghuo also activated stealth and followed.

Nearby, Yuan Chongzhen’s body hunched over, transforming instantly into a large black panther whose body blended into the night, with even better stealth effects.

“Shadow Panther!”

Ji Xinghuo inwardly nodded.

This transformation was common among half-beasts, granting all the creature’s abilities once transformed.

The Shadow Panther was best known for its shadow-walking ability, besides its extremely fast running speed, agile balance, strong bursting power, and excellent ambush skills.

However, the Shadow Panther Yuan transformed into seemed different.

Ji Xinghuo had hunted such creatures before, and this one’s magnetic field was unique—large and somehow connected to its surroundings. The panther’s eyes emitted a distinct gray with a mist-like energy radiating outward; its claws also showed similar traits.

The trio swiftly moved forward under the night.

At first, Jing Ji worried Ji Xinghuo might not keep up, but soon found him moving easily by his side without a sound, so he quickened the pace.

Two hours later.

The trio had crossed the buffer zone, entering behind the defensive lines of the North Luo Master Clan.

“It’s just ahead.”

Jing Ji, leading the way, stopped, pointed at a hill in front, and spoke in Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen’s minds, “There’s an entrance in the bush-covered slope at the foot of the hill within the mountain. Do you see it?”

The trio was hiding over five hundred meters from the slope.

Ji Xinghuo had noticed it much earlier.

Along the way, his magnetic field sensing had detected the enemy several times but he kept silent; Jing Ji had his own sensory methods to avoid them in advance.

Ji Xinghuo deduced from Jing Ji’s occasional changes in direction that his sensing range was about five hundred meters.

Jing Ji had strong vision, able to see in the dark.

But he relied more on his hearing, able to detect very faint sounds from far away, making his perception extremely sharp combined with his visual ability.

“Eighteen enemies total.”

“Three are Legendary Da Guan—one tier four and two tier threes; one tier three Vine Spirit; four tier two Golo Kraks; and ten tier two stone gexko people.”

“Four are keeping watch at the entrance, and eight are asleep,” detailed Ji Xinghuo, describing the outpost’s interior layout including two other hidden exits and traps around the exterior.

Both Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen were startled.

“Really?” Jing Ji couldn’t help but ask.

Even though he had heard about the impressive magnetic field sensing, this seemed exaggerated as if Ji Xinghuo had seen it all himself. In fact, Jing Ji believed it since he had scouted this outpost a few days ago, and there were indeed eighteen enemies with the exact rankings Ji Xinghuo mentioned.

Ji Xinghuo simply smiled.

Taking a deep breath, Jing Ji began setting up a plan, “I’ll go ahead and take_out the watchmen. Then I’ll release a silent illusion to cover the sounds of battle. You two enter from the other two exits and make sure no one escapes the outpost.”

He sketched a simple outpost map on the ground, letting Ji Xinghuo mark the other two exits.

Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen were each assigned an exit.

“No problem.”

They quickly decided on the tactic and moved immediately.

Ji Xinghuo stealthily made his way to the back of the hillside, where an exit was hidden under a rock; meanwhile, Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen also got into position.

“Go.”

Jing Ji’s voice signaled the start.

In his magnetic field sense, Ji Xinghuo saw Jing Ji’s figure flash, vanishing through the bushes to appear behind two stone gexko people at the entrance. His dagger moved, a thin black gleam flashing and vanishing, decapitating both.

After killing the two stone gexko watchmen, Jing Ji raised his hand, and an invisible force field instantly spread out, enveloping the entire outpost.

Then Yuan Chongzhen made his move.

Instantly, he transformed into a huge ape, nearly ten feet tall with thick, column-like arms, rushing into the entrance. He smashed a Golo Krak into a pulp with a punch.

With a boom.

His fist woke everyone in the outpost, but the sound did not escape.

Ji Xinghuo also took action, casually pushing aside the rock covering the exit. Just pushing_halfway, his right fingertip emitted a lightning bolt inside.

A scream echoed.

By the time Ji Xinghuo fully pushed the rock aside, revealing the opening, there lay a stone gexko with its chest completely penetrated by the lightning.

He continued forward, right hand clutching a Lei Chi battle saber, his left fingertip flickering with electricity.

Crack!

Another bolt of lightning struck_out, hitting a Legendary Da Guan who had just turned the corner, directly hitting his face. Though not immediately killed, the thick ice_armor on his body saved him, leaving him severely injured and twitching on the ground.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t immediately finish him off.

In his magnetic field sense, that tier-four Legendary Da Guan was already found by Jing Ji and engaged in combat.

Meanwhile, another Legendary Da Guan tried to break through with a few others toward Ji Xinghuo’s side, clearly intending to escape through this exit.

Yuan Chongzhen was pursuing behind but got entangled by the Vine Spirit.

If there were only the two of them, even if much stronger, it would be difficult to completely annihilate the enemy.

But now they had Ji Xinghuo.

He stood at the exit, raising his left hand.

The rotating magnetic field was activated, streams of electricity flowing under his skin, gathering at his left fingertip, lighting the entire passage as bright as day.

The tier-three Legendary Da Guan and six stone gexko people, along with_two Golo Kraks, had already run into the passage.

They saw Ji Xinghuo blocking the exit.

With a loud shout, the Legendary Da Guan ordered a_charge toward Ji Xinghuo—it was their only way out, and they had to fight desperately, using the stone gexko as the vanguard who didn’t hesitate to obey, charging forward with their weapons.

Boom!

A tremendous thunderous sound echoed within the outpost, deafening.

A bolt of lightning thicker than an arm shot from one end of the passage to the other, piercing the bodies of all creatures in its path.

The lightning also tore through the wall, striking into the outpost’s inner hall, hitting the tier-four Legendary Da Guan squarely.

The Da Guan had not anticipated the attack from behind, instantly paralyzing him. Jing Ji, who was already dominating, flashed over, his dagger plunging into the enemy’s heart.

On the other side, Yuan Chongzhen easily crushed the Vine Spirit.

The battle ended.

In less than half a minute, all eighteen enemies in the outpost were killed, with most falling to Ji Xinghuo.

The trio regrouped inside the outpost.

Jing Ji emerged from the shadows, and Yuan Chongzhen reverted to human form, both looking somewhat shocked. “Is this the power of a Magnetic Field Berserker? It seemed too easy!” Jing Ji couldn’t help but exclaim.