Chapter 90: Silent Arrows

Ji Xinghuo returned to the first-tier city district but didn’t leave immediately.

The North Luo Master Clan’s Golau Krack can fly briefly and has excellent hearing and vision, making it suitable for reconnaissance. The Da Guan people have also set up air patrols. Thus, it is not advisable to hide during the day; bounty hunters usually operate at night and return to the fortress before dawn.

He followed a few bounty hunters to a large inn, a major gathering point for bounty hunters within the Midpoint Fortress.

The inn’s lobby was split into a restaurant and bar.

Bounty hunters sat in groups at tables or at the bar, drinking and exchanging information. It was quite lively.

Several glances were directed at Ji Xinghuo as he entered.

After a couple of looks, most turned away, with someone whispering, “A newcomer has arrived.”

“Looks like he’s got some skills.”

“Anyone daring to venture as a bounty hunter has their tricks,” someone nearby responded, suddenly laughing, “Shall we bet on how long he’ll last?”

“Three days.”

“Ten days.”

“I bet fifty-thousand Asiatic yuan he’ll make it till next month.”

The gamblers didn’t lower their voices. Ji Xinghuo, still near the doorway, heard everything clearly but didn’t mind being the subject of bets, walking indifferently to the bar where the server asked, “Would you like a room, a meal, or a drink?”

“A beer first,” Ji Xinghuo said, pulling out a banknote and handing it over.

The bartender quickly pushed a full glass of beer towards him. Ji Xinghuo took it up and took a sip, listening to the discussions around the lobby.

The bounty hunters couldn’t stop talking about three things: rewards, points, and prey.

Ji Xinghuo waved over a server. “Do you sell defense maps here?”

“Of course,” the server wasn’t surprised, “but we only have maps of North Luo Master Clan’s defenses, updated every ten days. The information might not be accurate. They cost two-thousand Asiatic yuan, are you interested?”

“I’ll take one.”

Ji Xinghuo paid, and the server promptly brought a beautifully detailed map.

He unfolded it and examined it carefully.

The map covered the military defenses about fifty kilometers around Midpoint Fortress, marking only public military buildings on Earth’s side.

However, the map detailed the North Luo Master Clan’s defense lines meticulously, including positions of various fortresses, watchtowers, bunkers, barracks, defense installations, troop numbers, surrounding terrain, patrol routes, shift changes, and underground passages.

Ji Xinghuo studied the map intently, memorizing the details over more than an hour.

He then left the inn.

With time to spare, he strolled around Midpoint Fortress, buying a batch of arrows, primarily titanium-aluminum alloy arrows. He also replenished some capacitor and explosive-flame arrows.

The armament shops in Midpoint Fortress mainly sold items for concealment and survival.

Ji Xinghuo also saw a stealth ring identical to the one on his hand, priced at thirteen million!

The effectiveness of the stealth ring justified its price.

“So expensive.”

Many bounty hunters lingered admiringly by the stealth ring, coveting this super-ability ring.

“Silent Arrows?”

Ji Xinghuo spotted a type of specialty arrow he hadn’t seen before in an archery shop, sparking his interest. He immediately went in to inquire.

Moments later, he exited the shop with fifty silent arrows added to his quiver.

These arrows, made from a sound-absorbing material, absorbed sound waves produced by air friction when shot, rendering them silent—ideal for distant assassinations. They also silenced any target they hit, who fell silently.

Though less durable and resilient than alloy arrows, thereby less lethal.

Also, if the target was too hard, the arrows would break, typically impossible to retrieve.

These made silent arrows a one-off use.

Each sold for fifteen thousand Asiatic yuan, more expensive and single-use than capacitor arrows, hence not widely purchased.

Ji Xinghuo, not short on cash, bought fifty to try them out.

If the silent arrows proved effective, he wouldn’t mind buying more regularly as a standard part of his arsenal.

After purchasing arrows and other necessary supplies and tools, Ji Xinghuo casually picked an inn, rented a room to sleep. He woke as evening approached, and the starry night was about to descend. He left the inn and headed to the gates of the first-tier city district, where already thousands of bounty hunters were gathered.

Despite the crowd, it was very quiet under the high walls.

Everyone was fully armed, their expressions serious and silent, in no mood for chatter.

Each venture outside to hunt the enemy was a gamble with their lives. No one knew if they would return. For some, this could be their last hunt.

Ji Xinghuo spotted several familiar figures he had seen at the inn at noon.

He also saw “Red Demon” Aleksey.

“Open the gates!”

As the last rays of golden sunlight disappeared and stars began to sprinkle the sky with the Milky Way reflecting gradually, the city guards shouted loudly and the steam-powered machinery pulled the heavy alloy gates open.

The bounty hunters streamed out, dispersing in different directions.

One by one, figures vanished from sight.

Ji Xinghuo broke away from the crowd and activated his stealth ring, concealing his appearance and headed northeast.

As he crested a low ridge, the barren landscape unfolded before him—rocky and soil-bare ground where forests had been cut down and vegetation destroyed, extending to the horizon without a speck of green.

There was a five-kilometer buffer zone between Earth and the North Luo Master Clan’s defense line.

Numerous battles had occurred in the buffer zone. It seemed calm on the surface, but underground were countless trenches, traps, and tunnels, forming a vast labyrinth long enough to encircle the Earth several times.

Both sides laid ambushes within.

Crossing the buffer zone was highly dangerous.

Ji Xinghuo saw a glow in the distance—the North Luo Master Clan’s “Fort Victory,” facing off against Midpoint Fortress on this side.

At this moment, many killers and assassins from the North Luo Master Clan had also left the fortress, ready to cross the defenses into human territory.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t step into the buffer zone but continued along the defense line toward the northeast.

Twenty kilometers later, he entered an underground tunnel marked on the map he had purchased in the bar. When he arrived, he saw several bounty hunters.

He deliberately kept his distance, waiting for them to enter before following.

The tunnel twisted and turned, with many branches along the way.

A first-timer could easily get lost, possibly wandering all night, or encountering enemies.

However, Ji Xinghuo easily found the correct path with a sweep of his magnetic field sense.

He emerged from the other end of the tunnel having crossed the buffer zone.

The few bounty hunters each went their separate ways. Some went alone, and some in groups of two or three. Ji Xinghuo didn’t alert them and continued in the direction he had chosen.

Beneath the starry night, a transparent figure moved swiftly without making a sound.

Stealth mode consumed star power.

Ji Xinghuo almost constantly activated it. His ether affinity gave him an extremely fast star power recovery rate, perfectly offsetting the consumption by the stealth ring.

Soon after.

He spotted a North Luo Master Clan watchtower.

From two to three kilometers away, Ji Xinghuo’s Wanxiang Star Pupils made the watchtower seem close at hand.

The North Luo Master Clan, fully governed by the Da Guan people, also completely dominated the architectural style. The ground had three layers of circular high walls with a cylindrical tower in the middle, over twenty meters tall, with the upper structure expanding outward like a giant mushroom.

The military camp was right at the foot of the watchtower, judging from its size, housing about one hundred to two hundred personnel.

The commander was definitely a fourth-tier master.

Ji Xinghuo had no intentions of attacking the watchtower, knowing he couldn’t overcome it, and continued on, moving deeper behind the North Luo Master Clan’s defensive line.

He advanced another twenty kilometers, his magnetic field sense detecting watchtowers, hidden guards, bunkers, and barracks along the way, both large and small, very densely arranged, occupying advantageous terrain to form a tight defense system.

These military structures were not something one person could take down.

Ji Xinghuo wasn’t targeting them for the time being. His targets were the patrol teams.

After entering the starry night for over three hours, Ji Xinghuo finally reached the designated area. However, he didn’t rush into action but spent another two hours familiarizing himself with the mountain area’s terrain, defense, and roads, correcting any discrepancies on the map.

Then he patiently waited.

Like a professional hunter waiting for his prey to appear.

Half an hour later.

A patrol team entered his field of view. Ji Xinghuo, perched on a tree, perked up. The defense map indicated this route was traversed by a patrol team every three hours.

They had departed from a military camp five kilometers away, passing several watchtowers before circling back on another route.

However, almost no bounty hunters dared to attack them.

Because such patrol teams typically comprised twenty personnel from all four North Luo Master Clan tribes with well-balanced professions, well-equipped, highly coordinated in combat, led by a third-tier Da Guan as the team leader.

Even two or three super-powered individuals wouldn’t dare confront a patrol team.

Also, the patrol team had means of instant contact with the military camp. If attacked, more powerful tribespeople would quickly arrive at the scene.

Ji Xinghuo observed from a high position.

Just as the intel suggested, exactly twenty enemies.

Half were from the stone lizard tribe, their large figures clad in metal armor, wielding shields and weapons, carrying spears on their backs, serving as the team’s shields and melee combatants.

Five Golau Kracks took turns flying, scouting the surroundings.

Four Da Guan people, three mounted on armored warhorses, one of the Da Guan’s mount was a plant cheetah—a vine spirit.

Clearly, the one riding the vine spirit was the patrol team leader.

A few minutes later, the patrol team entered the range of magnetic field sensing. Ji Xinghuo identified the four Da Guan’s professions.

Not all Da Guan were affiliated with water or ice-edge professions; these occupations made up only about half. The rest, like humans, chose from many other professional templates.

Though many professional abilities were similar, there were differences between the Da Guan and humans.

Ji Xinghuo quickly formulated his tactics.

Soon, the patrol team entered his firing range. Ji Xinghuo raised his Dragon Hawk Eagle Bow, his right pupil glowing faintly as he aimed at a Da Guan carrying a hunting bow and released an arrow.