The derailed cabin stood out alone, sitting on Summer Crinkle's railway, and soon it was surrounded by a group of shadows.
"Attack!"
With an order from Jacob, several heavy artillery started firing at once; the force sent the cabin flying off the tracks and rolling down the slope. The metallic cabin was soon shattered by innumerable bullets.
Using the moonlight, the Demon Hunters could see the trail of fresh blood that seeped out from underneath the cabin. The blood was a mix between human and animals.
"Is it over?" A Wa's eyes were filled with sadness even though he knew this was the best option. Of course, this sadness was not for the enemy but the animals who had died as collateral. The man stood to the side and prayed quietly, "May your souls return to nature from whence it came…"
"Over? The actual battle hasn't even begun yet!" Ye Qi, who had his eyes closed, shook his head with a smile. As he opened his eyes, he told his friend, "Tatum, I leave the commanding role of the group to you!"
As he said so, Ye Qi pulled out Agni and dashed towards the broken cabin. As he ran down the hill, Agni slashed in the air and a human head flew into the sky and the decapitated body came out of invisibility and collapsed to the floor—even though the ambush was successful and had taken out most of the enemies, Ye Qi had managed to sense that a small group of enemies had escaped using the Apostle-level Assassin's ability.
As the head dropped to the floor, it was like a signal, and the remaining enemies started to attack all at once. They fought furiously because they knew this was probably their last stand.
One shouldn't underestimate the ferocity of a cornered animal. The relentless attacks by their enemy caused the Demon Hunters a huge problem. Other than Ye Qi's small group who had been mentally prepared by Ye Qi, injuries and deaths started to appear among the other Demon Hunters, especially those who held heavy artillery.
The sound of screams reverberated through the moonlit field. Even if the enemy would be killed the second they came out of invisibility, they still managed to take down one other Demon Hunter within that one short second! Even if the Demon Hunter survived the ambush, they would be seriously injured.
In just half a minute, around ten Demon Hunters lost their lives and around 9 suffered heavy injuries. Thankfully, Ye Qi's friends, who had been given support roles, were far enough away from the frontlines that none of them were caught in the fray.
The appearance of a friendly fatality meant that Jacob had to do something—a black gun suddenly appeared in his left hand, and with a flick of the gun barrel, a bullet shot out of it, trailing a glittering arc in the air. The next second, two invisible enemies collapsed to the floor with a gunshot wound right between their eyes. Then, the powerful force of the bullets ripped their heads clean off, leaving two decapitated bodies on the ground.
Following the black gun, the white one started to fire with a speed that would make a machine gun pale in comparison. Instantly, several enemies around him fell, peppered with bullet holes.
No, those aren't guns, they're Hallowed Artefacts!
Ye Qi, who stood faraway, had been following Jacob out of the corner of his eyes ever since the battle started. When Jacob pulled out his guns, the young Demon Hunter was certain both guns were Hallowed Artefact because they both showed properties that outshone normal firearms. The biggest giveaway was the fact that no empty cartridge fell out of the guns after they finished firing, and the young Demon Hunter didn't see Jacob reload them. They were obviously not normal guns.
"Do you want his guns?" The weird wolf suddenly appeared in his mind. "Easy, just kill him and the guns will be yours! If you must know, those guns are famed Hallowed Artefacts, and that kid only revealed half of their power! If you wield them, I'm sure you'll be able to use them to their full potential!"
"Is that so? What happens after I kill him?" The weird wolf might be encyclopedically clever, but it didn't take away from the fact that he was a demon. Ye Qi scoffed at such an obvious attempt at demagoguery. "If I'm hunted down by the headquarters, you will be able to get more from me, right? For example, my soul?"
The weird wolf chuckled in his unique way, and it didn't seem like he was ashamed from being exposed. In fact, he continued excitedly, "What if I told you that I can help you avoid getting pursued by the Demon Hunter headquarters without the need to sign any contract with me?"
"You're so kind?" Ye Qi, who had been entrapped multiple times, wasn’t attracted by the offer but became more alert instead. From his past history with the weird wolf, whenever Ye Qi got any benefits from the weird wolf, it would always be attached with a hidden pitfall. So Ye Qi denied him directly. "I reject!"
"Your loss…"
The weird wolf disappeared after that, and the battle was reaching its conclusion—the Apostle-level assassin finally appeared near Jacob and the dark dagger headed for Jacob's heart.
Even though the dagger was sharp, the assassin was not better at physical combat compared to Jacob. He missed, and as Jacob was about to shoot him down, the assassin dropped a smoke bomb. He managed to avoid the hit to his vitals, but most of his limbs was already injured. The other Demon Hunters made use of this opportunity to haul their injured buddies to the backlines, leaving the combat to the two leaders from the both sides.
The smell of blood was heavy in the air. The moon that peeked through the smoke bomb looked eerily wicked. The figures of the battle started to disappear as if swallowed up by the smog.
An interruption of sight?
Ye Qi frowned because he felt something was wrong—the opponent's carefulness was still fresh in his mind after their previous short fight. He retreated swiftly and without hesitation after his first hit missed last time, so why did he hang around this mind? With his power, it was entirely possible for the assassin to abandon his lackey and run! In fact, this would be the perfect excuse to give his organization, so why did he stay? And not only that, why did he set his sights on Jacob, the most powerful Demon Hunter among them?
Ye Qi narrowed his eyes and his hands subconsciously reached for Agni.