Chapter 804: The Hunt (Part 1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The range of the war was restricted to the Changbai Mountains as there was a bottom line agreed upon by all organizations that they should not affect the greater community.

They had made their stance clear. We were here only for the Ancient Yi treasures hidden under the sword formation valleys and nothing else.

They had a point. The Treasure of Heaven and Earth belonged to anyone capable, so why should the Heavenly Network keep all the good things to themselves? Anyway, did they not compete for resources in overseas remains as well?

But all of them were also aware that it was favorable to them if the war was not allowed to spread to the neighboring villages. Some of them had even imposed strict regulations to prevent secret pract.i.tioners from trespa.s.sing the borders of the mountains.

What if some of them murdered and robbed Chinese villages? That would make Nie Ting go mad!

In any case, a small-scale war was acceptable as everyone was longing for the secrets and treasures of the Ancient Yi Clan. But no one was interested in an all-out battle as no organization intended to destroy themselves along with Nie Ting.

In fact, the organizations were also trying to tone down the impact of the war so as not to upset Nie Ting…

The organizations set up a union headquarters at Port Artyom, but they were fighting for the power of speech as well. In front of strong organizations like the Department of Faith Theory and the Phoenix Society, the local tyrant Red Sparrows had no alternative but to yield to them. Due to the previous battle with the White Bears, the Red Sparrows had lost many of its core fighters and they had no Cla.s.s A’s to begin with.

On a side note, the death of the leader of the White Bears still remained a mystery to the Red Sparrows. When they were planning to get rid of this threat at the cost of their own men’s lives, the leader’s dead body was suddenly uncovered in the wilderness one day…

At that time, the Red Sparrows suspected it was done by a hidden local master. But based on the traces left at the battle scene, it seemed an easy fight. Moreover, there were only two people’s footprints found at the site. One belonged to the White Bears leader and the other seemed to be of a child’s…

The situation at the Port Artyom headquarters was pretty amusing too. The various organizations refused to move into the office building because they were worried that Nie Ting might fly over unexpectedly and wipe out everyone in the building. Thus, it would be wiser to scatter apart.

Furthermore, many organization leaders had gone missing upon arrival at Port Artyom. No one knew where they were hiding.

In fact, they had put in much effort into this battle. Firstly, they had to find a valid reason for coming, and they cited that it was only fair for them to enter the Changbai Mountains because the Heavenly Network had pillaged resources from overseas remains as well, for example the relic of the Koh Chang remains.

Then, they had to keep an eye on their own members and make sure they would not cause trouble on the territories of the Heavenly Network. Their reason was straightforward as the entire world, including people of the Heavenly Network, would be doomed if the Heavenly Network got p.i.s.sed off and wanted to start an all-out war right there. In order to ensure everything was under control, the organizations had only sent in a small number of troops to exhaust the force of the Heavenly Network instead of launching large-scale battles.

Nevertheless, it had also been proven that group battle strategies would not work well for Pract.i.tioners as it would weaken individual powers.

Lastly, the organization leaders had to seek secret shelters so as not to be located and killed by the Heavenly Network.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Network had their spies all across the world and no organization could be confident that all their members were trustworthy.

Besides, the union of large organizations was not united after all, because they were only bonded together by the obvious interest. Yet, each of them had their own hidden agendas as well.

Afterwards, the situation became even more messy after the Phoenix Society and the Department of Faith Theory successfully secured their leaders.h.i.+p positions.

Although the Heavenly Network was outnumbered as they literally stood against the entire world, all of its members were in it together and their sense of organizational discipline far surpa.s.sed that of the world organizations union.

At first, the union tested the water with Cla.s.s C’s and secret pract.i.tioners because it was unlikely that the battle would intensify all of a sudden.

But in a small-scale battle a few days ago, a slaughter led by You Mingyu and Li Yixiao broke out in the forests. Few would have survived the fight if the Phoenix Society had not secretly attacked Nalan Que, which resulted in the Heavenly Network retreating back to a defensible position.

It was also then when it became clear to the large organizations that the Heavenly Network had no intention to waste their time with them, because they had sent in their most elite team upon the first encounter.

Moreover, the Heavenly Network’s stance was firm and clear, and they were ready for the battle when other organizations were not prepared yet.

As a result, the professional fighters of the various organizations had to jump straight into the battle before all of their secret pract.i.tioners were wiped out.

At this moment, all commoners had been evacuated from the Changbai Mountains as the place was now teeming with aggressive Pract.i.tioners. The frontlines of the Heavenly Network and foreign organizations were closely interlocked and casualties could happen anytime.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Network was in a disadvantageous position due to the drastic difference in the number of fighters.

Slowly but inevitably, the front line was pushed back into the central area of the Changbai Mountains. At the moment, the east side of the Tiger Back ¹ had been fully occupied by foreign organizations. Every night, campfires would be set up on the slope. New faces joined in everyday while old ones perished in the wild forests.

…

A team of secret pract.i.tioners led by a master from the Red Sparrows was navigating through the forests. It had been two days since they sneaked into the Changbai Mountains. Luckily for them, though, they had not encountered any members of the Heavenly Network yet.

The Changbai mountain range spanned 310km in a north-south direction and 200km east-west. Thus, it was indeed a slim possibility for the troops to meet on this vast land.

The team reached an open s.p.a.ce in the woods. The team leader glanced up at the sky and said, “Let’s set up our campsite here tonight. Be alarmed and watch out for enemies in hiding! Members of the Heavenly Network are all experienced soldiers and their flying sword attacks are the most difficult to defend against… Wait, we have two men missing!”

At this instant, he saw with his own eyes a pair of arms reached out from behind the trees and locked one of his men by his neck. Then, with a twist, the man’s neck snapped like a fried dough twist.

The team consisted of ten people. But they had lost three before they could even see their enemies.

Suddenly, rotten leaves rustled on the ground. To their shock, they saw hundreds of gray threads sweeping across the floor.