Chapter 2640: Following the Trail(3)
Chapter 2640: Following the Trail(3)
"What do you guys think? What are the chances of that corporal being a Void Specter disguised as a human?" one of the Spirit City soldiers asked his squad mates as they followed the Ember City soldiers.
"I think it’s entirely possible and, quite frankly, very likely. He always gave me a weird vibe, but I couldn’t pinpoint it until now."
"Right? Something about him just felt off."
"Really? I, for one, don’t think he’s a Void Specter. I think I am just not ready to believe that a Void Specter has the capability to disguise itself as a human that perfectly... at least, not yet."
"That’s reasonable. I also think he’s not a Void Specter. After all, he didn’t even try to attack us. A Void Specter that hunts its own kind and ignores humans? Hard to believe."
"Didn’t he kill some of the Ember City’s soldiers?"
"Well, we don’t know the circumstances. They probably offended him or something. Did you see that captain’s behavior earlier? There’s definitely something very wrong with him."
Meanwhile, a few miles ahead of the Spirit City’s soldiers, the Ember City’s soldiers continued to follow the trail.
"If the Void Hunter can resemble humans, it’s reasonable to believe that a special Void Specter who can perfectly copy a human’s appearance exists!" Captain Heen spoke aloud, but he was mostly talking to himself.
"It’s not that we don’t believe you, but we’ll reserve our judgment until we encounter—"
"I sense him!"
One of the soldiers there suddenly shouted, causing everyone to tense up and slow down.
"Hide your presence! We’re going to inspect the subject first before engaging!"
Once everyone could see Yuan, they came to a complete halt to spectate him.
"Can you confirm that is the entity?" The majors turned to look at Captain Heen for confirmation.
"I-It’s him! It’s definitely him!" Captain Heen nodded vigorously, his body shaking nonstop.
Shortly later, the Spirit City’s soldiers also came to a halt.
"That’s the corporal, all right." They confirmed.
Meanwhile, Yuan sighed inwardly after detecting the Ember City’s soldiers. ’There’s even more of them now... Are they here for revenge?"
A moment later, he noticed the others.
’Hm? Aren’t those guys from the tunnel? Why are they also here?’
Yet, Yuan decided to pretend that he hadn’t noticed them, curious to see how the situation would unfold.
He continued to hunt Void Specters and absorb Unknown Ores, not caring if these soldiers could see everything.
"My lord! Do you see how fast he kills the Void Specters?! He’s cleaning them up like trash!"
"And the way he collects Unknown Ores! I have never seen anything like that before!"
"Inhuman! Simply inhuman! He’s definitely a Void Specter!"
It didn’t take long for many of the Ember City soldiers to become convinced that Yuan wasn’t human at all, but rather a Void Specter disguised as one.
"I told you that guy isn’t human!" Captain Heen exclaimed, feeling vindicated now that the others were finally beginning to believe him, seemingly proving that his suspicions had been right all along.
As for the soldiers from Spirit City, they weren’t as easily convinced. However, even they were beginning to understand why Captain Heen was so adamant that Yuan wasn’t human.
"How is he using so much energy when his cultivation is only at the Fifth Ascension? Where is he getting his power from?"
"Isn’t it obvious?!" Captain Heen responded. "He’s recovering his energy from the Void Specters that he devours!"
"So he’s the one digging up all those Unknown Ores and leaving them behind... No wonder he didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in them before. But what could possibly be the purpose of doing that?" one of the Spirit City soldiers muttered.
"It’s obviously a trap to lure us in! He knows how valuable Unknown Ores are to us, so he’s using them as bait!"
"If that were really the case, then why didn’t he kill us when he had plenty of opportunities to do so? We were literally collecting those Unknown Ores right in front of him—even talking to him while we did it!"
Captain Heen sneered. "How the hell would I know what it’s thinking? Maybe you lot were simply too weak for it to even consider you prey."
"..."
The soldiers from Spirit City weren’t particularly surprised by his remark. It was common for soldiers from different cities to mock or look down on one another, so they simply ignored the insult.
These soldiers continued to watch Yuan from afar for several hours before one of them asked, "So, what now? Are we just going to keep watching him, or are we going to do something? There’s only so much we can learn like this."
Captain Heen sneered and said, "If you’re so impatient, why don’t you go ahead and approach him yourself? In fact, anyone who thinks he isn’t a Void Specter should just go ahead and approach him."
"..."
Even though some of these soldiers were still skeptical, they weren’t willing to risk their lives for it, so they all fell silent and continued watching Yuan.
Eventually, another soldier suddenly asked, "What if the Void Hunter appears? Do you think he’ll try to fight that, too?"
"Who knows? But I hope they do fight."
"Although we have more than ten people here, the chances of the Void Hunter appearing with our number are minuscule, so don’t expect it to show up."
"It may not be likely, but it’s not impossible, right? Besides, with all the commotion he’s—"
The soldier abruptly stopped speaking as a chill ran down his spine.
The next moment, the atmosphere around them noticeably shifted. The temperature plummeted by several dozen degrees, and the once-scorching barren landscape suddenly became bitterly cold.
"T-This is!"
Everyone but Yuan immediately realized the reason for the sudden change.
"Th-This phenomenon! The Void Hunter... It’s going to appear!"
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Do we run away?!"
"No!" Captain Heen shouted. "Not yet! Not until we see how that monster will respond to the Void Hunter!"
"What if they come after us together?!"
"..."
Meanwhile, Yuan came to a halt after sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere.
’The Void Hunter? Is it going to appear here? Now?’ Yuan thought to himself after overhearing the others.
He contemplated how he should react. Should he stay and fight it? Or should he run away?
’If Tian Yuchen, who has reached the 50th floor of Endless Assault, cannot defeat this Void Hunter, there’s practically zero chance I can defeat it...’ he sighed inwardly.
Yet, he didn’t want to run away just yet.
’Let’s take a look at it before I leave...’
Since opportunities to encounter the Void Hunter were exceedingly rare, with everyone actively doing their best to avoid it, Yuan decided to remain a while longer and observe it for himself.
After a few moments of silence, he noticed a lone silhouette emerging in the distance, slowly making its way toward him while exuding an ominous and menacing aura.
Sure enough, the Void Hunter looked remarkably human. If Yuan hadn’t known its identity beforehand, even he might have mistaken it for another human.
"Fuck... what a tremendous aura!" Yuan cursed aloud as cold sweat drenched his body.
The Void Hunter radiated a terrifying aura that surpassed that of every Eternal Yuan had encountered before, with the sole exception of Prime Eternals.