Chapter 671: Driven Back

Chapter 671: Driven Back

By the time Zhang Yi reached the western front, Liao Honglei had already been killed by Shinguuji Seiichiro’s trap.

But Zhang Yi sharply noticed two heavily wounded, dying members of the Moon of Corrosion on the battlefield.

There was no way he was letting a golden opportunity like that slip by—without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and finished them off!

Shinguuji Seiichiro’s abilities couldn’t stop Zhang Yi’s bullets. All he could do was watch helplessly as his two teammates were killed.

After confirming the deaths of Akutsu Shinichiro and Kamiya Gedou, Shinguuji didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He decisively let his Shikigami shield him as he retreated into the thick mist.

Not long after, Zhang Yi slowly stepped forward, fully armed and cloaked in the Absolute Barrier Between Two Realms.

He held a pair of White Owls in his hands, his sharp gaze scanning the battlefield.

Although it was covered in fog, as a spatial-type Superhuman, Zhang Yi was hypersensitive to fluctuations in the air.

At his current level, any living creature within 500 meters—just the sound of breathing—could be picked up by his senses.

Very quickly, he detected hidden figures within the mist, along with several other presences.

From the fog charged a massive golden ape and a three-headed hellhound wreathed in flames, attacking Zhang Yi from both sides.

Zhang Yi stayed calm, monitoring his surroundings as he extended both arms left and right.

The two enormous Shikigami didn’t see him dodging and lunged at him head-on.

Kinmaru raised its casserole-sized fist and roared, slamming it down.

Akamaru exhaled molten lava, its three enormous heads letting out bone-chilling howls.

“Splat!!”

A torrent of lava blasted straight for Zhang Yi’s head.

But before it could even get close, the lava vanished into thin air—sucked into Zhang Yi’s Dimensional Space.

Kinmaru’s fist, however, did get close.

Its power was monstrous. But the moment it struck down, its entire body was pulled into the Dimensional Space without leaving even a ripple.

Although Akamaru was slightly slower, just a beat behind, its massive body was also swept into Zhang Yi’s Dimensional Space.

Or rather—technically—it ran right into it on its own.

Deep within the mist, cold sweat poured from Shinguuji Seiichiro’s forehead.

Though he still didn’t know exactly who Zhang Yi was or what his ability entailed, the fact that his two top-tier Shikigami had been effortlessly neutralized made one thing crystal clear—

This man’s ability countered his!

After sealing away Kinmaru and Akamaru, Zhang Yi turned his gaze toward Shinguuji Seiichiro.

The distance between them was roughly 400 meters.

Perfect.

A twisted white light began to appear in Zhang Yi’s right eye as a terrifying spatial force quickly gathered.

At that moment, Shinguuji Seiichiro felt a chilling sense of impending death.

As a stock trader by profession, he was naturally extremely cautious.

So, without a second thought—

He turned and ran.

Zhang Yi froze for a moment—he hadn’t expected the guy to be so... cautious.

The release wind-up for Divine Power took about a full second. If the target was on guard, landing a hit wasn't easy.

Zhang Yi’s eyes darted toward the direction Shinguuji fled. He sensed unusual fluctuations—someone had to be hiding in that direction.

But the fog was too thick, and his intel on the battlefield was too limited.

If he rushed in blindly, he could fall into a Moon of Corrosion ambush.

He had no interest in fighting several elite enemies at once.

After a bit of thought, Zhang Yi decided not to pursue into the mist. Instead, he turned to collect his spoils.

Once he confirmed no one else was nearby, he quickly went over and retrieved the corpses of the two Moon of Corrosion members.

Normally, once the head was destroyed, a Superhuman’s origin would quickly dissipate—but if placed into Dimensional Space, that wouldn’t happen.

Zhang Yi carefully stored the bodies, but his gaze remained puzzled as he looked in the direction Shinguuji had fled.

He couldn’t understand—why had Shinguuji chosen to retreat the moment he made a move? Why didn’t he keep fighting?

“No… maybe it was a tactical retreat. Because of something else going on?”

Zhang Yi frowned slightly.

“It can’t be because he actually knows how strong I am, right?”

That seemed even less likely.

Even in the Jiangnan District, barely anyone truly understood the extent of Zhang Yi’s strength.

Shinguuji Seiichiro had the power to solo a Celestial Squad Vice-Captain. Why would he fear Zhang Yi enough to run?

What Zhang Yi didn’t know was—his opponent was just as cautious as he was. A full-blown pessimist, even.

The moment Shinguuji realized Zhang Yi’s ability might counter his, he didn’t hesitate at all—he left his comrades’ corpses behind and bolted.

Meanwhile, the intel from this front was being reported back to Zhu Zheng at the Operations Command Center.

Zhu Zheng, Tu Yunlie, and the others were dumbfounded.

None of them had expected that in the end, it wasn’t the Celestial Squad who earned the credit—but Zhang Yi, the Superhuman from the Outer City!

Only Baili Changqing sighed inwardly. This outcome didn’t surprise him at all.

In fact, if Zhang Yi weren’t so cautious—if he were even slightly more aggressive—this battle might have ended in even more spectacular fashion.

Zhu Zheng murmured,

“I didn’t expect Zhang Yi to be this powerful. If I’d known earlier, I would’ve reassigned him!”

Lan Xincheng interjected,

“He just picked off the wounded Kamiya Gedou and Akutsu Shinichiro. That’s hardly worth bragging about.”

Tu Yunlie gave him a cool glance.

“But he also scared off Shinguuji.”

“And he previously took out that Moon of Corrosion couple—entirely on his own.”

“To be honest, I think this guy might actually be able to go toe-to-toe with a Vice-Captain-level fighter.”

Lan Xincheng paused, then said coldly,

“If he’s so strong, then why did he keep hiding it? If he had gone to support the other fronts earlier, maybe the outcome would’ve been totally different!”

He looked toward Zhu Zheng.

“Commander Zhu, I still think this guy isn’t fully loyal to Blizzard City.”

That line drew a snort of laughter from Baili Changqing.

“Pfft!”

The sound cut through the Operations Command Center like a blade.

Lan Xincheng glared at him.

“Baili Changqing, what the h*ll are you laughing at?”

Baili Changqing spread his hands.

“Nothing. I just think... maybe we shouldn’t judge Outer City Superhumans by Blizzard City standards?”

“And among all the Outer City folks, Zhang Yi performed the best in this operation.”

Lan Xincheng had no real comeback to that.

All he could say was,

“Anyone with the ability to help his comrades but chooses to hold back? That’s something no true elite of Blizzard City would ever do!”

“Enough.”

Zhu Zheng shut Lan Xincheng down.

He had no interest in listening to their bickering right now.

There were more pressing matters to worry about.

Lan Xincheng immediately shut up and didn’t bring it up again.

But before long, he thought of another idea.

“Now that we know Zhang Yi has some real strength, why not send him to keep fighting the Moon of Corrosion? That way, he can also support the remaining Celestial Squad members on the field.”

Though that sounded good in theory, the actual battles on the ground weren’t going well.

And Deng Shentong had already stormed into the Moon of Corrosion’s Headquarters, where he was locked in combat with their leader—Phoenixin Ren.

That clash would decide the outcome of the entire operation!

Zhu Zheng looked at Zhang Yi on the monitor, pondered for a moment, then said:

“Zhang Yi, your mission is complete. Return now.”

Lan Xincheng was shocked.

“Commander Zhu—”

Zhu Zheng ignored him and ended the communication with Zhang Yi.

Too many had already died in this battle.

From here on, it would be the showdown between Deng Shentong and Phoenixin Ren that would determine victory or defeat.

Author's Note