Chapter 1438: Blood Reveals the Hunter

Right before their eyes, Ghost vanished.

One second he was standing there, and the next… gone. No blur of movement, no trailing outline, not even a faint scent left behind for them to track.

He had disappeared completely.

But none of them were naive enough to think he’d simply run away. They weren’t fools. Ghost wasn’t the type to retreat, not now, not ever. Each member of the group instinctively backed away, their senses sharp, bracing for a strike that could come from any direction.

“I thought the Lupus group would be different than this!” Xin shouted, frustration rising in her voice as she spun around, trying to focus. She threw a sharp punch into the empty air, hoping, praying, that maybe she could land a hit by timing it right.

But her fist struck nothing. Only air.

“Is this really how you want to take us out? Hiding like a coward?!”

A loud scream rang out from the side before she could get an answer.

Kevin.

A deep claw mark slashed across his back, tearing through skin and muscle, blood spraying into the air. It happened so fast no one even had time to blink.

Park rushed to move, intending to heal him, but before he could reach Kevin, the young man’s body was suddenly lifted off the ground. As if he were weightless, Kevin was hurled violently down the street, his skin scraping against the pavement, ripping apart with every bounce and skid.

“I need to pay you back for hitting me,” a voice echoed from nowhere, “and I’ll pay you back tenfold.”

Ghost’s voice.

Still, no one could see him. But hearing the direction the voice came from, Olivia snapped into action. She swung her whip toward where Kevin had been just moments ago, lashing it through the air with sharp precision.

But it did little to nothing.

It wasn’t just Ghost’s invisibility, they had struggled to land a hit on him even when they could see him. He was fast. Too fast. And now, with him cloaked in complete invisibility, it was beginning to feel hopeless.

“This isn’t working,” Olivia hissed.

“Everyone, get back to back!” Xin ordered. “If he strikes one of us, the rest can respond!”

They all began to move into formation, until Xin suddenly jerked forward.

Her body had been pierced.

Several long nails drove straight through her skin from different angles, forcing her to freeze in shock. Her breath caught, pain flashing across her face.

Another scream followed almost instantly.

“ARGHH!” Park cried out. A claw had stabbed straight into his stomach, blood pouring down his robes.

A faint light began to glow in his clenched fist, and with all the strength he could muster, he threw a glowing punch toward the space in front of him, but again, it struck nothing.

Now Park was bleeding heavily. He dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth as he tried to stabilize himself.

“Are you okay?” Xin managed to ask, rushing to his side even while still shaking from the pain of her own wounds.

“Yeah,” Park grunted, wincing. “My class trait is still healing me. A wound like this won’t kill me.”

But that wasn’t the real problem.

Even if he was healing, it would take time, and while he focused on mending himself, he wouldn’t be able to help the others. Not the way he needed to.

And every second they wasted gave Ghost another opportunity to strike.

“Ghost!” Midwak’s voice boomed. “As the woman says, this is how you want to fight us? Hiding behind items and tricks? You know right now, we’re only human!”

As Midwak finished speaking, a sharp kick struck the back of his leg with brutal force. His knee buckled for a moment, and he immediately lashed out with his arm in a wide, sweeping strike, trying to hit something, anything, but once again, his hand cut through nothing but air.

“I’m glad I left Lupus and his group,” Midwak growled, regaining his footing. “If this is what it’s come to, resorting to dirty tricks and hiding in shadows just to win a fight, then you’ve already lost. That’s not the kind of freedom we were fighting for!”

An eerie, echoing laughter surrounded them, circling the group like a predator toying with its prey. The voice bounced from one side to the other, Ghost clearly on the move, weaving through the battlefield like a phantom. One by one, they were starting to understand why he was called Ghost.

“Stay close to Park,” Midwak ordered through gritted teeth. “He’s targeting him because Park can heal us.”

Ghost’s voice rang out again, smooth and cutting.

“You’re one to talk, Midwak,” he said mockingly. “We all know why you really left. And look at Ylva now, standing proudly at Lupus’ side.”

The words sank deeper with every syllable.

“In fact,” Ghost continued, “she’s the one who ordered me to take you all down.”

The moment those words hit Midwak’s ears, his jaw clenched.

“You left everything… all because of a woman. And you didn’t even fight for her. You just ran.”

Midwak was grinding his teeth so hard it felt like they might crack. Didn’t try to fight? That’s all he had ever done. Even now, he was still fighting, for what little he believed in. But if what Ghost said was true… if Ylva really had given that order…

Then maybe, just maybe, he had made a mistake by asking Gary to spare her.

If I could just speak to her one more time…

But he didn’t have time to dwell on regret.

Seeing how badly the fight was going, Olivia gritted her teeth and lifted her whip high into the air. She began to spin it in wide, controlled circles around her body, turning herself into a deadly cyclone of steel and leather.

She was certain that, eventually, she would catch Ghost.

And she did.

The whip cracked mid-air and was suddenly yanked to a halt, caught tight in someone’s grip.

Ghost’s hand.

In that exact moment, Midwak didn’t hesitate. He swung his hand outward, and in a flash, crimson blood splattered across an invisible figure.

The camouflage broke.

The hidden figure was no longer hidden.

Ghost stood before them, stained with red, his sharp eyes blazing with pride.

“I’ve always been a cut above the rest of you,” he declared coldly. “And now, I’ll show you all exactly why I would’ve become the strongest Ironfang.”

****

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