“Chief Carter, this is Tangris. The situation on-site is dire; the enemy seems to know our every move. We’re completely pinned down!”
Tangris’s voice was hoarse with anger and anxiety over the encrypted channel — set against a backdrop of incessant gunfire and echoing explosions.
“Hold them off as best as you can. X is about to arrive,” Chief Carter’s voice was as calm as ever, acting as a stabilizing force.
Almost simultaneously, another voice — calm to the point of being indifferent — cut into the encrypted channel.
“Director Tangris, I have reached the mission site. I am joining the support effort now.”
The moment the words fell, a figure leaped nimbly from the aircraft and landed steadily on the edge of the reef area.
The newcomer was tall and well-built, dressed in simple black combat gear.
His face held no unnecessary expression, save for a pair of eyes that were as quiet as the dead sea before a storm.
Click, click, click, click!
Four faint but precisely synchronized mechanical locking sounds echoed from the crevices of the reefs surrounding X from four different directions.
Simultaneously, at least six concealed firing positions from both high and low ground lit up with the infrared dots of sniper scopes, locking firmly onto X within the field.
These firing points formed a crossfire, cutting off any possible angle of evasion.
“Are you X?” a provocative voice suddenly rang out from above and to his side.
A man wearing a burlap sack on his head stood on a high reef, his pistol aimed steadily at the center of X’s brow.
The ambush had gone unexpectedly smoothly.
He had originally worried that X would set up defenses in advance, but this so-called Ace had failed to notice the danger at all.
He had landed exactly at the intercepted location and jumped straight into the pre-set encirclement.
“I’ve heard much about you, but it seems you’re a bit of a disappointment,” he said softly.
Now, with a mere wave of his hand, this legendary Godslayer would fall amidst the concentrated fire.
X didn’t look at him.
His gaze swept over the cluttered beach as if searching for something far more important.
“Where is the girl with the Divine Artifact?” he asked softly, as if he weren’t the one being held at gunpoint by several weapons.
“My dear sir, you don’t seem to understand the current situation…”
His smile widened, enjoying the sense of verbal dominance.
However, before he could finish his sentence, Ri’s eyes met the gaze X turned toward him.
It wasn’t anger, nor was it murderous intent; it didn’t even hold any emotion.
It was an absolute, overlooking calm, much like a human looking down at a busy colony of ants.
That single, calm look made Ri’s heart feel as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
A primal, instinctual chill surged from his spine to the top of his head!
In the next instant, he didn’t even see X move.
He only felt a faint, almost imperceptible vibration from the hand holding his gun, as if several invisible, extremely thin and sharp shards of ice had brushed past it simultaneously.
When he instinctively looked down —
The specialized pistol in his hand, powerful enough to pierce light armor, had been smoothly sliced into several metal blocks, which fell to the ground with a clatter.
The cuts were as smooth as mirrors, reflecting the cold light of the sea.
No, it wasn’t just his gun.
The weapons in the hands of the other members around him — whether rifles or specialized devices — had all been precisely and silently sliced apart and dismantled by some invisible force at the exact same moment!
Ri’s pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks.
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back, and his previous composure and playfulness vanished without a trace.
The entire process was faster than the limit of visual perception.
There were no light or shadow effects, no sound of breaking air; there was only the result, presented nakedly and cruelly before them.
According to the intelligence, he already knew that X’s Divine Sense was Wind.
In terms of Divine Sense classification, it was a very ordinary and common B-rank ability.
Usually, the range of this Divine Sense was only about 20 meters.
Out of respect for X’s reputation, Ri had intentionally stayed as far away from X as possible while remaining within effective firearm range, maintaining a distance of roughly 100 meters.
He had even arranged for several snipers to be positioned further away.
But…
He had no doubt that those invisible wind blades could have easily and precisely slit their throats at the same time.
Even the snipers were likely useless.
Judging by the precision of that Divine Sense control, bullets probably couldn’t even get close to this man.
This was a crushing display of absolute strength — a difference in dimensions.
X remained standing where he was.
Not even the hem of his clothes fluttered, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him.
“Where is she?”
X asked again, his voice still flat.
‘So that’s how it is. He did it on purpose!’
He had walked into this so-called “trap” as the prey, only to hunt them as the predator.
Behind the crude burlap sack, Ri’s face was pale.
Finally, he pointed in a direction and muttered an approximate location.
After obtaining the information, X turned and walked away without looking back.
‘It doesn’t matter. Sister Yue has already secured the Eye of Ra.’
Ri comforted himself.
At least X had no intention of killing him.
To survive such a situation was already a victory.
***
While Ri was facing off against X, another figure was moving as if on level ground along a more rugged evacuation path near the inland cliffs.
It was Yue, moving rapidly after a successful mission.
Her movements were light and swift, almost blending into the shadows of the jagged rocks.
However, just as she was about to disappear into the shadows of a taller group of reefs —
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Two scorching lines of fire, accompanied by the sharp sound of tearing air like the flicking of a viper’s tongue, struck the rock half a step in front of her with pinpoint accuracy!
The bullets weren’t direct hits; they were a clear warning, exploding into two small bursts of sparks and stone chips, instantly blocking her most convenient path forward.
“Ma’am, it’s quite rude to leave without saying hello!”
A clear voice with a somewhat theatrically high-spirited tone came from above.
Yue skidded to a halt and looked up calmly.
On the edge of the cliff above her stood a figure, his tall frame outlined by the golden glow of the setting sun.
It was Alexander.
His well-tailored Thanatos Academy uniform jacket was hanging open casually, revealing a dark combat shirt underneath.
In each hand, he held a custom SIG Sauer P226, inlaid with platinum maple leaf emblems — a masterpiece by the Montreal gunsmith LeBlanc, with a price tag high enough to buy half a yacht.
He wore his signature confident smile, and his gray-blue eyes sparkled in the twilight as if he were performing in a grand show rather than conducting a life-or-death pursuit.
“Taking other people’s things in secret isn’t how a lady should behave.”
Alexander raised his muzzles slightly.
He wasn’t aiming directly at Yue but was locking down the area in a way that seemed casual yet cut off all her evasion angles.
“Could you return the ‘gift’ we worked so hard to find? Perhaps then I might consider inviting you to dinner to make up for this unpleasant first meeting.”
His tone was light, even teasing, but the aura radiating from him was flamboyant and scorching, like a volcano about to erupt.
Yue stopped.
Her gaze under the burlap sack coldly swept over Alexander before glancing toward the distant field where fluctuations were faintly coming through.
She hadn’t expected the Thanatos Academy reinforcements to arrive so quickly.
She didn’t answer.
She only tightened her grip slightly on the storage box containing the Eye of Ra.
In the next moment, her response came — not in words, but in action!
She suddenly crouched low, the reef beneath her feet cracking silently.
Like a streak of shadow hugging the ground, she charged toward the cliff!
She knew very well that staying at a distance from a high-ground marksman was fatal.
“A beautiful choice!”
Alexander laughed loudly, the fighting spirit in his eyes intensifying.
He didn’t fire blindly.
Using a variation of the Mozambique Drill — two shots to the torso and one to the head — he accurately targeted Yue’s landing spots and potential points of exertion.
The .357 SIG hollow-point bullets exploded into clouds of stone dust and smoke, attempting to weave a cage of fire.
Clang!
Clang!
Tang!
The two combat claw knives in Yue’s hands danced like the wind, precisely parrying or diverting the bullets.
Her movements were concise and efficient, with every block accompanied by a subtle adjustment of her center of gravity.
After knocking away a bullet aimed at her knee, she kicked off a reef, her speed increasing again as she cut into Alexander’s inner circle like a ghost!
Alexander landed steadily and rolled to the side, his dual pistols roaring once more.
But Yue was already upon him!
Her claw knives tore through the air with a shrill whistle, aimed straight for his wrists.
Alexander raised his right muzzle, narrowly parrying the strike with the front edge of the P226’s extended slide.
Sparks flew as his left pistol pointed toward Yue’s ribs!
At the critical moment, Yue’s empty left hand slammed into Alexander’s left wrist, the immense force causing his aim to deviate.
Bang!
The bullet grazed Yue’s tactical belt.
The scorching air current even made her skin sting.
But more importantly, the bullet had struck the Divine Artifact storage box at her waist, which was made of composite carbon fiber and Mithril plating.