Chapter 2637: A New Type of Void Specter

"Bastard! What did you do to Captain Hong?!"

The rest of the squad swiftly acted, moving to surround Yuan.

"Isn’t it obvious what I did to him just looking at his headless corpse?" Yuan responded in an indifferent tone.

"W-Why?! Why did you kill him?!" another soldier shouted.

"Why...? Are you asking me why I defended myself?" Yuan shook his head before continuing, "If you’re going to continue uttering nonsense, then save your breath."

"You damn—"

The soldiers surged with killing intent at Yuan’s words.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can still walk away with your life," Yuan said.

"You only managed to kill Captain Hong by surprise! Do not think we will make the same mistake!"

"And there are five of us and one of you. Do you really think you’ll be able to kill all of us with your cultivation? Laughable!"

"Forget about five. Even if there were five thousand of you, I’d still be able to kill all of you."

"I want to see you try!"

The next moment, one of the soldiers used Void Control and teleported behind Yuan.

"Die!"

The soldier struck with the intent to kill.

However, the instant his hand touched Yuan’s body, his entire body abruptly disintegrated into nothingness, vanishing from existence before he could even let out a scream.

"What just happened?!"

The remaining four soldiers instinctively backed away from Yuan after witnessing such a horrifying scene.

"W-What the fuck was that?! What did he do to Captain Dean?!"

"This guy is not human! He must be a Void Specter in disguise!"

"Run!"

The soldiers swiftly turned and ran away, their faces twisted with fear.

Yuan watched them run away, not bothering to chase after them.

’So that’s what happens when I use my affinity on another human...’ Yuan thought, shuddering slightly.

This was his first time using his affinity on anything other than materials, and the result far exceeded his expectations. Quite frankly, even Yuan found it terrifying.

’Let’s not use it unless absolutely necessary...’ he sighed inwardly.

Yuan continued his training shortly after.

Meanwhile, the soldiers from the encounter went straight back to their city, not stopping to rest until they reached their military base. Upon their return, they reported their encounter with Yuan to their superior, describing him as a Void Specter who was indistinguishable from an ordinary human.

"What? A Void Specter indistinguishable from a human had killed Captain Hong and Captain Dean? That almost sounds like the Void Hunter!"

"No! This monster was something else entirely! The moment Captain Dean came into contact with this monster, his entire body disintegrated like ash!"

"Hell, it can even speak like a normal human!"

"This is definitely a new type of Void Specter!"

"Where did you find this monster?" the superior asked.

"In the level 1 Black Zone!"

The superior pondered for a long moment before speaking again, "I am going to prepare a squad of eight powerful soldiers, and I want one of you to bring them to the location."

"You want to fight that monster?! It’s better to avoid it! I’m telling you!"

"Listen here. If another monster that is on par with the Void Hunter—especially if it is indistinguishable from an ordinary human—we need to investigate it properly, regardless of the risks."

The superior released a deep sigh before continuing, "I will let you guys discuss among yourselves who wants to take the job. I don’t want to force anyone, but if a decision is not reached by the time the team is assembled, I will have all of you go. If you volunteer, I will make sure you’re rewarded properly. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Colonel..."

A few days later, the team was assembled, and one of the soldiers who’d encountered Yuan willingly volunteered to accept the mission.

"I’m Captain Heen, and I’ll brief you on this monster while we make our way to its location."

Thus, Captain Heen and eight powerful soldiers—all holding the rank of major—set out for the Black Zone to investigate the newly discovered monster.

At the same time, the other soldiers who encountered Yuan handed in the Unknown Ores they’d gathered with his approval.

A few days later, all of these soldiers were summoned by the General of their military.

"Where did you acquire these Unknown Ores?" the General questioned them while pointing to the pile of glistening ores before him.

"We collected them during our previous mission," replied the soldiers.

"Why? Is there something wrong with them?" another asked.

However, the General didn’t answer this question and continued to ask, "Did you do anything special with them?"

"No, not that I can think of. We immediately returned to the city after gathering them because of that monster who killed two of our members."

"Tell me how you managed to gather them again?"

The soldiers went on to reveal that the Unknown Ores originally belonged to the monster and that they’d taken them from him.

Once he was satisfied, the General spoke, revealing why he was questioning them, "The Unknown Ores you gathered... not a single one of them contains any energy!"

"What?!"

The soldiers exclaimed in disbelief.

"H-How is that even possible? If they truly lack energy, they wouldn’t be glistening like that! At least, they shouldn’t!"

"I don’t know, but we can assume that this monster you encountered had something to do with it," said the General.

The soldiers swallowed nervously, as this monster was becoming increasingly incomprehensible.

Some time later, the special squad arrived at their destination in the Black Zone.

"This is the place. Look on the ground. The Unknown Ores left behind by him are still here!" Captain Heen said, pointing toward the trail of Unknown Ores Yuan had left behind.

"This is..."

The soldiers swallowed nervously as they stared at the scattered ores. There was something deeply unsettling about the sight, though none of them could quite put the feeling into words.

"It feels like a trap, as though someone deliberately left these ores behind to lure us in," one of them finally said, voicing what everyone else was thinking.