Chapter 1623 - 780

Chapter 1623: Chapter 780

The sun sank westward into the undulating mountain ridge.

The orange-red afterglow dyed the forest canopies into what seemed like a dried bloodstain across the landscape.

The mountain wind swept dry leaves into the air, and the temperature rapidly decreased at a speed perceptible to the body.

A slender figure appeared at the edge of the cliff, two kilometers away from the Golden City Resort.

The person wore a gray high-collar coat, a wide-brimmed sun hat on his head, and large sunglasses covered his face completely.

On the ground a few meters behind him stood a large archway pieced together from pale leg bones and skulls.

Black smoke seeped through the frame seams, leaving surrounding grasses and trees instantly withered upon contact.

A dozen armed gunmen dressed in black scattered among the forest, holding assault rifles, vigilantly surveying their surroundings.

Night Owl raised his hand, pushed the edge of his sunglasses, looking down at the distant Golden City Resort.

From this distance, the artificial lake below reflected the sunset’s afterglow, somewhat glaring.

Occasionally, tourists walked along the garden paths, barely bigger than ants.

The glass curtain walls of several main buildings gradually lit up, announcing the arrival of nightfall.

While Night Owl observed the resort’s scenery closely, waves of Spiritual Link rippled within his mind like water ripples.

"There’s not even a place to shower in this deep mountain forest. I feel like I’m starting to smell bad, but at least we can finally wrap this up today."

Hai Pig’s complaining voice rang in the spiritual channel.

Subsequently, Roger asked coldly:

"Night Owl, where is your Black Shark’s top expert, White Ghost? The battle is about to start, and he hasn’t shown up yet. Can we rely on him later?"

Night Owl’s lips twitched slightly as he replied:

"The leader is always elusive, even I don’t know his whereabouts. But rest assured, Master, once the Naraka Gate opens, he will naturally appear."

At that moment, these few S-Class experts were each occupying a mountain peak from the southeast, east, northwest, and southwest directions of the Golden City Resort, each guarding an Array Hub of the Luojia Gate.

Before activating this Esoteric Array, a vast amount of yin energy must be drawn, so they must keep a diligent watch and prepare in advance.

Frankly speaking, each of them can cause an earthquake in the underground world with a mere stomp.

Who would have thought that to ensure the formation of the array, they had to hide in the barren mountains for several days?

Night Owl shifted his gaze toward a mountain peak to the east and spoke on the channel to another silent person:

"Special Envoy Xiao, we’ve been enduring hardships together these days, and I apologize for the inconvenience caused."

A low, cold snort came from the other side:

"As long as I can kill White Owl, this hardship means nothing. Don’t treat me as a pampered noble family’s descendant."

The speaker was Xiao Yuanwang, a powerful elder from East Capital’s top financial Xiao Family.

Six months ago at Noah Building, he suffered internal injuries from a punch by White Owl and even lost the family’s prized possession, Deep Red Eye.

This led to internal criticism and punishment within the family.

Some time ago, he was ordered by the Family Head to track down the famous idol singer Cheng Jiashu, mistakenly believing him to be the murderer, White Owl.

Until later, receiving confirmed information from Night Owl, proving Fang Cheng to be the true culprit.

Mixing old and new grievances, he joined this hunting operation without hesitation.

The Xiao Family and the Black Shark Organization both belong to the Ideal Land. Thus, strictly speaking, he’s akin to a colleague with Night Owl and others, hence the Special Envoy title.

"Old Xiao, gathering us together, it’s akin to an Avengers Alliance."

Hai Pig laughed heartily on the channel, joking:

"After dealing with that Fang guy, remember to invite the brothers to the best hotel in East Capital for a celebration."

Night Owl chimed in smoothly:

"East Capital is Xiao Family’s territory, so naturally, Special Envoy Xiao must extend his hospitality in terms of food, drink, and entertainment."

The atmosphere in the channel was quite relaxed, as if victory was certain.

Xiao Yuanwang, however, refrained from joining in, instead posing a question:

"Do you truly believe this hunting plan can succeed?"

"You’ve all experienced White Owl’s power, now with such a grand setup, aren’t you afraid he’ll sense danger and escape preemptively?"

"Heh."

Night Owl chuckled, inserting his hands into the pockets of his coat, enjoying the mountain breeze:

"Special Envoy Xiao, this is where the entire plan’s brilliance lies! Do you know what it means to blindfold others while crossing the sea and severing the causal link?"

He slowed his speech, explaining the crux of his strategic layout word by word:

"A strong fighter like White Owl indeed possesses a beastlike intuition towards crises."

"But this sense must depend on causal links. The clearer the enemy’s malice, the deeper the causal connection, and the clearer the scene he can sense becomes.

"If I directly send someone to assassinate him or target his relatives, the moment the intent arises, he might perceive it immediately."

"True, a murderer’s nerves are always more sensitive than ordinary people’s. Dealing with such a person requires utmost caution."

Agreeing with the sentiment, Hai Pig nodded.

"So how do you plan to proceed?"

Xiao Yuanwang followed up with a question.

"I did nothing to him."

Night Owl raised his chin, his tone filled with undisguisable pride:

"I saw news of a talent show confirming the girl’s connection to White Owl attending a training camp at West Mountain, and thus devised a plot to set the battlefield at Golden City Resort."

"However, I didn’t directly mobilize elite assassins from the Black Shark Organization. Instead, I randomly chose a mercenary group from the market that had smuggled over from Southern Ocean."