High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Strangulation

"Go get ready." Tang Xiuqi clapped his shoulder. "In twenty minutes, Squad One will head to the industrial district to establish a forward outpost. Your Squad Two will be responsible for patrol and response in the eastern part of the city and the near suburbs. The specific route has been sent to your terminal."

Xu Wuyi returned to the Squad Two rest area.

The squad members were already fully geared up and performing final equipment checks.

After resting, most of them had recovered well, and the sharpness had returned to their eyes.

"Captain Xu," Ji Shanhai walked over. "I’ve seen the route. The terrain in the eastern sector is complex, with lots of old residential complexes and a web of alleyways. If the Werewolves really get in there, cleaning them out will be a huge pain."

"That’s why we have to crush them outside before they can get in." Xu Wuyi pulled up a map, pointing to a hilly area in the eastern suburbs.

"This is the area with the most frequent spatial fluctuations, and it’s our priority patrol zone for today. Three-man cells, advance in a fan formation, and keep communications open."

He looked at Li Shuang. "You take Wang Lie and Sun Xiaoyun and cover the left flank."

"Zhou Qian, Pei Ju, you’re with me in the center."

"Ji Shanhai, you take Wang Jingran and Chen Tao. You have the right flank."

"If you spot anything unusual, do not engage on your own. Report first and wait for support. Our mission is reconnaissance and delay, not annihilation."

"Understood," everyone responded in unison.

Five minutes later, three low-altitude assault craft sped out of the command center, heading for the eastern suburbs.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and morning mist shrouded the hills.

The assault craft carrying Xu Wuyi landed at the designated coordinates. The hatch opened, and the three of them leaped out, quickly spreading out to take up advantageous observation positions.

Zhou Qian closed her eyes, her Wind-type True Intention spreading out silently to sense the subtle currents in the air. Pei Ju, meanwhile, crouched down, pressing his palm to the ground as earthen-yellow Energy seeped from his arm into the Earth, probing for any unusual vibrations underground.

Xu Wuyi stood on a jutting rock, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

His Heart Image perception unfolded, and all Energy fluctuations within its range appeared clearly in his sea of consciousness. The vitality of the plants, the moisture in the soil, the vapor from a distant stream... and a faint, acrid stench.

The smell of a Werewolf.

"Ten o’clock, eight hundred meters," Xu Wuyi said in a low voice. "The Energy signature is weak. Should be War General Level. Quantity... three."

"Should we move in?" Zhou Qian asked.

"Wait." Xu Wuyi stared in that direction. "War General Level units wouldn’t be operating alone. There must be a Priest nearby."

Sure enough, half a minute later, another, stronger Energy fluctuation appeared at the edge of his perception. The dark purple magical Energy was as conspicuous as a firefly in the night.

"One Priest, around level 41," Xu Wuyi said. "Two hundred meters behind the War Generals, setting up some kind of rune."

He opened the squad comms. "All units, we have targets. One Priest, three War Generals. Coordinates shared. Li Shuang’s group, circle around to the left. Ji Shanhai’s group, flank them from the right. Wait for my signal."

"Roger."

"Understood."

Brief acknowledgments came over the comms channel.

Xu Wuyi led Zhou Qian and Pei Ju, and they began moving slowly toward the target. Their movements were light, their Power of Heart Image suppressed to the absolute minimum, like three stalking cheetahs.

At a distance of five hundred meters, Xu Wuyi stopped.

Through the sparse woods, he could already see the figures of the three War Generals. They were clearing a patch of open ground, apparently preparing to set up a temporary camp. The Priest stood at the edge of the clearing, tapping a bone staff on the ground as dark purple runes spread out like a spiderweb.

’He’s setting up a teleportation beacon,’ Xu Wuyi recognized the runes. ’They want to open a stable spatial node here to allow follow-up troops to teleport directly.’

The Celestial Wolf Civilization had indeed changed its strategy. No more opening large-scale portals; instead, they were setting up small beacons, infiltrating their forces piece by piece.

"We can’t let them finish," Xu Wuyi said into the comms channel. "Li Shuang, are you in position?"

"In position."

"Ji Shanhai?"

"Thirty seconds out."

Xu Wuyi watched the Priest, calculating the distance and timing in his mind. The moment Ji Shanhai’s group reached their designated position, he barked, "Go!"

As the word left his lips, Xu Wuyi’s figure had already vanished from his spot.

A dark golden Flame coalesced in his palm. He didn’t use his longspear, opting instead for the most direct method: close combat, a swift kill.

The Priest reacted extremely quickly. The instant Xu Wuyi appeared, its bone staff was already held across its chest, and a magical shield flared into existence.

But Xu Wuyi’s attack wasn’t a physical one.

He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and his Power of Heart Image acted directly upon the Energy circuits inside the Priest’s body.

A dark golden Flame ignited from the Priest’s heart, spreading through its entire body in an instant like a cancer clinging to the bone.

The Priest’s pupils contracted violently. It wanted to scream, to fight back, but the flames within had already incinerated its vocal organs and major meridians. Three seconds. In just three seconds, the light in its eyes completely faded, and its body slumped to the ground.

Simultaneously, the battles on the left and right flanks erupted.

Li Shuang’s Frost True Intention froze one War General into an ice sculpture, while Wang Lie’s fist shattered the head of another. Ji Shanhai’s side was even cleaner. Three streaks of sword light flashed, and the final War General fell dead without so much as a scream.

The battle, from start to finish, lasted less than ten seconds.

Xu Wuyi walked over to the Priest’s corpse and crouched down to inspect it. The runes on the bone staff were still glowing faintly, but having lost their Energy source, they were gradually dimming.

"The beacon’s core is on him." Xu Wuyi pulled a fist-sized black crystal from the Priest’s robes, its surface covered in spatial runes. "Destroy it."

Pei Ju stepped forward. Earthen-yellow Energy enveloped the crystal, and with a tight squeeze, he crushed it to dust.

"All clear," Ji Shanhai said as he walked over. "No other Energy signatures nearby."

Xu Wuyi stood up and looked toward the brightening sky. "Continue the patrol. They won’t have set up just one of these beacons. We’re going to be busy today."

Just as Xu Wuyi had predicted, for the next ten days, Rapid Response Team One entered a rhythm of high-intensity, high-frequency combat.

The Celestial Wolf Civilization’s infiltration tactics grew increasingly cunning. They no longer sought large-scale destruction, but instead struck like vipers, targeting only the weakest points in the defenses.

Sometimes it was a Priest casting curse runes from a distance; other times, it was simply herding Star Beasts to create chaos and draw attention.

But under this intense pressure, Xu Wuyi’s clean-up efficiency only continued to improve.

His Heart Phase Traits showed a staggering advantage when dealing with large numbers of enemies who were individually weaker than him.

「May 15th. The abandoned factory district in the eastern suburbs.」

Acting alone, Xu Wuyi killed two Priests and eight War Generals and destroyed three beacons, all within five minutes. When the battle was over, he didn’t even have a speck of blood on him.

「May 17th. The reservoir southeast of Linjiang.」

A squad of Werewolves tried to contaminate the water supply, but Xu Wuyi detected them in advance.

From three hundred meters away, he used the flame of his Heart Image to ignite the lead Priest’s Energy Core. The rest of Squad Two easily cleaned up the remaining enemies.

「May 19th. Late at night.」

Xu Wuyi led Squad Two to intercept a Werewolf Squad trying to infiltrate the city’s edge. The enemy consisted of one level-43 Priest and four War Generals. The battle lasted two minutes. Total annihilation.

"Captain Xu, your efficiency... it’s a little terrifying." After the battle, Ji Shanhai couldn’t help but remark as he wiped his longsword, "I feel like we’re just here to make up the numbers."

"Don’t say that." Xu Wuyi shook his head. "Without you guys running interference, I couldn’t be this clean and efficient. In team combat, everyone has their role."

Despite his words, the squad members all knew in their hearts that Xu Wuyi’s personal combat prowess had truly surpassed the realm of an ordinary Innate Martial Artist.