Chapter Forty-One: The Vulture

Luo Yuan instantly eliminated the nine men, then glanced at his electronic device and smiled with satisfaction before turning back toward Gao Feng and the others.

“Senior Luo Yuan, you just killed them outright. From what that half-blood said earlier, it sounds like he has a powerful background,” Luo Feng caught up, asking with some worry.

“Don’t worry. I intended to wipe out the entire Tiger Fang team from the start. As for those three, they were just collateral. Besides, that arrogant half-blood’s life is quite valuable,” Luo Yuan replied, utterly unconcerned, because after finishing this job, his strength would multiply exponentially.

Luo Yuan opened the warriors’ forum on the HR Alliance network, specifically the mission board. There, he found a wanted notice: a bounty for killing the half-blood Li Wei, worth fifty billion! No wonder he was tempted when he saw the post yesterday. As the son of “Vulture” Li Yao, his life was indeed valuable. The bounty was likely issued by a fellow war god with a grudge against Li Yao, and to be posted so openly on the forum showed that the great families of the HR Alliance were far from united.

War gods were not easy to move against, and war generals without strong backgrounds wouldn’t dare try. Moreover, Li Wei was escorted by two experienced senior war generals and could call for nearby war god support at any time. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan gave them no time to react, and their misjudgment of his strength led to their complete annihilation.

“Senior Luo Yuan, they didn’t witness you slay that two-headed black-striped serpent. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared be so arrogant,” Luo Feng remarked.

Luo Yuan simply smiled at Luo Feng’s words. He had planned everything, with some understanding of the general storyline.

Back at the residential complex, Luo Yuan and the Firehammer squad prepared to leave. Before departing, he glanced toward the smoke-shrouded city center of City 003. He knew a high lord-level Ironclad Dragon was nesting there, but he had no intention of getting involved. It was too dangerous—he was not a chosen one like Luo Feng, and caution was the better part of valor.

Just as the Firehammer squad was about to leave City 003 for the Southeast Military District, two figures arrived at the scene where Li Wei and his party had been killed.

A thunderous explosion roared as dozens of lion mastiffs and tiger mastiff beasts, feasting on the nine corpses, were instantly reduced to pulp.

One was a towering giant over two meters tall wielding a massive spiked mace, and the other a handsome man in a blue combat suit. Their blurred figures appeared at the scene and then solidified.

“Alas, too late. Li Yao’s son is dead,” the giant sighed, mourning his old friend’s loss.

“There was nothing we could do. We were only notified to assist when Li Yao lost contact with his son. The corpses are already half-devoured, making it hard to determine the killer,” the handsome man frowned.

…

Jiangnan Waterside Community, Huayao Peak Villa.

Misty starlight shrouded the mountaintop. The distant sound of waterfalls echoed. On the rooftop, a figure in loose, deep-blue training robes sat cross-legged in meditation. His hair hung loose, his face cold as carved stone—his chilling presence palpable even with eyes closed.

He was the famed war god known as “Vulture,” the high war god Li Yao.

A piercing sound suddenly came from what seemed an ordinary wristwatch.

It was a message from the two war gods he had sent to assist his son. Li Yao listened intently, and when he learned they were all dead, shock and fury twisted his stone-cold features.

With a flash, Li Yao became a blur, darting into the villa’s third floor, which housed over a dozen rooms. He went straight to the enormous audiovisual room. His indistinct form coalesced inside.

“Activate! Enter warrior search mode! Pinpoint my son Li Wei’s coordinates,” Li Yao commanded coldly. “Scan for war gods within a hundred kilometers.”

“No war gods detected within a hundred kilometers of Li Wei,” the three-dimensional AI projection responded.

“How is that possible?” Li Yao’s expression darkened. With his son’s two senior war general bodyguards, they should have had time to send a warning. The killer must have been a war god-level expert.

After a moment’s thought, Li Yao ordered, “Search for senior war generals within a hundred kilometers!”

“Searching for war gods can be done via the War God Palace shared system. Scanning for war generals requires S-level alliance authorization,” the AI replied.

With a crash, Li Yao smashed the alloy table to pieces in anger.

“Apply with my credentials!” A red-eyed, beautiful woman suddenly burst in, her elegant features twisted with grief.

“Search!” the golden-haired beauty, Vinina, commanded.

“Yes.”

“There are six senior war generals within a hundred kilometers. Excluding the two who were the young master’s bodyguards, the remaining four are all within City 023, the closest being over twenty kilometers away,” the AI reported.

“Then search for all warriors below senior war general within the range and transmit the data to us!” Li Yao pressed on.

“Yao! Who killed our Wei?” Vinina asked anxiously.

“I don’t know! But I’d rather kill a thousand innocents than let one suspect escape!” Li Yao ground out.

…

In the deep winter night, the cold wind cut to the bone.

On the highway, the nine bodies’ blood had long since turned dark red. Two figures, one tall and one slight, combed the scene. They were Wang Tong and Li Kan, two war gods summoned by Li Yao’s request, who had hurried from City 003.

Two streaks of ghostly blue light shot from the distant sky, descending swiftly above the highway. As the aircraft touched down, the hatch of one flung open, and two figures leaped from midair—Li Yao and Vinina.

“Vulture, my condolences,” Wang Tong murmured.

“Any conclusions?” Li Yao forced his tone to soften, though anger still burned in his voice.

“I can only say... it resembles the methods of a psychic warrior,” Wang Tong replied.

“A psychic warrior?” Both Li Yao and Vinina frowned.

At that moment, an elderly white-haired man stepped forward, projecting a simulated reconstruction of the scene.

“All nine appeared to have their brains pierced instantly. Judging from what’s left of their heads, the weapon was likely a flying knife. We also found remnants of a two-headed black-striped serpent—key materials have been collected. Judging by the destruction, the killer was a mid-level war god with exceptional knife skills.”

“A mid-level war god, using flying blades! That means a psychic warrior. Other than Katran, I can’t think of anyone else. But why would a mid-level war god care about materials from a black-striped serpent?” Li Yao muttered, troubled.

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