Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Shadow Warrior
"Heh, so what if I did it?"
The Shadow turned around, emitting a mocking laugh.
Through the dim light, Principal Zhang could see the face under the black robe was completely obscured.
He raised an eyebrow.
"What, surprised? I’m used to hiding my face."
"Now, I can’t even remember what I originally looked like."
The Shadow spread his hands and shrugged, instead taking a closer look at Zhang Dashan’s face.
Seeing the silver hair and face full of wrinkles and age spots, the Shadow couldn’t help but mock, "Is the Pet Beast Union out of people? Why send an old fossil nearly in the grave to guard this place."
The Shadow spoke with disdain, seemingly not taking Principal Zhang seriously.
At this moment, countless black shadow threads extended from Principal Zhang’s shadow, tightly binding both Principal Zhang and his pet beast, Hellfire.
"Surprise, surprise, you didn’t see it coming, right? My Shadow Warrior can unexpectedly bind you and your pet beast."
"Feel the despair as the shadow binds you, sealing your movements."
"No one can escape the shadow’s grasp."
"All you can do is wait helplessly for death to arrive."
The Shadow appeared utterly in control.
"What exactly is your goal, causing chaos with the beast tide and sneaking into the Pet Beast Union’s secret vault without restraint?"
"What are you searching for?"
"That unknown virus, you must have spread it."
Principal Zhang didn’t struggle in the slightest, calmly revealing the Shadow’s intentions on the spot.
A cheerful laugh came from beneath the black robe: "I didn’t expect you, old fossil, to have such strong deductive skills."
"To see through my plan at a glance, but alas, smart people don’t live long."
The Shadow curled a finger, and the binding shadow threads crept up to Zhang Dashan’s neck, tightly squeezing his throat like a pair of large hands.
"Don’t forget to tell King Yama that I was the one who killed you."
The Shadow snapped his fingers, causing the shadow threads to tighten and strangle.
Yet he saw amusement on the old man’s face, not a hint of panic.
"You’re on the brink of death, yet you smile!"
The Shadow spoke slightly angrily, feeling mocked by Zhang Dashan.
The proud Shadow couldn’t accept this.
At this moment, black flames erupted from the old man, burning away the shadow threads one by one, releasing clouds of black smoke into the air.
In the blink of an eye, the old man, Hellfire, and the controlled Pet Beast Masters were set free.
"How is this possible, how could my shadow threads be burned by flames."
"It’s supposed to be an intangible thing, how could it be burned completely like threads."
The Shadow felt a chill in his heart, suddenly sensing a bad omen.
"Shadow Warrior, act quickly."
At the Shadow’s command, the old man’s shadow began to stretch and elongate, forming a knight covered entirely in shadow.
It stood two meters tall, clad in black, shiny armor, its head shrouded in black mist.
The Shadow Warrior gripped two black shadow spears and lunged fiercely at the old man.
The sound of whistling air was heard, with arcs of black lightning sparking off the spears.
The old man simply extended two fingers, pinching the spear tips, allowing the black arcs to surge into his body, producing cracking sounds.
No matter how hard the Shadow Warrior tried, it couldn’t pull the spears away from the old man’s fingers.
Black flames emerged from the old man’s fingertips and spread down the black spears to the Shadow Warrior’s body.
In a blink of an eye, the Shadow Warrior was engulfed in black flames, howling and disintegrating into clouds of black smoke that disappeared into the air.
"No!!!"
The Shadow reached out with Er Kang’s hand, feeling the severing of his contract with the Shadow Warrior.
The Shadow Warrior was actually killed instantly by black flames?
How is this possible!
The Shadow Warrior is supposed to be an intangible Pet Beast, how could it be burned into ashes?
"Hellfire, take this man down."
Green flames bubbled from Hellfire’s body as it stepped forward with a thudding sound.
The ground cracked under its feet, green flames licking the surface.
Hellfire swung its mighty fist at the Shadow’s head.
The Shadow’s body instantly dissolved into clouds of black smoke.
A glint flashed in Zhang Dashan’s eyes: "Hellfire."
Countless black flames appeared in mid-air, and the black smoke screamed shrilly upon contact with Hellfire.
Zhang Dashan watched coldly until the black smoke completely vanished before turning his gaze to the Pet Beast Union’s vault door.
"That Evangelical Association member must have his sights set on something valuable to dare undertake such a risky scheme and instigate a beast tide."
"I wonder what the situation with the beast tide is now, hopefully, it’s nothing unexpected."
At the gates of Jiaying City’s Pet Beast Union, by the Stone Lions, the black smoke gathered, and the Shadow’s phantom figure appeared.
"If it weren’t for having a scapegoat doll as a Pet Beast, sacrificing a life, I might have been killed by that old man."
The Shadow said with lingering fear.
His plan had utterly failed; losing both the opportunity and resources, leaving the Shadow quite frustrated.
"Fine, I’ll let you off this time, but after recovering from my injuries, I’ll secretly scheme again for that piece of Seven-Orifice Exquisite Jade."
"This is just a minor setback."
The Shadow staggered away, vanishing into the darkness.
At this moment, Ye Bai followed Zhang Lingxue toward the vicinity of the refrigerated warehouse.
Even before getting close, they heard a rapid series of gunshots.
Occasionally, explosions could be heard, indicating intense combat.
The Bloodstorm Rats surged like a tide, assaulting the first defense line.
Many Pet Beast Masters picked up heavy weapons, beginning to fire at the Bloodstorm Rats.
Every bullet hit a Bloodstorm Rat, the strong smell of blood permeating the air, but the injured rats would soon be devoured by their companions.
"These Bloodstorm Rats are truly disgusting, impossible to kill off, uncountable."
"Yeah, the key is their blood is toxic, and despite so many dead, we’ve gained nothing in return; the cost-benefit is too low."
"Even their dropped Blood Cores, not even dogs want them, let alone fetching a good price."
One person from the Pet Beast Union said, very frustrated.
The Blood Cores contained frenzied energy; they initially planned to feed their beasts with them to enhance strength.
But none of the pet beasts were willing to swallow the Blood Cores, each showing an expression of wanting to vomit.
Jokingly, ever since they followed the Pet Beast Masters, they’ve lived the good life of eating meat at every meal.
These bloodstained Crystal Cores held less allure than a bag of Beast Food.