"Now is not the time to talk, I'm here to bring all of you out of here!" Fang Yuan said quickly.
The entire Hurin area was enveloped in a large array. Normal people became walking corpses, and even Demon Hunters had the risk of going insane.
The only way to be safe was to leave this harsh place!
As for the destruction of the array and what-not, Fang Yuan didn't think that he would be able to kill the Thousand Faced Evil Demon with one shot.
"Maybe… Ternetheo and Seth are only a cover, and there are other Evil Demons hiding in the surroundings and will suddenly charge out. It's too foolish!"
"Alright!"
Jock was also an old Demon Hunter and made his decision at that moment. "But I'd like to bring a few other people! They're all elites and won't be a burden."
"No problem!"
Fang Yuan readily agreed. The Demon Hunters standing beside them had a 180-degree change in their facial expressions. "You're escaping?"
"Of course we have to escape. The whole city has turned into hell now… Of course, once the breakout fails, we'll be surrounded by an ocean of monsters!"
Fang Yuan shrugged. "Hence, all of you can decide whether to follow us or remain in this land and wait for the Demon Hunter Headquarters to come and rescue you…"
Just by looking at the ocean of zombies outside, not every Demon Hunter would be brave enough to deal with them.
Hence, most of the Demon Hunters still decided to stay.
After all, they had faith in the strength of the Demon Hunter Headquarters, and they even believed that they wouldn't abandon this place.
Furthermore, the Demon Hunter branch was a large, stable structure that had enough protection, food, and water. Even staying there for half a year wouldn't be a problem.
After a while, Fang Yuan brought Jock and his family, as well as a few other Demon Hunters to the branch's main door.
Aside from Jock's partners, there was also a female Demon Hunter, Lusha, that seemed unable to get along with Aunt Sophia. This had slightly drawn Fang Yuan's attention.
"Wear them properly!"
He casually threw out a few talismans. "Maintain a composed spirit, don't be affected by the chaos!"
"Mind talisman?"
Jock's eyes lit up. "You rascal, you have a lot of good stuff with you…"
"These were taken from Soma's place…"
Wanting to move on, Fang Yuan wouldn't forget about the stingy ghost. However, he received news that the other party had sneaked off with Locke after they found out something was wrong when the chaos started.
As a Pharmacist and an Alchemist, they would naturally be clearer about the effects of this large array.
Aw! Aw!
Keke!
Without the protection of the branch building, the walking corpses instantly drew closer as they felt the presence of living humans at that moment.
"Hulk… it's all on you." Uncle Jock's hand was cold and clammy. It was a gamble bringing his whole family and following Fang Yuan to move.
"Don't worry!"
Fang Yuan concentrated his mental power and immediately formed a seal to control his soul.
Bang!
Just like mowing grass, the nearby zombies fell to the ground and became unconscious.
The scene was very shocking, it was as if they had chosen to acknowledge allegiance to Fang Yuan.
"Domin… domineering aura?!" Jock muttered.
Witnessing this scene, he seemed to have thought of something. "In the rumors, the top Titled Demon Hunters can frighten the Night Family Clan around them with just their presence. Hulk's performance right now is…"
"Quickly go!"
At that moment, Fang Yuan was able to open up a path in the ocean of zombies as he led the way.
Seeing this scene unfold, the people in the Demon Hunter branch regretted their decision and shouted something. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan was too lazy to be bothered about it.
He had given them a chance. Since they didn't dare to escape with him and the others previously, they couldn't blame him for not lifting a finger to save them now.
Poof!
After taking two steps, his right hand suddenly grabbed his sword. "Morning Stars Swordsmanship—Old Moon!"
Swoosh!
A ray of sword light sliced downwards, chopping the Vampire, who was hiding in the darkness, into half in a split-second.
"Jock…"
Lusha's cold expression changed immediately. "Your nephew probably has the potential to become a Titled Demon Hunter…"
"Of course!"
Jock patted his chest and laughed out loud, his face was filled with a proud expression.
"That's not right, are there others?"
Fang Yuan then shifted his ears and charged towards a group of zombies.
The strong magic energy formed a terrifying suppressive force that caused the zombies he walked past to fall, automatically creating a pathway.
"That is… Alchemist Locke?"
Amidst the circle of zombies, there were unexpectedly a few Demon Hunters. Locke was included among them.
At the moment, the Alchemist that was previously cold and arrogant had become battered and exhausted as he was surrounded by over ten Werewolves.
"Werewolf Kill!"
Fang Yuan charged forward with his Starry Night sword in hand and emitted a terrifying light.
Poof! Poof!
Fresh blood splattered around as Werewolf heads flew.
"Master Locke, why are you here? Where's Master Soma?" Fang Yuan asked curiously. Fresh blood streamed down his sword, but Fang Yuan looked at Locke and the Demon Hunters around as he asked.
"He's made a move first; as for me… I'm still thinking of finding the core of this array, hence, I decided to stay here…"
Locke laughed bitterly. "This is a large-scale alchemy array. It covers the entire Hurin area. I want to find its weak spot to prevent this tragedy from happening again."
After a short pause, he looked at Fang Yuan with a serious expression. "You saved me, I owe you one!"
"Okay!"
Looking at how he had loosened up, Fang Yuan was also quite happy.
After all, there was finally hope for developing his alchemy.
Becoming an Alchemist meant that there would be an unending source of Demon Weapons. In addition to that, he still had a piece of Ternetheo's skin.
Although Locke's level might not be able to handle the level of such a treasure, he wasn't prepared to hand it over for him to handle anyway.
A truly suitable Demon Weapon had to be created by the Demon Hunter himself.
"As for damaging the array, please forgive me for not being able to do so even though I'm willing to help."
Fang Yuan nodded his head in a polite way and prepared to leave.
At that moment, Locke looked at the injured guards beside him and said with an embarrassed expression, "Wait… I'll leave with you. Look…"
…
It was nightfall.
Red Firefly Town.
This place was a day's journey from Hurin area. Fang Yuan and the others traveled non-stop to this place after meeting up with Almon, Peter, and Fenrir. They only had short rests on the way.
The silver-grey moonlight shone, the whole town was silent.
Although this place wasn't affected by what happened in the Hurin area, information on the "great pestilence" surfaced and had been spread vast and wide long ago.
The residents that could afford to had chosen to bring along their families and all of their belongings to leave this place. As for the small town, there weren't many people left there, hence, it was like a ghost town.
"Such a powerful wolf, you're able to subdue a such a demon beast… Hulk, your development is totally beyond my expectations."
Beside the bonfire, Jock and Fang Yuan were sitting shoulder to shoulder, watching the Night Demon Wolf that was tearing and biting into fresh meat. His tone was filled with admiration.
He knew that all Demon Hunters had secrets and, hence, didn't ask about the demon wolf's history. Instead, he looked at Mary and Almon, who were both preparing everyone's dinner with smiling expressions.
They were chatting amongst themselves, laughing quietly, as if they were long-lost friends. They didn't look like they were scheming against each other at all.
"There's news from the headquarters…"
At this moment, Locke, who was meddling with an old radio had stood up, his face displayed both pride and anxiety. "The Night Family Clans have waged war with us. It wasn't only our Hurin area branch that was attacked!"
"This is bad news!"
Both Fang Yuan and Jock knitted their brows. "Any good news?"
"Of course!" Locke nodded his head. "The Evil Demon that attacked the headquarters was defeated by the Sacred Spear, Sir Longinus… Furthermore, the Pharmacists and Alchemists in the headquarters have joined forces and decoded the chaotic territory that the Evil Demon established. They were able to heal the affected ordinary citizens and Demon Hunters."
"Sacred Spear… Longinus?"
Fang Yuan nodded his head, he knew that this Sacred Weapon holder was the strongest Demon Hunter.
"The Demon Hunters three Sacred Weapons are the Sacred Cup, Sacred Spear, and the most mysterious Sacred Coffin. Sacred Cup can increase the strength of a Demon Hunter, and Sacred Spear represents the strongest offensive power. But what is the purpose of the Sacred Coffin?"
Fang Yuan's interest in these three Demon Hunter Sacred Weapons rose in his heart.
"Although we achieved brilliant success under the lead of Sir Longinus, the other branches have suffered major losses… Hence, the headquarters have issued a request to concede March—Demon Hunters in the north Lowton line of defense should retreat and return, electing to abandon all the branches in the northern area. At the same time, they've promised to enhance efforts in nurturing young Demon Hunters. All Demon Hunters that are younger than 30 years old and above C-grade, can head towards the Sacred mountain headquarters for cultivation!" Locke said a large amount of information in one breath.
"What? Abandon them?"
Jock's mouth was agape.
March and Lowton were both major cities on the Alcala Mainland. They were at both ends of the mainland respectively. If they were connected with a line, they would almost split the mainland in half.
At this moment, the Demon Hunter Headquarters had firmly decided to abandon almost half of its territory and branches; including the Hurin area.
"This is only a strategic shift, we will, one day, make a comeback! Moreover… the headquarters has already compensated us," Locke explained despite having a look on his face.
No matter who it was, knowing that he or she was part of the group that had been left behind, one would have bad emotions.
"However, this opportunity to cultivate cannot be missed!"
Jock looked towards Fang Yuan. "Normal A-grade Demon Hunters will soon hit the bottleneck. Only by relying on the Sacred Water from the real Sacred Cup will one break through the bottleneck quickly!"
If it was peaceful, it was alright if one's ability improved slowly. However, the situation was between life and death now.
"Understood!"
Fang Yuan shrugged. Although they thought that he was already an A-grade Demon Hunter, he knew that his physical fitness was still far from that level. He had completely relied on his higher state and combat experiences to forcefully climb up the grades.
For now, the Sacred Cup imitation was enough for him.
However, he couldn't say this out loud.
He looked at Locke. "Master, I'd like to have your advice for some alchemy problems I'm experiencing."
"Alright…"
Locke was very surprised as he didn't expect that at this point in time, this young Demon Hunter still hasn't given up on alchemy.