Chapter 110: Clean Sweep

"Liu Liu, not bad—you actually knew to follow Old Zhong here. Good eyesight." Ding Huan's gaze landed on Liu Liu.

Liu Liu had been annoyed by Zhong Chi's glare, but upon seeing Ding Huan, he immediately switched to a fawning expression, chattering away as if trying to win Ding Huan's favor.

Zhong Chi snorted: "Liu Liu, didn't I bring you here? You've been scowling at me all the way, but now you're acting like a groveling grandson to Brother Ding."

Liu Liu ignored him, glancing only at Qi Qi Xinyue beside Ding Huan.

"Old Zhong, I'm going straight to these aliens' stronghold—I'm glad you're here to help." Ding Huan had planned to go tomorrow, but since Old Zhong had arrived, he'd go today.

The sooner we go, the less likely they are to notice.

"Hah! Brother Ding, if you've got any faith in Old Zhong, I'm with you all the way!" Zhong Chi slapped his chest with a loud thump.

But inside, he sneered at Zhu Qinjiang—this old Zhu had told him to follow the Security Bureau.

Ha, follow the Security Bureau? Look where he is now—huddled in the Federation's trenches.

Following Brother Ding is far better—storming straight into the aliens' stronghold. Just thinking about it feels satisfying.

"Good. Old Zhong, you haven't disappointed me. Take this knife—we're leaving now." Ding Huan snatched up his Starry Sky Blade and tossed it to Zhong Chi.

"Brother Ding, I've got my own blade. You, though—you need a proper weapon." Zhong Chi quickly refused.

"I've got a weapon. Don't worry." Ding Huan waved his hand, refusing to take back the blade Zhong Chi offered.

He now had the White Hardwood Spear; the Starry Sky Blade, while sharp, was truly useless to him now.

"Alright, then I won't be polite. When do we leave?" Zhong Chi grabbed the Starry Sky Blade and laughed.

Originally, this Starry Sky Blade had been seized by the Federation; he had no money, and could only watch helplessly as Nian Jinqing bought it.

"Now, of course." Ding Huan sat in the cockpit and activated the Blue Star.

At this moment, Ding Huan felt as if he'd returned to those days, piloting the No. 5 Star through the starry void.

Unlike then, now he had companions; back then, he'd always traveled alone.

The Blue Star spat a streak of blue light and shot skyward.

Ding Huan sighed—compared to the Blue Star, the Security Bureau's single-engine fighter was pathetic.

If the Earth Federation had a whole fleet of these combat ships, they wouldn't even need to fight.

Even though Ding Huan had throttled back speed, the Blue Star reached the alien outpost in just half an hour.

Had he not slowed down, he'd have already left Earth's atmosphere.

Before him loomed two colossal war-discs—he had no idea what energy source powered them.

Ding Huan swiftly maneuvered the Blue Star to halt between the two war-discs.

Once the Blue Star stopped, Ding Huan finally exhaled. He'd feared the aliens would attack before he could even land.

"Ting Ti, Ji Yuan, what the hell are you doing? Who told you to park the escort warship right between the war-discs?" A shocked, furious voice echoed in the cabin.

"Old Zhong, the left war-disc's door is open—I'm going in. You take the other one. Secure it as fast as possible. Liu Liu and Xinyue stay on the Blue Star."

Before he finished speaking, Ding Huan opened the hatch, snatched up the White Hardwood Spear, and leapt into the air toward the war-disc.

The two guards at the war-disc's entrance never even drew their weapons—Ding Huan cut them down with two wind blades, then stepped inside without a single obstacle.

Ba Lu had just received word that Ting Ti and Ji Yuan had returned when Ding Huan burst in, stunning him.

From the Blue Star's landing to the war-disc's entrance, then killing two guards—it had taken Ding Huan less than ten seconds.

The meeting room held twelve people. Though the Zhan Shen Base had suffered zero casualties so far, Commander Ba Lu was deeply anxious—he feared Earth's forces would keep attacking the base.

The Zhan Shen Base's energy shield blocked endless artillery, but it came at a cost: mountains of Zhan Shen Crystals and energy veins.

Each Zhan Shen Crystal was extremely valuable on Zhan Shen Continent; this kind of consumption—tens of thousands—could anyone afford it?

As for the energy veins, they were the foundation of interstellar power; once depleted, the war-disc became useless.

Even if they conquered Earth, they didn't know whether the gains would cover the Zhan Shen Crystals they'd spent.

Because Zhan Shen Crystals were scarce, this meeting included every commander from the two other war-discs and the one spaceship—except Ting Ti and Ji Yuan.

They were negotiating how to minimize losses.

Previously, one of the strategists, An Qing'er, had suggested a permanent solution: instead of waiting for Earth's forces to keep attacking, they should strike first.

Just like they'd taken West Asia—eliminate all opposing forces, and Earth would be under their control.

Ba Lu strongly agreed with the suggestion and was now finalizing operational details.

Precisely because a major battle loomed, Ba Lu had personally urged Ting Ti and Ji Yuan twice.

Ding Huan's intrusion at this moment was perfectly timed.

Three quick-reacting men had already drawn their Light Killer Crossbows—but Ding Huan moved faster, launching several wind blades.

Three bursts of blood erupted; three headless corpses collapsed to the floor.

After killing those three, Ding Huan hurled more wind blades—four more fell.

The remaining five dared not move—Ding Huan killed too fast.

And they'd noticed: all seven dead men had drawn Light Killer Crossbows.

"Who are you?" Ba Lu didn't dare move his hand—Ding Huan's strength far exceeded his estimation of Earth's warriors.

He asked who Ding Huan was, but inside, he knew perfectly well: Ding Huan was an Earth powerhouse.

"Anyone without value, step forward." Ding Huan slapped Ba Lu's neck. Ba Lu felt all strength drain from his body, collapsing to the floor.

Now, not only could he not attack Ding Huan—he couldn't even move a finger.

No one stepped forward.

Ding Huan pointed at a tall, thin, older man: "You. Step forward."

The man hurried to Ding Huan's side—before a man as ruthless as Ding Huan, there was no room for侥幸.

"What's your value?" Ding Huan asked.

The man quickly replied: "I can command Undead Spiders. Don't believe me? Watch."

As he spoke, he waved his hand—dozens of Undead Spiders appeared as if from nowhere, surrounding Ding Huan.

Ding Huan saw clearly: after shrinking, these undead spiders became black spheres resting in corners; when the man gestured, they transformed into two-meter-tall tentacle monsters.

The others watched nervously, knowing that if the undead spiders locked onto Ding Huan, he was dead.

Dozens of undead spiders moved as if by prearrangement, flowing through the air like liquid, then extending hundreds of long legs to coil toward Ding Huan.

The undead spiders' legs seemed infinitely extendable; though still over ten meters away, they instantly reached Ding Huan's face.

Ding Huan raised his hand and unleashed hundreds of wind blades—but did not sever the legs.

He had learned from Ji Yuan that ordinary methods could not kill these undead spiders; cutting their legs would only bring him suffering.

Because once severed, each leg immediately formed a small spider that lunged at Ding Huan again.

After the battle ended, the small spiders returned to the original spiders' bodies and merged back into one.

Almost as Ding Huan moved, three others drew Light Killer Crossbows.

No one had previously threatened Ding Huan with Light Killer Crossbows—not because they were ineffective, but because they never had the chance to activate them.

"Puh! Puh! Puh!" A barrage of blade flashes slashed out; the dozens of undead spiders wrapping Ding Huan fell from the air like paper lanterns torn apart by his wind blades.

The undead spiders, made of some unknown material, turned into puddles of sludge when they hit the ground.

At the same moment, sensing danger, Ding Huan twisted his body forcibly—but still, a blood groove was carved into his arm by a Light Killer Crossbow bolt.

Once activated, the Light Killer Crossbow's speed was terrifying. Ding Huan had dodged only after sensing the threat; otherwise, he was certain he couldn't have avoided it.

"Crack!" The Light Killer Crossbow's bolt, after carving the blood groove into Ding Huan's arm, struck the conference room door behind him, punching a hole clean through.

Ding Huan stared at the man who fired—he was a short, fat man.

At the same time, the fat man was even more stunned than Ding Huan.

None of the dozens of undead spiders charging Ding Huan survived. Clearly, Ding Huan had uncovered the undead spiders' secret.

The man who summoned the undead spiders had already had his neck severed by Ding Huan; his eyes remained wide open, unable to believe what had just happened.

Of those who had drawn Light Killer Crossbows with him, only he remained standing—his two companions had their necks severed before even activating their crossbows.

"Not bad," Ding Huan suddenly said. "You dodged my blade flash. You've got some skill. What's your name?"

As the fat man opened his mouth to answer, a faint killing intent seemed to envelop him—he scrambled backward in panic.

"Puh!" A blade flash that could have severed his wrist sliced through a chair instead, splitting it cleanly in two.

"Huh? You dodged it again. Good." Ding Huan stopped talking; his white-jian wood transformed into dozens of spear flashes and blasted outward.

More Light Killer Crossbow bolts shot from the fat man's weapon—but by now, he couldn't even determine Ding Huan's position, let alone hit him.

"Crack!" The fat man felt a sharp pain in his wrist; the next moment, he saw his wrist torn clean off by a spear flash.

Two more spear flashes struck his other wrist, shredding it to pieces.

"Aaaah…" The fat man screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground.

Ding Huan walked over and kicked the fat man in the face, sending him tumbling beside Captain Baru.

The fat man's strength was likely no less than that of an ordinary Level Nine Gene Cultivator.

"Friend, please spare me," the fat man pleaded, though both his arms had been severed by Ding Huan's white-jian wood spears.

"Just now I asked that old man what value he had for survival—he summoned undead spiders to show me."

"How careless of you? Now three more are dead, and you've lost both your hands."

Ding Huan spoke with reproach.

The fat man nodded frantically. "Yes, yes—he was blind to dare attack a friend."

"Hmm. Your eyes don't seem too bright either," Ding Huan murmured in agreement.

"Yes, yes—I'm blind too! But now my eyes are clear—I'm very useful to you, friend!" The fat man answered faster than Ji Yuan had.

"I don't see it," Ding Huan said, sitting on a chair, then sweeping his hand—every Zhan Shen Crystal from the slain undead spiders landed in his palm.

After collecting the Zhan Shen Crystals, Ding Huan swept his hand again—ten leather pouches fell into his grasp.

These ten leather pouches had belonged to the ten men Ding Huan had just killed; each contained their most valuable possessions.

"Friend, my name is Zang Yu Dinghui. I'm the controller of another war-dish. I can transfer control of it to you," Zang Yu Dinghui said, his tone fawning, showing not the slightest hint of unease.

Captain Baru, immobilized and powerless, roared, "Zang Yu Dinghui, are you trying to die? How dare you say such a thing? Do you know the consequences of your actions?"

"Baru, if not for you, would we be in this situation now?" Zang Yu Dinghui showed not an ounce of respect toward Captain Baru.

Ding Huan sneered, "Baru, you seem to be actively seeking death right now. Zang Yu Dinghui might still face consequences—but you won't even have that."

(That's all for today's update, friends! Good night! Please support with monthly votes!)