Chapter 468: Cut the Grass and Dig Out the Roots! Return!

Back at Civilization Ruin No. 9, Mark of the William family had taken the initiative to attack Xu Jingming.

As for this family, he naturally had no goodwill toward them.

Only what surprised him somewhat was that they had people not only at Civilization Ruin No. 9—

but also at Civilization Ruin No. 3, which from another angle showed the William family's deep foundations.

Civilization ruins all over the world—they had a hand in all of them.

"Don't kill me! Please!"

"Money! I can give you lots of money! Here's my bank card! Just please don't kill me!"

"You dare offend the William family? You're dead!"

"......"

Seeing the representative killed, Xu Jingming showed no intention of letting the rest go.

The remaining seven or eight white young ability-users all grew highly agitated.

Some knelt and begged for mercy; some tried to bargain with money or their bodies.

Others threw caution to the wind, activated their abilities, and threatened him outright.

Xu Jingming, however, was utterly unmoved, merely raising a finger.

"Thunderball Art."

Boom!

A dazzling golden thunderball, roughly a meter or more in diameter, suddenly condensed in midair where Xu Jingming's finger pointed!

"Go!" With a wave of his finger, the thunderball, wrapped in tremendous energy, blasted toward the group.

It landed right at the center, then exploded with a roar!

Crackle-crackle—

Wild lightning ran rampant; the Thunderball Art under the Thunder Pole state was terrifyingly powerful!

Although these people had more or less some life-preserving trump cards on them—even a seventh-grade protective talisman—

against this single Thunderball Art, every defensive measure was utterly useless.

After the lightning's rampage, all that remained was a patch of ash on the ground, and several spatial rings scorched black by the thunderbolts......

"S-Class, you really are ruthless enough."

Yiwa, who was possessing the Chi Mang Liu Jin guard beside him, clicked her tongue in wonder, then broke into a simple, honest smile:

"But I like it."

"The main control room of the Hope is extremely critical; there are even Supreme powerhouses watching it.

Once the news that I can enter spreads, it'll bring endless trouble.

So, better to kill them all—cut the grass and dig out the roots......"

The brilliant golden light lingering in his eyes gradually faded as Xu Jingming withdrew from the Thunder Pole state and said calmly.

Even this kind of trouble—the Great Xia higher-ups might not necessarily be able to protect him from it.

Of course,

by "unable to protect" here, he didn't mean life-threatening danger, but rather that the Great Xia higher-ups themselves might also want this secret......

"Yiwa, come out. We're getting ready to leave."

"Eh? What about these spatial rings?"

"Those are William family items; there might be some kind of trap buried inside. Better not take them."

"Alright then. Looks like S-Class, you're still just as cautious as before."

"......"

Yiwa returned to the smart bracelet, and Xu Jingming likewise recalled the Chi Mang Liu Jin guard, heading straight outside.

All that remained was a stretch of black ash on the ground, and a faint smell of blood lingering in the air.

Telling of the fierce battle that had just taken place here......

After leaving Civilization Ruin No. 3, Xu Jingming cut his way forward, rapidly charging in the direction of return.

Although the probability of encountering high-rank fierce beasts along this stretch was extremely small,

to be safe—and to kill more fierce beasts and gain more ability points—he did not deploy the Thunder Dragon Wings.

And so, at 6:34 p. m. on September 9, he finally left the Kanda Wilderness Zone.

"Back......"

Gazing at the supply base standing not far away, and the brightly lit city in the distance, Xu Jingming let out a long breath.

"I've been in the wilderness over forty days this time. Lin Hui and the others must be getting anxious waiting.

Next, it's time to settle the score with the Black Lion Guild."

Taking out his phone, he first sent Xia Lan a message that he was back.

Immediately after, the resplendent Thunder Dragon Wings in energy form unfurled behind him.

Amid the envious gazes of the surrounding ability-users, a single beat of the wings sent him shooting skyward, swiftly vanishing into the horizon.

At the same time, at the Pugu Hotel, first-floor lounge.

Xia Lan, Lin Hui, Du Wan, and Li Xiang—the four of them—had gathered here.

After using spiritual force to form an isolation barrier around the area, they began their once-daily intelligence exchange.

"The target I was surveilling today showed nothing unusual—in fact, he even brazenly showed up at Black Lion Guild headquarters.

What about you all? How's the surveillance on each target going? Any anomalies?"

Lin Hui spoke first.

"No anomalies."

Xia Lan replied softly, and Du Wan and Li Xiang shook their heads as well:

"After sensing that we seem to have made no breakthrough progress, they've grown increasingly casual, with no intention of hiding at all."

After obtaining the materials left behind by Xu Jingming, they had looked for opportunities to monitor the people who raided the martial hall branch.

At first, these people were hidden extremely well, making it very hard for them to find any trace.

But now, over a month later, feeling the heat had passed, they had begun to reappear within the Chaotic Triangle Region.

"We haven't made a move in over a month, so naturally they won't fear us."

Lin Hui said with a touch of bitterness, "There are fewer and fewer people on the forum supporting us now.

Quite a few posts have even started complaining, saying they regret betting on us to win.

But the captain still hasn't come back, and I can't shake the feeling this mission is about to fall through..."

An S-rank mission was already very difficult to begin with; before coming here, they had actually prepared themselves for failure.

But the bets on the forum had put them on the fire.

Especially since quite a few people had dug up that they had even bet on themselves to win,

if the mission failed, they would absolutely become the laughingstock of the entire training camp.

"Didn't the president of the Spirit Fox Guild come by to talk to us a few days ago? The captain should be back in a few more days."

Xia Lan wasn't too worried about this; what she cared about more was that pretty branch president of the Spirit Fox Guild.

This seventh-rank Grandmaster-level branch president had actually come in person to notify them of this news.

This was enough to show that her relationship with Xu Jingming ran deep.

More crucially, how did she know about Xu Jingming's news? Could the two of them have entered the wilderness area together?

"Although you say that, I'm still a bit worried."

Lin Hui couldn't help but sigh, and Du Wan and Li Xiang likewise showed worried expressions.

On one hand, they worried about being unable to complete this mission.

On the other hand, they worried whether Xu Jingming had run into some danger in the wilderness area.

After all, the Kanda Wilderness Area was simply too vast; if one's luck was bad and they ran into an eighth-rank fierce beast, it would almost certainly mean death.

"This..."

Xia Lan hadn't been worried originally, but seeing the looks of her companions, her willow brows couldn't help but knit slightly.

"The captain is Hall Master Su's disciple, and also Teacher Ling's student back at Magic University.

He must have plenty of trump cards; he probably won't run into any trouble..."

After quietly comforting herself, Xia Lan finally felt a little better.

Just then, her phone suddenly buzzed, and a message appeared on the lock screen.

She picked it up and looked, and her eyes immediately lit up as she said joyfully:

"The captain just messaged me! He says he's already left the wilderness area, and told us to wait for him in the hotel lounge!"