Even before making a move, the covert combat team from Sector 51 had already marked the black-robed cultist as their prize.
They were certain that the black-robed cultist held a great secret.
Seeing the Awakened from the Huang Nation appear further solidified their suspicions.
"It's indeed the Awakened from the Huang Nation!"
"And it's from a mysterious department of the Huang Nation; only official departments in the Huang Nation possess such power."
The gunfire earlier had not only come from the Awakened wielding dual pistols but also from two shots fired from a distance.
Those were snipers from the Huang Nation!
The covert team's sniper, being a professional, immediately deduced this, his gaze rapidly sweeping across their surroundings, trying to pinpoint the Huang Nation snipers' positions.
More Awakened from the covert team focused on the center of the battlefield.
Blood flowers bloomed from the cultists, and two of them had their heads completely obliterated. However, the black-robed cultist remained unharmed. The bullets merely passed through his black robe, tearing holes in it. The black-robed cultist lunged forward like the wind.
His speed was terrifying; many Awakened in the covert team couldn't keep up, their vision filled with afterimages.
So strong!
Stronger than their evaluations.
Although they were still confident they could capture the black-robed cultist alive, their covert team might suffer casualties.
"This must be an Awakened of the third tier!"
"Indeed, the cultists have mastered the secret of awakening!"
"We must capture him alive. This cultist is incredibly valuable! Even if we can't capture him alive, we must bring back his corpse!"
"An Awakened of the third tier is truly terrifying. Without relying on modern weapons, no one in our team could match him."
"It's not bad for the Huang Nation investigators to test him first."
"As an old saying in the Huang Nation goes, 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' We are that oriole."
Thoughts raced through the minds of the covert team members as they stared intently at the black, wind-like figure.
Bang!
A few gunshots!
The Huang Nation's dual-pistol Awakened had managed to track the black-robed cultist's movements, and with a few shots, sealed off all avenues of escape.
A sharpshooter!
But the black-robed cultist was even more terrifying, pinching a smoking bullet between his index finger and thumb.
He caught the bullet with his bare hands!
And it was a specially made, large-caliber bullet!
His fingernails instantly elongated like swords and stabbed out, leaving the dual-pistol Awakened with no room to dodge.
At this moment,
Rumble—
The ground suddenly exploded, rings of energy spreading outwards, collapsing and sinking.
The black-robed cultist, caught off guard, fell into the crater, an unseen force pulling him downwards.
The fractured earth transformed into hands of mud, gripping the black-robed cultist's feet.
At this crucial moment,
Bang! Bang!
Two sniper rounds pierced the black-robed cultist's hands. The dual-pistol Awakened continued to fire relentlessly, bang bang bang, drawing bursts of blood.
Then came frost, and threads.
Various awakened abilities were unleashed upon the black-robed cultist. In a mere moment, this powerful black-robed cultist was captured without any ability to resist.
The entire process took only a few seconds!
From being astonished by the black-robed cultist's strength to seeing him subdued and bound like a dead dog, the changes were too rapid. The covert team members from Sector 51 were stunned into silence.
"He... he was captured alive just like that?"
"This black-robed cultist was clearly very strong, his speed was terrifying!"
They all felt regret.
Regret that the black-robed cultist was too weak, and some saw the underlying strategy.
"The Huang Nation investigators seemed to know a lot about the black-robed cultist. The dual-pistol Awakened was merely bait, and they had anticipated the black-robed cultist's speed and combat style. The entire engagement was swift and decisive; their preparations were too thorough!"
This was the key reason why the Huang Nation investigators could swiftly capture a powerful black-robed cultist alive.
The Huang Nation likely held more secrets about cultists and the Red Moon than they did.
This was something their Eagle Federation could not tolerate.
They were the ones leading the world!
"Captain, what do we do now?"
In their field of vision, several figures in tactical combat suits appeared, seemingly checking the cultist's vital signs.
A covert team member asked over the comms.
The captain pondered for a moment, then said, "Intercept them!"
"We cannot let the Huang Nation take the black-robed cultist!"
"He belongs, he absolutely must belong, to Sector 51!"
"We've been waiting for your command, Captain."
The covert team's sniper licked his lips, a cruel smile forming.
He slowly moved his crosshairs.
His awakened ability, 'Silent Strike,' was stealthily activated. The next moment, the crosshairs snapped onto a Huang Nation Awakened in the distance, and he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A sharp bullet shot out, piercing through layers of space. The covert team sniper seemed to see the scene of a head exploding like a watermelon.
The cruel smile on his lips widened. The Huang Nation Awakened in his scope seemed to sense the danger and lunged to the side, but he was too slow compared to the speed of the sniper bullet.
This was the charm of sniping.
No matter how powerful an Awakened was, they would fall to his sniper shot, a single blow... to their death!
Clang—
Metal sparks flew, and a figure in red and black appeared. A blood-red spear thrust upwards, its tip intercepting the incoming bullet!
How was this possible!
This was even more shocking than seeing the black-robed cultist catch a bullet with his bare hands. This was a sniper bullet! And a custom one, designed specifically for Awakened!
However, the sniper had no time to be astonished.
His first shot failed. Before the Huang Nation sniper could locate him, the red and black figure in the scope turned its head. A pair of icy eyes met his.
Those eyes were like those of a demon, sending a chill down the sniper's spine.
The figure in his vision unfurled red and black wings and, in the blink of an eye, closed the distance to a hundred meters, leaving trails of afterimages.
This scene was also observed by the covert team captain hidden in the shadows.
"So strong!"
"Speed even more terrifying than the black-robed cultist!"
"He's also a third-tier Awakened? The Huang Nation has a third-tier Awakened?!"
He was greatly surprised.
Sector 51 did not have one. The covert team captain was certain of this, as he himself was among the strongest in Sector 51 and knew that someone in their sector had attempted a third-tier awakening and died in failure!
What incredible luck did this Huang Nation possess to have produced a third-tier Awakened!
"Retreat, all members withdraw individually, rendezvous at the safe house!"
As for the sniper?
No hope, let him die.
The covert team captain immediately retreated downstairs, disguising himself as an ordinary passerby in the city.
However, as soon as he stepped out, he was locked onto by a powerful aura.
A man in combat attire with an unusually thick right arm blocked his path.
"Special Operations Unit, Red Rock. Please advise."
Damn it!
A ferocious intent surged within the covert team captain. He was also a top-tier Awakened in the world, and he had his pride.
How dare a mere Huang Nation special operations member block him?!
He wore specially made knuckle dusters as his awakened weapon, his fist covered in lightning, and he punched out like a cannonball, stirring up a howling wind.
The man opposite him also threw a punch.
Their fists collided. Hot magma flowed, and raging lightning crackled. The clash of the two energies caused a thunderous explosion.
The ground cracked, and an entire wall shattered, sending debris flying. A ferocious wind swept across their faces.
The covert team captain fought on, increasingly astonished that he couldn't shake off the Awakened before him.
Even more so,
Boom—
He was sent flying backward, his combat suit tattered by the dispersed magma and lightning. The Huang Nation Awakened opposite him, however, quickly got back up, just like him.
But compared to his now-shredded combat suit, the black team uniform of the other was only slightly scorched, largely intact!
How could this be!
Their Eagle Federation was clearly the most powerful nation, and their Sector 51 possessed the most advanced technology. Yet, in terms of combat suits, his... was inferior to the Huang Nation's!
In his astonishment, the covert team captain saw three more Huang Nation Awakened surround him.
All of them were powerful, even if not as strong as the Awakened codenamed Red Rock before him, they were not far off!
All were second-tier Awakened!
High-level Awakened! The elites in the mysterious departments of various nations!
But the Huang Nation...
Why did they have so many! This was unscientific!
With unwillingness, astonishment, and confusion, the covert team captain spat out blood and was sent flying backward, before losing consciousness.
...
"Boss, they've all been captured. A total of seven people. They look like the Eagle Federation's covert team, and one of their top covert teams at that."
Captain Hong Yan reported.
Luo Sha glanced at them and then shifted his gaze. He was more concerned about the cultist matter. "Do we have specific information about the ritual?"
Their group had many experts, and they had also brought along various special ability users.
There were those skilled in hypnosis, interrogation experts, and even those with mental probing abilities.
However,
"We haven't obtained any valuable information from the ordinary cultists. They were all lying low before the ritual began and the Red Moon appeared. Only then did they take to the streets to chant that name... Currently, we can only speculate that their actions are related to the ritual."
"And the black-robed cultist, we are completely unable to probe deeply."
"Have you contacted the members of the Ember here?"
"We have. He said they... they are already here!"
An ordinary-looking man, inconspicuous among the crowd, walked over.
He removed his disguise.
Some recognized him. It was Gou Ping'an, an expert from Ember who had served as a liaison in a secret location before!
But now was not the time for catching up.
Director Huang immediately asked, "How do we break this ritual?"
Gou Ping'an replied, "According to our investigation, there are a total of seven energy nodes within the entire ritual site. As long as we can sever all these energy nodes, we can interrupt or even destroy the entire ritual, causing a backlash against the person presiding over it!"
"However, these energy nodes cannot be destroyed by simple large-scale bombardment."
"They must be precisely severed."
"The flow of blood, the flow of the ritual's energy—these are the points where energy converges!"
And these,
Were actually not easy. Fortunately, Gou Ping'an and others had seen the ritual blueprints. Although the blueprints differed in different cities, they could be used as a reference.
He continued, "We have already identified most of the nodes. However, there are a large number of cultists and malevolent spirits in the city at the moment, waiting for you brothers."
Gou Ping'an's intelligence team was in action.
At the same time,
In two small towns in the White Bear Nation and Europe, at the end of the cultist processions, there were also Ember intelligence personnel mixed in.
They looked up, a grey light flashing in their eyes, and saw, under the Red Moon, wisps of grey-red mist silently flowing.