The core ability of a Ghost Master is to brand and control specters.
However, they also possess the power to harm and suppress specters.
At this moment,
An Jianyou's eyes glowed with a faint blue light, and an invisible force swept across the entire area.
The human awakened ones, unaware of what was happening, felt nothing. The specters, however, seemed to have encountered their natural predator. The weaker ones were annihilated on the spot, while the slightly stronger ones stumbled and fell.
The strongest could resist the specters' suppression, but the entire specter tide had been thrown into disarray, in chaos.
"The tide has been halted," An Jianyou said.
Luosha and Director Huang snapped out of their shock and ordered, "Attack and annihilate this specter tide!"
Captain Luosha gripped his blood-red spear, wisps of black mist erupting from his body. A pair of red and black wings unfurled, and he streaked across the low altitude, leaving behind trails of afterimages.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
He weaved back and forth, and no specter survived under his spear's might.
Director Huang, Huang Hongtian, displayed intricate patterns on his body and unleashed powerful punches, resembling a fierce ghost, equally formidable.
Xing Jinglei also charged forward.
With numerous awakened ones in the squad and the specter tide already in disarray, it didn't take long to quell this wave.
Only then did the scene from moments ago resurface in everyone's minds.
The specter tide had surged, only to abruptly halt before that girl, falling like wheat being cut.
One person had halted a tide!
So powerful!
The specter hunters racked their brains, but this was the only description they could come up with.
They also understood why Captain Luosha and Director Huang attached such importance to this delicate-looking girl. She might appear frail, but her invisible suppression was incredibly potent! Magnificent!
"Captain Xing, th-that girl is not to be underestimated."
"Big Shot Xing has met his match."
The hunters from Yunling Province remarked.
Xing Jinglei scoffed.
You guys know nothing. An Jianyou is from the Xin Huo, and so am I. It just goes to show, there are truly no weaklings in Xin Huo.
Even a seemingly frail girl possesses terrifying killing moves.
'However, with just this move, I am still stronger.'
'While my kill radius might not be as large, my destructive power and combat strength are definitely superior to hers.'
He had this confidence.
Although, being stronger than a frail girl wasn't something to be particularly proud of.
But as fellow official members of Xin Huo…
Thinking of this, the corners of his lips couldn't help but curve upwards.
Just then,
Boom—!
A colossal monster, three to four stories tall, with a bloated body and hook-like arms, plummeted down. It crushed several specters with its rear and then began swinging its twin hooks, slaughtering its way into the distant specter horde.
"What is that thing!"
"A Super-Large Specter, it's a Super-Large Specter! Dangerous!"
"Wait, are the specters fighting amongst themselves?"
"No, look…"
At the forefront of the squad, An Jianyou held a ghost soul banner.
She didn't necessarily have to be at the front, but the sanity-influencing effects of a Three-Star Specter were indiscriminate. Even though everyone present were awakened ones, she had to stay further ahead, to keep a greater distance before casting out "Big Black."
At this moment,
She was leading a single assault spearhead, controlling the distant Big Black Number Three, the 'Stitched Monster,' like an unkillable bulldozer, mowing down specters with a thunderous roar.
Her efficiency far surpassed that of the two spearheads led by Luosha and Director Huang. The entire awakened squad of over twenty people couldn't compare.
This was because her Big Black wasn't afraid of injury and wouldn't get exhausted.
Her sustained output was arguably the best in Xin Huo.
Xing Jinglei also stared in astonishment. "A Three-Star Specter, so her true trump card is a Three-Star Specter! A girl who controls a Three-Star Specter!"
"In terms of specter elimination efficiency, I am inferior to her."
Xing Jinglei simulated a battle scenario between them.
An Jianyou had a Three-Star Specter and an invisible shockwave. However, he had killed Three-Star Specters before. While his destructive power might not match, he was indeed stronger, and with his own agility, it would be easy to bypass that large and bloated entity.
Moreover, Miss An herself was too fragile.
My monster-killing efficiency might be inferior, but in a one-on-one fight, my strength is definitely above hers.
Well, of course, Miss An Jianyou is still very strong, truly an official member of Xin Huo. It's just that her weaknesses and strengths are quite obvious.
…
The pressure at the forefront of the squad grew. Specters surged out of the dense forest like mad. Especially as the sky gradually darkened, the environment became even more unfavorable.
Xing Jinglei couldn't continuously charge into the specter tide. His life energy was limited, so he could only focus on the larger ones.
He would occasionally glance towards An Jianyou, having to admit that her efficiency in controlling specters to kill monsters was too high. How many contribution points would she earn today!
Fortunately, I am not weak either. In terms of combat strength, I am still above her.
Just then,
Boom—!
Another wisp of dense black mist drifted out, transforming into a colossal shadow in mid-air before crashing down.
It was a charging skeletal knight!
A Super-Large Specter!
"Holy cow, another one?!"
"Controlling two Three-Star Specters!"
"Two… if there were two, I'd have a chance! Sixty-forty, I've got sixty!"
But it would be absolutely stressful.
Xing Jinglei himself had never faced two Three-Star Specters simultaneously. If such a situation arose, it would inevitably be a life-or-death struggle.
In a one-on-one, he only had a slight advantage.
For group monster-killing, he was outmatched by more than ten streets.
Evaluating comprehensively, Xing Jinglei had to admit that An Jianyou was stronger than him.
Are all the official members who emerge from Xin Huo so terrifying?
But he would catch up and surpass her. He still had a lot of potential and great room for improvement.
Just then,
Boom—!
Another plume of dense black smoke emerged, revealing an equally massive specter hovering slightly in mid-air.
It was somewhat obscure, but Xing Jinglei, who had studied the 'Specter Compendium,' recognized it at a glance.
The Three-Harmonious Specter Lantern!
A rare Three-Star long-range specter!
Another Three-Star!
And there was one tank, one cavalry, and one ranged.
He simulated it once more, and bitterly found that he might not even have a one-in-ten chance left.
…
"Controlling three Three-Star Specters, is this Miss An a third-tier awakened one?!"
"It seems the department's rating for An Jianyou will need to be raised by at least two tiers!" Director Huang exclaimed.
Luosha also had to admit, "I am not her equal."
"But thankfully, we have Miss An here. Her efficiency alone is equivalent to half our awakened ones, and this is even with us using Thunder Talismans and Fire Beads."
"Indeed," Director Huang smashed a specter with a punch and continued, "It's just that the specters in this area are also quite bizarre, too frantic, assaulting us in waves. We can't clear them out step by step. If not for An Jianyou's three Super-Large Specters holding the front line, the casualties by now would be unimaginable."
Even as it was, they had already slain seven Super-Large Specters.
This was thanks to An Jianyou's "Big Blacks" holding their ground, allowing Luosha, Director Huang, Xing Jinglei, and other capable awakened ones like Hong Yan and Chui Shan to coordinate and encircle and kill one, while others were held back to allow for the focused elimination of one.
This specter tide was indeed a bit unusual, but specters were ultimately instinct-driven monsters. Those seven Super-Large Specters didn't appear simultaneously.
As night deepened, the awakened ones began to show signs of fatigue.
However, time was pressing, and the assault could not stop.
They were still far from the core area and had not found the central location of the Gate of Hell.
"Since Miss An is so formidable, what about the strong individual codenamed 'Black Blade'?" Luosha asked. "Didn't they say Black Blade was already on his way?"
They had said so in the afternoon, and now it was evening. It couldn't possibly still not have arrived.
Director Huang shook his head, stating he didn't know. "I've already ordered the investigation bureaus in various locations to stand by. There are still helicopters prepared at Baimu Town, but there's been no contact so far."
"It's not like they were delayed on the road."
"Wait a moment, look there… why are the specters drilling inwards?"
Spotlights illuminated the distance.
The specters there weren't surging outwards but inwards, forming layers of rings, as if encircling something.
Suddenly,
Whoosh—
A dazzling crimson light sliced through the night sky, and the bodies of specters taking flight were severed in mid-air.
They saw him!
A figure was unleashing crimson blade energy, dancing amidst the specter tide. Under the exaggerated, massive blade light, the earth cracked, and the trees shattered, as if a storm had passed. On the devastated land, the mangled corpses of large specters, even Super-Large Specters, were everywhere!
From the figure's feet, the carnage extended inwards, piling up like mountains! Corpses littered the ground!
He fought his way until the specter tide gradually thinned, then he emerged slowly from the corpses, dragging his blade.
Accompanied by an unyielding killing intent.
The howling wind stopped, and the sounds in their ears rapidly faded.
The awakened ones felt as if they had fallen into an abyss, their throats constricted. Their pupils contracted, and in their eyes, there was only the figure emerging from the corpses.
That man who had fought his way out from within, from the pile of specters.