175: Chapter 175 Fearless Army

"Branch President, the number of survivors in the Hunters faction is dropping rapidly." An operator responsible for real-time data monitoring blurted out, his face full of shock.

Just a while ago, the Branch President had been secretly relieved that the casualty count was still within a controllable range, but upon hearing this, his expression shifted once again.

He hurriedly turned his gaze toward the large data screen, only to realize with a start that the number of people who had joined the Fugitives faction was far greater than anticipated.

And the number of people representing the Hunters faction consisted almost entirely of those they had deployed into City C from the outside.

Even worse, the number of survivors in the Hunters faction was plummeting at an alarming rate of dozens per second.

"Quick! Pull up some footage!" As some of the live footage was displayed, the Branch President was momentarily stunned: "This… what on earth is going on?"

On screen, squads of Fugitives, armed to the teeth and resembling a well-trained elite force, had already laid ambushes at key intersections along every street.

Those Hunters who landed in open areas were riddled with bullets while still in the air, before their feet even touched the ground, thanks to the dense firepower.

Those lucky enough to land safely on the ground only lived a few seconds longer than the others, before being reduced to a bloody mess by countless rounds of ammunition the moment they rounded a corner.

"This isn't what we agreed upon! Why is there an army here?" a Hunter screamed in terror.

"Don't panic, their techniques are still raw; it's not an army," another fierce-looking Hunter said, feigning composure.

The few of them were all battle-hardened mercenaries who had spent years crawling through hail and bullets, accumulating a wealth of practical combat experience.

Coupled with their good luck this time in finding an excellent tactical location, it was easy for them to engage in flanking maneuvers.

"Same old plan. You guys cover me, and I'll find a chance to hit them hard!"

"Let these bastards know the power of our Wild Wolf squad."

The others were decisive upon hearing this, immediately providing covering fire for each other as they sprinted toward another piece of cover.

Taking advantage of the Fugitives squad's attention being successfully diverted, he shouldered his rocket launcher, suddenly poked his head out, and quickly aimed at the center of their formation.

Flames erupted from the muzzle of the rocket launcher, and a rocket projectile, like an arrow released from a bow, shot rapidly toward the Fugitives squad. A direct hit would certainly cause massive casualties.

The next instant, a Fugitive wearing exoskeleton power armor charged at full speed toward the warhead. His eyes were firm, without a shred of hesitation.

"For our Lord!" He threw himself with all his might toward the warhead, arms wide open, preparing to pin the whistling projectile beneath his body.

"Boom!" A deafening, massive explosion rang out. Even though he was wearing exoskeleton armor, under the shock of such a close-range blast, his entire body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.

However, he had absorbed most of the explosion's force, leaving the others with only minor injuries.

"Damn it, are these people crazy?" The Hunters stared with wide eyes, their faces full of disbelief.

Even back in their days as mercenaries, they had never seen any army with the discipline to achieve such a feat. Even with the slightest instinct for self-preservation, it would be impossible to react so quickly and block the explosion in time.

Soon, this Fugitives squad reacted swiftly and annihilated them all in the alleyway.

"Captain, he's dead." A team member checked the injuries of the man who had been blown away earlier and confirmed.

"Understood. Check the equipment for damage; if it's still usable, take it with you."

"Transfer all the points just obtained to me; I will allocate them centrally." The man called Captain said, his expression indifferent as he gave the orders without emotion.

It wasn't just him; the others in this Fugitives squad were equally expressionless. Logically speaking, most of these people were ordinary office workers who had never experienced anything bloody. Yet, the death of a companion caused no ripple in them.

They followed orders, looted the equipment from those men, and then headed to the next location. And this strange situation was occurring in every Fugitives squad.

Although Lv Ling had provided them with systematic training, it was impossible to make a rabble comparable to a real army in just two days. In terms of combat experience, these people were far inferior to these airdropped thugs.

However, relying on this strange, fearless calmness and equipment that was generally superior to that of the Hunters, they had, for the moment, completely reversed the literal meanings of "Fugitives" and "Hunters."

The Fugitives faction was sweeping through every corner of City C, carrying out a one-sided slaughter of the Hunters.

If someone with special means were here, they might notice... a stream of black smoke, resembling a thin thread, constantly rising from the tops of these Fugitives' heads.

These plumes of black smoke drifted high into the air, converging in the same direction. The final convergence point was none other than the hotel where Chen Moxuan and his group had previously been. This place had become the command center for their operation.

Lv Ling closed his eyes and sat steadily in his chair. His right hand had partially demonized, covered in a layer of demonic armor. A mass of flickering, pitch-black flames hovered in his palm, absorbing the black smoke gathering from all directions.

"Panic, timidity, fear… these negative emotions are the nourishment demons crave."

"And by stripping away these negative emotions, you get a fearless army." Lv Ling murmured.

What Lv Ling was utilizing now was a unique demonic method. Unlike specific Authorities, this was a skill that anyone possessing demonic power could master through learning. By planting a mark in others beforehand, one could continuously extract their negative emotions within a large range.

And intermingled with these negative emotions being transmitted were their real-time memories. Through this, Lv Ling could understand the situation of the entire battlefield from here.

However, absorbing these negative emotions would inevitably result in being influenced by them. Only if one's Soul was strong enough and their willpower firm enough could they avoid losing themselves amidst this massive influx of negative emotions.

"It's about time." With one minute left until full integration with the national broadcast, and the points consolidated by the various squads sufficient to summon heroes one by one according to the pre-drafted list, Lv Ling slowly opened his eyes and began to contact Mayor Ma.

"Mayor Ma, are there any problems on your end for now?" In order to defect, Mayor Ma had disclosed all information when he first made contact with Lv Ling, including the hidden mission he had received.

After analyzing the content of the mission, Lv Ling had already guessed what the Hero Association was actually trying to do. Thus, he went with the flow, using this as a part of his plan's initiation.

Mayor Ma was standing right below the building where Chen Moxuan was located. He held the phone, his face showing some worry: "No problem, the final mission requirements are very simple, but…"

"Do we really have to summon Wan Chaoren here?"