"I'm really craving some sukiyaki..."

Lin Wang exhaled a warm breath into his cupped hands, heating up his ten fingers. The clothing provided by the Martial Soul Hall was indeed insulating, but the gloves were fingerless... This was because full-fingered gloves would reduce the agility of a Samurai's fingers and also make it difficult to operate a smartphone with a full screen. So, they simply distributed half-finger gloves instead and even saved on material.

"Hang in there, we've got another half hour before we can switch shifts. Then we can go have our meal and rest at the camp," said Uncle Sato from beside him, glancing at the two Watchers walking ahead and smirking. "They're not even hungry yet, so stop complaining."

At that moment, one of the Watchers turned around, looked at the setting sun in the distance, and asked in English, "Where have we patrolled to?"

"Let me check." Lin took out his phone to look at the map and said, "We're at Lobster Mountain now. We'll do a loop following the mountain path, then get to Highway No. 54. The Martial Soul Hall has already arranged vehicles on the highway to pick us up and take us back to the camp for a shift change."

The Watcher looked around and asked, "There are no lobsters here, so why is it called Lobster Mountain?"

The other Watcher replied gruffly, "There were no elephants at Zōzō Mountain either; it's just a name. Victor, we are not here on vacation."

"OKOK, Neville, of course, I remember the real reason why I'm here all the way in Flourishing Sakura," Watcher Victor said, spreading his hands. "We are here for justice and peace to defeat the Demon King."

"But speaking of lobsters, it makes me feel like eating some. Once the investigation ends, I must try the lobsters from Flourishing Sakura... I've heard that Ise Lobster is delicious."

Lin's eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing this.

As he stroked his chin, Victor turned to Lin and Sato and asked, "But hey, I'm here for the Demon King's abilities. If I could snatch those abilities, I'd get a promotion and a pay raise instantly. I might even become the number two person in the Watchers, next in rank only to the Angel Captain... no, even Angel Zack might have to step aside for me! What kind of rewards would the Martial Soul Hall give if you guys got the Demon King's abilities?"

Two Watchers plus two Martial Soul Hall Warriors were the patrol team unit dispatched by the Joint Investigation Team to the central part of the Missile Mountain Range.

The Missile Mountain Range was actually quite vast, heralded as Flourishing Sakura's Alps Mountains. It stretched over several prefectures from north to south. The range featured well-known hiking trails and ski centers, northern river systems for hydroelectric development, and even young volcanoes like Mount Norikuradake and Mount Mitake. The terrain was rugged and varied, with mountains stretching continuously. If someone drove there to commit suicide, they would most likely only end up with a missing person's report—if they died too far out, no one would find them.

A thorough search of the Missile Mountain Range would be a monumental task. Not even considering Cultivators from the Martial Soul Hall, throwing in nearly 30,000 police officers from the Flourishing Sakura Metropolitan Police Department would probably barely make a splash before they disappeared without a trace.

And with too many people, chaos ensues. They were there to find the Demon King, not to let him slip away in the confusion.

Therefore, the Metropolitan Police Departments in regions like Toyama Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture were only responsible for thoroughly searching nearby inns and investigating information on strangers; they did not need to enter the mountains to investigate. Regarding the Missile Mountain Range investigation, the Watchers had identified followers of the Demon King responsible for creating the Fish-man Giant Monster, the Source of Disaster. From the followers' residence, they found critical intelligence confirming the Demon King was in the central part of the Missile Mountain Range. Consequently, the Joint Investigation Team then split up to patrol and search the mountains.

The Martial Soul Hall had the most Samurai (urgently summoned from all over Flourishing Sakura). Therefore, patrol teams were generally composed of two Transcendents from different countries, plus two or three Martial Soul Hall Warriors. These teams were led by the Martial Soul Hall Warriors to patrol the various mountain ranges.

Moreover, everyone was equipped with flares. The first thing to do upon encountering the Demon King was to send out a signal—each patrol team consisted of four or five Transcendents, so even if they could not defeat the Demon King, there was always a chance to send a signal.

This also explained why ordinary police were not allowed to conduct the investigation. In complex mountainous terrain, the Demon King held an almost crushing advantage over ordinary people. A single spell could render them incapable of movement, and only Transcendents had a chance to resist the Demon King's suppression.

Lin and Sato were originally just ordinary members of the Martial Soul Hall, with decent talent but no connections. Under normal circumstances, they would most likely have become logistics instructors for the Martial Soul Hall. However, since they had personally witnessed the Ghost Stall of the Fairy Palace Food God and the Crow Tengu, they gained a bit of attention from higher-ups.

Because of this slight attention, over the past few months, they had received more opportunities to earn merits and smoothly advanced to become combat personnel of the Martial Soul Hall—Samurai.

Looking at the two Watchers, Sato flashed a polite, society-appropriate smile. "There is a reward; the Martial Soul Hall doesn't overlook anyone's merits. But we Samurai are here to uphold justice, and we don't place much importance on the amount of the reward."

Victor and Newt represented two typical motivations among the Transcendents sent by other countries to the Joint Investigation Team. Newt, for instance, likely came for justice and revenge; he probably had relatives or friends who died at the hands of the Demon King's followers or were affected by the Source of Disaster. Victor, on the other hand, came for personal gain. He only wished to obtain the Demon King's immense power and use that strength to strive for a higher position.

On the other hand, the Martial Soul Hall Warriors came mostly because of their missions. Like Lin and Sato, they did not even think of seizing the Demon King's powers. They knew their own strength was meager and had no place in a Transcendent's great battle, intending only to earnestly guide the way and preferably not encounter the Demon King, to patrol peacefully until it was time to change shifts.

One could not blame them for thinking this way, mainly because the Transcendents sent by other countries were no pushovers, each being at least of the Third-class Level, either an Onmyoji or a Samurai.

How could Lin and Sato, mere First-class Samurai who knew just a few combat spells, compete for the Demon King's head with them?

Victor muttered, "Flourishing Sakura people are really boring," and continued the patrol.

As night had already fallen, they turned on their tactical flashlights to illuminate the mountain paths, intermittently scanning the bushes up and down the mountains. Victor quieted down for a while, but then his mouth became restless again. "Can we really find the Demon King by searching like this?"

Compared to the morose Newt, Victor, though a bit talkative, was rather easy to get along with, so after some thought, Sato still decided to chat with him.

"If the intelligence is correct, the Demon King was lingering in Shirakawa-go yesterday and is moving northwest. In that case, she will most likely pass through Zōzō Mountain, Lobster Mountain, Akamakigu Mountain, and Mount Oogasa."

Sato, who had studied the map, said, "The patrol route encompasses the entire mountain area; if she really moves this way, she will inevitably be spotted."

"What if she doesn't travel through the mountainous area?" Victor asked.

"The roads, highways, and railways are all under strict scrutiny," Sato said patiently. "Even people walking on the streets, regardless of gender, are subject to identity verification. If she steps out to buy food or drinks, she'll definitely be discovered."

At this point, Lin interjected, "Grand Warrior Sato seems certain that the Demon King will definitely head into the mountains. I just don't know where they're stationed... Speaking of which, all the intelligence on the Demon King comes from you Watchers, right? So how come you're the one asking us?"

"It coming from the Watchers has nothing to do with me," Victor rubbed his stiff neck and said. "God knows why Bright always has such good luck. He stumbles upon key clues and evidence wherever he goes. He came to Flourishing Sakura to wind down and just happened to encounter the Fish-man Giant Monster... He holds all the clues himself and doesn't share them with us."

After thinking for a moment, Victor continued, "But then again, as long as we do what he says, there will definitely be no problems. Several of my colleagues have been promoted and got raises because they worked with Bright, and almost none of them got hurt. Bright always protects them."

Lin, with envy and longing in his voice, said, "Leopold the 'Prince' truly deserves his reputation. If only I could work with him..."

Sato slapped the back of Lin's head hard. Had this kid forgotten he was a Martial Soul Hall Warrior? Such disloyalty?

Touching the back of his head, Lin said, "Ouch, Uncle Sato. Never mind my words of envy; actually... I really am envious. You see, Mr. Leopold is just like the protagonist of an RPG game. Following him means promotions, raises, and safety. Such opportunities are rare. With him leading us to capture the Demon King, we're bound to succeed."

Victor chimed in, "Right, right, Bright is easy to get along with and popular. After this operation, I plan to stick with him."

Lin raised an eyebrow.

Sato exhaled helplessly. "Let's hope so."

Chatting while patrolling, they quickly made their way around Lobster Mountain and followed the trail towards the highway. Victor, with his keen eyesight, could even see a car parked on the road. Stretching out, he said with a smile, "Good, just this last stretch and we can rest!"

Lin's eyebrows twitched furiously.

Lin smacked his lips and said, "Victor, about that..."

"Hmm?" Victor turned his head to look at him. "What's up?"

"I'm actually quite superstitious. During missions, when someone says things like 'after it's over, this and that,' or 'as long as this, then that,' it could lead to..."

"Could lead to what?"

"...Not being able to return safely..."

At that very instant, Newt kicked his legs and lunged towards Victor, shouting, "Victor!"

Victor was quick but had already lost the initiative. He only felt a fierce blow to the back of his head, seeing stars before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.

Newt, nearly two meters tall, charged forward like a rugby player, a deep growl coming from his throat, and yellow-brown armor surfaced on his body. It seemed he intended to directly knock away the attacker!

Yet a shadowy figure flitted past the beam of their flashlights like a startled swan, nimbly avoiding Newt's pounce. Lin and Sato only heard a sound akin to a walnut shell cracking from the back of Newt's head, then Newt fell as well.

Two D-class Transcendents, equivalent to a Third-class Onmyoji, were taken down by the assailant in the blink of an eye!

Sato and Lin immediately retreated rapidly and pulled out the signal guns from their pouches.

But their speed was no match for the shadow's, and even with tactical flashlights, they couldn't see the assailant's face.

Sato had barely taken out his signal gun before he was struck and sent flying by the shadow. Then Lin heard a scream and saw Uncle Sato being flung against a tree, limp and unconscious.

At that moment, Lin finally caught a glimpse of the weapon used by the shadow—a stick!

He scrambled frantically, abandoning his flashlight, struggling to pull out his signal gun. But misfortune struck again; in his hasty escape, he failed to watch his step, tripping over a thick tree root on the ground, and flew forward, face-planting into the dirt.

Damn it!

Lin ignored the pain in his body, his mind overrun with endless panic and resentment. Damn Victor for jinxing them. Now they were all doomed!

Lin rolled over, pausing in shock—there was no one pursuing him from behind.

Could it be... I actually survived?

The long-suffering Newt, the ambitious Victor, and the worldly Uncle Sato had died, leaving only me alive?

Before he could register the surprise of surviving and the guilt of having to fend for himself, he heard the sound of leaves being crushed behind him.

They've actually gotten behind me?

Lin Wang raised his stiff neck just in time to see the weapon that had killed Uncle Sato about to smash into his forehead from above.

Today's waning moon was very bright. The clear moonlight provided enough light for Lin Wang to see in his last moments the exact weapon that had killed the four of them.

Look at that pink shaft, those white feather shapes, and that red, beak-like tip...

An incredulous surprise arose in Lin Wang's heart: Wait, isn't this the famous magical weapon that even children are shocked by—the Sealing Staff of Sakura Kinomoto!?

「...」

「...」

"You were attacked by Sakura Kinomoto as well?"

The Martial Soul Hall Warrior on the intercom hesitated. "As well?"

Perched atop a large boulder on the mountain path was a red-haired girl, roughly 150 centimeters tall. While munching on an apple in her left hand, she held the intercom in her right and said, "You're the third patrol team to tell me you were knocked out by the Sealing Staff."

"Did you head towards the direction of the flare as soon as you saw it?"

On the intercom: "Yes, Grand Warrior Sato. Although we thought the journey was a bit far and we should have stayed put, the Iron Sun Transcendent in our team insisted on going over, so we had no choice but to tag along."

The red-haired girl took another bite of her apple. "And on the way there, you were attacked?"

"Yes, we couldn't see clearly who it was or how many there were. We could only vaguely see that the weapon attacking us was the Sealing Staff. We probably fainted for about ten minutes before waking up, and as soon as the people from Iron Sun woke up, they immediately set off flares..."

"I see."

Switching the intercom channel and waiting for the signal to connect, the red-haired girl asked, "Kadell, where are you?"

"I'm heading towards where the flare was launched," said the European Lone Wolf. "There's been fighting over there for the last two hours; it seems the Demon King wants to have a decisive battle with us there."

The red-haired girl stated, "Maybe it's not the Demon King. The weapons used by the attackers are too weird."

"Which is why I've waited for three hours. Bright guessed wrong," said Kadell before hanging up. The red-haired girl then called Dai Ze, Ursa, and You Jiu, only to find out that Dai Ze and Ursa had already left and You Jiu was about to depart.

The red-haired girl tossed the apple core off to the side and reached out her hand beside her. A Red-armored Warrior immediately handed her another plump red apple.

As she bit into it, she pondered. Why the Sealing Staff? Could it be the Demon King really enjoys watching Cardcaptor Sakura? It's possible; given her age, she might have watched that anime as a child... Or maybe the Demon King needs a magic wand to use her powers? That's also possible... Or perhaps, it's not the Demon King at all, and the person wielding the Sealing Staff to attack the patrol is just trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain. But what if the Demon King really is there, and the Lone Wolf and his team end up killing her? For Flourishing Sakura, power like the Demon King's, which can control the Source of Disaster, is urgently needed—nearly every day, Flourishing Sakura faces earthquakes, storms, landslides... If only it had such power...

The red-haired girl bit fiercely into the apple, turned on the intercom, and asked, "Bright, where are you?"

"At the pass, on guard," said Bright, his voice filled with an agreeableness and cheerfulness that couldn't be concealed, even through the poor quality of the intercom. "Xingzi, what are your orders?"

The red-haired girl said, "They've all gone to Area D looking for the Demon King, so let's go too! You guessed wrong; the Demon King had no intention of revisiting old haunts, just wanted to cause a scene before dying."

"...Maybe. Alright then, Xingzi, I'm on my way too," Bright seemed a bit disappointed, but quickly added, "When we get there, it's every man for himself."

"May the best one win!"

The red-haired girl jumped down. A Red Armored Samurai holding a three-meter-long spear walked over, bent down, and gently said, "Xingzi, your..."

The red-haired girl took the long spear and, with a reverse strike of the spear shaft, jabbed the Red Armored Samurai in the knee, making him cry out in pain and kneel on one knee.

You think you're worthy to say my name? Wait until you're as strong as I am to talk. the red-haired girl snorted. "And stop bending over in front of me; I'm not that short!"

「...」

On the other side, Bright, wearing a white trench coat, was escorted by Watchers, moving along a mountain trail toward the area where flares had been frequently fired.

A flash of sword light passed over Bright's shoulder, cutting down a tree branch hanging in front of him. Bright smiled. "Thanks, Seres."

The praised female Watcher wasn't pleased. Instead, she shouted sharply, "Javier, what kind of path-clearing is that? That tree branch nearly scratched Bright!"

The sturdy man leading the way, Javier, voiced his embarrassment. "Sorry, I was distracted for a moment..."

"Javier, if you can't clear the path, just let me do it..."

"Alright, alright," Bright said softly. "That branch wouldn't have hurt me. Seres, don't overreact. And Javier, you've always been doing well; a small mistake is normal. It's fine."

"Hmph... okay, Bright," Seres grumbled.

"I'll keep trying my best, Bright," Javier promised.

This minor incident passed. But at that moment, Bright suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around. The four Watchers at his side remained unfazed, quickly forming a protective formation around Bright.

The woods were very quiet, with a steep slope on the left and dense bushes on the right. All one could hear was the rustling of wind through leaves, and the intermittent sounds of birds and insects in the distance. The bright moon was obscured by snow clouds. Tiny snowflakes, riding the dim moonlight, refused to be held back by the wind. They scattered onto the earth, ending their brief yet pristine and beautiful lives.

After four seconds, Bright suddenly chuckled. "I just thought the scenery here was pretty nice. Nothing's wrong; you all are too sensitive."

The Watchers breathed a sigh of relief, with Seres commenting, "Then, with this mission over, Bright, you should really take a break. It's been a while since you had a vacation."

"Yeah, Bright, you've been pushing too hard."

"Boss, you've done enough; take some time to rest," they urged.

Bright replied with a laugh, "Speaking of rest, you all haven't been resting either. If you want a vacation, just take one; don't worry about me."

"We won't," Seres shook her head. "If you're taking a vacation, I'll take one with you; if you're not, I'll work alongside you."

"That goes for me too; following you always brings lots of benefits. I don't want to miss out on anything good," another Watcher added.

"Boss, as long as you don't send me away, I'll always be following you," a third one chimed in.

Bright shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, alright, with such reliable teammates like you guys, I'm so happy I could work for a few more months straight..."

"Don't even think about it! Taking a day off is a must, right?"

"Boss..."

The laughter and joyous voices of the Watchers faded into the distance. In the bushes beside the place where Bright and his team had just stood, lay a man and a woman embracing each other.

Ren Suo lay on the ground while Qiao Muyi straddled him, their bodies pressed tightly together without a gap to be seen. Their eyes met, and in the flow of their glances, they seemed to clearly read each other's minds.

One of Ren Suo's hands held Qiao Muyi's waist, pressing her sculpted and stiff body against his. His other hand held a mask over her mouth and nose. Her orchid-like breath tickled the palm of his hand.

"It's okay," he whispered. "He hasn't discovered you; no need to be nervous."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Muyi's body stiffened. Far from relaxing, she held on to Ren Suo even tighter.

Indeed, Qiao Muyi had been nervous, fearing that they were discovered by Bright. However, when Ren Suo suddenly took off his mask and held her, covering her face with his mask...

Well, I was just really nervous, that's all.

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