The boss was right.
They remained in ambush for another half an hour before a lone figure finally appeared at the far end of the highway.
"Boss, target spotted!"
The sniper immediately picked up Vincent Fox approaching from the distance.
Everyone's spirits lifted.
The boss grabbed his binoculars and focused on the road ahead.
Sure enough, Vincent was steadily closing in.
"Move out. Number Three, maintain sniper coverage. The rest of you, block the road!"
The boss issued commands swiftly. "According to the latest intel, this guy possesses a powerful flame ability. Don't let your guard down. Under no circumstances are we letting him escape!"
With that, the others moved into position, slipping quietly toward the roadside.
The sniper remained in his perch, keeping Vincent locked in his crosshairs.
Vincent, of course, was unaware that a group was lying in wait.
As he walked quickly along the road, his thoughts were still preoccupied with the earlier battle against the three-headed beast.
He hadn't saved his classmates out of compassion.
Their rescue had simply been a convenient side effect his real concern was hiding his true strength.
"The government's established a power scale: E, D, C, B, A, S... I wonder, if I go all out, what level would I rank now?"
"And that woman hailed as the strongest in the country, Ms. Harper... how would she compare to the real Tornado?"
Vincent's mind wandered as he approached the outskirts of the city. Skyscrapers were now within view.
He quickened his pace.
Suddenly.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
A sniper round tore through the atmosphere, reaching Vincent in the blink of an eye.
"Huh?"
He hadn't expected this at all. Deep in thought, he'd failed to notice any danger.
By the time his eyes caught the incoming bullet, it was already too late to dodge.
In that critical instant, Vincent twisted sideways, exposing his broad back while tensing every muscle in his body, bracing for the impact.
Thud!
The bullet struck his back, blood spurted, and the force of the shot sent him tumbling into a ditch by the roadside.
AWP sniper rounds packed serious punch. But it wasn't enough to send Vincent flying his collapse was intentional, a tactic to duck out of the sniper's line of sight.
"Someone's trying to kill me?"
Vincent narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam flashing within them.
The bullet had only broken the skin.
At his current level, his bones and muscles were incredibly dense, otherwise they couldn't possibly withstand his own power output.
The bullet was lodged inside his muscle.
With a light flex, the bullet popped right out.
If the sniper had seen this, he might have gone into cardiac arrest on the spot.
The weapon he used was an AWP-115A1, a sniper rifle with terrifying firepower capable of punching through steel plating.
And yet, it had only grazed Vincent's skin?
That meant this guy's body was tougher than steel!
"Number Three, what's the situation?"
The boss's voice came through the earpiece.
"I got him, Boss," the sniper responded. "He dropped into a blind spot, I can't see him now. But no one takes a hit from my rifle and walks away. Even if he isn't dead, he's definitely seriously injured."
"Good." The boss's voice echoed over the comms. "Hound, Fox, let's move."
With that order, a few armed figures crept out of hiding and began closing in on Vincent's location, rifles at the ready.
Their movements were practiced and coordinated this wasn't some amateur squad. These were seasoned killers.
Meanwhile, Vincent lay motionless in the ditch.
"Who's trying to kill me?"
Everything had happened so fast, he hadn't gotten a good look. The shot had come from the hillside to the right.
He mentally reviewed everyone he knew but none of them had any reason to want him dead.
He had few acquaintances to begin with.
Uncertain of how many enemies were nearby, or how strong they were, Vincent decided the best move was to wait and observe.
After all, if they came to kill him, they wouldn't leave until they confirmed his death.
And so, he lay there silently.
Sure enough, before long, he heard the soft sounds of footsteps closing in.
They were careful, almost noiseless but Vincent heard them clearly.
His enhanced spiritual power had heightened all his senses. Even a mouse scurrying on the ground couldn't escape his hearing.
Spiritual stat not only enhances perception but sharpens all six senses.
Vincent focused, then smirked inwardly.
"Three people. Approaching from three directions."
Counting the sniper, that made four enemies.
A whole assassination team?
Who was behind this?
He remained perfectly still.
The three soon reached the pit.
Just as they peered in, ready to fire another shot to confirm the kill, Vincent moved.
He erupted like a tiger from a cage, swift and violent.
In an instant, he closed the gap and slammed into the central attacker.
From their breathing and footsteps, he'd already identified this one as the strongest.
Take down the leader first classic tactic.
"Boom!"
A strange noise echoed.
Before the others could react, their leader collapsed, his head… gone.
Not blown off his skull had been crushed inward, rammed into his chest cavity by Vincent's overwhelming force.
He died before he could even scream.
"Boss!!"
The other two Hound and Fox shouted in shock.
But they didn't panic. As trained killers, they reacted instantly.
Hound lunged forward and threw a punch laced with deadly force.
Glimmering faintly in the light were sharp metal claws attached to his knuckles.
A blow like that would shatter bones and rupture organs.
Whoosh!
Hound's speed and strength weren't bad. Clearly someone enhanced by a forbidden zone.
But to Vincent, it was laughably slow.
Crash!
Without dodging, Vincent countered with his own punch.
Hound's right arm exploded on contact, shoulder and all.
He flew back like a rag doll, guts spilling across the ground.
Brutal. Instant death.
Bang!
A bullet struck Vincent's back again.
Fox had already fired, and the shot landed squarely.
But Vincent didn't flinch. Instead, he calmly turned around.
He'd let the bullet hit him to prioritize killing Hound first.
Now, he faced Fox.
The assassin watched, wide-eyed, as the man he shot didn't even react. It was as if he'd tossed a pebble, not fired a bullet.
A demon.
Fox's pupils shrank in horror.
When Vincent's eyes met his, he turned and bolted without hesitation.
"Number Three! Cover me!"
Gunfire erupted from the hillside as the sniper tried to assist.
But this time, Vincent was ready.
His focus peaked. At this distance, dodging bullets was child's play.
He sidestepped, clang! the sniper round sparked against the ground.
"Cover me, dammit! I'm out of here!" Fox screamed. "The intel was wrong! This guy isn't a freshman., he's at least A-rank… huh?"
Fox suddenly froze mid-run.
He looked down in disbelief.
A hand had pierced through his chest from behind.
Blood soaked the ground.
His own blood.
"AAARGH!!"
With a scream of despair, Fox crumpled to the ground, dead.
Back on the hill, the sniper Number Three had seen everything.
He broke out in a cold sweat.
All his comrades were dead.
Terrified, he turned and fled, abandoning even his rifle.
At the base of the hill, a jeep was parked.
He jumped in, started the engine, and floored the gas.
Once the car hit full speed, he exhaled shakily.
"That bastard Walter Wayne… fed us bogus intel. I'm going to make him pay..."
He cursed, his face pale and furious.
With the boss, Hound, and Fox dead, the Shadow Team was finished.
Even if he made it back, the organization would never let him off the hook.
He was already planning to disappear and hide for the rest of his life.
But then, something in the rearview mirror caught his eye.
A figure.
Chasing the jeep at high speed.
It was that demon.
And he was gaining.
Even though the car was doing over 100 km/h, the man was still catching up.
"What… what kind of monster is this?!"
Number Three screamed in terror, slamming the accelerator with everything he had.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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