Cirrus's sudden violent attack—the first to react wasn't Stelle herself, nor the ever-vigilant Yanqing, nor Dan Heng who was pondering how to capture Hoolay.
It was March 7th and Sunday.
The instant Cirrus bit Stelle, the whole world seemed slowed by the Watchmaker, with only March 7th and Sunday's expressions shifting from calm to surprise, then to fury, ultimately twisting into savagery.
A thousand words boiled down to one: Yours to bite?!
You think this is your hunt kill?
But just as the two were about to administer extreme punishment, an unexpected change occurred!
Cirrus's body began inflating at a visible speed. In just a few short seconds, he transformed from a mini pet Borisin back to his original form. His massive body cast a shadow in the sunlight, perfectly holding Stelle in his grasp.
"Tsk, what a hassle."
Cirrus glanced somewhat dissatisfied at the Stelle gripped in his hand. Originally, he'd planned to grab Yanqing directly, but this guy had suddenly blocked in front of him, causing him to miss.
...Whatever, hostages are hostages—better than none.
"Hoolay?"
Seeing this white wolf, Dan Heng's past memories surged, and he subconsciously drew the bronze gourd, ready at any moment to blast the beast before him.
"No one move!"
Cirrus hoisted Stelle up like a doll, grinning ferociously: "You don't want her hurt, right? If not, then don't make any rash moves—got it?"
"Tch."
Seeing the other side using Stelle as a hostage for threats, March 7th immediately felt a wave of trouble. The initiative was completely in the opponent's hands—one slip, and Stelle's life could be in danger.
The scene fell into a stalemate for the moment. At this time:
—"Aaaah! Such a huge Borisin!"
—"Whoa, what's this new breed? Looks so big and majestic!"
—"I want to raise one too!"
Cirrus looked at the passersby constantly crowding around, frowning before roaring: "Get lost, you stupid Xianzhou people! I am the Borisin warlord, Hoolay!"
"Any who dare approach—die!"
He'd originally wanted to scare off these gawkers with that shout, but unexpectedly, his action only further piqued the passersby's curiosity. More murmurs followed in waves:
"Whoa, this Borisin can talk!"
"What's a Borisin warlord? A breed? Feels like I haven't heard of it."
"I remember—it's some breeding-type Borisin, right? Big shots in business all eat that meat."
"Can it breed with my family's one?"
"..."
Taking advantage of this time, Stelle quietly winked at March 7th and the others, signaling she was fine.
Though Stelle was usually a bit of a coward, her combat power was no longer that of the her from back in Belobog.
Now, her left hand wielded a flame spear with a strong mechanism shield, her right hand could slow time with the Watchmaker—against a mere Hoolay, even if she couldn't kill him, she could at least force a draw.
The reason she hadn't acted was to avoid accidentally injuring nearby passersby. It wouldn't be too late to fight once this beast settled somewhere deserted.
"A bunch of lunatics." Cirrus cursed angrily, leaped up with Stelle in tow, his form swift, weaving between buildings at full speed toward the starport.
"Damn it..."
Seeing this, March 7th's eyes filled with worry, fists clenched tight. Though she knew Stelle truly had many moves that even amazed her, stereotypes were stereotypes—she still feared this little one would get hurt.
She followed without the slightest hesitation, the others close behind. And so, one wolf and four people shuttled nonstop through Central Starskiff Haven, ultimately arriving near the starport.
This was the hub of the entire Central Starskiff Haven, the place with the absolute highest foot traffic. Cirrus had barely shown his face when people started photographing him—some even directly started live streams.
Cirrus's gaze swept around and spotted a ship just in takeoff status. Without hesitation, he charged with Stelle in hand, leaping up amid the passersby's horrified stares.
"Get down here!"
March 7th roared, hurling the Cloud-Piercer from her hand like a javelin—precise and fierce, aimed straight at Cirrus!
Swoosh!
The strike hit Cirrus, but merely pierced his body. For one with super regeneration, it was utterly negligible. In a rather extreme maneuver, he hooked his claws onto the ship's underside, then clambered aboard somewhat awkwardly, vanishing from the group's sight.
...
"Hahaha, a bunch of brats still wanna catch yours truly?"
After climbing onto the ship, Cirrus yanked out the Cloud-Piercer from his body and laughed to himself: "Now no one can stop me from escaping!"
"The great Heliobus spirit, the warlord's flesh body, and a hostage in hand... heh heh heh, stupid Xianzhou people—when I, Cirrus, return, you're done for!"
"..."
Cirrus monologued a whole bunch to himself, then suddenly felt the atmosphere off, so he looked at the Stelle in his hand and snarled viciously: "Hey! Little miss, got no reaction? Hurry up and cry one for me to see!"
Stelle blinked, nudging her chin toward behind Cirrus. "Um... why don't you check behind you first?"
Behind?
Cirrus turned back and saw that behind him, who knows when, a huge crowd had gathered—Cloud Knights, offworld humans, Intelligentsia Guild... all sorts of people in varied attire, all staring at him in unison, like they were watching a show.
"Hm? What's going on? How'd so many people show up?!"
Cirrus laughed angrily: "So this is within the Xianzhou Generals' calculations too? Even escaping onto a ship puts me in your encirclement?"
Stelle said weakly: "Is it possible this ship is called the Skysplitter, and all the guests here are here for the Rite of the Hunt?"
"..."
"Ah? It's Hoolay!"
At that moment, a Cloud Knight recognized the Borisin's identity and shouted: "Quick, call the General—request backup! We can't beat him!"
"Yes! Esteemed guests, run—this guy's dangerous!"
"Retreat retreat retreat retreat..."
Two Cloud Knights led the gawking passersby to withdraw to the side, but just then, a contestant said: "Retreat what? Aren't Borisin for eating? What's to fear?"
"To join the Xianzhou's Rite of the Hunt, I've toiled frugally for years—this body of twenty years' kung fu, who can withstand it?"
Contestant No. 1 stepped forward, pointing at Cirrus: "Come on, dare to spar with me?"
Cirrus "smack" slapped Contestant No. 1 flying. "Where'd this punk kid come from? Twenty years a lot?"
"You wanna stick your neck out? Huh? I am the king of the Borisin—who can kill me? Who dares kill me? Any who think so, step forward!"
The crowd stepped forward in unison.
Cirrus: ...
No way... too many people here, and all elites from across the galaxy. If a real fight broke out, even winning would waste tons of time.
Tsk, how come this crowd won't scare? Gotta kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.
Cirrus's gaze swept over the assembled people, eyes disdainful: "Yours truly values time—you lot wanna fight? Fine, rules: one-on-one."
He casually scanned the crowd and immediately picked his target in his mind.
"Come on, that short white-haired loli over there—you, step out."