Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 792

793. Green Shadow

“Quickly, form the Five Elements Spiritual Light Formation! Ordinary defensive treasures won’t stop them!” the blue-armored old man yelled.

He waved his hand, ignoring the bronze mirror floating above him, and threw a red arrow-shaped treasure into the sky. It flashed red and vanished.

The other Black Iron Guards snapped to attention and drew their magical artifacts, but it was too late.

Thwack! Thwack!

The spirit discs on the wrists of three Black Iron Guards exploded. Shadowy figures rose from beneath their feet. They stretched and lunged at the cultivators.

“Hah!”

“Ugh!”

The three Black Iron Guards cried out in alarm at the sight of the gray shadows. Their protective barriers of magical treasures and spiritual power were useless against them.

Screams echoed as the Black Iron Guards clutched their heads and fell.

“Shadow puppets! They’re from the Shadow Clan! Use lightning-attribute divine abilities or treasures!” the old man shouted, his face paling as he saw the dark shadows. He spat out a silver-white flying sword that transformed into silver-white lightning, ready to attack.

Clang!

A gray shadow, which had attacked from behind, was struck by the lightning and flung back. Only two squad members had lightning-attribute treasures; the rest were frozen, unable to react.

The metal attribute was the most powerful and rare among spiritual energies. Not everyone possessed a potent lightning-attribute treasure.

The Shadow Clan was a bizarre alien race, vulnerable only to lightning-attribute treasures or specific methods. Other divine abilities were useless.

While they hesitated, the gray shadows attacked the other Black Iron Guards.

The Black Iron Guards scattered in terror, but the gray shadows followed them like their own shadows.

The shadow puppets quickly chased them, forcing them to flee. Only the blue-armored old man and the Black Iron Guards with lightning-attribute treasures remained.

Clang! Rumble! Crash!

Even the old man and the other cultivators were relentlessly attacked by seven or eight gray shadows. The thunderous sounds continued as the shadows, seemingly impervious to pain, were repeatedly flung away only to jump back.

The blue-armored old man took a deep breath and pulled out a glowing talisman from his wrist.

“Die!”

The old man glared at an approaching gray shadow, and the talisman transformed into a dozen navy-blue lightning bolts that struck the shadow puppets.

Crash! Bang!

The gray shadows groaned and were engulfed by the lightning, scattering. The old man was pleased, having used a costly, specially prepared talisman.

He tried to use the talisman again, attacking the gray shadows like a madman. But as the lightning was about to engulf them, a giant green hand appeared and snatched the lightning bolts.

Bang! Rumble! Crash!

“Green Shadow!” the old man groaned, his pupils shrinking at the sight of the giant green hand.

“You will all die,” a cold voice came from the giant green hand. The hand trembled and distorted, then transformed into a green light shadow.

The light shadow vaguely resembled a human, but its head was unusually large, and its eyes were bloodshot, making it look bizarre.

A high-level Shadow Clan member had appeared. The blue-armored old man’s face paled. While he could handle most Shadow Clan members with lightning, Green Shadow, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high-level cultivator in this world] of the human race, had some resistance to it.

Even if both were Nascent Soul cultivators, humans would usually lose against a Shadow Clan member like Green Shadow. The fact that it controlled so many shadow puppets indicated it was a high-ranking Green Shadow.

Explosions came from where the Black Iron Guards had fled, showing they were struggling, caught by the shadow puppets.

Green Shadow stepped forward, ignoring the old man’s surprise. It closed the distance instantly, appearing a foot away, and reached for the lightning enveloping the old man.

It was trying to suppress the old man’s magical treasure with its bare hands. The old man was startled, but the attack was too fast. He roared and poured all his magical power into his treasure.

The lightning protecting him thickened. Green Shadow sneered and thrust its hand into the thick lightning.

Crash!

The lightning exploded around the green hand, eventually returning to a small, circular sword. The sword contracted and expanded, struggling to escape the green hand.

The old man’s face drained of color. Green Shadow laughed and was about to attack when a thunderous sound came from above. Blue-white lightning flashed, and a winged figure appeared.

The figure spread its arms.

It flicked one hand, releasing a thick golden lightning bolt, and with the other, it shot out a square handkerchief with bizarre spell patterns.

Green Shadow was surprised but didn’t panic. It pulled two gray shadows from behind, which rushed towards the golden lightning and the silk handkerchief, trying to create an opening to retreat.

“Hmph!” the figure snorted, and Green Shadow trembled and stopped.

Boom!

Five streaks of golden lightning collided with the shadow puppets. The gray shadows melted away, and a gray, bubble-like energy rose. The silver spell on the silk handkerchief shone and exploded into thousands of thin silver threads that bound the shadow puppets.

The shadow puppets were immobilized by the lightning flowing through the handkerchief. The winged figure flapped its wings and turned into silver threads.

The silver threads appeared above Green Shadow and struck down with a bare hand, without any other magical treasures.

Five bone rings of different colors, clear as crystal, appeared on its fingers. The rings shone like jade and were engraved with tiny, elaborate skull heads that seemed alive, rolling their eyes and opening their mouths.

Five different colored cold flames erupted from their mouths, merging into a beautiful five-colored flame.

Before Green Shadow could react, it was engulfed by the five-colored flames. Its movements slowed as if its body had stiffened.

Green Shadow was shocked.

“Kuhahaha!”

As a high-level Shadow Clan cultivator, it screamed and exploded its green body, turning into green threads to escape the five-colored flames.

The figure in the air seemed to expect this and raised its other hand, releasing gray rings from its palm. The rings shattered the green threads, scattering them into green energy.

The green energy was gathered into a single mass by an invisible pressure and returned to a green light shadow due to the gray energy.

The green light shadow’s bloodshot eyes were filled with shock. It couldn’t move, as if a mountain range was pressing down on it.

Swish! Swish!

The winged figure shot several colored golden restriction talismans at Green Shadow’s body. Green Shadow, which had been twitching, became despondent.

Then, Green Shadow rapidly shrank due to the talismans and turned into a green bead the size of a fist.

The figure smiled at the wide-eyed blue-armored old man.

“Elder cultivator, I’m late. Are you alright?”

“Brother Han, what are you saying! If you hadn’t appeared, I would have been in trouble. I’ve heard of your skills, but seeing it in person, you are extraordinary. Even a high-level Shadow Clan member is no match for you.”

The old man, having retrieved his flying sword, smiled. The winged figure was Han Li, wearing blue armor.

He was no longer in the early stage of Nascent Soul, but had reached the middle stage.

“You flatter me. My divine abilities are just the opposite of the Shadow Clan. Against another powerful alien race, I wouldn’t have been so lucky.”

“Haha, you are humble. There’s a reason why your squad hasn’t had a single casualty in decades. I’ve heard you’ve killed or captured many alien race spies. I can’t compare to you.”

“That’s an overstatement. Are the other cultivators alright?” Han Li asked, looking around calmly.

“They’ll be fine. Now that the Shadow Clan member is subdued, the shadow puppets must have disappeared. Those possessed by the shadow puppets will wake up soon. Their vitality may be damaged, but they’ll live. But how did you get here? What about your subordinates?”

The old man realized Han Li didn’t want to talk about his abilities and changed the subject.

“It was a coincidence. The warning range of my new high-level spirit disc is wide, so I was patrolling nearby when I noticed the situation. My subordinates are waiting where we separated.”

Han Li took out a jade box and carefully placed the Green Shadow bead inside.

“Ah, you saved my life. It’s a lucky day!” the old man said, deeply moved. The two Black Iron Guards nearby bowed deeply to Han Li.

Those who had fallen and the Black Iron Guards who had fled also came to thank Han Li. Han Li responded briefly, then bid farewell and left in a streak of blue light.

“When Senior Han came to Heavenly Origin City, he was in the early stage of Nascent Soul, but he’s already a middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. And he reached the middle stage ten years ago, so I can’t imagine what he’s like now,” the burly man muttered as Han Li’s light disappeared.

“That’s right. He’s said to have killed seven or eight high-level alien races during his patrols, so he’s hard to compare to other Clear Sky Guards. Are all ascended cultivators [cultivators who ascended from a lower realm] so amazing?” another Black Iron Guard said, looking at him with admiration.

“Ascended cultivators are stronger in combat than cultivators of the Spirit Realm, but even among them, Senior Han is an anomaly,” the middle-aged female cultivator retorted coldly. The blue-armored old man looked in the direction Han Li had disappeared and remained silent, then waved his hand and ordered them to move.

Hundreds of miles away, as a streak of blue light flew above a hill, ten streaks of light rose from the hill and stood before Han Li.

“Captain.”

“Senior Han!”

They used different titles, but all stood respectfully with their hands clasped.

They had spent decades with Han Li and had grown even more respectful. It was natural.

Three other squads had the same mission and patrolled similar areas. Over the decades, they had suffered casualties, and some squads had been mostly replaced.

However, Han Li’s squad had faced numerous dangers, but Han Li had always resolved them, so they had survived safely. They had also received many rewards by following Han Li.