Chapter 324

Chapter 324: Chapter 321: "It’s a Cruel World"The Deity was also very kind." Su Ming’an said.

From this history, it was clear that although Su Rin’s plan played a significant role in saving Pulaya, the main reason was that the Deity of Yun Shang City had agreed to their request.

"Yes," Aelas said with his hands clasped and a devout expression, "Every resident alive in Pulaya will be immensely grateful to that kind Deity."

His tone was sincere, like that of a devout Believer without deceit.

Su Ming’an had noticed that the people of Pulaya held the Deity of Yun Shang City in high reverence, as if everyone was a Believer.

After all, that kind Deity had saved all their lives.

"By the way, after hearing your report about last night’s mission, you mentioned that there was a problem with the intelligence department of the Soul Hunters?" Aelas asked, putting down his hands after a moment of prayer and getting to the point.

"Yes," Su Ming’an said, "After I entered the Huajie stronghold, I encountered an S-class member of the Soul Clan whose strength was no less than mine."

"Can you describe what that S-class member of the Soul Clan looked like?"

"He was an elderly gentleman, wearing a top hat and leaning on a cane."

"So, it was Archilev..." Aelas thought for a moment, "Looking at the collection of bodies, he wasn’t among them. Did he... escape?"

"Yes," Su Ming’an said.

"Unexpected," Aelas’s eyes sparked with a keen light, "True to being a descendant of Su Rin, even a high-ranking member of the Soul Clan like Archilev could only flee in disarray."

"Perhaps he also has his reservations," Su Ming’an said, "There is discord within the Soul Clan; they show no signs of uniting, scattering at the first sign of danger."

"Right," Aelas tapped on the table, "... After all, they are just a bunch of beasts driven by desire and only know how to consume souls. If not for the night which serves as their shield, this group would have been eradicated long ago."

His tone was sharp, filled with deep disdain and hatred for that race.

"But even though they are such despicable beings, I have to admit that they’ve been quite arrogant recently," Aelas narrowed his eyes, "... I’ve recently received news that this bunch of disorganized beings seems to have found a new Think Tank who can unify them."

"A Think Tank?"

"It appears to be a newcomer who understands commanding battles well," Aelas pulled out a paper with a report of a failed battle, "The thirty-sixth annihilation operation in the West District failed due to a sudden strategic shift by the Soul Clan. There were Soul Clan members who had infiltrated our Soul Hunter teams and placed bombs in our strongholds... It’s strange, those controlled items, which can only be applied for by loyal Soul Hunters tested by the Detection Stone, I don’t know how this group of Soul Clan got them..."

Su Ming’an listened and had already understood the situation.

Players were intervening.

If he could infiltrate the Soul Hunters under the guise of a Soul Clan member, naturally, there were also players in the Soul Clan camp who could influence. They could use the special traits of players, communicate long-distance between small teams, understand Soul Hunters’ tactics, and control the battle through players in different factions.

This was also why Su Ming’an was unwilling to operate with his team, as he couldn’t determine whether his teammates would betray their own faction’s information.

Moreover, from Aelas’s words, he could also hear that there was a very tactically adept Soul Clan player on their side.

An instance involving thousands of players, could not only consider the NPCs’ storyline but also had to take into account the particularities of this Fourth Calamity.

"So... Su Rin," Aelas sat upright in his chair, his gaze directly meeting his, "Considering your perfect performance in last night’s battle, I would like to entrust you with some more significant tasks."

Su Ming’an exchanged glances with him.

"Although you just impressively completed an extremely dangerous major task last night, recently there has really been no one to spare on the Soul Hunt side, and you are an extremely rare, reliable S-rank Soul Hunter..." Aelas said, then suddenly stood up.

The chair made a piercing scraping sound as Aelas stood up, facing him, and suddenly bent over.

This leader with the highest authority in the Soul Hunter Faction at this moment deeply bowed to him:

"...I still want to ask you to take on these tasks that are too dangerous for the average Soul Hunter."

Su Ming’an also stood up.

"I will take it," he said.

In his eyes, danger equals high difficulty equals high reward equals suitable for him.

Dangerous tasks often also come closer to the Perfect Pass route. To ensure he continued to lead in this instance, he needed to accept these challenging tasks.

"Thank you," Aelas straightened up, his expression quite emotional: "I never anticipated...even after so many years, the descendants of Su Rin still protect the land of Pulaya..."

He handed a file bag to Su Ming’an.

Su Ming’an took a brief look at it.

It was a cleaning mission.

The so-called "cleaning" involved Soul Hunters going to the area at night to kill Soul Clan members who were hunting and, following the trail, successively killing other Soul Clan members hidden in the shadows, until no members of the Soul Clan remained in the area.

Cleaning missions often lasted over ten days, until there were no more civilian deaths in that area.

According to a report from Soul Hunter Information Department in the Eastern District, despite Soul Hunters cleaning Thirteenth Street five days ago, there had once again been civilian deaths at night.

The Soul Hunter Department suspected that the area had overlooked some slippery fish by the Soul Hunters.

Bearing suspicion that the cleaning team itself was compromised, the priority of this cleaning task had been raised. A higher-level Soul Hunter was needed to carry out a secondary clean-up to find the Soul Clan member hidden in Thirteenth Street.

"Understood," Su Ming’an looked at the map and unexpectedly discovered that Thirteenth Street in the Eastern District was his own residential area.

No wonder the neighbor’s granddaughter, Lele, was so wary of him. It turned out that the area indeed had ongoing death incidents.

"There are thirty streets in the Eastern District, with streets one to sixteen having been cleaned," Aelas said: "We have limited Soul Hunter personnel, and we can only ensure that part of the districts are absolutely safe. But to have casualties occur again in a ’absolutely safe’ district is a huge challenge to the prestige of the Soul Hunters.

At night, the districts of Pulaya would be tightly sealed off, and residents would also voluntarily stop going out. If Soul Clan members were still found after the cleaning, it would only mean that this Soul Clan member was deeply hidden among the residents."

"I will pay close attention to Thirteenth Street tonight," Su Ming’an said.

"Hmm, you live there, so you won’t arouse the suspicion of that Soul Clan member. Just be careful to observe if there are any suspicious people going out at night—besides, regarding the problem of an inner ghost in the Soul Hunter intelligence department that you mentioned, I will take it seriously," Aelas said sternly: "I have already arranged a detection mission, and we will soon conduct a comprehensive check on the Soul Hunters in the intelligence department to make sure there are no Soul Clan members infiltrating."

"Even if it is not the Soul Clan, there might be someone passing on information," Su Ming’an reminded him.

He knew that the the informant in the intelligence department was likely a player.

Thus, regardless if this player belonged to the Soul Clan or was a Soul Hunter, this player would still pass on information. Extensive checking might not reveal anything.

"...I understand." Aelas clenched his fists.

Facing the possibility that something might be wrong with the Soul Hunters themselves, he seemed deeply distressed.

Su Ming’an was flipping through the papers in his hand when he suddenly heard a noise outside the door.

A series of hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by an exceedingly frivolous call:

"Aelas—my dear Aelas, look who’s here—"

Su Ming’an turned his head and saw a man with blond hair, wearing a leather jacket, and several earrings hanging from his ears walk in.

Following the blond man was a young man whose style was completely different from his. The moment Ming’an saw the young man, the word "Knight" immediately sprang to mind.

There was no other reason; this young man, who followed behind, with a reserved smile, fit the impression people had of a knight perfectly.

The young man wore light iron armor, a golden sword at his waist, blond hair like sunlight, and a smile naturally infectious, making it hard for anyone to dislike him.

He stood there, quietly observing the room, those bright green, clear pupils, clear as mirrors, seemingly reflecting the light-shadowed figures of people.

"Aiske, you rascal." Aelas laughed and scolded, seeming very familiar with the blond man in front, "The mess in the West District isn’t sorted yet, and here you are in the central department."

"You’re relaxed yourself? I’ve been running around mobilizing troops, while you sit comfortably in the office... I’ve been wanting to ask, which deity from the Soul Clan actually managed to rally these typically foolish fellows together? Now, wherever we clear the area, there are guys ambushed in advance to attack us," the blond young man complained.

"Let me introduce you, this is the Western Soul Hunter Minister, Aiske." Aelas patted Su Ming’an’s shoulder, "Aiske, this is the newly arrived S-level Soul Hunter, descendant of Lord Su Rin, also named Su Rin."

"Wow." Aiske exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Another robust newcomer? I heard that the mission on Flower Street last night was led by him, right? Finally, a reliable newcomer has arrived. Lately, the newcomers have been so arrogant, either lacking in adaptability or prone to acting on their own. If we don’t get someone capable soon, I really might be annoyed to death by these novices."

Su Ming’an listened somewhat speechlessly.

It seemed that the destructive power of that group of players was indeed remarkable, causing even the head of the West District to be so troubled.

After all, everyone thinks they are the born protagonist; the players who dare to enter the field mostly aim to make some mark. Fond of acting on their own and looking down on NPCs has indeed become a tag for most people.

Aelas talked with Aiske for a few more words, then turned to Su Ming’an to introduce the knight-like youth behind him.

"This is Sherrod, a Knight of Light from Yun Shang Church, a newcomer who showed A-level Soul Hunter strength as soon as he received the deity’s blessing." Aelas said to Su Ming’an, "Sherrod is the most potential fighter here in the Soul Hunters, most likely to break through to S-level. The issue with this boy is just a lack of combat experience. Su Rin, I know you don’t think much of those B-level and C-level Soul Hunters, but in future missions, you can take this young man with you; he is trustworthy."

Su Ming’an glanced at Sherrod.

Those bright green eyes were meeting his gaze, and noticing Ming’an looking, Sherrod smiled at him.

"Hello, respected S-level Soul Hunter, sir." Sherrod bowed, his scabbard and armor making a clanging sound.

"Hello," Su Ming’an responded.

He could tell that the other’s respect was not feigned.

Facing such a warrior of knightly origin, he indeed couldn’t feel any aversion.

If the other’s charm had a rating, Su Ming’an estimated it must also be at least an S.

A-class Soul Hunter, combat power at least 1500 and upward... At least he wasn’t dragging behind.

After they had greeted each other, Su Ming’an left the office, with the mission received and the information in hand. It seemed that Aelas and Aiske had more to discuss.

Su Ming’an didn’t stay long and went downstairs to claim the reward for last night’s mission.

After he left, Aiske, who had been wearing a carefree smile, gathered his expression and slowly closed the door.

"Is the identity information reliable?" asked Aiske, his voice now more serious.

"It should be no problem; he indeed looks almost exactly like Lord Su Rin did when he was young. He must be a descendant of Su Rin," said Aelas.

"But recently, I’ve heard some newcomers from the West District report that he’s from the Yate Empire, originally just a Viscount without martial skills, even once abandoned on a sunken ship—his strength, it’s as if he suddenly displayed it after arriving in Pulaya, like he intended to make us depend on him."

"That’s also my concern," said Aelas. "That’s why I assigned him one of our most challenging missions last night. We can preliminarily determine that he is at least not from the Soul Clan, otherwise he wouldn’t have annihilated the opponent’s lair in one sweep. I’ve seen the condition of the Soul Clan’s corpses; he didn’t hold back at all."

"Yet he didn’t capture Archilev, nor did he mention anything about Lucia."

"Young people, prideful, they won’t mention it if they let someone escape. It’s normal."

"I still have doubts. Even if he is a descendant of Lord Su Rin, his strength shouldn’t be this formidable. He’s just so young..."

"Sherrod was only twenty when he first received the deity’s blessing, and he was already A-class strength."

"You can’t compare a Soul Hunter blessed by a deity to those who awaken their abilities on their own outside."

"...So today’s mission is the final test for him by the Soul Hunters—I don’t care where he came from, nor why he continues to hide his strength. As long as he is human, not loyal to the Soul Clan, not yielding to sentimentality, I can confidently invest in him, forging him into our sharpest blade. You know the Royal City’s ambiguous stance. To eliminate those gutter-like Soul Clan rats, we need an invincible weapon. Initially, I targeted Sherrod, but he was too kind-hearted, hence I had to shift my focus."

"You are even using the descendant of Su Rin? Although I am part of the Soul Hunters, I must say, the leader of the Soul Hunters really does go to any lengths."

"You know, to tackle those from the Soul Clan, we need to use all possible means and harness all available strength."

"By the way, Aelas."

"Hmm."

"The mission you mentioned, to test him—considering where he lives... it’s not that second sweep on Thirteenth Street, is it?"

"Yes."

"...Aelas."

"Hmm?"

"You are really cruel."

Aelas sighed:

"...It’s the world that’s too cruel."