Please pull the trigger for this world one more time.

Meanwhile, Shen Yi's team had already encountered those "unknown creatures"—these things were ferocious and attacked them without hesitation.

These underground "evil spirits" faced the merciless firepower of the Guangwu Empire for the first time. They charged forward despite the bullets, and most of them didn't even know how to dodge.

"Large quantity ahead!"

"Fire in stages! Fire in stages!"

"Reload! Number five, reload!"

"Behind you! Number Three is passing you!"

boom!

Mo Zian used the [Judge] to smash the head of an attacking "unknown creature" at close range, then pulled out a pistol and fired four shots into the chest of another attacking creature.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The unidentified creature was knocked to the ground, but it did not die. Instead, it struggled with apparent vitality. After Chen Bu'nei changed his bullets, he fired a few more shots at its vital points before the creature finally fell silent.

"Why are these things so hard to kill?"

Their squad was attacked several times along the way. These creatures were swift, powerful, and incredibly resilient, which explained why the elves had inflicted such heavy damage earlier.

Just as Shen Yi was about to stop and determine his location, everyone's gaze suddenly turned in the same direction—

Less than 800 zhang (400 m) to their left, a sudden burst of turbulent etheric waves erupted, followed by the sounds of fierce fighting.

Shen Yi's face lit up with joy, and he gestured to Mo Zian. Mo Zian immediately climbed onto a relatively tall, unidentified plant and gave a thumbs-up to the ground below.

Shen nodded and waved to the others.

"All personnel, complete silence! Approach rapidly! Open fire on my command!"

……

On a high slope.

Elena slashed down a demon with a single sword strike, then complained to her companions behind her who were relentlessly firing ice spikes from their battle staffs, "I really don't understand what the Palace Guard Commander is thinking! It's like he's been pecked on the head by a celestial bird..."

"Elena! Watch out!"

Elena snapped back to reality and found that the next demon had pounced on her, its claws even touching the tip of her nose.

A hint of bewilderment flashed across Elena's face. She had only recently become a member of the Temple and her combat experience was not yet extensive.

However, at this very moment...

boom!

A deep, thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield.

The "Mind Acceleration" technique allowed Elena to clearly see a line of fire pierce through and blow up the ugly head in front of her.

Then, with most of his head blown off, his body fell from mid-air to the ground in front of him, splashing him with an indescribable substance.

Irene's mind went blank. The act of smearing mud on her face had already made her, a bit of a germaphobe, extremely reluctant, but in the end...

"what!"

Irena's ethereal patterns all over her body began to glow brightly, and she, who was always somewhat obsessive about cleanliness, was on the verge of going berserk.

"What are you doing, Irene!"

The sudden voice calmed her down. "Didn't I tell you to act disheveled? You look fantastic right now! Listen to me, I'll put in a good word for you with Lord Si Mu."

On the battlefield, thunder roared.

Even though these demons move very fast, each "thunderclap" inevitably signifies the death of one demon.

Either their heads were blown off or their chests were blasted through; this precise and terrifying "roll call" sent chills down the spines of all the elves, including the Captain of the Sober Palace Guard and Elena.

Clearly, the destructive power of this "thunder" was enough to kill the demon in one blow.

Just as the group of fifteen elves were slightly stunned, a small force of Light Warriors suddenly attacked from the flank!

Although small in number, they were extremely well-trained, and their fierce firepower instantly tore open a gap on the flank, greatly relieving the pressure on the elf squad.

Sober breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether their prayers to the Child of Light had worked, it seemed they had indeed found a wise enough commander.

......

As the last demon on the battlefield was eliminated, Shen Yi waved his hand, and all the squad members immediately turned warily toward the elves on the high slope.

However, the gun muzzles were all slightly lowered, not pointed directly at them.

"Hello, please don't fire! We are not the enemy, nor are we illegal mercenaries!"

Sober raised his hands and came to the front of the line, waving his arms vigorously and shouting in fluent Guangwu dialect.

Shen Yi did not put away his ether shield and replied warily, "I know that you are no ordinary people, judging from your attire. So please state your identities!"

Explain why you've come here! Otherwise, I will still arrest you, and if you resist, kill you on the spot. Our main force is right behind you; you can't escape!

"We can explain. Let me explain first. I am the Temple Guard Chief of the Holy Light Dynasty. My name is Sobolette Turbulent Lightstone, and I am good friends with your Ambassador Chen Yuanming!"

Sober said, "These are the Temple's personal guards. Come, show this officer your branding. Strictly speaking, we're not part of the military!"

Seeing the pale golden [Eye of the Sun] brand on the arms of everyone opposite him, Shen Yi still did not put away the Ether Shield. He simply pressed his hand down, and the team members put away their weapons.

"So, this person..."

"You can call me Sober, that's what Chen calls me too."

"Alright, let me introduce myself. My surname is Shen, and I was specially assigned to carry out the pursuit mission. We all come from a certain unit of the Guangwu Empire Army. Now, Commander Sober, please explain why you are here."

Shen Yi's tone softened slightly, "As the commander of the Holy Temple's garrison, how could you cross my Guangwu border without permission? Even if you are not in the military, you are at least an armed person. This is a direct invasion on a grand scale, and a diplomatic issue on a smaller scale."

"Actually, this is a misunderstanding."

Sober shrugged somewhat innocently. "We actually submitted a diplomatic request in advance, but there may have been some time-sensitive issues with the communication... I'm not blaming Guangwu's side at all; after all, there should be a discussion process before a foreign soldier enters the country."

Shen Yi blinked twice. "Captain Sober, you seem very confident that our Guangwu faction will definitely allow entry."

"Yes," Sober readily admitted. "On the one hand, this mission is really urgent. On the other hand, it's not just about us, but also about you, or rather, the entire continent."

"Oh?" Shen Yi frowned, about to say something, when Wei Ru suddenly walked up to him.

"Report from No. 8: I just received a long, encrypted communication that will take some time to translate."

Shen Yi looked at the other end and said, "We have received an encrypted communication. Please wait a moment."

Wei Ru took out her codebook and began translating the cipher text as quickly as she could. The communication was very long, and Wei Ru filled two pages with notes.

After quickly reading through the notes, Shen Yi handed them to Du Chi. "Circulate this within the group. Burn it after the last person finishes reading it."

After saying that, Shen Yi made a gesture towards the distance. Not long after, Mo Zian appeared in everyone's sight, carrying the Judge.

Sober's eyelids twitched as he looked at the enormous weapon in Mo Zian's hand—without a doubt, the other party must have been aiming at him just now.

"Everyone, rest where you are for now! Wei Ru, go and contact Major Ma and ask him to come over as well. Also, have him bring Song Chen, Luo Chong, Chu Yan, Xu Yun, and Zhao Shengnan down with him."

After giving the squad the orders, Shen Yi turned to the opposite side and said, "This elven force is friendly. The original mission is cancelled."

Only when Shen Yi uttered the last word did Sober finally feel relieved—this squad was very strong, and it would be best to avoid any conflict, since their mission might still require the help of these people.

Elena approached Sober at some point. "Captain of the Palace Guard, I didn't expect them not to turn against us right away. You actually managed to keep them in check. I was reckless before."

Sober glanced at her sideways. "No, I just got pecked by a pygmy bird..."

Irene: "I'm sorry, Captain of the Royal Guard."

"Alright, I was gambling too, but it seems I made the right bet. The officers of the Guangwu people are of excellent quality, and our luck is unbelievably good."

Sober glanced at Shen Yi, who was talking to his team members in the distance, and said, "Elena, go thank that sniper and chat with him for a bit."

"……what?"