One person: Lu Jin, do I look like your master?

After completing the entry inspection through the company's special channel, I was directly led by the staff who had been waiting for me to the Nadutong branch in the Northeast region.

It was still that spacious but somber warehouse.

Gao Lian, Wang Xuan, and Er Zhuang, who was in charge of information support, received them there.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two sides got straight to the point.

When Gao Lian pointed to an open tray covered with velvet, inside which lay the dull-colored, lifeless "Hirumaru".

He calmly informed Ishikawa Shin that the sword had been "purified" by Master Wang Xuan and was now merely an ordinary piece of iron.

"What?!"

The color drained from Ishikawa Shin's once composed face in an instant, his pupils contracted sharply, and his body leaned forward uncontrollably as he stared intently at the ancient sword on the tray, which seemed to have lost all its soul, and let out an incredulous exclamation.

The young followers behind him also changed color, their faces filled with shock and...bewilderment.

Shin Ishikawa, and the young people he brought with him, were mostly from the Ishikawa family or its affiliated schools.

From childhood, they were instilled with the mission, the honor of their family, and one of the ultimate goals of their personal training: to one day be able to fight as honorable swordsmen and personally destroy the demonic sword "Hiruma" that had brought calamity to the world and tarnished the name of the sword!

To this end, they put in unimaginable effort and sweat, regarding the destruction of Hirumaru as their lifelong "duty" and "duty".

But what did they hear now?

The demon sword... has it been dealt with?

Before they even arrived, a Chinese superhuman named Wang Xuan had effortlessly turned them into a piece of "scrap metal."

This sudden news struck them like a bolt from the blue, shattering their beliefs!

They arrived weary from their journey, prepared to face their destined enemy, only to be told that the enemy no longer existed.

What about all those years of arduous cultivation and the unwavering dedication passed down through generations of their families? A joke?

A profound sense of loss and the emptiness of a collapsed goal overwhelmed the young people instantly. They stood there, stunned, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost all their strength.

"Chairman Ishikawa."

Gao Lian saw the other party's loss of composure and understood what was going on, but still spoke calmly according to the established plan.

"Although Hirumaru is in this state now, in accordance with our previous agreement and out of a sense of responsibility for historical issues, we have decided to hand this sword over to your organization."

Whether to seal it away, study it, or do something else is entirely up to your association to decide.

However, at this moment, Ishikawa Shin felt as if his ears were stuffed with cotton, and he didn't hear a single word Gao Lian said afterward.

His entire being was focused on the hibiscus that had lost its "soul." His expression shifted constantly, showing shock, loss, a hint of relief, but more than anything, an indescribable complexity and...emptiness.

Meanwhile, the members of the Fish Dragon Society were experiencing a mental shock due to Hirumaru's "death".

Inside a luxurious villa in Fengtian City, which appears ordinary on the outside but is actually heavily guarded.

In a living room decorated in a style that blends Japanese minimalism with Chinese classicism, a figure sits quietly on a large armchair.

She was a woman with silver-white hair and an extremely well-maintained face, making it impossible to guess her exact age. However, her eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, carrying a coldness and stubbornness that came with experience.

She wore a well-tailored, modernized cheongsam that accentuated her still slender figure. Her posture was elegant, yet she exuded a gloomy aura that kept strangers at bay.

They looked exceptionally respectable.

She was one of the elites of Bihe Mountain who had miraculously survived the fierce battle at the Toutian Cave, codenamed "Butterfly".

At this moment, she held an ancient jade pendant in her hand, but her gaze seemed to pierce through the wall, directed towards a distant place. She murmured almost dreamlike words, filled with a morbid fervor and anticipation:

“Hiruma... my Hiruma... you have finally... reappeared in this world... I knew you wouldn't be buried forever…”

Her voice was hoarse and magnetic, echoing in the empty living room, sounding particularly eerie.

“I’m talking to you, Butterfly.”

A slightly hoarse and languid voice came from the corner of the living room.

"So many years have passed, shouldn't we let go of some things? Aren't you tired of holding onto those old ideas all the time?"

The speaker was a bald old man wearing loose-fitting training clothes. His face was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes occasionally flashed with a sharp light that was not commensurate with his age.

He leaned back in a recliner by the window, holding a small purple clay teapot in his hand, slowly sipping tea directly from the spout, looking as relaxed as an ordinary old man who had come here to retire.

But he was no ordinary person either. He was Yohei Aoyama, a survivor of that great war, just like Cho.

However, unlike the butterfly's unwavering madness, he seemed to have had his edges smoothed out by the long years of lurking in the shadows.

He preferred to "preserve his life in the chaos of war," or rather, he had already seen through reality and was unwilling to be buried with a history that had long since ended.

"Shut up! You coward! Traitor!"

Butterfly suddenly turned her head, her cold eyes instantly igniting with raging anger as she stared intently at Yohei Aoyama, her voice becoming shrill with excitement.

"Let go? You make it sound so easy! Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten how our companions fell one by one to the poison and hidden weapons of the Tang Clan in the Sky-Piercing Cave?"

Have we forgotten the horrific deaths of our comrades? Have we forgotten how unwilling our respected teacher was as he closed his eyes?!

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, and suddenly stood up from the armchair, exuding a chilling and murderous aura that seemed to instantly lower the temperature in the living room.

"Their blood, their hatred, are etched into my bones! Every day, every night, they remind me that I must never forget! I must never let go!"

The butterfly's voice was like the cry of a cuckoo, filled with deep-seated hatred.

"Now, Hiruma has appeared! This is divine revelation! The spirits of the heroes of Mount Hiei are guiding us! This is the only chance we've waited decades for! A chance to revive Mount Hiei and avenge our teachers and comrades!"

She completely ignored Yohei Aoyama's helpless and complicated gaze, suddenly pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling slightly with excitement, but her movements were exceptionally swift.

She quickly dialed an encrypted number and, into the receiver, issued a concise and cold instruction in Japanese:

"Plan activated. Objective: Confirm Hiruma's location and retrieve the sacred artifact at all costs! All infiltrators, proceed with the planned operation!"

As the order was given, Die slowly put down her phone, sat back in her armchair, and a smile on her face, a mixture of madness, hatred, and a twisted expectation, appeared on her face.

Outside the window, the night in Fengtian City grew ever deeper, and a storm, destined to be bloody and ignited by her own hands, was already brewing.

Yohei Aoyama simply took a sip of tea, gazed at the dark night sky outside the window, and let out a barely perceptible sigh.

Chapter 107 Lü Ci also arrived.

After seeing off the Fish and Dragon Society group, who were shaken and filled with complex emotions, the atmosphere in the warehouse did not relax. Instead, it became more focused and tense, like a fully drawn bowstring.

Without any hesitation, Gao Lian immediately summoned all key personnel to begin the final tactical deployment.

"The choice of battlefield is crucial."

Gao Lian stood in front of a huge map of Fengtian City and its surrounding terrain, pointing precisely to a mountainous area about thirty kilometers outside the city.

"This place is Black Wind Ridge. The terrain is complex, the forests are dense, and it is rarely visited by people. The nearest village is more than ten kilometers away."

Setting up an ambush here will minimize the impact on innocent civilians and also facilitate battlefield control and containment.

He looked around at everyone and emphasized in a serious tone:

"Most importantly, it can prevent those unscrupulous scoundrels from using ordinary people as bargaining chips when they are cornered! This is something we absolutely cannot tolerate!"

This consideration was agreed upon by everyone; when dealing with these lurking enemies, the worst-case scenario must be taken into account.

The next step is a detailed division of labor:

The main ambush team consists of Deng Youfu, Zhang Chulan, Feng Baobao, and several highly skilled and capable employees from the Northeast region who are adept at mountain warfare.

They needed to secretly infiltrate the pre-arranged ambush area in Black Wind Ridge in advance, familiarize themselves with the terrain, and construct simple fortifications to ensure that once the enemy entered, they could be dealt a heavy blow and prevent any escapees from getting through.

The outer perimeter blockade team consists of a large number of company action team members and is equipped with blockade equipment.

Their mission was to lie in ambush at the main and secondary road junctions leading to Black Wind Ridge, and once the battle began, to immediately and completely block all access routes, forming an impenetrable encirclement to ensure they could "catch the turtle in a jar."

Information Support Team: The core of the team is naturally Er Zhuang.

She will be based at the rear command center, utilizing its powerful network capabilities and mobilizing resources such as satellites and drones.

Providing real-time intelligence for the entire operation, monitoring battlefield dynamics, and disrupting possible enemy communications, it serves as the "eyes" and "brain" of this operation.

Mobile Support Group: Led by Gao Lian himself, consisting of elite troops, serving as the general reserve force, ready to respond to emergencies or provide support to the main battlefield.

This plan is rigorous and meticulous, fully demonstrating the company's ability to act as a state apparatus.

Wang Xuan listened attentively without offering any opinions. In his view, these arrangements might seem somewhat cumbersome in the face of absolute power, but he understood that this was the company's operating style, requiring consideration of all aspects and minimizing casualties.

He respected Gao Lian's command authority, and since they had chosen to cooperate, he wouldn't interfere in such details.

With everything arranged, the groups immediately split up and began to work, like precise gears meshing and turning.

Operation decoy officially began. A convoy of modified vehicles, under the guise of "transporting special supplies," carried a specially made safe containing the "discarded sword" Hirumaru.

They drove out of the Nadutong branch with great fanfare, yet "cautiously," heading towards Black Wind Ridge outside the city.

Sure enough, shortly after the convoy set off, Erzhuang, who was in charge of monitoring, sent a message through an encrypted channel:

"Dad, we're being followed. Three civilian vehicles are taking turns tracking us. They're very professional. It's definitely our target."

Upon hearing the news, the participants were not nervous at all; on the contrary, they were invigorated!

The fish has finally taken the bait! Everything is going according to plan.

The convoy proceeded at a leisurely pace along the predetermined route, giving the pursuers enough "hope" without arousing their suspicion.

Just as the convoy was halfway through its journey and about to enter the mountainous roads, Gao Lian's encrypted communicator rang again. This time, it was an unexpected call—from Lü Ci, one of the Ten Elders!

Gao Lian frowned slightly and pressed the answer button.

Lu Ci's distinctive voice, tinged with a hint of ferocity and an unquestionable tone, immediately rang out, without even a word of greeting.

"I heard that that bastard Hiruma has shown up where you are? Is it true?!"

His tone was urgent, even carrying a hint of barely suppressed rage.

As one of the Ten Elders, Lü Ci possessed his own intelligence network. Events like Hirumaru's appearance and the resulting live-streamed murder case could not escape his notice.

"Senior Lü, the news is accurate."

Gao Lian did not hide anything; he knew that Lü Ci had a blood feud with Hiruma and Higeyama.

"Damn it! I knew it!"

Lu Ci spat on the other end of the phone, his voice suddenly turning icy cold.

"That damn knife! It was this that beheaded my elder brother, Lü Ren, back then! I've held this grudge for decades! Where are you now? Where's that knife? I'm coming over right now!"

Years ago, numerous experts ambushed the ninja leader but suffered a crushing defeat. The death of his elder brother remained a wound in Lü Ci's heart that could never heal. Now that his enemy's possession had reappeared, how could he possibly remain indifferent?

After a moment's thought, Gao Lian realized that considering Lü Ci's strength, the blood feud, and his status as one of the Ten Elders, he could not refuse, both morally and logically.

They then revealed their entire plan, including the predetermined location for the decisive battle—Black Wind Ridge.

"...That's the situation, Senior Lü. We were planning to take this opportunity to wipe out the remaining rebels from Bihe Mountain in one fell swoop."

"Okay! Well done!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Ci shouted his approval, his tone filled with both pleasure and murderous intent.

"Gao Lian, send me the exact location! You guys proceed as usual, don't worry about me! I'll show up when the time comes! I won't be satisfied until I personally chop up a few bastards!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Gao Lian's reply.

Lu Ci had already arrived in Fengtian after receiving the news, and called Gao Lian as soon as he landed.

Gao Lian put down the communicator, glanced at Wang Xuan beside him who remained calm, and felt somewhat relieved. With the unexpected addition of Lü Ci as a strong ally, their chances of victory had increased even further.

It's worth mentioning that, thanks to Wang Xuan's intervention, the demon sword Hiruma did not fall into the hands of the remnants of Mount Hiei as in the original story, and the initiative remained with the company.

Moreover, because the plot is set ahead of schedule, Tang Xin has not yet officially appeared in the world, so he did not come this time.

Meanwhile, under Butterfly's remote command, the remnants of Bihe Mountain, like sharks smelling blood, are converging on Black Wind Ridge from all their hidden corners.

They weren't entirely without suspicion that this might be a trap, after all, the company's actions weren't entirely without flaws.

However, their obsession with Hirumaru, their unrealistic fantasy of reviving Mount Hiei, and Cho's unquestionable, insane command left them with no other choice.

Knowing it might be a pit of fire, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and plunge headlong into it for the sake of the "holy sword" that was regarded as a spiritual symbol!

Black Wind Ridge, a mountain forest that has been silent for countless years, is about to have its tranquility shattered by bloodshed and slaughter.

An invisible net has been cast, waiting for all the prey to enter before it suddenly tightens!

Chapter 108 Wang Xuan Makes a Move

The convoy followed the rugged mountain road and finally arrived at the designated battlefield—a relatively open clearing in the depths of Black Wind Ridge.