Start With Contracting Sprites

What?

The ten applicants were stunned.

They were not unfamiliar with the Dark Society at all, but why were there members of the Dark Society here in the Lava Fire Cave, and why were they even targeting them…

"That's right, right now, I'm the target of the Dark Society Sprite Trainers," Su Hao said nonchalantly, not feeling the slightest bit nervous about the members of the Dark Society chasing after him.

"This…"

Some people felt that the inspector was very bold. They thought that he had actually used himself as bait to lure out a batch of Dark Society experts.

Some people also felt that the situation was too crazy.

Especially under such circumstances, he even leisurely included the Dark Society assassins in their assessment.

It was impossible for them not to have slight changes in expression, and Su Hao used this opportunity to observe.

Among the ten people, a Sprite Trainer named Tang Song quickly regained his composure. He thought for a moment and quickly said, "Our priority now is to find out the enemy's strength as well as their location."

"Since the Dark Society dares to do something so bold, they must be very strong, and they… they should also know our numbers. Right now, we only have two advantages. First, they don't know that their tracks have already been discovered by the inspector. Second, we came here half a day earlier and have already walked through many places. We are familiar with the terrain and have some geographical advantages. We have to make full use of them."

As for commanding, although Tang Song was experienced, he wasn't too persistent on getting the others to follow him.

After all, they were all just team members.

Besides, given the circumstances that they were all competitors, the others wouldn't want to obey his commands either.

…

They seem to be doing alright. There aren't any brainless people who are rushing to kill the enemies for credit."

Su Hao thought to himself.

Although Su Hao would be quick to eliminate such a person, it was not likely for someone like that to be here in the first place. After all, that would mean that Su Hao had poor taste and had chosen the applicants poorly.

Su Hao didn't intend to make a move, but he wasn't just going to watch idly either.

The Big Fat Bear had already put on its Thunder God Battle Armor and was thrown into the lava pool as a defense line to protect the evolution light cocoon.

Butterfly's Dazed Radar remained upright, constantly checking the strength of the Dark Society members in a very concealed manner.

It even projected the information into Su Hao's mind in the form of a 3D image.

Butterfly battlefield observation was indeed awesome.

The sprites of the applicants were also busy making preparations or getting armored up.

A flying sprite restrained its aura and then spread its wings and flew into the sky.

There was also an earth-element sprite searching for traces of the enemy by sensing the veins of the earth.

Lin Qi, who looked like a geek, adjusted his expensive high-tech glasses. An invisible electronic signal spread, and the Digital Flying Dragon beside him also let out a low growl. Its body instantly dissipated into countless pieces of codes, integrating into the invisible electronic signal.

After a while…

"There are 15 Dark Society Sprite Trainers! At least 35 extraordinary sprites… And among them, there's very likely to be pseudo monarch rank existences!"

This information shocked them.

Be it in terms of numbers or battle power, their enemies were much stronger than them.

And it didn't seem like the inspector had any intention of taking action either… Oh, I get it! The inspector wants to use this opportunity to observe our performance under pressure despite the risk.

Risk?

If they had asked Su Hao, he would tell them that there are naturally risks involved.

However, he wasn't worried that the applicants would be crippled, causing their overall strength to decrease. The only thing he feared was… was that some of the weaker sprites would be beaten to death by the Sprite Trainers of the Dark Society.

However…

He poked Butterfly. "I believe you."

"Gurgle ~!"

Why do you always rely on me…╭(╯^╰)╮!

…

At this moment…

More than ten Sprite Trainers from the Dark Society were slowly moving forward in the Lava Fire Cave. Leading them was an officer whose skin had turned dark from the sun.

The blackened officer said in a low voice, "All of us have identities in the Union. When we leave, we still have to pass through the entrance of Red Rock Town. Therefore, there can't be any mistakes in this operation. Every person and every sprite must be taken care of!"

In his opinion, with so many experts mobilizing, he was completely confident in their ability to kill a genius of the Union who was still developing.

The only risk was that some of the sprites might escape.

By then, it was very likely that Red Rock Town would be sealed off, and their chances of being pursued by the experts of the Union would also increase.

If that happened, their situation would also change. Not only could they no longer receive the Union's salary, but they would also lose countless benefits from the Dark Society. Their carefree and happy days would be over.

The others were also aware of this and thus had already spread out a few sprites and sealed a few key positions.

"There are sprites watching us, and not just wild sprites. It looks like this genius of the Union is pretty good after all. He actually discovered us."

A Sprite Trainer from the Dark Society looked up and vaguely saw a small black dot in the sky. In the blink of an eye, the black dot disappeared again.

The Dark Society team continued to move forward. The environment of the Lava Fire Cave made them extra careful.

At this moment…

Boom!

The mountain rocks exploded, and more than 20 sprites rushed out of the thick black smoke with their respective killer moves blasting forward.

The Dark Society sprites also counterattacked instantly.

…

At the center of the Lava Fire Cave, in the treasure land where lava gathered.

Tang Song, Lin Qi, and the other applicants had not left the area, but they ordered their sprites to charge to the front line and ambush the enemies. In this way, the sprites could freely advance or retreat without having to worry about the safety of the burdensome Sprite Trainers.

Apart from the Sprite Trainers, there were also three extraordinary sprites left here.

These sprites served as their backup, in case some Dark Society sprites broke through the defense line and started attacking them.

Lin Qi's Digital Flying Dragon had now returned to its physical form and remained alert in the air… It wasn't strong and was even a bit weak but at least it could help observe the battlefield and transmit information.

"It's a little bad," Lin Qi said. "Even if we have the element of surprise, it's still very difficult for us to match these Dark Society Sprite Trainers. They simply have too many high-level extraordinary sprites. Now, we can only rely on the geographical advantage and fight while we retreat."

As Lin Qi spoke, he looked at Su Hao. Seeing that the inspector's expression was still calm, and then recalling some information that he had found out earlier, Lin QI was able to relax a little.

The others, however, couldn't. They kept looking over to where their sprites were. Nervousness, anxiety, worry, and other emotions surfaced on their faces.

Suddenly…

The ground exploded, and a black light shot out from the ground.

"Careful!" someone shouted.

The black light's target was the inspector standing there with his arms crossed… but none of them knew what method was used for it to be able to bypass their guard.

Whoosh—

The Water Qilin that was guarding in front of the inspector raised its hooves high, and a circle of black ripples suddenly spread.

The bodies of the Water Qilin and the Eternal Night Glory Concubine suddenly froze.

A Doctor Wolf who was trying to help pounced back and was immediately covered by the black light shield. It kept trembling, startling its Sprite Trainer.

"So scary, what kind of sprite are we dealing with?!"

As the black light spread, the figures of the sprites were also revealed

There were two sprites in total.

One was a relatively common Sand Earthworm Dragon. However… the body of this particular Earthworm that flew out of the ground was only two meters long. Despite this, the aura it released clearly indicated that it was a high-level extraordinary.

The other sprite was even stranger. Its body, the size of a school bag, floated in mid-air. It looked like a tattered doll, but it was in a translucent state.

Dark-element sprite "Evil Spirit Baby"!

Moreover, it was a pseudo monarch rank Evil Spirit Baby. It instantly froze the Water Qilin, Eternal Night Glory Concubine, Doctor Wolf, and the other sprites. The Evil Spirit Baby was currently also unable to attack…

However, the Sand Earthworm Dragon had already arrived in front of the inspector. There was also a man in black clothes holding two laser swords in his hands as he slashed towards the protective screen.

Buzz…

Buzz…

Ripples appeared on the barrier. Su Hao thought for a moment. "What kind of dark technology is this? The destruction of the Sprite Commandeering Protection should only be possible when it's done by a pseudo monarch sprite…"

Of course, this was partly because the assassin in black wasn't weak himself, but…

The laser sword slashed over.

A terrifying energy was also brewing in the Earthworm's mouth.

At this moment…

Butterfly, which was lying on the throne above Su Hao's head, yawned and flicked its little hand…

Buzz…

The special black light secret manual shattered.

Not far away, Doctor Wolf collapsed to the ground.

Dumb Unicorn and Fufu's aura erupted. They each targeted a sprite and kept chasing and fighting.

The laser sword that slashed down was also interrupted by a palm.

Su Hao's palm!

A black energy circulated in his palm as Su Hao squeezed gently.

Crack…

The laser sword created with unknown technology turned into countless fragments.

The assassin still held the other sword in his palm. He didn't know if he should slash or not.

I've been cheated by the Dark Society!

…

Boom!

Rumble!

In the Lava Fire Cave, huge battles broke out in many areas. Energy storms raged, and the wild sprites trembled.

A Luohan Panda punched out with its iron fist, blasting a white sonic boom cloud, causing the shell of a Giant Armored Crab to cave in. Just as it was about to attack again, it saw the injured Giant Armored Crab being pulled by a force, disappearing into the thick smoke in the blink of an eye.

"The Union's sprites escaped again!"

"They won't be able to escape for long. What we need to do now is to fight steadily and continuously shrink the encirclement so that not a single sprite can escape."

The few battles ended with the retreat of the Union sprites.

Many of the applicants' sprites were already injured.

Of course, many of the Dark Society's sprites were also heavily injured and lost their battle power, but these were mostly relatively weak sprites. The main forces of the three Dark Society officers maintained a comparable battle power.

"If they fight to the death and tear through our encirclement, maybe a few of them can still escape. But as of now, they don't stand a chance."

The blackened officer looked into the distance at the light cocoon behind the target. "This is what you get for being too greedy. You're about to die, and you're still trying to get your sprite to complete its evolution? Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The Dark Society's sprites approached step by step.

The sprites of the applicants, the ones that were in slightly better condition, were deployed outside. The injured ones were currently receiving treatment in the inner circle.

Fufu shot out a beam of white light and entered the body of one of the injured sprites, then flew out and entered the bodies of other sprites. Like a chain of light, it connected all the injured sprites in an instant.

At the end of the chain was Fufu's palm, and its energy was constantly outputting.

Before long, the dispirited aura of the injured sprites gradually recovered.

One of the applicants, who was a medic, was also taking out many supplements at this moment to help the sprites recover their spiritual force and physical strength.

"I get it now. The reason why the inspector doesn't care about our injuries is because of the outstanding medical support. In just a short while, our sprites' battle power has recovered by more than half. With the help of a powerful inspector, it won't be difficult to deal with these Dark Society members!"

"The reason why the inspector didn't take action in the beginning was because this was still an assessment. He probably also wanted to give us a chance to train!"

Many nervous and worried interviewers immediately felt relieved when they thought of this.

But they had misread the inspector's intentions.

Su Hao :"…"

He was speechless.

The applicants remained still, but the Sprite Trainer from the Dark Society wasn't going to delay any longer. "Kill that white sprite!"

A certain officer who had no culture and knew nothing about the Eternal Night Glory Concubine could only call Fufu a "white sprite".

Dozens of extraordinary and terrifying auras erupted.

A few sprites that were fast and good at assassination took advantage of the chaos and turned into streams of light to circle around and kill Fufu.

Their blades were sharp.

Blazing flames burned.

"The officers of the Dark Society are all quasi-Heavenly Kings or top-notch masters. It's impossible to defeat them with just our sprites."

It wasn't that the applicants were weak, but most of them were just too young and only in their thirties.

They were still developing.

The sprites' development level and quantity were all inferior to that of the Dark Society by quite a bit.

At this moment…

The Water Qilin was suppressing the Evil Spirit Baby and Fufu was in charge of treatment.

The Big Fat Bear soaked pitifully in the lava pool.

And so…

Hu ~ Hu ~ Hu ~

Suddenly, waves of cold wind appeared, covering the dancing flames in the sky, instantly turning the whole area cold.

The sprites that had just flown in front of the Eternal Night Glory Concubine froze.

A sprite wearing a crown and a black robe had appeared in front of them at some point. It stretched out its hand and grabbed their necks and limbs like an eagle pinching a chick. Shadow energy spread, and a few sprites were thrown out like tattered cloth bags. They struggled and couldn't move at once.

"What?!"

The Dark Society Sprite Trainer was stunned.

But before they could react, the black-robed sprite appeared in the center of the battlefield, its figure constantly moving like a ghost.

Dark Society sprites fell straight down one by one.

The unique skill that the Dark Society sprites shot out from the battlefield and its violent energy impact didn't cause any obstruction to the black-robed sprite at all. It seemed as though it was indestructible.

Such a terrifying sprite not only terrified the Sprite Trainers of the Dark Society, it also stunned the applicants.

This sprite… they had clearly never seen it on their way here.

But it was terrifyingly strong. Even a pseudo monarch could be heavily injured by it in a few moves.

"So that's how it is. This is where the inspector's calm and confidence lies! A single sprite of his is enough to fight an army of thousands!"

"What kind of sprite is this? A monarch… No, it seems to only be a pseudo monarch?"

The applicants' morale soared.

The elusive Yama Ghost King made the situation more difficult for the Dark Society members, and they even quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Some of them even started shouting words like "it's only a pseudo monarch"… But their words couldn't affect the outcome.

In just two minutes…

The ghost figure killed and heavily injured eight extraordinary beings, including two pseudo monarchs. The already disadvantaged Dark Society members immediately fell apart and scattered.

The applicants took advantage of this and chased after him.

Suddenly…

A shocking pressure descended.

The space was almost frozen.

A sprite shaped like steel armor appeared, and inch by inch, Steel Wings spread out behind its back.

Steel God Soldier!

With its newly sprouted steel wings, the Steel God Soldier flew over from afar. Its pair of Steel Wings opened and closed, as if it was piercing through space. Grayish-gold light flashed past as it targeted the Yama Ghost King that was chasing the other sprites.

At this moment…

Only then did everyone finally realize that a monarch rank existence had appeared!

Shock and despair befell the applicants.

The inspector was done for this time!

They started thinking that they shouldn't have participated in this good-for-nothing interview!

Some of the applicants' faces had already turned ferocious, but most of them still cast their hopes and gazes at the inspector at this moment.

The inspector's expression…

It was still calm!

There was even a hint of mockery.

As if to say, "Is that it?"

Boom!

The gray-gold light slashed down, and the ground cracked inch by inch. The cracks spread for more than a hundred meters. However, amidst the smoke and dust, a black figure suddenly flew out. Shadow energy lingered, and nomological marks appeared on its forehead. Its crown flickered, and its black robe flapped. In an instant, it arrived in front of the Steel God Soldier. Its black ghost claws tore through the air and collided with the fist surrounded by the gray-gold light of the Steel God Soldier.

Boom!!

The black-robed figure retreated dozens of meters.

However…

The Steel God Soldier was also knocked back quite a distance.

Su Hao shook his head slightly. "Monarch rank, is that all you got?"