Chapter 60: Instant Detonation Apollo
Inside the White Forest, within a U-shaped valley, the roar of a waterfall rumbled.
On the cliff face above the valley, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu lay side by side, observing the situation below from a high vantage point.
"Basically no guards."
Su Xiao lowered the binoculars in his hand. Mist Fortress was inside the valley. He had finally reached his destination, and upon arriving, he received a flood of notifications.
[Notification: The Hunter has entered an ultra-high-risk area, Mist Valley.]
[Mist Valley is a large gathering place for witches. It is recommended that over thirty Fourth Rank Contractors enter together.]
[If the Hunter enters the Mist Valley area, killing enemies will no longer yield treasure chests, Pioneer Sources, etc. Only Holy Healing Church reputation can be gained.]
[If the Hunter seizes the "Mo Yi Family Heirloom," kill records within Mist Valley will be settled for rewards. If the Hunter leaves Mist Valley during this period, the kill record will be reset.]
[The Hunter has triggered the following quests. Accept? Yes/No.]
[Side Quest: Mission Hunter – While in Mist Valley, kill over 80 witches. Additional reward: 10,000 Holy Healing Church reputation points.]
[Hidden Quest: Fall of the Mo Yi Family – Eliminate all direct bloodline members of the Mo Yi Family. Quest reward: Golden Skill Point × 1.]
……
Seeing the rewards and penalties of the two quests, Su Xiao decisively accepted them. The penalties for side and hidden quests in the Crow World were very lenient; even if he failed, he could tough it out.
"Bubu, go confirm Mo Yi Nora's location."
"Woof~"
Bubu Wang acknowledged and gradually blended into the environment.
Ssss～
A signal interference sound came through Su Xiao's earpiece. Soon, Carmen's voice came through the wireless headset.
"We're ready over here. Eyun is right here. Kukulin, how's it going on your end?"
"Confirming. Ten minutes at most."
Su Xiao ended the communication. For some reason, he felt a faint unease in his heart. Entering Mist Valley had been far too smooth. Remember, this was Mo Yi Nora's main stronghold.
Bubu Wang returned in less than ten minutes. If he wasn't mistaken, Mo Yi Nora was inside Mist Fortress.
"You're sure?"
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang with suspicion. Bubu Wang's dog face showed a hint of helplessness as he pulled a portrait from his backpack.
"Tough job."
Su Xiao had almost forgotten this point. The 'soul painting' on the wanted poster had very little resemblance to the actual person. Judging from the wanted poster, Mo Yi Nora looked at least over 50, but in reality, she wasn't even 30 yet.
"How sure?"
Bubu Wang held up eight dog paws. Eighty percent sure it was Mo Yi Nora.
"Good enough. Start preparations. This is a decent grave."
In Su Xiao's eyes, this U-shaped valley was a grave. In half an hour, he would perform a valley vanishing act for the witches. Of course, they probably wouldn't see it.
Su Xiao remained lying still, while Bubu Wang and Amu quietly got up and ran off into the distance. One man, one dog, and one ox were about to execute an operation pushed to the absolute limit. After Su Xiao explained the plan, Bubu Wang was stunned for a long time before looking at Su Xiao with a gaze full of admiration. The look clearly said: "Master, how did you come up with that?"
After silently moving a distance away, Bubu Wang and Amu sprinted off into the distance, running incredibly fast.
After running a full five kilometers, Bubu Wang and Amu stopped. Bubu Wang took out a small stick that looked like chalk and drew a pattern on the ground.
After finishing the drawing, Amu stood still, while Bubu Wang turned back the way he came.
Not long after, a panting Bubu Wang rejoined Su Xiao. He had drawn the termination point on the cliff above.
Bubu Wang was using the [Wolf Clan Heirloom]. The location five kilometers away where Amu was standing was the starting point, and here was the termination point.
Equipment Effect 2: Hunter's Trap (Active) – When using this equipment for a second drawing, consume 1 point of equipment durability to form a termination point (the distance between the termination point and the starting point must not exceed 20 kilometers). The two drawing points will be connected. The user can forcibly drag any item or creature located at the starting point to the termination point. After this drag is completed, both drawings will disappear.
……
Five kilometers away, an alchemical array flickered in Amu's eyes. Su Xiao took control of his body.
Su Xiao manipulated Amu to take out an Apollo from the team storage space and activate it in his hand. The improved Apollo required 25 seconds to activate.
A terrifying wave of energy spread out, yet the witches in Mist Valley, five kilometers away, were completely unaware. The distance was simply too great.
Su Xiao began the countdown. The Apollo started emitting intense heat. Fortunately, Amu's ability was ice-based, so he wasn't burned by the activated Apollo.
When the countdown reached 15 seconds, Su Xiao notified Bubu Wang to prepare. There were only 10 seconds left until the Apollo detonated.
10 seconds, 9 seconds... When the Apollo had only 6 seconds left until detonation, Bubu Wang activated the drawing at the termination point. A spatial force enveloped Amu, and the next moment, he appeared on the cliff, right above Mist Valley, holding the Apollo.
A terrifying wave of energy spread out. At that moment, every witch in Mist Valley widened their eyes in shock.
Su Xiao released his control over Amu, took the Apollo from him, and tossed it down into the valley below. With a muffled *bang*, the Apollo turned into a red streak flying into the valley. Excluding the flight time, this was almost an instant detonation of the Apollo.
As the Apollo flew through the air, its volume rapidly expanded. It seemed it might explode before even hitting the ground. From start to finish, the witches only had 2 seconds to escape. No, it was only 1.7 seconds.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu turned and fled without looking back.
Bang, bang, bang...
Wooden huts inside Mist Valley were smashed through one after another. In an extremely short time, nearly a hundred witches rushed out of their dwellings. What greeted their eyes was a rapidly expanding fireball.
Boom!
The Apollo detonated two meters above the ground. Orange-red solar flames spread out. The temperature at the center of the flames was even higher, showing a white-hot incandescence.
The flames instantly filled Mist Valley. The current Apollo had a blast radius of 2000 meters, or one kilometer. Mist Valley's diameter was less than 1800 meters, so the explosive power was unimaginable.
In that moment, Mist Valley became a world of fire. The solar flames purified everything. All matter was reduced to ashes under the temperature of the solar flames.
As the flames swept through, the witches used their life-saving trump cards, but it was meaningless. The stronger witches lasted one or two seconds before turning to ash, while the weaker ones were instantly vaporized by the high temperature.
When the Apollo had fully detonated, the rock walls around the valley were scorched red and rapidly turned into magma.
Because the valley was too small and the Apollo's blast radius too wide, the solar flames even erupted from the top of the valley. Under the absolute high temperature, whether they were Fourth Stage or Fifth Stage witches, the only difference was dying one or two seconds later.
The solar flames lasted for several minutes before showing signs of receding. As the blinding flames gradually dissipated, Mist Valley had vanished, and so had the witches. They didn't even have time to let out a single scream.