Chapter 21: Lin Huang Loses His Temper

Zuo Qiu Kang felt a chill run down his back as he noticed Lin Huang’s gaze fixed upon him, prompting a faint urge to retreat.

“You brat, what are you staring at? Do you think being a Summoner makes you so special? The Zuo Qiu family is nobility; you’re not someone who can afford to provoke us!” The tall, thin youth, seeing Lin Huang completely ignore him, shouted again with renewed arrogance.

Hearing the word “nobility,” Lin Huang’s brows drew together slightly. In this world, only families with someone who surpassed the Gold rank could be officially recognized as noble by the Alliance government. Instantly, he understood why these seasoned veterans were so willing to let Zuo Qiu Kang, a mere teenager, lead them.

Zuo Qiu Kang, who had initially found Lin Huang peculiar, now felt emboldened by those words, a surge of jealousy swelling within him. “Why should this pauper have the qualifications to be a Summoner? Not even Iron rank at fifteen—clearly a nobody without any background. So what if he’s a Summoner; today, I’ll show him who’s superior!”

“Brother Lin, we never meant to make things difficult for you, but your attitude is a bit too dismissive. My companions don’t like the way you act, and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll stay neutral.” Yet Zuo Qiu Kang was no fool; sensing Lin Huang wasn’t to be trifled with, he deliberately distanced himself from the conflict. Though he criticized Lin Huang with an odd excuse, he left himself room to maneuver, showing a bit of the cunning learned from adults in his family.

Had Lin Huang been a true fifteen-year-old, he might have reflected on whether his attitude was overly harsh after hearing these words. But Lin Huang was no child; he saw through their ploy immediately—it was nothing more than an attempt to remove himself from the dispute. That way, no matter who won, Zuo Qiu Kang would remain unscathed.

For Lin Huang, this was not necessarily bad news; at least there would be one less person to fight. Though unafraid of trouble, he did not wish to provoke a noble without cause.

The tall youth and his companions, however, failed to grasp why Zuo Qiu Kang spoke thus; they simply thought he was reluctant to act and wanted them to deal with the matter. To serve the young master of nobility was a chance they welcomed. Whether or not they passed the trial to become reserve hunters, having this favor in their pocket could help them secure a job in a noble-controlled industry in the future. At least, that was what these four believed.

Zuo Qiu Kang stepped back, while the four exchanged glances. Three lunged at the Sand Slayer, while the tall youth himself rushed at Lin Huang.

The simplest way to take down a Summoner was to strike before the Summoner finished calling forth their beast. If the Summoner had already summoned their creature, then a few would hold the beast at bay while the rest quickly eliminated the Summoner.

Lin Huang, not yet at Iron rank, could not sense the true strength of the four, but seeing the others defer to the tall youth suggested he was the strongest—most likely Iron rank three.

Lin Huang dared not be careless. As he swiftly retreated, the Grey Hawk 17 was already in his hand, its magazine loaded with armor-piercing explosive rounds, only five bullets remaining.

Seeing the Grey Hawk 17 in Lin Huang’s hand, the tall youth curled his lips into a sinister grin. “Grey Hawk 17—a gun that doesn’t even count as Iron-grade armament. Against Iron rank one or two, it might pose a threat, but I, Xue Jie, am Iron rank three. This trash gun can’t do me any harm at all.”

Seeing Xue Jie fearlessly charge at him, Lin Huang’s face remained impassive as he aimed at Xue Jie’s chest and pulled the trigger.

“Boom!” A violent explosion thundered, startling everyone.

Xue Jie realized too late that the bullet was unusual. He twisted, trying to dodge, but was struck in the right shoulder by the explosive round. His shoulder was torn open, leaving a fist-sized hole, deep enough to expose the bone.

Clutching his shoulder, unable to stop the blood pouring out, Xue Jie glared furiously at Lin Huang and hurriedly poured a healing potion onto the wound.

Lin Huang watched from a distance, refraining from further attack. Without the Tyrant or Bai’s intervention, killing Xue Jie would be difficult.

Xue Jie’s displayed strength far surpassed that of the weakened Bloodthirster Lin Huang had fought before; his intelligence, too, was not dulled by hunger. With only four explosive rounds left—each reserved for emergencies—Lin Huang had no intention of wasting ammunition.

Besides, this was still a minor skirmish; it had not escalated to a life-and-death struggle.

Seeing Lin Huang’s calm, precise, and ruthless attack, Zuo Qiu Kang’s expression shifted slightly, confirming his earlier suspicions. “This kid is dangerous!”

He noted that Lin Huang had held back; had he fired a moment later and aimed for the head instead of the chest, Xue Jie would have been a corpse by now.

Just as Zuo Qiu Kang’s attention was fixed on Lin Huang, several anguished cries came from nearby.

The three youths attacking the Tyrant were completely ignored by it, and with a single forceful punch, the Tyrant sent all three flying, their fate uncertain.

Having dealt with his assailants, the Tyrant turned and charged towards Lin Huang, reaching out to grab Xue Jie.

Xue Jie, seeing the Tyrant rushing at him, panicked. Enduring the pain in his shoulder, he retreated desperately, shouting for Zuo Qiu Kang’s help. “Zuo Qiu, help me!”

Zuo Qiu Kang’s face darkened. Though he wished to stay uninvolved, he couldn’t let Xue Jie die here. If Xue Jie were killed, he’d be left alone, and who knew if Lin Huang would silenced him to cover his tracks.

He thrust his right hand into the air; the black ring on his middle finger transformed into a giant shield, blocking Xue Jie’s path.

“Boom!”

The Tyrant’s huge claw slammed into the shield, web-like cracks appearing instantly.

A flash of horror crossed Zuo Qiu Kang’s eyes. That Iron-grade armament cracked under a single blow from the Sand Slayer, implying its attack power was close to that of a Bronze-ranked monster. He quickly shouted to Lin Huang, “Brother Lin Huang, let’s talk this out—don’t attack!”

“Tyrant!” Lin Huang finally called the Tyrant to halt.

The Tyrant, still in the throes of battle, turned in confusion at Lin Huang’s shout.

“Don’t attack for now,” Lin Huang commanded, then looked at Zuo Qiu Kang and Xue Jie. “I need a proper explanation.”

Seeing Lin Huang restrain the Tyrant, both men breathed a sigh of relief.

Zuo Qiu Kang called out from a distance, “Brother Lin Huang, this was our fault. We shouldn’t have let greed cloud our judgment and give you trouble. We apologize.”

“Zuo Qiu, this kid won’t dare kill us. Killing is forbidden during the trial—if we die here, he’ll lose his qualification and be permanently blacklisted by the Hunter Association, forbidden from taking any future trials. And you’re a noble; if you die, the Hunter Association will investigate. Killing a noble is a major crime in the Alliance government…”

“Shut up!” Zuo Qiu Kang snapped, his face sour, surprised that Xue Jie dared provoke Lin Huang even now. “Brother Lin Huang, all my armaments above Iron grade have been confiscated. The only thing of value left is a set of Black Armor.”

As he spoke, Zuo Qiu Kang removed a black ring from his left ring finger and tossed it onto the sand at the Tyrant’s feet. “Let this armament serve as our apology. I hope we can leave this matter behind and be friends from now on.”

Lin Huang was silent for a moment before speaking. “I accept your apology. You may leave now, taking the three lying over there with you…”

“But this one alone cannot leave.” Lin Huang raised a hand, pointing at Xue Jie behind Zuo Qiu Kang.