Chapter 105: Chapter 104: Mysterious Cleaner

Ian’s vaporized Spiritual Power surged out. Scorching Beam and Secondary Frost Freeze Beam flashed alternately.

They were as thin as a hair and muted in color, yet they moved with lightning speed, precisely picking off every Demon in his line of sight.

A Corrosive Claw Inferior Demon had just poked its head out of a rock crevice when a charred hole appeared in the center of its forehead.

A Nightwalker darted through the shadows, only to be struck by a gray flash from Gaga. A Scorching Beam immediately followed, piercing its heart.

The remaining Demons tried to scatter and flee, but several Ice and Fire Beams spread out like a net, slowing them before setting them ablaze.

Gaga, for its part, was like a true spectral reaper.

It didn’t go straight for the kill, always casting Omen Eye first.

With a flash of gray light from its left eye, a Nightwalker up ahead preparing an ambush suddenly froze. In their Perception, their own companions had suddenly transformed into hideous human Wizards, who were now raising their Magic Staffs!

"HISS!" The Nightwalkers instinctively began to tear at one another, their bone claws plunging into the flesh of their own kind.

Seizing the opportunity, Gaga’s form flickered continuously through the shadows.

Shadow Jump allowed it to ignore the terrain and instantly appear behind the Demons. Its sharp claws, wreathed in a dark-cyan wind aura, easily tore through Scale Armor and severed bone.

When it occasionally encountered larger groups, it would give a great flap of its wings. Dozens of condensed Wind Blades would whistle out, creating a small storm that shredded the Demons into mincemeat. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Ian’s movements were simple, efficient, and ruthless.

Earth Vein Resonance granted him nearly infinite Endurance, and his physical strength was enough to withstand sporadic attacks. Meanwhile, his fully vaporized Spiritual Power provided a terrifying capacity for sustained spellcasting.

Wherever he passed, Demons fell like blades of grass.

He quickly extracted the Abyssal Crystals and casually collected any valuable materials from the corpses. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, taking no more than ten seconds.

Then he would quickly move on, searching for his next prey.

Time flowed amid blood and slaughter. In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

The temporary defensive line of the West District Sixth Cleaning Team had advanced outward by about six miles, but on the third day, their progress took a bizarre turn.

"Captain, something’s not right," an Apprentice in charge of scouting hurriedly reported, his face etched with confusion.

"That stalactite forest to the east—yesterday, it was occupied by at least fifty Inferior Demons and Nightwalkers, plus a Tier One Poison Claw Nightwalker. Today... they’re all gone."

Kalem frowned. "Cleared out by another team?"

"It doesn’t look like it. There are no signs of a large-scale Witchcraft battle. It’s more like... something killed them all, and fast."

"All the corpses are concentrated in a very small area. The wounds are mostly piercing or slashing wounds, and all the Abyssal Crystals have been taken."

Similar reports came in one after another.

The Rift Valley to the north, the banks of the subterranean river to the south, the fungal forest to the west... all the areas previously marked as having demon activity had been cleared out in an incredibly short time.

All that remained at the scenes was utter devastation.

Charred burn marks intertwined with frostbitten remains. The rock walls were covered in fine slash marks, and occasionally, one could see fragments of corpses torn apart by immense force.

What alarmed Kalem even more was the discovery of a Tier One Middle Stage Rock Armor Worm’s corpse deep inside a hidden cavern.

This type of Demon had extremely strong defenses, could travel freely underground, and spat an acid potent enough to corrode most Energy Shields.

Yet it had died an incredibly clean death. Its head had been pierced by three beams in the exact same spot, its tough Rock Armor torn open as if made of paper, and the Abyssal Crystal within it had already been removed.

"This method..."

Kalem crouched beside the Rock Armor Worm’s corpse, his fingertips tracing the smooth puncture wound. The expression on his scarred face was grim and uncertain.

"This isn’t something an Apprentice could do. For a beam spell to have this kind of Penetration Power, it would take at least a Level One Wizard, and one with frighteningly precise Energy Control at that."

He stood up, his gaze profound as he surveyed the surrounding evidence of battle: a scene of Ice and Fire Interweaving.

"There are no signs of accomplices. All the Demons were picked off quickly... A lone Wizard? But why would an Official Wizard come to an outer clearing zone to steal kills?"

Rod toyed with his Blood-Colored Dice, a wry smile playing on his lips.

"Maybe it’s some lunatic who likes to work alone. Or... a scout from another power, sent to clear the area ahead of time?"

Kelly wiped her Short Staff and offered a calm analysis. "Whoever it is, they have no intention of clashing with us. Judging by the results, they’ve saved us a lot of trouble."

"But they also took all the Merit Points and materials," an Apprentice with a fresh scar on his face couldn’t help but mutter, his voice filled with envy and unwillingness.

"We fight tooth and nail just to kill a few dozen a day, and we’ve lost so many people... Meanwhile, this person comes along and clears out all the Demons like they’re taking a walk in the park."

His words voiced the thoughts of many of the Apprentices.

They looked at their own fresh wounds, thought of their fallen comrades, and then compared their efforts to the efficiency of the "Mysterious Cleaner." A powerful sense of helplessness and jealousy washed over them.

Kalem shot the Apprentice a look and said coldly, "If you have what it takes, you can go ’take a stroll’ and clear them out yourself. If you don’t have the strength, then shut up."

The Apprentice immediately lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

"Pass the order: tighten the watch, but do not actively search for this ’Cleaner’."

’Since someone is clearing the perimeter,’ he thought, ’we should use this time to consolidate our defensive line and probe deeper toward the Demon Nest.’

"Yes, sir!"

The order was given, and the team continued its slow advance in an atmosphere of oppression and doubt.

Meanwhile, in a secluded cave a few miles away, Ian was taking stock of the haul in his Dimension Bag.

Inside a leather pouch, a thick layer of Rice Grain-sized Abyssal Crystals had accumulated—a rough estimate put the count at no less than five hundred.

In addition, there were four slightly larger, darker crystals that had come from Tier One Demons.

The color of his Jade Token had also grown a little deeper.

He had also gathered a fair amount of materials. While most weren’t highly valuable, every little bit added up, and they could be exchanged for a decent number of Magic Stones.

Gaga squatted on a nearby stalactite, its small claws picking at a piece of dried, roasted marsh fish, which it ate with great relish.

"Gaga! The killing these past few days has been a blast! It’s way better than being suffocated in that team!"

Ian placed the last crystal in the pouch, tied it shut, and a faint smile touched his lips.

"This is just the beginning. The deeper we go, the stronger the Demons are, and the more Merit Points they’re worth."

He looked out from the cave into the eternal darkness, his gaze serene.

"However... we need to be more careful. Kalem is already suspicious. Next time we do a sweep, we’ll have to go farther out and be more careful about cleaning up our tracks."

"Relax. With me around, no one can sneak up on us," Gaga said, swallowing the rest of the fish and flapping its wings smugly.

"But Ian, when are we going to hunt bigger fish? I mean... stronger Demons? It’s getting a little boring, always killing these Inferior Demons and Nightwalkers, gaga."

Ian smiled, stood up, and packed away his tent.

"Soon. Once we’ve figured out the distribution patterns of the Demons in this area, we’ll go look for those ’big fish’."

He dusted off the hem of his robe and looked toward the defensive line.

"For now, let’s go back and ’play’ the part of an ordinary High Level Apprentice."

A dark-cyan Shadow flashed and settled back into its hiding place on his chest.

Back at the defensive line’s camp, discussions about the "Mysterious Cleaner" were quietly spreading among the Apprentices as they rested.

"Did you hear? That Stone Forest to the east had over thirty Demons yesterday, and today it’s completely empty!"

"It’s not just the east side. The Rift Valley to the north is the same... I saw a Shadow Devourer wandering there when I was scouting yesterday. When I went back today, all that was left was a puddle of slime."

"You guys think... could it be an Official Wizard from another battle zone, coming over to poach Merit Points?"

"Unlikely. Why would an Official Wizard even care about the small fry in the outer zones? Besides, the method is too clean—all precision kills, without even using area-of-effect Witchcraft."

"Could it be... some kind of subterranean creature that specializes in hunting Demons?"

"Impossible! Subterranean creatures only devour each other. Why would they bother extracting Abyssal Crystals?"

Amid the discussion, someone lowered their voice. "I heard... Captain Kalem went to check the scene himself and found the corpse of a Rock Armor Worm. It was a fatal, single blow."

A wave of sharp, indrawn breaths went through the crowd.

A Rock Armor Worm... that was a tough nut to crack, something that would give even an Official Wizard a hard time!

"A single, fatal blow... What kind of power would that take?"

"And why would a being of that caliber be helping us clear the perimeter?"

No one had an answer.

Only Ian, amid the crowd’s awestruck speculation, silently walked back to his tent.

His gray robe was stained with deliberately uncleaned dust and blood, and his face wore a perfectly calibrated expression of fatigue.