[523] Who Are We Assassinating Today?

A few hours later. North of Jiangli City, at Mount Shiyang where the high mountain range came to an end. Xia Ming and his two companions crouched atop a massive boulder, gazing from afar toward the Astral Black Tortoise. "That really is an insane number of summoned beasts," Xia Ming said with a chuckle to the two teammates beside him as he looked at the creatures surrounding the colossal tortoise. He had assassinated plenty of summoners, but he had never encountered anyone with a retinue of summons as absurdly vast as Yu Xian's. The summoned beasts around the Astral Black Tortoise came in all shapes and sizes, standing like sentries across the terrain. There was practically a post every three steps and a watchtower every ten, their alert perimeter extending several thousand meters. An assassin with a short stealth duration would probably see their invisibility expire before they could even get close to Yu Xian. And if stealth failed halfway through, they would inevitably be swallowed by a vast sea of monsters. "All right, let's get started," Xia Ming said to his companions once he had observed enough to confirm their target's location. He pulled up a mask to cover his face, opened his livestream channel, adjusted the viewing angle, and set a one-hour broadcast delay. Put simply, the footage he was recording now would only stream an hour later. That way, he didn't have to worry about the broadcast alerting his quarry. An hour from now, Yu Xian's head would have long since been severed! "Hello, everyone! I'm Assassin Xia!" "I'm Assistant Xiao Nan." "I'm Assistant Yili." "And the show you're watching is... *Who Are We Assassinating Today?*" The three fell naturally into formation. After their introductions, they grinned and delivered the title in unison. *Who Are We Assassinating Today?* had made quite a name for itself in the Zhen Realm. Every time, Assassin Xia turned his missions into an episode, and he had never once failed. Because most of his assassination targets were summoners and his abilities countered them so thoroughly, those who knew him called him the Summoner Killer! "All right, without further ado, our target today is the man heralded as the number one rising star—Yu Xian." "Yu Xian is a summoner. Many believe he will become the Zhen Realm's strongest powerhouse in the future. He possesses countless formidable summons and can launch an unimaginably terrifying war at a moment's notice. Even the long-renowned boss Gong Yinhu became a stepping stone to his fame. "And today, we're taking his head! "Stay tuned, everyone!" Having divided their roles and finished introducing the target, their female teammate, Yili, transformed into an oriole and soared into the sky. Her job was to film continuous tracking shots, tracking Xia Ming from the air and capturing his every move. These shots would be edited into their next video release. "All right, let's move!" "Decapitation operation: begin!" Xia Ming smiled at the camera. Behind him, Xia Nan promptly dissolved into thin air. Xia Nan was not an assassin, nor was Yili. One was an Air Knight, and the other was a Metamorph Envoy. The former could turn his body into air to evade most damage while also weaponizing air against his targets. The latter could transform into dozens of animals, possessing immense combat prowess and the versatility to handle any unexpected situation. Both were Xia Ming's longtime partners; a single glance was all it took for them to understand one another. Once Xia Nan had turned into air, Xia Ming offered the camera a dashing smile, then casually strolled toward the Astral Black Tortoise, completely unfazed by the thousands of beasts ahead. *[I Am a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: When facing more than two opponents, the Jackal God of Slaughter can blend among them, becoming one of their own. Aura skills and judgment skills all lose effect.]* Xia Ming reached the perimeter of the summoned beasts and walked past their line with a faint smile. The first beast to notice him was a brawny monstrosity with an octopus head. It stared blankly at Xia Ming, vaguely sensing that he was just another summoned beast like itself, and let him walk right by. Many more summoned beasts looked in his direction, only to come to the exact same conclusion. Unchallenged and unhindered, Xia Ming strode straight in, approaching the Astral Black Tortoise almost as if taking a leisurely stroll. To him, the sheer number of summons meant nothing. In fact, the more there were, the better pleased he was. "Look at this one. Looks pretty tough, doesn't it?" Xia Ming remarked to the camera with a grin, gesturing toward a five-meter-tall striped white tiger. If he didn't hype Yu Xian to the skies, how could he highlight his own greatness? Besides, that white tiger truly gave off an extremely dangerous aura. If he were to face it head-on, he felt his chances of victory were thirty percent at best. Xia Ming even suspected it was a boss monster. Monsters of that caliber usually possessed sky-high immunities, meaning the instant-kill techniques he used on class holders were far less effective against them. "Let's keep moving. To avoid any unexpected complications, we should wrap this up quickly!" Xia Ming said. Only forty minutes remained before the stream went live. He had to eliminate Yu Xian within that window; otherwise, someone would inevitably leak the news to curry favor with the rising star. After all, Yu Xian was practically guaranteed to become the top powerhouse in the Zhen Realm. Who wouldn't want to do him a favor? Xia Ming broke into a sprint, dashing straight toward the Astral Black Tortoise. While the surrounding beasts found him a little odd, that marvelous skill prevented them from attacking; they simply took him for an overexcited fool making a fuss. The closer he got, the more Xia Ming could sense the Astral Black Tortoise's sheer dreadfulness. This creature was undoubtedly a boss monster—and among the very strongest of its tier. Level alone did not dictate strength. Sometimes, even a Level 1 entity could possess terrifying combat power due to unique mechanics. There were even boss monsters that grew stronger the lower their level was, creatures renowned for being nightmarish to fight. Xia Ming was certain of one thing: his instant-kill abilities were absolutely useless against the Astral Black Tortoise. Fortunately, he didn't need to fight it. All he had to do was kill Yu Xian, and these summoned beasts would naturally disperse back to where they came from. Reaching the base of the Astral Black Tortoise, he leaped up, grabbed one of the downward-pointing spikes dangling from the shell above its leg, gritted his teeth, and hauled himself upward. *So hot.* The Astral Black Tortoise was formed of magma. Even though it wasn't attacking him, the scorching heat drenched him in sweat. "You all right?" Xia Nan's voice drifted over. Xia Ming shook his head. "I'm fine. Move!" He was now only a single step away from taking Yu Xian's head. Flipping a confident smile toward the camera, he continued to climb. Admittedly, without the tortoise deliberately forming stairs, moving across its shell was no easy task. Bizarre crags jutted everywhere, many stone edges sharp as blades. A single misstep could easily leave a nasty cut. Xia Ming was forced to slow his pace, taking care not to scrape himself, bleed, and give away his presence.