Ambush

At the entrance to the Qilu Card Master Association Headquarters, a youth stood with his head lowered, scrolling through the information on his phone.

Just then, a voice suddenly called out, making him look up.

"Little brother, sorry I’m late."

It was Cui Dazhu.

And the youth was naturally Lu Su.

"It’s fine, I just got here too." He waved it off, signaling that the other man need not take it to heart, then asked about the intelligence for this operation. "This mission has something to do with the Guiyi Cult?"

He had already checked the mission details and discovered that one of the targets was his old friend, the Guiyi Cult.

But honestly, having dealt with the upper ranks of the Demon Army so often, he had grown somewhat numb to the Guiyi Cult.

Of course, they still had to take it seriously. Who knew what new tricks they would pull this time?

Hearing Lu Su’s words, Cui Dazhu sighed. "Yeah. Little brother, you just got back, and we didn’t run into them during the last mission, so you don’t know how rampant the Guiyi Cult has become in Qilu."

But then he seemed to remember something and could not help scratching his head. "Wait, didn’t they make trouble for you in Donglai too?"

Lu Su nodded. Li Shuo and Cliff had caused quite a commotion in Donglai. If Ulquiorra had not broken through to Jade Grade in the heat of battle, he did not know how he would have dealt with that middle-aged man.

Seeing this, Cui Dazhu could not help patting him on the shoulder. "How did that saying go again?"

"When you spot one cockroach in your home, it means there’s already a whole nest of them hiding somewhere you can’t see."

"But little brother, you came from the Shuběi Army. This mission will mainly depend on you."

He believed Lu Su, who had faced the Demon Army head-on, knew the Guiyi Cult better than he did.

Professional matters should be left to professionals. Cui Dazhu decided to be an obedient wooden puppet.

Lu Su could not help twitching the corner of his mouth. "…I’ll do my best."

The two continued exchanging mission intelligence for a while before setting off for their destination this time: Jeju.

What made this mission unusual was that he and Cui Dazhu were not the first batch of reinforcements. Before them, two other teams of mobile personnel had already gone ahead to Jeju. He and Cui Dazhu were the third batch.

"Guiyi Cult plus a Secret Realm Invasion…" Along the way, Lu Su silently recalled the information concerning Jeju’s current situation. No wonder it’s tying down so many people.

"I just wonder what kind of experiment the Guiyi Cult is conducting this time."

Thinking of the Demonization experiment in Donglai, he could not help frowning.

What he feared most was those cockroaches pulling some new trick again. The little item Aizen had generated for the Demonization experiment happened to be able to handle that, but if it was some other experiment, he might be powerless to help.

Traveling was dull, so Cui Dazhu decided to casually find something to talk about.

In a bored tone, he said, "Come to think of it, we really had you to thank for the last mission, little brother. Otherwise, we might not have wrapped it up so smoothly."

"And the point rewards were so generous."

The big man was speaking honestly. He had rarely encountered such a comfortable mission before. It had taken only a few days to earn nearly forty thousand points.

Overall, there had been some danger, but it was still within what he could bear. Though even if it had not been, it was not like he could have refused.

Still, having a powerhouse like Lu Su as a teammate was truly reassuring.

Although his contribution in Ande City had not been as great as Lu Su’s, meaning he had received fewer points than the youth, Cui Dazhu would not tamper with the report over this. First, the submitted report required both their signatures. Second, even if Lu Su did not need to sign it, there was no reason to offend someone with such a promising future for such a trifling gain.

"Ah…"

"I’m still so many points short of the Field Material I want."

At that, he could not help envying Lu Su. In the Secret Realm last time, he had seen that the youth already possessed a Jade Grade Field Card.

What he did not know was that Lu Su possessed not one Jade Grade card, but two.

Seeing Cui Dazhu open up the conversation, Lu Su chimed in, "Can’t be helped. Field Materials are pretty rare."

"It’s already good enough if you can find one that suits you."

He did not mention that he had acquired another new Field Card.

Just as Cui Dazhu was about to continue, an inexplicable, bone-chilling cold suddenly crawled over both of them.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Su drew the Flame Sword from the belt at his waist.

Boom—

Blazing flames instantly swept through the surroundings.

Within a single breath, he transformed into a bootleg version of Dragon Arthur Form.

"Who’s there?!"

Lu Su shouted in a low voice, his brows tightly furrowed as he scanned the surroundings.

Beside him, Cui Dazhu had also activated his lifesaving card. However, his card was nowhere near as powerful as the Holy Blade Armor, and having been caught off guard, he was still somewhat affected.

But to a Jade Grade Card Master, that did not even count as a minor injury.

An ambush?

The thought flashed through both their minds at the same time.

Yet neither could immediately think of who would lie in wait for them here.

At that moment, Cui Dazhu asked Lu Su in a low voice, slight confusion in his tone, "Guiyi Cult?"

Lu Su only gave a cautious two-word answer. "Probably."

Although he leaned toward that answer as well, he vaguely felt that something was off.

Right now, he and Cui Dazhu were heading to Jeju as reinforcements. The only ones whose interests would be affected were the Demons in the Secret Realm and the Guiyi Cult in the city.

The former could not possibly come to intercept them, since they had no source of information.

As for the latter…

Thinking of his "formidable reputation" within the Demon Army, Lu Su felt that this did indeed seem like their handiwork. The Guiyi Cult might also have obtained intelligence that the two of them were heading to Jeju as reinforcements.

At the same time, several figures dressed in different styles appeared around them, vaguely encircling the pair.

In an instant, Cui Dazhu identified them. He said to Lu Su with certainty, "They’re cards. The Guiyi Cult."

"I just don’t know how many Card Masters there are."

Looking at the considerable number of cards, Cui Dazhu’s expression darkened terribly.

The people attacking them were Card Masters, and the Guiyi Cult happened to have Card Masters as well.

Hearing this, Lu Su silently nodded, though he remained secretly vigilant.

Then, the Card Master hiding somewhere nearby spoke, confirming Cui Dazhu’s guess. "…Lu Su?"

"A man’s reputation precedes him. You truly deserve to be the Ultra-High Risk Target personally named by the Army Lord. Even that failed to injure you."

After a pause, the man continued, "But next year’s today will be your death anniversary."

"Give up resisting, and I can let you die with less pain."

Lu Su merely sneered. "Pointless nonsense. I hope your strength is as tough as your mouth."

As he spoke, he summoned his cards.

When Ulquiorra and Altria appeared, the Card Master in hiding felt no reaction. The existence of those two cards had already been included in the intelligence they received.

"Although they’re troublesome…"

"It’s not like we have no chance."

Thinking of Lu Su’s record of severely injuring a Diamond Grade Demon, the attacker’s expression gradually turned serious.

But when Unohana Retsu appeared, he felt a faint sense of unease. Still, considering that some time had passed since the youth left the Shuběi Army, creating a new card was unexpected but still within reasonable bounds.

"This is troublesome…"

"We may have to use the trump card my lord gave us."

Unfortunately, he did not know that Lu Su also possessed Field Cards, nor did he know this was not Lu Su’s final creature-type card.

When Nylro appeared beside the youth, not only the attacker but even Cui Dazhu could not help feeling surprised.

Looking at the green-haired woman’s attire, identical to Ulquiorra’s, even an idiot could tell they were cards from the same series.

And cards from the same series undoubtedly possessed a Bond.

More importantly…

"If that card is only number four…"

"How strong must number three be?"

The attacker in the shadows first looked at the number four on Ulquiorra’s left chest, then at the number three on Nylro’s back.

Of course, he could comfort himself by assuming that higher numbers meant greater strength.

But even so, how big could the gap be between two cards only one rank apart? It was not as though there could be something like 3.1 between them, right?

What he did not know was that because Ulquiorra was a special case, his current strength might even slightly exceed that of Nylro, the original Third Espada who should have ranked above him in the original work.

Although the situation had already slipped somewhat beyond his control, thinking of the mission his lord had assigned, he ultimately decided to give it a try.

"Unfortunately, we don’t know the Bond effect."

A card’s Bond was an immensely powerful effect capable of influencing the course of battle.

But since Ulquiorra and Nylro were both Lu Su’s Custom Cards, he had no idea how to even begin inferring their Bond effect.

Soon, however, a special ripple spread through the air, and his doubts were answered.

Pesche and Dondochakka appeared beside Nylro in an instant, while Ulquiorra’s aura abruptly grew much stronger on the other side.

"A summoning-type Bond?!"

Judging by the auras he sensed, the two newly appeared cards might not be at the very top of Jade Grade, but they were at least around average.

The attacker’s heart immediately sank. With this, the numerical advantage they originally possessed had essentially been nullified.

Including Cui Dazhu’s cards, Lu Su’s side now roughly matched the number of cards summoned by the Card Masters attacking them.

As for quality…

There was no doubt that Lu Su’s side was far superior.

At that moment, a less-than-calm voice rang out across the area. "I didn’t expect you to be hiding so many trump cards. We miscalculated this time."

"But if you think these alone are enough to take us down, you’re being far too wishful."

Hearing this, the two subordinates of the attackers’ leader exchanged glances. Neither knew whether their boss was serious or joking.

Ignoring the other side’s empty bravado, Lu Su spoke in a voice so cold it held not the slightest trace of emotion.

"Take them out."

"Remember to leave some alive."