Stein felt a bit daunted by the monster's bizarre appearance.
At first glance, it resembled a horse, but upon closer inspection, its mane was entirely composed of long, slender, tubular worms.
Therefore, even though the monster seemed amiable, Stein dared not ride it. A hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes, wanting to summon his Tings Hound to drain the creature dry.
But just then, the Mist Box moved on its own, nudging Stein forward as if signaling him to mount.
With the Mist Box's action, Stein didn't dare to act rashly. Knowing the monster was summoned by the Mist Box, he extinguished his killing intent and, after much hesitation, finally mounted it.
Unbeknownst to him, the Mist Box had actually saved his life just then.
If Stein had summoned his Tings Hound, he would have surely died. The Tings Hound would not have targeted the horse-like monster but would have attacked Stein directly.
The horse-like monster was, in essence, a mass of mist. The Tings Hound, naturally, wouldn't target mist, leaving Stein, the only living person nearby, to bear its wrath. Sudan Novel Network.
The horse-like monster carried Stein, proceeding leisurely. Though the direction was unclear, Stein knew the monster's objective was definite.
Stein's senses weren't particularly sharp, but he could see the surrounding mist churning. From the flow of the mist, he could tell that quite a few monsters were following them.
However, he couldn't possibly imagine the scene unfolding around him.
What monstrous things lurked within the dense fog made Stein's heart churn. After all, apart from the Tings Hounds hunting him, he had no other means of self-preservation.
And it wasn't just the hidden monsters that frightened him; he had also noticed earlier that the surroundings were becoming less orderly and more chaotic.
The sounds of explosions, gunshots, clashing metal, and occasional shouts convinced Stein that he had been targeted by the Hunter Association.
Those sounds were from demon hunters with magical abilities attacking him. However, due to the surrounding mist monsters, he was temporarily safe.
In this environment, whether he moved forward or backward, escape was impossible.
So, he patted the neck of the strange horse beneath him and said, "I hope you can take me to that demon hunter named Wen... This might just be wishful thinking."
...
Several hundred meters from Stein, dozens of shadows stood scattered.
These were the true-order powerhouses like Xun Qing, George, and Kiku Juro, along with dozens of other upper-order demon hunters.
George pointed to a massive mist vortex not far away and asked, "Are you sure Stein is inside that giant mist whirlwind?"
Even though the surroundings were shrouded in dense fog, the powerhouses could sense a massive vortex ahead, where the mist was unreasonably thick. It was filled with monsters formed from mist, and a hundred-meter-long mist leviathan swam slowly around the vortex.
Although they hadn't engaged the leviathan, George and the others were certain that it possessed at least true-order strength, and because it couldn't be truly killed, it was likely far more troublesome than an ordinary true-order entity.
It was precisely because of the leviathan's presence that the group hadn't launched a full assault on Stein, merely using some ordinary attacks as probes.
Martina, who had previously shot arrows at Stein, nodded and said, "That's right. I saw him come out of an underground inn and ride a horse-like monster. My previous attacks were blocked by monsters in the mist. Later, the mist turned into this state, and I didn't dare to act further."
Xun Qing sighed and said, "Let's observe for now and see where he's going. If it becomes impossible, we'll have to force our way in."
The horse-like monster didn't move quickly. It took a full half hour for it to sluggishly reach Wen Wen's residential area.
At that moment, Wen Wen, sitting in the center of the complex, suddenly felt a surge of premonition. Looking at the colossal mist vortex that had already approached him, he knew Stein was near.
So, he said loudly, "Disperse!"
Upon hearing Wen Wen's command, the surrounding mist instantly dispersed, and the world seemed to suddenly become clear.
The strange horse beneath Stein suddenly knelt, causing the caught-off-guard Stein to tumble down. He looked around in shock as the densely packed monsters also turned towards Wen Wen, lining up neatly, bowing their heads, and kneeling before him.
The hundred-meter leviathan circled the residential area slowly without descending, as if acting as a bodyguard for Wen Wen.
However, neither Stein nor the leviathan caused Wen Wen any surprise.
What truly stunned him was the nearly one hundred presences he sensed, some similar to his own, others far surpassing it, after he had spoken the word "disperse."
All those demon hunters had followed behind Stein and had come along!
It was likely due to Stein's imposing presence throughout his journey. With the capabilities of these superhumans, there was no reason they wouldn't have noticed Stein.
But in reality, Xun Qing and the others were even more shocked and bewildered. None of them had expected the surrounding mist to disperse in an instant, revealing a man in a black robe sitting at the center of it.
From the aura faintly emanating from the black-robed man, he was actually a disaster-level powerhouse!
Xun Qing took a deep breath, then stepped forward and bowed slightly, saying, "We didn't know you were here. We apologize if we have offended you. But why are you here, and is this mist related to you?"
Seeing Xun Qing's attitude, coupled with Wen Wen's attire, the few true-order experts guessed that the person sitting there was the recently mysteriously appeared disaster-level powerhouse, Black Cross.
The existence of Black Cross was not a secret among the higher echelons of the Hunter Association. Every true-order member knew something about him to varying degrees.
If it weren't for the agreement that Minister Zheng had signed with Black Cross back then, an endless stream of demon hunters would have thoroughly investigated Black Cross, and Wen Wen wouldn't have been able to hide until now.
Although there were rumors that Black Cross was friendly to the Hunter Association, seeing him appear here cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
If this disaster in Nim City was indeed orchestrated by a disaster-level powerhouse, how should they handle it? Confront a disaster-level powerhouse in a group brawl?
Upon hearing Xun Qing's words, Wen Wen merely nodded at him as a gesture of goodwill and then paid them no further attention.
In the eyes of the demon hunters, this was a disaster-level powerhouse who disdained to communicate with them. But Wen Wen was simply afraid of revealing himself by saying too much. He appeared calm as a log, but was inwardly panicking.
Fortunately, when he had said "disperse" earlier, he had put on the robes of the Disaster Prison Supervisor. Otherwise, the situation would be extremely awkward right now.
Wen Wen felt his head spin. With so many demon hunters present, he couldn't act as freely as he wished.
He had to capture Stein and the Mist Box while maintaining the imposing presence of a disaster-level powerhouse.
If he slipped up and made a fool of himself, Black Cross's reputation would be ruined...