Chapter 185: The Brutal Ambush

‘Huh!’ The ghost catcher was utterly blindsided. He hadn’t anticipated the old man would suddenly stab him, a chilling blow straight to the heart.

‘Wait, please don’t call the police just yet. We’re only here to investigate, not to intentionally trespass into your cold storage.’ The ghost catcher speaking from behind was so engrossed in his explanation that he didn’t even notice his comrade had been stabbed.

This confusion stemmed from the old man’s utterly bizarre movements. With one hand, he clutched his phone; with the other, he thrust the sharp knife forward. There was no wind-up, no preparatory stance.

He even kept his phone raised high, as if fearing the ghost catcher might snatch it away.

It wasn’t until the ghost catcher before him slumped, his hands falling limp and the talisman slipping from his grasp, that the captain finally registered something was terribly wrong. He bellowed, ‘What are you doing? Everyone, be careful!’

But it was already too late. The old man swung his arm, and the ghost catcher, whose heart had been pierced, was instantly flung towards the nearest comrade. The old man himself then shot forward, lunging with lightning speed towards another ghost catcher.

‘Ah?!’ Neither of these ghost catchers had time to react. One was directly knocked flying by his teammate’s corpse, while the other, seeing the old man charging, instinctively raised his extendable baton and swung it at him.

The old man raised his arm, taking the full impact of the baton. It was a blow powerful enough to shatter bones, yet he didn’t even let out a grunt of pain. Instead, he swung his butcher knife forward.

The ghost catcher let out a bloodcurdling scream as his arm was cleanly severed, bone and all. Blood splattered, landing on the old man’s face and making his twisted expression appear even more horrifying.

The ghost catcher standing beside the captain also reacted, seizing his taser and firing it at the old man. This wasn’t a Taser with wires; it was a true bolt of lightning striking the old man.

‘Ugh!’ This time, the old man finally showed a flicker of reaction. Yet, he still pressed on like a malevolent specter, enduring the electrical current coursing through him as he continued to charge at the captain.

The repercussions of changing their magical artifacts earlier now became apparent. The captain had no time to draw his stun baton. He could only toss his detector aside and brandish his horsetail whisk, lashing it out at the old man.

A spiritual light flowed from the whisk, indicating it was a more powerful artifact than my jade pendant. The captain’s swing was executed with natural grace, as if he had instantly conjured a luminous barrier before him.

Had he been facing demons or malevolent spirits, they would undoubtedly have crashed into the barrier formed by the whisk, shattering their bodies and dispersing their souls. Even as the old man lunged, the captain’s swing perfectly blocked him.

I fully expected to witness a scene straight out of a wuxia drama, with the old man being flung back by the whisk’s residual force.

However, the scene I imagined did not unfold. The old man simply crashed through the luminous barrier. Although he clearly met resistance and let out a soft grunt, signaling he was no longer purely human, he still brute-forced his way through the barrier.

Any ordinary demon or ghost certainly wouldn’t have found it so easy.

Upon reaching the captain, the old man raised his knife and brought it down. The ghost catcher holding the taser tried to intervene but was simply shoved aside by the old man.

Left with no other option, the captain could only raise his whisk, attempting to parry the butcher knife. In the next instant, the butcher knife effortlessly sliced through the whisk, reducing an artifact I estimated to be worth at least 200,000 to instant scrap.

‘Ah!!!’ The butcher knife tore open the captain’s chest, sending blood spurting. He tried to reach for his stun baton, but it was too late. The old man, no, the old captain, plunged the knife in seven or eight more times, each strike bringing forth a fresh gush of crimson blood.

‘Captain! Captain, are you alright?!’ The female ghost catcher on standby outside, hearing the screams through her communicator, rushed anxiously towards the building.

I found it difficult to comment on her actions. If I had heard screams under such unknown circumstances, I would have turned and fled, shouting for help as loudly as possible, rather than rushing in to sacrifice myself.

By the time the female ghost catcher burst into the building, the captain was already dead. His chest was covered in knife wounds, blood flowing profusely. The ghost catcher who had held the taser clutched his throat.

His taser lay on the ground, split in two. He desperately tried to stem the gushing blood from his throat, which had been slashed by the butcher knife, but it was futile. His life was rapidly ebbing away.

It wasn’t until this moment that the ghost catcher who had been knocked flying by his teammate’s body finally pushed the corpse aside and scrambled to his feet. He had just witnessed three of his teammates meet a tragic end: the captain brutally killed, one clutching his throat with no hope of survival, and another with a severed arm, writhing in agony on the floor.

Adding to this was the ghost catcher at his feet, who had been stabbed through the heart. His eyes were wide open, staring blankly, as if unable to comprehend his sudden assassination.

The last ghost catcher with any fighting capability completely broke down. He turned and fled outside. How could he possibly defeat a killer who could effortlessly dispatch three of his teammates, now that he was all alone?

While I agreed with his decision to flee, I also had a different perspective. To me, the old man’s lightning-fast slaughter was indeed terrifying, and his immunity to electrical attacks seemed insurmountable.

However, in reality, the old man’s attack was simply too sudden, coupled with his ruthless ferocity. He attacked without regard for his own safety, every strike lethal. The ghost catcher squad, caught completely unprepared, was ambushed and defeated so quickly and miserably.

Had they not swapped their artifacts at the beginning, opting instead for weapons designed for human combat, and maintained sufficient vigilance against the old man, refusing to be swayed by his deceptive words, all five of them could have put up a fight.

Even with only the last ghost catcher remaining, he wasn’t entirely without a chance. Although he fled in a panic, he hadn’t completely lost his mind. As he ran past the main door, he picked up a talisman his teammate had dropped.

‘Grand Supreme Elder Lord’s urgent decree, as swift as the law! Vajra Body Protection!’ The ghost catcher shouted loudly, slapping the talisman onto his chest. A bronze-colored light emanated from his skin, and in an instant, he transformed as if made of copper.

‘Little thief, don’t you dare run!’ The old man had already begun his pursuit the moment the last ghost catcher turned to flee. He was as fast as an arrow shot from a bow.

The ghost catcher had only just run out of the cold storage and hadn’t even started climbing the stairs when the old man was already right behind him.

‘Clang!’ The butcher knife directly struck his back, emitting a crisp metallic sound. The sharp blade merely tore his clothes but failed to pierce his back.

This was the first time I had witnessed a talisman directly counter physical attacks. That talisman actually worked, making the ghost catcher impervious to blades. If he were to summon his courage and turn to counterattack now, I believed he would have a chance to kill the old man.

However, the ghost catcher was utterly terrified. The stab to his back only intensified his panic. He scrambled up the stairs in a desperate, haphazard manner, wanting to escape quickly. Seeing this, I just shook my head. He was beyond saving.

Sure enough, the old man lunged, tackling him to the ground. The butcher knife indiscriminately stabbed at his copper-like body. As the ghost catcher turned his head during the struggle, two fingers plunged directly towards his eyes.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Special Supernatural Investigation Team

Modern FantasySupernaturalUrban Fantasy

Read Now →
Not interested