Jian Xun caused such a commotion that the middle-aged man in the back row with 11 seats could no longer pretend to be asleep.
Especially after the gunshot, several spell card masters rushed in his direction.
Anyone would naturally think: these guys are coming for me.
That gunshot just now was definitely the enemy's signal to attack!
Strike first to gain the upper hand!
The middle-aged man was extremely decisive. Seeing the enemies approaching, he suddenly sprang up, lightning-fast, and grabbed the nearest assassin. In that instant, his once withered arm suddenly swelled with muscles, bursting through his clothes, and with terrifying strength, he crushed the assassin's bones.
"Ah!"
With the sound of bones cracking, the assassin Xiaowu let out a scream, cold sweat instantly covering his forehead.
He couldn't understand why the attacker's speed and strength were so terrifying.
Rose, who arrived a moment later to support, saw her teammate severely injured in an instant and her expression changed drastically. She was shocked: does that guy have such a powerful ally?
She didn't bother with the gunman who had lost his target; saving her teammate was more important!
Since an ally had appeared, she believed that the item her team was looking for must be on this stronger person.
She pulled out a card and aimed at the middle-aged man who had suddenly sprung up, mentally chanting, "Dream Release!"
The white hexagram on the back of the card lit up, and the card dissolved into points of white light, sending a mental shock wave towards the middle-aged man.
This "Dream Release Card" is a commonly used technique by mental-type spell card masters, a wide-range attack that can make the target drowsy.
Even if it can't control the enemy, it can slow their thoughts.
In the confined space of the carriage, there was no way to avoid it, and the attack hit the middle-aged man perfectly.
However, before Rose could make another move, she saw his eyes turn a beast-like bright red, and an indescribable aura of terror swept through the carriage.
She didn't know that the middle-aged man had been struggling to control the spell power on the verge of losing control.
At that moment, due to the mental hypnosis, the spell power completely lost control!
As the spell power went out of control, the middle-aged man's body cracked and expanded visibly, his skin sprouting black fur, fangs growing from his mouth, and his features rapidly transforming into those of a beast.
In the blink of an eye, the middle-aged man transformed from human form into a nearly three-meter-tall black gorilla!
Surrounded by dark elements like raging flames, his aura suddenly multiplied.
The black gorilla, now out of control, had no rationality left. It crushed Xiaowu's arm, and the scent of blood further provoked its ferocity.
Grabbing the assassin's leg with its other hand, it roared and tore him apart with a "splash," blood splattering everywhere.
At this moment, the hunters in the carriage, who had been caught off guard by the stun grenade, regained their senses and turned on various emergency lighting devices to illuminate the carriage.
Instantly, hundreds of eyes saw the terrifying scene of the black gorilla's rampage.
Fortunately, the monster's attention was diverted, and the hunters fled to carriage 15 for safety.
In front of the black gorilla, Rose, covered in hot blood, was terrified.
She never expected it to turn out this way—one encounter, and her teammate was dead.
But as a professional mercenary, she quickly reacted. She rubbed her hand, and five cards appeared in her hand: "Arcane: Nightmare Devourer."
She knew she couldn't hold back anymore.
Realizing that if she didn't control this monster, she would be dead too.
In an instant, a sharp mental attack like needles stabbed towards the black gorilla in the large carriage.
The black gorilla's mind felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and it roared in pain, flinging the corpse and spraying blood all over the carriage.
If it were a normal person, this mental attack would have been deadly or severely injuring.
But this was already an out-of-control mutant monster!
The attack didn't kill the black gorilla.
Now, its eyes only showed a needle-like, terrifying brutality!
Thump, thump, thump...
The black gorilla pounded its arms, smashing the surrounding tables and chairs into countless splinters, which shot through the carriage like a rainstorm.
Mental-type professionals are physically weak, and Rose wanted to escape, but it was too late.
Seeing death approaching!
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed. A tall figure in snake-scale armor charged into the battlefield, holding a sword in both hands and slashing at the black gorilla.
The power of the slash was immense, the sword's blade creating visible ripples in the air.
But the effect was less than expected.
With a "clang," it was as if the sword struck hard granite, leaving only a shallow cut on the black gorilla's waist.
The heavily armored warrior was also startled.
"Heh, so the Blackwater mercenary group is interested in that ancient relic too? They've met their match now, haven't they?" someone chuckled.
The conversation quickly shifted.
To the hunters, it seemed that the Blackwater mercenaries had clashed with this person over the relic.
Mercenaries already had a bad reputation, and fighting on the train for personal gain was a clear breach of the rules. This made it even less likely that anyone would want to help them.
Even the skilled hunters from the guild who had hurried over had no intention of intervening.
They were clearly waiting for both sides to tire each other out before stepping in to take control.
Fighting on the train, for any reason, was a serious breach of the rules. If they got killed, they deserved it!
...
Luckily, the carriage's heavy armor prevented the battle inside from tearing the train apart.
The black ape was indeed ferocious, and regular mercenaries were nearly helpless against it, going down with just one punch each.
The fight was quickly drawing to a close.
To prevent the battle from spreading to other carriages, the train crew raised armored barriers at carriage 14.
Jixun didn't see the second half of the fight. After a loud noise, everything went quiet.
But the aftermath was clear. Once the armored barriers were removed, train staff entered to clean up.
Before long, the barely breathing "Iron Fist" Rock was carried out on a stretcher to the medical room. They needed at least one survivor to explain the incident.
Carriages 15 and 16 were in shambles, filled with bodies.
With no help, the Blackwater mercenary group, which had started with a dozen people, was now down to just one survivor after the black ape's onslaught.
Jixun squeezed through the crowd, carefully checking the bodies.
The assassin was torn in half, the brown-haired mentalist woman had her head crushed, and the guy with a suspected sense-enhancing talent had his chest caved in...
These were all trackers he had encountered before.
Seeing this, Jixun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
From the looks of it, most of the Blackwater mercenaries on the train were dead.
Even if "Iron Fist" Rock survived, it didn't matter much.
The trackers Jixun was worried about were all dead, so the crisis was over.
With that, he relaxed and continued watching the commotion.
...
At the back of the carriage, where the iron door had been, there was now a large, torn hole, and the black ape was nowhere to be seen.
Train staff were patching up the hole with metal plates.
"Boss, what should we do with these bodies?"
"Throw them off the train. Keep a few for the Blackwater mercenaries to claim themselves. Make sure to treat them with alchemical potions to prevent them from turning into corpses."
"Yes, sir."
Several train staff collected the bodies of a few curse card users, while the rest of the mercenary bodies were thrown off the train.
These few bodies would be kept as "evidence."
Before long, the carriages were mostly cleaned up. The passengers from carriages 15 and 16, who had been crowded into other carriages, returned to their seats.
Even without seats, the hunters didn't mind, sitting on the floor, playing cards, and chatting away, the noise returning to its usual level.
But a pair of eyes was fixed on an iron box in the corner of the carriage, which contained the bodies.
Bodies...
They were valuable.
Jixun's eyes gleamed as he noticed the uncontrolled curse energy emanating from the box. After checking his surroundings, he walked over.
With the crowd providing cover and the lights in that corner still broken, he pretended to rest in the shadows and used his [Feast] skill.
Using it, he absorbed the supernatural traits from the bodies into his own.
"You used Feast to devour, Physique +"
"You used Feast to devour, Strength +"
"You used Feast to devour, Toughness +"
"You used Feast to devour, Water Element Affinity +"
...
Even though these curse card users' bodies had been treated, the remaining curse energy was still substantial compared to the card user trainees he had encountered in the other-dimensional space.
With several hours of travel left, Jixun sat beside the box, quietly devouring.
...
Meanwhile, in the first carriage, the guild stewards were discussing the recent incident.
"There are clear traces of a catastrophic aura in carriage 16. It seems 'Lone Wolf' Barron really took that relic from the Silver Moon Altar."
"Without containment, the disaster level of that ancient relic could be very high."
"Unfortunately, the transformed ape was too alert. It jumped off the train as soon as we got close."
"I didn't expect the Blackwater mercenaries to find Barron first. Strange, are they also after the relic?"
"Maybe it's not the Blackwater group's doing."
"You mean... the Cao family?"
"Yes. The Blackwater guys came to me before, wanting to stop the train, but didn't say why. I didn't know why at the time. Just now, the camp reported that someone cleared the 407 dimensional space with an S rating. It might be related to this."
"407? That space was said to have rare materials and cards, but it's extremely difficult. Someone cleared it?"
"Yes. Details are still unclear. The Devil's Cross hasn't sent more information yet. But the Blackwater people were indeed searching the camp. It seems Barron is related to 407..."
"Whoever it is, fighting on the train breaks the rules. Notify the guild headquarters."
"..."