I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 622: One Wrong Step Leads to Many

"That’s because you haven’t seen my teammates in action," Xu Xiangwen said, lifting his head proudly with a laugh.

"Dance of the Dark Butterfly!"

Wang Lan’s body instantly dissipated, transforming into butterflies fluttering in the air. Beneath the dappled sunlight, the butterflies seemed to dance in a fantastical elfin forest. In an instant, a butterfly appeared beside each of the dozens of armed assailants.

With a SWISH, all their heads soared into the sky.

If it took Xu Xiangwen a minute to eliminate this group of ambushers, Wang Lan did it in just a second, or perhaps even less. Gunfire erupted, then abruptly ceased. That was all.

"My God, it’s no wonder they are the S-level independent squad of the International Security Council. That’s incredible."

"This was probably just a probing attack by the drug traffickers," Wang Lan said as he returned to the team, addressing Haqi.

"I know, but it doesn’t matter. With you all here, whether it’s a probing attack or a real one, they’re doomed," Haqi replied.

Xie Sisi and Jiang Xinyu also eliminated all the assailants on their side in an incredibly short amount of time. The 30,000-strong army continued to advance. However, what was strange was that, according to Haqi, there were quite a few powerful Star Martial Warriors among the drug traffickers, but they didn’t appear during this attack.

Perhaps, as Haqi had said, this was merely a probing attack. But for the next half-day, the drug traffickers seemed to have resigned themselves to their fate, not launching another one. The massive army made it through the primeval forest and into the complex mountain ranges without another incident.

"Mr. Haqi," Wang Lan said, approaching Haqi after the army took a brief rest upon exiting the primeval forest.

"Mr. Fire Phoenix."

"Didn’t you say that these drug traffickers have powerful Star Martial Warriors? Even if their first probing attack was wiped out by us, shouldn’t they have quickly sent out their Star Martial experts to probe us again? But so far, there’s been no sign," Wang Lan said.

"This is indeed abnormal! Maybe they’ve also been intimidated by your strength? Regardless, the fact that we’ve arrived here safely has already surpassed any of our past attempts. Mr. Fire Phoenix might not know, but in the previous three attempts, we were ambushed in the primeval forest and lost one-third of our strength to their despicable sneak attacks. Having almost no casualties this time through the primeval forest, I’m full of confidence in this mission," Haqi replied.

Seeing Haqi’s unconcerned expression, Wang Lan decided not to say more, confident in his own strength to handle any plots the drug traffickers might have.

Xu Xiangwen approached Wang Lan and said, "Lanzi, during the ambush in the forest, I purposely let two scouts escape. It’s about time to close the net, right?"

"Close the net, but be very careful to prevent a desperate counterattack."

After crossing the jungle, it was no longer suitable to split forces. Apart from leaving two thousand troops to guard the primeval forest and prevent the drug trafficking gang from fleeing back, all the other forces were joined together. The terrain here was a jumble of mountains crisscrossing like jagged teeth, with very short visible distances, and the mountain roads were rough and difficult to travel.

Under Xu Xiangwen’s lead, the army quickly closed in on a canyon. "There is a large expanse of poppy fields in the canyon, and there’s a stockade built of wooden huts at the back, with roughly six to seven hundred people," Xu Xiangwen reported.

In less than an hour, a drug trafficking stronghold was found—uplifting news for the government forces that had traveled thousands of miles to eradicate them. With Haqi’s command, the government troops roared into action, attacking the valley.

With Xu Xiangwen’s Star Martial Skill paving the way, the drug traffickers could hardly put up a fight and were quickly wiped out by the government forces in one fell swoop.

Surrender? The government troops, with morale soaring and their killing intent ignited, had no room in their hearts for such a word. Haqi didn’t restrain them either; he let his soldiers do as they pleased.

"Report, how should we deal with these poppy fields?"

"Do I even need to ask? Burn them."

It was the revitalizing season of early spring, when all things come back to life. The army had not brought flamethrowers or gasoline, and several soldiers had been trying to light a fire without success for quite some time.

"Forget it, call them back," Wang Lan said indifferently.

"No, we can’t leave so many poppies! Who knows how many people will suffer because of them? They must all be..."

"Earth Surge Lava—" Wang Lan softly uttered the words, and a glowing Array descended in the center of the poppy fields. Accompanied by a deafening explosion, countless molten rock spewed out from the center of the fields. The soldiers trying to start a fire on the side were struck dumb.

"What are you standing around for? Get back here!" Wang Lan shouted fiercely. The soldiers, frightened out of their wits, scrambled back toward the mouth of the valley.

Haqi watched in shock as the poppy fields were rapidly engulfed by the surging lava, envisioning the devastation Wang Lan could wreak if he dropped such a move in the middle of a battlefield.

While Haqi knew that Wang Lan was part of an elite, very powerful S-level independent squad of the International Security Council, he had no idea just how formidable an S-level elite squad could be. Their understanding was limited to the fact that Star Martial Warriors of the Galaxy Stage could survive missile strikes, and nothing more.

The territory of Baron Country was small, with barren lands and a population of only twenty million. Star Martial Warriors born there were already rare, further compounded by the scarcity of cultivation resources. Although there were Star Martial Warriors at the Galaxy Stage, as for whether they could match the level of strength found in those from Jade Country at the Galaxy Stage... better to stop dreaming and go to sleep. Not to mention S-level Star Martial Skills, or even beyond S-level Star Martial Skills.

Wang Lan rose into the sky, scanning the surroundings from a high vantage point. Since drug traffickers needed to plant poppies, and large poppy fields couldn’t be easily hidden, they wouldn’t be hard to find if they were in an open valley, as opposed to inside a dense forest.

Circling above, Wang Lan had already pinpointed forty poppy fields.

The army advanced once more, targeting each location in turn. But upon arrival, they discovered, to their surprise, that while the poppy fields and surrounding camps were still there, the drug traffickers were gone.

"They ran? These bastards are so cunning! Knowing they can’t beat us, they actually ran off," Haqi roared, somewhat ashamed and enraged.

That’s really giving them some credit. If you know you can’t win, why not run? Wouldn’t staying just mean you’re a few fries short of a Happy Meal?

"They haven’t run; they’ve just hidden underground," Xu Xiangwen said with a cold laugh, opening his Heavenly Eye as he squatted down and pressed his palm to the ground. "I’ll just exterminate them directly."

"Leave one or two alive."

"Understood," Xu Xiangwen affirmed.

RUMBLE—

With an earth-shattering rumble, the ground suddenly shook violently. The whole valley convulsed as numerous small peaks collapsed.

The area’s special geological structure made the rock layers resemble a sponge, with innumerable pores within the rocky peaks and underground. These pores, much like an ant nest, though not large, allowed people to crawl inside.

This porous rock structure was a natural labyrinth that provided safety for the drug traffickers, but it was also very fragile. Even a minor earthquake could easily cause the mountain peaks and ground above to collapse.

As the ground surged, several rocks containing people were safely preserved and tossed to the surface by Xu Xiangwen. As for the others, if they weren’t killed by the shaking, they were most likely crushed to death.

The two men Xu Xiangwen had specifically spared were now lying unconscious, battered and bloodied. Wang Lan approached them and pressed his palm onto their foreheads.

After a brief period of Spirit Engraving, Wang Lan released the two men and said, "Kill them."

"How did it go?" Jiang Xinyu asked softly.

"That Night Hawk really is highly vigilant. After the ambush in the dense forest failed, Night Hawk ordered them to lie low until this encirclement was over and then resurface. But this Night Hawk has underestimated us... There are a total of one hundred secret hideouts here, each with this kind of geological structure."

"Normally, if they hid underground, no one would be able to find them. Even a Star Martial Warrior with sensory abilities would be useless since they sense Star Power groups. But since they are all ordinary people, Xiangwen’s Heavenly Eye can clearly see them. The rest is just a matter of digging them out like melons, one by one," Wang Lan elaborated.

"Understood!"

The rest was quite simple. Wang Lan had already figured out the approximate locations of the one hundred hideouts. Xu Xiangwen was responsible for collapsing the hideouts on their occupants, and would then dig a few out for Wang Lan to Spirit Engrave.

Before the operation, Haqi had considered that the mission might succeed, and could even go smoothly, but he never imagined it could go *this* smoothly. It could no longer be said they had traveled a great distance to eliminate bandits; it was as if they had brought thirty thousand government troops on a long journey just for sightseeing.

Xu Xiangwen was like an underground detection device. Upon arrival at a location, he’d take one look, mutter, "Hmm, there are people below," and then ask Haqi, "Do you want any? If not, I’ll obliterate them all."

Initially, Haqi would refuse, wanting them all dead. He despised drug traffickers—his grandfather had died from drugs, and so had his father. In Haqi’s mind, all drug traffickers deserved death—the kind where they were held down and drowned in a cesspit.

But later, he couldn’t maintain this stance. The eradication was too clean. If we don’t bring some traffickers back, how will people believe we wiped them all out? The citizens will just think we went for a stroll and came back! ’You all look bright and shiny, no one’s missing, and hardly anyone’s injured. Did you even fight the drug traffickers? Who would believe that?’

So, in the end, Xu Xiangwen was in charge of digging people out. First, he would stun them, then excavate them—efficient and tidy. Apart from the time it took for the government troops to pack them up, everything else was swiftly accomplished.

As one hideout after another was annihilated, Wang Lan’s frown deepened. Weren’t there supposed to be powerful Star Martial Warriors among them? What is happening? Although there were indeed a few Star Martial Warriors, they had perished under a single move from Xu Xiangwen, showing no sign of great strength, and their numbers were pitifully small.

"Mr. Haqi," Wang Lan came over to Haqi again, "are you sure this group of traffickers includes powerful Star Martial Warriors?"

"Positive. The previous three encirclements each had over two hundred Star Martial Warriors with the army, including several high-level experts from above the Galaxy Stage."

COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! Suddenly, Xu Xiangwen was seized by a violent coughing fit.

"It’s nothing... carry on, I just got winded," Xu Xiangwen hastily waved his hand and ran to the side, coughing.

"But every time, these encounters with Night Hawk’s subordinates and their ambushes occurred in the primeval forest. Afterward, our Star Martial Warriors clashed with the enemy’s, resulting in heavy casualties. Out of two hundred Star Martial Warriors, less than a fifth survived."

"Baron Country’s Star Martial Warriors are even more precious, which is why I have faced quite a bit of censure. Had it not been for Councilman Hosi speaking out against the majority to protect me, I might already be facing a military tribunal," Haqi explained.

"That’s strange," mused Wang Lan.

"Wait, Wang Lan," Jiang Xinyu suddenly came over and said, "I just Spirit Engraved a guy and found out the whereabouts of the Night Hawk hideout."