New Family

The Specter's attack really caught the Hero League off guard. They wreaked havoc on Star City, even though Star City was aided by heroes from other cities.

It took the Hero League a full 24 hours to stabilize the core region. The Specters were widespread, but the Heroes and Rankers worked together in harmony to wipe them out.

And so the dangers in the Core Region were stabilized. But the battle was far from over, and the Specters were still running amok in the west.

Almost all of the Heroes and Rankers were sent to the Core Region. This left only a small number of Heroes and Rankers in the west. The situation there was much worse than in the Core Region.

The heroes were only able to close the gate between the Trade Region and the Outer Region. Trapping the Specters in the Outer Region.

This was what they could do while they waited for reinforcements from the Core Region.

As soon as the core region stabilised, Bai Xian Ming immediately sent all the heroes to the west. The Elder also joined the subjugation party against the Specters.

The battle continued in the outer region. Musashi Hirata and Sun Zhou Yi were the core of the subduing force. Especially Sun Zhou Yi, his ability to manipulate the Ki Swords was a great help in the subjugation.

Although the reinforcements arrived, they were too late. What happened in the outer region was far worse.

In one day, thousands of Specters destroyed half of the Outer Region to the west.

The battle continued for a week before the Heroes' League and the Rankers' Alliance were able to drive the specters from the city.

The Heroes and Rankers fought almost nonstop. The outer region was the largest region in Star City, so it took them more time to subdue all the specters.

Bai Xian Ming scanned his surroundings with tired eyes. The other heroes were also exhausted from seven days of non-stop fighting.

They were standing on ruins that had been destroyed during the battle.

However, Bai Xian Ming knew that the battle was far from over. He unlocked his smartwatch and called out an ID, "Bai Shuang'er".

The call connected immediately and Bai Xian Ming asked in an urgent tone, "Did you find anything, Shuang'er?"

Before he left for the battle in the outer region, he instructed his granddaughter to check on the situation at Ence Fort.

Bai Xian Ming's eyebrows furrowed when he received no answer. He felt uneasy as his granddaughter did not immediately answer him.

After a moment of silence, Bai Shuang'er replied in a weak voice, "The Ence Fort has fallen! I will send you satellite pictures!"

"What about Ye Chen?!" Bai Xian Ming raised his voice, attracting the attention of the other heroes.

Ye Chen was a big shot, an Emperor Class Hero - rank 11. When his name was mentioned, the heroes unconsciously turned towards the voice.

Yes, after Su Yan told him about the importance of Ence Fort to the ghosts, he immediately called Ye Chen, who was the closest to Ence Fort.

His plan was to have Ye Chen and his elite force defend Ence Fort while he stabilised Star City. After he was done here, he would go to Ence Fort to support them.

"He died! His force has also been destroyed! Just look at the pictures I sent you, you will know..." Before Bai Shuang'er could finish her words, Bai Xian Ming ended the call.

As soon as he ended the call, his smartwatch vibrated. It was his granddaughter sending the pictures.

He opened the pictures. The first image to appear on the smartwatch screen was a man's head. A severed man's head with his eyes open.

The head was placed on the floor, a floor of the gate in Ence Fort. Bai Xian Ming sucked in a cold breath as he recognised the head. Ye Chen, it was Ye Chen's head.

He immediately locked his smartwatch. He actually wanted to gather the heroes and The Elder, but he did not. They were too late to support Ence Fort.

If Ye Chen died, it would mean that the specters had captured the fort. They could not just rush in blindly. They had to make a plan before taking back Ence Fort.

"The battle is over! Go back to rest!" His words were directed at the heroes waiting for his order.

Even though they had won the battle, none of them were happy with the outcome. It had been a tough battle, but for the first time, the heroes had suffered heavy casualties.

It was the first time since a big battle a few years ago that they had suffered such a big loss. There was no way they could be satisfied with this result.

None of the heroes cheered as they returned to the inner region with their heads down.

Bai Xian Ming also rushed back to the Inner Region. He called out to Bai Shuang'er once more.

"Shuang'er! Notify the executives and instructors to meet me at the assembly in one hour!"

*** ***

On the roof of a broken building

Three old men stood next to each other as they watched the heroes and rankers go back.

The three old men were wearing kimonos with a sword hanging from their waists. The three old men scanned the heroes, looking for someone.

"They're not here either!" An old man on the left said in a tired old voice.

"What about the home? I think one of them is a junior from our clan!" The old man on the right asked in a deep voice.

"Kukuku... Yes, the home~ I am sure one of them is a junior from the home~ He used our clan's secret technique, Draw Sword..." The old man in the middle said in a playful tone.

The old man stopped halfway as he thought of something. A frown appeared on his wrinkled forehead, "But his Draw Sword is also strange... I'm sure it was our clan's secret technique, but his Draw Sword is a bit different..."

"We'll find out when we meet him! It seems that a genius has appeared in our clan!" The old man on the right said in a pleased tone.

The three old men were the members of the Musashi Clan. And part of the Elders. They were the retired heroes of the emperor class.

"But who would have thought this would happen! Luckily, we came back in time!" The old men on the left said in a relieved tone.

*** ***

***Xing District, Miao Miao Noodle Shop***

Heero sat on the table next to the window and looked out at the street in deep thought.

The battle was over, now he had a new problem to think about. The people he had rescued from the west of the Outer Region.

He asked Butcher Wang, Kang Dong-Woo and Xu Lingxun to rescue the old people and children.

In the last week, the three of them had saved over a thousand people, 1573 to be exact. Half of them were elderly people, 863 in all, 510 children, and the rest were either the children's parents or the elderly people's families.

Most of the elderly, however, were abandoned by their families at the last moment. He saved their lives, but almost all of them were depressed.

It was understandable, being abandoned by their family, they must be hurt. It gave him a headache. He had saved their bodies, but now they were dying deep inside.

If this continued, his efforts to save them would be in vain. He had saved them, and he would commit himself to helping them to the end. But he simply did not know how to comfort hundreds of old people and children.

"What is it? Is there something on your mind?" The caring Han Ying sat next to Heero and asked.

Heero did not hide his feelings and told his wife everything.

A gentle smile formed on Han Ying's lips as soon as she heard her husband's concern.

"It's actually simple but difficult to solve, but I have an idea,"

Heero's eyes brightened and he pricked his ears to listen to the solution.

"They lost their homes and families, the children lost their parents. We can give them a new home! Expand our nursing home and orphanage!"

"Look at the children and old people you saved from the Beast Horde attack! They are happy with their lives now, while the children are growing up well,"

"All right, you don't have to do that! Leave everything to me! I will take care of them, and the people in our district will also be happy to have new family members,"