Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 750: Chapter 753: The Aura of a Strongman

Yang Chen frowned, "You're not cops? Who are you?"

The black "officer" grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "You'll find out soon enough."

As they spoke, the police car stopped by the side of the road near the port. The white officer said, "Get out. Everyone's waiting to meet the former Hades."

With that, the two men stepped out of the car first, not bothering to pay Yang Chen any more attention.

After they got out, Yang Chen showed a hint of boredom, shook his head, and eventually opened the car door.

The sea breeze at the port swept through Yang Chen's thin shirt, making the hem flutter and bringing a faint dampness to his face.

A row of sparsely spaced street lamps emitted a faint white light, illuminating the night at the port.

The black and white "officers" were now stripping off their uniforms, revealing the tight blue short-sleeved shirts underneath, their bulging muscles seeming ready to burst with power at any moment.

"Blue Storm," Yang Chen narrowed his eyes.

"It's a relief that Lord Hades still remembers our organization," the white man, with his chiseled face, smiled smugly. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Cedric, and this is my partner, Stark."

Yang Chen smiled at them. "Just the two of you?"

The black man, Stark, shook his head. "Of course not. To be safe, we initially deployed a team of Navy SEALs, but it seems now that the two of us are more than enough. The once-glorious Hades seems to have truly lost his powers."

With that, Stark whistled.

The sound of heavy footsteps came from behind Yang Chen.

Dozens of heavily armed Navy SEALs emerged from behind the containers, quickly pointing their guns at Yang Chen and surrounding him.

Yang Chen sighed, "Are you planning to kill me?"

Before the two Blue Storm men could answer, a strange voice in English echoed from the sea in the distance, "If there's killing to be done, it should be by my hand."

As the words fell, a figure gradually became clear in the space. A man with long hair, dressed in a colorful robe, holding a katana, walked out.

After the man appeared, several other figures emerged from the sea. There was a long-haired woman in a vibrant kimono, a mysterious figure in a black cloak whose face couldn't be seen, and a handsome Oriental man with a short sword at his waist.

"Takamagahara?" Yang Chen's smile grew even more helpless. "You, like Blue Storm, heard that I lost my cultivation and came to kill me?"

This long-haired samurai was none other than Nurarihyon, the chief general of Takamagahara, whom Yang Chen had once encountered in France—a cunning yokai.

Nurarihyon scrutinized Yang Chen for a moment. "It seems you're indeed no longer what you once were. Initially, I couldn't believe you'd fall to such a state. They say you were defeated by Poseidon, the sea god?"

Yang Chen shrugged, somewhat displeased. "You could say that."

"What a pity that I couldn't witness such a battle myself. But that's none of my business. The one I want to defeat isn't a god, but you," Nurarihyon said as he drew his demon sword, Mikazuki Munechika, and pointed it at Yang Chen. "I'm here to avenge my lover, Yuki-onna."

"Oh? I thought you'd disdain fighting someone like me, who's lost their powers. Do you enjoy bullying the weak?" Yang Chen asked curiously.

Nurarihyon replied, "It wasn't me who made you weak; you became like this after losing a battle. It has nothing to do with me. I didn't use any tricks, so defeating the weakened you won't violate my principles."

At this moment, Cedric from Blue Storm stepped forward to intervene. "Nurarihyon, we didn't inform Takamagahara just so you could kill this man. You should know that he still has immense value. If you dare to kill him, don't blame us for turning against you!"

Nurarihyon sneered, "Relax, a crippled Hades doesn't interest me anymore. Since you were kind enough to sell us this information, I won't let it go to waste. All I want is to sever his limbs' tendons, make him a complete cripple, and then you can do whatever you want with him."

Yang Chen took a deep breath, then clapped his hands. "The folks at Blue Storm really know how to play their cards. You even brought in my old enemies from Takamagahara to help, saving your own strength. But you're not here to kill me? Why not let him do it?"

"Don't play dumb!" Stark sneered disdainfully.

Cedric walked forward, hands in his pockets, and said casually, "Even though you've lost your former strength, killing you would be easy. However, for now, only a select few know about this. If you cooperate with us, hand over your global mercenary resources, your stockpile of energy, weapons, your wealth, and your assassin organization, Zero—maybe we can be good friends. You won't have to suffer much, and you won't have to die so young. We know you still have many women back in China, don't you?"

Yang Chen scratched his head. "So that's how it is. Can I ask one more question?"

"Go ahead," Cedric replied.

"Who told you that I've lost my cultivation?"

Cedric threw his head back and laughed, "Hades, oh Hades, don't try to be clever. To us, you're nothing more than a clown pretending to be calm. Do you really think bluffing will help you? We wouldn't have made a move if we didn't get this information from an absolutely authoritative source. We're not stupid—if you had even a tenth of your former strength, we wouldn't dare send just this level of combat force to take you down."

Yang Chen's eyes flickered for a moment. "I see... After I was seriously injured, the only ones who knew were Prandelli, Christine, and your superior at Blue Storm, the director of the FBI, Robert, correct?"

"Hmph, so what if it's true? You're out of options," the black man Stark stepped forward, tilting his head and growling, "Before this friend from Yamamoto makes a move, you'd better cooperate with us. We might be able to plead on your behalf and let you keep one hand or one foot, something like that. Though I really want to kill you myself—you killed my beloved Judy. I'd love nothing more than to drink your blood and eat your flesh!"

Judy, of course, was the female Blue Storm member whom Yang Chen had casually killed back in Yamamoto. She was also a descendant of Christine in her previous life, though merely a descendant born of a human body, which the gods wouldn't really care about.

Yang Chen hadn't expected this—Nurarihyon seeking revenge for his fiancée, and Stark wanting to avenge his lover, who was a white woman. It seemed even monsters and different races could mix, with a white woman and a black man as a pair.

Yang Chen didn't rush to respond. Instead, he glanced around and then looked out at the distant sky. Finally, he sighed, "Is there really no one else who came with you?"

"Any one of us here is more than enough to deal with the current you," Nurarihyon said coldly. "Are you ready? I'm going to draw my sword."

Yang Chen frowned with annoyance, clasping his hands behind his back and pacing in circles. Suddenly, he pointed at the group from Takamagahara and the others, venting his frustration, "You people are really something, sticking your noses in where they don't belong! I was actually wondering if that impostor might come with the same idea, to kick me when I'm down. But now, just when I'm waiting for them, you guys show up to make a mess of things! Even if you're here to die, do you have to pick such a crucial moment?!"

The four from Takamagahara, along with Cedric and Stark, exchanged puzzled looks, clearly not understanding what Yang Chen was talking about.

Nurarihyon was the first to react, his face darkening with anger as he coldly snorted, "I can't sense any aura of a strongman on you anymore. Let's see how long you can keep talking tough. Take this strike from my Mikazuki Munechika!"

As he finished speaking, Nurarihyon's figure vanished like a mirage. When he reappeared, he was suspended in mid-air in front of Yang Chen, his sword flashing with a cold light. Mikazuki Munechika slashed diagonally, aiming directly at Yang Chen's wrist!

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8