“Attention. The beast horde will arrive within range of our fortress cannons in five minutes. The cannons will fire for thirty seconds. After the cannons cease fire, charge and kill!” Li Kaihao, the commander of Fortress Three, commanded as his voice rang across the hall.
The teachers started briefing their students. Qiling Academy’s teacher present was the Withered Wolf, Mu Xiao, a tier four martial artist. “Students, we’ve been assigned to kill all the beasts in area C2. Most of them will be tier one. Don’t panic if you meet a tier two beast, work with each other to kill them together,” he instructed.
“Instructor Mu, why just tier one? We’re all at least tier two, four-star martial artists. Even if we meet a tier two beast, we’ll be able to kill it!”
“Yeah.”
Looking at the disgruntled students, Mu Xiao explained, “This is your first time in battle. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you panic and even forget your basic stances. Do you think these beasts are the same as those from training? I believe you might’ve heard the reason for these stampedes. So I reiterate: you’re all still new to battle and too inexperienced to work alone. If you meet a tier two beast, you must work with your team, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
This was a great opportunity for these students to familiarize themselves with battle. The stampede was a decent size and there were many higher-tiered martial artists present, so the students could still retreat in time if any emergencies happened.
Very soon, a sixty-second countdown started. More than seven thousand fully-equipped soldiers split into ten groups and entered ten tunnels.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yeah, but I also think it’s exciting.”
“Haha, just don’t die.”
Conversations like those rang out across all ten hallways.
When the countdown reached one, explosions rumbled above their heads. They could even hear the sound of the Thor Mk. 3 Rail Cannon firing. Thirty seconds later, the cannon fire died down and the speakers sounded, “One thousand, three hundred deaths. None of the Dark Aurumsaurs were killed by the cannons, be careful of them. Now go!” The command was issued and ten iron doors opened. Rumbling thunder came from all directions across the vast land. Just under two kilometers away was a horde of bloodthirsty beasts. Seven thousand soldiers let out a war cry that shook the skies.
“KILL!”
In an instant, both sides collided. Blood and flesh flew, while animalistic roars and human cries rang out. Within twenty seconds, the battlefield was divided into various sections.
In area C2, which was assigned to Qiling Academy, there were seventy-nine beasts, including three tier two beasts!
“Careful, there’s three tier two beasts. Let me handle them!” The first to speak was Li Zimo, who had Liu Ruoxue by his side.
“Be careful. As for the other two, I’ll fight one alone. Fang Rou, Lu Shiyu, you two fight the last one!” Xiang Ning had fought alongside Wu Rui more than two months ago and was very familiar with the terrain around Fortress Three, save for the few giant craters that must have formed due to some weapon.
The remaining students found their own opponents. At this point, every grudge or favor between the students had vanished—their only goal was to kill the beasts!
Only three minutes had passed when a call for assistance came from their watches.
Xiang Ning had just killed a tier two, seven-star Night Cat before him when he looked toward the direction of the call. “Is it a Dark Aurumsaur?”
“Li Zimo, Fang Rou, stay here and help the others. I’ll head to A1 to help them!” Before they could reply, Xiang Ning left.
Areas A1, A3, and A5 contained many Dark Aurumsaurs. The three active battle regions had more than a thousand soldiers present in each. Theoretically, that should be enough, but the Dark Aurumsaurs had been more berserk and violent than expected. The moment one saw a human, they would pounce and bite, refusing to let go even if other people attacked it.
The humans had lost more than a hundred people within just three minutes. They were all painful deaths!
“How’s the situation?!” Within the command center, Li Kaihao stood with a stony expression.
“We sent out the call for help, but we’ve already had more than a hundred deaths because of the Dark Aurumsaurs!”
“Fuck!” Li Kaihao slammed his fist on the table. “Why are they so berserk this time? Has the Octoviolet Silversnake really gotten such a strong hold on them?”
Suddenly, a red light lit up in the room. The soldier standing in front of the monitors shot up, sweat beading on his forehead. “Sir! There’s an emergency in the Dark Aurumsaur area, another seventy-three soldiers have died!”
Li Kaihao’s chest tightened. It had only been thirty seconds and there were already seventy-three more deaths. Since when had the Dark Aurumsaurs become so ruthless? “What the hell is happening?!”
“Sir, something’s happening to the Dark Aurumsaurs that killed humans and touched their blood. For some reason, their defenses were heightened and even their saliva became much deadlier! Based on observation, if this mutation continues, martial artists under tier three will lose their effectiveness in thirty seconds!”
“Get all soldiers under tier three to retreat immediately. Send spiritual cultivators to the Dark Aurumsaurs!”
On the other side, Xiang Ning sprinted across the battlefield. He wasn’t far from Area A and was controlling ten flying knives to open a path for himself, leaving behind an ever-growing path of beast carcasses. Even the weakest Dark Aurumsaurs were still tier two beasts; just imagine the number of Fury Points he could get if he could use Taunt on them!
In five minutes, Xiang Ning arrived in Area A, but before he had a second to catch his breath and prepare to fight, he saw a Dark Aurumsaur pinning a familiar face on the ground while another martial artist was frantically attacking it.
“You fucking animal, you think you can squash me that easily?!” Wu Rui had initially been fighting this giant lizard with a tier two, seven-star martial artist, but two teams had been killed nearby, so their lizard was left without an opponent. That lizard then charged and knocked him over.
“Don’t you fucking roar at me!” Wu Rui let out a war cry and released his Mental Power. Let’s not forget that Wu Rui was also a spiritual cultivator, though he didn’t like to fight as one. He wrapped his mind around the blade tucked in the top of his boot, then flung it directly at the lizard’s eye.
There was a squelch as the blade lodged itself in its eye, blood splattering everywhere. But Wu Rui had no time to celebrate. The Aurumsaurs were terrifyingly strong animals. Wu Rui’s momentary distraction gave it time to close its jaw, and his body was about to be torn in half in less than a second.
At the very last moment, he felt the pressure suddenly lift and his eyes sprang open to see a familiar figure wildly slamming into the Aurumsaur.
“Attention. The beast horde will arrive within range of our fortress cannons in five minutes. The cannons will fire for thirty seconds. After the cannons cease fire, charge and kill!” Li Kaihao, the commander of Fortress Three, commanded as his voice rang across the hall.
The teachers started briefing their students. Qiling Academy’s teacher present was the Withered Wolf, Mu Xiao, a tier four martial artist. “Students, we’ve been assigned to kill all the beasts in area C2. Most of them will be tier one. Don’t panic if you meet a tier two beast, work with each other to kill them together,” he instructed.
“Instructor Mu, why just tier one? We’re all at least tier two, four-star martial artists. Even if we meet a tier two beast, we’ll be able to kill it!”
“Yeah.”
Looking at the disgruntled students, Mu Xiao explained, “This is your first time in battle. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you panic and even forget your basic stances. Do you think these beasts are the same as those from training? I believe you might’ve heard the reason for these stampedes. So I reiterate: you’re all still new to battle and too inexperienced to work alone. If you meet a tier two beast, you must work with your team, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
This was a great opportunity for these students to familiarize themselves with battle. The stampede was a decent size and there were many higher-tiered martial artists present, so the students could still retreat in time if any emergencies happened.
Very soon, a sixty-second countdown started. More than seven thousand fully-equipped soldiers split into ten groups and entered ten tunnels.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yeah, but I also think it’s exciting.”
“Haha, just don’t die.”
Conversations like those rang out across all ten hallways.
When the countdown reached one, explosions rumbled above their heads. They could even hear the sound of the Thor Mk. 3 Rail Cannon firing. Thirty seconds later, the cannon fire died down and the speakers sounded, “One thousand, three hundred deaths. None of the Dark Aurumsaurs were killed by the cannons, be careful of them. Now go!” The command was issued and ten iron doors opened. Rumbling thunder came from all directions across the vast land. Just under two kilometers away was a horde of bloodthirsty beasts. Seven thousand soldiers let out a war cry that shook the skies.
“KILL!”
In an instant, both sides collided. Blood and flesh flew, while animalistic roars and human cries rang out. Within twenty seconds, the battlefield was divided into various sections.
In area C2, which was assigned to Qiling Academy, there were seventy-nine beasts, including three tier two beasts!
“Careful, there’s three tier two beasts. Let me handle them!” The first to speak was Li Zimo, who had Liu Ruoxue by his side.
“Be careful. As for the other two, I’ll fight one alone. Fang Rou, Lu Shiyu, you two fight the last one!” Xiang Ning had fought alongside Wu Rui more than two months ago and was very familiar with the terrain around Fortress Three, save for the few giant craters that must have formed due to some weapon.
The remaining students found their own opponents. At this point, every grudge or favor between the students had vanished—their only goal was to kill the beasts!
Only three minutes had passed when a call for assistance came from their watches.
Xiang Ning had just killed a tier two, seven-star Night Cat before him when he looked toward the direction of the call. “Is it a Dark Aurumsaur?”
“Li Zimo, Fang Rou, stay here and help the others. I’ll head to A1 to help them!” Before they could reply, Xiang Ning left.
Areas A1, A3, and A5 contained many Dark Aurumsaurs. The three active battle regions had more than a thousand soldiers present in each. Theoretically, that should be enough, but the Dark Aurumsaurs had been more berserk and violent than expected. The moment one saw a human, they would pounce and bite, refusing to let go even if other people attacked it.
The humans had lost more than a hundred people within just three minutes. They were all painful deaths!
“How’s the situation?!” Within the command center, Li Kaihao stood with a stony expression.
“We sent out the call for help, but we’ve already had more than a hundred deaths because of the Dark Aurumsaurs!”
“Fuck!” Li Kaihao slammed his fist on the table. “Why are they so berserk this time? Has the Octoviolet Silversnake really gotten such a strong hold on them?”
Suddenly, a red light lit up in the room. The soldier standing in front of the monitors shot up, sweat beading on his forehead. “Sir! There’s an emergency in the Dark Aurumsaur area, another seventy-three soldiers have died!”
Li Kaihao’s chest tightened. It had only been thirty seconds and there were already seventy-three more deaths. Since when had the Dark Aurumsaurs become so ruthless? “What the hell is happening?!”
“Sir, something’s happening to the Dark Aurumsaurs that killed humans and touched their blood. For some reason, their defenses were heightened and even their saliva became much deadlier! Based on observation, if this mutation continues, martial artists under tier three will lose their effectiveness in thirty seconds!”
“Get all soldiers under tier three to retreat immediately. Send spiritual cultivators to the Dark Aurumsaurs!”
On the other side, Xiang Ning sprinted across the battlefield. He wasn’t far from Area A and was controlling ten flying knives to open a path for himself, leaving behind an ever-growing path of beast carcasses. Even the weakest Dark Aurumsaurs were still tier two beasts; just imagine the number of Fury Points he could get if he could use Taunt on them!
In five minutes, Xiang Ning arrived in Area A, but before he had a second to catch his breath and prepare to fight, he saw a Dark Aurumsaur pinning a familiar face on the ground while another martial artist was frantically attacking it.
“You fucking animal, you think you can squash me that easily?!” Wu Rui had initially been fighting this giant lizard with a tier two, seven-star martial artist, but two teams had been killed nearby, so their lizard was left without an opponent. That lizard then charged and knocked him over.
“Don’t you fucking roar at me!” Wu Rui let out a war cry and released his Mental Power. Let’s not forget that Wu Rui was also a spiritual cultivator, though he didn’t like to fight as one. He wrapped his mind around the blade tucked in the top of his boot, then flung it directly at the lizard’s eye.
There was a squelch as the blade lodged itself in its eye, blood splattering everywhere. But Wu Rui had no time to celebrate. The Aurumsaurs were terrifyingly strong animals. Wu Rui’s momentary distraction gave it time to close its jaw, and his body was about to be torn in half in less than a second.
At the very last moment, he felt the pressure suddenly lift and his eyes sprang open to see a familiar figure wildly slamming into the Aurumsaur.
