Chapter 65: Desire for Destruction |
After condemning Luo Fei's weapon, the group exchanged their experiences of today's battles.
Although this ad-hoc team had gotten split up shortly after setting out, there was still some utility in sharing information between the two sides.
It turned out that the cultists who had attacked Lin Xue and her group had been different from those Chen Chu and Xia Youhui had encountered. When those people fought, their skin would turn black, their muscles would swell, and they had exhibited enormous strength and defense.
It seemed like they were not from the same faction, or perhaps not even affiliated with the same cult as the ones the duo had encountered.
By the time the conversation wrapped up, it was already ten at night. Xia Youhui was still playing with his phone, while Chen Chu put his down and gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling.
After seeing Luo Fei's sniper cannon, he was thinking about whether he should prioritize his defense after getting some more attribute points.
He hadn't really thought about this in the past, but today's sudden encounter in battle had made him keenly aware of the sense of crisis.
For high-level cultivators with the protection of true power, they could already disregard the threat of ordinary firearms, but this wasn’t the case for low-level cultivators. If it hadn’t been for the battle armor the school had prepared in advance, no one would have dared to charge head-on against the heavy machine gun, submachine gun, or even regular rifle fire.
Even though they had already broken through to the Second Heavenly Realm, and the weakest among them had a physique more than seven times that of an ordinary person, they were still flesh and blood. They couldn't withstand bullets capable of piercing several millimeters of metal. On top of that, the battle armor could only defend against regular bullets. It couldn't withstand special weapons, such as that cultist's enhanced Desert Eagle and Luo Fei's sniper cannon.
Let's strengthen it with a few points and see the results. With that decision made, Chen Chu closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking and shifting over to the armored beast.
Thousands of kilometers away, along the bank of the wide estuary, the ferocious beast slowly crawled out of its nest, causing mud and sand to swirl as it disappeared into the water.
With the increase in the armored beast’s size, its defense and strength had skyrocketed under the influence of its innate abilities. This area, which had initially been somewhat perilous, had now become its hunting ground.
Bam!
The surface of the water exploded with waves as the armored beast slammed its claw down, shattering the head of a large mutated fish, over three meters long and weighing about two hundred kilograms.
Crack!
The armored beast tore into its prey with a bite, creating a bloodied hole the size of a basin. With its upper and lower jaws working in a gruesome chewing motion, a mixture of thick blood and fish remains overflowed from between its teeth, creating a savage and terrifying sight. It took less than ten minutes to completely devour the fish.
Chen Chu could keenly sense that the cells throughout the armored beast's body were continuously dividing and compressing with the energy conversion. The body expanded at a speed discernible to the naked eye. The outer armor became thicker and harder, completely violating the rules of biological growth.
Not enough. Still feeling the hunger within, Chen Chu… no, the armored beast’s tail swayed slightly, continuing to patrol underwater in search of the next prey.
In this place where fresh- and seawater blended, the river was wide and deep, nurturing numerous fierce freshwater fish. Occasionally, some mutated marine fish that could adapt to freshwater also appeared.
The armored beast had only swum a few kilometers when a shadow over five meters long emerged not far away. This mutated fish was covered in thick scales all over its body, resembling a grouper but much larger. Its slightly open mouth was filled with sharp teeth and fangs, giving it a ferocious appearance that exuded a strong sense of oppression.
As soon as it appeared, the small fish swimming around scattered in all directions, but the armored beast's eyes lit up.
Watching the beast, which looked like a charging crocodile, the grouper remained very calm. Just as the armored beast came within two meters, its mouth suddenly expanded several times.
Boom!
From the mouth of the grouper, a terrifying suction force emanated. In an instant, a vortex formed within a few meters in front of it, swallowing both the armored beast and the surrounding water into its mouth.
This was the grouper's predation skill. When nearing its prey, it would suddenly open its mouth wide, utilizing gill drainage to create a powerful swallowing force that would engulf and consume the prey. After its mutation, its massive size had enhanced its swallowing power, almost turning it into an innate skill. It could now inhale everything within several meters in a single gulp.
And once the prey was swallowed, the internal teeth inside would tear it apart and consume it, like now...
Boom!
The mutated grouper, having swallowed more than half of the armored beast's body, began to struggle wildly, frantically churning the water with its massive body. Crimson blood gushed from its gills, staining the surrounding water red and emitting a strong and pungent smell.
Bang! The head of the mutated grouper tore in half, and just like when it had killed the giant carp before, the armored beast slowly crawled out through the new hole.
The beast most enjoyed when the mutated fish attempted to swallow it. Protected by its terrifying defense, it gave the perfect opportunity to effortlessly kill them from within.
Clutching the massive body of the mutated grouper, the armored beast began to feed. Today was another blissful day, a chance to eat to its heart's content.
Meanwhile, many small fish in the vicinity were attracted by the scent of blood. The thumb-sized fish swarmed towards the armored beast.
With each bite, they rushed to snatch at the bits of flesh and blood that spilled from its mouth, only to be effortlessly swallowed as well.
*
The next morning, over twenty students, dressed in black and red battle armor with heavy weapons on their backs, gathered outside the hotel.
Pang Long and three other instructors stood at the front, with seven second lieutenants in military uniforms standing behind them.
Looking over the now refreshed students, Pang Long spoke in a deep voice. "From today onwards, you will be divided into seven teams, each consisting of four members. Your task is to accompany the patrol teams in your assigned areas and locate any cultists hidden among the civilian population.
"Remember, each of these cultists has blood on their hands and are beyond redemption. Once discovered, execute them on the spot without mercy. If you encounter any rebels, neutralize the threat. If they surrender and stop resisting you can capture them alive.
"This is a bone from a special creature, sourced from the Blood Cult that was part of yesterday’s attack. Familiarizing yourself with its aura can help you quickly distinguish hidden Blood Cultists from the crowd."
In front of everyone, there was a table with a one-meter-long, half-meter-wide red bone, resembling a segment of a giant creature’s spine.
"Is this thing the Blood Bone?" Curious, Xia Youhui walked up, only to immediately get hit by a strong, evil, and bloody aura that quickly forced him to step back.
Pang Long continued. "Each team will also have a high-level cultivator secretly following behind, including me and the other teachers. You needn’t worry about the possibility of encountering any high-level fanatics, but those will be our exclusive targets; we will not pay attention to ordinary cultists. It's up to you and your fellow soldiers to deal with them with your teams.
"If you encounter fanatics of the Fourth Heavenly Realm or above launching a surprise attack, retreat immediately. Do not engage with them; the gap between the Second Realm and them is too significant.
"In addition, you now have access to some high-level resources available during this trial.. Each type of resource comes with an introduction, and you can exchange for them at your discretion.
"Furthermore, if you have any doubts about your cultivation during rest time, you can ask me or Teacher Liu in the group..."
After a few more details, Pang Long finally finished up his speech. A staff member then distributed a miniature camera and wireless earpiece to each student, and finally came the team formations.
Chen Chu and Xia Youhui were partnered up with two boys. One of them was Liu Feng, who had had a chance encounter with Chen Chu during the competition and had ranked 50th. The other was named Bai Mu. The four of them followed Second Lieutenant Zhang Hong and left together.
Is it finally time to unleash carnage? Chen Chu's eyes sharpened slightly.
He wasn’t sure if it was due to half of his soul being human and the other half mutated beast, but with each relentless hunt the armored beast went on, Chen Chu's desire for wild destruction and annihilation grew stronger.
This was another reason why he had chosen to participate in the trial. Excessive inaction could easily accumulate stress and stir up suppressed emotions. If not released, it could lead to problems one day...