Chapter 99: Complete Victory, Terrifying Chen Chu (II)
Chapter 99: Complete Victory, Terrifying Chen Chu (II)
On the morning of December 2nd, Chen Chu emerged from the elevator in his armor, helmet clasped in his left hand. As he walked, the black cloak behind him fluttered slightly.
At the foot of the hotel steps, four modified pickup trucks were already parked. Li Hao, Xia Youhui, and Li Meng, all fully geared up, were waiting for him.
The three had their weapons placed in the back of their respective trucks; Li Hao's weapon had notably been extended from its original three meters to a terrifying four, slightly depressing the back half of the truck with its weight.
Li Hao glanced at Chen Chu as he walked down and nodded slightly. "Now that everyone's here, let's get ready to go."
"Alright," Chen Chu replied without objection.
The four of them each boarded their truck, and the engines roared to life. They turned the vehicles towards the distance, embarking on their journey.
Many students watched them drive off. A student from Heshan curiously asked, "Where are they going? They look like they're going far away."
Liu Feng leaned against the hotel wall, his arms crossed, and said with envy, "Yeah, they’re going to do something big."
The student from Heshan was a little surprised and suspicious. "Something big? Did they find traces of Third Heavenly Realm Blood Cultists?"
"Pfft! Those are nothing! They're not worth the four of them joining forces." Bai Mu, who was also leaning against the wall, couldn't help but laugh.
This batch of new students had come in late, and the Blood Cultists and rebel cultivators they pursued had all been ordinary ones in the First and Second Heavenly Realms. They had never had the chance to see Chen Chu and Li Hao in action.
Even if one of them encountered Fourth Heavenly Realm cultists, they could probably kill them alone. Third Realm Blood Cultists are nothing for them now.
It's a pity we couldn’t go. Thinking of this, the two of them felt a little regretful. After a week of closed-door cultivation, only Li Meng had managed to break through yesterday, obtaining the qualification to participate in this hunt for the mutated beast with a king-level bloodline.
Li Hao, the big spender he was, had prepared everything, from reporting the operation and obtaining permission from Liu Feixu, to the four trucks, to their food and water for the next few days. Chen Chu and the others would only need to kill mutated beasts.
The Kata Mountains spanned half of Kyrola. The distance from Leisteru City to the nearest mountain was about 150 kilometers, and they had to pass through two small towns and drive down several rugged dirt roads.
They had set out in the morning, and only arrived at the foot of the mountain at about two o'clock in the afternoon. The terrain there was flat, and there were already five Kyrolan people who had set up camp outside the forest. They looked determined, all carrying assault rifles and submachine guns; even grenade launchers could be seen in the tents behind them.
These were the mercenaries that Li Hao had hired to locate the Golden-Back Rampage Ape. Although they were ordinary people, they were all experienced in traversing the mountains and forests, and were very strong in combat. They also specialized in searching for and capturing ordinary mutated creatures.
Unfortunately, the beasts they were used to dealing with were the weakest ones, those with only some mutated traces that weren’t even considered level 1. Originally, there had been nine people in the group, but four of them had died while searching for traces of the mutated beasts the geniuses were going to hunt.
There was no sense of dissatisfaction or resentment among the survivors, however. They had all known the risks when first entering that line of work, and they had made peace with their deaths long ago. The most important thing was the money.
Watching Li Hao get out of the car, a middle-aged man, whose figure was the most burly among them, warmly welcomed them. "Boss, you've arrived!"
Li Hao said in a deep voice, "Keep an eye on the trucks for me. When we come out, I'll transfer the final payment to you."
"No problem, Boss. Here’s the map I drew. I've marked some of the places with other dangerous mutated beasts on it." The mercenary handed Li Hao a piece of parchment.
As they spoke, Chen Chu and the other two also got out of their trucks, each strapping on a small backpack containing supplies and holding their weapons in hand.
As the mercenaries looked at the straight saber, heavy shield, massive hammer, and the iron pillar Li Hao was carrying, expressions of awe appeared on their faces one by one.
Seeing the four of them striding towards the mountains, the burly man couldn't help but shout, "Boss, be careful! Some of the insects and snakes are venomous! Don’t underestimate them!"
While it seemed that way at a glance, the mercenary wasn’t that hind-hearted. His main concern was that, if these geniuses were to die from their own carelessness, not only would he not receive the final payment, but he would potentially also get into trouble with the Federation.
In response, Li Hao simply waved his hand, indicating that he understood.
After reaching the Third Heavenly Realm, even Li Meng, the weakest among the four, had a physique several times stronger than an average person, with arm strength exceeding one thousand kilograms. Even with their heavy armor and weapons, the four of them moved through the mountain forest like the wind. Where there was a path, they walked; where there was no path, they leaped directly across steep ravines and up slopes.
Their speed was so swift that they crossed two mountain peaks in just half an hour.
Weeds, thorns, even ordinary venomous creatures like snakes and ants posed no obstacles to them, thanks to their full-body armor. However, after thirty kilometers of running...
Bang!
The four-meter-long iron pillar covered in red true power came crashing down, accompanied by a howling gale. In an instant, a wild boar weighing a thousand catties was smashed into minced meat from head to toe.
After killing the wild boar in such an incredibly domineering fashion, Li Hao picked up the iron pillar and shook off the blood and flesh clinging to it with a loud thud. He then hoisted it onto his shoulder, looking like a demon in the process.
This wild boar was just the first incident. The four were continuing on their way, when suddenly Chen Chu's blade flashed, sweeping through the side of the jungle. A colorful snake four meters long was cut into two pieces.
The four remained calm as they glanced at the corpse and moved on. However, after traveling a few kilometers, Li Meng suddenly leaped high into the air and brought his heavy hammer crashing down.
Bang!
Instantly, the dry leaves ahead exploded, and the head of a camouflaged giant lizard, two meters long with brown patches all over its body, burst open with a loud bang, splattering blood and emitting a strong smell.
Xia Youhui couldn't help but complain. "Damn, why are these animals so aggressive?"
Chen Chu shook his head. "Not only that, but they also show signs of mutation. They’re only slightly stronger than ordinary animals, but it's not a good sign."
Hearing this, the others’ expressions also turned somewhat grave. Usually, they lived in the city, where they could simply buy everything they needed from the market, among multiple other conveniences. They had never realized how severe the situation in the deep mountains and forests could be. Everywhere they went, there were highly aggressive wild animals, and many of them showed faint traces of mutation.
And Kyrola is a barren place. What about East Xia, where the transcendent energy is abundant?
With the lush environment and vastness of East Xia, he could only imagine how much greater the number and terror of mutations in the deep mountains and wilderness would be.
No wonder the authorities were so proactive in curbing their populations. Blocking off the larger mountain ranges, organizing the yearly mutated beast trials for the senior students, frequent operations by armed forces to clear the wilderness immediately surrounding civilization...
If they didn’t strangle these dangerous beasts in the cradle, they would become a serious threat to ordinary people. This was just a faint glimpse into a terrifying future where mutated beasts would overrun the mountains and plains.
Soon, the four of them had advanced more than ten kilometers into the deep mountains. As they passed by the foot of one mountain, a violent roar erupted from above.
Roar!
A massive black bear, two meters tall at the shoulder, five meters long, and weighing two tons, charged down through the forest, clearly regarding the four as intruders into its territory and prey.
Xia Youhui immediately exclaimed with excitement, "You guys don't need to intervene, leave this one to me!"
Throughout the journey, it had been Chen Chu and the other two who had taken action, cleanly and decisively killing the mutated creatures that had attacked them. This had left Xia Youhui itching for a chance to join in.
An earthly glow burst from Xia Youhui's body, emanating a heavy aura as formidable as a mountain as it enveloped him along with his heavy shield.
"Kill!" With a fierce shout, Xia Youhui charged like an armored black tortoise, thunderously rushing towards the bear. In the blink of an eye, man and beast collided.
Boom!
Under the violent collision, the earthly glow intensified. The ground beneath Xia Youhui's feet cracked and trembled, but his seemingly small figure remained unmoved.
Meanwhile, the bear let out a roar of agony as it was sent flying ten meters away by the formidable recoil force. Covered in a dozen bloodied wounds from the shield’s spikes, the bear tumbled several times upon landing, struggling a bit before going still.
This was the formidable power of the Black Tortoise Earthly Art. Not only did it possess terrifying defense, but even at the first stage, it had the ability to reflect some of an attack’s force back at the attacker. With Xia Youhui breaking through to the Third Heavenly Realm, the recoil force of the shield was even stronger. Coupled with his own charging force, the bear hadn’t stood a chance... albeit, mainly because of how weak it had actually been.
Li Meng shouted, "Xia Youhui, stop trying to act cool, it’s just a level 1. Let’s go."
"Fuck!" Xia Youhui turned around and gave him a middle finger. Can’t they let me show off a little more?
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