Ironclad Bull (Seeking Recommendations)

The vehicle entered Yilan County, and Mutated Beasts appeared ahead.

A herd of bulls covered in golden fur, with two long curved horns atop their heads, emerged.

Each bull stood over two meters tall. Thick nostrils spewed red mist as their round eyes fixed viciously on these uninvited visitors.

Their hides were no longer covered in fur like the cattle of old. They had evolved into thick scales that gleamed under the sunlight. They were not merely for show—these scales possessed astonishing defensive power.

"One, two, three, four, five, six. Six of them? No way! Are we really this unlucky? We just entered the city and already ran into a herd of C-Rank Mutated Beasts. Where did these Ironclad Bulls come from?"

Ye Tiancheng let out a miserable cry. He knew just how formidable these Ironclad Bulls were.

Bovine monsters formed one of the largest groups among Mutated Beasts. Even the weakest were D-Rank, while these Ironclad Bulls were among the best of them. Every one of them possessed C-Rank strength. For a General Level squad, six Ironclad Bulls were extremely difficult to handle.

"Not good! Those bulls are charging over. Our armored vehicle has decent defenses, but if several Ironclad Bulls ram it, it'll definitely overturn. We have to get out and fight."

In the distance, several Ironclad Bulls had already lowered their curved horns and charged toward the armored vehicle.

The five members of the Demon Hunter Squad immediately left the armored vehicle. Ye Tiancheng climbed down from the driver's seat, Shi Lei exited through the passenger seat, Lin Zhen and Zhao Liang got out through the doors on either side of the compartment, while Gao Yan jumped straight out through the sunroof. It took the five of them less than two seconds to get out.

"Spread out! Lure the herd apart. Don't fight these monsters as a group. Old Gao, take the high ground and provide precision fire!"

"Already climbing!"

Gao Yan moved quickly, rapidly scaling a nearby ruin and preparing to fire.

"Tiancheng, you and I will draw them off from the left and right. Each of us takes one Ironclad Bull. Old Zhao, take Lin Zhen and fight hit-and-run around the armored vehicle. Old Gao will cover you. Remember, don't damage the vehicle!"

"Got it!"

Ye Tiancheng answered, swinging his twin swords and striking one Ironclad Bull three times in succession before immediately turning and fleeing.

His twin swords were of quite good quality, yet they could only leave faint white marks on the Ironclad Bull. Monsters with such high defenses were truly difficult to deal with.

Shi Lei's longsword could inflict a little damage on an Ironclad Bull, but it was far from enough. Chased by one of them, he fled about in a sorry state. The five-man squad had barely gotten out of the vehicle before splitting apart to fight on their own.

"Lin Zhen, cover me!" Zhao Liang gripped his Curved Blade and was about to charge forward. In his eyes, Lin Zhen was still a trainee. Though he could kill a C-Rank giant snake, giant snakes were still easier to kill than Ironclad Bulls. Especially against a C-Rank herd like this, Lin Zhen probably had no experience dealing with them.

Before his words had even faded, Lin Zhen flicked the Long Spear in his hand. Pa pa pa pa! A flurry of spear shadows flashed out, stabbing a spray of bright red blood from the forehead of the largest Ironclad Bull.

Having landed the strike, Lin Zhen did not pause at all. With two successive bounding steps, he leaped more than ten meters away, then darted into a patch of ruins.

The injured Ironclad Bull roared as it chased after Lin Zhen, but the ruins were uneven and jagged, leaving the Ironclad Bull unable to use its charging advantage. Lin Zhen, meanwhile, used the Long Spear as a support point and leaped through the ruins as if parkouring. The Ironclad Bull could not hurt him at all.

That left Zhao Liang with three Ironclad Bulls.

"This kid was born for battle. He's doing better than I did in my first fight."

Zhao Liang sighed, then called to Gao Yan, who had already climbed to the high ground behind him. "Old Gao, work with me. The two of us will take care of these first, then go support the others."

Bang!

Gao Yan's Sniper Rifle answered him. The shot struck an Ironclad Bull on the top of the head, sending up a trail of blood. The bull staggered, immediately easing the pressure on Zhao Liang.

"Beautiful!"

Seizing the chance, Zhao Liang attacked the other two Ironclad Bulls with several rapid slashes while circling around the armored vehicle.

Against strength-type monsters like Ironclad Bulls, the best tactic was to avoid their direct force, entangle them in complex terrain, gradually wear down their strength, and then eliminate them one by one. The Demon Hunter Squad's tactics were correct.

Lin Zhen led his Ironclad Bull on a wild chase through the ruins alone, but he had no intention of running forever. He wanted to kill all four of these bulls.

When he had killed a C-Rank Mutated Snake before, he had nearly exhausted all his strength. But things were different now. He had reached the late Level Eight Warrior stage, and his Mental Power had reached the Mid Stage Peak of Silver-level Transformation. With strength comparable to an ordinary Beginner War General, he naturally could not be satisfied with merely continuing to stall.

Leaping over a rock, Lin Zhen raised a foot and hooked it up, sending it flying straight at the pursuing Ironclad Bull.

Not at its head—at its legs.

Hitting its head would be useless. The Ironclad Bull could easily smash the rock apart. Only by striking its legs and disrupting its footing could he achieve the best result.

Sure enough, the rock disrupted the Ironclad Bull's pursuit, forcing it to stop. Without speed, the Ironclad Bull lost its charging power. This was the opportunity Lin Zhen had been waiting for.

Seeing that none of his teammates were within sight, Lin Zhen suddenly exerted force.

A cold gleam flashed past. An Alloy Flying Knife, controlled by Mental Power and covered in a layer of silver light, shot toward the bull's eyeball at a speed exceeding that of a pistol bullet.

As a C-Rank monster, the Ironclad Bull was not so easily injured. Its enormous eyelid snapped shut, shielding the vital point.

Even the bull's eyelids had evolved scales. Ordinary bullets could barely penetrate them, but after Lin Zhen's Mental Power had reached the Mid Stage Peak of Silver-level Transformation, its actual force had nearly doubled. The power of this Flying Knife was no weaker than Gao Yan's Sniper Rifle.

Puff!

A spray of blood splashed out, leaving a wound on the Ironclad Bull's eyelid.

Pain shot through its eye. The Ironclad Bull roared and was about to charge again when Lin Zhen's second Flying Knife arrived.

The greatest feature of Flying Knives controlled by Mental Power was that they could turn, so the Ironclad Bull had nowhere to evade and could only shut its eye again.

Puff! Puff!

Two more knives struck in succession, each cutting the same wound. At last, they sliced open the Ironclad Bull's eyelid!

The fourth Flying Knife followed within less than one-hundredth of a second, bursting one of the Ironclad Bull's eyeballs and plunging straight into its skull!

Fluid and blood burst forth. The Ironclad Bull howled in agony, raised its two curved horns, and charged at Lin Zhen.

"Beast! You're finished!"

Lin Zhen raised a hand. The four Flying Knives in his hand rose into the air again and shot toward the Ironclad Bull's remaining eye!

This C-Rank monster possessed a degree of intelligence. It knew the knives were difficult to dodge, and if both eyes went blind, it would be finished. It could only halt its charge and desperately lift one hoof to protect its remaining eye.

This was exactly the opportunity Lin Zhen had been waiting for. His target was still the Ironclad Bull's blinded eye.

The eye socket led directly to the brain and was the Ironclad Bull's weakness. How could Lin Zhen fail to exploit it? His previous attack had been meant to make the Ironclad Bull shut its eye, making it easier for him to act.

He flicked the Black Dragon Spear in his hand and kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. A venomous black streak stabbed fiercely into the Ironclad Bull's injured eye socket!

"Hit!"

Lin Zhen suddenly exerted force. The spearhead pierced a foot deep into the eye socket, and with a twist of the Black Dragon Spear, he instantly churned the Ironclad Bull's brain into pulp!

With a mournful howl, the Ironclad Bull's enormous body crashed to the ground!

Its brute strength had not been used at all before Lin Zhen seized a weakness and killed it in one blow.

"Good. This Ironclad Bull was the largest in the herd. Its hide and Ox Horns should sell for quite a bit."

Lin Zhen was badly short on money. Aside from the Space Ring he needed to buy, he also had to prepare Qi Sense Assistance Potions for entering the General Stage. That would cost an astronomical sum, so he had to hunt many more Mutated Beasts, especially high-level ones.

"I only blew out one of the Ironclad Bull's eyes. The entire hide is intact, so it'll fetch the best price. This hide alone should be worth around ten million!"

Lin Zhen took out a Flying Knife and began dissecting the bull from beneath its jaw. Following the white line along its belly, he completely peeled away the Ironclad Bull's scale armor with practiced movements.

"These horns are worth several hundred thousand as well. And, of course, the most important thing—the crystal."

He retrieved his Flying Knife from the bull's brain, along with a dark yellow crystal. He could sell this to the Ministry of Science and Technology, but Lin Zhen would rather donate it to the Martial Hall to increase his points.

He folded up the hide and slung it over his back, took the horns, and stored the crystal away. Lin Zhen was about to go support his teammates when, seeing the huge pile of beef, he decided to cut off some meat to roast and eat. He casually began slicing meat from the bull's belly.

"Hmm! This is... Bezoar!"

Having just opened the bull's abdomen, Lin Zhen discovered a hard lump inside. When he took it out, it turned out to be a fist-sized piece of Bezoar.