Beast Assault

If the scale armor of this Ironclad Bull was worth around five million, then this piece of bezoar was worth at least ten million, perhaps even more.

A bull with bezoar had the potential to evolve again. For example, bovine Mutated Beasts could evolve into Ironclad Bulls or Unicorn Bulls, but these were ultimately mutated breeds of ordinary yellow cattle.

Other than massive creatures like African Buffalo or rhinos, which could reach B-Class, yellow cattle could not advance to B-Class unless they possessed bezoar.

No wonder this bull had grown so large. Given a little more time, it might have become B-Class. Unfortunately, before it could reach that level, Lin Zhen had killed it, and its bezoar had become Lin Zhen's spoils.

Happily putting away the bezoar, Lin Zhen had gained spoils worth more than twenty million from killing a single C-Rank creature. He was extremely pleased.

After gathering his things, he returned to the armored vehicle. The battle there had also ended.

With the largest bull lured away by Lin Zhen, the remaining five Ironclad Bulls could not truly threaten four General Level experts. Shi Lei had killed one first, then gone to support Ye Tiancheng. The two of them then returned together and dealt with the Ironclad Bulls that Zhao Liang had still been leading in circles.

They had only just finished and were about to go support Lin Zhen when they saw him returning.

Not only had he returned, but he had also skinned that Ironclad Bull and brought back its scale armor and ox horns.

"Nice one, Lin Zhen. I knew you'd be fine. You even killed a Mutated Snake, so a Mutated Bull was nothing to you." Zhao Liang sat on the ground, looking utterly exhausted. Keeping three bulls running in circles had truly been difficult for him. If Gao Yan had not continuously drawn the Mutated Bulls' attention with his Sniper Rifle, Zhao Liang might have been in danger.

A Sniper Rifle really did not have much stopping power against Mutated Bulls.

Shi Lei was panting as well. "It's good that you're back. Come to think of it, out of all of us, you were probably the first to kill your Mutated Bull. A genius really is a genius."

Ye Tiancheng said nothing. His twin swords favored agility, and their killing power against Ironclad Bulls was limited. He had only managed to kill one with Shi Lei's help. Being outdone by a newcomer like Lin Zhen made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"Alright, Old Gao, you handle dissecting these bulls. Gather up the scale armor, ox horns, and everything else. Once we sell them, we'll divide the money."

Then he said to Lin Zhen, "Lin Zhen, you may not be familiar with this since you just joined the squad. This is how we handle Mutated Beasts killed through joint action. But don't worry, your share of the earnings definitely won't be short. Since you killed the largest Ironclad Bull, you might earn another two or three million this time."

"Don't worry, Captain. I understand."

Lin Zhen put down the scale armor and the rest, and he also handed over the crystals. However, he did not take out the bezoar. Something like that, which had not been part of the plan, did not need to be turned over.

Seeing Lin Zhen's intact hide and scale armor, Gao Yan clicked his tongue in amazement. "This scale armor is too complete. There isn't the slightest damage. Lin Zhen, how did you kill this thing?"

"The eye. I drove my spear into its eye socket and scrambled its brain." Lin Zhen gestured as he spoke.

"Impressive. Being able to hit an Ironclad Bull in the eye during battle alone proves it. I'd say you're the First Person among Ice City's younger generation. Changfeng's Chen Jingchou, Dragon Slayer's Lei Ming, and even our Martial Hall's Fu Chengya and Shen Tu Hua—they're all no match for you."

Lin Zhen smiled. He had never intended to compete with those people. His targets were only a very small handful of individuals.

Gao Yan began dissecting the bulls while Shi Lei and Zhao Liang went to rest inside the vehicle. Lin Zhen and Ye Tiancheng stood guard, and the squad quickly got to work.

The deaths of the Mutated Bulls attracted some nearby Mutated Beasts. However, with these bulls around, there were no particularly powerful Mutated Beasts nearby. Lin Zhen and Ye Tiancheng could deal with them easily.

During this process, Lin Zhen barely needed to exert himself. Ye Tiancheng seemed eager to prove himself and handled nearly all the approaching Mutated Beasts alone. Lin Zhen was happy to take it easy and watch Ye Tiancheng perform.

Whenever there was nothing to do, Ye Tiancheng would take out his phone to photograph their spoils and post them on the Martial Hall's internal network.

Such an action could more or less expose their location. Lin Zhen found it somewhat inappropriate, but since Ye Tiancheng was posting only to the internal network, he did not say anything.

Half an hour later, Gao Yan finished processing the Mutated Bull corpses, and everyone got back into the vehicle.

"Everyone did well just now, especially Lin Zhen. He killed the largest Ironclad Bull alone and brought our squad a considerable income. Now, let me go over the plan."

Shi Lei took out a map and pointed at it. "According to the information, the Giant Palm Human Bear is entrenched in the center of Yilan County, inside the county Gymnasium. Some Martial Artists have already gone there, but many met with misfortune. The Gymnasium area is packed with monsters, and approaching recklessly is extremely dangerous. So we need to advance steadily and ensure our retreat remains clear. Only then will we have a chance to deal with the Giant Palm Human Bear."

"There are currently eight squads entering Yilan, basically the first wave. More Martial Artists will keep arriving from the Base City afterward. We don't need to care how others proceed. We'll advance along this road. Five hundred meters ahead, there are the ruins of the Ancient City Hotel. It's still barely habitable. We'll rest there first, then push deeper from there and try to reach the Gymnasium as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Understood!" everyone answered in succession.

"Good. Then let's move now. Stay sharp. Out here, we may not only have to face Mutated Beasts, but other Martial Artist squads as well—especially the Demon God Squad. They lost one hundred million, so they definitely won't let this go."

Everyone nodded to show they understood.

The armored vehicle began moving forward slowly. They did not encounter any high-level Mutated Beasts like Ironclad Bulls along the way, only mostly E-Rank and F-Rank ones. No one had much interest in hunting them. Only D-Rank Mutated Beasts were considered valuable. If they killed every Mutated Beast they saw, even ten armored vehicles would not be enough to carry everything.

The vehicle drove all the way to the hotel entrance, and the five of them got out.

The hotel was relatively well preserved, a five-story building whose former appearance could still vaguely be seen.

After getting out, Ye Tiancheng took out his phone and began filming. He seemed to enjoy posting things online.

Seeing that Ye Tiancheng was interested, Shi Lei and the others did not hurry inside, instead standing around casually outside.

Not far away stood another building over ten stories tall. Though dilapidated, it had not collapsed. No one knew how it had managed to endure for so many years.

Lin Zhen looked at the building and felt a sense of unease. High-rises like that, resembling beehives, were often homes for avian Mutated Beasts. There might be danger.

Thinking this, Lin Zhen spoke up. "Captain, I think that high-rise is dangerous. There might be a large flock of birds living there. Either we shouldn't stop here, or we should get inside quickly. If the birds surround and attack us, there could be casualties."

Ye Tiancheng was filming. Hearing Lin Zhen, he laughed. "Lin Zhen, you'd better stop showing off that little bit of book knowledge. Yilan is close to Peony City. To ensure the army's airspace security, they clear out Mutated Birds on a fixed schedule every month. There aren't any large Mutated Bird Groups around here anymore. Even if there were, it's nearly dark now. Aside from nocturnal birds like owls, all the other birds have long since returned to their nests. Unless you bang gongs and drums to disturb them, they won't come out. Are owls going to appear in flocks? Hahaha! Looks like your book knowledge isn't all that thorough either."

Lin Zhen frowned slightly. Birds were highly mobile, and Yilan had never been fully conquered. Besides, even if they did not disturb them, there was no guarantee someone else would not. Ye Tiancheng's words proved nothing.

But Lin Zhen was a newcomer and had joined the squad later, so it was not easy for him to openly argue back. He said nothing more.

After Ye Tiancheng finished filming the hotel, he posted it online. Just as he finished, a trail of smoke suddenly flew in from the distance and exploded at the high-rise.

Boom!

A burst of fireworks exploded in the air, revealing a faint blood-red color.

"Damn it! It's a Blood Mist Bomb, specially used to attract birds in the sky! Someone is setting us up!"

Shi Lei had barely finished speaking when everyone felt the light dim.

The high-rise seemed to erupt into chaos as countless Mutated Birds flew out. They quickly spotted the nearest group of people—Lin Zhen and the others. The flock rapidly formed a vast black cloud and descended at tremendous speed!

"Careful, they're Brain-Eating Swallows!"

Brain-Eating Swallows had been called swallows in the Anno Domini Era. After God Transformation Day, they began mutating. Each one was as large as an eagle from the old days. Though they were only F-Rank Mutated Birds, they were incomparably fast and moved in flocks. They would peck through human skulls and loved to feed on brains, turning from beneficial birds into Raptors.

"Form up! I'll take the front, Zhao Liang the rear, Lin Zhen and Tiancheng on the sides. Protect Old Gao! Push toward the hotel entrance. We'll be much safer once we get inside."

Shi Lei swiftly issued combat orders. Although facts had proven Lin Zhen right, there was no point arguing about it now. They could not split up this time, or they would surely die beneath the bird flock.