Insight into Rainstorm

Gao Yan and the others quickly gathered together. Standing in the middle, Gao Yan's Sniper Rifle was practically useless against the birds filling the sky, so he simply crouched down and could only occasionally fire a cold shot upward.

Brain-Eating Swallows shrieked as they dove from overhead, covering the sky with almost no blind spots. There were several thousand of them. At a time like this, a Martial Artist's true strength was put to the greatest test.

"Water Severing Sword!" Shi Lei's longsword was the most standard Martial Artist equipment. His swordsmanship was steady and orthodox, sword light flashing out in sheets as it cut down Brain-Eating Swallows one after another.

Ye Tiancheng performed even better than Shi Lei at this moment. His twin swords danced, and the sword qi unique to a Dark Force Martial Artist crisscrossed through the air, killing the swallows even faster.

Moreover, he had argued with Lin Zhen earlier, only to have reality slap him in the face. Feeling guilty, he wanted even more to prove himself. Completely ignoring the fact that he was only a Level Two War General, he desperately drove his Dark Force Inner Force. Strands of sword qi shot out like Thunderbolt Lightning, venting all the frustration in his heart upon the Brain-Eating Swallows.

Zhao Liang, on the other hand, was in a far more miserable state. His saber technique focused on fierce, powerful strikes and had tremendous killing power, but using it against Brain-Eating Swallows felt like using anti-aircraft guns to swat mosquitoes. Though powerful, it was not fast enough, and he was struggling greatly.

Lin Zhen was on the left. At this moment, facing the mass of black Brain-Eating Swallows descending upon them, his mind was instead exceptionally calm and clear.

These swallows are even faster than raindrops. Like rain itself, with my strength, I can kill them in a single strike.

The second move of the Nine Heavy Spears River, Rainstorm, emphasizes speed. The spear shoots out like lightning, rain beating against plantain leaves, impossible to guard against. Although I've practiced this Spear Art to minor mastery, I still haven't grasped the true essence of major mastery. These Brain-Eating Swallows are perfect for practice!

"Pah pah pah!"

The Black Dragon Spear shook out a huge cluster of spear flowers, threads of force spilling outward. Though he had no Inner Force empowering him, Lin Zhen specialized in agility, and his attacks were simply fast.

With each flash of spear light, a Brain-Eating Swallow would be pierced through with a transparent hole, shrieking as it fell to the ground and flapped helplessly, never able to fly again.

Three streaks of spear light appeared at once, and four swallows cried mournfully as they dropped. The final thrust even skewered two Brain-Eating Swallows in succession. Against these F-Rank Mutated Beasts that relied on numbers and possessed weak defenses, the advantage of Lin Zhen's long weapon was displayed to the fullest.

Though he had no Inner Force, his killing speed was not the least bit inferior to Ye Tiancheng's, and he could keep it up for a long time.

Countless corpses fell like raindrops. The rain of blood pouring down from the sky dyed their clothes red. Though the hotel entrance was only a dozen meters away, their advance was as slow as a snail's crawl. Shi Lei bore the greatest pressure; the space before him was packed black with swallows, and even protecting himself was difficult.

From high above, the Brain-Eating Swallows looked like a whirlwind, wave after wave descending from the sky to kill the few people stubbornly resisting on the ground.

"Ah!"

Zhao Liang cried out miserably. His neck was pecked open into a bloody hole, and a chunk of flesh was torn away.

"I can't hold on much longer!"

The scent of blood drove the Brain-Eating Swallows even crazier. Two swallows attacked from either side, with another four or five following behind. Zhao Liang swung his saber one-handed in desperation. It was easy to imagine that without support, he would not be able to withstand them alone.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two gunshots rang out as Gao Yan came to his aid. But the moment he exposed himself, several more Brain-Eating Swallows were drawn to dive at him. Neither he nor Zhao Liang could last long.

Shi Lei said urgently, "Switch positions! Hurry and switch! Tiancheng, your twin swords are fast. You take the front and quickly open a path into the hotel, or all of us will be finished."

Ye Tiancheng panted heavily a few times. "All right, I'll try!"

Lin Zhen glanced at him, knowing that he had consumed too much Inner Force and likely would not last much longer.

Just as Lin Zhen had expected, after Ye Tiancheng switched places with Shi Lei, he went wild again for a while and pushed forward another five meters toward the hotel entrance. But with seven or eight meters still remaining, he could no longer unleash sword qi and could only rely on his twin swords to chop and slash.

This was undoubtedly far less efficient, and Zhao Liang and Gao Yan were also close to being unable to hold on.

"What do we do? Are we really going to die here?"

Shi Lei was extremely unwilling. It was not that Martial Artists could not accept death. In fact, from the day they chose to become Martial Artists, everyone knew it was a high-risk profession, yet countless people still rushed forward to become one.

But dying at the hands of high-level Mutated Beasts could at least be considered a worthy death. Among the several kinds of Mutated Beasts Martial Artists hated most, flocks of birds definitely ranked in the top three.

A flock of birds, a Rat Tide, and a school of fish in the water—each of these Mutated Beasts was insignificant on its own, yet they were a Martial Artist's greatest nightmare. Take these Brain-Eating Swallows filling the sky, for example. Even a powerful strength-type War God would be utterly unable to fend them off without outside support.

There was no other reason. There were simply too many of them.

Of them all, Rat Tides were the most dangerous. Mutated rats were each as large as wild dogs, and when they moved, there would be at least hundreds of thousands, sometimes over a million. Especially in the wilderness, most people who encountered a Rat Tide could not survive.

Thus, Martial Artists would rather face Ironclad Bulls or Giant Palm Human Bears than these tiny creatures that moved in swarms.

Shi Lei felt thoroughly stifled. Their team had just hunted several Ironclad Bulls, and they had thought themselves lucky. Who would have expected that, in the blink of an eye, their nightmare would begin?

"Captain, let me try!"

Lin Zhen stepped forward at this moment, signaling that he wanted to switch places with Ye Tiancheng.

Mutated Beasts possessed a certain degree of intelligence. The Brain-Eating Swallows knew that once this group escaped indoors, they would be unable to continue hunting them, so the attacks at the front were exceptionally fierce. Hearing Lin Zhen volunteer to break through, the others were all stunned.

But there was no time for them to think. Shi Lei simply waved his hand. "Tiancheng, give him your position!"

Lin Zhen took a stride forward. Before him, swallows filled the air. He drew a deep breath and violently stirred the Black Dragon Spear in his hand. A gale suddenly rose, and countless streaks of spear light shot out like lightning. More than a dozen swallows fell in an instant, clearing the space before him.

"Move!"

Lin Zhen shouted, taking a leaping step forward. The Long Spear in his hand danced, picking left and right at incredible speed. Amid a series of "pah pah pah" sounds, not a single swallow could get close to him.

"With this Spear Art, this speed, and this unstoppable courage, this sense that none can stand against him... Lin Zhen's future is limitless."

The others did not pause in the slightest and followed in Lin Zhen's footsteps.

Lin Zhen held his breath and charged forward another five or six meters in a row. The hotel entrance was now before his eyes. The narrow space was unfavorable for the swallows' flight. Lin Zhen suddenly turned around. "Get inside. I'll cover the rear!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The four of them quickly passed by from both sides, and the pressure on Lin Zhen immediately increased sharply.

The densely packed swallows rushed straight at him, each carrying tremendous momentum. Lin Zhen swung the Long Spear in his hand, and the Breathing Technique had unknowingly begun.

"Lin Zhen, get in here!"

Zhao Liang shouted from behind.

Lin Zhen did not move. If he retreated now, countless swallows would surge inside, which would be troublesome as well. As long as he held out for a few more seconds and this wave of attacks passed, he could retreat indoors safely.

But this wave was not easy to withstand.

Within the few meters of space before him, several dozen Brain-Eating Swallows charged at him.

Their wings contracted to make themselves as compact as possible, their sharp beaks gleaming with black light, like raindrops rushing toward his face.

Rainstorm! This kind of assault is like a rainstorm. I once heard in the interstellar age that to master Rainstorm, the first requirement is that when the Long Spear moves, not even water can splash through.

What lies before me is a rainstorm striking. My Neural Reaction is already sufficient. As long as I keep my mind calm and remain unmoved by external things, I may not be unable to block this wave.

If I can't even stop swallows, how can I keep water from splashing through!

"Ha!"

Lin Zhen shouted sharply. The scene before his eyes seemed to slow slightly. He could no longer hear the sounds outside—neither Zhao Liang's shouts nor the cries of the Brain-Eating Swallows. There were only those points of black light. Within one second, he had to knock every one of them down!

He raised his hand and thrust out his spear. The spear's flexibility came into play as streaks of spear light burst forth.

One swallow, two swallows. Ten swallows, twenty swallows.

To the others, they saw only that in an instant, a vast burst of spear light erupted before Lin Zhen, as though he were a Hedgehog that had suddenly raised every spine on its body. The Brain-Eating Swallows crashed onto those spines one after another.

In an instant! Like candied hawthorns threaded on skewers, blood splattered everywhere!

In just an instant, a thick layer of Brain-Eating Swallows had fallen before the hotel entrance. Everything around Lin Zhen was swept clear, forming a vacuum zone!