The Journey

When Qin Mu tried using the Mother Nest to simulate his spear techniques and movement techniques.

With the Mother Nest's powerful computational abilities, it easily identified every improper or incorrect aspect of Qin Mu's movements and marked them one by one.

With the Mother Nest's computational abilities, it could even directly mark which muscles were being used incorrectly and which movement techniques had become distorted.

When using Mental Power to attack, he could have the Mother Nest assist with calculations, controlling the weapon's angle of attack and the amount of force used.

This discovery left Qin Mu ecstatic. It was practically like using cheats, allowing his Combat Power to soar.

Take movement techniques, for example.

A solid foundation, proficiency, and effortless mastery—these were the first three stages of movement techniques.

Qin Mu's movement techniques could not even be considered to have a solid foundation, yet in less than a day, he had reached the level of proficiency.

This improvement exceeded what he had gained from an entire month of training in the past.

Immersed in the improvement of his strength, Qin Mu did not notice time passing at all. It was only the Mother Nest's reminder that brought him back to his senses.

"It's already evening? Time to get ready to leave."

Looking at the sky, which had darkened without him noticing, Qin Mu shifted his consciousness into the Mother Nest and checked the number of each type of Zerg Unit the Swarm currently possessed, as well as its energy reserves.

The results gave Qin Mu a pleasant surprise. There were even more Tiger Mastiffs than expected, a total of 175. As for the Worker Bugs, there had originally been 126. Five had been killed while fighting monsters, leaving 121 now.

There was not much energy left, only 1,003 points.

Through the efforts of these Zerg Units, the monsters within a radius of ten li around the Villa District had nearly suffered total annihilation.

Their flesh and blood had become energy for the Swarm, which was why there were more Tiger Mastiffs than expected.

But this was also the limit of what the Villa District could support, because there were no longer any monsters for the Swarm to hunt.

They could only keep pushing deeper into the wilderness.

The Swarm's activities also consumed energy. If they did not move out, not only would the Swarm be unable to expand, it would eventually be forced to slaughter itself due to food shortages.

"Leave behind fifty Worker Bugs and twenty Tiger Mastiffs to guard the Mother Nest. Assemble all remaining units and prepare to head for County Town 0203."

Excluding the three Tiger Mastiff scout teams that had already departed, as well as the defensive force remaining behind to guard the nest, a force of 125 Intermediate Beast Soldier Level Tiger Mastiffs and 71 Primary Beast Soldier Level Worker Bugs—a total of 196 Zerg Units—set off.

The entire Swarm did not crowd together in one mass. Under the Mother Nest's control, they spread out, with scouts clearing the way ahead and units protecting the flanks.

Qin Mu did not drive the Off-road Pickup Truck either. Instead, he leaped onto the back of a large Tiger Hound.

With a shoulder height close to 1.5 meters, the Tiger Hound was far larger than many warhorses. Like the dire wolves Qin Mu had seen in monster movies in his previous life, it could easily serve as a mount.

The Worker Bugs took the necessary luggage and equipment from the vehicle and carried them.

One Worker Bug was particularly conspicuous, its belly round and swollen with a large amount of high-energy liquid. Once they reached their destination, it would use that liquid to hatch a new Mother Nest.

The reason he was not driving was because Qin Mu had no intention of following the highway. Instead, he would travel along the route scouted by the Tiger Mastiffs.

A hundred-odd monsters marching grandly along the highway would be far too conspicuous and could easily run into human warrior squads.

It was not yet time for the Swarm to be exposed.

At the Swarm's speed, traveling through the wilderness was no slower than an off-road vehicle, enough to reach their destination within the expected time.

Under the starlight, the Swarm protected Qin Mu, who rode atop the Tiger Hound, at its center as they silently advanced.

After entering the wilderness, Qin Mu even had the leisure to admire the night scenery of this wilderness he had never seen before.

The wilderness sky was beautiful. The heavens resembled a deep painting, stars gleaming faintly while a crescent moon hung gently at the horizon, casting a hazy silver light across the earth.

Under the moonlight, the breeze drifted softly by, and all sorts of beautiful flowers and grasses swayed gracefully, making it feel as though one had fallen into a dream.

In the distance, unknown insects chirped. Glowing flying bugs danced among the flowers and trees.

Such beautiful scenery was practically a poetic, dreamlike world.

However, a Tiger Hound's roar jolted Qin Mu out of his fascination with the scenery. One Tiger Hound scouting ahead had passed by an especially gorgeous and enormous flower.

Then something horrifying happened. The flower suddenly opened wide and swallowed the entire Tiger Hound.

The Tiger Hound did not even have time to roar before the closing petals trapped it tightly within the flower bud.

Several nearby Tiger Hounds charged forward and tore into it, biting, clawing, and digging until the strange flower's branches and leaves scattered everywhere and it was ripped to pieces.

The trapped Tiger Hound struggled free as well, then furiously tore the plant out by its roots.

In this world, it was not only all kinds of animals that had mutated and evolved. Plants had as well.

The seemingly beautiful scenery was actually filled with hidden killing intent, venomous insects, and lurking monsters.

This woke Qin Mu up completely, and his relaxed mood immediately turned vigilant.

Fortunately, the Swarm now possessed sufficient strength. Ordinary dangers could be easily resolved without Qin Mu needing to act.

Along the way, the Swarm encountered more than a dozen monsters in succession, all of which were dealt with and turned into food for the Swarm.

After traveling for several hours, the scouting Tiger Hounds sent back news that they had discovered a herd of Unicorn Wild Boars ahead.

There were more than twenty Unicorn Wild Boars in the herd. Their fur was black, like black steel spikes, and a dark gray horn as sharp as a blade grew from each of their heads.

Three of the Unicorn Wild Boars had reached the High-level Beast Soldier Level, while most of the rest were at the Intermediate Beast Soldier Level.

If a battle broke out, the Swarm's current strength would likely suffer considerable casualties if Qin Mu did not intervene.

Rather than avoiding them, Qin Mu controlled the Swarm and surrounded them directly.

To reduce the Swarm's casualties, Qin Mu merely had them encircle the herd without attacking.

Surrounded by several times their number of Tiger Hounds, the Unicorn Wild Boars were somewhat panicked. Yet under the leadership of several High-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boars, they did not fall into disorder and instead confronted the Tiger Hounds.

Under the moonlight, Qin Mu carefully observed these Unicorn Wild Boars. They were a type of boar monster even more powerful than Iron-Haired Wild Boars.

Compared to Iron-Haired Wild Boars, they were fiercer and more agile, while the single horn atop their heads greatly enhanced their attack power.

Without hesitation, a Spearhead floating above Qin Mu's head shot out.

"Whoosh—"

The Spearhead became a streak of light and shot straight toward a High-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boar.

The attacked Unicorn Wild Boar noticed something wrong, but the Spearhead was too fast. Though it wanted to dodge, its body could not react in time. It could only lower its head slightly, protecting its eyes.

"Crack, crack—"

The Spearhead did not pierce into the Unicorn Wild Boar's eye socket as intended. Instead, it struck its skull head-on.

A faint cracking sound came from the A2-grade Po Jun Spear's Spearhead, and fine cracks appeared across it.

The immense kinetic energy carried by its extreme speed allowed the Spearhead to pierce straight through the Unicorn Wild Boar's skull.

"Huff! Huff!"

The attacked Unicorn Wild Boar flew into a rage, grunting as it lowered its head and exposed the horn atop its skull. Its four hooves thundered forward, like high-speed tanks.

Although they outnumbered the Unicorn Wild Boars several times over, under Qin Mu's control, the Swarm did not directly withstand their charge. Instead, they opened a gap and attacked from the flanks.

"The Spearhead is somewhat damaged!"

The Mental Power attached to the Spearhead allowed Qin Mu to immediately notice the problem. Using an A2-grade Po Jun Spear Spearhead to smash head-on through the skull of a High-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boar, a monster known for its defense, was still too much of a strain.

But Qin Mu could not afford to worry about that now. He controlled the Spearhead to arc through the air and take the life of another Unicorn Wild Boar from the flank.

This time, under Qin Mu's precise control, the Spearhead stabbed into the eye socket of a charging Unicorn Wild Boar and flew out through the other side.

The Tiger Hound beneath him began to run as well. Rather than confronting the Unicorn Wild Boars head-on, it pursued and encircled them!

In terms of speed and agility, the Unicorn Wild Boars were no match for the Tiger Hounds.

As they raced along, the Spearhead continuously danced and weaved through the Unicorn Wild Boar herd, striking vital points such as their eyes, throats, mouths, and bellies.

The three High-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boars were killed one after another.

With the deterrence of the three Beast Soldier level Unicorn Wild Boars gone, and with themselves surrounded, their fate was destined to be tragic.

I revised the previous chapter. I checked the calendar: counting from July 24 to the Warrior Practical Combat Assessment, there were eight days, because July 2056 had thirty-one days. So theoretically, the protagonist could stay in County Town 0203 for two days.