An Unexpected Enemy

Qin Hao moved quickly, soon appearing atop a small building not far from the Bloodthirsty Tank herd. From the surrounding buildings, he could tell that this area had likely been a wealthy residential district filled with villas before the Great Nirvana.

There were few buildings, all standalone little villas. Trees and greenery covered the area, now grown into something like a small jungle. Yet there were no other Monsters nearby. A herd of Beginner Beast Generals could run rampant in a small county town, and the surrounding Monsters naturally kept their distance.

After observing the surroundings, Qin Hao revealed himself and charged straight at the Bloodthirsty Tank herd with his longsword in hand. A sneak attack would have been easier, but Qin Hao's goal was not merely slaughter. More than that, he wanted to train himself, explore his limits, and put himself under greater pressure.

Moreover, Qin Hao did not take this herd of Beginner Beast General Bloodthirsty Tanks seriously. In the original story, Luo Feng had faced dozens of Beginner Beast Generals during the B-Rank Assessment and still passed successfully. Qin Hao was now stronger than Luo Feng had been during that assessment, so he had no fear of Beginner Beast Generals.

At the sight of the charging human, the Bloodthirsty Tanks seemed startled. They snorted streams of hot air from their nostrils and charged madly at Qin Hao.

Bloodthirsty Tanks were among the most troublesome Monsters of the Beginner Beast General level, owing to their frenzied bloodlust when attacking and their formidable defenses.

Qin Hao did not rush to end the battle. Instead, he constantly darted and shifted among the Bloodthirsty Tanks, his longsword striking without pause as he repeatedly put every move of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade into actual combat.

His wanton slaughter in the small town earlier had provided very limited training. But the pressure brought by these Beginner Beast General Bloodthirsty Tanks excited Qin Hao. Every move of the first three levels of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade grew smoother in battle, and his understanding of the Blade Technique continued to deepen.

As an Ultimate Secret Manual, the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade drew more attention for its supreme Force Generation technique. Even in the original story, the focus had mostly been on the increase in Force Generation with each new level. However, as the Secret Manual of Thor, one of the world's peak experts, its explanations of Blade Technique were the true key. The Blade Techniques trained alongside each level, and the understanding of the blade contained in every move, were all of the highest caliber.

As Qin Hao fought, he seemed to become a dancer upon the edge of a blade. Every dodge, every slash, every attack became more graceful, while the release of his strength grew increasingly fluid.

"Not bad. This is the feeling. Only through actual combat can a martial artist improve even further." As the battle continued, Qin Hao felt his command of the Microscopic level movement technique becoming more practiced. His perception of Monster attacks grew sharper, and the transitions between every move became smoother.

After gradually adapting to the rhythm of battle, Qin Hao's attacks began to turn fierce. However, the Bloodthirsty Tanks' defenses lived up to their reputation. Though every attack left deep wounds on them, none dealt fatal damage.

Furthermore, as their wounds accumulated, the Bloodthirsty Tanks' eyes gradually reddened, and they began to go berserk. Faced with the frenzied attacks of more than ten Beast Generals, Qin Hao gradually began to feel a trace of pressure. Yet the greater the pressure, the more excited he became.

Qin Hao was now something of an anomaly among martial artists. Most martial artists entering the Wilderness Zone were extremely cautious and sought quick battles, but Qin Hao deliberately kept prolonging the fight.

More than ten minutes into the battle, Qin Hao had become completely absorbed in combat and failed to notice the growing number of Monsters around him. He had even attracted several martial artists.

"What faction is that young man from? He's so composed even while surrounded by Beginner Beast Generals."

"He must be a genius raised by some major power."

"Why would a genius come to a small county town like County 0201? And without anyone guarding him?"

"Look! That young man is about to win!"

Although quite a few martial artists were watching Qin Hao's battle, not a single team approached. Most of the martial artists who came to County 0201 belonged to teams with War Generals, but they were only Beginner War Generals, their strength relatively limited.

After sensing the changes around him, Qin Hao began accelerating the battle. The speed of his longsword abruptly increased, as did his movement speed. With the boost of the third level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade, Qin Hao's strength and speed were comparable to those of an Advanced Warlord.

Though the berserk Bloodthirsty Tanks' attacks became stronger, Qin Hao could still dispatch them quickly. His figure flashed like a ghost, weaving rapidly through the Bloodthirsty Tanks. As he passed among them, the moves of his longsword changed continuously.

With every slash, he cut across a Bloodthirsty Tank's throat, eyes, or other weak points, or directly severed its leg tendons and robbed it of mobility. Before long, more than ten Bloodthirsty Tanks had collapsed into pools of blood, their lives extinguished.

After dealing with all the Bloodthirsty Tanks, Qin Hao did not stop. His figure swiftly vanished from the spot and charged into the Monster herd gathering around him. He had not intended to bother with these Beast Soldier-level Monsters, but since they had gathered here, there was no need for them to live.

In just ten minutes, Qin Hao slaughtered all hundred-plus Beast Soldier-level Monsters in the area. Afterward, he swept his gaze across the surroundings. The calmness in his eyes sent a chill through the martial artists watching from afar.

"God of Slaughter." With that thought arising, the surrounding martial artists quickly retreated, not daring to linger. Someone who could kill more than ten Beast Generals and over a hundred Beast Soldiers without suffering the slightest injury was not someone they could afford to provoke.

After everyone had left, Qin Hao quickly began collecting the fruits of his victory. More than ten Bloodthirsty Tanks and over a hundred Advanced Beast Soldiers represented a considerable fortune to him.

After gathering the Monster materials, Qin Hao continued searching for his next target. During his earlier observations, he had seen quite a few Beast General-level Monsters, including some Intermediate Beast Generals and Advanced Beast Generals.

Qin Hao's goal for the next few days was to fight the Beast General-level Monsters nearby. His next target was an Intermediate Beast General in the vicinity.

After fighting for an entire day, Qin Hao did not enter a high-rise building to rest until evening. Apart from the Bloodthirsty Tanks at the start, his only gain that day had been one Intermediate Beast General. Though he had fought quite a few other Beast Generals, they had all chosen to flee at critical moments.

"Looks like I need to prepare some trackers next time." After going through this several times, Qin Hao reflected on the problem. He had the advantage in speed, but he was unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain. The Wilderness Zone itself was extremely complex, and with all kinds of Monsters appearing at any moment, it was difficult for him to keep pursuing one.

The only Intermediate War General he had killed was a Mysterious Nether Turtle. Only because it lacked a speed advantage had Qin Hao been able to kill it.

After a full day of fighting, Qin Hao was somewhat exhausted. After setting up his warning measures, he prepared to rest.

"Hmm, someone's approaching." Qin Hao had only just lain down when he sensed people arriving nearby. It was a four-man martial artist team, and all of them were War General-level. Qin Hao's five senses had always been exceptionally sharp, and after breaking through to Intermediate War General, his perception of the surrounding environment had improved even further.

"It looks like they're here for me." Qin Hao quickly reached that conclusion from the movements of the four people. They approached with great caution and had bypassed the warning measures Qin Hao had set up. They were clearly acting according to a plan, not entering by chance.

Qin Hao quietly drew his longsword and stared at the door in full alert.

Bang! With a loud crash, the defenses were shattered, and a Stun Grenade was thrown inside. Seeing the Stun Grenade flying in, Qin Hao reacted instantly and leaped out through the window beside him.