Long-Tusked Green Ghost

Autumn had already begun.

Ning Ze left Bright Moon Residential Area and took a taxi to one of the Underground Alliance's branch hotels.

He followed a waiter into a private room.

The moment the door opened, Xu Liang, seated on a genuine leather sofa, called out, "Come, come, come! Our genius is here! How's it been? It's only been half a month—do we need to look at you in a whole new light already?"

Ning Ze found an empty seat and sat down. Smiling faintly, he said, "Training has gone fairly smoothly these past ten days. My Movement Technique is more practiced, the Gale Sword Master is decent too, and my strength has increased a little."

"HAHAHA!"

"HAHAHA!"

The moment they heard that, everyone in the Warfire Squad burst into laughter.

"You brat, you fooled us last time. We won't fall for it again!" Zuo Xingyuan laughed and cursed. "How much stronger have you gotten? Spill it!"

A faint smile rested on Ning Ze's lips as he calmly said, "Not that much. I've just completely mastered the Second Layer of the Gale Sword Master, my strength has increased by 1,200 kilograms, and my Movement Technique is about the same. It just feels a little more practiced, and my control should be more precise. I haven't fought anyone, so I'm not completely sure." Since he could cultivate Gene Energy and his Movement Technique at the same time, his training speed was somewhat faster.

Xu Liang raised an arm and smacked him on the shoulder. Laughing and cursing, he said, "Get lost! Your strength increased by 1,200 kilograms? After Force Generation, you're no weaker than Old Ma, and you're telling us you haven't improved much?"

Ma Yu said with a pleased expression, "After Force Generation, his strength exceeds 10,000 kilograms. His strength is no weaker than mine, and his Movement Technique has improved as well. He's stronger than me now."

Zuo Xingyuan said excitedly, "Our squad now has three Warlords and three Advanced Warriors. This time, let's go to City No. 011, Former NJ City! What do you all think?"

"With our strength, we can manage it. But it won't be without danger," Zhang Chen said.

Ma Yu frowned slightly, then nodded in agreement. Now that the Poison Wolf Squad was gone, they no longer needed to be as overly cautious as before and hold back so much strength.

"F-class monsters pose no threat to Little Ze. City No. 011 is fine. Even its outskirts have plenty of Beast Warlord-level monsters, and they don't have many underlings."

"This..." Ning Ze hesitated slightly. Everyone looked over as he asked doubtfully, "Didn't the captain say he was taking me to City No. 003?"

City No. 003 was Former SH City, the economic center of all Huaxia Country before the Great Nirvana Period!

It could be called one of the most terrifying regions in all of Eurasia. It bordered the ocean, so vast numbers of marine monsters lurked in some of its waterways.

It possessed one of the densest clusters of buildings in all of Asia, which had caused the monster population there to reach astonishing numbers. There were many Lord-level monsters there, and even monsters beyond the Lord level occupied the area!

Countless top martial artists went there!

Even martial artists from other Base Cities in Huaxia Country made special trips there!

That place was practically a major battleground where human martial artists and monsters slaughtered one another!

"You little punk!"

"You think I'm scared?"

Zuo Xingyuan laughed and cursed, then explained indignantly, "Fine, we can go to City No. 003. But are we just going to scavenge around the outskirts?"

"If we go deeper inside, there are Lord-level monsters everywhere."

"Since we're going there, shouldn't we at least take a stroll through the city center? Otherwise, would you even dare tell people you've been there?"

"Hmph!"

"Don't underestimate City No. 011. It's in the Yangtze River Basin. Endless monsters from the sea can swim over there, and there are quite a few Lords too. If we really run into one, all you can do is run!"

"I think... Uncle Zuo, you'd better stop saying things like that," Ning Ze said hesitantly.

"HAHAHA, right! Shut that filthy mouth of yours!"

"We'll only run into Advanced Beast Warlords!"

"If you draw in a Lord-level monster, you can forget about being captain!"

Amid laughter and cheerful banter, the Warfire Squad returned to the wilderness after night fell.

Along the way, Ning Ze casually dealt with those Advanced Beast Soldiers.

Since the distance was close, they reached the outskirts of City No. 011 in three hours.

On the second floor of a two-story building that had yet to collapse, the Warfire Squad rested temporarily, preparing to begin hunting monsters after daylight arrived.

"Not bad. Little Ze kills F-class monsters as easily as chopping vegetables now." Zuo Xingyuan's words were full of praise.

Ma Yu smiled. "Force Generation naturally makes a difference. Even an Advanced Warrior can possess the strength of a Beginner Warlord. On top of that, his Movement Technique is at the Micro-level, so these F-class monsters naturally amount to nothing."

Ning Ze nodded slightly, then turned to look out the window and asked tentatively, "Uncle Zuo, can I go out and hunt monsters now?"

The moment he heard that, Zuo Xingyuan's expression changed drastically. He scolded, "Nonsense! Those predators are active at night, and Dark Night is their preferred combat environment. Going out now is just courting death!"

Ning Ze fell silent for a moment. He knew his own situation best. His strength was now close to 5,700 kilograms; after threefold Force Generation, it would reach 17,100 kilograms, already at the level of an Intermediate Warlord. Combined with his Micro-level Movement Technique, he was stronger than Zuo Xingyuan.

Seeing that Ning Ze remained silent, Zuo Xingyuan's expression softened considerably. Patiently, he said, "I know you're talented and like challenges, but nighttime is simply too dangerous. Besides, we aren't familiar with the environment here, which makes it even more dangerous!"

"Tomorrow, after we hunt a monster, if your strength satisfies me, I'll let you go out."

Ning Ze considered it briefly. He was also very unfamiliar with nighttime combat. With only the strength of an Intermediate Warlord, it would be difficult to deal with those ambushers.

His proficiency in both his Movement Technique and Sword Art had now surpassed 5,500. At his current training pace, fighting for two or three days should raise them to 6,666. Based on the pattern, he should then be able to cultivate fourfold Force Generation. His strength would rise by another level then, making things much safer.

"Alright!"

The night passed without incident.

The next day, they climbed onto the roof of a bar. This was considered one of the taller buildings in the outskirts; anything taller had mostly collapsed already.

The six of them lay prone on the rooftop, using binoculars to search the entire city.

Xu Liang said excitedly, "A Black-Armored Purple-Eyed Crocodile spotted at the thirty-three o'clock direction. Judging by its size, it should be an Intermediate Beast General. Damn! There's an even bigger one beside it. It was lying still in the sand earlier, so I didn't see it. That one definitely has the strength of an Advanced Beast General. One... two... three... five... Hiss! They're all Beast Warlords!"

Zuo Xingyuan directly kicked him from the side. "Stop looking toward the river! If you want to die, I don't! Who knows how many monsters are hiding in there? This is already downstream, and farther down is the East Sea! I wouldn't even be surprised if a Beast Tide appeared!"

"There really are a lot of monsters here. I found one too. It only has a few hundred underlings, so we can handle it. It's just a little far away." Yang Chao sounded delighted and excited.

Ma Yu warned, "Old Yang, check your gun carefully. We need to use silencers here. Otherwise, with gunfire that obvious, who knows how many Beast Warlords will emerge? Not to mention that they have Lord-level monsters leading them."

"Don't worry! My gun is my baby. Nothing will go wrong with it!" Yang Chao promised.

"At the forty-five o'clock direction, at an intersection two kilometers away, there's a Bloodthirsty Tank. It should be an Intermediate Beast General. There are over a hundred underlings around it, but they're all injured. I think we can do this." After calmly analyzing the situation, Zhang Chen turned to look at Zuo Xingyuan.

"An Intermediate Beast General?"

Zuo Xingyuan's eyes lit up. Then he thought for a moment and said, "This works. It's close, and it has few underlings. They're injured too. Let me take a look first."

Xu Liang looked toward the forty-five-degree direction and quickly found the monster. Wearing an infatuated expression, he said, "I can feel money waving at me! Even an Intermediate Beast General-level Bloodthirsty Tank is worth 50 million. It's comparable to an Advanced Beast General."

Ning Ze adjusted his binoculars as well.

A strange, entirely crimson monster that resembled a tank lay crouched there, heavy and brimming with power.

Unicorn Wild Boars, Iron-Haired Wild Boars, and other pig-type monsters surrounded it. There were more than a hundred scattered around, and many limped as they walked, clearly having gone through a battle.

After observing for a while, Zuo Xingyuan said, "Only its underlings are injured. This big fellow is perfectly fine, so the enemy monster group probably isn't very strong. Come on, this is it. Let's kick off today's first battle."

It was Yang Chao's turn to shoot again. Ning Ze and the others remained quiet, avoiding any interference with Yang Chao's judgment.

Bang!

A muffled sound rang out. The bullet crossed the distance, and the Bloodthirsty Tank's ear visibly deformed. Even the monster's head shook, and blood immediately spurted from its ear.

The surrounding Unicorn Wild Boars and Iron-Haired Wild Boars panicked, circling the Bloodthirsty Tank's corpse constantly. Some of the larger ones even stepped forward and nudged it with their snouts.

"Charge! End this quickly!"

Zuo Xingyuan shouted softly and took the lead, rushing downstairs and running toward the monsters.

Ning Ze followed close behind the squad.

As they ran, Yang Chao continued firing single shots. With each sharp pop, a monster fell. The monster herd grew even more panicked. Some fled, while others blocked the way in front of the Beast Warlord-level monster.

The group raced forward at more than 50 meters per second, reaching the monster herd in only forty seconds.

Seeing a Unicorn Wild Boar charge toward him, Ning Ze casually thrust out his sword.

As their bodies crossed, the longsword pierced the Unicorn Wild Boar's eye. Ning Ze did not pause in the slightest, continuing forward with Swift Steps.

Without Beast Warlord-level monsters, nothing could stop their charge. The monsters that did not flee were quickly slaughtered.

At that moment, Zuo Xingyuan ordered, "Ning Ze, keep watch. Everyone else, process the Bloodthirsty Tank's corpse. This monster group was attacked earlier, so there may be another monster herd nearby."

"Alright!"

Ning Ze carefully observed the surroundings. He had not been able to see clearly from a distance, but now that he inspected the pig-type monsters again, aside from sword, blade, and bullet wounds, there were also very obvious claw marks.

Some had chunks of skin and flesh torn off their faces. It looked somewhat like they had been scraped by blades, but they definitely would not attack monsters like that.

Long-fanged monsters?

Ning Ze pondered inwardly. In the distance, he saw a green figure flash rapidly across the street and vanish in an instant. It was far away and moving too quickly, so he could not see what it was.

An ordinary monster?

Ning Ze frowned, his gaze fixed intently on the dilapidated street to the east.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

On the street half a kilometer away, green shadows darted left and right. They were not just on the ground—green afterimages also flashed between the buildings on both sides. For a moment, the street seemed to be tangled in countless green threads.

"Captain! Something's happening on East Street!"

Zuo Xingyuan immediately turned to look. His pupils constricted abruptly. With his abundant experience, he quickly turned to look west, where countless green shadows were also rushing about. Green shadows filled the north and south as well, though not as densely as on the eastern and western sides.

"This is bad. We're in serious trouble. They're Long-Tusked Green Ghosts! Everyone, stay alert and prepare to break through!"

"Aren't they used to wandering in the wilderness? Why would they enter the city?" Xu Liang's expression was extremely ugly.

"There's no point discussing that now. Since they've appeared, there must be at least a thousand of them! They are naturally social monsters, exceptionally skilled at teamwork, and their leader is highly intelligent. Their nature is extremely cunning! First, we need to determine the direction of our breakout." Zuo Xingyuan surveyed every direction with sharp eyes.

Ma Yu said worriedly, "The most troublesome thing now is that we don't know their strength. If their leader is a Beginner Warlord, there may only be around a thousand of them. But if their leader is an Intermediate Warlord, their numbers will at least double."

"We didn't notice them earlier. These bastards are far too cunning. They must have been hiding," Xu Liang said angrily.

"We use monster materials to make equipment, and these monsters also eat flesh to evolve. This Bloodthirsty Tank should have been their prey." Zhang Chen analyzed the situation rationally.

Zuo Xingyuan understood instantly and gave the order. "Move. We're heading east!" With that, he ran eastward.

To the east was the city center.

The Bloodthirsty Tank was a local monster, while the Long-Tusked Green Ghosts were an outside hunting group. If they wanted to escape and survive, they could only head deeper into the territory of Lord-level monsters.

As the Warfire Squad began to flee, Long-Tusked Green Ghosts sprang out from all directions. The ground seemed to be swept by a green tide. Their figures filled all four streets extending from the intersection, completely surrounding the Warfire Squad.

As the distance closed, Ning Ze could clearly see what the monsters looked like.

Their fur was either green or bluish-green. Their appearance resembled wolves somewhat, but their muscular limbs and huge heads also made them resemble feline monsters.

Their faces were exceedingly ugly: round heads, long pointed snouts, and long hair around their eyes that left only narrow slits visible. Two fangs protruded from their mouths like curved blades, making them utterly terrifying.

Some took up attacking stances in the streets, while others poked ugly heads out from the windows of the shops and apartments lining both sides of the street.

Zuo Xingyuan did not look at these ordinary Long-Tusked Green Ghosts. These monsters were infamous in the wilderness, and he had watched plenty of footage online of martial artist squads being attacked by them.

At that moment, his trembling gaze was fixed on the three monsters atop a scrapped bus ahead.

Compared to ordinary Long-Tusked Green Ghosts, these three were clearly much larger. Ordinary Long-Tusked Green Ghosts were only two meters long, but even the two smaller monsters among the three exceeded four meters in length. They lay sprawled across the bus.

As for the one in the middle... it was impossible to tell how long it was. Facing forward, it stood atop the two-meter-high bus and looked down on the members of the Warfire Squad. It was at least six meters tall, with a shoulder height of more than three meters.

What terrified Zuo Xingyuan most was their fur color. Small portions of the two Long-Tusked Green Ghosts were white, while nearly half the body of the largest Long-Tusked Green Ghost was white.

According to the monster records, those two Long-Tusked Green Ghosts had the strength of Beginner Warlords, while the leader was an Intermediate Warlord.

"We've fallen into their trap! These beasts guessed that we wanted to escape deeper into the city!"

"Old Yang!" Zuo Xingyuan turned around, his gaze seeming to ask whether Yang Chao was confident he could take out the one in the middle.

Yang Chao's face darkened as he shook his head.

Long-Tusked Green Ghosts were known for their speed. Even if it was an Intermediate Beast General, it was faster than an Advanced Beast General and could completely evade bullets.

A sniper rifle had very little effect against monsters of this level unless it was sustained firepower!

Zuo Xingyuan had only asked as a test. He had expected this result, and he roared, "Let's charge with everything we have!"

To capture bandits, capture their leader first. If possible, they could only choose to kill these three monsters. If that failed, they could still flee toward the city center.

As for the other directions... as monsters that roamed and launched raids through the wilderness, Long-Tusked Green Ghosts were best at wilderness pursuit. Not only would the squad fail to escape, they would be run to death. They could only fight head-on!

Ning Ze sensed the tension and despair in everyone's emotions. He gripped the Light Swan Sword tightly, and a faint blood-red glint appeared in his eyes.

If I kill them all, Uncle Zuo should allow me to fight alone, right? How much can I improve through this battle?