Practical Assessment (Part 2)

While scanning the surroundings with his gaze and pondering, a danger warning rang out in his mind.

He stopped, fixing his eyes on a window of a small building. It had once been a villa-style showroom, but after decades of weathering, the glass in the window had long since shattered.

Suddenly, several shadowy figures shot out from the window. Chen Hao saw over a dozen monsters, each covered in spots, streamlined in shape, and as large as tigers. He knew these were a new species born from the crossbreeding of mutated tiger-type and canine-type monsters—the Tiger Mastiff Dog.

A pack-hunting monster that inherited the strengths of both tigers and mastiffs, extremely ferocious and cunning. Since they had all gathered together, there must be a leader.

And the leader should be at least a mid-level Beast Soldier. Even if it were an F-class Beast Soldier, that wouldn't be surprising at all.

That was fine. If he didn't hold back his strength, these H-class Beast Soldiers posed no threat to him. Only a leader-level monster would let him cut loose and fight freely.

With a low growl from a noticeably larger Tiger Mastiff Dog, all the others suddenly scattered and began circling Chen Hao, looking for an opening to attack.

The leader-level one, a glint of cunning in its eyes, lay prone on the ground, staring at the human before it. It could sense that this human seemed to give off a dangerous feeling.

Chen Hao looked at the monsters surrounding him without any tension. Shield in one hand, blade in the other, he remained calm and composed.

Most of his attention was still focused on the leader of this pack of Tiger Mastiff Dogs. After all, its level might reach high-level Beast Soldier. If it took advantage of the chaos to ambush him, it could put him in a passive and dangerous position.

Seeing that Chen Hao wasn't disturbed by the approach of his underlings, the Tiger Mastiff Dog leader grew impatient. It couldn't wait to taste the flesh and blood of the human before it.

So it let out a low growl. The Tiger Mastiff Dogs surrounding Chen Hao immediately tensed, ready to spring. The one behind Chen Hao attacked first.

Its powerful limbs pushed off the ground, and it lunged at Chen Hao's back like lightning, fangs aimed at his neck, a cruel gleam flashing in its eyes.

At that moment, the surrounding Tiger Mastiff Dogs, as if receiving a signal to attack, all pounced at Chen Hao simultaneously, leaving him no room to escape.

Instead of charging forward, Chen Hao pushed off with both feet and dodged backward, as if deliberately throwing himself into the jaws of the Tiger Mastiff Dog behind him.

Excitement flickered in the Tiger Mastiff Dog's eyes. The instant he got close, Chen Hao twisted his body slightly, turning sideways, and slipped out of the attack range of the Tiger Mastiff Dog behind him.

Then, with his right hand, blade facing upward, he slashed across the Tiger Mastiff Dog's chest and abdomen. With a "bang," the Tiger Mastiff Dog crashed into its companion in front of Chen Hao.

As the two collided and tumbled, a gush of blood and entrails spilled out. These low-level Beast Soldier Tiger Mastiff Dogs couldn't bring Chen Hao any danger or pressure; they didn't even dirty his clothes.

So he didn't waste any more time. His figure flashed swiftly to the side of a few Tiger Mastiff Dogs. A cold gleam of steel passed, and the dogs that had just leaped away hadn't even had time to make a sound before they fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

The Tiger Mastiff Dog leader, still lying prone, hadn't even reacted before it saw its subordinates lying dead on the ground. Its eyes instantly turned red.

With a shrill roar, it lunged at the human before it. Watching the charging leader, Chen Hao narrowed his eyes: its speed definitely exceeded fifty meters per second, but it was under sixty. That meant it hadn't yet reached the high-level Beast Soldier rank.

A wave of disappointment washed over him. He swayed his body to evade the attack and, in one fluid motion, swung his blade. The Tiger Mastiff Dog leader's fur bristled in shock, but before it could react, it felt its head fly off, and its body thudded to the ground.

Looking at the dozen or so Tiger Mastiff Dog corpses on the ground, Chen Hao felt a twinge of greed. The materials on them were worth as much as a year's savings from his part-time job.

But after a moment's thought, he decided not to harvest them. Instead, he headed toward a six-story building. He could sense that a powerful monster was hiding inside.

It was most likely a Shadow Cat. After all, this type of monster loved to lurk in dark places, waiting to ambush its prey.

Entering the building, decades of weathering had left the walls covered in vines. Even though it was daytime, the light inside was still very dim.

Suddenly, Chen Hao stopped and looked ahead. A cat-type monster, about half a meter long, arched its back and hissed at him.

Staring at the creature, which looked somewhat like a leopard, he thought to himself, So this is a Shadow Cat? Ignoring its hissing, he stepped forward. The killing intent radiating from him made the Shadow Cat's fur stand on end.

But as the human advanced, a flicker of hesitation crossed its eyes before it charged at him.

A black flash passed before his eyes, and the Shadow Cat vanished. Startled, Chen Hao instinctively raised his shield to block in front of him, and felt a heavy impact land on it. The Shadow Cat had used his shield to spring to his side. Then it lunged at him again.

Though surprised by the Shadow Cat's speed, its strength was barely over two thousand kilograms. But its speed was almost a match for his own.

The Shadow Cat really is the fastest among monsters of the same rank. Unfortunately, it had run into him. Already prepared, he turned his body sideways, holding his battle blade horizontally across his chest. The Shadow Cat missed its pounce, and the tip of his blade sliced across its body.

As a small monster, the Shadow Cat's belly was cut open. The moment it landed, blood sprayed out, and even its entrails spilled onto the floor.

In an instant, the Shadow Cat's strength drained away. It collapsed to the ground with a miserable cry. Watching the suffering creature, Chen Hao was about to deliver a finishing blow to end its pain, but to his surprise, it didn't lunge at him again.

Instead, it staggered to its feet, dragging its entrails as it slowly crawled behind a wall. Curious, Chen Hao held back from striking.

After the Shadow Cat crawled past the wall, it stopped struggling. Chen Hao stepped closer and saw a few tiny Shadow Cats, eyes still closed, lying not far away. They were sniffing at the mother's scent, mewing softly as they crawled forward.

But the mother had no strength left. She moved weakly twice, let out a feeble cry, and the light in her eyes faded.

Watching this scene, Chen Hao fell silent. The bloodlust from slaughtering the Tiger Mastiff Dog pack slowly dissipated.

He finally understood why this Shadow Cat had fought to the death without retreating—because her cubs were behind her. And she was actually a high-level Beast Soldier, but because she had recently given birth, her strength hadn't recovered yet.

Chen Hao pushed the Shadow Cat's corpse toward the cubs, letting them feel their mother's warmth one last time. Then he turned and walked away.

He didn't regret his actions. After all, the relationship between humans and monsters was one of life and death. His final gesture was merely a tribute to the greatness of motherhood, regardless of species.

During the Great Nirvana, wasn't it the same for humans? Countless moving and heroic deeds had occurred in the face of monster attacks.

Just as he stepped out of the building, his communication watch rang. A notification appeared, informing him that he had passed the practical assessment.

Chen Hao picked up his battle blade and shield and headed for the main gate. Moving quickly, he soon reached the entrance.

He found the gate already open. A truck had driven in and was processing the corpses of the Iron-Haired Wild Boars from earlier.

Chen Hao understood: They must have surveillance everywhere. The monsters I killed will probably be collected by the military for recycling.