As he scanned his surroundings and pondered what to do, a warning of danger sounded in his mind.
He stopped and fixed his gaze on a window in a small building. It had probably once been a model villa, but decades of exposure to the elements had left the glass in the window shattered.
Suddenly, several shadowy figures darted out of the window. There were more than ten monsters, each about the size of a tiger, with spotted, streamlined bodies. Chen Hao knew what they were: Tiger Mastiff Dogs, a new species born from the crossbreeding of tigers and dogs after they mutated.
They were pack-dwelling monsters that had inherited the best traits of both tigers and mastiffs. They were extremely fierce and cunning. Since they had gathered together, there had to be a leader among them.
Their leader was at least an Intermediate Beast Soldier Rank monster. It wouldn't be surprising if it were an F-class Beast Soldier.
That suited him just fine. If he didn't hold back, these H-class Beast Soldiers posed no threat to him at all. Only a leader-class monster could let him fight to his heart's content.
At the low growl of a Tiger Mastiff Dog that was clearly larger than the others, the whole pack abruptly spread out and began circling Chen Hao, searching for an opening to attack.
The leader's eyes flashed with cunning as it lay on the ground, watching the human before it. It could sense that this human seemed dangerous.
Chen Hao watched the monsters circling him without a trace of nervousness. With a shield in one hand and a blade in the other, he remained completely composed.
He kept most of his attention on the leader of the Tiger Mastiff Dogs. It might have reached the Advanced Beast Soldier Rank, after all. If it used the chaos to attack him by surprise, he could be put in a dangerous, disadvantageous position.
Seeing that Chen Hao showed no unease as its subordinates approached, the leader grew impatient. It could hardly wait to taste the flesh and blood of the human before it.
It growled, and the Tiger Mastiff Dogs surrounding Chen Hao tensed, ready to attack. The ones behind him struck first.
With a powerful thrust of their sturdy limbs, they shot toward Chen Hao's back like lightning. Their fangs aimed for his neck, their eyes gleaming with cruelty.
The Tiger Mastiff Dogs around him seemed to take this as their signal. They all lunged at Chen Hao at once, leaving him no room to escape.
Chen Hao didn't charge forward. Instead, he pushed off with both feet and sprang backward, as if deliberately throwing himself into the jaws of the Tiger Mastiff Dog behind him.
Excitement flashed in the Tiger Mastiff Dog's eyes. At the instant Chen Hao reached it, he twisted his body slightly and turned sideways, slipping out of the monster's attack range.
Then he raised the blade in his right hand and slashed across the Tiger Mastiff Dog's chest and belly. With a thud, it crashed into the companion in front of Chen Hao.
A great spray of blood and entrails spilled as the two monsters rolled together. These Tiger Mastiff Dogs, all Elementary Beast Soldier Rank, couldn't pose even the slightest danger or pressure to Chen Hao. They hadn't even managed to dirty his clothes.
So he didn't waste any time. He darted toward several of the Tiger Mastiff Dogs, the blade in his hand flashing coldly. The ones that had just leapt away hadn't even had time to make a sound before they were lying on the ground, twitching.
The leader, still lying on the ground, hadn't even had time to react before it saw all its subordinates dead at its feet. Its eyes immediately reddened.
With a shrill roar, it lunged at the human before it. Chen Hao narrowed his eyes as he watched it charge. Its speed was definitely over fifty meters per second, but under sixty. In other words, it hadn't yet reached the Advanced Beast Soldier Rank.
He immediately lost interest. He swayed aside to dodge the attack and followed with a slash. The Tiger Mastiff Dog leader's fur bristled in alarm, but before it could react, its head flew into the air. Its body fell to the ground a moment later.
Looking at the dozen or so Tiger Mastiff Dog corpses on the ground, Chen Hao couldn't help feeling tempted. The materials from all of them together would be worth a year of his savings from working part-time.
Still, he decided not to harvest their materials. Instead, he headed toward a six-story building. He could sense that another powerful monster was hiding inside.
It was most likely a Shadow Cat. These monsters loved hiding in dark places, waiting for a chance to ambush their prey.
After he entered the building, he saw that decades of exposure had left its walls covered in vines. Even though it was daytime, the interior was still very dim.
Suddenly, Chen Hao stopped and looked down ahead of him. A catlike monster, over half a meter long, arched its back and snarled at him.
He studied the monster, which looked somewhat like a leopard, and his suspicions were confirmed. Was this a Shadow Cat? Ignoring its snarls, he strode forward. The killing intent emanating from him made its fur stand on end.
But as the human approached, hesitation flashed in its eyes. Then it charged at him anyway.
A flash of black light appeared, and the Shadow Cat vanished. Chen Hao was startled. Instinctively, he raised the shield in front of him and felt a heavy impact slam into it. The Shadow Cat had used his shield to spring around to his side. Then it pounced at him again.
He was surprised by the Shadow Cat's speed, but its strength was at most just over two thousand kilograms. Its speed, however, was nearly a match for his own.
As expected, Shadow Cats were the fastest monsters among those of the same rank. Unfortunately for it, it had picked a fight with him. Now that he was ready, he turned sideways and held his blade across his chest. The Shadow Cat's pounce missed, and the blade's tip cut across its body.
As a small monster, the Shadow Cat had a vulnerable belly. Its abdomen split open, and blood burst from the wound as soon as it hit the ground. Even its entrails spilled out.
Its strength left it in an instant. It fell to the ground with a scream. Seeing its agony, Chen Hao was about to finish it with another strike and put it out of its misery. To his surprise, it didn't pounce at him again.
Instead, it staggered upright and dragged its entrails as it slowly crawled behind a wall. Chen Hao was curious, so he didn't immediately finish it off.
After the Shadow Cat crawled past the wall, it stopped moving. Chen Hao walked closer and saw several tiny Shadow Cats nearby, their eyes still closed. They sniffed at the older Shadow Cat's scent and mewed as they crawled toward it.
But the Shadow Cat no longer had any strength. It moved a couple of times, full of reluctance, then let out a weak cry. The light in its eyes faded.
Chen Hao fell silent at the sight. The bloodlust that had overtaken him while slaughtering the Tiger Mastiff Dog pack gradually faded.
He finally understood why the Shadow Cat had fought to the death without retreating. Her young were behind her. She was an Advanced Beast Soldier Rank monster, but because she had given birth recently, her strength hadn't yet recovered.
Chen Hao pushed the Shadow Cat's corpse toward the little ones, letting them feel their mother's warmth one last time. Then he turned and left.
Chen Hao didn't regret attacking her. After all, humans and monsters were locked in a life-or-death struggle. His final act had simply been a tribute to the greatness of a mother's love. It had nothing to do with species.
During the Great Nirvana, humans had been no different. When faced with monster attacks, countless heroic and moving deeds had taken place.
As soon as he walked out of the building, his communication watch rang. A message appeared, notifying him that he had passed the Practical Assessment.
Chen Hao carried his blade and shield toward the gate. He moved quickly and reached the entrance before long.
The gate had already been opened, and a truck had driven in. It was dealing with the corpse of the Iron-Haired Wild Boar from earlier.
Chen Hao understood. So this place was monitored. The monsters he had killed would probably all be collected by the military in the end.
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