The Annihilation of the Herd

The death of the intermediate beast general Iron-Armored Bull stimulated the remaining few beast general-level Iron-Armored Bulls. They snorted hot air from their nostrils and surged forward in a swarm.

Chen Hao dodged while thoroughly digesting the memories and experience he had fused with earlier through the heat of battle.

This allowed his movement techniques and blade techniques to slowly fuse together perfectly, truly reaching a state of perfection.

While his previous blade technique had also reached a state of perfection, it had lacked the tempering of real combat, leaving it somewhat superficial; after this real-world engagement, his blade technique could finally be considered well-deserved.

Once his movement became perfect, he stopped holding back. He coated his blade with his Mental Power, pushing the force of his strikes directly to the level of an advanced war general.

Coupled with his own 2.1-fold force amplification—though that power could not be applied to his Mental Power—the battle blade could now easily pierce the physical defenses of an advanced beast general.

The Iron-Armored Bull leader had originally believed that, given its own defense, the human before it could do nothing.

Aside from that one unguarded strike at the very beginning, it hadn't been injured since. Even if its beast general-level subordinates were all dead, it wasn't a major problem; it could just recruit more later.

But it had never expected that the detestable hairless ape was actually far too cunning and had been hiding its true strength all along!

The weapon that had previously struggled to break through its defense could now easily slice through its skin and cut open its body, a realization that filled it with a sliver of terror.

After an urgent roar, the beast soldier-level Iron-Armored Bulls that had just run off in the distance immediately returned, filling the entire space and leaving Chen Hao no room to dodge.

Seeing this, Chen Hao was secretly delighted. He had originally feared that if he killed these few beast general-level Iron-Armored Bulls, the rest would flee.

It seemed he would have to keep them alive after all; as long as the leader was still there, the other beast soldiers wouldn't dare to run.

He then began a bloody slaughter. With his current strength, even without using Mental Power, dealing with beast soldier-level Iron-Armored Bulls took only a single strike.

As time passed, the number of standing Iron-Armored Bulls on the battlefield dwindled, while their cries of agony grew more frequent.

It was impossible for Chen Hao to kill them all in one blow; many were merely injured and immobilized, left to wail loudly where they lay.

Watching his entire herd being wiped out, the eyes of the Iron-Armored Bull leader were engulfed by rage as it charged toward Chen Hao regardless of the consequences.

Chen Hao was panting slightly by now. After the beast rushed over, he let out a grunt, "Big guy, it's time to send you on your way!" He unleashed the second stage of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade, bolstered by his Mental Power and his forward momentum.

When the battle blade landed on the Iron-Armored Bull leader's head, under the addition of power that exceeded his limits, the razor-sharp S-Grade Battle Blade sliced through the leader's skull like a knife through butter, then split its entire upper body in two.

A spray of foul blood came straight for his face. Chen Hao frowned, coating his skin with Mental Power to repel the filth.

The remaining few beast general-level Iron-Armored Bulls were also covered in wounds and filled with terror. Seeing their leader fall, they immediately turned and tried to flee.

But how could Chen Hao give them the chance? He chased them down swiftly, and after a few flashes of his blade, the beast general-level Iron-Armored Bulls staggered forward with mournful cries before finally collapsing and twitching into stillness.

A breeze blew past, and he let out a long sigh of relief. This slaughter, combined with the time spent tempering his skills against the beast general-level Iron-Armored Bulls, had taken over two hours.

The drain on his physical stamina was immense. He took a 300-Year-Old He Shou Wu from his hand and swallowed it in one bite. His depleted energy was rapidly replenished, and his physical fitness increased by a fraction.

Four or five kilometers from the battlefield, several people were watching the great battle through binoculars.

"My god, this is too powerful!" a burly, brawny man swallowed hard and muttered under his breath, terrified of alerting the person in the distance.

"An entire herd of Iron-Armored Bulls, just like that, wiped out." The brawny man holding a massive firearm was also filled with shock.

Beside them, two young men who looked very similar to each other didn't speak, but their expressions were equally stunned.

A burly man carrying a pair of war hammers had a very grave expression: "That person is terrifying. That strike that killed the Iron-Armored Bull leader definitely possessed the power of a War God. This is clearly a big shot at the War God rank."

Chen Hao, who was currently adjusting his state, heard Xiao Mei's warning: "Master, 4.7 kilometers away, there are five humans observing you with surveillance equipment."

Hearing this, he turned his head toward the direction Xiao Mei indicated. Having just finished the slaughter, his eyes were filled with killing intent.

This startled the people observing him, causing them to involuntarily take a few steps back.

The burly man with the war hammers had his expression change suddenly, and he signaled his team, "We've been discovered, let's go! If this big shot is in a bad mood, we might all suffer for it!"

The other team members didn't hesitate. The moment the hammer-wielding man finished speaking, they packed up their gear and followed him in a swift retreat.

At this moment, Xiao Mei projected the images and profiles of these people before Chen Hao.

Looking at the style of their weapons and their files, Chen Hao confirmed the identity of these people—the Fire Hammer Squad.

"So it's them. I didn't expect them to be out here hunting monsters in the Wilderness Zone at this time."

"Xiao Mei, scan to see if there is anyone else nearby."

"Master, there are no signs of life within five kilometers."

Chen Hao suddenly understood: it seemed the intensity of the battle here had scared off the surrounding monsters. Even though the sounds had ceased, no monsters dared to approach.

He then controlled his flying daggers to begin cutting off the horns of all the Iron-Armored Bulls. This time, compared to the last, it was a massive harvest. After synthesizing them later, the haul this time would be worth at least one hundred million to start.

Extremely satisfied with the harvest, he collected the synthesized horns and arrived at a town, where he found an eleven-story building. He cleared the top floor and had Xiao Mei scan to ensure there were no signs of life nearby.

He then brought out his Safe House, opened it, and crawled inside, lying on the bed to begin digesting his combat experience.

Chen Hao discovered that he felt no discomfort regarding the killing and combat; instead, he felt a faint sense of excitement.

He couldn't help but mock himself inwardly. It seemed that in the heart of every person who appeared honest, there hid a bloodthirsty demon.

This was a good thing for him, at least in this world, as it would allow him to go further.

After digesting the gains from the battle, he went to the bathroom to take a shower, brought out some fast food and had a feast. Burping, he pulled out the 300-Year-Old He Shou Wu and took a bite. "It seems I still prefer eating real meals."

Unfortunately, the 300-Year-Old He Shou Wu was not a Spirit of Grass and Wood; if he ate it all at once, his body likely wouldn't be able to handle it.

Unlike the Spirit of Grass and Wood, which had no side effects and possessed gentle medicinal properties that continuously strengthened one's physical fitness from low to high, the He Shou Wu was different.

It was just that using the Spirit of Grass and Wood now would be a waste. Since he currently needed combat experience, the 300-Year-Old He Shou Wu was actually more suitable.

Once he reached the peak of the advanced war general level, he would use the Spirit of Grass and Wood; that would allow him to rapidly reach the peak realm of an advanced War God.

Thanks to Kimchi, Feng, and all the others for the monthly tickets and recommendations. The fact that this book was able to sign so quickly is all thanks to your strong support, constant voting, and corrections. Thank you all again!