Goshawk Squad, Lord Flood Dragon

"Bang!"

Fang Yi punched through a stone wall, emerging from the hole into the Middle Ring outside the city.

The sounds of fighting not far away were what drew Fang Yi to head in this direction, and under his analytical scan.

He saw three martial artists on a street, wielding various weapons, locked in a fierce battle against a Red Crystal Horned Deer the size of a bus, its body covered in scarlet crystals.

"The Red Crystal Horned Deer, named for being encased in crystals formed from blood... it is quite a rare monster. This type of monster isn't very aggressive, but it is extremely valuable."

Fang Yi watched the battle from afar, analyzing the information displayed by both sides.

The three martial artists were all Intermediate Warriors, and there was an additional Junior Warrior sniper in the distance.

With the four of them working together to deal with this single Red Crystal Horned Deer, there shouldn't be any surprises.

Without lingering, Fang Yi headed toward another street to continue his exploration.

A few minutes later.

That four-man martial artist squad successfully killed the rare horned deer.

Just as they were excitedly beginning to dissect it.

Another squad of figures suddenly appeared; the team emblem on their chests featured a Double-Headed Goshawk, their eyes sharp and vicious—this was the Goshawk Squad, composed of five members.

Following a gunshot, the martial artist responsible for the dissection had his arm shot clean off!

"Xiao Cai!"

The captain of the martial artist squad's pupils dilated in shock. Seeing his younger brother's arm shot, he hurriedly tried to rush over to pull him back.

But he was held back by his other two team members.

"Captain, hide first!"

Afterward, the few people hiding in the shadows looked up at their surroundings.

When they saw the squad's emblem, the martial artist captain clenched his fists, trembling with extreme rage.

"Goshawk Squad... you bastards!"

No sooner had he finished speaking.

They saw another bullet fire from the high-rise building, instantly piercing through the head of the injured martial artist!

"Pfft—!"

Blood splattered onto the ground, with a few drops landing right in front of the dark corner where the others were hiding.

The martial artist captain watched, his body trembling, as the blood of his own younger brother pooled not far from him.

At the same time.

A rough voice echoed out.

"Now... hand over my spoils."

The captain of the Double-Headed Goshawk squad.

He was a bearded white man, currently looking down at the group below with great interest, savoring their expressions of extreme rage.

He seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

Beside him, a martial artist holding a heavy sniper rifle, currently aiming toward the distance, said:

"Captain, when we first arrived, it seemed like a figure flashed by a few kilometers away. I remember that person is Fang Yi, who recently became a martial artist and made quite a name for himself."

"Hm? Fang Yi... I have a vague impression, but how would a rookie martial artist dare to come to this place?"

The captain of the Double-Headed Goshawk squad frowned slightly. One had to know that the Demon Cave was a terrifying base camp for monsters.

To come here to hunt.

A team needed at least two Warrior-level martial artists; otherwise, coming here meant they could only hunt on the very outskirts.

And if their luck was bad and they ran into an Advanced War General monster, the only outcome would be death.

Yet now.

Someone who had only become a martial artist a short while ago dared to come here all alone.

"I heard that person has extremely high talent and is said to have already reached the Warrior level... perhaps he has even reached Intermediate Warrior, which is why he dared to come here alone."

The Double-Headed Goshawk squad's other member, a man wearing glasses, explained.

"Hm... interesting. Keep track of his route. I'd like to see just how far this genius martial artist can go? Hahaha, as for now, let's go collect the spoils we worked so hard to 'win'."

As soon as these words were spoken.

The rest of the team members chuckled softly.

"Bang—!"

As the Goshawk Squad departed, the few martial artists who had previously hunted the deer were hiding in a distant corner; of the original four, only three remained alive.

The captain gripped his weapon tightly, gritting his teeth.

He held the martial artist who had been shot in the head earlier in his arms; the man's entire head was wrapped in bandages, obscuring his features.

This was done to ensure his body remained as intact and presentable as possible.

Because he had promised his parents.

No matter what happened, he would bring his younger brother home...

And now.

At the very least, he had to ensure he was laid to rest, rather than left exposed in the wilderness to become a meal for monsters.

All the survivors.

Wore expressions of intense resentment.

A young martial artist, covered in blood and severely wounded but fortunately treated in time, asked with a face full of grief, indignation, and confusion: "Captain, what exactly is the background of that squad?"

"You just joined, so it's normal that you don't know."

The captain took a deep breath, seemingly trying to steady his emotions, and then explained: "The Goshawk Squad is a team formed recently. I've heard people speculate that in every county or city they appear in, many martial artists end up dead. It looks highly likely that they are the ones pulling strings in the shadows..."

"Damn it, what a bunch of animals!"

High noon.

The light cast by the star, the sun.

Swept over stretches of high-rise buildings that had long since become ruins, overgrown and blanketed by various types of vegetation. Even after enduring the vicissitudes of time, one could still catch a glimpse of their former prosperity.

Although the sun was shining and it was midday, the overall ambient temperature was less than 10 degrees.

Near the Middle Ring area.

The Demon Cave consisted of four rings.

From inside to out, it was divided into the Inner Ring, Middle Ring, Outer Ring, and Suburban Ring.

"We have now walked from the Suburban Ring to the boundary between the Outer Ring and the Middle Ring. In the Middle Ring, you can basically encounter Lord Rank monsters; even at the boundary with the Outer Ring, there are quite a few Primary Lord Rank ones."

Fang Yi analyzed the surroundings to his left, right, and front.

A light sweep was enough to see hundreds of Advanced Warrior-level beast soldiers lurking within the high-rises, dozens of War General-level monsters scattered in the corners, and more than ten Advanced War General monsters!

But these were not Fang Yi's targets.

He looked.

In the distance.

There was a teetering high-rise building that looked as if it were about to collapse, and on its edge sat a massive artificial lake.

The artificial lake was a pool of stagnant water, with large amounts of trash, dead leaves, and various floating debris visible on the surface.

At the edge, there was a huge, thick body connecting the high-rise to the artificial lake; at first glance, it looked like a massive circular pipe connecting the two facilities.

But a closer look revealed that it was the torso of a monster!

Under the limit analysis scan of his Double Pupil Eyes, Fang Yi saw the monster's complete body.

It was a serpentine creature with horns on its head, a massive physique that spanned the bottom space of the high-rise, and skin covered in scales with numerous black intersecting lines circling its body.

"Judging by the patterns on its exterior and the horns on its head, this is definitely a Black-lined Flood Dragon that has reached the Lord Rank! Great, I didn't expect the first Lord Rank monster I encountered to be a Flood Dragon."

Fang Yi couldn't suppress his excitement.

At the edge of the high-rise, there were also dozens of Primary Beast General Black-lined Snakes, as well as one Advanced Beast General Two-headed Black-lined Snake, a number far greater than the Lion Mastiff Dogs from before.

Yet, even with the enemy's superior numbers.

Fang Yi felt not a shred of fear, but rather grew more excited.

"Let's go!"

As soon as the words left his mouth.

Fang Yi stepped onto his shield and flew off into the air.

At the same time, he pondered his battle plan in his mind, as the number of enemies this time was significant.

He absolutely could not be as reckless as he had been before.

The high-rise building had already collapsed for the most part, now barely supported by the remaining load-bearing columns and reinforced concrete walls. When a gust of wind blew past, the upper part of the building swayed precariously, as if it would completely crumble at any moment.

"Got it."

Fang Yi stepped on his shield and flew forward rapidly.

And just as he approached the building and the edge of the artificial lake, the Black-lined Flood Dragon inside the high-rise suddenly opened its eyes...