After successfully snatching two Advanced Beast Soldier monsters, Lin Mo and Wang Keke felt like they'd been on a roller coaster, going straight from gloom to the heights of ecstasy.
The two of them (tiger) hid in a relatively safe corner of the ruins. Wang Keke lovingly counted their spoils: a pair of thick Lion Mastiff ears, a pair of small cauliflower python ear-scales, and a section of brightly colored python tail that felt cold and hard to the touch.
Lin Mo, meanwhile, was lying nearby, doing his best to digest the Lion Mastiff flesh he'd just devoured.
The energy of an Advanced Beast Soldier was indeed extraordinary. The scorching torrent raced and roared through his body, far more violently than when he'd devoured the Iron-Wire Snake and Jump Rabbit.
He could clearly feel his muscle fibers constantly tearing and rebuilding, growing tougher and stronger. His bones were becoming denser, humming faintly. Even the bones in his wings tingled as if they were growing in tandem.
His Combat Devour Talent went into overdrive, trying to analyze the Lion Mastiff's core talent from that vast energy.
Who knew how much time passed? It felt as though some bottleneck inside him had suddenly burst open!
Buzz—!
A faint white glow appeared over Lin Mo's body once more. Within it, he visibly grew a size larger! His shoulder height was already approaching that of a young adult tiger, and his body length was nearing three meters, tail included. His white fur grew thicker and glossier, and his muscles were packed with explosive strength.
The "王" marking on his forehead looked deep and imposing. As his amber eyes opened and closed, they flashed with brilliance, and an aura far stronger than before spread from him!
He had officially entered the mid-stage of the Beast Soldier level!
"Mimi! You broke through again?!" Wang Keke cried in delight, sensing the change in his aura.
Lin Mo gave a low growl and got to his feet, stretching his larger, more powerful body. Feeling the surging strength within him and his sharper senses, he was filled with boundless confidence. Although Combat Devour still hadn't let him inherit the Giant Strength talent this time, the improvement in his strength alone had made it more than worthwhile!
He tried to activate Power Burst, and the muscles in his hind legs instantly bulged!
Whoosh!
He shot forward like a phantom, more than thirty percent faster than before! His claws swept out, making an even sharper, more piercing sound as they cut through the air!
"That's wonderful! Now we have an even better chance in the competition!" Wang Keke clapped excitedly.
The sun was already beginning to sink in the west, staining the horizon orange-red. The trial's designated meeting time was approaching.
"We should head back now, Mimi." Wang Keke checked her Tactical Watch and began packing up.
Lin Mo nodded. His breakthrough had filled him with confidence, and he felt sure the journey back would be smooth.
The person and tiger retraced their steps, carefully making their way toward the meeting point on the outskirts of town. With his increased strength, Lin Mo's range of perception had expanded. He could avoid potentially dangerous areas in advance, so they made good time.
However, just as they crossed an area that had once been an industrial district, strewn with enormous factories and rusty pipes, a faint sound drifted over on the wind. It was a jumble of crying, pleas for help, and angry curses.
Lin Mo stopped at once, his ears turning warily. Wang Keke had heard it too, and her little face tightened. "It sounds like... people? Are they calling for help?"
The sound was coming from a direction slightly off their route back to the meeting point.
"Should we go take a look?" Wang Keke asked Lin Mo through their mental link, hesitating. Running into strangers in the wilderness was dangerous, especially when the situation sounded so suspicious.
Lin Mo pondered for a moment. By his cautious nature, it was better not to get involved. But among the cries for help, he seemed to hear a few familiar voices belonging to young people...
His nostrils flared as he carefully distinguished the scents on the wind. Along with the heavy smell of blood and unfamiliar sweat, he seemed to catch a trace of the incense unique to the children of the Wang Family Manor—some kind of insect-repelling incense the family might have issued to them.
Damn it, could those clueless Wang Family kids be in trouble? Lin Mo cursed inwardly. He didn't particularly care about those guys, but Wang Keke obviously did.
He gave a low growl to signal Wang Keke to follow, then cautiously crept toward the source of the sound.
Using the enormous abandoned pipes and the factory's shadows for cover, they approached without making a sound. The closer they got, the clearer the voices became.
"Help! Let me go! Do you know who we are? The Hu Family won't let you get away with this!" A young woman's voice, choked with tears. It sounded like... Hu Lili?
"Bullshit! Who gives a damn about the Hu Family? Out here, I'm the king!" a coarse, vicious voice roared, accompanied by the muffled thuds of fists and feet landing and pained groans.
"Wang Xiao! Are you all right?! You bastards! If you've got the guts, untie us and fight fair!" That was Wang Xiao's familiar, infuriating voice, but now it was full of anger and... weakness.
Lin Mo and Wang Keke looked at each other. Both saw the shock and gravity in the other's eyes. Wang Xiao, Hu Lili, and the others really were in trouble!
They finally reached the edge of a relatively open factory yard. Hiding behind a pile of rusty metal scrap, they cautiously peeked out.
The sight before them made Wang Keke clap a hand over her mouth. Her pupils shrank, and her body trembled slightly with fear and fury. Even Lin Mo felt his heart tighten, his amber eyes filling with a murderous chill!
In the yard, Hu Lili was hanging upside down from a rusty overhead crane, tied with a coarse rope. Her face was deathly pale, tears and snot streaming down her cheeks as she struggled helplessly. Her Phantom White Fox pet was bound just as tightly beside her, letting out faint whimpers.
On the other side, Wang Xiao was surrounded by four or five burly men in matching combat uniforms stained with dark red marks, and they were beating him. His face was bruised and swollen, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his expensive uniform had been torn. His Iron-Claw Wolf pet lay nearby, covered in blood, its fate unclear.
But that wasn't the most chilling part.
Several modified armored off-road vehicles covered in impact marks were parked in the center of the yard. Beside them stood three enormous cages made of thick welded rebar! Inside were several more young members of the Wang and Li Families. They were all injured, their eyes filled with terror and despair, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
But what nearly made Wang Keke scream, and sent murderous energy surging from Lin Mo, was the scene in a corner of the yard!
Three bloody human heads had been piled there! Their faces were twisted, their eyes open in death! The heads had been deliberately stacked into a small pyramid—a Skull Mound!
Beside the Skull Mound lay even more human limbs, chopped into countless pieces and tossed about carelessly! Shattered armor mixed with clotted dark red blood, soaking into the ground!
The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood and the reek of death.
The burly men in dark red combat uniforms all had fierce auras and cruel eyes, and radiated a powerful bloodlust. A snarling wolf's head was clearly embroidered on their uniform armbands, its mouth dripping with blood. Beside it were the words "Blood Wolf"!
The Blood Wolf Mercenary Group!
They were a notorious band of mercenaries in the wilderness, infamous for their cruelty and greed! They had infiltrated this tightly controlled trial zone and were... hunting the scions of powerful families!
Wang Keke felt ice-cold all over. She finally understood why her father and the instructors had repeatedly stressed that the dangers of the wilderness didn't come only from monsters! These mercenaries were even more terrifying than monsters!
Lin Mo fixed his gaze on the one-eyed brute who seemed to be the leader, beating Wang Xiao. Then he looked over the three heads in the Skull Mound and the severed limbs scattered across the ground.
For the first time, such a cold and pure killing intent welled up inside him.
This was no longer a trial.
This was... a battle for survival, where one side had to die!
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