"Stop!"
Seeing Gao Feng leap forward with a stomp, the White-Haired Elder shouted and was about to strike.
Zzzing!
A Blood Shadow War Sword shot through the air like a streak of crimson light, stopping right in front of the White-Haired Elder.
The White-Haired Elder froze on the spot!
The other members of the Thunder Squad trembled all over, staring wide-eyed in the direction the crimson streak had come from.
Jiang Li stood there with an impassive expression and said calmly, "Don't move, or you'll die..."
"A p-psychic?"
The white man Kalon stared at the Blood Shadow War Sword hovering before the White-Haired Elder, trembling with fear. "So fast! He's at least an Intermediate War General-level psychic!"
It was common for psychics to be one or two levels stronger than ordinary martial artists. Jiang Li's Blood Shadow War Sword had moved so swiftly that even a Senior War General couldn't react in time. That was more than enough to prove he was stronger than them.
As for being a War God?
They wouldn't believe Jiang Li was one, not even if they were beaten to death.
After all, someone that young who was a War God would already be famous throughout the world.
"I won't move!"
The White-Haired Elder slowly raised both hands, as if surrendering. "But I advise you not to make a move either!"
"Otherwise, every one of you will die!"
"Are you threatening me?"
Jiang Li knew the Mixed-Blood Youth's identity inside out.
His father was the War God Li Yao, known as Vulture, while his mother was Venina, one of the twelve great families of the HR Alliance and a War God herself.
That kind of background would naturally be beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists.
But to Jiang Li, it meant nothing.
Besides, Jiang Li hadn't intended to kill them. As long as Li Wei didn't go looking for trouble, there was no need for him to kill anyone.
Just then—
"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."
A terrifying pounding of hooves suddenly came from the distance. The ground beneath them began to shake, and a series of low growls echoed through the air.
"Oh no, a monster horde!"
"Their fighting must have drawn it here!"
Almost instantly, everyone turned toward the sound. A vast, dark mass of monsters swept toward them like an iron flood. Each one was only thirty or forty centimeters long, just a little larger than a human hand.
Yet this black tide of tiny monsters rolled forward like a bulldozer. Everywhere it passed, houses collapsed and monsters died.
The horde stretched as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight.
"What's going on?!"
The Mixed-Blood Youth, Li Wei, shrieked in terror, his face deathly pale.
Even when faced with Jiang Li's Blood Shadow War Sword, he'd stayed calm. After all, his father was Li Yao. Unless someone was a Beyond War God Existence, they'd show his father some respect!
But this dark mass of monsters wouldn't care whether his father was Li Yao or Li Gang!
"What is that?"
"A Rat Tide!"
Luo Feng was stunned. A Rat Tide was also called a rat plague, and even a War God would be doomed if surrounded by an endless swarm.
"Protect the young master! Fang Squad, cover our retreat!"
The White-Haired Elder shouted urgently. "Run!"
"It's a Rat Tide! Run!"
The other members of Fang Squad didn't care what the White-Haired Elder said. Cover their retreat? Not a chance. Even a War God would end up dead!
"Run!"
Gao Feng stomped off and quickly rejoined the Fire Hammer Squad. They fled at full speed.
In the blink of an eye, the rat swarm swept past Pan Ya's position, tearing him to pieces until nothing remained but bones.
"Quick, head west and cross the bridge first!"
Even Jiang Li didn't dare underestimate the Rat Tide. The Fire Hammer Squad rushed across a river. Jiang Li swung the Bloodshadow Warblade in his hand, and a flash of red light cut down. The entire bridge collapsed with a crash.
Even so, they'd only managed to buy themselves a little time.
"Damn, why is there a Rat Tide here in City 003, too?!"
Chen Gu was carrying the most equipment. He watched the dark mass behind them as he ran and leaped, cursing, "Every time we run into Fang Squad, it's bad luck!"
"There won't be a next time. I saw Pan Ya get eaten until he was nothing but bones!"
"Zhang Zehu, too!"
The Wei Brothers looked back and saw that the broken bridge had slowed the horde. The distance between them and the swarm had widened, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's not as bad here in City 003. If there's a Rat Tide, it's only a small one."
After the Fire Hammer Squad escaped danger, Gao Feng let out a long breath and said, "On the plains, a Rat Tide would be at least level three!"
"There was a level-three Rat Tide in the Northern Military Region before. Even the War God Lu Gang fell!"
"Phew!"
Everyone was still shaken. Pan Ya had been no weaker than them, yet he'd become a pile of bones in the blink of an eye.
"Monsters are humanity's true enemies!"
Luo Feng's eyes narrowed as he clenched his fists. "Yet human martial artists are still fighting among themselves. If this goes on, humanity's future will be bleak!"
"Luo Feng, don't be so pessimistic. People like Pan Ya are still in the minority!"
Chen Gu comforted him. "Besides, aren't there martial artists like Jiang Li and you? Humanity still has plenty of hope, haha!"
"Look, it's Thunder Squad!"
Wei Tie shouted. The Thunder Squad was fleeing in their direction, too. But unlike before, only three of the original seven members remained!
"There's something in the sky... a Two-Headed Tiger Eagle?"
Gao Feng's pupils contracted. "Could that be a Lord-level monster?"
Everyone looked over. The White-Haired Elder had already lost an arm, while the white man Kalon was covered in wounds. The two Senior War Generals took turns shielding the Mixed-Blood Youth, desperately resisting every attack from the Two-Headed Tiger Eagle as they fought and retreated.
"It's them!"
The White-Haired Elder spotted Jiang Li and the others, as if he'd just found his last lifeline. "Fire Hammer Squad, come help us! Kill the beast, and you can have the materials!"
"Ha! Even now, he's still acting so superior!"
Chen Gu raised his heavy sniper rifle. He could see more clearly through the scope, and he sneered. "Captain, should we help them?"
The Two-Headed Tiger Eagle might be a Lord-level monster, but since the White-Haired Elder and the white man Kalon had held out for so long, it couldn't be Jiang Li's match.
One shot from Chen Gu would be enough to draw the Two-Headed Tiger Eagle's fury.
"Jiang Li..."
Gao Feng didn't dare make the decision for him. "We'll follow your lead!"
Before he'd even finished speaking—
Suddenly—
"Hm?"
They suddenly saw a human figure flash in from behind at incredible speed, leaving a trail of phantom afterimages. A long blade slid from its sheath in the direction of the figure's movement, tracing a strange streak of blood-red light through the air.
Whoosh!
The blade flashed, slicing straight through the Two-Headed Tiger Eagle's neck. Its two enormous heads flew off at once, and foul blood gushed out like a fountain.
Rumble!
The Two-Headed Tiger Eagle's body dropped straight from the sky and slammed into the ground. It twitched a few times, then lay still.
Only then did the afterimages merge into a single figure.
He'd killed a Two-Headed Tiger Eagle that was possibly Lord-level with a single strike?!
"Unbelievable!"
"That has to be a War God!"
"Uncle Beiyuan!"
The Mixed-Blood Youth recognized the newcomer and immediately ran over, thanking him profusely.
"Mr. Beiyuan."
The White-Haired Elder and the white man Kalon endured their injuries and bowed respectfully to the War God in thanks.
"Li Wei, you don't need to thank me. Your father received your distress signal, and he happened to know I'd come to City 003..."
"If your father hadn't offered me a reward I couldn't refuse, I wouldn't have risked revealing myself for you!"
The man called Mr. Beiyuan wore a cold expression and spoke in extremely halting Hanxia. "Pretend you've never seen me, or don't blame me for showing you no mercy."
"But what about them...?"
The Mixed-Blood Youth's eyes suddenly lit up as he turned toward the distant Fire Hammer Squad, a malicious look on his face.
At that moment...
Before you continue