Fierce Battle

"Everyone, move quickly to your assigned positions. Act the moment the signal is given."

As modified trucks arrived at the outskirts of Chen Village, everyone advanced in complete silence.

The village had returned to tranquility, save for the occasional lazy grunt of a pig echoing through the air.

Suddenly, a command crackled through the walkie-talkies of every squad.

"Execute."

All squads charged into the village from every direction, slowly closing in to encircle all the monsters.

Among all the teams, one squad stood out, their actions distinct and far more eye-catching.

They pushed relentlessly into the depths of the village, marching without pause toward the Pig Farm in the north.

Every porcine monster that blocked their path was killed with a single strike.

This team consisted of the board members and the top performers from the previous base defense battle, totaling seventeen people.

The primary objective of this team was to eliminate the most threatening, highly mutated pigs within the Pig Farm.

The other squads were tasked with killing and stalling the outer porcine monsters to ensure they did not interfere with the decapitation strike.

As the team pushed deeper, they discovered that the monsters in the inner circle were becoming increasingly difficult to kill.

If those on the outermost perimeter were only slightly stronger and tougher-skinned than ordinary domestic pigs, those now in the inner circle, near the Pig Farm, were twice the size, possessed even harder hides, and resembled wild boars; to kill them quickly, one had to strike directly at their weak points.

Based on a rough assessment, there were at least several dozen porcine monsters inside the Pig Farm, and these were bound to be stronger than those outside.

The squad broke down the door, intending to thin their numbers first.

However, the scene before them left everyone stunned.

There were not dozens of pigs as predicted, but only four.

Yet, the size of these four pigs far exceeded those on the periphery.

One of them lay lazily in the center; it was four times the size of a domestic pig, its black fur like sharp spikes with a metallic sheen, and two long tusks protruding from its mouth showcased the monster's ferocity to the fullest.

Two of the remaining three were similar to the center one, though slightly smaller with shorter tusks, while the last one lacked long tusks but bore a single gray horn in the middle of its forehead.

These three porcine monsters patrolled the farm constantly, as if they were guards for the one in the center.

The ground of the Pig Farm was littered with remains—it was impossible to tell if they were human or animal—and traces of dark red blood splattered and pooled across the floor remained visible.

The entire environment of the Pig Farm was nauseating, and the atmosphere within sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"Except for the board members, form groups of four to surround and kill the three surrounding monsters. We five will take on the one in the center," Gao Zheng decided quickly.

Having previously established how to group up under various circumstances, twelve people quickly broke away from the main team, moving in units of four to engage the three patrolling monsters.

Gao Zheng led the remaining four toward the porcine monster suspected to be the leader.

Among the five, Gao Zheng and Lin Chenxing were spear-wielders; they trailed their spears, following Guo Qichang, the only one in the group carrying a shield, while He Qishun and Ma Tianxing brought up the rear.

The previously lazy leader monster began to stand, its fur rippling like waves as its fat shook.

Guo Qichang charged head-on with his shield, slamming into the pig and pushing it back with all his might.

Gao Zheng and Lin Chenxing raised their spears, reaching past Guo Qichang to strike at the pig's eyes from both sides.

Unexpectedly, the pig squeezed its eyes shut just before the tips could pierce them; the spearheads left only red dots on the eyelids, failing to cause significant damage but inflicting intense pain. The pig lowered its head and whipped it from side to side, throwing Gao Zheng and the others backward.

Losing the resistance, the leader-like pig stopped its movement, but with its vision blurred by the impact, it could only search for other targets through a haze of red.

He Qishun and Ma Tianxing took advantage of the pig's pause to scatter to the sides, hacking upward with axes and blades, hoping to inflict a fatal wound on the pig's vulnerable underbelly.

This time, they did manage to inflict more damage than before, carving a gash into the pig's belly, though it was not deep.

Finally, the pig's vision cleared. It locked its eyes onto the little pests that had harmed it, roared in fury, planted its hind legs, and charged violently at He Qishun.

He Qishun could not dodge in time and was struck head-on, but because the distance was short, the pig could not build up much speed, and the impact was not overwhelming. He Qishun merely spat out blood, simultaneously grabbing the pig's tusk with one hand while hacking at its snout with his blade in the other.

The pig shook its head repeatedly, trying to throw He Qishun off, while its body began to spin.

Ma Tianxing raised his twin axes, hacking at the pig's legs against the direction of its rotation, attempting to fell the beast or draw its attention.

However, because the skin on the pig's legs had also become harder than elsewhere, the axes had limited effect.

By now, Guo Qichang had recovered from being thrown; he charged at the pig with his shield, slamming it into the side of the beast's head to prevent it from shaking.

He Qishun took the opportunity to land quickly and retreat.

Gao Zheng and Lin Chenxing tried to stab the pig's eyes again. This time, although they still failed to strike before the pig could close its lids, the red dots on the eyelids were enlarged, and a trickle of blood seeped from the eye socket.

The two exchanged a smile, pulled their spears back, and thrust them directly into the pig's nostrils, driving them in deep.

Gao Zheng roared, "Old Guo, ram it! Drive the spears in!"

Guo Qichang immediately adjusted his stance, raising his shield to press against the front of the pig.

The shield slammed into the spears, driving them in another few inches.

The pig froze, then lifted its front hooves in agony and slammed them violently into the ground.

The pig whipped its head again, shaking Lin Chenxing's spear loose, but Gao Zheng's spear remained lodged inside.

Because the tip of Gao Zheng's spear had a small mechanism—a tiny barb—it was this very barb that prevented the pig from shaking it free.

Gao Zheng surged forward, gripped the portion of the spear remaining outside, and stomped his foot onto the pig's snout, instantly yanking the weapon free as a long spray of blood followed the trajectory of the spearhead.

Gao Zheng took advantage of the momentum to spin the spear around, thrusting it once more into the spot he had just pierced.

This time, he drove it along the wound and through the nasal cavity, pushing it deep until it reached the vicinity of the brain before pulling it out again.

By now, the pig was severely wounded, its movements becoming increasingly frantic.

With every leap and subsequent landing, the entire ground began to shake incessantly; the pipes buried beneath the Pig Farm could not withstand the violent tremors and began to rupture, causing water to surge up from underground and splash into the air each time the pig crashed down.

As their vision became obstructed by the spray of water, everyone's attacks came to a temporary halt.