The Hunt

At 3:00 PM, the five members of the Eagle Strike Squad, fully equipped, set out to hunt the Bayonet Turtle.

"This Bayonet Turtle laid its eggs inside a large supermarket, surrounded by four residential buildings, none too tall, not ideal for concealment," Zhang Taofang said, pointing at the map.

"I'm confident in a one-shot kill at 1,500 meters. Beyond that, my rifle won't cut it."

The farthest building with the best line of sight is 800 meters from its nest—a perfect distance. We'll head to the top floor of that building first.

With that, Zhang Taofang put away the electronic map and waved his hand. "Let's move."

Slowly, the Eagle Strike Squad approached the supermarket, but the journey was far from smooth.

Perhaps due to the Bayonet Turtle's weakened state from laying eggs, the number of Mid-Level Beast General monsters around the supermarket had noticeably increased, all looking to take advantage of its weakness and claim this territory.

"This way," Zhang Yan signaled, then quietly crept along the base of a wall. If anyone were watching from above, they'd see that within a 500-meter radius of the Eagle Strike Squad, there was at least one Mid-Level Beast General monster—an extremely dense concentration.

The five carefully navigated through various trash bins and wall corners. Even with such caution, they still came face-to-face with a Low-Level Beast General Tiger Mastiff that suddenly appeared around a corner.

The Tiger Mastiff had just appeared and hadn't even had time to roar when Zhang Yan slammed into it, knocking it off balance. Immediately after, Li Ke at the rear of the formation flicked his wrist, and a streak of light shot through, piercing the Tiger Mastiff's eye.

"Roar!"

The Tiger Mastiff finally let out a sound, but before it could finish, Ji Yun and Naili beside it drove a spear and a sword into its other eye, ending its life.

Zhang Taofang, who hadn't acted, quickly harvested materials from the Tiger Mastiff. "We've drawn attention. Move fast."

He tossed a smoke grenade to mask their scent, and the five sprinted out from the side, taking a different route toward the supermarket.

Half an hour later, the Eagle Strike Squad picked up the pace, covering two kilometers before finally entering the designated residential building.

Once inside, Ji Yun and Naili charged ahead, swiftly clearing the Beast Soldier monsters on the stairs. After securing the area, they signaled the other three below to come up.

Receiving the signal, the three didn't hesitate, quickly rejoining Ji Yun and Naili and entering a preselected room.

Zhang Taofang used a special tool to cut a section of glass without making a sound, then unloaded a backpack from his shoulders and took out a wooden box.

Opening the box revealed gun parts inside. Zhang Taofang rapidly assembled them.

Moments later, a heavy sniper rifle, entirely black and nearly two meters long, was fully assembled, with optical sights and other attachments all installed.

Zhang Taofang loaded a blood-red Advanced Armor-Piercing Bullet into the magazine and set the rifle up on a temporary firing position. He then lay down, unmoving, aiming at the Bayonet Turtle's nest.

Ji Yun and the others kept watch, using binoculars to constantly scan the surroundings and the supermarket for any unexpected developments.

Half an hour passed. The sun was gradually setting, and the sky was darkening. Slowly, with the naked eye, the Bayonet Turtle's nest grew blurry.

"Roar!"

A furious beast roar suddenly came from the Bayonet Turtle's nest, followed by the turtle itself crawling out of the supermarket, angrily chasing a Land Crocodile.

"Huh? The Bayonet Turtle's out," Ji Yun said, focusing intently.

The Land Crocodile is a natural predator of turtle-type monsters, capable of directly preying on less aggressive turtles. It also enjoys ambushing the eggs of ferocious turtle-type monsters.

The Bayonet Turtle, two meters tall and six meters long, pursued this Mid-Level Beast General Land Crocodile. Both the turtle and the crocodile were slow on land, but the crocodile was still a bit faster, gradually shaking off the pursuit.

"Roar, roar!"

The Bayonet Turtle reluctantly stopped its chase, not daring to stray too far from its nest.

Zhang Taofang lay by the window, propping up the deep-black heavy sniper rifle. The barrel didn't reflect a single glint of the setting sun, thanks to a special coating applied to prevent exposure. He extended his palm to gauge the wind direction, performed careful calculations, and adjusted the optical sight. The other four members of the Eagle Strike Squad dared not make a sound.

Just as the Bayonet Turtle let out two reluctant roars, Zhang Taofang fired.

"Thump!" A low, powerful sound rang out.

Almost instantly, the bullet tore through space. Though this alloy armor-piercing round was devastatingly powerful, traveling several times the speed of sound, the sonic boom reached the Bayonet Turtle's ears only after the bullet itself.

In that instant, the bullet entered through the Bayonet Turtle's eye, blasting a bloody hole.

"Oww—" The Bayonet Turtle let out a pained roar, staggering sideways two steps. Once steady, it retracted its head into its shell and quickly crawled back toward its nest. Turtles have incredibly tenacious vitality; even after taking this bullet, barring any complications, it might survive, merely regressing in rank. The hallmark of monsters is their resilience.

"It's done," Zhang Taofang muttered.

"Now we don't go down. The Bayonet Turtle's value lies in its back shell—that won't be damaged. If we go down now, the surrounding Beast General monsters might come to snatch it—too dangerous. We'll wait until they've finished fighting over it before harvesting."

"Yes, Captain," Ji Yun and the other four replied solemnly.

"Roar!"

The Land Crocodile, which had just been chased by the Bayonet Turtle, was the first to sense something off. It turned its head, catching the scent of the Bayonet Turtle's blood, and let out an excited roar.

The Land Crocodile reversed its retreat, turning to pursue the Bayonet Turtle.

The Bayonet Turtle's blood trail couldn't escape the notice of the several Mid-Level Beast General monsters nearby. One by one, they followed the scent toward the turtle. Seeing its weakened state, they grew even more excited.

Six Mid-Level Beast Generals surrounded the Bayonet Turtle, but none dared to charge in. The Bayonet Turtle, covered in blades, was extremely dangerous; one careless move and they'd be skewered.

These six Beast Generals encircled the turtle while maintaining enough distance from each other, clearly wary of one another as well.

The Land Crocodile, which had been chased earlier, was the first to lose patience and launched an attack.

The crocodile crawled swiftly toward the Bayonet Turtle, its mouth opening nearly ninety degrees, aiming to bite the turtle's short leg. But before it could, the Bayonet Turtle shifted its shell, driving the spikes on its back into the crocodile's mouth.

The Land Crocodile recoiled in pain, releasing the shell. Before it could attack again, the Bayonet Turtle suddenly extended its head, unleashing speed befitting a High-Level Beast General, and bit down on the crocodile's flank.

The Land Crocodile also had a tough armored hide, but its underside was relatively soft. The Bayonet Turtle's sharp teeth pierced from below, clamping onto the crocodile.

The two beasts tangled together.

The other five monsters nearby, seeing these two fight, immediately charged forward, ready to deliver the killing blow to the Bayonet Turtle and Land Crocodile.

The seven monsters fought all night. As dawn broke the next day, the battle reached its conclusion.

The victor was a Mutated Forest Python. This python had been slithering along the edges the whole time, ultimately delivering the fatal strike to the Bayonet Turtle and the other monsters. But it wasn't in good shape either—most of its scales had fallen off, and a section of its tail was severed. Still, the scales would regrow with its next shed.

After a night passed, the five members of the Eagle Strike Squad dared not let their focus waver. They stared at the monsters all night, and when the outcome was decided, Zhang Taofang said, "Let's go. Everyone head down."

Since Zhang Taofang was also a cold-weapon War General, he didn't bring a machine gun this time. Instead, he drew two short blades and went down.

After its victory, the python swayed unsteadily, beginning to devour the corpses of the other six monsters. Though it looked battered, its aura was even heavier. Some Low-Level Beast Generals and Beast Soldiers that had gathered later didn't dare approach.

"Same method."

Zhang Taofang said to the vice-captain, Li Ke, "After we draw the python's attention, you try to take it out with a flying knife. Its head is already injured—the knife should sink in easily."

"Got it," Li Ke replied without hesitation.

"Move out." With a low shout, Zhang Yan raised his shield and charged forward.

The Mutated Forest Python, suddenly seeing five humans burst out, immediately dropped the food in its mouth. It twisted its body and attacked Zhang Yan.

"Thud."

Zhang Yan's shield collided with the snake's body. But this was a python close to High-Level Beast General, and Zhang Yan's physique, barely at Mid-Level War General, was no match. Zhang Yan was sent flying backward five or six meters, though the python also stiffened for a second.

The python was about to pursue this puny human who dared ram it. Suddenly, a streak of light shot treacherously from behind the shield. The python, startled, twisted its head away with effort. The flying knife was aimed at its eye but failed to enter through the eye. Instead, it struck the wound on the python's head and sank in.

Still, that was a fatal injury. If the fight continued, the python would die.

In pain, the python began thrashing its body.

A tail as thick as a human waist lashed out like lightning at the approaching Ji Yun and Naili. Naili leaned back, narrowly dodging the strike. Zhang Yan got up and caught Naili, who had lost her balance. But Ji Yun wasn't so lucky. He was faster, so he was closer to the python, and the tail was mainly aimed at him. The tail swept through a tree, snapping it cleanly, then came for Ji Yun.

Knowing he couldn't dodge, Ji Yun held his breath, exploded with the full power of a Mid-Level War General, and smashed his spear into the tail.

"Clang." Ji Yun was sent flying by the tail, crashing into a tree.

"Yun!" Naili shouted.

"I'm fine. Keep going."

Ji Yun slid down from the tree, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Before he could get a clear view, the tail whipped toward him again.

Strike while the iron is hot—even the python monster understood this principle.

Ji Yun had a tree at his back now, nowhere to retreat. Seeing the tail fly toward him, the whistling sound of its high speed grated on his ears.

If that strike landed solidly, with Ji Yun's Low-Level War General physique, he'd either die or be half-crippled.

Ji Yun took a deep breath, a fierce resolve rising in his heart. Muscles rolled and condensed across his body.

His eyes locked onto the tail. Gritting his teeth, he thrust his spear.

Between life and death, there was indeed great terror. Under the pressure of survival, Ji Yun erupted with the second layer of Fierce Wind—24-Fold Force! And not only that, at this moment, Ji Yun once again approached that Spear Path realm of Unity of Heaven and Man. A whirlwind gathered at the spear tip, as if cutting through the air.

A force of nearly 25,000 kg was perfectly concentrated on the spear tip, striking the tail dead-on.

The Wind Lifter Spear, fit for a War God, was incredibly sharp. It pierced through the tail, pinning it to the ground.

"Good!" The other four, who had been about to rescue Ji Yun, shouted in unison. They didn't waste the opportunity and attacked the python's head directly.

The python's tail was pinned, and its head was already injured.

"Pfft!" After slashing the python's body with a knife, Li Ke whipped out another flying knife, sending it straight through the python's eye! The python had lost its life, but its massive body still twitched and convulsed unconsciously, until gradually it lay still.

Ji Yun held the python's tail down firmly until it stopped struggling. He leaned on the spear shaft, breathing heavily.

"Naili, protect Yun. Zhang Yan, keep watch. Li Ke and I will harvest the materials." Zhang Taofang gave orders quickly. Then, he and Li Ke began harvesting materials from this High-Level Beast General and six Mid-Level Beast Generals.

Ten minutes later, Ji Yun had recovered somewhat. He, Naili, and Zhang Yan were holding back a few Low-Level Beast Generals and a group of Beast Soldiers that had gradually closed in.

"Let's go. We're pulling out." Zhang Taofang's voice cut through.

"Pull out." Ji Yun didn't linger. He followed the four directly, running out along a small path. After several twists and turns, they shook off the monsters and returned to their previous base—the presidential suite of the Wanda Realm Hotel.