County 0231.
This "newbie village" that had once been home to tens of thousands of soldier-level monsters was now eerily silent. Every monster seemed to have vanished into thin air, as though hiding from something.
A martial artist squad had left the military base not long ago and was preparing to hunt here. To their surprise, they had barely seen any monsters along the way.
"The boss, why haven't we seen any monsters yet?"
A young martial artist asked curiously.
"Not sure. Stay alert. Something might have changed."
The squad leader was a burly man with a full beard. This time, he had brought two rookie martial artists from his team here to train.
There were no particularly powerful monsters in County 0231. Soldier-level monsters were no threat to a War General-level martial artist, and as long as they avoided being surrounded, there was practically no danger to their lives.
The two rookies, excited and thrilled, cautiously followed the bearded man toward the heart of the county.
But even as they neared the city center, they still hadn't seen a single monster. All they could smell was the overwhelmingly strong stench of blood.
With such a strong stench, plenty of monsters should have died here.
Yet they hadn't seen even a single bone.
Surely the bodies couldn't have vanished into thin air too?
Even if a powerful monster had appeared in the county, it couldn't have left behind not a single trace!
"Stay on your guard!"
Unlike the two rookies, who were gradually letting theirs down, the bearded man looked grave. He gripped a War Blade in one hand and a shield in the other, cautiously advancing toward the city center.
Something was very wrong.
There was no way this place would normally be empty of monsters.
The bearded man pressed on cautiously. When he reached the city center, he couldn't help letting out a curse.
"Holy shit!"
The two rookie martial artists were stunned.
Even the bearded man, who had seen plenty in his time, was completely dumbfounded.
"B-Boss! Is that the legendary War God?"
One of the rookies gaped and pointed at a figure in the city center.
A man in a black trench coat moved like a ghost through the empty streets and between collapsed buildings.
He was moving so fast that they couldn't make out his face. They could only see one monster after another fall, a flash of blood, and then the bodies vanished in the blink of an eye.
"So this is the strength of a War God?"
The other rookie said excitedly.
"Boss, do we have a chance of becoming War God-level martial artists?"
"A War God?"
The bearded man froze. He had even noticed that a few Beast General-level monsters were among those killed in an instant.
That kind of strength really did look like a War God's.
At least, as a Junior War General, he couldn't even see Su Zhe's movements.
But...
Could someone explain why the bodies were disappearing too?
The bearded man had no idea, but he still told the two rookies, "You'll get your chance."
"Don't you admire Luo Feng? They say the hero Luo Feng first hunted in this very city. He trained his footwork and blade techniques here... Though it looks like there aren't any monsters left to kill now."
The bearded man hesitated.
"Wow!"
The two rookie martial artists gasped in unison.
As the hero of all humanity, Luo Feng's deeds had spread far and wide, even though the Devourer Beast incident had ended only a few days ago. Jiangnan Base City, where Luo Feng had grown up, had especially seen a flood of new fans.
The two rookies had probably taken their Martial Artist Combat Assessment around the same time as Su Zhe, so they were Luo Feng fans too.
"Boss, why would that War God kill soldier-level monsters in a place like this?" one rookie asked curiously.
"...Maybe he wants to honor the hero Luo Feng?" The bearded man couldn't say what Su Zhe was thinking either.
"Forget it. We'd better hunt somewhere else."
The bearded man sighed and could only lead his squad away from County 0231.
Fortunately, there were plenty of places like County 0231 near the military base. They had only wasted half a day, and finding another hunting ground suitable for rookie martial artists would be easy enough.
The bearded man soon led the two rookies out of the county.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
The arrival and departure of those humans hadn't caught Su Zhe's attention.
He moved like a black-and-red bolt of lightning, wings spread behind him. Every time he charged forward, the concrete road beneath his feet cracked.
Wherever he went, whether it was a lurking Shadow Cat, a howling Tiger Mastiff, a hulking Iron-Haired Wild Boar, a Single-Horned Wild Boar, or even a few unlucky Junior Beast General-level monsters, they were all thrown into an invisible grinder and blasted into clouds of blood mist.
Each swing of those enormous, silver-gray claws, gleaming with a metallic chill, unleashed terrifying power.
Those claws could easily rip apart an alloy shield. Against monsters no higher than Intermediate Beast General, they cut through them as easily as slicing vegetables.
"Whoosh—!"
[Devoured an Apprentice Level, third-tier monster. Earned 0.3 Devour Points.] [Devoured an Apprentice Level, third-tier monster. Earned 0.3 Devour Points.] [Devoured an Apprentice Level, fourth-tier monster. Earned 0.4 Devour Points.] [Level Up: Apprentice Level, seventh tier]
War God level!
Su Zhe summoned the panel to check his current strength.
[Name]: Su Zhe [Martial Artist Level]: Apprentice Level, seventh tier (Beginner War God) [Psychic Level]: Apprentice Level, sixth tier (Advanced War General) [Bloodline]: Blacklight Virus [Abilities]: Devour, Camouflage, Thermal Sensing, Psychic Power [Forms]: Claw Form (Silver Moon Dire Wolf), Wing Speed Form (Black-Crowned Golden Eagle) [Laws]: None [Items]: Series 6 Combat Suit, Series 6 Combat Blade, Communication Watch... [Devour Points]: 8023.2 (10000)
He still hadn't reached ten thousand Devour Points.
Su Zhe sighed. The monsters in County 0231 had nearly all been slaughtered. So many had even fled the county to escape him. He had reached War God level by devouring them, and still he didn't have enough Devour Points?
The Devour Points gained from killing Apprentice Level monsters came too slowly.
Perhaps it was time to head to a major city.
For example... City 003.
Although he'd only just broken through to War God level, with a Force Amplitude of 3.7, his strength already surpassed that of some Intermediate War Gods. With that kind of power, he wouldn't be weak even in City 003.
Besides, Su Zhe's true strength was a completely different matter from his level.
"Let's go home first."
Su Zhe looked up at the sky.
Yesterday, he had only been an Intermediate Warrior. Today, he was already a War God.
At this rate, if he went to City 003 tomorrow, could he even break through to Planetary Level?
Before you continue