Deep in a forest.
Several figures moved through the trees.
"Captain, it's just ahead."
Led by Xiao Hua, the five-man team quickly left County 0231. Following the tracker's route north, they moved away from the military district and plunged into a stretch of wooded hills.
"Good! The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle has stopped moving. It might be dead. But with a carcass that big, a War God Level powerhouse who could kill it probably wouldn't even want it. And even if they did, they couldn't carry it away."
The captain spoke in a low voice.
"But if the one who killed it was a War General... you understand, right?"
"Understood."
The others in the team nodded, their gazes resolute.
This wasn't the first time they'd done something like this.
Although governments around the world forbade martial artists from killing one another in the wild, such things had never stopped happening.
Even within the major factions, like the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, it was impossible to completely stamp out infighting—let alone when martial artists belonged to different factions.
Killing another martial artist in the Wilderness Zone brought far greater rewards than killing a monster.
Most importantly, after using their shared humanity to win someone's trust, killing a vulnerable human was much easier than taking on a monster of the same level.
That was exactly what the captain was thinking now.
If a War God had killed the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, they'd pretend nothing had happened. But if it was a War General Level martial artist with no powerful backers, then naturally... they'd kill him!
"It's that stone mountain up ahead."
With Xiao Hua leading the way, the five-man team finally made it through the dense forest and reached the foot of the rocky hill.
The captain led the way, sweeping his sharp gaze across their surroundings and frowning slightly.
Why was everything so quiet?
"Is this the place?" the captain asked.
"Yeah. The signal's coming from near the summit."
Xiao Hua pointed at the screen in his hand, his voice tinged with excitement and nerves.
He was only an Advanced Warrior. As the team's sniper, if this job went well, he'd get at least five million Huaxia Currency!
For an Advanced Warrior, that was a fortune.
"Be careful," rumbled the burly man carrying a greatshield. "Anyone who can kill a Black-Crowned Golden Eagle must be at least a high-level War General. They might even be... a Psychic."
The captain nodded, his gaze sharpening. A hint of greed crept into it, almost imperceptibly. "Spread out and search in a fan formation! Xiao Hua, keep watch over the distance! The rest of you, with me!"
The five-man team immediately split up, moving with practiced ease. They had clearly worked together for a long time.
The captain and the burly man with the greatshield went in front, followed by the other two Warrior Level martial artists. Xiao Hua raised his sniper rifle and looked for a vantage point.
The summit soon came into view.
There was no enormous Black-Crowned Golden Eagle carcass, nor any War God Level powerhouse as they'd expected.
The captain's pupils contracted. All he saw was a chaotic scene of impact marks and shattered stones... and a young figure in a brand-new Series 6 Combat Suit, standing with his back to them.
"Hm?"
The captain frowned, suspicion rising in his heart.
"Hey, kid!" one of the Warrior Level martial artists called out impatiently. "What happened to the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle? Did you get lucky and take it?"
The young man slowly straightened and turned around.
His face was far too young, and a playful smile touched his lips as his calm gaze swept over all five of them.
The Warrior Level martial artist was about to say more, but the captain raised a hand to stop him.
"Easy," he said quietly, walking slowly toward the young man.
The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle's carcass was enormous. It had fallen only a dozen minutes ago, and there was no way Su Zhe could have hidden it all by himself. That meant there had to be someone else nearby.
No—there was no need to talk about hiding the carcass.
How could this kid have killed the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle on his own? In the captain's eyes, Su Zhe was, at most, a Junior War General!
But... greed finally overcame his misgivings.
The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle was simply too tempting!
And if this kid really had gotten lucky, or somehow managed to claim the kill through some special means... a vicious glint flashed in the captain's eyes.
"Brother, we've been tracking that Black-Crowned Golden Eagle for a long time. We wounded it, but you killed it in the end," the captain said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "By the rules of the Wilderness Zone, the spoils belong to our team."
"Oh?" Su Zhe sounded as if he'd heard an amusing joke. "Rules? Who made them? You shot at it once, then it flew more than ten kilometers, and I killed it. So now it belongs to you?"
The captain's face changed. Then Su Zhe casually tossed him an unremarkable little metal disc.
It was the tracking device core removed from the bullet!
"This what you were looking for?" Su Zhe said offhandedly.
Seeing the tracker, the captain's face darkened completely.
Su Zhe's actions had made his stance perfectly clear!
"Attack!"
The captain stopped talking and barked an order. A powerful aura burst from his body.
The full strength of a mid-level War General erupted. His War Blade flashed, slashing straight at Su Zhe's face!
At the same time, the burly man with the greatshield roared and charged at Su Zhe's flank like a human tank. His massive shield blocked off any room to dodge, while the other two Warrior Level martial artists attacked from either side, their blades flashing!
In the distance, Xiao Hua's heart tightened. He instinctively tried to aim, but the captain and the man with the greatshield blocked Su Zhe from view. Unable to line up a shot, he could only lie still with his sniper rifle and search carefully for an opening.
Two mid-level War Generals, two Advanced Warriors, and one Advanced Warrior sniper?
Su Zhe instantly assessed the situation. There wasn't a trace of panic in his eyes, only icy stillness—and murderous intent in his dark pupils.
He'd been planning to let them go if they backed off willingly or spoke more politely. But now it seemed they really were...
"Looking for their own deaths."
Su Zhe didn't even draw the War Blade on his back. The instant the captain closed in with his swing, Su Zhe's right hand suddenly swelled and twisted, transforming into a savage claw covered in silvery-gray keratin, its surface gleaming with a metallic chill!
"Clang—!"
A piercing clash of metal rang out!
The captain's seemingly unstoppable strike was caught fast in the claw that had appeared out of nowhere!
The blade struck the claw's keratin plating, leaving only a shallow white mark.
Instead, Su Zhe seized the opportunity to rake the captain's arm, leaving a deep gash. The captain's combat suit split, and blood poured from the wound!
"What?!"
The captain went pale with shock. A tremendous force traveled up the blade, numbing his hand and nearly knocking the weapon from his grasp.
"What the hell are you?!"
Damn it, how could a human turn his hand into a claw out of nowhere?
After that instant of contact, the captain was already thinking of retreating.
How were they supposed to fight this?
This was a monster!
He thought in horror.
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