The First Battle

Hearing Gao Feng's words, Luo Zhe and Luo Feng exchanged a glance, nodded, and replied, "All right!"

Chen Gu reminded them solemnly, "Don't let your guard down. These monsters are far more savage and cunning than the ones raised in the military district."

Luo Zhe nodded to show he understood.

He felt the Blood Shadow Battle Blade in his hand, then looked up at the One-Horned Wild Boar ahead, which was searching for prey. This One-Horned Wild Boar was close to the high Beast Soldier Level. It would be the first monster to fall beneath his blade!

After exchanging a glance with Luo Feng, he quickly approached.

At Luo Zhe's speed, it took only a dozen breaths to reach a large rock not far from the One-Horned Wild Boar. Luo Feng was a little slower, but soon darted like a nimble leopard behind a car overturned on the highway.

Luo Zhe peered from behind the rock at the One-Horned Wild Boar ahead. Its fur was black, like countless steel spikes, and the deep-gray horn on its head was like a dagger!

In the fading light of the evening sun, the dagger-sharp horn gleamed with a cold light.

Back during the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, the Iron-Haired Wild Boars had been like heavy armored vehicles—brutal and ferocious. But this One-Horned Wild Boar gave off a different impression: it was both agile and fierce!

He signaled to Luo Feng. After receiving a nod in reply, he tapped the rock in front of him with the back of his blade, making a crisp sound to draw the One-Horned Wild Boar's attention. Then Luo Zhe sauntered out from behind the rock.

"Come on, then!" Luo Zhe called loudly, beckoning to the One-Horned Wild Boar.

"Rrr—Rrr—"

The One-Horned Wild Boar snarled repeatedly, its murderous eyes fixed on Luo Zhe as if it wanted to tear its prey apart in one bite.

"Boom—" The One-Horned Wild Boar suddenly charged, like a speeding tank, and barreled straight toward Luo Zhe.

"Whoa!" Facing the oncoming beast, Luo Zhe's heartbeat quickened with excitement. He waited until it was almost upon him, then took a simple step to the left and easily dodged its horn.

Then he raised his right foot and kicked hard at the beast's right foreleg. "Crack!" A sharp snap of bone rang out. The One-Horned Wild Boar let out a scream, its charging body instantly losing balance as it tumbled several times across the highway.

By then, Luo Feng had already darted out from behind the battered car. His speed surged as he chased after the off-balance One-Horned Wild Boar, dragging the Blood Shadow Battle Blade behind him. His eyes flashed as he seized his chance and slashed at the beast's vulnerable throat!

"Pfft!"

As fast as lightning, the dragging slash cut across the One-Horned Wild Boar's neck. The blade sliced through, and Luo Feng could clearly feel the stiffness of its hair and the toughness of its hide. No wonder even ordinary bullets couldn't pierce it!

"Rrr—" The One-Horned Wild Boar let out a piercing howl as its neck took a heavy blow!

Its massive body rolled violently across the ground, cracking the concrete of the long-abandoned highway. Rank, foul-smelling blood ran down its thick neck and dripped onto the dusty ground.

"Luo Feng, watch out!" Luo Feng had landed his strike, but before he could celebrate, Luo Zhe's urgent warning rang out behind him.

Whoosh!

Before Luo Feng could even think about what Luo Zhe meant, a dark blur came hurtling down toward his head. Startled, Luo Feng hurriedly shoved off to the side, barely twisting his body out of the way.

Luo Zhe saw it all clearly. Although Luo Feng's strike had injured the One-Horned Wild Boar's vulnerable neck, it hadn't dealt a fatal wound. And monsters were hardest to deal with because of their incredible vitality. Killing this One-Horned Wild Boar wouldn't be easy!

The beast still had enough strength to fight back. The dark blur was its tail, whipping like an iron lash!

Seeing Luo Feng retreat to safety, Luo Zhe decided not to waste any more time. He seized his chance, stepped forward, and swung the Blood Shadow Battle Blade. The blade cut through the One-Horned Wild Boar's iron-lash-like tail as it lashed about. Then a second surge of power erupted from within him.

Nine-Fold Thunder Blade—First Form!

The Blood Shadow Battle Blade accelerated once more!

His strike landed precisely on the already badly wounded area of the One-Horned Wild Boar's neck. As soon as the blade touched its hide, Luo Zhe felt its astonishing toughness. Yet with nearly 13,000 kilograms of force behind it, the Blood Shadow Battle Blade cleaved almost two-thirds of the way through the beast's head. Luo Zhe then planted both feet against its belly, used the force of the recoil to yank out his blade, and leaped back!

Blood gushed from the massive wound like water from a tap!

"Graaah—" The One-Horned Wild Boar let out a miserable howl. Its whole body convulsed, and its four hooves kicked wildly without control, cracking the asphalt highway beneath them.

As it lost more blood, the One-Horned Wild Boar's cries grew fainter, until it fell silent.

Luo Zhe stood beside the One-Horned Wild Boar's corpse and looked at its nearly severed head. The blood was beginning to flow more slowly; clearly, it had almost run out. The beast had already lost at least a whole bucket's worth.

He stepped forward and used the Blood Shadow Battle Blade to cut the horn from the beast's head.

The horn was the most valuable part of the One-Horned Wild Boar!

Luo Feng came over and stared at Luo Zhe in amazement. "Brother Zhe, was that the First Form of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade you just used? You've mastered it!?"

Luo Feng had clearly seen Luo Zhe's Blood Shadow Battle Blade accelerate again after slicing through the One-Horned Wild Boar's tail, and that was what allowed him to kill it in one strike. Knowing Luo Zhe had also bought the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade manual, Luo Feng couldn't help suspecting that he had mastered the first form.

"I got it by accident three days ago." Luo Zhe nodded and handed the One-Horned Wild Boar's horn to Luo Feng. "Our first kill. You hold on to it."

Luo Feng hesitated, then nodded and accepted it. After a moment, he asked Luo Zhe for advice. "Brother Zhe, could you explain the first form's key points to me sometime? I still haven't mastered it. This blade technique feels so hard to learn!"

Putting an arm around Luo Feng's shoulder, Luo Zhe headed toward the Fire Hammer Squad members watching from a distance. "Of course. The key to the first form is..."

The five members of the Fire Hammer Squad had watched the whole hunt from afar. They couldn't help letting out a long breath.

"Luo Zhe's way too daring! That One-Horned Wild Boar could've ripped him open if he'd made one mistake, and he still dared to pull a stunt like that!" Zhang Ke said, drawing a sharp breath. Even he, a veteran warrior who had spent years in the Wilderness Zone, couldn't help wiping away a bead of cold sweat at such a blade-edge dance.

"That strike was powerful! To cleave through the One-Horned Wild Boar's tail and neck in one swing—Ah Tie and Ah Qing couldn't do that." Chen Gu's face lit up.

"I couldn't do it."

"Neither could I. That strike was at least at the Junior Warrior Level, and a formidable one at that."

The Wei Brothers spoke one after another. Wei Qing, the younger of the two, had said more than usual, clearly stunned by Luo Zhe.

"Well? I told you this kid was good. I personally invited him!" Chen Gu crowed. The impressive performance of the newcomer he'd personally invited had brought him no small amount of glory.

"Unbelievable," Zhang Ke couldn't help exclaiming. "Are these two really newcomers? Luo Zhe especially—his kick was perfect. He knocked the One-Horned Wild Boar off balance, and the two of them followed up with one attack after another. Once it went down, they never gave it a chance to get back up."