Pack Grinding

"Many thanks!"

Guan Ning spoke his thanks. Regardless of Cui You's motive, this was the first well-intentioned warning he had received, and it was worthy of his gratitude.

"Beep."

The supply base was not large, and Guan Ning quickly located the townhouse designated as H502. As the chip-embedded key swiped across the lock, the door to the two-story building swung open. As long as he did not leave the supply base, this small house belonged to him.

After resting in the supply base, eating lunch, and organizing his equipment, Guan Ning departed.

The Wilderness Area is the collective term for all continental regions outside of human base cities, including abandoned and dilapidated cities, suburbs, mountainous regions, forests, and lakes.

In short, every part of the Earth's land surface outside of the base cities is considered a Wilderness Area.

For ordinary people living within the base cities, the Wilderness Area is a forbidden zone of death.

It is teeming with all manner of monsters and is strictly off-limits to humanity.

The weather in March was fickle, shifting between cold and hot, sunny and rainy. Guan Ning's luck was decent; although the temperature was quite low, the sky was exceptionally clear.

Guan Ning gripped his long sword and marched into the wilderness. These lands might have once been farmland, but after several decades, they were now overgrown with wild grass. With the arrival of spring in March, the grass had grown to half the height of a man.

Following paths trampled down by other martial artists, he kept his eyes on a fixed direction, his nerves taut the entire way; there was no telling when a monster might suddenly leap out from the grass.

"Rustle..."

Sure enough, just as Guan Ning reached a corner, a disturbance came from the grass on his right. Guan Ning gripped his sword, staring intently in that direction.

"Pfft."

A rabbit, half a meter tall and over a meter long with gray-white fur, appeared before him. Its two large, blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Guan Ning.

"F-level Red-Eyed Gray Rabbit, mid-level Beast Soldier. Its most valuable materials are its red pupils, worth 10,000 Huaxia Currency."

Guan Ning recognized its rank, name, and valuable materials at a glance.

The Red-Eyed Gray Rabbit is a common Beast Soldier-level rabbit monster. H-level has pale red pupils, G-level has bright red, and F-level has blood-red pupils, making them very easy to distinguish.

"Gurgle..."

Seeing Guan Ning, the Red-Eyed Gray Rabbit let out an angry sound. It kicked off its hind legs and, like an arrow released from a bow, lunged toward him.

Swift as a startled rabbit!

Before the Great Nirvana, rabbits were already incredibly fast, especially with the immense power in their hind legs, let alone now.

The F-level Red-Eyed Gray Rabbit before him possessed base speed comparable to an ordinary E-level monster, and its lunging speed was even faster, rivaling a D-level monster.

Combined with its massive size, the impact force was significant.

"Thump."

Guan Ning's figure flashed, appearing beside the Red-Eyed Gray Rabbit. With a light flick of the Qingming Sword from bottom to top, the rabbit's head went flying. Its headless body continued to hurtle forward due to inertia before finally slamming into the ground.

Although the Qingming Sword was not known for its sharpness, it could still cut through Beast Soldier-level monsters like a hot knife through butter.

He took out the dagger strapped to his leg, pried out the two crimson pupils, and placed them into his backpack.

Though Guan Ning felt it was cruel, he felt no pity, for the two species could never coexist.

During the rest of his journey, he encountered two or three more Beast Soldier-level monsters, but he dispatched them all cleanly and efficiently.

Guan Ning had long known that most monsters active outside the cities were Beast Soldier-level. As for Beast General-level and Lord-level monsters, they generally lived within the abandoned cities, where the high-rise buildings provided cover from missile strikes.

Walking through the ruined streets, everything within his line of sight was desolate.

Residential buildings, shops, supermarkets, convenience stores, barbershops...

The prosperity and bustle of the past were long gone; this place had become a paradise for monsters.

He looked at the quiet surroundings, knowing that countless monsters were hidden within. Guan Ning scanned the area and soon spotted a monster in a residential building ahead.

Through the window, he could see dozens of Flower Civet Cats napping on the floor, with a Twin-Tailed Civet three times the size of the others in their midst.

Two tails—a low-level Beast General.

Among felines, two tails meant a low-level Beast General, three tails meant a mid-level Beast General... five tails meant a low-level Lord... seven tails meant a high-level Lord... and eight tails meant it had surpassed the Lord level.

Anything with nine tails... was a Nine-Life Cat Demon (Nine-Life Cat King), one of the most terrifying and top-ranked monsters on Earth.

"Boom!"

Guan Ning took a deep breath and pushed off with his feet. His figure darted out like lightning, the concrete beneath him cracking with a boom as he launched himself like a cannonball, crashing directly through the window.

"Meow... meow... meow!"

The massive commotion startled the relaxed Flower Civet Cats. Dozens of them bristled, their shrieks rising one after another.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Guan Ning's figure flickered repeatedly, weaving rapidly through the pack of monsters. He paid no mind to the Beast Soldier-level creatures, dodging them time and again as his sword tip remained locked on the Twin-Tailed Civet in the center.

"Meow!"

The Twin-Tailed Civet realized the intent of this uninvited guest. With an angry roar, the Beast Soldier-level Flower Civet Cats lunged, biting, clawing, and lashing out with their tails, attempting to obstruct him.

Given his physical fitness and the A6-Type Combat Suit he was wearing, even if these Flower Civet Cats' attacks landed, they would not cause him any harm.

Guan Ning still dodged with meticulous precision, his Qingming Sword continuously batting away the attacking Flower Civet Cats with its flat. Even though these Flower Civet Cats would immediately rejoin the fray, he continued to swat them aside rather than killing them.

His goal was to hone his footwork and swordsmanship, not to slaughter. Therefore, he had set a rule for himself beforehand: if he encountered a herd consisting only of Beast Soldier Level monsters, he would immediately avoid them; if he encountered a herd led by a Beast General Level monster, he would strive not to kill a single "soldier," targeting only the Beast General Level monster.

With these Flower Civet Cats blocking his path, Guan Ning's forward momentum slowed, but he still inched closer to the Twin-Tailed Civet at the center of the herd.

"Meow!"

Watching Guan Ning advance like a hot knife through butter, the Twin-Tailed Civet felt fear and let out a loud roar at the herd. The Flower Civet Cats became even more agile, their coordination tightening.

Guan Ning's dodging and defensive movements became more frequent, his speed was severely impacted, and his physical exertion accelerated significantly.

Yet, at this moment, he stopped pushing forward, focusing entirely on engaging the surrounding herd in a tangled fight. Throughout this process, Guan Ning continuously attempted to integrate the Swift Sword into every strike. Although he hadn't succeeded once, his progress was steadily increasing.

From the very beginning, Guan Ning had been completely baffled, but in this short span of time, he had already caught a glimpse of the path forward.

Having realized this, Guan Ning became even more excited, gradually immersing himself in the process, unable to pull himself away.

Just then, the intensity of the Flower Civet Cats' attacks dropped sharply, and Guan Ning snapped out of his excitement. The Flower Civet Cats were now moving sluggishly, their coordination no longer fluid; their exhaustion was palpable.

Seeing this, Guan Ning understood: the Twin-Tailed Civet's previous command had forced them to overdraw their stamina to block him, and now, in their fatigue, they could no longer offer any assistance.

Having figured this out, Guan Ning turned his gaze toward the Twin-Tailed Civet, which was preparing to flee. It was now less than three meters away from him.

Guan Ning was slightly surprised, but then he understood: after giving the order, the Twin-Tailed Civet had seen Guan Ning stop due to the cat herd's obstruction and had quietly crept closer, intending to ambush him.

Upon discovering the change in the cat herd and realizing it was no match for Guan Ning, it had tried to escape, only to be caught red-handed by him.

"Heh, wanting to run now? Too late."

With a light chuckle, he moved, appearing before the Twin-Tailed Civet like a bolt of lightning. This was the very scene that had occurred when he first grasped the "Swift Sword."

After yesterday's practice, Guan Ning had successfully mastered this move. Its essence lay in channeling the force generated by muscle vibration into his legs, instantly doubling his speed—it was fast indeed!

The Twin-Tailed Civet's reaction was not slow; it leaped backward, dodging the horizontal slash of the longsword. Despite its large body, its four paws were incredibly nimble, its narrow eyes looking down at Guan Ning.

Guan Ning also stared at the Twin-Tailed Civet, walking toward it step by step with the Qingming Sword in his right hand.

The distance between the two closed rapidly.

"Bang!"

The Twin-Tailed Civet shifted from its previous elegance to sudden brutality, turning into a blur as it lunged straight at Guan Ning.

"Whoosh."

As it pounced, the sharp claws on its soft paws unsheathed like blades being drawn.

"Swish!"

At the critical moment, Guan Ning moved his feet. His Micro-Level footwork made him like a gust of wind, allowing him to dodge the Twin-Tailed Civet's pounce directly.

The Qingming Sword thrust diagonally, fast as lightning.

"Pfft."

With a soft sound, the Qingming Sword pierced into the Twin-Tailed Civet's body. The beast's fur, which acted like armor, was as fragile as tofu before the Qingming Sword.

"Woooo..."

Utilizing the momentum of the Twin-Tailed Civet's charge, the Qingming Sword easily carved a long, narrow wound into its body, deep enough to expose bone, and blood sprayed out instantly.

Suffering this heavy blow, the Twin-Tailed Civet let out a miserable shriek. The muscles around the massive wound contracted, slowing the bleeding, but blood continued to seep out—the wound was simply too large.

Knowing it was doomed to die today, a fierce glint flashed in the Twin-Tailed Civet's eyes, and its tail lashed out violently.

Guan Ning had not expected the Twin-Tailed Civet to unleash a desperate final strike before death. Caught off guard, he could only hold his sword horizontally to block.

"Bang!"

The Twin-Tailed Civet's tail struck the sword like a heavy steel whip. The first tail was blocked by the Qingming Sword, but the second tail slammed directly into Guan Ning's body. The powerful impact sent him flying backward.

While in mid-air, Guan Ning adjusted his posture, landing and taking three steps back to dissipate the force of the impact before finally standing steady.