Slaughter and Reward

Under the grey, overcast sky, Chen Chong's Alloy Combat Blade dragged a trail of silver light as he slammed into the pack of black earth dragons!

The black earth dragons had long since noticed their prey had stopped, and each of their movements grew swifter. Yet, faced with the flash of light that had suddenly charged in, their bodies appeared exceptionally sluggish.

Chen Chong chose the closest and foremost earth dragon. He charged straight at it, and the creature seemed to sense the threat, its mouthparts gaping wide as it snapped down!

This lightning-fast speed was more than twice as quick as a Red Earth Dragon.

But Chen Chong's feet tapped lightly, shifting him several meters to the side before he leaped into mid-air. Holding his blade horizontally, he brushed past the head of the earth dragon.

Squelch—

With a dull sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh, the side of the earth dragon's head suddenly exploded!

One-third of its entire upper torso was completely severed, spraying black flesh and blood.

Chen Chong stepped heavily onto its body and vaulted away instantly, dodging a collision from a neighboring earth dragon while taking the opportunity to carve a hideous gash into its hide as well.

Boom!

The two earth dragons collided; the wound on the first one widened instantly, and it collapsed onto the ground like a pile of spread-out meat with a thunderous thud.

The head of the second one half-exploded, the impact forcibly knocking out half its teeth and shattering half its skull. It began to thrash wildly in place, sending mud splattering and dust billowing into the sky.

Chen Chong burst out from the dust, quickly distancing himself from those two earth dragons, and charged head-on toward another one in front of him.

His speed was several times faster than before; compared to these earth dragons, he was like a bolt of lightning. Before the prey could react, Chen Chong circled around its head and swung his blade frantically at its midsection, splashing out a sheet of silver light!

Swish, swish, swish—

The sound of the fast blade slicing through the air was piercingly sharp, and then Chen Chong leaped away in advance. The earth dragon reacted for a moment, its raised head searching for Chen Chong's figure, when it suddenly slumped and crashed to the ground. Its back had been completely gutted, and it could no longer support its heavy mouthparts. Black blood erupted into the sky like a whale spouting water, raining down a foul-smelling mist of blood that shrouded a ten-meter radius.

Chen Chong dealt with the three earth dragons and dodged away once more.

The surrounding earth dragons had all swarmed in. A quick glance revealed nothing but pitch-black, hideous, writhing muscle and tooth-filled mouthparts entwined with slime, as if he had entered a forest of flesh and blood.

There was no time to count how many earth dragons there were; the two closest ones had already slammed their mouthparts down heavily!

Chen Chong flashed through the gap, landing a strike on each side. But the space for him to dodge and maneuver had become very limited; he could only manage a hurried slash before leaping away again, failing to inflict any major damage on these two.

With worms writhing all around him, Chen Chong fought for a moment, employing a bloodletting tactic.

This long combat blade was very effective against the earth dragons, far more useful than a dagger.

However, these black earth dragons were much larger than the previous Red Earth Dragon, and with them surrounding him on all sides, he didn't know how long it would take to bleed them out.

This wouldn't do.

Chen Chong took a deep breath, and red light erupted in his eyes!

His movements instantly accelerated by another notch; his figure became impossible to track, and the blade in his hand transformed into a bright moon.

The forest of flesh and blood covered the earth, and from the outside, the figure in the middle could no longer be seen.

But suddenly, a dazzling silver light lit up within the forest, actually piercing through the wall formed by the black earth dragons. Countless gaps were suddenly slashed into this dense forest, revealing brilliant blade light!

The surrounding earth dragons all stiffened, and large chunks of flesh erupted. Chen Chong flashed through the gaps, finally feeling that the forest had thinned out.

Just then, the ground surged, and several earth dragons suddenly burst out from the soil simultaneously!

They had been silent before, actually knowing how to use their companions' movements to mask themselves and launch a sneak attack from below!

Chen Chong's figure flashed as he leaped high into the air. He narrowly avoided the mouthparts of two of the earth dragons, but the third was already right before him!

Chen Chong looked at those ghastly teeth, his eyes flashing. He simply tapped his feet against the earth dragon behind him and accelerated, diving straight in!

The earth dragon's mouthparts snapped shut, but they bit into empty air.

Its body seemed to wave in the air in a daze for a moment before suddenly stiffening!

It instantly shot up from the ground, the lower half that had remained in the soil also extending out, turning its entire body into a thirty-meter-tall black iron pillar standing on the ground.

Time stood still for a moment.

Then, a silver line lit up in mid-air.

The iron pillar remained still for a moment before being vertically split apart by that silver line!

Chen Chong, bathed in blood and emitting white steam, leaped down from the heights.

Behind him, the earth dragon crashed to the ground, and a rain of black blood fell from the sky.

After landing, Chen Chong's figure vanished once more, rampaging back and forth through the surrounding forest of flesh.

This time, there was nothing left that could stop him.

When he sliced through the final earth dragon, he stopped and held his blade horizontally, looking around.

His field of vision widened; there were no more black beasts left standing before him.

Chen Chong let out a breath, suddenly falling into a state of extreme exhaustion.

0%.

He had never seen 0 before... The energy and progress of the Second Form had both burned out, and the Battle Angel potion had been completely consumed.

Suddenly losing that immense power, Chen Chong felt as if he were about to fall deathly ill.

He quickly swept past the blood and flesh covering the ground, heading straight for the off-road vehicle.

In truth, these Earth Dragon were not yet completely dead, but Chen Chong had no time to deal with them; in any case, they would not have the strength to pursue him for a while.

Tossing his blade into the backseat, Chen Chong jumped into the vehicle and slammed the door shut with a bang.

The off-road vehicle roared once more, its front end fishtailing twice before it sped off toward the northwest.

Chen Chong drove with one hand while continuously grabbing Nutrient Paste from the bag beside him, occasionally taking a sip of water to swallow the toothpaste-like substance whole.

His body felt hollowed out; if he did not replenish his energy, he would soon struggle even to grip the steering wheel.

After a while, Chen Chong reached into the bag again, only to suddenly touch something warm, soft, and slick.

He whipped his head around instantly to see Xie Wushuang pulling a tube of Nutrient Paste from the bag, asking, "Does this taste good?"

Without waiting for an answer, she tore open the packaging, took a small bite, and then froze.

Silently opening the window, she stuck her head outside, only turning back a moment later to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand as if nothing had happened, before tossing the Nutrient Paste far away.

"When did you wake up?" Chen Chong asked.

Xie Wushuang replied, "Just now."

She glanced at Chen Chong a few times and added, "I told you that you would be able to help me."

Chen Chong did not speak.

Xie Wushuang did not mind, calmly stating, "The mission is over, thanks to you. As agreed, I will pay you your reward."

With a flip of her palm, she produced a small syringe from some hidden part of her combat suit: "A-1. It will be useful for your current realm. However, I suggest you wait a while before using it, as you have only just broken through."

A-1?

Chen Chong was stunned for a moment, turning his head sharply to stare at the tiny glass vial.

The A Series nutritional supplement produced by Dawn Biology?

The same A Series that was effective even for fighters who had tempered their bodies to the limit?

Xie Wushuang did not stop there, placing the small silver handgun onto the center console.

"Bluebird Model 900. At your realm, it's one shot, one kill."

She added pointedly, "I'm talking about your level."