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Though this earthen ridge was not very large, and this year had seen a severe drought, there were still quite a few wild animals living upon it.

Li Dingguo led his squad of sixteen forward in silence. From time to time, they spotted common animals such as wild rabbits, large rats, and snakes.

The reason needed no explanation: in this miraculous Great World, the wilderness of barren mountains and lonely ridges was rarely touched by human feet.

Under normal circumstances, humans simply did not dare enter barren mountains, deep forests, rivers, lakes, seas, wild plains, or marshlands.

Without humans—the natural enemies of wild animals large and small—and without humanity's insatiable destruction of the natural environment, these vast regions that still retained their primitive terrain and landscape were practically paradises where all wild flora and fauna could multiply without restraint!

Especially animals such as wild boars, rabbits, and rats, which possessed extraordinarily strong adaptability and absurdly powerful reproductive abilities.

Take wild boars, for example. They were highly adaptable omnivores that ate almost anything. Thick-skinned and hardy, with strong resistance to disease, they had almost no natural enemies among ordinary beasts.

So long as humans did not inflict sustained, devastating destruction upon the natural environment, and they had enough room to survive, their breeding speed would far exceed ordinary people's imagination.

Wild rabbits were much the same. Most grasses and tender leaves in nature could satisfy their needs for survival. With their astonishing reproductive power, even numerous predators in the wild could not stop their populations from rapidly expanding.

As for most carnivorous animals and Demon Beasts, as long as there were enough wild rabbits to serve as prey, it was sufficient for their respective populations to survive and reproduce—not to mention the many other animals, large and small, that bred at extraordinary rates.

Thus, although natural and man-made disasters were occurring one after another, the various animal populations living in these vast regions that ordinary humans did not dare set foot in had not been greatly affected.

Smack!

As they walked across the ridge overgrown with weeds and shrubs, Li Dingguo suddenly swept out with the long spear in his hand, then thrust through the air. The instant he sent a venomous snake over three feet long flying from the grass, he skewered it dead in midair!

This was already the ninth venomous snake he had killed along the way.

One could easily imagine just how many snakes, insects, rats, and ants lived in these mountains with their primitive landscape.

His Mental Energy was now extremely powerful, equivalent to the combined total of ten ordinary adult humans. His senses and powers of observation were exceptionally sharp.

Thus, he could now easily sense dangers in the area around his body.

This ability, which only came after becoming a Martial Artist, was far beyond an ordinary person's imagination.

"Everyone, be more careful!"

After killing the venomous snake, Li Dingguo turned back and warned the fifteen youths in his squad, "In this world, danger in the wild is almost everywhere."

"Once you let your guard down, it could very well cause needless deaths and injuries!"

This was already far from the first time he had warned them.

There was no helping it. These young Martial Artists had never experienced such things before, so he had to remind them repeatedly, lest a tragedy none of them wished to see occur.

Only after seeing everyone nod with solemn expressions, indicating that they understood, did he continue. "This ridge is not very large, and because of the drought, the weeds and trees are not especially dense. As long as that Iron Tusk Pig herd is still on this ridge, we'll find them before long."

"As for the wild beasts everywhere here, don't bother with them. Avoid them whenever possible, so we don't waste time."

"Pig-type Demon Beasts are huge. Such conspicuous targets won't be difficult to find."

"But once we discover their tracks, everyone must immediately hide yourselves and conceal your presence as best you can. You are not allowed to make a single sound, lest we alert them!"

Though he had never fought a Demon Beast before, Li Dingguo did not dare lower his guard.

Although his various attributes and skill proficiency could crush Martial Artists of the same level, he was, after all, only at the peak of the late stage of the first Martial Realm.

Most crucially, not only had he never experienced a life-and-death battle, neither had the members of this Martial Artist squad beside him.

On the battlefield, recruits who had never personally killed an enemy and veteran soldiers who killed as casually as eating and drinking were entirely different concepts.

"Got it, Boss!"

"Boss, don't worry."...

Hearing Li Dingguo's reminder and warning, the fifteen members of the Martial Artist squad behind him hurriedly nodded again and again in agreement.

To be honest, if Li Dingguo had not taken the lead just now, listening in all directions and watching in every direction as he helped them neutralize danger after danger, someone in this squad might already have become a casualty from poison or injury.

Moreover, Li Dingguo was right. Pig-type Demon Beasts were enormous and numerous. Finding their tracks on this not particularly large ridge would not be difficult.

They might run into them at any moment.

Therefore, raising their vigilance first and preparing for battle could never be wrong.

The youths immediately took action. Li Dingguo formed the arrowhead, while Tang Guangqiang and Cao Yongxiang, the two Genius Martial Artists, guarded the flanks. The remaining youths arranged themselves into three columns and followed closely behind.

This formation was one of the basic marching formations.

Though it did not count as a formal military formation, it was still far better than a disorderly, unstructured crowd.

As for practicing military formations, these young Martial Artist soldiers had only just begun; they had not even entered the door yet.

The reason needed no explanation. They had become Martial Artists too recently, and over the past month they had needed to study various Martial Artist combat skills and cultural knowledge while also cultivating their techniques diligently. There simply had not been enough time.

To truly form a proper military formation and face enemies in battle, these young soldiers would need at least another month of training before they could barely manage it.

As for the other three Martial Artist squads led by Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier, they advanced abreast of Li Dingguo's squad not far away. While conducting their net-style search, they could also support one another.

Unlike Li Dingguo's group, the other three nearby squads of young Martial Artists lacked experience surviving in the wilderness. Coupled with a momentary lapse in vigilance, they were attacked by venomous snakes and insects several times.

Fortunately, everyone was a Martial Artist and reacted quickly when attacked, so there was alarm but no danger, and no casualties resulted.

Of course, this was mainly because their attackers had not been Demons and Monsters, but merely ordinary snakes, insects, rats, and ants.

If some Demons and Monsters had attacked just now, even the lowest-ranked ones might very well have caused needless casualties among the youths.

It was as though a ladleful of cold water had been poured over their heads, thoroughly waking these young Martial Artists. One after another, they raised their vigilance to its highest level.

Feeling somewhat annoyed, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier spotted Li Dingguo's squad in the distance changing its combat marching formation. They hurriedly ordered the youths in their own squads to do the same.

Before long, the four squads advanced abreast, covering an area of more than ten zhang across.

After making full preparations, they once again began their net-style search, advancing stealthily.

The ridge had not been very large to begin with. They would likely encounter that herd of Iron Tusk Pigs before long, and a bloody battle was already in sight...