Slaughter

No one spoke.

Liu Tingting's face had gone deathly pale. Li Wei gripped the knife in her hand tightly. Wang Jun had finally woken up, staring blankly at the distant herd of wild boars.

Zhao Wei's lips trembled twice. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

His gaze involuntarily turned toward Song Chen.

Song Chen had already risen to his feet.

His right hand clenched the standard-issue C-rank combat saber Lin Qingxue had given him. His eyes were calm, so calm it was as if he were looking at a herd of pigs awaiting slaughter.

But upon closer inspection, one could still notice a slight disorder in his breathing.

The wild boar herd drew closer and closer, now less than fifty meters away.

The three First Rank wild boars leading the herd seemed to sense something. They slowed their steps and warily looked toward the grass.

Zhang Zhenyun shouted from the side, "What are you standing around for?"

"Waiting for them to charge over and trample you into meat paste?"

Before his words had even faded, Song Chen had already rushed out.

He was not particularly fast. With a Vitality Value of 0.6, he was weaker than everyone present.

Yet his movements were exceptionally smooth, as though he had rehearsed them thousands upon thousands of times. Every step landed in precisely the most suitable spot.

The three First Rank wild boars sensed the threat and let out low growls.

More than twenty Unranked wild boars began to stir restlessly, surging toward Song Chen.

"Fuck!" Zhao Wei cursed and charged out as well.

Li Wei and Wang Jun followed close behind.

Sun Qiang and Liu Tingting exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and followed.

The battle erupted in an instant.

Song Chen was the first to make contact with the wild boar herd.

Three Unranked wild boars pounced on him at the same time, their tusks stabbing toward him from three directions.

An ordinary person might have panicked by now, but Song Chen did not.

He suddenly accelerated—not forward, but diagonally to the side—slipping through the gap between two wild boars by the skin of his teeth.

The combat saber in his right hand swept horizontally, precisely slicing across the third wild boar's throat.

Blood gushed forth. The wild boar shrieked and collapsed, its limbs twitching.

Song Chen did not stop. Riding the momentum of his charge, he crashed straight into the depths of the herd.

His combat saber danced.

His movements were too fast, so fast they dazzled the eye.

Every slash struck at a vital point: eyes, throats, hearts.

He did not compete with the wild boars in strength. He relied solely on technique and precision.

One.

Two.

Three.

By the time he killed the fourth, the others finally came into contact with the wild boar herd.

Li Wei hacked down an Unranked wild boar with one strike. Catching sight of Song Chen from the corner of her eye, she froze for an instant.

Song Chen was surrounded by five wild boars.

Those five wild boars pounced at him simultaneously from every direction, their tusks nearly sealing off every route of retreat.

A certain death trap.

Li Wei's heart sank sharply.

Then she saw Song Chen make an unbelievable move.

He suddenly lowered himself, almost sliding along the ground, and passed beneath the bellies of two wild boars.

Those two wild boars could not stop in time, and their tusks plunged into the bodies of their companions opposite them.

Song Chen took the opportunity to rise, swinging both sabers at once and reaping the lives of two wild boars.

The remaining three turned and pounced again. Instead of retreating, Song Chen advanced, stepping directly into the center of the three wild boars' encirclement.

His blades were too fast. Before the three wild boars could react, their throats had already been cut open.

All five wild boars fell.

Song Chen stood amid the corpses, drenched in blood.

Not his own. The wild boars'.

His breathing was somewhat ragged, but his gaze remained calm.

Li Wei nearly dropped her knife. Liu Tingting's mouth fell open, and she could not close it for a long while.

Even Zhao Wei forgot the wild boar in front of him. He stared blankly at Song Chen, his eyes filled with disbelief.

That trash with a Vitality Value of 0.6?

That trash he had just been mocking?

One person had killed nine wild boars?

No, ten.

Song Chen moved again.

A wild boar tried to sneak up on Li Wei from behind. Without even turning his head, he casually slashed, precisely piercing its eye.

The eleventh.

The twelfth.

By this point, the wild boar herd finally collapsed.

The remaining Unranked wild boars scattered in all directions, fleeing with terrified squeals.

But three had not fled—the three First Rank wild boars.

The massive lead wild boar let out an enraged roar and charged at Song Chen with the other two.

They were twice the size of ordinary wild boars. As they charged, they were like three tanks, their hooves making the ground rumble.

"Song Chen!" Li Wei cried out.

Song Chen did not dodge. He stood where he was, his combat saber held horizontally before him, his eyes locked onto the wild boar charging at the front.

Thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

Ten meters.

Just as the wild boar was about to crash into him, he suddenly shifted aside.

Only half a step.

The timing of that half-step was exquisite to the utmost, landing precisely in the moment when the wild boar's old force had run out and its new force had yet to arise.

The tusks swept past his chest, missing by a hair's breadth.

At the same time, he flicked his combat saber upward, precisely slicing across the wild boar's throat.

But a First Rank wild boar's hide was too thick. The strike only opened a shallow wound, nowhere near enough to be fatal.

The wild boar roared even more violently in pain, turning around and pouncing again.

Song Chen gave it no chance. Borrowing the momentum of his sidestep, he spun halfway around, and the standard-issue combat saber in his left hand came down in a sweeping chop.

He put all his strength into this strike. The blade landed on the same wound on the wild boar's neck, cutting another inch deeper.

Blood sprayed out, and the wild boar's movements visibly slowed.

But it was not dead yet—the vitality of a First Rank mutant beast was far too strong.

Song Chen gritted his teeth and slashed at the wound again.

Another slash.

Another slash.

Like a madman, he hacked at the same spot again and again.

Every strike cut deeper than the last. Every strike was more ruthless than the last.

Finally, on the seventh strike, the wild boar's neck was completely severed.

Its enormous body crashed to the ground.

[You have killed a First Rank mutant beast, Mutant Wild Boar, and gained seven Killing Value.]

Song Chen dropped to one knee, gasping for air.

He was overjoyed. He had finally killed a ranked mutant beast; he had waited far too long for this day.

With a Vitality Value of 0.6, he had killed fourteen wild boars in succession, including a First Rank one. His stamina had already reached its limit.

But he had no time to rest.

The other two First Rank wild boars had already charged over.

Fortunately, he was not alone. He still had teammates.

"Stop them!" Li Wei's voice rang out.

She was the first to rush forward, slashing one of the wild boars across its body.

But she did not have enough strength. The blade only left a shallow wound on the wild boar's back, instead enraging it.

The wild boar turned and pounced at her. Li Wei's face went pale as she desperately retreated, but she was nowhere near as fast as the wild boar.

At the critical moment, a figure slammed into it from the side.

It was Wang Jun.

That foolish-looking Wang Jun now seemed like a madman, ramming his shoulder fiercely into the wild boar's body.

The recoil sent him flying. He hit the ground and rolled several times.

But the wild boar was knocked off course as well. Its tusks brushed past Li Wei's side and stabbed into empty air.

"Nicely done!"

Zhao Wei shouted, finally gathering his courage as he rushed forward and slashed at the wild boar's leg.

Sun Qiang and Liu Tingting also charged over, working together to entangle the other wild boar.

Six people surrounded two First Rank wild boars.