An Unlucky Start, Who is the Oriole?

An unfavorable start to the mission; who is the oriole behind the mantis? At this moment, a sudden change occurred!

Druck's warning was instantly validated!

A dense, piercing chorus of cries erupted from the night sky in the distance. A pitch-black mass, like a cloud of death, swooped down toward the helicopter!

It was a flock composed of dozens of raptors, each with a wingspan exceeding two meters, their feathers shimmering with an ominous metallic luster!

Thunder Feather Falcons, second-tier gregarious fierce beasts; while their individual strength was not high, their temperament was ferociously violent.

"Hold on!" Druck roared, yanking the control stick, but the flock's suicidal collision had already arrived.

Bang! Bang! Bang—!

The fuselage shuddered violently, the windshield shattered, and the rotors emitted a piercing sound of metal snapping!

The helicopter lost all control, spinning as it plummeted toward a pitch-black area below.

The expressions of terror on Chen Kefa and Druck's faces were identical.

Boom!

Accompanied by a massive impact and the mournful screech of tearing metal, the helicopter finally smashed into the ruins of a deathly silent town.

The point of impact appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.

Chen Kefa regained his senses, and by the moonlight, he saw from afar several giant bears gnawing on a mangled corpse that was no longer recognizable.

The rusted rolling shutter door had been easily smashed open, and a large hole was torn in the roof, allowing the cold wind to pour in, carrying a nauseating stench of rot.

"Damn it, the teacher who taught us about the habits of fierce beasts was right; these birds are fucking disgusting."

Chen Kefa patted himself down, confirming he hadn't sustained any major injuries.

"Cough... cough... are you alright, brother?"

"I... I'm fine."

Fortunately, at the final moment, Chen Kefa and Druck had simultaneously channeled their blood energy to protect their entire bodies, avoiding fatal wounds.

This was the mark of a professional martial artist.

At this level, their defensive capabilities and resilience against risk were significantly elevated.

However, the massive impact still left their internal organs churning and their blood energy in disarray, leaving them in a terrible state.

"This isn't the time to let our guard down. Forget the supplies; just grab the weapons and leave!"

The two men struggled to kick open the twisted cabin door and crawled out of the wreckage.

The thick scent of blood and burnt material mixed with the putrid stench in the air was nauseating.

Directly beneath the fuselage, several unlucky Spine Hyenas had been crushed into patties.

Chen Kefa raised his hand slightly, pulling a metal shard from a wound on the outside of his thigh.

However, there was no time to catch their breath.

Around the ruins, pairs of greedy eyes lit up in the darkness, and low growls surged from all directions...

The massive commotion of the crash had alerted every predator in the town ruins!

"Cough, cough... an unfavorable start." Chen Kefa wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes sharp.

He knew well that they were in poor condition and must not get bogged down and exhausted to death.

"Clear the area, break through!" He gave a low shout, his right hand grasping at the air.

A long sword, shimmering with azure electric light and as thin as a cicada's wing, suddenly appeared in his hand.

Lightning flowed along the blade, emitting a faint crackling sound.

At the same time, Druck slammed his fists together, a pair of dark, heavy metal brass knuckles covering his mortar-sized fists.

His blood energy surged throughout his body, and a fierce, violent aura erupted.

It was the starting stance of the Baji Fist.

"Stay close to me!" Chen Kefa moved, his sword striking like a dragon!

He unleashed the Azure Underworld Awakening of Insects sword technique, the blade light wrapped in arcs of electricity, swift and fierce as Spring Thunder!

The first few Spine Hyenas to pounce were instantly shredded by the electric light, turning into charred remains.

Druck followed closely behind, his fists booming out.

The explosive, crushing force of the Baji Fist erupted—simple and direct, yet incomparably tyrannical!

With a single punch, he smashed an Earth Scale Python that was sneaking up from the side, scales and armor alike, into pieces!

The two fought with sword and fist—one agile, one fierce—retreating as they fought, attempting to carve out a bloody path.

But the fierce beasts gathered in ever-increasing numbers, and among them appeared several powerful fourth-tier leaders!

If this continued, they would eventually be exhausted to death!

In normal times, beasts of this level wouldn't be a match for the two of them in a single exchange, but the sheer quantity was overwhelming.

These beasts lived in a state of constant hunger, and now that living prey had appeared, their ferocity was instantly ignited.

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They couldn't even wait to hunt the pair, instead beginning to tear into each other immediately.

What was even more dire was that the commotion of the battle was attracting dangerous entities from further away.

"Damn it! This is a real mess!" Druck spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.

Chen Kefa parried the pounce of a ferocious beast, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the area.

It suddenly locked onto an inconspicuous rift deep within the ruins, flickering with an unstable, ghostly light.

"Over there! There's a rift!"

He shouted urgently, but his expression shifted immediately.

"No! This energy fluctuation... it's extremely unstable, it seems to be decaying!"

"These temporary rifts are the most dangerous; you might never come back out if you go in!"

Druck slammed into a beast with an Iron Mountain Lean, roaring through heavy gasps:

"Damn it! There's no time to worry about that! Staying here means certain death! Get inside first, we'll figure it out later!"

Seeing the ghostly light around the rift dimming at a visible rate and its range shrinking, while the beast tide surged behind them like a flood.

"Now! Go!" Chen Kefa made a split-second decision!

Both men erupted with power simultaneously; Chen Kefa slashed with his sword, lightning exploding to temporarily clear the obstacles ahead!

Taking advantage of this brief gap, the two used every ounce of their strength to bolt toward the rift entrance, which had already shrunk to only allow one person through at a time!

The moment their figures vanished into the rift, the flickering ghostly light contracted violently.

It turned into a tiny speck of light and then vanished completely, as if it had never appeared at all.

The surging beast herd reached the spot, but could only let out frustrated roars at the empty ruins.

Although Chen Kefa and Druck had escaped into the rift...

Their plane crash and the subsequent brief battle had completely shattered the fragile balance that had long existed in these town ruins, igniting the most primal desires for slaughter and consumption in all the lurking beasts.

Throughout the night, hisses, roars, and the sound of bones shattering echoed one after another, never ceasing.

The ruins, already fraught with danger, were completely transformed into a bloody purgatory.

Beasts of different species engaged in a brutal, chaotic melee to fight over the scent and remains left behind by the "intruders," as well as each other's flesh and energy.

The weak were quickly eliminated, becoming food for the strong.

The melee reached its climax in the darkest hour before dawn.

In the end, an exceptionally large fifth-order Earth Scale Python emerged as the final winner, relying on its tough defense and cunning patience.

It devoured all its competitors.

At this moment, the Earth Scale Python was coiled in the small square at the center of the town, looking miserable and terrifying.

Nearly half of the scales on its body had fallen off, revealing the raw, mangled flesh beneath, and even the remaining scales were covered in deep bite marks and claw prints.

The ground of the square was soaked with thick, viscous blood, turning a strange dark red, yet not a single bone remained.

Its originally slender body was now unnaturally swollen at the abdomen, like a skin bag ready to burst at any moment.

After confirming there was no longer any threat to it, it dragged its body with difficulty, retreating into the deep shadows of a relatively intact factory building to prepare to digest the night's astonishing harvest with all its might.

If an expert in beast studies were here, they would be thrilled to discover that this Earth Scale Python was at the critical stage of rapid molting!

Its damaged old skin was being pushed up and shed by new tissue, a process that required a massive amount of energy.

And all the flesh and blood it had devoured last night served as the nourishment for it to push toward a higher level.

This layer of old skin about to be shed contained the essence of its accumulated energy and held high medicinal value.

In fact, to the human race, almost every part of a large, high-order beast is a treasure.

Everything seemed to be moving in a direction favorable to the Earth Scale Python.

As long as it successfully completed its molt and fully absorbed the devoured energy, it would grow new, harder, and more lustrous scales, officially crossing the threshold into the sixth order and becoming the true overlord of this region.

However, just as the giant beast let down its guard, focusing all its efforts on fighting the pain and weakness of molting...

Inside the wreckage of the overturned helicopter not far away, a drawing tube that appeared to have been left behind moved without a breeze.

The cap slid off quietly, and a scroll unfurled on its own.

Immediately following, a figure slowly emerged from the painting.

It was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, about 1.8 meters tall, with handsome features.

He was stark naked, his skin like freshly carved jade.

He scanned the surrounding wreckage and carnage with a calm gaze, his eyes eventually landing on a tattered tactical backpack.

He fished out a set of clothes stained with blood and dust, pulling them onto his body, where they fit somewhat tightly.

Then, his gaze pierced through the shadows of the factory, precisely locking onto the Earth Scale Python, which was in its most vulnerable state of molting.

A silent, savage grin slowly curled the corners of the young man's mouth.

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