Mercenary Corps!

Mercenary Corps! Looking out, within several miles around him, there was not a single living Mutated Beast that posed even a slight threat.

Only shattered corpses littered the ground, along with congealed dark-red bloodstains, silently telling of the brutal slaughter that had taken place here.

He had forcibly carved out a small "vacuum" zone in this area through sheer killing.

Leaning on his spear, Lin Ming breathed lightly. Three consecutive days of intense combat had left even his current physique and recovery ability feeling a trace of fatigue. Yet his mind was in a strangely exhilarated state.

He summoned the system panel.

[Current Kill Points: 102315]

One hundred and two thousand, three hundred and fifteen points!

Three days of slaughter in the Wilderness, combined with what he had left over from before, had pushed his Kill Points past the hundred-thousand mark once more!

"Raise my martial cultivation realm!" Lin Ming did not hesitate. Strength was the foundation of survival in the Wilderness.

[Command confirmed. Raising from Second Realm, Third Layer to Second Realm, Seventh Layer requires 50000 Kill Points. Confirm?]

"Confirm!"

Fifty thousand Kill Points were deducted instantly. Less than he had expected? Lin Ming's thoughts stirred. It seemed that after switching to the A-rank Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art, his cultivation efficiency had improved, and the system's consumption for "simulated arduous cultivation" to raise his realm had fallen accordingly.

An even more majestic torrent of blood and qi erupted within his body!

This time, it was not merely the stretching and strengthening of his Dragon Tendon. He had faintly touched upon the threshold of the next major realm, the Golden Viscera Realm, and his five viscera and six bowels began receiving preliminary nourishment and tempering!

The great tendons throughout his body stretched taut like bowstrings, letting out booming snaps. His blood and qi surged like great rivers, while his strength, speed, reactions, and senses all soared across the board!

When everything finally settled, Lin Ming felt the power within him multiply several times over. With a light clench of his fist, he squeezed the air hard enough to produce a faint explosive crack.

Second Realm, Seventh Layer! Only three steps remained before the Third Realm!

[Remaining Kill Points: 52315]

More than fifty thousand points remained. Lin Ming turned his attention to the martial skill section.

"System, raise the Heaven-Splitting Three Forms to the subtle mastery level."

[Command confirmed. Raising 'Heaven-Splitting Three Forms' from major mastery to subtle mastery requires 20000 Kill Points.]

"Confirm."

Even deeper and more profound insights into spear techniques flooded into him. In particular, the intent of the third form, "Heaven-Splitting," to shatter the void became clearer and more tangible.

At this point, his spear technique was no longer bound by fixed forms. Any casual movement of his hand could contain the intent of Heaven-Splitting.

[Remaining Kill Points: 32315]

"Raise Dragon Roaming Step and Immovable Mountain Seal to the subtle mastery level."

[Command confirmed. Raising 'Dragon Roaming Step' to subtle mastery requires 15000 Kill Points. Raising 'Immovable Mountain Seal' to subtle mastery requires 15000 Kill Points.]

[...Enhancement complete.]

[Remaining Kill Points: 2315]

His Kill Points had nearly run dry again, but Lin Ming's strength had undergone a complete transformation.

Second Realm, Seventh Layer, Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art (Proficient), Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Subtle Mastery), Dragon Roaming Step (Subtle Mastery), Immovable Mountain Seal (Subtle Mastery), Basic Spear Art (Subtle Mastery), Indestructible Asura Body (SSS)...

If he faced the Blood Wolf King again now, perhaps he could kill it directly without Su Yunwan holding it back!

Night had fully fallen. Lin Ming found the upper floor of a relatively intact abandoned building with an open view and made it his temporary shelter for the night.

He cleared out a small area, lit a small campfire with dry wood, and roasted the tender hind leg of a Moonlight Rabbit he had hunted along the way.

The orange-red firelight illuminated the sharp contours of his face, casting a wavering shadow on the ruined wall. In the distance, the long howls of unknown Mutated Beasts drifted faintly through the air, adding to the desolation and danger of the Wilderness.

Just as Lin Ming finished the rabbit meat and prepared to close his eyes, meditate, and circulate the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art to restore his blood, qi, and mental energy—

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An extremely faint but rhythmic engine rumble approached from afar, breaking the silence of the Wilderness night.

Lin Ming's eyes snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He moved soundlessly to the broken window like a civet cat and looked down with eyes like lightning.

On the abandoned road below, half-covered by wild grass and vines, a convoy was slowly approaching.

There were six vehicles in total, a mixed formation of heavily modified off-road vehicles and armored personnel carriers.

Their bodies were painted in camouflage and bore the wolf-head insignia of some mercenary corps. Thick crash bars had been welded over the windows, heavy machine guns were mounted on the roofs, and two of the vehicles even had small energy-cannon turrets that gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight.

More than a dozen fully armed martial artists with fierce, capable auras guarded each side, as well as the front and rear, of the convoy on foot.

They wore matching standard-issue field combat uniforms and wolf-head armbands. Their eyes vigilantly swept the darkness along both sides of the road, their weapons ready to fire at any moment.

Judging by their marching steps and the faint fluctuations of blood and qi emanating from them, they were all at least First Realm experts. The auras of several leaders had even reached the Second Realm.

Inside the black armored off-road vehicle at the center of the convoy, which was the most heavily protected and also the most luxurious-looking, sat what appeared to be the core figure of this escort mission.

"A mercenary corps? An escort mission?"

Lin Ming understood at once. In the Wilderness, aside from the military and large hunting groups, the most common human organizations were these mercenaries who worked for money.

Judging from this display, the person being escorted was likely of no ordinary status. Otherwise, they would not have deployed guards on this scale and equipped them with such heavy firepower.

He had no intention of inviting trouble and was about to withdraw his gaze and continue cultivating.

However, just as the convoy reached a relatively narrow bend roughly two hundred meters diagonally ahead of the building where Lin Ming was located—

A sudden change erupted!

"Roar—!!!"

A savage, furious roar filled with bloodthirsty desire exploded from a dense patch of seemingly tranquil mutated shrubbery on the right side of the road like thunder striking the ground!

Then the earth trembled faintly!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several enormous black shadows, like out-of-control armored vehicles, smashed through the thick bushes, carrying branches and dust into the sky as they charged onto the road and instantly cut off the convoy's path both ahead and behind!

They were five massive beasts comparable in size to young elephants, their bodies covered in heavy blue-black scales. Spiral horns grew from their heads, their fangs jutted from their mouths, and they radiated savage auras!

The leader was even more terrifying, standing over three meters at the shoulder. Its horn gleamed with a dull metallic luster, and its aura had reached the peak of Tier Two, Ninth Layer!

"Ironclad Rhinos! It's a herd of Ironclad Rhinos!!"

"Damn it! Peak Tier Two! Be careful!!"

"Open fire! Stop them!"

The mercenary corps reacted swiftly. The instant the Ironclad Rhinos appeared, furious shouts and gunfire like exploding beans rang out at the same time!

The heavy machine guns on the roofs spat blazing muzzle flashes, and bullets poured down like a metal storm onto the Ironclad Rhinos' thick scales. Dense sparks flew everywhere, but the barrage struggled to inflict meaningful damage. Instead, it provoked the ferocity of those thick-skinned beasts.

"Roar!!"

The peak Tier Two Ironclad Rhino at the lead lowered its head, its thick hind hooves stomping the ground. Its metallic horn aimed at the armored personnel carrier at the very front of the convoy, and like a crazed locomotive, it thundered forward at astonishing speed!

"You beast! Don't you dare run wild!"

An angry shout rose from the mercenary ranks! A tall, bald man wielding a broad alloy greatsword as wide as a door leaped out from the middle of the convoy!

His blood and qi burst forth around him, revealing that he too had reached Tier Two, Ninth Layer! Crimson flames ignited along his greatsword as he swung it down at the charging Ironclad Rhino with the force to split mountains and shatter rocks!

Clang!!!

A deafening metallic crash rang through the night sky! The greatsword and rhino horn collided viciously, erupting in blinding sparks and violent shockwaves!

The bald man grunted, and the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. He slid back several meters, his face turning pale as he clearly suffered a slight loss.

But the Ironclad Rhino's charge was also forcibly stopped. Its head was knocked to one side by the blow, and it let out a pained roar.

"Captain!"

"Cover the captain!"

The other mercenaries roared and charged at the remaining four Ironclad Rhinos. All kinds of martial skills, bullets, and even energy beams erupted as they tried to stop the thick-skinned giant beasts. The battle instantly reached a fever pitch!