Specialization, invisibility!

Raising the heavy iron rod in his hands, Niu Dagang charged at the ugly, bizarre bird. At the same time, a heavy aura flared around the rod as he smashed it down at the bird. This was the Melee Sequence skill, Heavy Strike.

The strange bird swept its wing like a cleaver, striking second but landing first.

With a bang, Niu Dagang was sent flying even faster than he had charged in. He flew three or four meters and slammed hard into the ground, splashing muddy water high into the air.

Uh...

Beast-Fang Short Blade in hand, Luo Fan had been about to charge in after Niu Dagang, but the sight of his miserable state made Luo Fan briefly falter.

Good grief, even Niu Dagang, a Level 8 Melee Sequence fighter, was completely outmatched by that bird in strength?

Then just how strong was this bird-shaped Fierce Beast?

"Wait, where's the person who was fighting this strange bird?" Luo Fan glanced around and discovered that the figure who had been fighting it had actually vanished.

The strange bird's attention was clearly on Niu Dagang as well. With a strange caw, it flapped its wings and charged toward him.

But in the torrential rain, its wings were completely soaked and extremely heavy. It seemed unable to take flight for the moment and could only flap its wings to give its speed a slight boost.

Seeing Niu Dagang in danger, Luo Fan moved before he could think, swiftly closing in on the bird while tightening his grip on his Dagger.

"Come on, you beast!" Though his strength was no match for the bird's, Niu Dagang refused to back down and shouted.

Seeing the huge bird's claws reaching down toward him, he held his iron rod horizontally across his chest.

Under the huge bird's strength, Niu Dagang was completely overwhelmed despite his grip on the rod, his arms bending steadily.

The sharp talons drew closer and closer to Niu Dagang's chest, before their tips pierced into it.

Luo Fan reached the strange bird's side and drove the Beast-Fang Short Blade hard at its slender neck.

But the stab felt as though it had hit a thick layer of cowhide. It only pressed down a little before the bird's flesh stopped it, without even breaking the skin.

"You've got to be kidding! Its body is that tough?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. Even a full-strength stab had failed to pierce the strange bird's skin.

Seemingly realizing that Luo Fan's attack posed no threat, the ugly bird merely glanced at him before ignoring him, focusing all its attention on Niu Dagang.

Clearly, the strange bird understood that Niu Dagang was the one who posed a threat.

Was I just looked down on by a Fierce Beast?

Being ignored after a single glance left Luo Fan feeling somewhat frustrated.

As the bird kept increasing the pressure, its talons sank deeper and deeper into Niu Dagang's chest.

"Sap."

Since his attacks could not break through its defenses, Luo Fan could only activate the sole skill he currently possessed.

He swung the hand holding the Beast-Fang Short Blade again, but this time, rather than stabbing with the blade, he struck the strange bird's head with the hilt.

As Sap activated, the strange bird visibly stiffened as though immobilized by a spell, and its eyes went blank.

While the strange bird was stunned, Niu Dagang felt the pressure on his iron rod suddenly disappear. He thrust upward with both hands, sending the bird flying.

Whoosh!!!

Almost simultaneously, a figure appeared beside Luo Fan like a ghost.

The figure appeared out of thin air, turning solid from an insubstantial wisp like a curl of smoke.

Immediately afterward, two weapons resembling knitting needles stabbed into the strange bird's eyes, one on each side.

After stabbing into its eyes, they twisted hard.

A shrill scream rang out as the strange bird went completely berserk. Luo Fan swiftly retreated at the sight.

At the same time, Niu Dagang and the mysterious figure quickly drew back as well, watching from a distance as the bird struggled wildly in the rain.

Several minutes passed before the strange bird's struggles gradually weakened, until it finally lay motionless on the ground.

"Is it dead?" Luo Fan asked, letting out a long breath of relief.

The mysterious figure beside him picked up a small stone and threw it at the strange bird. It struck the bird with a smack.

Only after seeing that the bird did not move at all did the figure relax, walk over, and pull the pair of weapons from its eyes.

Only then did Luo Fan have time to study the mysterious figure before him.

The figure was thin and wore close-fitting combat clothes, with a large hood covering her head. Her outfit bore quite a resemblance to that of an Assassin's Creed character.

Judging from her build, however, Luo Fan could tell that this was probably a woman.

His gaze also lingered briefly on her pair of knitting-needle-like weapons.

Judging by her fighting style, was she in the Assassination Sequence, like him?

But he did not possess the elusive ability she had just displayed.

"Lian Ziqiong." The woman pulled back her hood and spoke, her tone carrying a hint of coldness.

"Oh, my name's Luo Fan." He froze for a moment before realizing that she was introducing herself, then responded.

"Niu Dagang. Hiss..." With the fight over, Niu Dagang walked over as well. As he spoke, he pressed a hand against his chest, blood continually seeping out. The strange bird had left five or six bloody holes as thick as chopsticks in his chest.

"Luo Fan, thank goodness for you. Otherwise, I would've died just now."

Recalling how the strange bird's strength had pinned him down, its talons nearly piercing through his chest, Niu Dagang thanked Luo Fan.

Luo Fan shook his head at Niu Dagang. This was no time for that.

Luo Fan watched the woman before him warily.

In the apocalypse, danger sometimes came not only from Fierce Beasts and uncanny entities, but also from human hearts.

Although they had effectively joined forces to kill the Fierce Beast, no one knew whether this woman would turn on them next.

After all, judging by her attack just now, her strength was unfathomable.

"This Fire Rotbird's corpse can be your spoils." Noticing Luo Fan's wariness, the woman fell silent for a moment before speaking in a rather generous manner.

With those words, she slowly backed away while facing Luo Fan and Niu Dagang. After retreating some eighty to a hundred meters, she picked up another Fire Rotbird corpse from the ground, hoisted it onto her shoulder, and headed away.

Through the curtain of rain, they could see the woman's figure grow fainter and fainter before vanishing completely.

"That woman's really impressive. Turns out she'd already killed a Fire Rotbird before this."

Niu Dagang glanced at the corpse at their feet, then at the one the woman had hoisted onto her shoulder, and spoke with some feeling.

Then she was probably a specialized Assassination Sequence fighter?

Luo Fan had learned from Zhao Chunfeng that the Assassination Sequence had only two basic skills: Sap and Spirit Void Step.

Yet that woman's fighting style clearly marked her as belonging to the Assassination Sequence, while she also possessed an invisibility-type skill. Clearly, she had specialized in the Assassination Sequence.

This made Luo Fan very envious. An invisibility-type ability would undoubtedly greatly improve his chances of survival in this apocalypse. He had no idea when he would be able to specialize, or whether he would gain an invisibility-type ability to protect himself after specializing...