In the wilderness, A-zone, somewhere.
"Is that it?"
A scar-faced man pointed at a spot amid the distant ruins.
Beside him, a rat-faced middle-aged man nodded vigorously, his face full of fawning servility.
"That's right, Brother Dao. That's the place. I stumbled upon it by chance last time."
"Are you sure the thing inside is a Thunder Bead?"
"I'm sure."
"Does anyone else know about this?"
Brother Dao asked, a sinister glint flashing through his eyes.
"No. Last time, I accidentally fell in and found a huge pit underground. That thing was inside. But three Fourth-grade Thunder Horned Giant Wolves were guarding it, so I didn't dare make any rash moves."
"Mm, very good."
"Hehe, then Brother Dao, what we discussed before..."
"Don't worry. Little Tiger, give it to him."
Brother Dao said with a hearty smile as he glanced at the middle-aged man.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man clearly revealed a joyful expression.
But the instant he turned toward Little Tiger, a sharp blade shot out from behind him and sliced across his throat with lightning speed.
"You... Hrk, hrk..."
The middle-aged man's eyes bulged wide. Clutching his bleeding throat, he merely turned back to glance at Brother Dao before his body crashed to the ground.
"How could we possibly let news of a treasure like this spread?"
Brother Dao sneered as he wiped the blood from the blade, casting one final glance at the middle-aged man's corpse.
"Move!"
With a wave of Brother Dao's hand, the eight members of his squad sprinted toward the ruins.
After reaching the location they had just confirmed, they searched briefly and indeed found a cave entrance hidden in a secluded corner.
The group exchanged glances and cautiously entered.
They descended for nearly ten meters before reaching the bottom.
It was pitch-dark inside. Only the faint light spilling in from the entrance barely allowed them to see.
Brother Dao and the others had all put on night-vision goggles by then.
Naturally, they had come prepared this time.
"Move. Be careful, everyone."
The eight slowly searched deeper inside.
Before long, following the route the middle-aged man had described and turning left and right several times, they finally saw a faint glimmer of light.
"We're almost there. Everyone, be careful."
Brother Dao spoke softly. In the darkness, excitement already filled his face.
A Thunder Bead—the Companion Bead of a Thunder Element Mutant Beast.
Once consumed, it gave one a high chance of gaining a Thunder Element Ability.
Among martial artists, special methods could grant them certain extraordinary abilities, one of which was Elemental Power.
Once one possessed such an ability, their combat power would naturally become more outstanding among those of the same rank, crushing opponents at the same level.
And among these Elemental Powers, the Lightning Element possessed the strongest explosive force, with damage that went off the charts.
A Companion Bead, as its name implied,
was a bead formed when a Mutant Beast was born.
Some possessed Fire Elements, while others possessed Water Elements.
But the odds of such a thing occurring were one in ten thousand, making them exceedingly rare.
Thus, among martial artists, only a very small number could possibly obtain Elemental Power.
Those who possessed the Lightning Element were even rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns, nearly extinct.
"If I get that Thunder Bead this time, I'll strike it rich."
Brother Dao, at Peak Fourth Rank, could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart.
Once he obtained this Companion Bead and consumed and refined it, not only would he have a high chance of comprehending the Thunder Element, he might even directly break through to Fifth Rank or above.
"Brother Dao, it's really there!"
A subordinate walking in front suddenly cried out softly.
Hearing this, Brother Dao hurried over and looked inside.
In the distance stood a rather crudely built wolf den, within which lay a bead shining with purple light.
From time to time, electric currents flashed inside the bead.
"It really is a Thunder Bead!"
Brother Dao was overjoyed.
At the same time, he saw three Thunder Horned Giant Wolves lying around the wolf den.
Judging by the patterns on the silver thunder horns atop their heads, they could determine that all three were indeed Fourth-grade.
The horns atop a Thunder Horned Giant Wolf's head bore three purple patterns.
Those without patterns were First-grade, while those with one pattern were Second-grade.
And so on—three patterns meant Fourth-grade.
"That guy didn't lie to us. Two of you per wolf. Little Tiger, hold the line. I'll take the bead. Go!"
"Yes!"
The other seven answered and immediately attacked.
The moment the eight moved, the aura around them instantly woke the three Thunder Horned Giant Wolves.
"Awoo!"
At once, the three giant wolves let out furious howls, baring their fangs at the eight intruders.
The massive horns atop their heads crackled, silver-purple currents circling around them.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Several bolts of lightning appeared out of thin air and blasted toward them.
The eight were nimble, each dodging the lightning attacks as they lunged toward the three Thunder Horned Giant Wolves.
This time, every subordinate Brother Dao had brought was already Fourth-grade.
Yet facing the three Thunder Horned Giant Wolves, not a single one of them underestimated their foes.
At the same rank, Mutant Beasts possessed greater combat power and endurance than humans.
What was more, these Thunder Horned Giant Wolves had their innate attack—lightning.
If they got blasted even once, their entire bodies would be scorched and numb. It would not feel good at all.
"Roar!"
After missing their first strike, the giant wolves roared again, and four wolf cubs leaped out of the den.
They had been too far away earlier and had only seen the glowing Thunder Bead, failing to notice the four cubs.
But these four young wolves were merely Second-grade, nothing to fear!
"Little Tiger!"
Brother Dao shouted and was the first to charge forward with his blade.
His Peak Fourth Rank strength made him incredibly fast. In an instant, he broke through the defensive line of the three giant wolves and charged straight to the rear.
Little Tiger did not hesitate either. He unleashed all his mid-Fourth-grade strength, following closely behind as he charged toward the four cubs.
At the same time, the other six split into pairs and directly held off the three giant wolves, becoming entangled in battle.
Unable to return to defend the den, the three giant wolves howled repeatedly. Their enormous claws lashed out madly, while their steel-whip-like tails swept wildly at the martial artists.
"Hmph!"
These martial artists were clearly experienced in battle. With a cold snort, they easily evaded the giant wolves' attacks and began to circle and harass them.
Their purpose was not to kill the three giant wolves. They only needed to hold them back long enough for Brother Dao to obtain the Thunder Bead.
"Pshk! Pshk!"
How could Second-grade cubs possibly stand against Brother Dao, who was at Peak Fourth Rank?
In just one exchange, two cubs had their heads pierced and collapsed to the ground.
"Awoo!!"
Seeing this, the giant wolves flew into a rage, howling again and again!
But helplessly, they were tied down by Brother Dao's subordinates for the moment and could not break free at all.
Just as the remaining two were about to be taken down by Little Tiger, the bodies of the three giant wolves erupted with blinding light.
"Watch out, get back! They're going to self-destruct!"
In an instant, everyone cried out and tried to retreat at top speed.
They had not expected these Thunder Horned Giant Wolves to be so fierce and unyielding that they would directly choose to self-destruct.
The power unleashed by the self-destruction of Fourth-grade Thunder Horned Giant Wolves would be terrifying.
Forget Brother Dao's subordinates—even Brother Dao himself, at Peak Fourth Rank, would not dare face it head-on.
However, what they never expected was that as they retreated, the anticipated self-destruction did not occur.
The three giant wolves suddenly twisted their bodies and charged toward Brother Dao at the same time.
"Fuck! These beasts actually know how to trick people?"
Everyone was dumbfounded!
Before you continue