Beast Taming: Slaughter Atlas

After Chen Qian delivered an inspiring speech, she shifted her focus to assigning tasks to everyone present.

The tasks weren't complicated, nor were they very difficult. It was simply to gather all non-combatants in the vicinity of the school for centralized management at the school.

The City Lord's Mansion would issue an announcement beforehand, which significantly reduced the difficulty of the task by half. Next, they just needed to follow the list and start picking up people.

The Elite Class was assigned to the west side of the school. They needed to bring all non-combatants within a one-kilometer radius to the school.

The non-combatants encompassed a wide range: students below the third year of high school, elderly people who lost their Guardian Beasts, injured Beast Masters, and lifestyle professionals who were Beast Masters.

After entering the western area, Chu Chen and the others immediately spread out, each heading towards their designated area.

The workload was enormous; everyone had to relocate all the people before the Beast Tide arrived.

Chu Chen arrived in front of an iron door and knocked on it.

Soon, a voice of an elderly woman came from inside. "Who is it?"

"Hello, I'm a student from High School No. 1. I've come in response to the call from the City Lord's Mansion to escort you to the school for temporary shelter," Chu Chen said with a smile.

"One moment."

With a creak, the metal door slowly opened.

There appeared an elderly woman, pale and sitting in a wheelchair, in front of Chu Chen.

Chu Chen's expression changed slightly at the sight, but he quickly composed himself and said with a smile, "Let's go, the school will provide food and necessities."

Upon hearing this, the old woman shook her head and said, "Thank you, child, but go pick up the others first. I won't be leaving."

Hearing this, Chu Chen was taken aback. He checked the name on the list; the old woman's name was Wu Haibo. He quickly tried to persuade her, "Grandma Wu, why don't you want to go? If there's any issue, just let us know, and we'll help you resolve it."

Wu Haibo waved her hand and said, "Child, I have no complaints about you. I'm just used to living here and don't want to move."

"Grandma Wu, this Beast Tide is different from before. You can't stay here; it's too dangerous."

"Good child, go about your business. Don't worry about this old lady anymore."

Despite his persuasion, Wu Haibo still had no intention of leaving. After inquiring about the reason, Chu Chen fell silent.

In the year he was born, Celestial Star City was briefly breached. At that time, Wu Haibo's family was attacked by the Star Beasts. Her husband and children were killed, and she lost her legs in that disaster.

She had long lost the will to live. If not for the caregiving staff, she would have reunited with her family over a decade ago.

In facing this situation, there were only two solutions: the first was to let her stay there to her fate.

The second was to forcibly take her away.

After pondering for some time, Chu Chen sighed and left, planning to take everyone else first before forcibly removing her.

Just starting the job and encountering such a tricky first situation left Chu Chen with little confidence in the tasks ahead.

Fortunately, this was an isolated case; the vast majority of people were cooperative.

Even so, relocating everyone still took considerable time.

At that moment, from the forests to the south of Celestial Star City came a sound of roaring that echoed through the skies.

Moments later, roars came from the forests to the east and west, followed by waves of Star Beast roars from the three surrounding forests. They seemed to be communicating something.

The roars shook all of Celestial Star City, and everyone's expressions turned grim.

Within the City Lord's Mansion, a middle-aged man hurriedly approached Wang Haichuan and whispered, "Lord City Lord, it seems those Star Beasts are about to move."

Wang Haichuan frowned and said, "Send orders for all City Defense Army members to return to their posts and prepare for any eventuality. Order the scout teams to advance one kilometer out."

"Yes, I'll go immediately."

"Wait, let's go together. I want to personally be in command, as the Beast Tide may erupt tonight." With that, Wang Haichuan walked out.

Soon, the leaders of various factions received the news. They dared not delay and hurriedly led their subordinates to the city walls.

Just as quickly, the area below the city walls was crowded with people, as the City Defense Army assigned positions for everyone to guard.

The people from various factions were only there to assist; the City Defense Army was the main force.

However, to prevent them from shirking their duty, the City Defense Army had its own method. They would select people from various factions to different sections of the city walls for defense, completely mixing and distributing them across the areas.

Chu Chen and the others' work was nearing completion, with classrooms and the gymnasium at the school filled with people.

Chu Chen once again knocked on Wu Haibo's door.

This time, without hesitation, he summoned Lei Yao and, under Wu Haibo's stunned gaze, forcibly took her away.

"Child, my heart is already dead. Why do you insist on this?" Wu Haibo said gravely.

Chu Chen responded with equal gravity, "This is my duty; I must complete it. Besides, the future is full of hope. Why surrender your life? I'm sure your departed loved ones wouldn't want to see this."

Upon hearing this, Wu Haibo sighed and said, "You're young; there are many things you'll only understand through experience."

Chu Chen shook his head and said, "It takes more courage for the living to push on. You must strive to live on and see the future landscapes. Perhaps you might witness the day when mankind once again reigns over the world."

At this, Wu Haibo looked toward the young man and saw a steadfast determination in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, she seemed to resolve something and, turning to Chu Chen, said with a grave tone, "Alright, I'll live my life well. I want to see that day."

Chu Chen smiled and said, "That day will surely come, I promise."

That day, the old and the young made a pact. Although the likelihood of its success seemed slim, at that moment, both of them firmly believed it would come true.

Through conversation, Wu Haibo became considerably more cheerful, as if she had rediscovered hope for life and eagerly anticipated the coming of that day.

After bringing Wu Haibo back to school, Chen Qian once again gathered everyone and issued a new task.

"Teacher, I didn't hear wrong, did I? You want us to clear the sewers?" Wang Lu said, his face full of shock.

Hearing this, Chen Qian was displeased and said, "You can choose not to go, but then I'll have to expel you from the Elite Class."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lu cowered instantly and, with a conciliatory smile, said, "Teacher, don't be angry. I thought I heard wrong, didn't mean that I wouldn't go."

Smiling a little, Chen Qian glared at Wang Lu and continued in a grave tone, "The sewers are the only connection with the forests. Those Star Beasts are sure to exploit this. But everyone shouldn't worry too much. The sewer space isn't large, and it's been reinforced. Star Beasts that are too large can't get through."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in contemplation. For most Star Beasts, their size and strength were proportional.

Larger Star Beasts generally meant they were more powerful, and vice versa.