NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26: Flame-Headed Badger
Three city gates, passed through in order.
In the countryside.
Bloodstains blotched the metal ground.
Those were the traces left by Vicious Beasts that had assaulted Jiang City over the years, slaughtered by weapons and Martial Artists.
As far as the eye could see, it was a flat area without anything standing out.
Within a 30-kilometer radius of Jiang City lay a totally barren wasteland.
Save for the fully automated sentry posts and bunkers, there were no trees, mounds, or even other obstructions around.
Qin Mu's combat suit had holographic glasses. Putting them down would display a map.
In this test, there was a different path for each Quasi-Martial Artist, and if the path that was given was not enough to kill, then they could only proceed deeper along the path.
"The method which Guo Youwei mentioned does not sound very effective.
He couldn't deviate too far from the route; at most, he was able to occupy two other examinees' resources.
Or was it.
If the rank of Vicious Beast was still not dangerous at the end of the route, could he then ignore the route?
Qin Mu couldn't be certain yet. He took out his water bottle from his bag and took a sip.
She would definitely have no pressure passing on her own; after all, she had an A-Rank core combat suit and A-Rank weapons.
She was only worried about Qin Mu.
"Bai Qiuye has already flown off, what are you still waiting for?"
"At the end of the route, the Vicious Beasts are higher Rank, with more points. If Bai Qiuye kills all of them, then for you to get into the top ten will truly be dangerous.
Indeed, it was like that.
Qin Mu thought to himself.
The Vicious Beasts within the route were meant for the Martial Artists to complete the assessment, the true competing in ranking being at the end of the route.
Just then.
The sound came from beside him.
"What the hell!?!
"Bai Qiuye has already killed 3 Vicious Beasts, ranking first!
.Ling Qianxue gave him an 'I told you so' look, constantly urging Qin Mu:
But Qin Mu completely ignored her.
"What's the rush? The Martial Examination lasts seven days. It's a good thing if Bai Qiuye kills all the Vicious Beasts on the periphery. Then everyone will have no points, and I can just kill two to get into the top ten."
Huh?
Ling Qianxue was shocked by his words.
Such twisted logic, and yet, she couldn't find a reason to refute it.
When she tried to speak again.
Qin Mu had already left.
Because of route regulations, they couldn't act together during the Early Stage.
Ling Qianxue stomped her foot in frustration, then angrily turned to her own route. Qin Mu truly was not in a rush.
His current Rank was not low, but he had not practiced any Cultivation Techniques.
Seven days.
That means if his Mentalist Cultivation Technique improves by five Ranks, he can achieve a Breakthrough.
Dominator!
It would not be too late by then to compete with Bai Qiuye for the champion.
A First-Rank Vicious Beast was 10 points, a Third-Rank Vicious Beast was 100 points.
A 10-fold difference!
Given the chance, Qin Mu definitely wouldn't give up his 1 million bet; that was a 27 million profit.
"First, familiarize myself with combat, and step by step, advance.
Money was important.
But life was even more important.
No matter how much capital and bets he had, Qin Mu would not act rashly.
An hour later.
Coming out of the plains outside Jiang City, the terrain began to grow complex.
Qin Mu had studied the map of Dragon Star for a long time, and it didn't look much different from Blue Star in his memory.
Jiang City was some 500 kilometers from the coastline, and more than 100 kilometers away from the Dragon River. It was named Jiang City because it was the only city within a radius of one thousand miles around it, and the name was passed down.
They suddenly appeared a hundred years ago, instantly sweeping across Dragon Star, and the origin of the Vicious Beasts could no longer be traced.
During the Early Stage, defenses depended on weaponry. Meanwhile, ancient martial arts shone bright during combat, coupled with the Awakening of Mentalists. The martial artists hunted vicious beasts and consumed them, thus greatly increasing strength.
The power of the Martial Artists gradually began to outrank technological weapons, and only then did the situation gradually stabilize about 10 years later after the anomaly.
For a hundred years, humans had studied Vicious Beasts.
Brutal, powerful, and bloodthirsty, these were general descriptions for all Vicious Beasts.
Different species of Vicious Beasts also had different survival methods in the wild.
"Master, 300 meters ahead, a lone Vicious Beast has been detected: a Flame-headed Badger!
In the holographic glasses, Vicious Beast's location was quickly marked with a red dot.
Flame-headed Badger: First-Rank
Attack: 5000KG-10000 KG
Characteristics: flame-like fur on head, contains fire poison, hardness is extraordinary. (This part is the most valuable.)
Weakness: Afraid of water, the area under its tail is the softest.
"Tsk tsk, an Advanced combat suit, isn't it great?
"This is the value of equipment!
It wasn't that Qin Mu hadn't tried ordinary combat suits; he had worn them in school. They had basic functions but lacked scanning, alerts, and warnings.
Clang!
Qin Mu drew his battle saber and deployed his shield.
Safety first.
Even a First-Rank Vicious Beast couldn't be underestimated.
One-to-one.
Qin Mu had watched the ferocity of such Vicious Beasts in school videos.
After it had targeted its prey, the Flame-headed Badger attacked frantically. Its claws can rip through three-centimeter steel plates easily, while the teeth can directly crush your bones if an ordinary combat suit is worn.
The Flame-headed Badger also rams you with its head after biting.
Once the fire-poisoned barbs entered the body, in an instant, the whole body would turn red, full of blisters, and very itchy and painful!
[Squeak squeak~!!]
The Flame-headed Badger also noticed the approaching Qin Mu and didn't hesitate.
It stamped its four hooves, hunched its body, and dove into the tall grass. After that, a red light of fire was seen leaping and darting through the blades of grass, charging at Qin Mu's side.
"Damn it!"
Qin Mu's experience in combat was truly insufficient.
Just a momentary distraction and he hadn't thrown his Flying Blades, and the Flame-headed Badger had already hidden itself.
How could he control the Flying Blades to attack when he couldn't even see the target?
Retreat!
Qin Mu flung himself backward at once, clutching his battle saber in reverse. His Mental power simultaneously controlled the Flying Blades on his back to slowly unsheathe. He didn't rush to attack but instead hid them behind him.
Whoosh~!
A flash of red suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.
Qin Mu immediately raised his shield to block:
Bang!
With a collision, Qin Mu was pushed back three steps by the immense force.
Along with that, the Flame-headed Badger was also sent flying by the shield.
It shook its head, then pounced again, low to the ground.
"Slash!"
Qin Mu directly slashed at the head of the Flame-headed Badger with his saber.
However, the Flame-headed Badger suddenly changed its position by pushing off from the ground and actually dodged the edge of the battle saber.
"What the hell? So fierce?
The body of the Flame-headed Badger was about 1.5 to 1.6 meters long, while it was only a little over half a meter high when it was low to the ground.
Although resembling a crazed Vicious Beast, its instinctive evasion in the face of danger was absolutely not weak.
Qin Mu's previous saber strike was just a chop.
He hadn't thought that the Flame-headed Badger might dodge it, and he could no longer retract his move.
The Flame-headed Badger seemed to have also spotted an opportunity. Its eyes flashed with ferocity, it pushed off the ground with its four hooves, and bared its gaping maw, lunging to bite Qin Mu's feet.
Just then.
A cold gleam flashed in mid-air.
Puff!
The Flame-headed Badger's head was directly severed in mid-air, with the blood splashing everywhere.
Bang! Qin Mu stretched out his shield and pushed it deep into the ground, fully covering everything in front of him. Thud~ The head of the Flame-headed Badger struck the shield and fell to the side. The body slid several meters, coming to a stop before the shield. "Congratulations, Master, for defeating a First-Rank Vicious Beast and obtaining 10 points!"