Chapter 151 - A Small-scale Beast Attack
There were some wild beasts spotted around the Green Valley Ville, and they had been causing problems for the town. Before Han Xiao came, Balsas had used some small sums as a bounty to incentivize the refugees to hunt down the beasts. Slowly, he had noticed something strange: the refugees would be able to hunt down the wild beasts without any casualties. After some observation, he found out to his surprise that these refugees seemed to have revival Espers and would never really die.
Balsas was shocked. It might have been normal for one person to have the revival Esper ability, but it would be a different story for an entire group. Could it be that this ability could be spread, just like the werewolf tribe in myths, where one’s saliva carried the mutated genes and could turn a normal person into another of their kind in one bite?
After some observation, Balsas was excited to find out that the refugees were easily satisfied by small incentives.
If I can get these strange refugees to work for me, their revival trait will make for a formidable army! I won’t have to fear anyone from Black Pine anymore.
Even though these refugees have revival abilities, they had limited combat strength. Balsas had asked them about their origins, but their answers were mostly gibberish. Despite some unresolved doubts about the refugees’ background, Balsas decided it was alright to go ahead and trade with them for their services.
He was about to take action when Black Phantom arrived and was warmly welcomed by the refugees. Balsas was alarmed.
Is Black Phantom here for these refugees too? Does he know about their ability as well?
Black Phantom was not someone to mess with, so Balsas decided to stay put and observe for the moment. However, an accident broke out—the beasts residing near the town attacked.
Countless wild beasts came from the jungle and caused the ground to rumble.
Gray Devil Wolves made up the majority. Their fur was charcoal gray, and they were as big as wild buffalos. There were also giant purple-scaled pythons that were ten to twenty meters long, slithering among the wolves.
Beasts in the wild were common, and they were a threat faced by every town. Balsas commanded for the town to be locked up without hesitation and asked his soldiers to ready the machine guns on the watchtowers to fight the beasts. Players that were left outside the town became the buffer zone for them to hold off the beasts. Balsas was glad that he had refugees that could be sacrificed at no cost.
Mature Gray Devil Wolves were about LV 20. They pounced into the crowd and ripped apart a player in two to three bites.
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You have started emergency quest [Protect Green Valley Ville]!
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Besides the normal players, Han Xiao received the emergency quest, too. However, to his dismay, the reward was at a newbie standard at only a few thousand EXP. Han Xiao watched with great interest at one side as the players fought against the beasts.
Balsas realized that Han Xiao had crawled to the top of the town wall while he was not looking and was watching the battle intensely. Balsas was alarmed. Black Phantom was able to silently crawl up the wall when so many people were staring down at the town wall; this meant that he could silently creep up on anyone he wanted to as well. Indeed, he was living up to his reputation as a skilled and accomplished assassin.
The players gave it their all to protect the town. The situation was bloody and violent. The players were not in complete defeat only because of the aid from the town’s machine guns. Han Xiao closely watched the players’ performances. Green Valley Ville consisted mainly of players from two classes—Esper and Mechanic.
He saw many different Espers: Attribute-boosting, Superhuman Strength, Stamina, Speed, Instant Healing, and elemental controls, which included skills such as gathering rocks or fortifying armor using rocks. There was a plethora of Espers, but most were low-level and short-lasting. They were dealing some damage to the wolves, but only a few Esper players were more notable.
The fight between the players and the beasts was a rough one, so some players were live-streaming the battle on the forum.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He decided to join and end this battle quickly. With that, he jumped off the wall.
Activating his electromagnetic hover-boots, he moved as if there was ice under his feet. He dived into the battle like a bolt of black lightning, zooming through the battlefield, straight to a relatively smaller Gray Devil Wolf, which was old and had little fur left. It was the leader of the pack, and Han Xiao noticed it when he was observing just now.
Han Xiao decided not to snipe these beasts. Sniping would limit the area damage, and he had limited ammo with him. It was the perfect chance for him to see what he could do with his LV 50 attributes against these LV 20 beasts.
Beasts were common on Planet Aquamarine. When fighting against beasts in large scales, he would not dive in alone. It would be extremely dangerous because it would be exposing him to high frequency attacks from all sides.
The herd of beasts in Gray Valley Ville was very small in numbers. With only thousands of wolves and snakes, Han Xiao could afford to show off his attributes.
A few strong-built Gray Devil Wolves immediately surrounded the Wolf King. With the howl from the old Wolf King, its guards pounced toward Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was clad full-body in his magnetically controlled retractable armor. He raised his arm to block off the sharp claws of the wolves, and the clashing sound was resounding. He was fighting off wolves, which were four to five times larger than him.
He had 69 points in his Strength attribute, way higher than the LV 20 Gray Devil Wolves. His fingers dug into the flesh of a wolf’s claws and threw the wolf over his head and onto the floor like a ragdoll. But unlike a ragdoll, the wolf landed and created a dent in the ground, whimpering.
Players who saw this scene were shocked. The scene was very impactful. It was as if a dwarf was throwing a normal person over their shoulders.
Han Xiao was elated to find out how strong his body was. His fists landed on a wolf like a pile driver with solid thuds. Every punch was filled with power that dealt damage right into the wolves’ lungs. A wolf was flung away, but it would get up and lunge again, only to be flung away once more. The place that was hit would be marked with a deep purple bruises.
The wolves began to crowd in to protect the Wolf King. Han Xiao’s view was filled with wolves that were attacking him with claws and fangs from all angles. The retractable armor clashed with the sharp claws, and sparks were flying. Han Xiao could barely hold the weight of the wolves off from all sides, let alone move.
It’s indeed very difficult to kill and get through the beast crowd. Han Xiao changed his plan and activated the Repulsive Force Generator, which sent a pushing force out and flung all the surrounding wolves into the wolves at the back.
With his path cleared, Han Xiao pushed with his foot and turned up the speed of his hover-boots. Wind was howling as he approached in the Wolf King at high speed. He blocked off the ferocious attacks from the Wolf King, grabbed the wolf’s head, and twisted it, throwing it to the ground. He pressed his knee tightly against the wolf’s stomach and pressed on its head with his left hand. Clenching his right fist, it landed right on the wolf’s head. The Wolf King’s head was crushed after a few punches. Blood spilled everywhere.
Every time he punched, the power surging through his muscles, tendons, and bones was like a tight bow that stored great strength. It was greatly satisfying to feel at ease and in control of such great strength.
A Wolf’s critical region was their stomach, but Han Xiao preferred attacking the head more.
After a few punches, the Wolf King was only a few breaths away from death. The wolf pack was howling and had all abandoned the enemies to attack Han Xiao. A huge pack of wolves piled on top of him like a small hill. Han Xiao was pressed against the floor.
The pungent wolf smell filled Han Xiao’s nostrils, and his face became scrunched up. He was almost choking. His sharp sense allowed him to identify the components of the smell.
Wolves’ urine, soil, sweat, dried excrement, and… Eh‽