Chapter 61: The Emergence of a Transcendent-Grade Beast

On the other side.

Lu Ming’s battlefield was adjacent to Xiang Nan’s at Sector C. With the cultivation of a third-tier four-star warrior, combined with his flying ability, he moved freely through the beast horde. Driven by his eagerness to win, whenever he saw elite soldiers of the Longyuan Army locked in combat with monsters, he always seized the perfect moment to swoop in and snatch the kill.

Defeating monsters was certainly a good thing—it eased the pressure on the Longyuan Army—but when it came time to award merit, the spirit pearls became Lu Ming’s spoils of war. Such behavior inevitably irked the army elites. After struggling against a monster for so long, just as they were about to claim victory, someone would suddenly intervene, delivering the killing blow to the exhausted beast and taking the prize for themselves. It felt as though their hard-won efforts had been handed over to another, which was understandably frustrating.

Lu Ming, however, cared little for their displeasure. Achieving his goal by any means necessary was his creed.

After a half-day of fierce battle, Lu Yu tallied his successes: five third-tier monsters slain, along with more than ten from the second and first tiers. For a student, this was an impressive record.

At that moment, for reasons unknown, the beast horde’s assault began to wane.

Everyone was able to catch their breath.

“They’re retreating! The beast horde is retreating!”

“Wonderful! We’ve won! The capital is safe!”

“Long live the capital! Long live the Nine Provinces!”

Celebration erupted atop and beneath the high walls.

This hard-earned victory brought tears of joy to those who had fought so bravely.

Lu Yu returned to the wall, and many soldiers, seeing that a student warrior had killed so many monsters, praised him enthusiastically. Even those Longyuan Army elites whom he had outmaneuvered grudgingly acknowledged his skill and methods, despite their irritation.

Lu Yu displayed his spoils with obvious pride.

He noticed Xiang Nan standing empty-handed, his clothes spotless, looking exactly as he had when they parted. Clearly, the lad must have chickened out at the last minute and done nothing.

“Xiang Nan, surely you must admit defeat this time!” Lu Yu spread his trophies out on the ground—five severed heads of third-tier monsters, all claimed by him.

Resting soldiers gathered to watch the spectacle.

Not all Longyuan Army personnel were ancestral warriors; there were riflemen, artillerymen, snipers, each with their own expertise. Warfare relied on the combined efforts of every unit.

But seeing a student warrior slay high-tier monsters that bullets struggled to kill was astonishing.

“Hey, not bad! A student volunteer actually killed so many third-tier monsters.”

“The students this year are impressive. I just saw someone take down a fourth-tier monster, the Silver Moon Three-Headed Serpent. Incredible!”

“Wait, isn’t this the guy who killed the Silver Moon Three-Headed Serpent?”

As they spoke, several soldiers surrounded Xiang Nan.

“Which university are you from, comrade? About to graduate, right? Join the Longyuan Army when you finish!”

“With talent like yours, you’ll be in high demand everywhere.”

“Judging by your strength, you must be at least third-tier, five stars?”

Xiang Nan shook his tidy short hair. “Second-tier, four stars.”

“Hiss—”

“No way!”

“Are you kidding? Second-tier, four stars, and you killed a fourth-tier monster?”

It was almost beyond belief.

Xiang Nan raised his eyebrow. “When I killed the Silver Moon Three-Headed Serpent, I was only second-tier, three stars.”

Silence.

Everyone fell silent.

Within the Longyuan Army, there were elites who could, with third-tier strength, kill fourth-tier monsters—like Lone Wolf or Mountain Chicken.

But for someone to defeat a fourth-tier monster with only second-tier power was unheard of.

“Second-tier, killing a fourth-tier monster... Comrade, you must have been incredibly lucky!”

Xiang Nan smiled and took out three fourth-tier spirit pearls from his storage space.

After slaying the Silver Moon Three-Headed Serpent, he pressed on to kill two more fourth-tier monsters and retrieved their pearls. But as the beast horde was raging and he moved quickly, few had witnessed his feats.

Another suffocating silence followed.

Many soldiers, feeling dejected, no longer wished to discuss further.

They were all ancestral warriors—why was he so much stronger?

A sniper with a scarred face laid his rifle down and extended his right hand.

“My name’s Zhang Qiang, sniper. Let’s get acquainted.”

With his lead, many soldiers put down their weapons and shook Xiang Nan’s hand.

“I’m Xu Wei, artilleryman. Got WeChat? Let’s connect.”

“Tan Xiaoyu, machine gunner. Glad to meet you, brother.”

Xiang Nan was a bit baffled. “What’s going on?”

The scar-faced sniper laughed and explained, “We’re men of the battlefield—straightforward and simple. As long as you have real strength, you’ll earn everyone’s respect.”

Xiang Nan smiled. “So, I’ve earned your recognition?”

“Recognition alone doesn’t make soldiers put down their weapons to shake your hand. You’ve won everyone over!”

As he spoke, the scar-faced man’s expression was full of envy.

He had fought for half his life, survived death more than once, yet never received such an honor.

Seeing the nods all around, Xiang Nan was stunned and joked, “I usually only win over women. As for men, we’re brothers and friends—fight together, chop monsters together.”

“Haha! Well said! Chop monsters together!”

“A good brother can’t do without me. I’m Wu Huan.”

“Xiang Nan.”

Lu Ming, who had long been sidelined, was deeply shaken both body and soul.

He glanced at his own bloody pile of trophies and wished he could crawl into a hole.

How had Xiang Nan managed such luck? With a second-tier cultivation, surpassing third-tier was impressive enough, but even fourth-tier? Lu Ming couldn’t believe it, not even if his life depended on it.

But regardless, he had lost their wager.

Just then, someone brought news.

“Did you hear? Captain Lone Wolf just hunted down a fifth-tier monster—the leader of the beast horde. That means this beast tide has finally ended.”

“What? A fifth-tier monster? Incredible!”

“No wonder the beast horde retreated so suddenly—the leader was slain. But aren’t fifth-tier monsters supposed to be sealed in the underground caverns? Did one escape?”

Ever since the global emergence of ancestral warriors, monsters had rampaged everywhere. It had taken countries tremendous effort to imprison all supernatural monsters of fifth-tier and above in the caverns.

Whenever an extraordinary monster appeared again, a beast master could be summoned to slay or reseal it in the cavern.

If such monsters ever ravaged cities, the consequences would be unimaginable.

A single fifth-tier monster could unleash a catastrophe-level beast horde assault.

Thankfully, the city was defended this time. Had they failed, civilization itself might have been wiped out.

With this realization, a somber mood settled over every soldier.

No matter how robust the city’s defenses, the caverns and their endless, pitch-black depths still harbored supernatural monsters. Human civilization remained perilously close to destruction.