The thing was about half a person's height, its body covered in black, bristly, scale-like material, with four short, stout legs ending in sharp, long claws that dug into the ground. Its head resembled a flattened gourd, its mouth split open to its ears, revealing rows of dense, jagged fangs, with sticky saliva dripping from the corners. A pair of small, dull yellow eyes stared fixedly at Chén Yuān and the others, emitting a greedy light.
"Desolate Beast!" Yuānyang shrieked, her voice cracking. The Desolate Beast let out a low growl, carrying a foul wind, and lunged savagely at Chén Yuān at the front! It was incredibly fast!
Chén Yuān felt a blast of foul odor hit him. Without thinking, almost instinctively, he roared, "Big Ha! Hold it!" At the same time, he dodged sharply to the side!
The Desolate Beast missed, its claws scraping past Chén Yuān's armor with a piercing screech.
"Hah!" Big Ha roared, charging at the Desolate Beast with his giant shield!
*Bang!*
The Desolate Beast collided squarely with the shield, emitting a dull thud. Big Ha was jolted violently, stumbling back two steps, his face flushed crimson, but he held the shield firm.
The Desolate Beast, hit squarely, staggered as if dazed.
"Mòmo!" Chén Yuān called again. Mòmo's arrow was already loosed before he even finished speaking!
*Whoosh!*
An arrow shot like lightning towards the Desolate Beast's eyes! The Desolate Beast reacted with frightening speed, tilting its head sharply. The arrow grazed its eye socket, tearing only a sliver of skin and leaving a bloody gash.
This minor injury only enraged it further! It let out an even more piercing roar, abandoning its charge at the shield and instead lunging, trying to go around past the shield to attack Big Ha!
"Get lost!" Yuānyang shouted with a sudden burst of courage, thrusting her spear!
Her spear struck the Desolate Beast's back, but it felt like hitting tough leather. It only penetrated a little, then got stuck in the muscle! The Desolate Beast cried out in pain and thrashed violently! Yuānyang felt a massive force transmit through the spear, nearly ripping it from her grasp, and she stumbled back several steps, falling onto her rear.
Shaking off Yuānyang, the Desolate Beast's small yellow eyes immediately fixed on her as she fell to the ground. Its hind legs tensed, ready to pounce!
"You're asking for death!" Chén Yuān's eyes blazed! He had been forced back earlier, and now seeing Yuānyang in danger, his blood seemed to boil! He gripped his Mo Dao with both hands, taking a sudden step forward, channeling all his strength into his arms. The heavy Mo Dao whistled through the air, carrying a vicious gust, and slashed upwards fiercely towards the Desolate Beast's abdomen!
This was one of the most brutal moves in the Mo Dao fighting style! The blade cut through the air with a sharp *whoosh*!
The Desolate Beast seemed to sense the threat of this strike and tried to dodge, but it was in mid-air and couldn't evade it!
*Squelch!*
The blade sank precisely into the Desolate Beast's relatively soft abdomen! Black, foul-smelling blood and internal organs sprayed out, splattering all over Chén Yuān!
"Aoooww—!" The Desolate Beast let out an ear-splitting shriek, crashing heavily to the ground, writhing and struggling madly. Its intestines spilled out, further staining the black earth.
It wasn't dead yet! It thrashed, trying to rise, its dull eyes filled with madness and pain.
Chén Yuān panted, holding his blood-dripping Mo Dao, and walked towards it step by step. His face and body were covered in the pungent black blood, his eyes as cold as ice.
As the Desolate Beast saw him approach, it emitted a guttural threat from its throat,Still trying to scratch him with its claws.
Chén Yuān raised his Mo Dao, aimed it at the beast's neck, and with all his might, brought it down with a fierce chop!
*Crack!*
A teeth-grindingly crisp sound! The Desolate Beast's head separated from its body, rolling to the side. Its limbs twitched a few times, and then it lay still.
The world fell silent.
Only the heavy gasps of four people remained.
Chén Yuān leaned on his Mo Dao, feeling his arms tremble. That last strike had almost completely drained him.
Yuānyang scrambled to her feet, her face as pale as paper. She ran over, looked at the Desolate Beast's corpse, then at the blood-covered Chén Yuān, her lips trembling, "Yuan... Brother Yuan... are you alright?"
Big Ha lowered his shield, panting heavily. He looked at the beheaded Desolate Beast and said in a deep voice, "By my mother's beard... this thing... it's got some serious strength!"
Mòmo walked over, glanced at the corpse on the ground, then at Chén Yuān, and said nothing, simply returning his bow to its case.
The four stood around the still-twitching corpse of the Desolate Beast, silent for a long time. Their hearts were still pounding, and their palms were slick with cold sweat.
Although it was brief, the recent encounter had been incredibly perilous. If not for Chén Yuān's quick reactions, effective command, and decisive final blow, one of them might have ended up lying on the ground.
"Is... is this a rank one Desolate Beast?" Yuānyang's voice still trembled slightly. "It's too tough..."
Chén Yuān remained silent. He suddenly felt a slight warmth in his chest. He paused, then subconsciously focused his mind.
The talent panel, invisible to others, popped up on its own!
Name: Chén Yuān
Age: 18
Talent: Military Contest Ambush
Strength: Soldier rank early stage
Vitality/Blood value: 201/201
Position: Fourth Reconnaissance Squad Leader
Vitality/Blood value... had it become 201?
It had been exactly 200 before!
Could it be...
Chén Yuān's gaze snapped to the Desolate Beast's corpse on the ground.
"You... check your Vitality/Blood values!" Chén Yuān suddenly said.
Yuānyang, Big Ha, and Mòmo were taken aback, then quickly focused inward to check.
"Holy crap!" Yuānyang shouted first, her voice filled with surprise. "101! Mine's become 101! It increased by 1 point!"
"I... I too!" Big Ha's honest face showed surprise.
Mòmo nodded. Though he didn't speak, a flicker of emotion was visible in his eyes.
"Is it because we killed this Desolate Beast?" Yuānyang excitedly looked at Chén Yuān.
"It should be." Chén Yuān looked at the extra point of Vitality/Blood value on his panel and had a sudden realization. So this was how one leveled up! Killing Desolate Beasts or Desolators granted Vitality/Blood value, and accumulating enough allowed one to level up!
Even though it was just one point, this was the first time they had earned something tangible through their own efforts in this desolate land!
"Hahaha! One more point!" Yuānyang completely forgot her fear from earlier, jumping up and waving her fist. "Killing this damned thing increases our strength! If we kill more, won't we become as powerful as Brother Yuan?"
Big Ha scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.
Even the usually stoic Mòmo's lips seemed to curve upwards slightly.
"Don't get too excited. You only have a chance to improve if you kill Desolate Beasts of the same rank."
The four looked at each other and suddenly couldn't help but laugh. Their laughter spread across the silent, desolate land, dispelling some of the fear and oppression.