Chapter Sixty-One: Earth · Beast Tide (III)

Soon, the two of them returned to the front of the team. “There are only two serpent-type monsters ahead, and one predatory grass,” they reported.

“Did you see a silver-gray rat-like monster, about half a meter long?” the short man asked urgently.

“No. If it was moving above ground, there’s no way we could have missed it,” the two shook their heads.

“How strange. Could it really have gone underground?” The short man frowned. To their squad, two serpent-type monsters and a predatory grass weren’t major threats, but their time was limited. If a fight broke out and caused too much commotion, it would attract other monsters nearby.

Now, regardless of whatever grudges these monsters had with each other, even if they had been fighting amongst themselves just a moment before, the moment they sensed humans approaching, they would unite to attack the humans. If other monsters showed up—even weaker ones—the squad would be surrounded and eventually wiped out by stronger beasts.

“Are you absolutely sure that thing is here?” the burly captain asked again. If it truly was here, the reward for capturing it would be worth the risk. But if not, he would have to order a retreat back to base.

“I’m totally certain,” the short man replied, locking eyes with the captain. “That little creature is definitely here, and still alive! I can find it!” As he spoke, he started toward the front, only to be pulled back by the captain.

“What are you doing?” the captain growled quietly. “It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

He continued, “Let’s make a plan. We need to resolve this fast, and as quietly as possible.” He looked to the two scouts. “You two handle the predatory grass—just make sure it doesn’t uproot itself and get away. The rest of us will split into two teams: three warriors with two adepts each. Move quickly and finish the targets!”

“Yes, Captain!”

The squad sprang into action. The short man joined one team, approaching the emerald-scaled serpent from the side.

“Emeraldscale Viper. Its most terrifying power is its venom, though its defense is weak,” the short man explained, gazing at the beast before them.

The two adepts swiftly took out talismans and blessed the three warriors with enchantments. Since Sun Meng had previously shared the magical rune system of Cocolaru’s civilization with Earth, it had made up for the shortcomings of traditional talismans to some extent. In the past, crafting talismans required advanced skills and was prone to failure. Now, by breaking the runes down and writing them more like a language, the process was easier—though high-quality talismans still required mastery. This had also led to the development of an “enchantment” system for weapon crafting.

After the talismans were activated, the three warriors moved in a blur, surrounding the beast. A sword, a blade, and an axe—swift, heavy, and sharp—opened several wounds on the viper’s emerald scales in moments.

The serpent let out a pained cry, its massive body twisting wildly, but the two adepts were not mere bystanders. Their prepared spells caused the surrounding plants to grow rapidly, and the shifting earth formed shackles that bound the viper in place.

The viper opened its jaws and spewed a dark green mist. Any plant it touched withered instantly to ash. Yet the three warriors did not flinch, protected by interwoven green and golden shields that blocked the venom.

Three beams of light converged at a single point, and the viper fell lifeless.

The three warriors landed, breathing hard as they steadied themselves. They’d used a method that gave them a short burst of power. It had no serious side effects, but the drained state would last for a while—a secret technique now officially sanctioned and available in exchange for crystal coins.

The authorities had hit a bottleneck in research on advancing ranks. They’d tried using resources and mass attacks to help someone reach and comprehend mid-second tier strength, but without exception, everyone was stuck just half a step short. Still, these attempts produced a variety of secret arts for explosive power. The most practical and least harmful had been made public.

The two squads regrouped. By the time the predatory grass realized something was wrong, it was too late—a swift, decisive assault brought it down. Unlike animal-type monsters, plant-type monsters left behind high-purity energy crystals when they died, though their bodies yielded little that could be reused.

“All right, it’s done. Mouse, find that thing quickly. Everyone else, keep watch!” the captain commanded.

The others spread out, each finding a suitable position. Out in the wild, especially in areas frequented by second-tier monsters, a single lapse could mean annihilation.

The short man sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and took out a talisman and a compass, muttering incantations.

“Found it!” Half a minute later, he opened his eyes and pointed at the roots of a large tree not far away. “That creature is clever—it’s disguised itself. What a unique talent!”

The others quickly surrounded the tree, guarding the short man closely.

He produced an incense stick, lit it, and stuck it in the ground. As he chanted, the rising smoke curled into a thin line drifting toward the tree’s roots.

After a few seconds, the ground there suddenly caved in, and a gray head cautiously poked out.

“Come here, little one. Follow your instincts, come to me—quickly now—” The others kept silent, leaving only the short man’s soft, chanting voice.

After half a minute’s hesitation, the gray creature couldn’t resist any longer. It shot out from underground, lunging for the burning incense.

But just as its jaws closed around the incense, a small energy barrier snapped into place, trapping it inside. The short man now had a fresh talisman in hand—emblazoned with the symbol for lightning.

A flash of electricity, and the gray rat monster inside was quickly rendered unconscious, its body twitching at intervals—proof that it was still alive.

“At last, it’s over,” the captain breathed out, relieved. “This was a good haul. Prep—” He never finished his sentence, for he caught sight of a pair of eyes appearing on a nearby tree trunk.

“Attack!” he shouted.

The owner of those eyes revealed itself—a small bird-type monster with two special abilities: self-concealment and a piercing shriek.

The next moment, the bird’s corpse fell to the ground, but the lingering screech still left everyone’s ears ringing. They had to leave quickly—this could easily draw a wave of first-tier monsters to assault the city.

At the foot of the mountain, not far away, stood what had once been a small town. Now it had become a fully fortified citadel. In many ways, these frontier fortress-cities facing the wilds were more highly valued than the relatively peaceful cities in the interior.

“What’s going on?” On the watchtower, soldiers using water-mirror spells to observe outside the city spotted the squad rushing back. They remembered this team well—after all, it was made up entirely of second-tier fighters, the best among the civilian teams in the fortress.

“They’re in a sorry state. Did something—” Another soldier trailed off as he saw the reason for the team’s battered condition.

“My god, bird monsters are attacking! They’ve provoked a Screeching Bird! Sound the alarm!” he shouted.

The beast tides had begun two months ago—swarms of monsters, over three thousand at a time, all at the mid-first tier, none stronger than early second-tier, furiously assaulting human settlements in relentless, death-or-glory attacks.

Ground assaults were the easiest to handle; next came beast tides attacking both above and below ground; the worst were the flying beast tides. The official research into energy shields was at a bottleneck—they couldn’t yet protect an entire city fortress with a single barrier.

So they could only shield the most vital areas and pour resources into anti-air weapons. Even so, facing swarms of birds remained the greatest challenge.

The alarm rang out, and the entire city went on high alert.