Chapter 411: The Ravenous Beast Horde Attacks!
Translated by: Kun
Edited by: Ulamog, Dedition
[Book 3: The South]
As the majority of the humans were falling into deep slumber, under the cover of the moonlight, groups of Mutant Beasts started gathering around the small town.
Amidst the dark patches of grass, multiple pairs of eyes that were shining green stared fixedly at the humans patrolling at the entrance, as though they were staring at delicious food.
The surroundings were suddenly filled with a soundwave that was beyond the human hearing range, and under the indication of the soundwave, those Mutant Beasts that were lying in wait suddenly made their move and charged towards the town.
The Enhancers of Guilin City had gone hunting this way countless times, and they had long since laid countless warning traps around the town. The moment the Mutant Beasts moved, almost all of the traps sounded at the same time.
"Ambush!! Ambush!!"
The moment the alarms rang out, the warriors by the wall immediately shouted at the top of their lungs.
In just a few breaths, all the human warriors who were just entering sleep immediately got up and grabbed their weapons, as they charged towards the outside.
When hunting the Mutant Beasts, facing an ambush during the night was the most dangerous, the moment one was careless, it could spell doom for the entire party.
The warriors got up, and under the command of the various leaders, they quickly dispersed to the various key points of the town.
This small town was established by the countless parties of Guilin City to help with the hunting of Mutant Beasts. There were all sorts of traps laid around the town, and when several Mutant Beasts got close, they fell into these traps.
Yue Zhong had brought his experts from the Green Stone Triad to the front of the town at the first notice.
"So many Mutant Beasts!!" Yue Zhong looked and was shocked.
They discovered that beyond the perimeter, there were countless Mutant Mountain Rats. They charged forth with disregard for their own lives, filling up the holes and traps, making the ground even for the rest of the horde to advance.
Pretty soon, the Mutant Mountain Rats would be able to break past the defences and get closer to the town.
Earlier, when the factions had entered the town, they had allocated defence positions, all they had to do was to take charge of their own locations. As there were too many factions, this was the best solution to deal with any potential problems. Even the 4 Great Triads would only be able to instruct their own subordinates, as for the other warriors, they would not be able to command them.
Yue Zhong glanced at the densely packed horde of Mutant Mountain Rats, and ordered White Bones: "White Bones! Charge! Make sure that they're all mutilated!! And try not to let them destroy the traps!"
Receiving Yue Zhong's orders, White Bones hoisted its huge axe, and charged into the Mutant Mountain Rats' horde.
As White Bones entered their midst, bone spikes started to shoot from various points of its body, piercing those Mutant Rats, sending them flying towards Yue Zhong's side.
The low-levelled Enhancers under Yue Zhong immediately stepped forwards and used their Tang Replica Swords to finish off the Mutant Rats, gaining enhancement in the process.
Even Mu Xiangling was using the sharp Dark Magic Blade to help finish off the Mutant Rats.
With the help of White Bones, the subordinates of Yue Zhong managed to enhance themselves at an incredible speed, their levels rising rapidly.
The rest of the experts just stood and waited silently for his orders.
Yue Zhong had Night Enhancement Skill, and he could see that beyond the positions of the Mutant Mountain Rats, there were countless pairs of eyes that shone green, staring hungrily at the town. The moment he committed all his troops to fight, their stamina would dwindle, and it would be a problem to face the monsters behind.
After White Bones had evolved into the Second Order Dark Skeleton, its battle ability had rose to a fearsome level. It stood alone at the front of Yue Zhong's defence, and was like an immovable mountain that blocked all advance! The moment those Mutant Mountain Rats got close, it would shoot a bone spike out and throw the unfortunate beast backwards, before it was slaughtered by the humans.
Yue Zhong observed a while, before ordering Xin Jiarou: "Go and kill as many as you can! Raise your level to 16 then come back! Add all your points to Stamina now!"
The level of these Mutant Mountain Rats were at 18, and to Xin Jiarou, they were the perfect hunting targets.
"Yes! Master!!" Xin Jiarou brandished her Dark Magic Blade and charged towards the Mutant Mountain Rats, easily entering their midst, and started a massacre.
At this moment, Yue Zhong still had White Bones holding the fort, and he could sit and relax, while helping his low level subordinates strengthen themselves.
However, near his spot, there was a weaker gang, and the when the Mutant Mountain Rats horde had used the corpses of their fallen comrades to fill up the traps, they managed to tangle with the small triad.
This gang was called the Knife Association, and they were made up of a chief and 20 other experts. Their chief Cai Mingliang was an Agility-based Evolver. The knives in his hands whooshed about, and numerous Mutant Mountain Rats met their end at his hands. However, the 20 experts beside him did not have decent levels, most of them hovering at Level 21 or 22, additionally, their equipment was inadequate, hence, there was growing exhaustion as they faced the relentless rat horde.
All of a sudden, 6 of the Mutant Mountain Rats charged at one of the experts wielding a Tang Sabre who had coincidentally just killed 2 other Rats.
"Ah!! Boss!! Save me!!" The expert had just sliced off the head of one Mutant Rat, when the other 5 immediately pounced on him, biting him with their razor sharp jaws, as he screamed out in agony.
"Wang Yue!!!" Cai Mingliang's eyes turned bloodshot, and activated his skill, charging towards Wang Yue in a flash. As he sped along, he sliced the 16 Mutant Mountain Rats blocking his way. Fresh blood and innards splattered all over the ground in his wake.
Cai Mingliang arrived at Wang Yue's side, and slashed 5 times quickly, slicing the bodies of the 5 gnawing Mutant Mountain Rats in twain.
"Wang Yue!!" Cai Mingliang howled in agony as he looked at Wang Yue, whose throat had already been ripped wide open by one of the Rats, leaving only a corpse.
"Boss!! Save Me!" Another Knife Association member screamed out this time, he had also just been accosted by 4 Mutant Rats, and their defence was starting to collapse.
Cai Mingliang's body disappeared in a flash and appeared right beside that expert, instantly killing the 4 Mutant Mountain Rats.
"Save me!! Save me!! Ah!!!!"
However, Cai Mingliang was only one person, even if he gave his all to run about the battlefield, there was a limit to how much he could do, and he could only watch helplessly as his comrades died in front of him.
The vice-chief of the Knife Association Luo Shi sliced off the head of one Mutant Rat before turning to shout at Cai Mingliang: "Boss!! We can't hold off any longer!! We will definitely die if this goes on! Let's ask the Green Stone Triad for help!!"
Cai Mingliang panted heavily as he replied: "If we go now!! What if they demand for something that is hard to accept? What if he wants to swallow our Knife Association?"
Luo Shi hollered as he killed another Mutant Rat with difficulty: "Boss!! If this goes on, we're all going to die!! If we die, what's the point of the Knife Association?!"
"Boss! Help!!!" Another expert of the Knife Association screamed out, and was immediately pounced on by a few Mutant Mountain Rats, before being bitten to death.
Cai Mingliang witnessed yet another death of his subordinates, and gritted his teeth as he ordered one of the experts: "Hong Ming!! Go request aid from Green Stone Triad, say that we're willing to join him, ask Yue Zhong to send some aid!!"
Everyone had a job and spot to defend, and no one could retreat without the 4 Great Triads' orders. If any one faction or person dared to abandon his post, then anyone would be able to execute them later. Furthermore, upon return to Guilin City, the family members of the deserters would be killed without mercy as well.
Under such cruel laws, even if the road seemed helpless, those Enhancers had to fight on to the death. Otherwise, they would implicate their friends and families back at Guilin City.
Hong Ming quickly came to Yue Zhong's camp.
"Damn!! They're too strong! With such an expert in the Green Stone Triad, no wonder they became one of the 4 Great Triads!" When Hong Ming arrived at the campsite, he saw Yue Zhong commanding the lower level Enhancers to strengthen themselves, and the lone killing figure of White Bones on the frontlines.
White Bones alone could defend the location. It must be known that as Yue Zhong commanded Green Stone Triad, and since they were one of the 4 Great Triads, the location they had to defend was larger than most of the ordinary triads by at least 10 times.
White Bones had been enhanced 4 times, and evolved to the Second Order Dark Skeleton level. After its evolution, it was stronger than other Dark Skeletons by at least twice, its combat ability was extremely tyrannical, to the point where it could even take down a normal Type 2 Mutant Beast with only a fair amount of effort. It was considered even more dangerous than most Type 2 Mutant Beasts. However, in comparison, its Speed, Strength and Stamina was still lacking.
Hong Ming came to Yue Zhong and kneeled, as he kowtowed profusely: "Boss Yue!! I'm Hong Ming from the Knife Association!! Please send some reinforcements to save us! I'm begging you!!"
Yue Zhong eyed Hong Ming a little coolly: "Hong Ming! We had agreed beforehand on the defence zones! The Green Stone Triad is defending a location 10 times that of yours! I need my manpower here. Please hold on for awhile, I will send some men over later."
Yue Zhong was well aware of the fact that the Knife Association had an Agility-based Evolver. With that Evolver, the Knife Association could hold out for at least another 20 minutes.
Yue Zhong had planned that after 20 minutes, when the Knife Association was down to their last bit of strength, Yue Zhong would then go and rescue them. That way, the Knife Association would have no strength to bargain for any part of the Type 3 Mutant Beast.
Hong Ming did not hesitate as he immediately offered: "Boss Yue, as long as you send men to save us! We from the Knife Association will be willing to join the Green Stone Triad, and become part of you guys!"
Yue Zhong's tone immediately changed: "Great! Then I shall bring some men to help now!"
If the Knife Association were to join the Green Stone Triad, then the power in Yue Zhong's control would naturally increase some more, therefore he was willing to save them now.
Yue Zhong immediately summoned Larman: "Larman! Come with me!"
"Yes, Leader!" Larman brought the ex-Judgement Corps as they followed Yue Zhong closely, making their way towards the Knife Association's zone in haste.
Yue Zhong led his men and quickly slaughtered their way through the zone, only to see the remaining members of the Knife Association closely huddling in a circle, surrounded by a swarm of the Mutant Mountain Rats, desperately hanging on.
Yue Zhong heroically brandished his 2m-long Black Tooth Blade and charged into the Rat swarm. With every gargantuan swing, 4 or more of the Mutant Mountain Rats would lose their heads.
Facing these densely packed but low-level beasts, the Black Tooth Blade in Yue Zhong's hands was the most effective weapon, as the area of effect was large, and he could kill many of them in a single swing.
"Charge!!" Larman bellowed as he pulled out his own Dark Magic Blade and shot towards the Mutant Rats.
The platoon of the ex-Judgement Corps warriors also pulled out their Tang Replica Swords and followed Larman's lead as they charged towards the Mutant Mountain Rats. The strength of these warriors was their marksmanship, modern weaponry proficiency as well as experience. Their close-quarters combat was decent as well, and killing these Mutant Rats was not an issue.
On the other side, Cai Mingliang brought his men and they slaughtered their way through, both sides joining forces and forcing the Mutant Mountain Rats back.
Cai Mingliang came over in front of Yue Zhong, with a complicated gleam in his eyes, and he spoke solemnly. "Cai Mingliang greets Boss Yue! This time, it's thanks to Boss Yue's timely rescue, otherwise my brothers and I would have died here!"
Yue Zhong nodded slightly and replied: "I got it! Take your men! Let's construct some barricades immediately!!"
Yue Zhong had brought along some tools as well.
To maintain the defence on Cai Mingliang's side, the fortification required was definitely not little. The main reason why they were struggling was because they had underestimated the effectiveness of fortifications. They had grown complacent, and didn't expect the forces of the Mutant Beasts to attack so fast, hence they had thoroughly suffered.
Whereas compared to Yue Zhong, everywhere he went, he would bring along the necessary materials and tools for fortification. A simple construction could potentially save the lives of countless warriors at the right time.
After they forced the horde back, Yue Zhong's subordinates began nailing large steel beams into the ground. After they established a few stakes, they started tying a layer of sharp wires in between the stakes, and in a matter of minutes, a simple defensive structure was erected.
"Yes, Boss!" Cai Mingliang saw those simple yet effective structures, and his respect for Yue Zhong rose, before bringing his men to help out in the ongoing fortifications.