Chapter 3: Collapse (Part 1)

The Moon Blade sliced through the air from behind with ease, instantly splitting in two the mutant wielding a bone mallet. Without the cover of his companions, the mutant had no chance against the Moon Blade. In just a moment, Guo Shier had killed three mutants.

Yet, Guo Shier felt no sense of excitement, as he saw the three squadrons led by Qian Rongyao retreating in disarray, dragging along the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Squadrons on both flanks. The sight of such a large group collapsing was terrifying.

Looking closely, Guo Shier noticed at least a dozen more mutants chasing after them. He immediately made a decision and shouted, “Everyone, turn around! Run!” He rushed to the three dead mutants, quickly forming three Soul Beads. At the same time, he swung the Moon Blade to sever their heads, extracting six crimson eyeballs. His speed was astonishing—within less than a minute, he had dealt with everything.

Glancing at the retreating professionals, he realized he was powerless. He turned and sped along the ground to catch up with his own squadron.

Since their running speed was far slower than flying, he caught up with the group after just over ten seconds. Shouting loudly, he said, “Those who can fly… take those who can’t! Don’t stop, don’t look back! Damn it… fly as fast as you can!” With that, he grabbed one of the non-flying professionals and fled at top speed without pause.

Wild Bull also grabbed one and shouted, “Fly with me!”

Eagle Demon, like Guo Shier, grabbed two professionals each and flew toward the canyon exit.

Once everyone worked together, the entire squadron’s speed increased several times over. Being the closest to the canyon exit, they were the first to break through.

Guo Shier had long known that once they reached the exit, the mutants wouldn’t be able to follow, as they couldn’t leave the canyon—a rather strange phenomenon. Once outside the canyon, all members stopped.

Wild Bull said with a wry smile, “We’re unlucky this time—running into so many mutants.”

Guo Shier replied, “Form up and wait here. Uncle Eagle Demon, let’s go provide support. Save as many as we can.”

Eagle Demon agreed, “Okay!” He too wasn’t used to abandoning his companions.

The two turned and flew back toward the canyon.

Just then, Qian Rongyao shouted loudly, “Push harder! We’re almost at the exit… run faster!” He was struggling alone against two mutants, constantly using teleportation but not daring to go too far, aiming only to hold them off so they couldn’t chase after the team members.

Each platoon leader was fighting desperately, clashing endlessly with the mutants. They would run away for a distance, then turn back to fight again before retreating once more—trying to buy time for their teammates to escape. The brutal scene chilled Guo Shieru to the core. Those professionals were truly fighting their lives out, especially the platoon and squad leaders, who were doing their utmost to secure even a little more time for their comrades to flee.

Suddenly, a wild scream was heard, and a figure was flung into the air. Guo Shieru teleported over and caught him. Upon closer inspection, it was Hu Chen. His eyes were dim as he said, “Run! Stay here… you want to die? Run!” Guo Shieru replied calmly, “As long as I’m here, you won’t die. You still owe me 10,000 points!”

With a loud roar, the Giant Perch Dragon suddenly appeared before everyone. Guo Shieru shouted, “All of you, jump onto the dragon’s back!”

Yue Ren also appeared beside Guo Shieru. He spat, and a red dot flew out. With a soft chirp, a fiery Ancient Flame Sparrow appeared. He said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, go treat the wounded—ride the Giant Perch Dragon!”

The Giant Perch Dragon roared, and its massive tail lashed out violently. With a loud crash, a tall mutant was flung hundreds of meters away. It was evident just how fierce that strike was. The mutant staggered for a moment before charging back again, shocking Guo Shieru.

The mutants had extremely strong resistance to attacks. Only by cutting through their bodies with something like Yue Ren could they be killed.

Guo Shieru shouted, “Don’t abandon those around you! Come to the Giant Perch Dragon!”

The mutants were brutally savage when fighting professionals, tearing them apart or crushing them outright. They moved at incredible speed, and once pursued, professionals had little chance of survival. Only the Mad Masters could fight back briefly—those in the Magic-Warrior class. Those in the Spellcaster class simply didn’t have time to react. Once a mutant got within ten meters, they were almost certainly dead, unless someone risked their life to save them.

A Saint Master, without help, would find it difficult to kill a mutant, but they could manage after a brief struggle—provided there was only one mutant. If there were two, the Saint Master could only flee. The mutants coordinated with remarkable precision.

Cries of agony rang out continuously. There were six platoons, totaling over a thousand people, while the enemy had only seventeen or eighteen mutants. The numbers were utterly unequal, yet it was the few chasing the many.

As soon as the Giant Perch Dragon appeared, it immediately caught the attention of the four mutants. They dropped their prey and rushed at it, realizing its great threat. Since most mutant battles relied on close combat, and the Giant Perch Dragon’s close combat skills were outstanding among mutant beasts—even though it also had some long-range abilities, it rarely used them as they weakened its soul.

The over 100-meter-long Giant Perch Dragon opened its massive mouth and bit at one of the rushing mutants. The man, holding a thick bone club, let out a strange scream and swung the club down at the dragon’s head. Eagle Demon stood on top of the dragon’s head; of course, he wouldn’t allow the bone club to hit the dragon’s nose. With a swift wave of his hand, his signature talisman sword suddenly grew to five meters long and slashed downward from above.

Before the bone club could hit, the talisman sword struck it with a loud crash, sending both of them stumbling back. Eagle Demon staggered a few steps, but fortunately, he hadn’t used the sword directly—he had relied on the power of his soul, allowing him to withstand the massive impact. The mutant, however, suffered greatly; both the palms of his hands were shattered, and the bone club flipped over and landed behind him.

Eagle Demon could step back a few steps to absorb the impact, but the mutant wasn’t so lucky. He also stepped back a few steps, but it was already too late to avoid the Giant Perch Dragon’s massive mouth, which bit him. The dragon frantically shook its huge head, and with a crackling sound, it crushed the mutant to pieces.

Immediately afterward, a burst of green talisman light turned the mutant into ashes. The Giant Perch Dragon swallowed that soul in one gulp and roared excitedly.

The other three mutants roared in fury, while Guo Shier’s Moon Blade slashed wildly, leaving them in disarray. The Moon Blade could break through their defenses, making it hard for them to adapt.

Continuously, professionals climbed onto the dragon’s back, and those on the back threw ropes to pull down the injured professionals who couldn’t fly. In this way, about a hundred people stood on the Giant Perch Dragon’s back, including Hu Chen, the captain of the Fifth Squad.

Eagle Demon flew off the dragon’s back and rushed toward Guo Shier. The Giant Perch Dragon turned and fled, with the three mutants closing in. Initially, it wanted to fight them, but it couldn’t disobey its master’s orders and could only sprint toward the entrance of the canyon at incredible speed. The three mutants couldn’t keep up and screamed in anger.

Following orders, the Giant Perch Dragon delivered the people on its back to the outside of the canyon before turning back and rushing into it.

Guo Shier was utterly speechless. From Qian Rongyao to the various squadron leaders, everyone was fighting on their own, with no intention of helping each other. They all struggled desperately, but to little effect.

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon abandoned those three mutants and turned to save Yu Lan. The two rushed toward Yu Lan from Squad 9, who was weaker—she was not only a woman but also just an intermediate Saint Master, making it difficult for her to cope with the mutants.

The moon blades whistled as they sliced through the air, transforming into countless blade-like fragments mid-air, like an enraged swarm of bees descending wildly.

Yu Lan’s face turned pale; she was on the verge of collapsing. Her opponent was tall and strong, and each attack made her feel like she was vomiting blood. Just then, Guo Shier’s moon blades descended with a roar. In an instant, they created countless wounds on the mutant’s body. Yu Lan widened her eyes in shock—she couldn’t even pierce the opponent’s skin with her own life talisman blade, yet Guo Shier’s blades were so powerful they could tear the mutant to shreds. She heard Guo Shier shout, “Back off!”

Yu Lan quickly retreated backward.

Guo Shier yelled, “Uncle, take Captain Yu and retreat!”

Eagle Demon grabbed Yu Lan without hesitation and ordered, “Retreat!”

Yu Lan screamed, “No!” She teleported behind a professional, reached out, and conjured a spear made of virtual talismans. Dozens of spells were cast instantly, turning the spear into blue ice crystals. She threw it forward, and with a whooshing sound, it struck a charging mutant, exploding with a loud noise and slowing the mutant down for a moment.

Eagle Demon grabbed the member who was nearly in a desperate situation and slashed with his sword, forcing the mutant to retreat several steps. He shouted, “Go!”

Yu Lan, with hair disheveled like a madwoman, grabbed a professional and, along with Eagle Demon, each carrying one person, flew desperately toward the entrance of the canyon.

The main group was almost at the canyon entrance when over thirty more mutants appeared in the distance. As soon as they showed up, they rushed toward the canyon entrance. Just thirty of them, yet they carried the momentum of an entire army.

Guo Shier used all his strength to slash with his moon blades, but he found it extremely difficult. While his blades could threaten the opponents, the mutants’ attacks were too much for him to handle. Relying on his agile movements and using teleportation to evade when in dire straits, he could barely keep up with two mutants. He knew that without the power of talisman arrays, he couldn’t kill them.

The Ancient Flame Sparrow could only spit out a ball of talismanic fire when Guo Shier was in danger to ease the intense battle. By the time the Eagle Demon returned, the newly appeared mutants were already very close. The Eagle Demon roared, “Shier, run! Run! Run!” He was truly panicked—once surrounded by the mutants, death was inevitable.
Qian Rongyao shouted frantically, “Don’t fight to the end! Withdraw quickly!”
Realizing the situation was hopeless, Guo Shier cried out, “Uncle Eagle Demon, take two people and go!”
The Eagle Demon grabbed one of the professionals by the arm and flew low to the ground, then quickly picked up another severely injured professional. Guo Shier didn’t dare to stay and fight anymore. His Moon Blade transformed into countless tiny blades, swirling wildly and confusing the two mutants. He used teleportation twice in a row, moving over fifty meters, then grabbed one of the professionals and flew toward the valley entrance, escaping the canyon in just a few dozen seconds.