Chapter 118: Chapter 112: The Monster Hunter
The territory of the Tree-born Worms spanned a thousand meters. Though not vast, if measured in a straight line, it was enough to search a certain range of the neighborhood.
Zhao Yimin followed Su Han's instructions and drove the big trucks back, leaving three jeeps for the team.
Zhu Xiong and the others were amazed at how the Ancient Worm Tree seemed to have grown stronger, but Bai Qilan was more perceptive, noticing the presence of the Tree Womb.
She approached Su Han and asked softly, "Is that the thing, the new ability?"
Su Han's ability to fuse with monsters to gain new abilities and even evolve was no longer a well-kept secret.
Since the Flesh Corpse Den had been fused, it would inevitably bring about new changes.
"The Tree Womb, it can nurture contracted beasts by absorbing enough monster materials."
"Only one?"
Bai Qilan's implication was clear—if there was only one, it might be better to let her contract the Tree-born Worm instead, so as not to weaken Su Han's combat capabilities.
Su Han shook his head: "Like the Tree-born Worm, it can give birth to contracted beasts again, but it requires time and resources."
Each birthing process needed time, which meant there was currently only one spot for a contracted beast. If there were several positions like with the Tree-born Worm, losing one wouldn't matter as much. There would be other replacements available during the excessive birthing period.
Despite Su Han's hundred Tree-born Worms hunting every day, there would be casualties. Losing one or two occasionally would be gradually replenished over the course of two or three days.
While they were talking, the Tree-born Worms suddenly reacted, quickly returning to the roots of the Ancient Worm Tree.
Su Han immediately sensed it and looked towards the east: "Get in the cars, there's activity on Wufu Road."
Everyone immediately got into the vehicles, and the Ancient Worm Tree swiftly changed into an Anthropomorphic State, transforming into a three-meters-tall Treant Form and then striding quickly towards Wufu Road.
Now that all the Tree-born Worms were outside, it was convenient to summon the Ancient Worm Tree directly. However, those Tree-born Worms wouldn't return out of thin air; such a loss was not insignificant.
In its Treant Form, the Ancient Worm Tree's speed was no slower than a typical vehicle, and in this fog, it was extremely agile, like a lighthouse.
The Tree-born Worms exploring in that direction were also swiftly following the Ancient Worm Tree, converging like an army.
.....
"Run, these monsters are tough!"
On the street, a black modified car was crashing through the fog at high speed. Around the vehicle, several dark figures were sprinting through the fog, with black tendrils waving on either side.
The four people in the car were becoming more anxious and scared, with fear involuntarily covering their faces.
Damn, they shouldn't have come here to hunt those monsters, foolishly trying to devour the flesh and blood for evolution.
"Swoosh"
Suddenly, a dark figure kept pace with their car, and with a fierce motion, a tendril shot out, reaching into the car window.
No, no!
The face of the man driving changed drastically, but the tendril had already reached the side window.
At the tip of the tendril, a red light flashed, and the driver's gaze turned dazed in an instant. Then, he forcefully twisted the steering wheel, and the vehicle rolled over on its side.
"Boom"
The sound of the vehicle was thunderous. Thankfully, all four inside were Contractors, who instantly kicked open the doors and burst out.
The Book of Blood Spirit in their hands emitted a red light, and four Angel Envoys were summoned, all towering in stature—three resembling Flesh Corpses while one was in the form of a Giant Macrophage Dog.
"Dammit, they're swarming us. We should never have hunted this kind of monster."
The short-haired man leading them had an ashen face. The Angel Envoy in front of him stood two meters tall, with one hand resembling a huge claw and the other like the tentacles of an octopus. The creature was massive, and its strength was evidently First Order Upper Grade.
The other three were slightly inferior, but still boasted the power of First-level Intermediate. The Angel Envoys showed clear signs of transformation.
However, all three were wounded, especially the muscular man who had been driving, whose forehead was bleeding, his face darkening to an extreme.
"Roar"
The dark figures chasing them in the fog had now cornered them; these were canine creatures nearly two meters long, with a single eye and a red vertical slit below which their mouths split. On either side of their heads were tendrils, with red patterns resembling eyeballs at the tips.
"Be careful of their tendrils, don't look directly at those patterns."
Guo Du's face was steely as he watched the Eye Beasts, one of which had shoulders reaching one and a half meters high and a body that was three meters long, its strength clearly matching his own. But the tendrils were the most terrifying.
"Charge!"
Guo Du charged forward, his Angel Envoy keeping pace beside him as it attacked the leading Eye Beast with its tendrils.
"Boom"
The Eye Beast was incredibly agile, leaping away as the tendrils struck heavily on the ground with a thud.
As it dodged, the leading Eye Beast's tendrils struck towards Guo Du's Angel Envoy, the tips glowing crimson, ready to use its Skills.
Guo Du's expression changed. He averted his gaze as the Angel Envoy stepped across and batted the tendril aside with its own.
The red light dimmed, interrupting the skill.
But the five remaining Eye Beasts had already surrounded them, entwining in the fray.
The Eye Beast's tentacles seemed to have a certain range of control, and they didn't strike frequently. Guo Du and his three teammates worked together in battle, and the Contractors were also taking action, which barely kept them going.
For a few minutes, Guo Du and the four fought back and forth against the Eye Beast, until the one whose forehead was injured, Zhao Qian, became momentarily distracted by the bleeding, causing his movements to falter.
Seizing the opportunity, the Eye Beast's tentacle struck, with a smack, flinging him away.
"Zhao Qian!"
Guo Du wanted to come to the rescue, but the leading Eye Beast had already swept its tentacles from side to side with the violence of a whip.
His face changed color, and he could only use his weapon for defense, with the Angel Envoy assisting in protection.
With no one to save him, the fifth Eye Beast took advantage of the moment and pounced, biting at Zhao Qian's neck.
In the face of life and death, Zhao Qian exerted all his strength to dodge and put out his hand to block, but the Eye Beast's gaping maw bit off his entire left arm.
"Ah!"
His agonized howl echoed down the street. Just as the Eye Beast was about to continue its attack, suddenly, a whizzing sound of something piercing the air rang out. A Spider Thorn shot out from the mist and rapidly struck the Eye Beast, piercing through its body. The roar of engines sounded as three jeeps burst through the fog, arriving on Wufu Road.
"Brothers, save me, watch out for their tentacles, they can control people."
Guo Du instantly became excited, knowing that with people's help, they could escape these monsters.
However, his face changed dramatically the next moment as several huge monsters burst out of the fog, the foremost of which was six meters tall, with a body covered in Black Armor, half-human, half-spider, and towering like a demon.
The remaining monsters were also of considerable size: a three-meter-tall Spider Woman, a massive pig monster bigger than an off-road vehicle, and lastly, a large Treant Form with a fierce human face and terrifying vines.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if the newcomers were monsters or Angel Envoys.
"Roar!"
The Eye Beast sensing the crisis, roared angrily and turned to face the Scorpion Spider Demon and the others, its tentacles swinging and a red glow appearing.
But the Demon Eye Spider Woman's crimson Demon Eyes opened simultaneously, unleashing a Mental Shock. The glittering tentacles painfully twisted in response.
The Eye Beast let out a mournful cry, its form arching in agony.
At that moment, the Ancient Worm Tree's hands shot out vines, instantly binding them, tentacles and body alike, tightly wrapped.
The ferocity of the onslaught left Guo Du and his group stunned, standing frozen in place. Fortunately, Guo Du came to his senses and immediately rushed to Zhao Qian's side.
"Hang in there, Zhao Qian!"
Zhao Qian's arm had been severed at the upper portion, with blood flowing nonstop. He pulled out his belt, wound it tightly around the wound, and secured it firmly to stop the bleeding.
"Click"
The car door opened, and Su Han and his team stepped out. Guo Du and his team showed astonished expressions, because the leader turned out to be a young man in his early twenties.
"Hey, you guys come here."
Zhu Xiong looked at Guo Du and the others, signaling them to come over.
Guo Du was momentarily stunned, a flicker of wariness crossing his face, but he quickly became very compliant, supporting the pale-faced Zhao Qian as they approached.
"Thank you," he expressed with a grateful look, knowing that saving a life was no small feat, "If it weren't for you, we might have been captured by these monsters."
"Captured?"
Su Han's face showed a hint of curiosity. Clearly, these guys knew something, so he said, "Tell me about these monsters, and about yourselves."
"Yes"
Su Han spoke calmly, making Guo Du's heart tighten with nervousness. He assessed the Angel Envoys behind Su Han and the others getting out of the cars, equipped with standard crossbows, and felt even more anxious.
These people were not just strong, they were part of a substantial force.
"I was hunting monsters when I found these creatures, just one of them, about First-level Intermediate, preparing to feed it to an Angel Envoy. But unexpectedly, I was ambushed by them during the chase, and the people in the other vehicle all died."
Guo Du's eyes lowered slightly, clearly having suffered significant losses, and then said, "If it hadn't been for your rescue, we might have..."
Hunting monsters?
This was the first time Su Han had seen survivors employing such tactics, and the purpose of hunting was obviously to induce Evolution through Devouring, to enhance their strength, much like Wan Yuzhou.
They were not doing this for the first time, but an apocalypse had been going on for more than a month, nearly two, such actions were not unjustifiable.
However, it was clear that Guo Du and his team had met with disaster.
Zhu Xiong's face turned cold, and he snorted, "Don't beat around the bush. Which camp are you from, and where did you encounter the monsters? Speak clearly. If you're honest, we won't make things difficult for you, otherwise, we'll be sorry."
Guo Du's face stiffened, knowing vagueness wouldn't do, and hastily said, "I didn't mean it like that. We are survivors from Changlin Street, and we encountered these monsters nearby. Seeing their ability to confuse and control survivors, that's why we wanted to hunt them."
"Hmm?" Su Han's gaze intensified as he said, "How do they control? With that tentacle? Which direction did they go?"
"Yes, with the tentacles," Guo Du quickly nodded and said, "The red light from the tentacles can make a person's mind wander. Slightly stronger Contractors can resist a bit, but ordinary people get bewitched. We saw ordinary people being bewitched and then bound and kidnapped by the tentacles, which is why we had the idea to hunt them."
A skill that could control, even if devouring it wouldn't necessarily induce a mutation, was still worth a try.
"We were originally successful, wounding one of them, but when we chased them near South City No.2 Middle School, we were ambushed instead."