Chapter 478

Chapter 478: Swift Hunt

Wang Xiao rose from the ground, a mocking voice emanating from beneath his helmet:

"So, the beast has learned to speak human language, huh?"

He glanced at the number [49] displayed in the upper right corner of his helmet’s embedded screen. With a powerful stomp, the thrusters behind him roared to life, propelling him forward like a battering ram.

The grayish-white extraordinary beast made no attempt to evade; instead, it charged head-on, colliding with Wang Xiao in a fierce clash.

As they grappled, the beast suddenly let out a deep, guttural growl. In the next moment, hundreds of extraordinary beasts poured into the factory through every entrance, launching a coordinated assault on Wang Xiao.

Indeed, the battlefield lay at the heart of a beast tide, with only a thin wall separating them from a sea of beasts that resembled a nightmarish procession of demons.

This was precisely why Wang Xiao’s battle plan allowed for only one minute. Anyone else who lingered here for even that long would find it nearly impossible to escape unscathed.

"Think you’re the only one who can call for backup?"

Wang Xiao smirked inwardly, deftly dodging an attack from a swarm of lesser beasts. The grayish-white commander attempted to pursue him but found its claws inexplicably pinned to the ground, unable to lift.

Looking down, it saw its shadow come alive, tightly binding its legs to the floor.

Without hesitation, the extraordinary beast transformed its front limbs into razor-sharp blades and severed its own legs.

Its body seemed to be composed of a liquid-like substance, shifting and morphing as if it contained the essence of countless creatures.

In the next instant, it lunged forward, its arms splitting down the middle, transforming two chitinous blades into four.

"Clang!"

The metallic clash reverberated through the factory as Wang Xiao’s mercury-colored shield intercepted the four blades, obscuring the beast’s vision.

"Swish!"

The sound of a folding high-frequency vibrating blade extending filled the air. By the time the countdown on the screen reached [42], Wang Xiao had already circled behind the beast, using the shield to mask his movements. With a single, precise strike, he severed its two humanoid arms.

Meanwhile, the commander extraordinary beast stumbled forward, realizing its feet were once again anchored to the ground. The loss of balance sent it tumbling uncontrollably.

This extraordinary beast, with its near-human intelligence, quickly deduced that there were three attackers in total. Aside from the two in front, one remained hidden, lurking in the shadows and continuously binding it.

If this continued, it would lose.

But it could not afford to lose. It was the firstborn of its mother, a perfect creation nurtured by dozens of Giant Trees, the "commander" of the Fifth Level.

It would never fall here.

In an instant, the beast’s mismatched eyes sharpened, resembling those of a hawk. As Wang Xiao raised his long blade for another strike, its clay-like body sprouted two pairs of wings.

These wings bore a bird-like appearance, yet in a flash, they began flapping with the rapid frequency of insect wings, generating a swirling vortex of wind within the factory.

Wang Xiao couldn’t allow it to take flight. Adjusting the angle of his blade, he aimed for one of the wings. The beast twisted to evade, but his strike landed squarely on its thigh.

However, this attack didn’t yield the same result as before. The beast’s body had become unnaturally pliable, and the high-frequency vibrations only produced an afterimage, failing to sever the limb entirely.

Suddenly, rows of glass windows along the factory walls shattered, sending shards flying in all directions. Amidst the chaos, the extraordinary beast broke free from its earthly restraints and began a new round of maneuvers, buzzing like a colossal fly, its unsettling hum filling the air.

[36, 35…]

As the countdown neared its halfway point, Wang Xiao narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

This extraordinary beast was indeed unique. Not only did it rival human intelligence, but its ever-shifting form made it a true shapeshifter.

The Shadow Master’s bindings, his high-frequency vibrating blade… Most attacks seemed to lose their effectiveness after the first use.

To deal with such an enemy, if possible, one must strike with a single, deadly blow. Otherwise, if the opponent finds a way to counteract through their gene banks or abilities, a new plan for execution must be devised.

But… he still had a way!

He still had that ability!

"‘Mercury,’ lift me up!"

Wang Xiao shouted towards "Mercury" without caring whether the extraordinary beasts could hear him, and he charged at the enemy holding his long blade.

While "Mercury" did not have any special enhancements in terms of strength, it must be said that being "hard" was also a skill.

His body glimmered with silver light, transforming into a statue lifting the void.

Wang Xiao’s body was already robust, and with a specially designed exoskeleton, most people simply could not withstand such heavy pressure.

But the hardened mercury could.

He stepped on the arched leg of the mercury with his left foot, his right foot replacing the space held by the beast’s original supportive hands. As he activated the thrusters in mid-air, he swung down with his blade.

The extraordinary beasts merely sneered, their bodies becoming soft and supple, always ready to counter his attack.

Just as the two were about to collide head-on, Wang Xiao’s hands suddenly went limp, completely parting with the folded long blade, while its owner, like a long-lost relative, opened his arms wide.

Even with extraordinary intelligence, the extraordinary beasts could not comprehend this gesture of battlefield recognition.

In one moment, their focus was on the blade, and in the next, Wang Xiao wrapped his arms around the beast’s neck in a fighting stance, poised to spin one hundred eighty degrees.

The heavy burden landed on the extraordinary beasts, causing their bodies to sink sharply, almost crashing back to the ground.

As they watched the boiling shadow, the extraordinary beasts hastened the flapping frequency of their wings, ensuring that no part of their bodies touched the ground. The buzzing sound grew, and they ascended once more.

Such an attack was, of course, useless. The extraordinary beasts silently laughed at the foolishness of a human who had lost their rationality but found that, as they connected with Wang Xiao, their life force began to drain rapidly.

【Flesh and blood—Absorbed】!

Beneath the visor, Wang Xiao smiled as he saw [29] in the upper left corner of his vision.

Although the commander extraordinary beasts were at the Fifth Level, they were still not plants. Given their size, they could not be drained by Wang Xiao for long.

They understood this problem as well, but previously they thought this person hidden in the mech was just a coward. They did not expect him to possess this ability, which was indeed a miscalculation.

Even so, they still held the advantage.

Just the ability to fly allowed the one in the shadow and that silver-haired fool to only watch helplessly. All that was left was to kill this guy hiding in the mech, and the battle would be over!

A low growl escaped the throat of the beast that Wang Xiao had pinned, a sound that seemed to pierce through everything, reaching every corner.

High above in the factory, hundreds of meters up, a swirling three-headed bird suddenly dove downward, even flapping its wings to gain speed. The ground rushed closer, but it showed no intent of slowing down.

Below was a hard concrete surface, the top of a factory.

It would die there, upon the solid creation of that human.

And its death would bring victory for the higher-level extraordinary beasts.