Chapter 10

After Cheng Yang dealt with the green-skinned monkey, he said, "The next demonized creature will be up to you. Although this world has been gamified, it still has some differences from games. The skills here won't lock onto targets automatically. This means that whether it's magic or arrows, if you can't aim at the target, you'll just be wasting energy. So, I hope you can wait until the demonized creature gets close before starting the fight. This will also help train the warriors' defensive skills."

Li Wanshan nodded deeply and said, "Young brother, don't worry! The times have changed, and we know what to do."

After saying this, Li Wanshan turned to the other two and said, "In a moment, Du Cheng and I will be at the front. Our attacks are weaker than those of mages, so the main attacker will be you, Feng Jie."

While they were talking, a white light flashed on the distant plain, and a wolf-like creature appeared there. Like the green-skinned monkey before, it charged straight toward Cheng Yang.

"Prepare for battle!" Cheng Yang said simply, then watched quietly from behind.

The gray wolf charged straight for the entrance, fifty meters... forty meters... thirty meters... twenty meters...

"Puff..." A white light ball suddenly whistled out from the entrance, heading straight forward, but it flew over the gray wolf, failing to hit even a single hair.

"I..." Feng Jie, in his twenties, looked nervous and was about to say something. There was no doubt that the magic missile he had just fired was the one that missed.

Cheng Yang's face showed no other expression as he said directly, "No need to explain! Keep fighting!"

Feng Jie closed his mouth, seemingly understanding that now was not the time to explain, as the gray wolf was already less than ten meters away.

Li Wanshan's face hardened, and he charged forward with his shield. The gray wolf collided with the shield, and both man and wolf were pushed back. However, the wolf had the advantage of momentum, and Li Wanshan couldn't stop himself from being pushed back.

After stabilizing itself, the gray wolf pounced at the entrance again. Du Cheng shouted, suppressing his fear, and charged at the gray wolf. However, whether due to panic or some other reason, he didn't fully use his shield to block but raised his broadsword and swung it at the gray wolf's head.

"Crack..." Du Cheng's broadsword hit the gray wolf's head. However, the wolf's head is notoriously hard, and the blow didn't even scratch it. The wolf pushed Du Cheng's shield aside with its head and opened its mouth to bite at Du Cheng's shoulder.

"Ah..." The distance was too close, and Du Cheng couldn't dodge in time, being bitten by the gray wolf.

After biting down, the gray wolf immediately let go and opened its mouth to bite at Du Cheng's throat.

"Puff..." This wasn't the sound of the gray wolf biting Du Cheng, but rather Feng Jie's magic missile hitting the gray wolf, pushing it back.

Seizing the opportunity, Du Cheng, who had been bitten, didn't dare to stand alone at the front anymore. He immediately joined Li Wanshan, who was charging forward again, and they advanced together toward the gray wolf. Although the bite had caused him intense pain, the threat of death made him forget his fear.

"Kill!" The two of them held their shields and blocked the gray wolf's next pounce, then both swung their swords. Li Wanshan hit the target, but Du Cheng's sword was dodged. Despite this, the gray wolf was helpless against their combined defense.

Seeing the gray wolf blocked, Feng Jie's tension eased, and he condensed another magic missile, firing it at the gray wolf.

The magic missile hit the target smoothly.

Feng Jie didn't feel any pride; the distance was only three meters, and if he couldn't hit the target from such a close range, he might as well bash his head in.

After the three of them worked together, Feng Jie used four magic missiles to finally take down the gray wolf. Several vague light points emerged from the gray wolf's body and flew into Li Wanshan and the others.

In this battle, Feng Jie contributed more than half of the damage, but if it weren't for Li Wanshan and the other two holding the front, he probably wouldn't have been able to cast even one magic missile before being killed by the wolf.

Their battle lasted about thirty seconds, which was far from the four to five seconds Cheng Yang took to resolve a fight. Moreover, they were three people working together, which left them in awe of Cheng Yang's combat ability.

"The next demonized creature is yours. Sit down and rest; this will help you recover your mana faster," Cheng Yang said calmly. He didn't explain the reason, but he believed they would understand his intentions when they sat down to recover.

After Li Wanshan and the others sat down, Cheng Yang stood at the front again. This time, it took nearly a minute for another gray wolf to appear, and Cheng Yang used four magic missiles to resolve the fight, leaving Li Wanshan and the others sitting in shock.

After two battles, Cheng Yang's mana was down to twenty-one points, with one point just recovered. Although the remaining mana was enough to deal with another demonized creature, he didn't dare to take the risk. If he, as a mage, ran out of mana, his physical strength was only about twice that of an ordinary person, which was too risky. So, he handed the next battle to Li Wanshan and the others and sat down to rest.

The southern gate, guarded by Cheng Yang and his group, gradually stabilized, and the other three gates were in similar situations.

Yu Kai's three groups, though lacking a powerhouse like Cheng Yang, had more people, with nine in each group. They had all four professions, and especially the summoners, whose summoned creatures could take the front, greatly reducing the pressure on them.

As time passed, the frequency of demonized creatures appearing increased. However, Yu Kai and his group's coordination also improved, and what originally required four people to handle one demonized creature now only needed two. This wasn't because of significant improvement but because the demonized creatures appearing were of similar strength. As long as they overcame their fear, two-on-one was manageable.

However, if they were to fight the demonized creatures one-on-one, it would still be very dangerous, and a single mistake could cost them their lives.

Half an hour passed, and the number of demonized creatures killed by Cheng Yang and his group exceeded 150. Cheng Yang alone had killed over thirty, and his magic missile proficiency had increased to over 10%. The other members' skill proficiencies also improved, but they were still behind Cheng Yang, as his mana recovery speed was faster, allowing him to use skills more frequently.

Of course, their gains in the past half hour weren't just these; they also earned spirit points. Cheng Yang's attribute panel now showed 37 spirit points, while Yu Kai and the others had only single-digit spirit points.

...

In Xiangcheng City, disaster struck again as various monsters appeared, causing fear among the people.

For those who hadn't chosen a profession, the monsters were overwhelmingly powerful. An average person's abilities were all at level 1, with a life strength of around 10. They had no resistance against the attacks of early-stage demonized creatures.

Fortunately, the speed of demonized creatures was roughly the same as humans, so they still had a chance to escape if they ran at full speed.

The government also realized the situation was dire, and the guns, which were initially used for intimidation, began to show their power. At this point, humans finally understood the strength of these monsters, as it took at least twenty bullets to kill each demonized creature.

Later, they discovered that the bullets didn't even penetrate the demonized creatures but only embedded in their skin, showing their formidable defense.

On the streets and in the ruins, people began to flee for their lives again. However, this time they found themselves with nowhere to run, as the monsters appeared randomly, and any place could have a monster.

At this moment, people seemed to understand the slaughter mentioned earlier, but it seemed that humans were the ones being slaughtered, and it was a merciless slaughter with no resistance.

Fortunately, the monsters were still acting alone and not in groups, or Xiangcheng City might have been completely bloodbathed.

...

Cheng Yang's expression grew increasingly serious as he noticed the frequency of monster appearances increasing. Now, four monsters appeared every twenty seconds. Each group was operating at full capacity, and if the frequency increased further, Cheng Yang would be worried.

For Cheng Yang's group, the biggest limitation was mana. Although it recovered quickly during meditation, it still required time.

Warriors were better off; even without mana, they could continue to slash with their weapons, though this only allowed them to use about 70% of their combat power, dealing limited damage to demonized creatures. However, as long as they defended properly, their chances of getting injured were low.

However, other professions were in a more tragic situation. Cheng Yang now wished he were in Xiangcheng City, where he could exchange spirit points for various recovery potions, a significant advantage of the main city. But in this outpost, a potion-making room would only appear when it was upgraded to a level-two village.

Cheng Yang didn't regret his decision. He deeply understood that if he hadn't come to Luofeng Slope before the disaster, he would have had no hope of occupying Luofeng Village. Three months later, humans paid a heavy price to finally occupy Luofeng Village, which was the most elite force in Xiangcheng City. At that time, even if he wasn't at the bottom of society, standing at the top of humanity would have been impossible.

Of course, Cheng Yang could choose to close the gate and have the ranged classes fight from the city walls. However, this wouldn't help train their combat skills. Future battles would mostly take place in the wild, and Cheng Yang didn't want these experts to become weak on the ground after fighting from the walls.

Fortunately, nearly fifty minutes had passed, and the high-frequency appearance of demonized creatures was about to end. As long as a large number of flying demonized creatures didn't appear, they wouldn't have to worry about them attacking the outpost.

...