Chapter 42 – Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Chapter 42 – Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Cheng Yang had stirred up a hornet’s nest. All the bloodthirsty jackals turned their gaze toward his direction. A deafening roar erupted from the monster horde, and countless jackals surged toward him like a tidal wave.

Cheng Yang hadn’t been hiding his presence, so it was no surprise the jackals had spotted him easily. He began retreating southward at a controlled pace, firing magic missiles at the pursuing pack as he ran.

After covering nearly a hundred meters, over a dozen jackals lay dead. Unlike the black wolf from yesterday, this jackal leader wasn’t content to let Cheng Yang slaughter its pack. With a howl, it broke away from the main group, leading a dozen elite jackals in pursuit.

Judging by their size, none of these elites were at the initial First Order stage. This meant the jackal leader commanded not only numerous early First Order demon beasts but also a hierarchy of sub-leaders. Together, they formed the command structure of the monster horde.

Cheng Yang’s mind raced. The emergence of these leaders presented both opportunity and danger. Eliminating them would make the remaining jackals manageable, but the question was how. With them breaking away from the main group, his speed advantage was significantly reduced. While he still moved twice as fast as them, that was his maximum speed.

Both before and after the apocalypse, humans could only maintain top speed for limited durations. Before, trained individuals could sustain it for about 300-400 meters. Now, the duration depended on one’s physical defense and attack stats – the average of these two values determined how many minutes one could run at full speed.

Animals, however, faced fewer limitations, especially canines like wolves. So despite Cheng Yang’s superior stats, the actual speed difference wasn’t as significant as it seemed.

After quick consideration, Cheng Yang decided to focus on eliminating the jackal leader first. If it caught up when he was exhausted, he’d be in serious trouble.

Identifying the leader among the pack wasn’t too difficult. While the mid First Order sub-leaders were running at full speed, the late First Order leader moved with ease, clearly holding back.

Making up his mind, Cheng Yang accelerated his retreat while launching magic missiles at the leader.

The leader proved cunning. After taking two hits, it slowed slightly, letting a sub-leader take point and absorb attacks. Its combat experience showed in its precise timing – every time Cheng Yang prepared to attack, a sub-leader would position itself between them.

This frustrated Cheng Yang immensely. If he had advanced apprentice-level skills, this situation would be manageable. But as things stood, he could only play it by ear, focusing on eliminating the immediate threats.

Mid First Order demon beasts posed little challenge to Cheng Yang now. Two magic missiles were enough to take one down. Eliminating the dozen or so elites seemed feasible, but something felt off. An uneasy premonition nagged at him – these jackals wouldn’t be so easily dealt with.

The intense chase lasted nearly a minute. Cheng Yang had killed over five sub-leaders, leaving only six remaining.

Suddenly, the leader howled, and a faint gray aura spread outward from it. The remaining demon beasts’ eyes turned blood red.

Cheng Yang’s expression changed dramatically. He recalled the military’s experience attacking this passageway in his previous life.

Though he hadn’t participated in that battle, survivors had described how, despite facing two late First Order demon beasts, human forces had held the advantage due to superior numbers. But just as victory seemed certain, the mid First Order demon beasts suddenly surged with enhanced power, inflicting heavy casualties. This loss of human elites had made the subsequent attack on Phoenix Village much harder.

The reason for the demon beasts’ sudden boost had remained a mystery, with many attributing it to the passageway’s unique properties. But now Cheng Yang realized the truth – it was this jackal leader’s doing.

Before he could process this revelation, the seven jackals charged at him with terrifying speed.

Cheng Yang was shocked. The six mid First Order sub-leaders were moving at late First Order speed! This defied all logic!

There was no time to hesitate. If surrounded, he’d be torn to shreds. Cheng Yang turned and fled at full speed. The jackals were now only slightly slower than him – if he didn’t push himself, it would be too late.

Previously, he could attack every three to four seconds. Now, under pressure from the enhanced jackals, he needed fifteen seconds between attacks, each executed with extreme caution to avoid being surrounded.

The only consolation was that while their speed had increased, their health hadn’t. After four attacks, Cheng Yang had killed two jackals.

But his stamina was dropping rapidly. At this rate, he could only maintain full speed for two more minutes before his speed would halve – a terrifying prospect in this situation.

Cheng Yang considered targeting the leader directly, but its cunning exceeded his expectations. Every time he prepared to attack, a sub-leader would intercept, foiling his plans.

An idea struck him. He’d have to resort to an old trick. Spotting a large tree nearby, Cheng Yang dashed toward it. Reaching the base, he leapt three meters up, grabbing the trunk and scrambling upward with practiced ease.

In less than two seconds, he was ten meters up. The remaining five jackals reached the base, leaping up to bite at him. But lacking human dexterity, they could only jump three to four meters before falling back.

Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Yang took aim at the leader and launched a magic missile.

“Thud!” The attack struck true, the leader unable to use a sub-leader as a shield this time. It howled in rage.

Realizing they couldn’t reach Cheng Yang, the jackals turned their attention to the tree. Despite its one-meter diameter, they began tearing into it with terrifying ferocity, their powerful jaws sending wood chips flying like giant chisels. The tree wouldn’t last long under this assault.

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