29: Chapter 29 A-Rank Battle Blade - Tide Slayer

Lin Mo did not take it.

His gaze fell upon that deep green gemstone.

He knew that it wasn't a gemstone at all, but a crystal core found only within fierce beasts of Rank 4 or higher.

"This is a Grade A combat knife, not military supplies. I can't accept it."

Lin Mo said, refusing.

He didn't know how much a Grade A combat knife was worth, but it certainly wouldn't be cheap.

Moreover, this knife wasn't a military-standard combat knife; it was clearly Wu Feng's personal property, making it even more impossible for him to accept.

"Its name is zhan chao."

Wu Feng didn't withdraw his hand; instead, a trace of sadness appeared in his eyes.

"Its previous owner was my old captain."

The wind blew from the direction of the cliff, whipping up dust.

"His surname was Qin, and his name was Qin Zhengrong. He was the captain of the Second Squad of the Elite Assault Team."

Wu Feng spoke to himself.

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Mo's eyes.

"The Second Squad?!"

Lin Mo had learned before that the strength gap between the thirty Elite Assault Teams was actually quite large.

Furthermore, these thirty assault teams were basically numbered according to their overall strength.

Like the 22nd Squad led by Wu Feng, it belonged to the squads with lower overall strength.

In the top twenty squads, the captains almost all had the strength of the peak of Rank 2, and the members were also stronger.

As for the top fifteen squads, the captains were all Rank 3 Awakeners.

As for the top five squads, the captains were all Rank 4 Awakeners, and even the members were at least late-stage Rank 2 Awakeners.

So, the original owner of this knife was a Rank 4 Awakener?!

"A year ago, we went to the core area of Nanling to carry out an investigation mission. Captain Qin sacrificed himself to cover our retreat."

Wu Feng looked up, his eyes slightly reddened.

"Before Captain Qin died, he handed zhan chao to me. He said: 'You are the youngest in the squad, representing hope. Take it, and don't let me down.'"

He paused and curled his lips in a self-deprecating manner.

"It's been a year, and I haven't been able to make it show the power it should have. I'm not worthy of it; I've let Captain Qin down."

He pushed the knife forward another three inches.

"But you are different. You are younger than me and stronger than me! In your hands, zhan chao can truly exert its real power!"

"Now, I am handing it over to you. Inherit Captain Qin's will for me!"

Lin Mo remained silent for a long time.

He looked down at the combat knife called "zhan chao," looking at the worn sharkskin on the hilt and the deep green crystal core on the handguard.

Indeed, he was currently lacking a handy weapon.

Captain Qin Zhengrong's will?

Isn't it just to slaughter all those damned beasts?

Coincidentally, he was exactly in need of slaughter value!

Thinking of this, Lin Mo reached out and gripped the hilt.

It was heavy, nearly twice as heavy as a Grade C standard combat knife, but its center of gravity was adjusted extremely well. When held, the blade tilted forward slightly, as if urging its master to swing.

"Captain Qin Zhengrong," Lin Mo muttered the name under his breath.

"Rest assured, in my hands, this knife will slay even more fierce beasts!"

Wu Feng took a step back, straightened his back, and solemnly gave Lin Mo a salute.

No words, no tears; a veteran's respect was all contained within this salute.

Lin Mo nodded slightly and hung zhan chao back at his waist.

...

Twenty minutes later.

Lin Mo and the others finally arrived at the mission location.

But the sight before them caused everyone's expressions to change drastically.

The fortifications of the 16th Patrol District had been almost completely smashed to pieces by the beast tide.

The original reinforced concrete walls were full of gaps, imprinted with huge claw marks.

The barbed wire laid on the outside was also torn and scattered everywhere, with remains—unknown if they belonged to beasts or humans—still hanging from several pillars.

Two bunkers had collapsed, with steel bars protruding from the exploded concrete, twisted into bizarre shapes.

Over a dozen human limbs lay scattered on the ground. Some wore camouflage combat uniforms—veterans; others wore semi-worn student soldier uniforms—newcomers who had just arrived at the front line.

Some still maintained a fighting stance, with knives held across their chests; others were curled into a ball, enduring unimaginable pain until death.

What met their eyes was tragic to the extreme.

"Oh no, we're too late!"

Wu Feng said in a low voice.

"Captain, what do we do now? Should we report to Headquarters?!"

Vice-captain Lao Yu asked.

"First, explain the situation to Headquarters. We'll search the surrounding area to see if we can find any surviving brothers!"

Before Wu Feng's voice had even faded, he had already stepped out.

Lao Yu pressed his communicator and reported to Headquarters at a rapid pace.

Headquarters' instructions came through the static: "Received. Act according to the situation. Prioritize rescue and rendezvous with any surviving units if possible."

"Rendezvous..."

Wu Feng gritted out those words as he climbed over a collapsed trench. His foot stepped on something soft; he didn't look down and simply bypassed it.

Lin Mo followed behind him, his gaze sweeping over the spot Wu Feng had just stepped on—it was a severed arm.

In the distance, many corpses in combat uniforms lay scattered; they were all veterans.

But these people no longer had breath or heartbeats.

Not a single one was alive.

According to the information from Headquarters, the patrol team stationed in this area was quite large, nearly a hundred people including the students!

A hundred-man patrol team, equipped with light and heavy firepower, with veterans and fortifications, should normally be able to withstand an onslaught from a beast tide three times their size.

But the actual situation was completely different.

The defense zone had been completely breached, the fortifications were mostly destroyed, and searching all the way here, Lin Mo and the others hadn't seen many fierce beast corpses at all.

They were all humans!

"Could over a hundred people all be useless?!"

"The combat strength of the Sixth Battalion shouldn't be like this!"

"Unless—"

"Unless what attacked them wasn't just beasts."

Wu Feng already had a suspicion.

However, he didn't voice it. He just had a grim expression, hoping to find one or two survivors to ask exactly what happened to cause such a tragic defeat.

Wu Feng's pace quickened, his throat feeling as if a piece of rusted iron was stuck in it. It had been half an hour, and not a single survivor had been found—only corpses!

Lao Yu hung up the communication and caught up, whispering:

"Headquarters says everything was normal in the patrol district this morning, but the commander suddenly lost contact two hours ago..."

"Two hours."

"Enough to kill a hundred people, tear fortifications to shreds, and gnaw corpses beyond recognition?"

"Unless it was a hundred pigs!"

"Standing there motionless for the fierce beasts to gnaw on!"

But clearly, it wasn't. Various signs around them indicated that these veterans and students were very brave, putting up the greatest resistance before death!

"Why didn't they organize and rely on the fortifications for defense?"

"How could this battle turn out like this?!"

Lao Yu asked in confusion.

Wu Feng didn't respond.

He knelt down and reached out to close the eyes on a young face.

It was a student soldier; the name tag was still hanging on his chest—from Lingwu University. His eyes simply wouldn't close, no matter how long Wu Feng pressed.

"Captain..."

Lao Yu's voice had also gone hoarse.

"We can't find anyone, really can't. Are we too late?"

Just then—

"Roar—!"

A beast's roar came from a mountain hollow to the northeast, rolling through the woods like muffled thunder.

Followed immediately by a second, then a third!

It wasn't a demonstrative howl, but more like the restlessness before an attack.

Wu Feng stood up abruptly: "Over there!"

Lin Mo had already rushed out.

Seeing this, the others followed closely behind, immediately charging toward the source of the sound.