19: Chapter 19 Off-road Vehicle, The Situation in the Dragon Kingdom

In the forest, two military off-road vehicles traversed mountains and ridges as if moving on flat ground.

With six people per vehicle, there were twelve people in total, both men and women, dressed in camouflage military uniforms and fully armed with rifles, swords, compound bows, and more, with various new types of artillery and weapons stored in the back.

Such a formation was enough to traverse the mountain range unimpeded.

In one of the military off-road vehicles, a young man with well-defined features sat in the back row, clutching a three-foot-long blade that resembled a Tang sword, looking at it with great affection: "Boss, we've been staying in the forest for several days now, and we haven't even seen a single feather of that strange bird. Could it be that the strange bird is already dead?"

Another young man beside him nodded slightly, expressing agreement with this statement: "I think it's possible. After all, having been bombed like that and hit by hundreds or thousands of bullets, logically speaking, it couldn't still be alive. Mutant creatures haven't evolved to the point where they can survive a saturation attack from thermal weapons yet."

In the third row, a beautiful young woman rolled her eyes at them: "Our superiors sent us here to search; we just need to follow orders. Why is there so much nonsense?"

The young man clutching the long blade turned back to retort: "I'm not trying to disobey orders, but searching like this is not a solution. We still need to cultivate and become stronger; I don't think all this trouble is necessary."

The captain driving the off-road vehicle replied: "Our superiors didn't just send us to find that strange bird; they also want us to gain experience and improve our combat proficiency by fighting mutant creatures."

The young man clutching the long blade turned back and nodded excitedly: "That's right, that's exactly what I was thinking. So, let's go find powerful mutant creatures to fight and improve our combat experience. My blade is already thirsty for battle."

The young man sitting in the passenger seat chimed in: "Yes, real combat. I want real combat. The opponent must not be too weak; being too weak is boring."

The man with glasses sitting next to the man with the long blade suggested: "I think that Siberian Tiger in the heart of the forest is quite good."

In the third row, a scruffy middle-aged man waved his hand: "I think we should forget it; it's too dangerous."

Upon hearing this, the man with the long blade was immediately displeased, his tone sarcastic: "Tsk tsk, you're even afraid of a beast? That's truly something."

"What do you mean by that?" the middle-aged man asked coldly.

The man with the long blade didn't stop there: "Then why are you afraid to go?"

The middle-aged man looked somewhat angry: "I'm just worried about accidents. If something goes wrong, can you take responsibility for it?"

The man with the long blade was unrelenting, shrugging his shoulders: "When it comes down to it, you're just afraid to go."

The middle-aged man was furious: "If you've got guts, go by yourself."

The man with the long blade wasn't afraid at all and spoke without hesitation: "I'll go then, who's afraid of who!"

The captain driving the off-road vehicle couldn't listen anymore and scolded them: "Stop arguing, everyone be quiet."

The man with the long blade poked his head to the front row and looked at the captain: "Boss, you decide whether we go or not."

The captain sighed, feeling very helpless because of the man with the long blade: "Logically speaking, for the sake of the teammates' safety, we shouldn't go. But if you insist on going, it can be considered. The higher-ups did say to let us go deep into the forest, depending on your personal intentions."

"I'm going." "I'm going too." The two people in the second row agreed immediately—namely, the man with the long blade and the man next to him.

The beautiful young woman said: "I don't think there's any need to take this risk."

The man with the long blade looked at the middle-aged man in the back: "Huang Zeyu, what about you? Are you going or not? It's a simple yes or no, don't dilly-dally like a woman."

"I agree to go." Upon hearing this, Huang Zeyu, not wanting to be looked down upon, agreed immediately.

The man with the long blade cheered: "Five to one, the minority obeys the majority. It's decided then! Let's go! To the heart of the forest!"

The captain asked the other off-road vehicle for their opinion, and they agreed to go, so he reminded them: "Alright, since that's the case, everyone stay vigilant and be careful."

"Yay, let's go, let's go!" The man with the long blade was very excited. Dealing with those sub-rank mutant creatures could no longer satisfy him; if he was going to fight, he wanted to fight powerful ones.

They knew that in the heart of the forest there was a King of Beasts, a first-rank, level-three creature. Although there was some danger, with so many people and various weapons, they could completely traverse it unimpeded; it was only slightly dangerous.

And so, the two off-road vehicles sped through the forest, heading towards the heart of the forest.

Huang Zeyu struck up a conversation: "Nowadays, mutant creatures are increasing all over the country, but there are very few martial artists, and everything relies on the military districts to suppress them. I don't know when this situation will change."

"Indeed, the ratio between martial artists and mutant creatures is too small. We can suppress them in the early stages, but if martial artists can't keep up in the later stages, it will be difficult."

"Humanity started late to begin with. The situation in Dragon Country is already quite good; some small countries have already fallen completely, becoming a paradise for mutant creatures, with people suffering and the scenes being too horrible to look at!"

It had been some time since the Aura Tide began. Aura Tides had appeared all over the country, some large and some small. Most of the Aura Tides were controlled by humans, who obtained many spirit stones.

After the aura rushed into the clouds, it turned into rain, nourishing all things. Martial artists were born all over the country. Martial artists are those who can sense the existence of aura. After being baptized by the aura, their levels would increase by at least two levels, and at most five levels; this also represented the level of their talent and aptitude.

And these people who entered the mountain range were the best among the martial artists. They were already martial artists before the Aura Tide. After experiencing the aura baptism, their levels skyrocketed and only stabilized after half a month.

At the same time, the military vigorously trained them and also took blood samples for research to benefit all of humanity.

The man with the long blade was named Cheng Kun, and his level was sub-rank nine. The long blade in his hand was embedded with a demon core and a spirit stone. The spirit stone provided energy, the demon core converted and stored energy, and aura covered the surface of the blade, providing power and significantly increasing Cheng Kun's combat effectiveness. It also utilized quite a bit of technology.

Without some technical skill, it would really be impossible to connect the demon core with the spirit stone.

The weapons of the others were not bad either.

After all, they were all rare talents, so naturally, they had to be well-prepared. drones were spread throughout the mountain range, monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of these martial artists, while also monitoring every move of the mutant creatures in the mountains.

Everything was developing in a good direction.

All over the country, there were Soldiers guarding, maintaining order, and eliminating mutant creatures, although there were also friendly creatures.

After passing the military's tests and wearing a collar that allowed for positioning, had a camera, and an detonation function, once they crazily attacked humans, their necks would be blown off, and they would die on the spot.

Only in this way could they be brought back to be raised, used to guard the house and protect humans, which was quite good. Their intelligence had also improved a lot, and pets were loyal to their owners. Even if they knew the danger the collar posed to them and that it restricted their freedom, they were still willing to wear it.