Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 173 Beheading
There are always mutated beasts that choose to be enemies of humans for various reasons, most of them being out of their minds.

After all, having the same level of intelligence as humans does not mean having the same thinking ability as humans.

Even among humans, there are many who are anti-intellectual, incompetent, and brainless. People cannot be generalized, and the same applies to mutated beasts.

Su Xun drew his sword—it was still that ordinary command sword, but now it had acquired some extraordinary qualities under the long-term influence of his supernatural abilities.

The blade was as black as an abyss, with a thick flow of spiritual energy flowing through it. He was the first to leap into the cave. At the same time, thousands of rays of light suddenly appeared from the darkness, illuminating the pitch-black cave in every detail.

"I'll clear the way, Jiang Yi will provide fire support from the center, and the rest of you will guard the perimeter!"

"Yes!"

The superhumans jumped into the cave one after another. These people had different weapons and different superpowers, but they all cooperated well, guarding the surroundings while also subtly protecting Jiang Yi in the middle.

Jiang Yi could see all this, but she didn't say anything. She simply adjusted her weapon and stared into the darker areas and around the corners where mutated beasts might be hiding.

During the mission, everything else is secondary; only fulfilling one's responsibilities is real. She does lack combat experience and cannot show off or harbor any dissatisfaction.

For her, the opportunity to gain experience was invaluable, and she diligently absorbed the lessons she could learn from this trip.

Although the terrain slopes downwards into the underground mineral vein within the fissure, it is relatively flat. It is clear that the ground has been leveled, and the surrounding environment is dry and clean, with a breeze blowing in your face.

This may not be natural; rather, the mutated dogs that inhabit this area have modified it into a den. Many canines are quite adept at digging, and a fourth-tier earth-type mutated dog is even more skilled at it.

If it weren't for the fact that it was an enemy, Su Xun would actually have liked to bring it into the army's camp. However, this mutated beast refused to communicate and even killed a lot of army soldiers. This place wasn't that far from Haiqu, and he couldn't let a fourth-tier mutated beast that could potentially gather a horde of beasts grow here indefinitely.

On both sides of the main cave, there are many branch caves that have been clearly excavated. They are winding and unpredictable, and the howling and growling of dogs can often be heard from inside.

In their previous life, mutated cats and dogs in cities and chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep in towns and villages were the most common mutated beasts after the Great Cataclysm. However, in this life, since Su Xun made a series of suggestions and carried out a cleanup in advance, the number of related mutated beasts they could encounter has become very small. At present, this small group may have gathered all the mutated dogs from several surrounding cities.

"brush!"

A shadow emerged from a cave and rushed towards the group almost silently. It was a mutated bulldog, its body bulging with muscles, as if it had awakened a body-enhancing ability. It was clearly a third-tier mutated beast.

Su Xun did not make a move, but watched as the guards stepped forward to fight him. They were all at the third level and should be able to defeat their opponent.

He didn't bring children with him, nor could he protect them forever. These people will become the backbone of various units after leaving the guard platoon. This is not a simple training course. Those who leave here are destined to be warriors tempered in blood and fire.

Of course, if a life-threatening situation arises, Su Xun will intervene. However, in battles between equals, there is always the possibility of making a mistake or even facing danger...

Even if Su Xun doesn't punish this person, he will probably feel ashamed among his comrades.

Fortunately, no one made such a mistake. Those who could come here were all true elites. With the help of two people, one stepped forward to restrain the dog, and the other held a heavy hammer. They seized the opportunity and smashed the giant dog on the head. In just one move, they knocked it to the ground.

"Hey, it's still breathing! Sister Yi, give it a good whack!"

The two stepped aside, and Jiang Yi raised her hand. A beam of light burst forth from the weapon in her hand, easily piercing through the head of the third-tier mutated beast.

This reveals the slight inferiority of the jet rifle. If Xiao Zhen had used the same 'floating cannons' on the battlefield, he could have burned the mutated beast to ashes by now.

Of course, there were some advantages as well. Third-tier mutated beasts could already produce spiritual energy crystals within their bodies, and if they burned it all in one go, the crystals would naturally disappear. However, the group didn't have time to collect them at the moment. The death of this bulldog was just the beginning. In the blink of an eye, several mutated dogs of different breeds rushed up together, and one of them even went straight for Su Xun.

Su Xun didn't even raise his knife. He saw a blue light flash across the other's neck in mid-air, and the mutated dog that pounced on Su Xun was immediately decapitated. A huge dog head rolled straight to his feet.

Not only were there Tier 3 beings, but also Tier 1 and 2 beings rushed over. The guards in the platoon cooperated well and handled the situation with ease. They even deliberately let one or two low-tier mutated dogs go for Jiang Yi to practice on.

However, the mutated beasts were not zombies after all. Seeing that they could not break through after a long time, these mutated dogs immediately changed their strategy and began to patrol the surrounding area.

The warriors did not pursue, but instead tightened their defenses, resulting in a stalemate. Just then, a particularly deep bark rang out from the depths of the cave. As if given a command, the mutated dogs around them immediately turned around and fled into the darkness.

The situation became quiet for a moment. Suddenly, Su Xun looked up, and a yellow light emanated from his body. The next moment, the cave shook, but nothing happened.

In the dim light, heavy, animalistic footsteps echoed, and the newcomer made no attempt to conceal itself.

A huge, almost unrecognizable mutant dog walked out from the depths of the cave into the light that Su Xun had set up. Its presence almost completely filled the entire cave, making one wonder if it could even turn around there.

This mutated dog was covered in thick, armor-like rock slabs, and its eyes were flashing with a light similar to that of Su Xun. It lowered its eyes, looked down at Su Xun, and let out a threatening growl.

"You still have a chance."

Su Xun looked up, not caring about the difference in perspective. The weak do not become strong just because they are in a high position. No matter how big or high the other party is, they are still just weak.

"If you surrender now, we can still talk. Our policy has always been to treat prisoners of war well."

"Roar--"

The other party answered Su Xun's question with its actions. With a low growl, it slammed a claw towards Su Xun's position. Taking advantage of its huge size, the claw was several times larger than Su Xun's entire body.

Su Xun simply sighed softly, shifted his foot to the side, and a bright, cold light shone from the blade.

He lightly stepped on the mutated dog's foreleg, and man and blade joined forces, the sharp blade slamming into the opponent's chest.

With a sound of metal clashing against stone, a white light even emanated from the back of the giant dog and disappeared into the rock wall at the top of the cave.

Having landed a successful blow, Su Xun stomped his foot on its chest, sheathed his sword, and leaped back to the ground. As he landed, the mutated dog, as large as a small mountain, whimpered and collapsed to the ground.

With a loud bang, a mournful wail echoed from the surrounding darkness. Su Xun gently shook his head.

"Clear out the remaining mutated dogs, collect spiritual energy crystals, and regroup for rest after the mission is completed."

"Yes!"

The soldiers, armed with various weapons, advanced into several caves nearby. Su Xun was left with only Jiang Yi by his side. He looked at the fourth-tier mutated dog corpse that almost blocked the cave and suddenly felt a little curious.

The way it looks like it did this on purpose, blocking the way with its own corpse, is there something behind it?
Su Xun and the mutated dog didn't have any effective communication from beginning to end. It seemed that the other party hadn't learned human language. At this point, there was no way to guess, but he didn't need to guess. The other party hadn't stopped him when it was alive, so what if it was dead?

(End of this chapter)