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Chapter 237 Black Horned Bull

"Everyone, get ready and prepare for battle."

Chen Mochuan's voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone present stop what they were doing.

Han Hao, who was running towards the cave, stopped in his tracks upon hearing this.

Li Cheng and Zhong Xuping turned their heads at the same time, their gazes following the direction Chen Mochuan was looking.

Everyone present was a Transcendent Realm martial artist who had experienced life-and-death trials in the wilderness. Their sense of danger was already ingrained in their instincts, and they had already become aware of it after Chen Mochuan's warning.

At this moment, above the woodland on the outskirts of the stone forest, birds circled in panic, and the muffled roars of beasts that could be faintly heard in the distance grew closer and closer, making the air seem to freeze.

Everyone quickly took some recovery potions, making the most of the time to adjust their condition and prepare to face the impending danger.

As Chen Mochuan had predicted, a ferocious beast soon appeared in the sight of the group who were on high alert.

A strong sense of danger washed over him, and Han Hao took a deep look at the boy beside him. He hadn't expected that this junior, whom his father had described as "exceptionally talented," would possess such calm judgment and decisiveness.

Amidst the jagged rocks, a minotaur was rushing toward them at an incredible speed. Seeing that the "prey" it had just sensed seemed to have no intention of escaping, it slowed its pace.

Although this monster has a bull's head, the rest of its body has nothing to do with "bull" at all.

Its two curved black horns gleamed coldly in the sunlight, their surfaces smooth as mirrors and their sharp points like daggers.

Beneath that bull-like face, a gaping mouth revealed fine, sharp teeth, and its body was covered in thick, dense fur, as if it were wearing a layer of natural armor.

The limbs of the muscle worm are more like those of a lion or tiger. With each landing, gravel is kicked up and sent flying, leaving deep claw marks on the hard rock.

Blackhorn Bull.

Chen Mochuan recognized the origin of this ferocious beast at a glance.

The textbook "A Comprehensive History of Ferocious Beasts" at Yunhan Martial Arts University provides a detailed description of this ferocious beast. It is known for its strength, is easily angered, and is adept at using its extremely sturdy horns on its head to charge at enemies. It is also proficient in the pouncing techniques of felines, making it an extremely troublesome ferocious beast.

The black-horned bull in front of us wasn't particularly large, even smaller than the gray-maned wolf king that had just been killed, but the aura and pressure it exuded were clearly much stronger.

That difference stems from the gap in the life level of second-tier ferocious beasts.

Following closely behind the bull were five ferocious beasts of different shapes. Judging from their size and the fluctuations of blood energy emanating from their bodies, they all possessed the strength of a first-order perfected beast. Apart from these, there were no other miscellaneous ferocious beasts accompanying them.

Clearly, they did not belong to the same group; perhaps they had temporarily gathered together out of fear of the black-horned bull.

They started to form a small herd of animals.

"A second-tier Blackhorned Bull —"

The moment Li Cheng saw the bull-headed beast, he finally understood why Chen Mochuan had said "it's too late."

Even with the speed of a second-tier ferocious beast, they wouldn't be able to escape the stone forest and retreat by flying vehicle before being caught by the enemy, even if they ran at full speed without carrying the wounded. It would be better to adjust their condition and prepare to face danger in advance, otherwise they might die even faster.

Seeing the Black Horned Bull slowly approaching, the intense tension made Li Cheng's mouth dry. He subconsciously swallowed and whispered, "Didn't the commander say there were more innate combatants on their way? Why aren't they here yet—"

"We can't expect reinforcements to arrive just when we need them most," Chen Mochuan said calmly, while quickly assigning tasks. "I'll deal with this Black Horned Bull, and you can handle the remaining five Tier 1 Perfected Beasts."

Upon hearing this, the other three all changed color.

Li Cheng hesitated, wanting to say something.

Han Hao immediately spoke up: "You're here to rescue us, you shouldn't bear the greatest risk. It should be me who lures away this black-horned bull—"

Zhong Xu's voice rang out almost simultaneously, "Second-tier ferocious beasts are too dangerous, you're alone—"

The usually taciturn boy stared intently at the black-horned bull, his fingers gripping the sword so tightly they trembled slightly.

White.

Before the two could finish speaking, Chen Mochuan interrupted them.

"Believe me."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable certainty.

"If you're really worried, then quickly deal with the other five ferocious beasts, and then turn around and help me deal with this bull. That way, we might be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive."

The three of them, Li Cheng, exchanged glances and saw worry in each other's eyes.

"Okay." Han Hao spoke first, his voice low, "Junior, remember not to be reckless."

Zhong Xu didn't speak, but simply gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

"Understood." Li Cheng nodded emphatically, cracking his knuckles forcefully. "Brother Chen, you must hold on."

With the plan set, the four of them said no more and simply observed the ferocious beasts that were slowly approaching.

Chen Mochuan bent down and picked up a palm-sized, hard rock from the ground, weighing it in his hand.

Just like when he faced the Bone-Splittering Mastiff countless times during the Beast Hunting Trial, he suppressed his excitement when facing a powerful foe, and his eyes became increasingly calm.

He knew he wasn't entirely defenseless.

Over the past period, he had been fighting several times a day against the Bone-Splitting Mastiff on the eighth level of the Beast Hunting Trial.

Although it still couldn't defeat the giant mastiff that was above its level, it had improved from only being able to last a little over two minutes before being devoured by the mastiff to being able to hold out for six or seven minutes, and even leaving many wounds on the giant mastiff before being completely killed.

He accumulated invaluable experience from his battles with the Bone-Splitting Mastiff. The attack rhythm, power exertion habits, and defensive weaknesses of second-tier ferocious beasts were deeply imprinted in his fighting instincts.

Moreover, unlike during the Beast Hunting Trial when he only had a pair of ordinary gauntlets as equipment, he was now wearing the extremely defensive "Heavenly Blessing Type VI" inner armor. It seemed that even if he occasionally suffered an attack from a wild bull, it wouldn't be a big deal for him given his physical strength.

The black-horned bull seemed to have observed the situation sufficiently, and began to run quickly again, displaying an aggressive posture.

Seeing this, Chen Mochuan pushed off with his feet, creating some distance between himself and the three. Then, he swung his right hand and smashed the hard rock in his hand hard against the head of the Black Horned Bull.

"call out----"

The stone traveled at incredible speed, like a cannonball, whistling through the air, and hurtled straight at the black-horned bull that was charging at high speed.

The Black Horned Bull didn't even slow down; it simply lowered its head slightly and deftly flicked the stone—enough to shatter the skull of an ordinary beast—with one of its sharp horns.

Those deep brown eyes instantly locked onto Chen Mochuan.

The Blackhorn Bull is notoriously irritable; even a harmless rock can easily provoke its temper.

At this moment, it abandoned its original charging route, lowered its head slightly, adjusted its direction, and pointed its pair of shiny black horns at the human who dared to provoke it.

"Ugh!"

The deep roar of the bull rolled across the stone forest like muffled thunder. The black-horned bull's hooves flew, and its speed increased again, like a small tank, charging straight towards Chen Mochuan.

Seeing that he had attracted the bull, Chen Mochuan unleashed the full power of his Wind Tiger Formation, leading the bull away into the distance.

Just as Chen Mochuan lured away the bull and created an opportunity, the three from Licheng made their move almost simultaneously.

As the senior, Han Haochong was at the forefront, with Li Cheng on the left and Zhong Xu on the right, maintaining a wedge formation as they charged towards the five first-tier perfected ferocious beasts.

The five ferocious beasts were not weak: a red-scaled snake over six meters long with tough scales covering its body; an iron-armed ape nearly two meters tall with bulging arms; a dire wolf with an exceptionally robust body and menacing fangs; a shadow cat with jet-black fur and dagger-like claws; and a horned rhinoceros similar in size to a black-horned bull.

The red-scaled snake was the fastest and pounced first. Its scales stood up, and it opened its blood-red mouth, its fangs gleaming with a ghostly green light in the sunlight.

Without hesitation, Han Hao, who was at the forefront, flicked his spear, and the tip of the spear, like a snake emerging from its hole, accurately struck the lower jaw of the Crimson Scale Serpent. This strike was not aimed at killing, but rather at using a gentle force to deflect the head of the Crimson Scale Serpent to one side, making room for the two people behind him to attack.

The Iron-Armed Ape and the Savage-Horned Rhinoceros charged in from two other directions. The Iron-Armed Ape swung its arms like hammers, smashing down; the Savage-Horned Rhinoceros charged forward with its head down, its horn pointing directly at Han Hao's chest and abdomen.

On the left flank, Li Cheng's tall figure strode forward to meet them.

He clenched his fists, a faint bronze sheen emanating from beneath his skin. He showed no fear in the face of the ferocious beast, but rather became even more excited.

The Iron-Armed Ape roared and swung its arms down, but Li Cheng crossed his arms to block it.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, cracks appeared in the rock beneath Li Cheng's feet, but his body only sank slightly before stopping.

He then swung his arms outwards, deflecting the Iron-Armed Ape's attack, and delivered a powerful punch to its abdomen with his left hand, sending it staggering backwards.

His right fist struck the red-scaled snake that Han Hao had flicked at him, causing it to let out a painful roar.

At that moment, the charge of the horned rhinoceros also arrived.

Han Hao, who had already prepared for the attack, flicked his wrist, and the tip of his spear pierced the rocky ground in front of the horned rhinoceros. Using the momentum, he shifted to the right, barely avoiding the direct impact of the horns. At the same time, the butt of his spear swept across, striking the horned rhinoceros's hind leg with tremendous force, causing it to deflect the attack.

Both the Dire Wolf and the Shadow Cat are known for their speed. Instead of attacking head-on, they circled around to the flanks in an attempt to launch a sneak attack.

A long sword blocked their path.

Zhong Xu's sword was very fast. The sword techniques he practiced were known for their speed, and with the addition of spiritual energy, the crimson flames on the sword made his swordplay even more fierce.

The dire wolf had just leaped up to pounce when it was forced back by a crimson sword light.

After landing, it let out a low growl, staring warily at the flickering flames on the tip of Zhongxu's sword. Although the sword hadn't reached it, the edge of the flames had grazed its forepaws, leaving a scorched mark.

The Shadow Cat leaped among the rocks, attempting to launch a sneak attack from Zhong Xu's blind spot. But just as it extended its claws, it heard two piercing whistling sounds as Han Hao's spear tip and Zhong Xu's longsword came at it from both sides, forcing it to abandon its attack and leap backward.

Although the three had never fought together before, their teamwork was quite good at the moment.

Han Hao is the strongest, but he's not in good shape right now.

He was already injured, and the prolonged battle against the wolves had further depleted his strength, leaving him with only 60-70% of his peak condition.

Despite his strength, he remains the core of the three-man squad thanks to his rich combat experience and accurate judgment of the battlefield.

He didn't engage any ferocious beast in prolonged one-on-one combat. Instead, he constantly controlled the rhythm of the entire battlefield with his spear. Sometimes he would force back an Iron-Armed Ape that tried to flank him with a single thrust, sometimes he would sweep the end of his spear to block a dire wolf that pounced from the side for Li Cheng, and sometimes he would deliver a precise thrust to create an opportunity for Zhong Xu to attack.

Li Cheng positioned himself to Han Hao's left, like a mobile fortress, simultaneously restraining the Iron-Armed Ape and the Savage Horned Rhinoceros, two ferocious beasts known for their strength. His punches were fierce and violent, each carrying immense power, often forcing the two beasts back.

On the other side, Zhong Xu brandished his long sword, occasionally spitting out tongues of crimson fire, which made the ferocious beasts quite wary.

The three's teamwork was far from perfect, and occasionally some small flaws would appear, but they would quickly make up for them, not giving the ferocious beast any chance to take advantage.

This initial discord is rapidly dissolving in the repeated attacks and defenses; their cooperation is becoming increasingly seamless, and they have begun to suppress the ferocious beasts.

However, they knew that there wasn't much time left to work things out. Chen Mochuan, facing the Black Horned Bull alone, was in great danger, and they had to finish the battle quickly and go to his aid.

After once again joining forces to repel the ferocious beasts' attack, Han Hao spotted a flaw in their formation and suddenly shouted, "Kill the Crimson Scale Serpent first!"

As he spoke, he thrust out three times in a flash with his spear.

The first two shots forced back the Dire Wolf and the Shadow Cat, while the last shot struck with perfect accuracy on a piece of scale that the Crimson Serpent had already damaged in the previous battle.

"Click!"

The spear tip embedded itself in a crack in the scale armor, and then Han Hao flipped his wrist, forcefully prying the spear outwards!

The already cracked scales were shattered.

The red-scaled snake let out a mournful hiss, and the part of it that had lost the protection of its scales was exposed to the air, revealing its dark red flesh.

At the same time, Li Cheng rushed forward, his arms outstretched, managing to block the impact of both the Iron-Armed Ape and the Savage Horned Rhinoceros. His arm muscles bulged, veins stood out, and the rocks beneath his feet shattered inch by inch. He was almost bent over by the pressure.

But he persevered in the end.

This bought Zhong Xu time to strike.

Zhong Xu's figure swept past Li Cheng like a ghost.

The crimson flames on the longsword in his hand had reached their peak.

The red-scaled snake sensed a deadly threat and tried to retreat, but it was too late.

Zhong Xu unleashed a sword strike.

The sword tip sliced ​​into the snake's body from where the scales had been removed, and crimson flames and sword energy exploded simultaneously.

The Crimson Scale Serpent let out a short, mournful cry. Almost half of its body had been severed by the sword. Its massive body convulsed violently a few times before it lay still.

The first ferocious beast is dead!

Just as Zhong Xu killed the Crimson Scale Serpent, a muffled loud noise suddenly came from another battlefield in the distance.

Licheng happens to face that direction.

He witnessed Chen Mochuan's body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a giant rock.