Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

The same field, on the other side.

Sun Chen had just pulled his battle sword from the eye socket of a black-scaled demonic hound, flicking his wrist to shake off most of the black blood from the blade. Before he could even sheathe the sword, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure lunging from his left.

Before he could stop, he used his left hand to block the charging monster's jaw and his right hand to plunge the knife into its neck, the tip of the knife protruding from above.

The monster's corpse crashed to the ground, sinking into the blood-soaked mud.

"Brother Chen!" Meng Xing's voice came from the side, "Behind you!"

Sun Chen didn't turn around, but crouched down and rolled half a circle to the left. A barbed tail swept across the spot where he had just stood, scraping a shallow groove in the ground.

As he stood up, he had already switched the knife to his left hand, and with a backhand slash, he struck the base of the tail, causing the creature to recoil in pain.

He glanced sideways and saw a venomous scorpion lying five steps away, its tail raised high, venom dripping down its stinger.

Meng Xing pounced from the side, grabbing the scorpion's tail tightly with one hand and stabbing the knife into the gap in the scorpion's neck with the other. The creature twitched twice and then stopped moving.

Meng Xing pulled out his knife, squatted on the ground panting, his mask half-covered in black blood.

  

Sun Chen stood to the side, his muscles aching slightly. It was a sign that his energy and blood were being depleted too quickly.

He glanced at the crack from a distance.

Monsters continued to emerge. Team leader Fang Yan had just killed a giant lizard-like monster. It was at the ninth level of the first stage of Body Refinement, with abundant blood and qi, like a fighting machine.

Just as he was about to beckon Meng Xing to move closer to Fang Yan, a deep, drawn-out hiss suddenly came from the depths of the crevice, so loud that the ridge beneath his feet trembled slightly.

The next instant, two jet-black scythe-like limbs gripped the edge of the crevice, and an inverted triangular head emerged, with dark green compound eyes and fine bone spurs growing from its joints.

It landed silently, its six legs bracing against the ground. Its entire body was over three meters long, and its carapace was covered with longitudinal ridges, as if it were covered in blades.

Sun Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

The monster encyclopedia data popped up on the panel:

[Name: Blade-footed Demon Mantis]

[Realm Level: Second Tier, First Level]

【Characteristics: Extremely fast, adept at using scythe-like limbs for strikes, capable of brief low-altitude flight】

[Weaknesses: Insufficient defense against heavy and blunt force injuries; relatively weak defense against the eyes, abdomen, and joints]

"Second tier," he muttered to himself.

Fang Yan had already rushed forward.

His blade, imbued with powerful qi and blood, slashed towards the leg joint of the Blade-Footed Mantis.

The two blade-like joints on the chest of the Blade-Footed Mantis suddenly unfolded from their folded state and slashed towards Fang Yan's blade.

The sound of metal clashing was sharp and piercing. Fang Yan's tiger's mouth trembled, the blade deviated, and the other forelimb of the Blade-Footed Mantis had already swept towards him.

Fang Yan parried with his sword, but was thrown off the ground, his feet carving two deep furrows in the earth. He retreated more than ten meters before regaining his footing.

He glanced down at his right hand—there was a gash in the web of his hand, and blood was trickling down the hilt of the knife.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.

Sun Chen flipped off the ridge and rushed towards Fang Yan's direction. As he passed Meng Xing, he shouted, "I'm going to support the team leader, you hold them off!"

Meng Xing responded and stepped aside to block a demon that was lunging at him.

Fang Yan charged forward again, this time choosing to move sideways and focus on attacking the lower limbs of the Blade-Footed Mantis, but the Blade-Footed Mantis was extremely fast and he missed every time.

The Blade-Footed Mantis suddenly accelerated, its forelimbs slashing at Fang Yan's left leg from the side. He barely managed to dodge, the scythe-like limbs grazing his thigh and leaving a gash.

Fang Yan took two steps back, simultaneously activating the Blood Burning Technique and Blood Armor. His blood and qi surged suddenly, and a layer of dark red blood and qi film covered his body, vaguely forming the outline of armor.

He pulled out a booster potion from the side pocket of his combat suit, bit open the seal, poured it into his mouth, and once again faced the Blade-Footed Mantis.

Taking advantage of the moment when Fang Yan was holding back the Blade-Footed Mantis, Sun Chen attacked from the side and slashed at the joints of the Blade-Footed Mantis's lower limbs.

The blade had only cut an inch in when the Blade-Footed Mantis let out a metallic scraping hiss, its forelimbs snapping back to clamp Sun Chen's blade between them.

Fang Yan attacked the belly armor of the Blade-Footed Mantis from the side, forcing it to loosen its grip.

Sun Chen drew his sword and took two steps back, catching his breath. He muttered under his breath, "Isn't it said that the denser the spiritual energy, the easier it is for high-level demonic creatures to appear? This wretched place has no one cultivating—" Before he could finish speaking, the forelimbs of the Blade-Footed Demon Mantis swept over again.

Sun Chen only had time to turn his head before his forelimbs grazed his ear, the wind from which made his earlobe sting.

His other forelimb followed closely behind. He parried with his sword, but was sent flying, his back hitting the muddy ground and sliding five or six meters.

A salty, fishy taste filled my mouth, and my whole body felt like it had been smashed to pieces.

The Blade-Footed Mantis didn't chase after him. Its dark green compound eyes turned to Fang Yan, as it perceived the person in front of it as the greatest threat.

It swung its forelimbs, and Fang Yan dodged the attack by sidestepping. He parried the second attack with his sword, and the immense force cracked the blade, shattering most of the membrane of blood and qi that had been gathered there.

Sun Chen struggled to his feet, not rushing forward again.

He took a deep breath to calm his surging blood and qi, then pulled out a fist-sized black sphere from his waist and gripped the pull ring with his fingers.

These are the issued spirit grenades. Each squad only has three, and each one used reduces the remaining supply.

The Bladefoot Mantis was too fast; it was impossible to aim accurately. It moved almost as if leaving afterimages, and each landing point was half a beat faster than he predicted.

Fang Yan distracted it from the front, while Sun Chen, clutching a bomb, circled around to the flank.

The compound eyes of the Blade-Footed Mantis suddenly turned towards him.

Before he could pull the pin, the Blade-Footed Mantis had already moved—its forelimbs slashed down from its shoulder, as fast as a shadow.

He leaned back abruptly, the sharp blade grazing his chest, slicing open the front of his combat uniform and leaving a long line of blood on his skin.

A sharp pain shot up his chest. He gritted his teeth and pulled the pin as he leaned back, throwing the grenade at the feet of the Blade-Footed Mantis.

The compound eyes of the Blade-Footed Mantis lit up for a moment.

With wings spread and all six legs exerting force simultaneously, the body propelled backward—as fast as a shadow.

boom--

The violent explosion created a shockwave that swept in all directions, sending mud and debris flying everywhere.

Sun Chen rushed forward a few steps, covered his head, and lay on the ground, activating his blood armor to its maximum. The shockwave then sent him flying.

Fang Yan was at the edge of the blast radius. The moment he saw the bomb being thrown, he dove backward and rolled away, avoiding the main direction of the shock wave.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Sun Chen, covered in blood, got up from the ground, his vision blurry. He shook his head, his gaze slowly focusing as he looked into the distance.

The blade-footed mantis was lying thirty meters away, its left wing membrane completely torn apart, several broken wing bones dangling from its back. Cracks had appeared in half of its carapace, and drops of black blood were seeping into the ground. Its movements were much slower than before, but it wasn't dead yet.

"Damn it," Sun Chen cursed under his breath.

Just as Sun Chen looked at the Blade-Footed Mantis, its compound eyes also locked onto him.

Fragments of its wings drooped on its back, but its six legs remained strong. After being injured, it abandoned all probing and maneuvering, charging straight towards Sun Chen's position.

Fang Yan had just regained his balance from the aftershocks of the explosion when he looked up and saw the Blade-Footed Mantis rushing towards Sun Chen.

He charged forward with his knife, ready to intercept, but he was far too slow.

Sun Chen knelt on one knee, his energy and blood completely depleted, making it difficult even to stand up.

The scythe-like limbs of the Blade-Footed Mantis grew larger and larger in his pupils, the cold light of the blades gleaming eerily red in the dark red crack light, before falling silently.

A trembling boy's voice rang out—

"By the decree of the Three Pure Ones, evil spirits shall be subdued! The matter is settled!"