Swallowing the Stars: The Wind Sword Master.

Chapter 18 Humans are worth more than monsters

Suburbs of City No. 103.

Upon arriving here, the entire War Squad breathed a sigh of relief; the rat swarm had indeed not pursued them.

"Have you found out? Which way did the rat swarm go?" Zuo Xingyuan asked.

Ma Yu's expression relaxed. He put down the combat communicator and a smile appeared on his lips. "They've headed southwest. We're safe here."

Zuo Xingyuan let out a long sigh of relief and said with a wry smile, "I don't know whether to say we were lucky or unlucky."

"Last time we encountered a beast riot, and this time we've encountered a rat swarm. Thankfully, we've survived again, albeit with some close calls!"

Yang Chao and the others also had smiles on their faces, relieved to be alive.

"Captain, did you encounter a beast riot earlier?" Ning Ze asked with concern.

Ma Yu's expression turned serious. He said, "In City 022, a War God-level expert is hunting a Lord-level monster. We've been caught in the crossfire. However, the other side sent us a message. It's difficult, but at least we haven't gone astray."

Ning Ze's expression was somewhat silent; he didn't recognize a single one of the War God-level experts.

I've only heard that the president of the Jiangnan base of the Limit Martial Arts Academy is a War God, but I'm not entirely sure about the others. Perhaps a manager of an underground alliance or a relative of Flagship Company is a War God-level expert.

The God of War is not in their circle; he belongs to the legendary world.

Encountering such a creature in the wilderness is hard to say whether it's lucky or unlucky.

The gap between the two sides is simply too great. Since he is called the "God of War," then he must possess power similar to that of a "god."

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Zuo Xingyuan asked teasingly.

Ning Ze gently shook his head. "No." His expression hardened as he added, "I also want to become a War God-level powerhouse!"

Zuo Xingyuan smiled happily, "Alright, I believe you, but you should first become a War General-level expert. Let's take a break. Now that the crisis is over, you should continue honing your skills!"

"Our usual rule..."

Ning Ze quickly interrupted, "Wait a minute!"

Zuo Xingyuan asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Yang Chao and the others also looked over.

Ning Ze hesitated for a moment before saying, "Could we please not let Uncle Xu lure the monsters this time?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Xu Liang, also beaming, stubbornly declared, "I'll go even if you tell me not to! I'll bring that horde of rats with me!"

Ning Ze laughed heartily and said, "Alright, I'll be waiting!"

"Hahaha!"

The entire combat squad burst into laughter.

Several hunting expeditions, standing shoulder to shoulder with other martial artists, and another escape.

They no longer saw Ning Ze as a junior, but as a reliable and trustworthy comrade-in-arms.

They also started to joke around more freely, eliminating the generation gap in communication.

at this time.

The Blood Eagle Squad also fled the city and went to the wilderness.

They were already quite far from the rat swarm, and after discovering the crisis, they immediately fled, making things much easier for them than for the War Squad, as they didn't even encounter the rat swarm.

Still shaken, Flying Eagle was the first to calm down and turned on his communicator to make a call.

Communication is established.

"Xuanzi, how are things on your end?"

"Luckily, I was quite far away. I was already spying on them, so I ran away as soon as I spotted the rat swarm."

Flying Eagle asked anxiously, "What about the War Squad? Are you still with them?"

"The situation was too chaotic at the time, with countless monsters running around. I could only roughly determine the direction they were fleeing, which should be towards City 103. I'm afraid we'll have to search for their exact location."

Flying Eagle clenched his fists in frustration, but he couldn't blame Xuanzi for the situation.

"Look for it over there first, we'll come find you now."

Xuanzi on the other end of the phone was very puzzled. "Boss, why are we always following them? I don't see them having much prey." He felt that the captain was probably trying to make a quick buck.

The eagle snorted and said, "They stole our prey, how can we not make them return it?"

"Besides, it's not just monsters that are valuable; people are the most valuable."

Xuanzi didn't say much, just replied, "Okay, boss, I'll search for them."

"Be careful, run if things go wrong, we're coming right away."

Flying Eagle asked a question and then hung up the phone, ordering, "Let's go to 103. The direction is a little off, but it's not far."

"Yes, boss."

The Blood Eagle Squad had only taken a couple of steps when Flying Eagle's communication watch suddenly lit up.

He glanced down, his eyes filled with annoyance. They hadn't called until so late; the person had already left! Composing himself, he answered the call with a smile.

On the screen, a round-faced man stares ahead. There is a vertical scar on his cheek, stretching from the corner of his eye to his chin, which looks quite terrifying.

"Poison Wolf!"

"Flying Eagle! What do you want?" Poison Wolf's attitude was very impatient, and his eyes were very fierce.

Flying Eagle chuckled softly and said, "Let me tell you about someone. I wonder if you'd be interested."

Poison Wolf frowned, growing even more agitated. "Speak!"

"Golden Fire Bear!" Flying Eagle said, enunciating each word clearly. "Perhaps it could also be called the Gilded Blade, your masterpiece." He had a half-smile on his face.

Upon hearing this, the previously ferocious wolf's lips curled into a cruel smile. "You probably didn't come to me for just this, did you?"

Flying Eagle laughed even more heartily.

"Of course, as his old rival, you must have heard of his son, right?"

Poison Wolf's pupils suddenly contracted, and he squinted as he asked, "What are you trying to say? Did you find them?"

"Of course," Flying Eagle said, his tone shifting between yin and yang. "But... I wonder if that previous bounty still counts?"

Poison Wolf grinned, his scar contorting into a terrifying shape.

He said, word by word, "Of course it counts! 5000 million Chinese yuan, just tell me the location! I'll transfer the money immediately!"

Flying Eagle nodded noncommittally, then shook his head and laughed.

"Poison Wolf, times have changed. Back then, when you offered a bounty on the location of the other members of the Warfire Squad, they didn't even have a War General in their squad. A coordinate worth 5000 million Chinese Yuan was indeed enough."

"But now..."

Flying Eagle, looking completely confident, chuckled, "Two generals! And one who defeated an S-rank genius martial artist, tsk tsk, I don't need to explain what that means, right?"

"This is your enemy."

"If I reveal even the slightest flaw, it will be very troublesome for me."

Poison Wolf's smile remained bright, but the scars on his face looked even more terrifying. He stated confidently, "Dead men won't cause trouble!"

Flying Eagle shrugged, chuckled dismissively, and calmly said, "It's not up to you."

"Oh?"

"Then let's talk about your price." Poison Wolf smiled, but his eyes turned extremely dangerous.

Unfazed, Flying Eagle uttered two words heavily, "Five hundred million!" After a slight pause, he added, "Five hundred million Chinese yuan. I'll tell you the exact location."

"Hehehe."

Poison Wolf's eyes gleamed with madness as he threatened, "If you're going to make money, you have to be able to spend it. Flying Eagle, don't you think your appetite is too big?"

Flying Eagle chuckled, narrowing his eyes, and countered, "Over five hundred million? A high-level warrior could hunt for over ten years and still make five hundred million. And you... that's far more than hunting monsters."

Poison Wolf, expressionless and in a hoarse voice, said, "Knowing this, you still dared to ask for so much?"

"I dare to ask for this price, of course I'm worth it!"

Flying Eagle smiled. "What if I told you that Golden Fire Bear's son has the strength of a high-level warrior?"

"You've already acquired the strength of a high-level warrior just by entering the wilderness, Poison Wolf. I don't need much!"

A hint of fear flashed in his eyes. A newcomer already possessed the strength of a high-level warrior; with a little more training, he would reach the level of a general. And what about after two years...?

Such terrifying talent would be a nightmare to be an enemy of.

However, since martial artists are inherently risk-taking, he certainly couldn't let go of such a great opportunity.

This Poison Wolf Squad loves to engage in robbery and plunder, and they're incredibly lucrative. If they succeed this time, it could be equivalent to several years of his earnings! He's not young anymore, and he wants to make a killing!

"Advanced warrior? You're lying to me!"

Poison Wolf's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He had previously received information that the person who defeated the S-level genius martial artist only had a strength of close to 3000kg. How could he possibly have the strength of a high-level warrior? The minimum strength of a high-level warrior is 4000kg!

He knew very well when Ning Ze became a martial artist; even with outstanding talent, it was impossible for him to improve that quickly!

Eagle calmly stated, "They just stole our team's prey. I personally witnessed him easily killing multiple F-class monsters. I wouldn't lie about something like this."

"If you don't agree, then let's drop this matter and I'll go back now."

"Anyway... I don't really have any grudge against them, just a bit of a conflict of interest. Poison Wolf, you decide!"

A fierce glint flashed in Poison Wolf's eyes; his heart was filled with conflict. In truth, after hearing about Ning Ze's challenge at the Thunder Martial Arts Academy, he too had been looking for an opportunity to eliminate Ning Ze. Now, that feeling was even more urgent!

Advanced warrior!

Less than two months after becoming a quasi-martial artist! Less than one month after becoming a martial artist!

A month is too short a time for others; it's not much different from just becoming a martial artist.

But Ning Ze's progress is so terrifying, how could he dare to let Ning Ze continue to grow?

Poison Wolf blinked rapidly, his eyes flashing with ferocity, and said, "I agree, but Flying Eagle, you know the consequences of lying to me!"

Flying Eagle smiled slightly and said, "I'm helping you solve a big problem, so don't look at me like that."

Poison Wolf snorted heavily. "You're asking for 500 million Chinese yuan for one position? You really dare to ask for that!"

"Five hundred million shouldn't be much to you." Flying Eagle's smile remained unchanged. "After I tell you the location, you give me two hundred million, and after I see the person, you give me three hundred million."

"Okay!" Poison Wolf agreed without hesitation. "Now tell me where it is!"

Flying Eagle's eyes flickered as he said, "We've been separated for so long, and they've brought new recruits. I need to search for them first. They're all in this city anyway. Wait for my news."

"You don't even know the location!" Poison Wolf was furious.

Flying Eagle spread his hands and said, "Following is risky. If you had replied to me earlier, we wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble."

"If you dare to lie to me! You know what I'm capable of!"

"Heh. Just you wait."

After the call ended, Flying Eagle waved ahead and said with a big smile, "Let's go, brothers. There's money to be made when we find the person."

"Find the person, 5000 million, and then another 5000 million Chinese yuan after we tell them their location."

Dazhuang asked worriedly, "Will they pay the remaining 300 million?"

Flying Eagle laughed and said, "Yes, if we don't split it, I don't mind recording a video and showing it to the martial artists in the base city."

……

A pedestrian street stained with blood.

Ning Ze was fighting with the six black-spotted cat monsters. The human and beast figures were intertwined and overlapped, with streaks of white claw marks crisscrossing and beams of silver-white sword light crisscrossing.

"Ding!" "Ding!" "Ding!" "Ding!"

The longsword and claws clashed repeatedly, each impact sending orange sparks flying.

Ning Ze was completely immersed in the rapid improvement.

Not far away, on the top floor of a dilapidated building over 20 meters tall, there used to be an entertainment club.

The VIP room on the top floor was covered in dust, and Zuo Xingyuan and the others stood on the windowsill watching the battle below.

Yang Chao set up a machine gun for protection, ready to fire if anything unexpected happened.

Looking at the dashing figure below, seemingly effortlessly handling the attacks of the six cat-like monsters, Zuo Xingyuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "This kid, why do I feel like he's getting stronger as the fight goes on? Six F-rank monsters can't do anything to him! Even I have to put in some effort to deal with these monsters."

Xu Liang nodded in deep agreement, his expression extremely strange.

"It's been three days, just keep fighting. Doesn't this kid get tired? I get tired just pulling the monsters for him!"

Ma Yu's eyes were full of admiration as he turned to Xu and said, "Old Xu, I feel like you can't beat him right now."

"Bullshit!" Upon hearing this, Xu Liang jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Is he stronger than me? Even if he's mastered the first level of the 'Wind Slash,' he's only barely at the level of a high-level warrior. His microscopic movement technique is impressive, but my strength is almost twice that of him. Can he possibly defeat me?"

Zhang Chen said in a cold voice, "Look at his strength, does he look like a high-level warrior who has just reached 4000kg? These monsters were attracted by you while you were making a mess of your escape."

Xu Liang, somewhat embarrassed, retorted, "What do you mean by fleeing in a sorry state? If I had acted tough, would they have followed me?" He paused slightly, then turned to look at the relaxed figures below, muttering, "These monsters haven't eaten? They were so fierce when they chased me, but they've become cowards here."

Zhang Chen said, word by word, "Xiao Ze's strength is not weak. I suspect he has already mastered the second level of the 'Wind Slash.' He can exert 2.1 times the force, meaning 3000kg of force can be used to generate 6300kg of force, which isn't much weaker than yours!"

Xu Liang wanted to retort, but before he could finish speaking, he saw Ning Ze forcefully repel the black-spotted cat monster with a single sword strike; such power was clearly considerable. It couldn't be that these monsters were truly starving; that was just a joke.

He muttered to himself, "How could it be the second level? It's not that easy to cultivate!"

Zuo Xingyuan said with great interest, "It's not just about strength; the subtle movement technique alone isn't so easy. This kid's speed is no worse than yours, yet he also has a subtle movement technique. Old Xu, you really can't beat him!"

Xu Liang was speechless after Zuo Xingyuan's words. Somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, he turned his head and said, "Old Zhang, what's the meaning of your interrupting? I can't beat him, but do you think you can?"

Zhang Chen turned his head and silently met Xu Liang's gaze.

"What? You can't beat him either?" Xu Liang felt a little comforted after saying this. There were three high-level warriors and two generals in the team, so he had someone to accompany him.

Zhang Chen spoke expressionlessly, "I don't think my nephew and I will fight. On the contrary, you... if you continue to make inappropriate jokes about his girlfriend, you might get beaten up in the future."

Xu Liang grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

He looked up and saw Yang Chao holding a machine gun.

"Alright, it's your turn to get to work. Go lure the monsters again!"

Xu Liang turned his head and saw six cat monsters lying dead in the street. Ning Ze stood there, holding his sword with his eyes crossed, looking quite dashing.

He closed his eyes, the tip of his sword pointing directly at the ground behind him, as if reliving the battle he had just fought.

"Fine! I'm destined to be a laborer. This kid is clearly stronger than me, why do I have to lure the monsters?"

Muttering to himself, Xu Liang diligently searched for a suitable monster.

Actually, he was just saying it; in his heart, he was very willing to help Ning Ze.

Xu Liang may not have the highest combat strength, but he possesses great combat wisdom. He's the best at training people in the team, and he was the one who arranged the battles when Zuo Xingyuan joined. This time, he volunteered to take on this task again.

(End of this chapter)