Chapter 400 - 185: Monster Territory

Chapter 400: Chapter 185: Monster Territory

Xu Mo stopped the car, picked up his Triangular Spike, and walked over to the wolf’s corpse to examine it closely.

This wolf was indeed much larger than a normal wolf. Its fur was as hard as needles, and its claws glinted menacingly. Its eyes were still open, its blood-red pupils already dilated and unfocused, but the ferocious aura hadn’t completely dissipated.

Xu Mo used the Triangular Spike to cut open its skull. After rummaging around inside for a moment, he quickly found what he was looking for—a Crystal Core.

However, this Crystal Core was only the size of a soybean. It was a dark red, but its color was mottled and uneven, like a low-quality gemstone. Compared to the other Crystal Cores Xu Mo had extracted from demonic beasts, this one was clearly a tier lower.

"Interesting. A low-level demonic beast?" Xu Mo murmured to himself.

The Crystal Core from the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast Xu Mo had killed before was the size of a thumb and pure in color. The one from the large sandworm was a pale yellow and equally pure. But the one in his hand was clearly an inferior product.

Xu Mo put the Crystal Core in his pocket. Although the quality wasn’t high, it was better to keep it. He had a gut feeling that this thing would be useful sooner or later, and probably very useful at that.

After dealing with the demonic wolf, Xu Mo got back in the car and continued on his way.

But he had driven less than a kilometer when that feeling of being watched returned.

’Is there no end to this?’

Xu Mo frowned, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

This time, the target rose from the tall grass directly ahead.

It was a massive monster, nearly two meters tall and over three meters long. It had the shape of a panther, but two long saber-teeth jutted from its mouth. Its eyes were blood-red with vertical pupils, and they were staring intently at Xu Mo’s car.

’A Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast!’

Xu Mo recognized it at a glance.

This was the same type of demonic beast he had first encountered. Back then, outside the gas station in Mori Town, a creature just like this had attacked him. He had fired several shots from his Barrett to kill it, but because he hadn’t hit a vital spot, the beast had managed a final counterattack before dying, nearly getting the best of him.

And now, here was another one.

Xu Mo didn’t hesitate for a second. He dropped the AK-47 and grabbed the Barrett beside him.

’For a demonic beast of this level, I have to use a large-caliber weapon.’

The Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast was already charging at Xu Mo. It was faster than the demonic wolf, its four legs a blur as they churned through the grass, like a black bolt of lightning.

It closed the hundred-meter distance in an instant.

Xu Mo raised the Barrett. In the scope, the head of the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast grew clearer and clearer.

BANG!

The thunderous gunshot shattered the silence of the wilderness.

The .50 caliber bullet screamed through the air and struck the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast squarely in the head. The monster’s skull instantly exploded. Carried by inertia, its headless body stumbled forward a few more meters before finally collapsing less than forty meters from Xu Mo’s car.

’No chance for a counterattack this time.’

Xu Mo let out a sigh of relief.

He got out of the car and walked over to the corpse. After searching the ground for a while, Xu Mo finally found the Crystal Core that had been sent flying into the grass.

’A Level 3 demonic beast,’ Xu Mo concluded to himself.

As he continued his journey, Xu Mo grew more and more vigilant.

Almost every one or two kilometers, a demonic beast would charge out of the wilderness to attack him. Some looked like large dogs, others like mutated boars, and some were completely unrecognizable. They burst out from the tall grass, from behind mounds of dirt, and from withered forests to assault his vehicle.

Again and again, Xu Mo was forced to stop the car, open fire, make the kill, and dig out the Crystal Core.

In three hours, Xu Mo had only managed to advance a little over forty kilometers.

But his pockets now held more than twenty Crystal Cores.

Through the course of these kills, Xu Mo gradually began to classify the demonic beasts’ power levels based on their Crystal Cores.

The lowest-level demonic beasts had Crystal Cores the size of a soybean, with mottled and impure colors like low-quality gems. These beasts were also the weakest; a few rounds from the AK-47 were enough to take care of them. Xu Mo called them Level 1 demonic beasts.

Slightly stronger demonic beasts had Crystal Cores the size of a pinky fingernail. Their color was relatively pure, but you could still occasionally see some impurities. These beasts were faster and stronger, requiring more effort to deal with. Xu Mo called them Level 2 demonic beasts.

The strongest ones had Crystal Cores the size of a thumb, with a pure luster like real gemstones. The power of these beasts far surpassed the first two types, often requiring a single shot from the Barrett to be put down. The Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast was a typical example. Xu Mo called them Level 3 demonic beasts.

As for anything higher-level, Xu Mo hadn’t encountered any yet. But he had a feeling that there were definitely more terrifying things in this area.

After dealing with yet another demonic beast, Xu Mo stopped the car and took out a map to have a look.

According to the map, this area wasn’t marked as particularly dangerous. But based on his encounters along the way, this place was practically a nest of demonic beasts. A new one every one or two kilometers—the density was frighteningly high.

Moreover, these demonic beasts seemed to be territorial. Each one occupied its own area and didn’t allow others to enter. That was why Xu Mo encountered a new beast every one or two kilometers—he was entering another one’s territory.

This distribution pattern had one advantage: Xu Mo didn’t have to face a siege from multiple demonic beasts at once. He could pick them off one by one.

But there was also a disadvantage. Xu Mo’s progress was severely slowed. At this rate, there was no telling how long it would take to cross this region.

More importantly, his ammunition for the Barrett was limited.

Xu Mo counted his remaining ammo. He had a little over four hundred rounds left. ’If I keep fighting like this, I’ll run out of bullets soon. When that happens, if I run into another Level 3 demonic beast, I’ll have no choice but to fight it head-on.’