Chapter 70: Montus Beast
Su Hao was a restless person. Just three days after staying at Chashan Outpost, he was eager to dissect... no, he meant to study something urgently.
So, he bid farewell to Wu Yuntian once again.
Wu Yuntian asked, "Xiangwu, how long will you be gone this time?"
Su Hao replied uncertainly, "It could be a few months or even one or two years."
Wu Yuntian simply nodded. Su Hao was his only concern, and he hoped that Su Hao would stay safe and sound.
Su Hao first arrived at Lingyun Town and went straight to Lingyun Martial Academy, where he found the bald Old Liu he hadn't seen in a long time.
Su Hao walked up to Old Liu with a brilliant smile and said, "Teacher Liu!"
Old Liu's bald head still shone like new. When he turned his head and saw Su Hao, he exclaimed, "Xiangwu? It's been three years. I missed you during the graduation ceremony for your class a while ago."
Su Hao immediately felt embarrassed. "I was somewhere else at that time. When I rushed back, I realized I had already missed it. I regretted it a lot."
In reality, he had forgotten about it.
Su Hao quickly continued, "Thanks to Teacher Liu's guidance back then, I have successfully advanced to the Master level. Without Teacher Liu's help, I might still be at the Elite level!"
"What?!! You advanced?!" Old Liu exclaimed in surprise.
Su Hao immediately handed over a precious dagger he had prepared in advance. "Teacher Liu, look at the gift I brought for you!"
Su Hao knew that Old Liu loved knives, so he picked the most expensive one in Lingyun Town as a gift for him.
Whether it was good or not, it was certainly expensive.
Old Liu couldn't bear to say anything else once he held it in his hand. He simply admired the gift.
Su Hao continued, "Teacher Liu, I have another question. Do you know how to advance from Master to Grandmaster Commander?"
Old Liu was taken aback and immediately replied, "I don't know the specific method of advancement, but I know the channel to advance."
Curious, Su Hao asked, "What channel?"
Old Liu rubbed his bald head and revealed an ugly smile. "The human race has only one way to obtain the method of advancing to Grandmaster Commander."
Su Hao raised an eyebrow. "Only one way?"
Old Liu said, "That's right! If a high-level Master wants to advance to Grandmaster Commander, they need to join the City Guard in the main city. After serving for eight years, they will be eligible to become a disciple and obtain the method to advance to Grandmaster Commander."
"Eight years?" Su Hao's voice rose, shocked by the news he had just received.
Old Liu said, "During these eight years, they need to be on standby at all times, awaiting orders from the main city and the Prince of Peace. After eight years, they will have the opportunity to obtain the method to advance to Grandmaster Commander."
Su Hao couldn't help but ask, "Apart from this method, are there any other ways?"
Old Liu said, "I only know about this one. All the Grandmaster Commanders I have seen have advanced after serving in the main city for eight years."
Then he smiled at Su Hao and said, "I didn't want to join the City Guard in the main city, so I've been staying at the academy."
This was classified knowledge that was only shared with trusted individuals. It would only be revealed if they were certain that the person was truly one of their own.
Upon hearing this news, Su Hao temporarily gave up the idea of advancing to Grandmaster Commander. He didn't want to spend eight years in the City Guard, being at their beck and call. At least not now.
Just as Su Hao was about to say something else, a loud noise came from the city wall.
"Boom!"
Su Hao and Old Liu turned their heads to see a huge cloud of smoke rising in the distance, with debris falling continuously.
"Boom!"
Before they could understand what was happening, another loud noise followed, accompanied by the sound of a section of the city wall collapsing.
Old Liu's expression became extremely serious, and he immediately asked Su Hao, "Are you sure you're already a Master?"
Su Hao nodded.
Old Liu looked at Su Hao, clad in armor and with a huge package behind him, and nodded silently. "Wait here for me, I'll put on my armor first, and then we'll go together to take a look!"
Su Hao maximized his radar perception and immediately sensed a powerful aura of blood at the edge of the town, constantly crashing into the city wall.
The intensity of this aura was nearly twice as strong as the White-tailed Eagle they encountered before, and Su Hao was almost certain that it was a Grandmaster-level ferocious beast, and quite possibly a high-level Grandmaster.
Su Hao wasn't sure if he could defeat it, as he had only fought against one Grandmaster-level ferocious beast before and still lacked confidence in his own abilities.
Soon, Old Liu returned wearing a well-maintained suit of armor that shimmered with gold and silver. He looked even more tall and sturdy, and said, "Let's go. Don't act rashly when we get there. Follow behind me."
Su Hao replied, "Alright!"
The two immediately ran towards the billowing dust and smoke.
At this moment, the commotion in the distance had already subsided, but it was spreading towards the inner city. Faint cries of panic and fear could be heard.
Soon, Su Hao followed behind Old Liu and approached the scene.
All he could see was ruins and debris.
A large number of people were fleeing in panic, emitting shrill screams and cries of despair.
A section of the forty-meter-high city wall had collapsed, and the rubble and debris extended into the city, engulfed in dust, obscuring their vision.
But amidst the dust, they could vaguely see the silhouette of a huge beast, towering at least twenty meters high.
Resembling an octopus, its round head was its entire body. Its body was covered in neatly arranged scales, seemingly indestructible. Above its two eerie green eyes were two curved horns resembling goat horns, pointing diagonally into the air.
Beneath its round body, countless long tentacles extended, swaying densely in mid-air. Every time a tentacle shot out, it would bring back a person and throw them into the mouth hidden underneath.
Terrifying chewing sounds could be heard, while the screams of humans disappeared.
Although it appeared to be moving slowly, it wasn't the case. Amongst the countless tentacles writhing beneath its body, the ferocious beast rampaged through the town, heading wherever there were more people.
Even Elite Warriors couldn't outrun this ferocious beast. Once targeted by its tentacles, even Elite Warriors would be helpless in the face of its assault.
"Damn it, this is a Grandmaster-level Montus Beast passing by our Lingyun Town!" Old Liu anxiously watched as one townsperson after another was devoured by the Montus Beast.
Su Hao observed the Montus Beast and furrowed his brows. "I've read about the Montus Beast in books. It's an extremely troublesome ferocious beast among Grandmaster-level creatures. It likes to break through city walls with its horns and enter human towns to feed. After it's full, it will leave. Is this the Montus Beast described in the book?"
Old Liu nodded.
Su Hao immediately asked, "Teacher Liu, do you know its weaknesses?"
Old Liu looked at Su Hao and said, "Xiangwu, don't act rashly. We can't go up there to die. Let's wait for the arrival of the Guard and let the Grandmaster-level warriors from our Lingyun Town lead the force to drive it away!"
Su Hao looked at the people being engulfed by the beast one after another and said with a bitter smile, "Teacher Liu, I'm not that impulsive. Don't worry."
Old Liu nodded and continued, "The Montus Beast has a strong defense. Even Master-level warriors might not be able to break through it. It has two weak points: its underside and its eyes. The underside doesn't have the thick scale defense and can be attacked directly. However..."
"But these two areas can't really be considered its weak points. Firstly, its eyes are much smaller compared to its body, so it's not easy to hit. Secondly, it can shoot out numerous sharp tentacles from its underside. The tips of these tentacles are as hard and sharp as fine steel, and I'm not even sure if I can cut through them. If you rashly approach its underside, you might be pierced by the suddenly ejected tentacles and become its food."
"What if the Montus Beast attacks the city? How would it usually be dealt with?"
Old Liu said in a deep voice, "In small towns like ours without ancestral-level warriors stationed here, when encountering a powerful Grandmaster-level ferocious beast, there are generally two options. One is to join forces to drive it away, and the other is to wait for it to leave after it's full."
Su Hao fell silent.
The Montus Beast was still feeding, moving its hunting grounds towards the center of the town. People were running for their lives in terror, and no one could save them. All they could do was run faster than others.
At that moment, the Guards of Lingyun Town arrived. Each person was clad in heavy armor, completely covering their bodies, with only their faces exposed.
The standard long knives of the guards hung from their waists, and each person carried a long-handled armor-piercing hammer. They were prepared for this.
Captain Hua Hong led three battalions of guards, surrounding the Montus Beast from all sides to keep it at bay.
Hua Hong was a Grandmaster-level warrior, and the three battalion commanders below him were the most top-notch high-level Master Warriors. Each battalion had five companies, each company had five squads, and each squad had five members.
The captains of the companies and squads were all Master-level warriors, and the members below them were high-level Elite Warriors.
There were more than 300 soldiers in total. They were the defensive force of Lingyun Town.
The entire Lingyun Town had fewer than 200 Master-level warriors. The Guard accounted for the majority, while the others were scattered in the martial academy and various exploration teams.
As the Guard arrived, Old Liu led Su Hao to approach them and loudly declared, "Liu Changle from the Martial Academy follows Captain Hua's command."
As soon as Old Liu finished speaking, similar declarations resounded from all directions.
"Mo Fenghua from the Martial Academy follows Captain Hua's command!"
"Feng Man'er from the Martial Academy follows Captain Hua's command!"
"Exploration Team - Captain Meng Shan from the Hunting Team follows Captain Hua's command!"
"Xiao Yueling from the Red Rock Trading Company follows Captain Hua's command!"
...
These were the Grandmaster-level warriors who had been waiting nearby.
Su Hao looked left and right. Should he... follow their lead and obey the command?
(translated by begs)