The First Kill

In the enclosed town, the 1680 Prospective Warriors quickly dispersed, beginning their hunt. “Brother Yang, you’re going into this Monster Town alone?” Luo Feng and Yang Wu stood by the wall of a dilapidated mini-mart. Yang Wu nodded gravely. “Madman, this Warrior Combat Assessment isn’t just a test; it’s a crucible for courage! When you truly venture into dangerous zones later, the perils will be ten, even a hundred times greater. If I need your help even in this Monster Town, what good will I be then?” Luo Feng nodded. “You’re right, Brother Yang. Be careful.” “Right, Madman, you seize the opportunity too,” Yang Wu reminded him. “This town is full of the weakest H-level monsters. Where else will we get such a perfect chance to hone our blades against the lowest-tier monsters?” “I understand. It’s a rare chance to sharpen my skills,” Luo Feng said with a smile and a nod. “Alright, see you outside the town at dawn tomorrow.” Yang Wu glanced cautiously around, then shot off like an arrow, disappearing into the night. Luo Feng, too, swiftly darted into the shadows. Night fell. Large searchlights illuminated the edges of the enclosed town, casting many areas in bright light, yet leaving countless others shrouded in gloom. “According to the Warriors in the Mingyue Residential District, monsters are categorized into Soldier-level, Warlord-level, and Lord-level, corresponding to human Warrior-level, Warlord-level, and War God-level,” Luo Feng murmured. His left forearm was encased in a hexagonal shield, his right hand gripping his Blood Shadow Battle Blade as he stood silently in a dilapidated, dust-choked alley. “The weakest, Beginner Soldier-level, are H-level monsters. Their strength is comparable to a Beginner Warrior.” “Though there are many monsters in this town, they mainly fall into three categories: the speed-dominant feline Shadow Cats, the powerfully defensive Iron-Furred Wild Boars, and the incredibly fast and strong canine Tiger-Mastiff Dogs.” Luo Feng’s gaze swept across the surroundings. Suddenly, a shadow moved slowly within a collapsed two-story building in the distance. With Luo Feng’s keen eyesight, he quickly identified it: a monster, 1.5 meters tall, its fur like sharp quills. From its massive maw, two enormous tusks gleamed with a chilling light, reflecting the distant searchlights. A common domestic pig, raised for meat, typically stands only sixty to seventy centimeters tall. In other words, this monster was more than twice the height of a regular domestic pig, resembling a small car. “Iron-Furred Wild Boar? You’re my first prey.” Luo Feng watched the Iron-Furred Wild Boar, then stepped directly out of the alley, exposing himself to its view. “Hrrk! Hrrk~~” The Iron-Furred Wild Boar stared at the human Warrior before it, who held a shield and a battle blade. It let out strange, guttural growls, then its thick hooves stomped the concrete ground, kicking up dust. A foul, reeking gust of wind preceded its thunderous charge towards Luo Feng, like a rapidly accelerating heavy armored vehicle. Its two sharp, long tusks jutted forward like colossal scimitars. “Whoosh!” As the Iron-Furred Wild Boar charged, Luo Feng swiftly dodged, moving to its side. The rapidly charging beast had no time to stop. A cold glint flashed in Luo Feng’s eyes as his entire body’s power erupted into his arm. Without mercy, his Blood Shadow Battle Blade delivered a swift upward slash! The blade’s edge cut upwards across the Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s neck! Thwack! The Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s head flew clean off its body, blood gushing from the severed neck. Its momentum carried the headless corpse for another dozen meters before it crashed to the ground with a thud, twitching for a moment before finally succumbing. “Hah, hah.” Luo Feng took two deep breaths. The sight of the monster’s severed neck gushing blood made his heart tremble slightly. Killing a monster... the first kill was indeed a shocking experience. “No wonder Instructor Wu said that many Prospective Warriors, seeing blood for the first time, can’t even unleash ten percent of their strength.” Luo Feng reflected on the recent battle. “My initial dodge was good, but then... severing the Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s head with a single upward slash was too wasteful of stamina. An ordinary Prospective Warrior wouldn’t be able to cut off an Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s head with one strike.” The Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s defense was formidable, but only relative to ordinary Prospective Warriors. Luo Feng’s current strength was top-tier, even compared to an Intermediate Warrior. Fighting this Iron-Furred Wild Boar was practically bullying it. “As the Warrior brothers in the Mingyue Residential District said, you can’t just brute force your way through monsters. You need to understand and exploit their weaknesses.” “Also, my heart trembled when I saw the Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s neck gush blood. I must adapt! In the future, I’ll frequently battle monsters, walking the line between life and death. In critical combat, poor mental fortitude can easily lead to death.” Luo Feng understood one thing: the more critical the moment, the calmer he needed to be. In truth, Luo Feng’s mindset was already quite good. For a first monster kill, many others performed far worse than him. Luo Feng walked over to the severed head, and with a swift motion—Slice!—he cut off the Iron-Furred Wild Boar’s left ear and placed it in his backpack. “First one! Onto the next!” Luo Feng’s body flickered, and he vanished down the street, leaving only the headless corpse of the Iron-Furred Wild Boar lying on the road, its blood staining the dusty concrete. Time ticked by. In every corner of the enclosed town, bloody battles raged. Although the H-level monsters and Prospective Warriors were similar in strength, humans possessed a crucial advantage: intelligence! The weakest H-level monsters had no true intellect, only primal beast instincts. Around eight in the evening, on the rooftop of a six-story residential building, two dark figures clashed. Swish! A cold glint flashed. Luo Feng knelt on the platform, a faint trace of blood on the edge of his Blood Shadow Battle Blade. The other dark figure was flung away, landing limply on the rooftop, leaving a trail of blood. “The Shadow Cat truly is the fastest. For an H-level monster, its speed is around 40 meters per second.” Luo Feng stood up and walked over. The Shadow Cat’s corpse on the ground had gray fur and wasn’t large, only about half a meter long. Its abdomen bore a terrifying wound, its internal organs severed by Luo Feng’s previous strike. “For an ordinary Prospective Warrior, this Shadow Cat would indeed be a significant threat. But against me, it’s a pity.” Luo Feng shook his head and cut off the Shadow Cat’s left ear. Luo Feng’s speed was far greater than the Shadow Cat’s. There was no helping it; Luo Feng was already at Intermediate Warrior-level strength, and among Intermediate Warriors, he was considered top-tier. “Fifth one.” Luo Feng stored his spoils. “Generally, killing three monsters almost guarantees qualification. I’ve hunted five, so I’m definitely in! Now... from this moment on, I’ll seriously hone my blade techniques and movement.” Before, he’d only killed monsters to accumulate points; now he had enough. “I’ll now limit my punching force to 1000 kg and my speed to 30 meters per second. It’s time to truly battle these monsters.” The previous Luo Feng had simply been bullying the monsters; they weren’t on the same level. But now, by suppressing his own strength to match theirs, he could truly hone his skills. After all, when venturing into dangerous zones in the future, he couldn’t always expect to fight monsters a full tier weaker than himself. “Begin!” Luo Feng stood at the edge of the residential building’s rooftop, slowly surveying the area below and around him. “Hmm? First one!” Luo Feng’s gaze landed on the top of a dilapidated three-story villa diagonally below him, where a spotted, streamlined Tiger-Mastiff Dog stood. Luo Feng immediately darted forward, then leaped from the rooftop’s edge, soaring over ten meters before landing heavily on the villa’s top floor, making the floorboards shudder. As Luo Feng rolled on the ground, dissipating the impact, he immediately sprinted towards the Tiger-Mastiff Dog. “Roar~~” The Tiger-Mastiff Dog also lunged forward. A cold, blood-stained youth, wielding a Ghost Moon Blade, strode arrogantly down the street. “I wonder how many monsters that Luo Feng has hunted,” the cold youth mused silently. He was Wan Dong, the only one among the 1680 Prospective Warriors whose strength was close to Luo Feng’s, a genius expert recruited early by the Thunder Dojo. Although three individuals had been recruited early this time... ...one of them was a firearms prodigy, skilled with guns, but his physical conditioning wasn’t particularly high. Only Luo Feng and Wan Dong were true talents with comparable physical prowess. “Hmm?” Wan Dong’s gaze fell upon a spot. He saw a figure constantly battling two Shadow Cats. The two Shadow Cats shrieked, moving with astonishing speed, their sharp claws relentlessly striking. The figure, however, deftly dodged and weaved, fighting the two beasts. “Luo Feng! You’re so slow killing two Shadow Cats? You truly disappoint me!” Wan Dong’s voice rang out, a sneer in his shout. Swish! Swish! Almost like lightning, Luo Feng’s Blood Shadow Battle Blade thrust twice. The two Shadow Cats tumbled to the ground, struggled twice, then lay still. “So fast.” Wan Dong jumped, a jolt running through him. “And his strikes are clean and decisive, directly hitting the Shadow Cats’ vital points.” It was only from these two thrusts that Wan Dong realized Luo Feng’s strength was not to be underestimated. “I wanted to play with you a bit longer, to keep honing my movement techniques,” Luo Feng muttered, looking at the two Shadow Cat corpses. “But that guy is too annoying. I don’t want him to see me practicing my movement and blade techniques.” Luo Feng cut off the two Shadow Cats’ left ears, put them in his backpack, and without a glance at Wan Dong, swiftly disappeared.