Chapter 343

Chapter 343: Don’t Challenge Beyond Your Level When You’re Not the Protagonist

"Starfall" felt that his understanding was still too shallow.

It was difficult to describe someone who was fighting a ten-meter-long extraordinary beast while being engulfed in flames as “fine.”

On the other hand, given that he was already ablaze, calling him a “human” seemed less fitting.

Despite witnessing such a sight, "Infinite Scroll" remained surprisingly calm and steady, which was truly admirable.

Although this teammate had little fighting power, their ability to remain calm almost at all times ensured that they never caused concern when it came to support and assistance.

If it weren’t for the wrinkles that had begun to appear at the corners of her eyes, "Starfall" would almost have thought she was a robot devoid of emotional fluctuations.

Yet, looking at the battlefield in the outer city, she couldn’t help but feel conflicted:

“What do you think? If I fire a shot now, would it help that person or be a burden?”

"Infinite Scroll" thought for a moment and replied:

“Unless something unexpected occurs, it would be a burden to the residents in the nearby underground shelters.”

“That’s not funny at all.”

"Starfall" understood the implication and had to awkwardly dismiss that line of thought.

Indeed, while the energy cannon and those two targets were at the same combat level, one shot could turn a temporary shelter housing nearly ten thousand people into an oven.

Compared to a potential loss in a one-on-one battle against a beast, it was much easier to clear the steps made by the swarming insects.

Across the dozens of kilometers of the frontline, numerous extraordinary beasts had formed stairs with their bodies, and "Starfall" was among the few capable of clearing them.

—

City Wall Battlefield

The humanoid bodies of the insects were indeed very hard. After using their sharp limbs to pierce through and create a stable structure, more extraordinary beasts rushed forward without pause.

Watching those wild beasts, who had almost no commonalities, Wang Xiao suddenly recalled his first encounter with a beast tide.

Back then, he had to use both of his arms as bait to "fish" for those ferocious creatures.

Now, looking at the extraordinary beasts that hadn’t even reached Third Level, he felt a clear advantage in life form and even developed a slight disdain.

Though it had been less than a year, it felt like a long time ago; he had embarked on this path by chance and was no longer the Young Man who had once entertained thoughts of self-destruction out of despair.

His abilities were no longer just about regeneration, and the extraordinary beasts before him were not merely a small group, but a massive tide.

Among the tide, a gray-black figure leaped high; it was a bear-like extraordinary beast with fur as sharp as steel needles.

As the bear-like extraordinary beast charged towards him, Wang Xiao did not retreat an inch. He gathered his strength and threw a punch that seemed to lack any intimidation.

Even though his size ranked among the exceptional in humans, it was still nothing compared to the five-meter-tall bear-like extraordinary beast.

But when that punch collided with the beast’s body, it felt like a flaming fireball striking into a cluster of willow fluff.

The extraordinary beast’s body seemed to have several bloodletting wounds opened, and it could only roar angrily while reluctantly collapsing, its once-vibrant life force swiftly drained away through that tiny contact point.

However, just as the bear-like extraordinary beast leaned forward, planning to use its last strike to crush Wang Xiao, its body suddenly burst apart, scattering fur and flesh around.

A three-meter-tall extraordinary beast with half a sheep’s head and half a human face appeared behind the now-disintegrated bear-like extraordinary beast.

It reached out a hand, grasping Wang Xiao’s still-retracted fist that had not yet left the bear-like extraordinary beast.

Wang Xiao looked up along the gray-red arm and saw a humanoid smile that felt disingenuous.

Since the feathered serpent had joined the battle, the Horned Demon had gained a momentary respite.

The melee from sky to ground made it realize one thing: simple physical attacks almost could not harm that human. The human seemed to possess a unique ability to achieve effects similar to "phasing" to evade attacks.

Whether by attaching the flames from the Willow Man to attacks or relying on the extraordinary beast forest’s powerful biological field for continuous erosion, it was challenging to inflict real damage otherwise.

Yet, the battlefield had shifted, and the vast numbers of extraordinary beasts were derived from the forest, meaning the strength of the biological field was naturally not comparable to that of a real forest.

Continuously using flames would shorten the lifespan of this humanoid body.

As the Immortal will of the mycelium, it did not fear the decay of its physical form, but the cost of producing such a body could not be overlooked; otherwise, swarms of Horned Demons would have already surged toward Hope City.

Thus, determining how to drain every bit of value from this body became the key issue.

The Horned Demon decided to change tactics and began seeking breakthroughs on the city wall—if it could kill all the human defenders above, the extraordinary beasts would flood into every corner of Hope City like water spilling from an overflowing fish tank.

In less than a minute after beginning its search for human vulnerabilities, it discovered a very strange, or rather, very conspicuous biological field.

It emanated from a tall and robust human. Although he bore no resemblance to the one who had invaded the forest, they seemed to share a similar aura.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Horned Demon launched an attack.

Whether with a testing mindset or the idea of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, this was a worthy target.

As a result, the enormous hand, which was two to three times larger than the norm and covered in gray-red skin, enveloped Wang Xiao’s right fist.

Then, a hidden force surged from the opponent’s arm, followed by a sound from the acceleration and the flying flesh.

The strong impact created a brief gust of wind on the city wall, spraying bright red blood like a fountain, which instantly transformed into a blood mist.

It seemed like a light tug had cost Wang Xiao nearly one-third of his right side; a portion of his strengthened heart and lungs was forcibly torn off and reduced to pulp.

Another part was left starkly exposed, the heart, devoid of the protection of bones and organs, was on the verge of falling apart, continuously beating as it dangled in the air.

The Fifth Level Horned Demon attacking the Third Level Wang Xiao was pure slaughter, just as Wang Xiao had cut through the earlier First Level bear-like extraordinary beast.

The actions of the Horned Demon exuded a relaxed and at ease mastery, with each move containing endless killing intent.

As blood continued to spray from one side of Wang Xiao’s body, with muscles and skin writhing and contracting toward the wound, the Horned Demon gracefully turned half his body and prepared a knife strike.

Wang Xiao was about to be decapitated.