The defenses of Chucheng were extremely tight, with almost no blind spots. So even though the steep western city wall was unlikely to be the main point of attack for a zombie or beast wave, the city lords throughout history never dared to be careless. They had fortified the western wall's defense system to be as strong as possible.
After all, countless bloody lessons over the centuries had deeply taught people that, in many cases, carelessness equaled death!
"Master, you're not planning to charge through the wall with me, are you?" Seeing the imposing city wall ahead, and the fully-armed city defense team patrolling it, Chu Xun couldn't help but shudder.
It's known that there are a full 5,000 elite soldiers stationed along the nearly 100-kilometer-long western wall. Besides that, various city defense weapons were ready for action. Since the city was under lockdown, these weapons were all activated. Now, forget about two live people like them—he'd be surprised if even a bird could escape from here.
No matter how strong Chu Kuangren was, he couldn't possibly lead him out of here directly, right?
"Look at you, scared to death!" Chu Kuangren sneered at Chu Xun's fearful expression, then grabbed his arm and crouched slightly.
"Damn!" Seeing Chu Kuangren's muscles bulging and veins appearing on his body, Chu Xun's face changed immediately, and he shouted, "Master, no!"
Boom!
Before Chu Xun could even finish speaking, Chu Kuangren suddenly powered his legs. With a huge roar, the ground beneath his feet cracked and quickly caved in, forming a circular pit.
At the same time, using the force from the ground, Chu Kuangren grabbed Chu Xun and shot into the sky like a cannonball, heading straight toward the ten-meter-high city wall.
"Done for!" Chu Xun felt a massive force surge through his arm, and before he could regain his balance, he found himself already on top of the wall.
Around him, a number of armed soldiers quickly surrounded them, and the automatic weapons on the wall shifted to aim their dark muzzles directly at him.
"If I say right now that I'm not related to him, would you believe me?" Chu Xun asked with a stiff smile, looking at the soldiers surrounding him and Chu Kuangren.
"Captain!" But just as Chu Xun spoke, something unexpected happened. The soldiers who had surrounded them saluted Chu Kuangren, and there was a look of fanatic admiration in their eyes.
From their gaze, it was clear that their respect and admiration for Chu Kuangren were deep and sincere!
"Quick to react!" Seeing the soldiers had already taken full defensive positions on the wall, Chu Kuangren nodded and patted Chu Xun on the shoulder, smiling, "What did you just say? You're not related to me?"
"Master, you must have misheard!" Chu Xun suddenly felt speechless. No wonder this guy was so fearless—he was the captain of the western city defense team.
And from his casual attitude, it seemed his power in the western city defense was even greater than that of the southern city defense captain…
"Alright, you guys keep doing your thing. I'll take this little guy out of the city for a bit." Chu Kuangren shrugged and ordered the soldiers.
"Yes!" Upon hearing his command, the soldiers immediately dispersed and resumed their duties on the wall, while the automatic weapons lowered their muzzles.
Seeing this, Chu Xun couldn't help but feel a sharp twitch in his eye. None of them questioned Chu Kuangren's orders. After all, Chu Xiong had issued the lockdown order seven days ago!
Shouldn't the city defense team obey the city lord's command? Could it be that Chu Kuangren's influence among these soldiers was so overwhelming?
Who exactly was this seemingly carefree and reckless master of his?
At that moment, Chu Xun felt a surge of confusion and astonishment.
"Alright, let's go!" Before Chu Xun could snap out of his daze, Chu Kuangren grabbed him again and jumped off the wall.
"Damn!" By the time Chu Xun realized what was happening, he was already falling rapidly, feeling the sensation of freefall.
For a moment, the sensation of speed took over, and his heartbeat raced as his breath became harder to control, just like the feeling of plummeting down a roller coaster.
Boom!
Moments later, Chu Kuangren and Chu Xun landed heavily on the ground, creating a deep crater, and dust flew everywhere.
Boom!
Another deafening crash rang out as Chu Kuangren grabbed Chu Xun and leaped from the pit, picking up speed and heading down the mountain.
Chu Kuangren's speed was increasing rapidly, and Chu Xun could feel the scenery rushing past at an unbelievable pace. The wind pressure from the front became so intense that it was hard for Chu Xun to breathe.
If it hadn't been for Chu Kuangren holding him, Chu Xun figured a normal person would have suffocated from the pressure.
But even with that, Chu Xun was beginning to feel the strain. As Chu Kuangren accelerated, the wind pressure grew increasingly stronger, until it felt like a thousand pounds were pressing down on him. The terrifying pressure from all sides made his body strain under the load.
Only then did Chu Xun realize that once speed reached a certain level, the wind resistance could be utterly horrifying!
Luckily, the torture didn't last too long. Soon, Chu Xun felt a powerful force grip him and stop their forward motion.
"Whew… Whew…" When they finally stopped, the violent wind pressure vanished, but the sudden halt caused a shock that made Chu Xun's chest tighten. He almost coughed up blood. He began to breathe heavily to recover his strength.
It could be said that though he had been dragged along for the entire trip, the energy he had expended was more than ten times what he would have used running on his own!
Suddenly, Chu Xun remembered the times he used to joke with newbies in games, saying "I'll carry you to look cool, I'll carry you to fly," and today, he was being flown around by a master. It seemed the cycle of cause and effect had come for him…
"Alright, from now on, the real devilish training begins!" Chu Kuangren, oblivious to Chu Xun's thoughts, perked his ears up, then grinned and said, "You're lucky, there's a perfect sparring partner nearby. Wait, I'll bring it over!"
Without waiting for Chu Xun to respond, Chu Kuangren leaped into the air, moving like lightning as he dashed toward the mountain forest in the distance.
"So fast…" Watching Chu Kuangren vanish into the woods like a blur, Chu Xun's eyes widened in shock. He then turned around to look back at the path they had taken.
At a distance of several dozen miles, a towering peak loomed!
Chu Kuangren had crossed the treacherous western peak filled with traps and mines and reached the base of the mountain in just a few minutes. The speed was so terrifying that it left Chu Xun struggling to believe it!
Roar!
But just as Chu Xun was stunned by Chu Kuangren's terrifying strength, a monstrous roar suddenly rang out from the distant forest. It was high-pitched and sharp, completely different from the growl of ordinary zombies, clearly indicating it was something much larger!
"This direction… Could it be…" Seeing the sound came from where Chu Kuangren had disappeared, Chu Xun's eyes twitched slightly, and an ominous feeling suddenly filled his heart.
As expected, that ominous premonition was accurate.
The next second, a massive figure shot out from the forest, and it appeared to be holding a bloody, mutilated creature. But the figure was moving too fast for Chu Xun to see the creature clearly.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, the giant figure landed in front of Chu Xun, throwing the bloodied creature onto the ground, laughing loudly, "Good disciple, your opponent is here. Be careful, this one is tough!"
At the same time, the bloodied creature sprang to its feet, crouching low and facing Chu Xun in a standoff!
"Damn!" Only then did Chu Xun finally see the creature clearly, and he couldn't help but curse out loud.
Bloodied? That creature didn't have skin at all!
It was a terrifying, humanoid monster, about two meters tall. Its sleek body was crouched on the ground, arched like a hunting leopard.
The monster had no skin; its muscular, blood-red flesh was exposed, covered in mucus and blood stains, looking absolutely disgusting.
Its head, which resembled a human's, had no skull—just a bloody, exposed brain. Not only that, its large, jagged mouth was lined with teeth, and from its mouth came a long tongue covered with barbed spikes, making it look ferocious.
But what terrified Chu Xun the most were the creature's enormous, razor-sharp silver claws. They glinted like metal, and with a single swipe, the ground was gouged deeply, leaving marks like they had been cut by an axe.
Seeing this creature, Chu Xun's heart tightened, and his back was drenched in cold sweat.
This kind of monster was recorded in the "Beastskin Manual"—it was a zombie evolved into what they called a *Licker*, also known as the "Harbinger of Death"!