Chapter 200 Fang Beast
A golden shadow appeared on the opposite hillside.
William grinned.
'Pill actually got help,' he thought, relieved.
With William injured and unconscious, sending Pill for help was a risky gamble with uncertain odds of success. William knew it was nearly impossible for a second-level mutant like Pill to cross the Land of Death alone and find the team. Even if Pill made it, the team would face serious danger entering the Land of Death. They were strong, but the place was deadly.
But Pill and the team pulled it off.
What thrilled William most was that the team came to rescue him right away. They knew he was in trouble and didn't hesitate.
Pill, excited to find his master, barked loudly. The sound echoed through the valley, startling the Fang Beasts. They looked up at the hillside. Two third-level Fang Beast leaders barked orders, and the group formed a charging formation towards Pill.
These creatures were the most organized monsters William had seen in Rivercrest Deadland. Their lower bodies were like tigers or wolves, their upper bodies human-like, and their heads beast-like. Despite their low evolution level, they were fierce fighters. William had seen them take down several third-level creatures a few days ago.
Even though Pill's excitement made him seem foolish, William didn't blame him. Dogs are loyal, and losing control for a moment was understandable.
He gave Pill a command. After consuming the Mind Parasite, he could still communicate clearly over short distances. William called the Camilla siblings, who were clueless about the situation, and started moving around the hillside towards the team.
In open terrain, the Fang Beasts' speed and impact would be a huge problem for the team. If they weren't careful, the more than two hundred Fang Beasts could overwhelm them.
But since the valleys on both sides were rocky, thorny, or forested, making the disciplined Fang Beasts hesitate, they weren't sure whether to charge.
The leader, a ten-foot-tall Fang Beast, half-opened its mouth, roared at the team with its long fangs, and ordered its subordinates to keep feeding!
These half-human, half-beast monsters seemed as smart as humans. They even had over twenty Fang Beasts standing guard around the main group, keeping watch.
Halfway down, William paused and eyed the Fang Beasts below with a strange look.
In his past life, he had heard of the Fang Beasts' reputation and seen them in arenas, black markets, and trading posts.
He remembered that these Fang Beasts acted a lot like humans. They were probably the smartest monsters in the Land of Death.
He had even heard that in some top-ranked areas of the Land of Death, Fang Beasts had become lord-level entities, controlling large territories. They were one of the few creatures that could move freely through the Chaos Barrier.
They were also one of the few alien races capable of large-scale wars with human warbands. These wars weren't like those with zombie hordes or beast tides; they involved tactics, strategies, and intelligence, much like human wars in the cold weapon era.
Some survivors even believed that if humanity ever lost the apocalyptic war, the Fang Beasts would likely become the new rulers of the planet.
This showed how terrifying these creatures were.
Naturally, the current evolution level of the Fang Beasts remained relatively low, not yet attaining the strength they would possess ten years later. But human evolution was even lower, and more than two hundred Fang Beasts were enough to trouble the team.
If William wanted to use that mid-level ice crystal, he could easily deal with these second-level Fang Beasts. But he didn't want to. He planned to trade the ice crystal for a bottle of three-star Evolution Elixir. Without enough third-level mutant creatures to kill, he wouldn't use the ice crystal.
It seemed he would have to let these Fang Beasts go today.
William glanced at these future terrifying creatures and continued running towards the team.
Just then, the team suddenly rushed down the hillside and formed a formation. Cecil took the lead, Lucy was in the center, and the others moved towards the Fang Beasts with them as the axis.
"They're crazy!" Camilla exclaimed in disbelief as she saw the team charging towards the more than two hundred ugly creatures.
William wasn't angry or blaming anyone. He was just puzzled, thinking, "No one in my team is impulsive. Even the most lively and talkative Jack is calm during action. Normally, they wouldn't make such a decision. So why did they charge down now?"
With questions in his mind but no hesitation in his steps, William saw his team charging down the hillside and immediately changed direction to follow them.
Camilla and Tom exchanged a glance and reluctantly followed, fearing that if they turned back now, William might cut them in half.
The Fang Beasts noticed the team's actions. After a brief pause, the two third-level leaders made strange sounds. Following these sounds, the more than two hundred Fang Beasts quickly formed ranks, with the two leaders at the front, and began a slow jog that turned into a charge within seconds, rushing towards the seemingly clueless humans!
"Immovable rock!" Cecil yelled.
He took the initiative to activate his skill, summoning a massive shield crafted from Metal Osmium Person and Devil's Gold, which materialized on the ground before him. The shield shadows enveloped the team members.
Lucy waved her hands repeatedly, and an Air Shield appeared on each member. For Lucy, whose mental power had greatly increased after consuming the Mind Parasite, this was effortless.
William moved at lightning speed. The route the team had chosen to charge down was also towards his side. They had formed their defensive formation not far down the hillside, so William quickly reached the middle of the team.
"Captain Wright!"
"William!"
Seeing William after many days, everyone was excited and showed joyful expressions. Even Cecil, who was holding the shield at the front, turned to signal to William.
"Looks like everyone is doing well," William smiled. Having these team members around made him feel much more secure. "But can someone tell me why you did this?"
Jack laughed heartily, "Captain Wright, here you go!"
He tossed a silver card to William.
William caught it and glanced at it, raising his eyebrows.
"Good stuff, where did you get it?" William's last bit of worry disappeared, and he asked Michelle and Candice, who had clearly taken leadership of the team in his absence.
"Stole it," Michelle said nonchalantly, which startled the Camilla siblings who had just arrived.
'These people even steal things?' Camilla thought in shock.
"Who are they?" Michelle said as she glanced at the round Camilla and the tall Tom. "When did you change your taste? Do you like cute little girls now?"
"Maybe he likes to slowly mold them into his preferred type," Natalie said, sounding a bit jealous.
Jack looked around and said, "Doesn't anyone think the boss is doing this for my lifelong happiness?"
"Shut up!" several voices said in unison.
William ignored them and focused on the approaching Fang Beasts. More than two hundred Fang Beasts had split into two groups. One group charged straight ahead, while the other began to flank, seemingly planning to attack from behind. Cecil's Immovable Rock shield shadows must have made them think it was tough to break through.
Even split into two groups, these monsters, each over eight feet tall with two beast heads, charged in a neat formation, creating a shocking sight.
The ground trembled as they approached.
William moved to Cecil's side, holding the card Jack had given him between his fingers, his eyes locked on the third-level Fang Beast leader ahead.
The Fang Beast leader sensed William's gaze and roared fiercely at him while running at high speed. Its sharp claws waved in the air, making a tearing motion towards William.
Provocation. This creature was actually provoking him.
William remained unmoved, but he felt pity for it.
If given more time to learn how to use weapons, this group of Fang Beasts could become the most powerful cavalry. Not just William's team, but even a team of all two-star Evolving Persons would die here. Unfortunately, they still trusted their bodies more.
This was an instinct shared by all monsters.
The Fang Beasts were now only thirty feet away from Cecil. William's eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed to a spot just ahead of the Fang Beast leader's feet. A head-sized stone transformed into a knee-high Stone Man!
The sudden appearance of the Stone Man startled the Fang Beast leader. It hesitated for a moment and was about to leap over the Stone Man, but as if anticipating this move, the Stone Man lunged at the Fang Beast leader's front legs.
The Fang Beast, similar to a centaur, reacted quickly. Seeing the Stone Man pounce, it kicked out with its front hooves, intending to send the Stone Man flying. As a third-level creature, its kick was powerful enough to shatter the Stone Man.
However, instead of being shattered, the Stone Man tripped the Fang Beast leader!
At that precise moment, William surged forward, leading the charge. This Stone Man was far from ordinary, as he had imbued it with half of his mental power, rendering it exceptionally sturdy and resilient.
In an instant, he and the Fang Beast leader were face to face. William swiftly slapped the card he was holding onto the Fang Beast leader's body!
