Chapter 100: Slaying the Elite Shadow Wolf, Condensing Evolution Points Once More

"【Target Name: Elite Netherwolf】
【Target Type: Mutant Beast】
【Hunting Level: Level 3】
【Special Abilities: Shadow Lurking, Shadow Assault, Shadow Claws, Shadow Strike】
【Strength: 6.9】
【Constitution: 7.4】
【Agility: 7.8】
【Spirit: 2.6】
【Weakness: ......】"

Before Zhang Ran's eyes, a stream of silver light composed of information flickered past, coalescing into a data panel. Through the chip's scanning, modeling, and inference, the projected attributes of that Netherwolf were displayed before him.

"Pathetically weak! Even without activating the 'Boiling Blood' skill, my strength alone is enough to crush it!"

Looking at the Netherwolf's attributes, Zhang Ran mused inwardly.

Generally speaking, an ordinary Netherwolf was a Level 1–2 mutant beast. This elite Netherwolf had broken past the limits of its kind, ascending to a Level 3 elite. Even so, before Zhang Ran, its attributes were utterly dominated—even its strongest stat, Agility, was still 0.4 points lower than his own.

Hefting the Po Jun greatsword, Zhang Ran strode forward in great strides toward the elite Netherwolf. Seeing his movement, the elite Netherwolf knew it had been discovered. It withdrew from its "Shadow Lurking" state, abandoning stealth, and charged at him.

This was a mutant beast with a streamlined body two point two meters in length, sleek black fur, and an appearance resembling a wild wolf. In the gray pupils of this elite Netherwolf flickered a cunning light—clearly possessing a certain degree of intelligence. Its claws were razor-sharp, gleaming with a dark sheen.

The elite Netherwolf moved with startling swiftness, darting left and right through the underbrush like a black arrow, lunging ferociously at Zhang Ran. Gazing at the approaching elite Netherwolf in the distance, Zhang Ran gripped the Po Jun greatsword tightly and charged to meet it.

Just when the distance between them had shrunk to about a hundred meters, a wisp of gray mist suddenly appeared on the surface of the elite Netherwolf's body, shrouding it completely.

As this dark mist spread, the elite Netherwolf's body phased and concealed itself, hiding with formidable stealth amid the cover of the wild grass, becoming difficult to detect.

This was precisely the effect of the elite Netherwolf's ability "Shadow Assault." This ability possessed an even greater cloaking effect than "Shadow Lurking," though its duration was shorter and its consumption greater.

At the same time, this ability could also grant the elite Netherwolf a temporary boost to movement speed and enhance the power of its next attack—it was the elite Netherwolf's signature move.

"Hmph, a paltry trick!"

Against ordinary evolvers, an ability like "Shadow Assault" might indeed prove difficult to guard against. But Zhang Ran's Agility and Spirit attributes were formidable, allowing him to lock onto the elite Netherwolf's trajectory in an instant. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Horizontal Sweep!"

Every muscle in his body tensed, erupting with immense power that converged upon the greatsword, before cleaving horizontally in a single direction.

The blade of Po Jun carved a cold arc of light through the air, and along the path of that sword-light, the elite Netherwolf's figure abruptly materialized.

This strike had perfectly predicted the elite Netherwolf's trajectory, cutting cleanly into its abdomen.

"Rrrip!"

With a sound like tearing cloth, Zhang Ran's Po Jun greatsword effortlessly rent through the elite Netherwolf's hide and sliced into its flesh.

Beneath that single blow, a gruesome wound some eighty centimeters long appeared across the elite Netherwolf's abdomen, exposing its innards, with blood pouring wildly from the gash.

"Owwwoo!"

Gravely wounded by Zhang Ran's sword, the elite Netherwolf let out a shrill howl of agony.

However, driven by its tenacious vitality, the elite Netherwolf did not lose its combat capability. A flash of gray light passed over its body as it lunged once more at Zhang Ran, its pair of claws swiping toward his skull. Not only that—along the edges of the wound on its abdomen, flesh rapidly proliferated, quickly forming strands of new granulation tissue.

For these high-tier mutant beasts, their constitution and regenerative ability were terrifying. So long as the wound was not fatal, they could quickly staunch the bleeding and recover.

Take this elite Netherwolf for instance—the injury Zhang Ran had inflicted would require roughly half an hour to initially heal, and with sufficient food, it could fully recover within half a day.

But naturally, Zhang Ran would not grant it any time to catch its breath or recover. Seeing the elite Netherwolf lunging at him, he swung the greatsword once more, driving straight for the beast's throat!

Though the elite Netherwolf came with ferocious momentum, it was wounded after all, its speed and strength both diminished. Zhang Ran's blade slit its throat in a single stroke. Blood gushed wildly from the severed windpipe, its body lost control, and it tumbled across the ground.

Gazing down at the elite Netherwolf on the ground, a cold gleam flashed through Zhang Ran's eyes. He swung the Po Jun greatsword, decapitating it in one clean cut, ending its life and absorbing its evolutionary energy.

......

Five days later!

"Excellent, I've condensed another new Evolution Point. My strength has climbed yet another step up the ladder!"

As the evolutionary energy entered his body, within Zhang Ran's spinal column, the loose prototype of an Evolution Point coalesced, forming a golden crystalline Evolution Point. A satisfied smile spread across Zhang Ran's face—he had completed another minor stage of advancement!

In truth, for someone like Zhang Ran who possessed the "Evolution Tree," the factor limiting his growth was not an inability to defeat mutant beasts of the same level, but rather that there were simply too few same-level mutant beasts to be found!

Out in the wilderness, generally speaking, the number of high-tier mutant beasts was lower than that of low-tier mutant creatures. Especially in the Inner Wasteland controlled by Black Eagle Company, which had already been explored by many evolvers—the number of mutant creatures one could find there was far fewer than in the Outer Wasteland!

After successfully condensing the first Evolution Point of the Level 3 evolver stage, Zhang Ran's overall strength had increased by another tenth or so, and his attributes had risen as well—Strength breaking past 9, Constitution reaching 8.64, Agility reaching 8.36, and Spirit reaching 8.11.

Therefore, in order to find more mutant creatures and advance quickly, Zhang Ran once again ventured another twenty kilometers deeper into the wilderness, arriving at a point one hundred and twenty kilometers from Black Eagle Company.

Compared to the hundred-kilometer mark, the mutant creatures in this region one hundred and twenty kilometers out were greater in number and stronger in power. The number of Level 3 creatures had increased tenfold, the number of Level 4 creatures had risen substantially, and occasionally even Level 5 mutant beasts would appear.

Given Zhang Ran's strength, even before condensing an Evolution Point, he had been able to slay a Level 4 Tyrant, placing his power at the peak of Level 4 creatures. Now that he had condensed his first Evolution Point, his strength had advanced yet again.

Though Zhang Ran might not yet be able to slay a Level 5 mutant beast, escaping from one was already no longer a problem for him. Thus, he felt confident venturing even deeper into the wilderness.