In less than a minute, with seamless teamwork, all fifty-three Demonic Beasts were slain!
"Captain, do we really have to haul all these beasts back?" Tyler Ao asked, face twisted in dismay.
Although these were only D-class beasts, their bodies were massive—each weighed over a thousand kilograms. For eight people to carry them all back would not be easy.
Ian Song smiled, "This world is full of spiritual energy, and that's what makes these Demonic Beasts so powerful. Their meat must be absolutely delicious! Since we just arrived, there's no rush to do tasks—let's try some beast meat first!"
Everyone's eyes lit up at the suggestion.
Twenty minutes later, in front of the campfire.
Ian Song expertly flipped the roasting meat skewered on branches. After ten minutes of grilling, the meat was already sending out waves of mouthwatering aroma.
Ten more minutes passed, and Ian somehow produced salt, cumin, and other seasonings, sprinkling them evenly over the roasted meat.
He then handed each person a chunk of roast meat.
"Give it a try!"
Tyler Ao brought the meat to his mouth and took a big bite.
Ssssss—
An indescribable burst of flavor exploded in his mouth, instantly filling every corner. Tyler's eyebrows shot up in delight.
Seeing his exaggerated expression, Elaine Zhao couldn't help asking, "How does it taste?"
Tyler didn't answer. He just chewed a couple of times, swallowed, and immediately took another bite. With his mouth half full, he mumbled, "Damn, this is incredible! I've never eaten roast meat this good!"
After hearing Tyler's reaction, the others couldn't hold back and took bites of their own.
The moment they tasted the roast meat, almost everyone showed expressions of disbelief and bliss.
Seeing this, Ian Song couldn't help but grin smugly. He picked up a chunk himself, took a bite, and nodded in satisfaction—it really was delicious.
In no time, everyone had devoured over two catties of roast meat. Instantly, a wave of heat surged from their stomachs and spread throughout their bodies.
Feeling something stir inside, everyone started circulating their cultivation arts. After one full cycle, they discovered that their true qi had actually increased.
Innate martial artists have digestive power at least ten times greater than ordinary people.
So, over the next few hours, everyone except Ian Song ate nearly a hundred catties of beast meat—Tyler Ao alone put away at least two hundred.
Ian didn't gorge himself because his true essence is much higher quality—these low-level beasts don't do much for his cultivation.
As night approached, Ian called everyone to haul the beast corpses back to base.
Everyone was an Innate martial artist, strong enough to carry two beasts at a time. Even so, it took three trips to get all the corpses back to base.
Fifty-three beasts meant 53 Merit Points. Based on kill share, Ian Song got 12 points; Elaine Zhao, the only Innate Fifth Layer, killed four beasts and earned 4 points.
Compared to Ian Song's squad, Ethan Ye's team hunted three C-class beasts and more than ten D-class beasts, earning over 160 Merit Points.
Tanya Tang's squad only killed two C-class and five D-class beasts, but they found two Treasure Herbs, bringing their total to over 200 points.
If they keep earning over 200 points a day, they'll hit 800 in less than five days.
Other squads scored around 100 points, so Ian Song's group was the lowest, with just 53.
"Ian, looks like we'll have to step up tomorrow, or the other squads will leave us in the dust!" Elaine Zhao said.
"No worries, it's only just beginning!" Ian Song replied with a confident smile.
Besides the three deputy commanders, the base also housed a scientific team. All returned beasts were dissected and their blood-flesh essence extracted, then sent back to Earth to be refined into pills.
As night fell, dense beast roars echoed from the ancient forest.
All War God Squad members gathered in the Metal Transfer Chamber, sitting cross-legged to cultivate—there were no beds here.
"Captain, at this rate we're getting nowhere. Why don't we try hunting outside the designated area?" Ray Zhao suggested.
Ian Song looked at the others. "What do you all think?"
"Fortune favors the bold! Let's do it!" Tyler Ao rumbled.
"I agree too," Gavin Zhao said after a moment's thought.
One by one, the others chimed in, all in favor.
With everyone on board, Ian Song waved his hand. "Alright then—let's head out and hunt some beasts!"
At that moment, the three deputy commanders were fighting together against a giant ape over ten meters tall.
An A-class Beast!
Ian Song was shocked—he hadn't expected an A-class beast to attack the base.
Judging by the fight, the three deputy commanders working together could barely gain a slight advantage.
After two hours of fierce fighting, seeing no hope of victory, the giant ape turned and smashed its way back into the forest, disappearing from sight.
Seeing the ape escape, all three deputy commanders breathed a sigh of relief.
All three had reached Innate Eighth Layer; together, they could kill an ordinary Ninth Layer. But the ape's defense was monstrous, and at night, Demonic Beasts are everywhere—if they blundered into a beast encirclement, even a Ninth Layer expert would die.
"Captain, what happened outside?" Tyler Ao asked in a low voice.
"An A-class Beast came, but the three deputy commanders drove it off," Ian Song said.
"An A-class Beast!" Tyler Ao said, his face tightening with fear.
The main gate swung open and the three deputy commanders walked in. Everyone instinctively looked their way.
"Just focus on cultivating. This base is extremely sturdy—so long as you don't go outside, even S-class Beasts can't break in," Vaughn Jin said in a deep voice.
The next morning, after a simple breakfast, Ian Song led his squad out.
Maybe because yesterday's hunt cleared out most of the C-class beasts within the eighty-li safe radius, after two hours of searching, Ian Song's team only found a few D-class beasts.