Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Fang Chen, You Bastard...

"What?!" Huai Yongge’s voice suddenly spiked, drawing sidelong glances from several nearby officials. "Xiao Fang, what is wrong with your team?

"Don’t give me that nonsense about it devouring the examinees’ Spiritual Crystal Stones on the outskirts!

"Didn’t I emphasize time and again that there cannot be any peak Tier 1 entities among the deployed Demon Beasts?

"Did you strictly inspect them before deployment?!"

On the other end of the comms, Xiao Fang’s voice trembled with panic.

Huai Yongge took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and asked calmly, "Are you certain that you interrupted its breakthrough process? It didn’t fully succeed?"

"I am certain! Its aura is extremely unstable right now, caught between peak Tier 1 and Tier 2. It is equivalent to... equivalent to a Martial Artist with one foot in the High Martial Realm, but its realm hasn’t fully stabilized!"

Huai Yongge fell silent for a moment before turning his gaze back to the surveillance screen.

On the screen, the sixty-person team led by Fang Chen was methodically clearing out the Demon Beasts ahead of them. Though their progress was slow, they maintained their formation quite well, keeping their casualty rate extremely low.

A faint smile suddenly tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Forget it," he said into the communicator. "There’s no need to forcefully drive it away."

"Huh? Inspector Huai, what do you mean?"

Huai Yongge watched the group of examinees on the screen. Their morale was high after such a smooth journey, especially Fang Chen, who had caught his particular attention. He spoke slowly, "These kids are sticking too closely together. It’s been too smooth of a ride for them, to the point where it’s going to be hard for me to rank them. This is perfect; it’s time to crank up the intensity."

He issued an order, "Drive that quasi-Tier 2 Cyan-faced Fox toward the most densely populated area of examinees. Let me see if they can maintain this unity when faced with a Half-Step High Martial Realm beast."

"Yes, Inspector Huai!" Xiao Fang immediately accepted the command.

"We’re almost there. Once we bypass that giant tree ahead, we should be in the most densely populated area for Demon Beasts," Fang Chen thought. He had arrived at the designated location and knew that a tough battle awaited them.

He then distributed most of the Water Mist Fruit and Purifying Sponge Grass he was carrying. Almost everyone received four or five portions.

"The assessment rules state that once the resources are in my hands, the points belong to me. Handing them out for use won’t affect the point distribution," he calculated inwardly.

He, Su Zhe, and two other True Martial Realm students formed a diamond formation, each guarding a different direction. They led the large group, cautiously bypassing the towering ancient tree that would take several people to encircle.

The view ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a small forest pool.

However, when Fang Chen got a clear look at the scene by the pool, his expression drastically changed. He abruptly raised his right hand and hissed, "Stop! Don’t move!"

His unprecedentedly grave expression made everyone’s hearts clench.

Someone carefully parted the branches and leaves, finding an angle to look through. They immediately drew a sharp breath, nearly crying out in shock.

"Ah!"

A muffled gasp still slipped out.

By the pool, no less than twenty Tier 1 Demon Beasts were densely gathered together! Jade Shadow Leopards, Cyan-faced Foxes, Cyan Flame Wolves, and Poisonous Thorn Demons—all four troublesome types of Demon Beasts were visible. Some were bending down to drink, while others rested lazily, clearly treating this place as their nest!

That single gasp instantly shattered the tranquility.

"ROAR!"

The roars of the Demon Beasts echoed one after another as countless vicious gazes locked onto their hiding spot in unison.

"What are you yelling for?!" Fang Chen feigned anger, reprimanding the student who had lost control of his voice. He immediately spun around and shouted at the panicked crowd, "Retreat! There are too many Demon Beasts ahead!"

However, how could human retreat speed possibly outpace these agile Demon Beasts?

Before they could run more than a few steps, scorching Fireballs shot out from the mouths of the Cyan Flame Wolves with whistling sounds. They blasted into the trees and ground behind the group, exploding into clusters of flames!

Immediately after, the toxic fog bombs spewed by the Poisonous Thorn Demons spread even faster under the evaporation of the flames. A faint purple toxic gas rapidly permeated the air!

"Use the Purifying Sponge Grass!" Fang Chen ordered urgently.

The crowd hurriedly placed the Purifying Sponge Grass in their mouths while sprinkling the Shuiling Fruit Juice over their bodies, resisting the dual invasion of flames and toxic gas.

"Stop running! Activate your Spiritual Crystal Stones and prepare for battle!" Knowing they couldn’t escape, Fang Chen issued a decisive command.

Everyone was forced to turn around, standing back-to-back to form a defensive circle as they nervously gripped their weapons.

Fang Chen swept his gaze forward, only to see several Jade Shadow Leopards and Cyan-faced Foxes lunging at them like arrows released from a bow!

Sword light flashed. Striking with lightning speed, Fang Chen instantly slaughtered the two fastest speed-type Demon Beasts charging at the front! His movements were clean and efficient.

But the real trouble was coming from the rear!

More Cyan Flame Wolves began launching long-range Fireballs, forcing Fang Chen and the several True Martial Artists to divert their attention to block or dodge, throwing their formation into disarray.

The toxic gas filled the battlefield; even with the Purifying Sponge Grass in their mouths, it still caused dizzy spells.

To make matters worse, the commotion of the battle was like a massive boulder dropped into a calm lake, attracting over a dozen wandering Demon Beasts nearby to join the fray!

In an instant, the group found themselves heavily surrounded, struggling to fend off attacks as danger lurked at every corner.

An Ordinary Martial Artist student failed to dodge in time and was struck by the wind of a Cyan Flame Wolf’s claw. His Combat Suit flashed frantically as he was sent flying. Fortunately, a companion grabbed him in time, but he had clearly suffered internal injuries, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Under the frantic onslaught of the Demon Beasts, their formation was unconsciously split and scattered.

While swinging his sword to parry a sneak attack from a Poisonous Thorn Demon, Fang Chen quickly surveyed the battlefield. His heart sank. "This won’t do! At this rate, we’ll be bled dry!" he thought.

Wielding her short blades, Ren Lei barely forced back a Cyan-faced Fox. "Boss Fang!" she shouted anxiously. "What do we do? Our retreat path is blocked too!"

Fang Chen’s eyes hardened, seemingly coming to a resolute decision. He roared, "Everyone, gather round! Stick together! Don’t be stingy with your Spiritual Crystal Stones! Su Zhe, you True Martial Artists take the lead and quickly eliminate the speed-type Demon Beasts charging in! Hit them where it hurts! Make them too afraid to recklessly break through!"

"Yes!" Su Zhe and the others responded. True Qi erupted from the edges of their swords as they struck with their full strength. In an instant, they slew two more Demon Beasts attempting to tear through their defensive line, temporarily stabilizing their footing.

Ren Lei looked at Fang Chen. "Boss Fang, what about you?"

Fang Chen stared resolutely toward the pool where the Demon Beasts were most densely packed—the source of their pressure. "I’m heading to the front! I’ll draw their attention away!"

"What?!" Everyone was shocked.

"Boss Fang! That’s too dangerous!"

"Even for you, it’s impossible to kill all of them when facing so many Demon Beasts!"

Fang Chen’s tone was firm and decisive. "Don’t worry! I’m a small target on my own. It makes me more agile and easier to break away! Besides, even if something unexpected happens, it’s just my sacrifice! Go! That’s an order!"

Watching his resolute and determined back, many students’ eyes instantly reddened. Even Yang Fan, who had always been somewhat unconvinced, stared at Fang Chen in astonishment right now, his heart trembling wildly.

"Fang Chen... you’re actually willing to go this far for all of us?! You..." he thought.

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