Chapter 142: Chapter 136 Bait Cage
Su Han did not bring Zhu Xiong and the others, for the camp clearance needed manpower, and within Nanwang Lake, the true nature of the monsters remained uncertain.
If he brought too many people, there would be fewer hands to work.
If there were danger, escaping would not be as smooth either.
He, accompanied by only his two beasts, rapidly made his way towards Nanwang Lake.
Knowing there was a raiding team nearby, Su Han did not use the Ancient Tree Crystal to dispel the mist.
Move into the village quietly, no need for gunfire.
The Ancient Tree Crystal could clear the fog, but its light would also expose Su Han's whereabouts, so he decided not to use it for the time being.
Without the dispersal of the Ancient Tree Crystal, fog shrouded the environment, reducing visibility to a mere hundred meters, veiling everything in a hazy dimness, making the enormous Nanwang Bridge appear as if cut off halfway, vanishing into the mist.
Su Han, with his beasts in tow, stepped onto Nanwang Bridge, where vehicles nearly choked the entire surface; some cars were completely smashed together, their fronts flattened, with only half a skeleton remaining inside them.
In the midst of this fog, too many people failed to escape the bridge; at the onset of the apocalypse, monsters relentless tore apart defenseless humans.
On the deadly silent bridge, the sound of footsteps seemed starkly out of place, the three figures appearing like shadows cast upon a chalkboard formed by the white mist.
"Roar"
A low growl traveled through the fog, followed by sporadic, frantic running sounds that clanged and banged against many vehicles.
Monsters charged in, mostly consisting of flesh corpses, among which were several Giant Claw Zombies of different species.
Su Han's pace wasn't fast as he navigated between the vehicles, mentally counting them; there were at least a hundred cars on the bridge.
'The Scorpion Spider Demon might not have enough for a Fusion upgrade, but it would suffice to bolster the metal reserves of the base.'
While pondering, the monsters had already closed in to less than thirty meters; Su Han did not start moving, but the two beasts behind him had already broken through the obstructing cars and charged out.
The Alien Thorn Worm continually fired stabs from its paws, slaughtering creatures like flesh corpses, Giant Macrophage Dogs, and Six-clawed Blood Cats incessantly.
The Bonestead Rat Demon, evidently more ferocious, confronted a Giant Claw Zombie head-on, remaining unscathed, its towering body steady, then with one sweep of its paw, its bone spurs sliced through, severing the monsters before it in two.
The creatures on Nanwang Bridge were few, and they were swiftly eradicated, the scent of blood dispersing some of the fog's dampness.
Su Han stepped over the monster corpses, finally making his way towards the other end of the bridge, with Nanwang Lake just a short distance from the descent.
'Nanwang Guild Hall and Lakeside Hotel, these two places aren't far from each other; I should check them out first.'
Su Han had extracted plenty of information from the survivors, not only regarding their original location but also potential areas where survivors might exist.
However, Su Han was more curious about the changes at the aforementioned two locations than about the latter.
He arrived at the lake's edge, where the moist and cold mist lowered the temperature by several degrees, chilling to the bone.
"Splash"
Just as he approached the water, the surface roiled violently, and a massive Armored Crocodile lunged forward.
The Bonestead Rat Demon caught the Armored Crocodile with one grasp; the beast had no chance to react before it was crushed to death.
Bones snapped audibly, its form contorted, blood streaming from its mouth and nostrils.
Su Han glanced at the Armored Crocodile, which resembled a crocodile to a certain degree, but its robust limbs, particularly the arm-like front limbs, made this Armored Crocodile even more ferocious.
"Clang clang"
Just as the Bonestead Rat Demon tossed aside the corpse of the Armored Crocodile, a heavy clanging sound resonated from afar near the lakeshore.
It was as if something was striking against a metallic object, the sound loud and particularly jarring.
Su Han's eyes flickered slightly, knowing that abnormal occurrences harbored dangers, and he headed towards the source of the sound.
The closer he got, the louder and more frequent the noise became.
The intense clanging, accompanied by the intermittent roars of monsters, echoed through the fog.
Su Han finally reached the origin of the sounds, to find a huge metal cage coming into view.
The cage was cubic, approximately two meters in length on each side, constructed from welded steel bars, secure and firm, but smeared with bloodstains.
Outside the cage, a group of Armored Crocodiles eyed their prey hungrily, at least a dozen in number, and leading them were two larger humanoid crocodile monsters, who were battering the cage, incessantly shaking it, creating a clamorous din.
There was surprisingly a living person inside the cage, covered in blood, limbs broken, whimpering faintly, nearly nine-tenths on the way to meet Yama.
The monsters circled their quarry, growling lowly, awaiting their meal; once the cage was torn open by the Giant Crocodile Monsters, the person inside would undoubtedly become their food.
Upon witnessing this scene, Su Han's eyes turned icy, detesting those who trapped a person in a cage to attract monsters.
"Roar"
The monsters took notice of Su Han and immediately redirected their attack towards him.
The Alien Thorn Worm took position in front of him, plunging into the crowd of monsters, its stabs fiercely slicing through them, while the Bonestead Rat Demon swung its massive hand, seizing the two Giant Crocodile Monsters.
Letting their attacks fall upon its body, it then twisted its gigantic palm with a snap, and similarly large Giant Crocodile Monsters met their demise.
"Get the hell out of here."
Su Han's frosty voice echoed throughout the area, and amidst the rustling sounds, several dozen figures, draped in camouflage and dark-colored clothes stained with blood—though not much, some faded—stood up at the edge of the fog about a hundred meters away to conceal their scent.
Nearby, there were bait cages and lures, their faint scent of blood just enough to mask his own smell, but not strong enough to upstage the bait.
The group approached Su Han, led by none other than Gao Bin, followed by two imposing monsters.
One was an Armored Minotaur with a single horn, and the other a Double-headed Giant Claw Corpse with fierce skulls, their split mouths nearly reaching their ears, teeth sharp, and snake-like tongues occasionally flicking out. Their claws were massive and sharp, hanging down past their knees.
"Brother, you're trespassing, this is our hunting ground,"
Gao Bin's narrowed eyes conveyed a shady light as he warily scrutinized Su Han's two beasts, exposing his greed.
Such powerful Angels Envoys, if consumed, would they yield even better effects?
He was not afraid of Su Han; he too was a Second-order Contractor, and with his group of brothers, he was not worried about losing to the man before him.
"Hunting ground?"
Su Han's eyes filled with even colder intent, and he said icily, "Kill them."
Without unnecessary words, the two horrifying monsters erupted with astonishing killing intent and charged directly at Gao Bin and his companions.
"Swoosh, swoosh"
Stabs shot out instantly, piercing through two Contractors who hadn't managed to summon their Angels Envoys in time.
Madman!
Gao Bin's face twisted with anger as Su Han's calm and indifferent demeanor infuriated him.
Foolish creature, then die.
He sent his Angels Envoys to charge at Su Han. The Armored Minotaur rushed at the Alien Thorn Worm, its thick carapace resisting the stinging attack, which penetrated only a third into the heavy armor, barely piercing it.
"Bang"
The Armored Minotaur's fist landed on the body of the Alien Thorn Worm, the powerful punch sounded muffled against its shell, making the Alien Thorn Worm's body sway.
However, in the next moment, the Alien Thorn Worm retaliated, its sharp claws striking toward the Armored Minotaur, producing a metallic clang and leaving deep gouges on the Armored Minotaur's body.
The two beasts thus fought, with an intimidatingly massive show of strength.
Meanwhile, the Double-headed Giant Claw Corpse confronted the Bonestead Rat Demon, with its limbs already emanating a faint white glow.
Gao Bin had great confidence in his first Angel Envoy; although only four to five meters tall and considerably smaller than the fearsome Bonestead Rat Demon.
But the Double-headed Giant Claw Corpse possessed skills, and the Blade Claw was his reliance.
No matter how powerful the creature, under the Blade Claw, none could escape being cleaved.
This is the consequence of opposing me.
The Double-headed Giant Claw Corpse pounced on the Bonestead Rat Demon; its attack striking the target, the shrill sound of friction filled the air.
The sharp claws had been gripped by the Bonestead Rat Demon, and though they were indeed sharp enough to grind notches into the bony hands, they were still a distance away from the flesh beneath.
Gao Bin's expression froze, his eyes widening in shock as his trump card failed to harm the opponent.
"Attack, kill that man!"
He reacted quickly, immediately targeting Su Han—knowing that if the Contractor was killed, his strong monsters would be useless.
Everyone summoned their Angels Envoys and in that moment, charged towards Su Han.
Gao Bin struggled to control the Double-headed Giant Claw Corpse, desperately trying to escape the Bonestead Rat Demon's grasp.
But then Su Han let out a cold laugh. In an instant, the Bonestead Rat Demon went berserk, slamming the Double-headed Giant Claw Corpse to the ground. Its massive fists pounded down relentlessly, heavy blows stained with blood.
In desperation, Gao Bin clenched a sharp steel rebar in his hand and hurled it toward Su Han like a spear.
This was their usual hunting tactic—lying in wait from a distance of dozens to a hundred meters, attacking when the number of monsters near the bait cage was sufficient, or when the baited brethren inside were about to give out.
Everyone would throw their steel rebar spears, trying to pierce the bodies of the monsters, and then the Angels Envoys would rush in for the kill, wiping out all beasts.
This method was efficient and safe—far better than a head-on clearing and combat—it allowed them to target strong monsters and achieve victory with minimal sacrifice.
As for the likelihood of the bait in the cage being impaled by the steel spears, that was not their concern.
Except this time, the tactic was ineffective.
Su Han caught the flying steel rebar spear in his hand effortlessly as if it were immobile, while behind him, a red glow faintly emerged, and an even larger monster appeared before everyone.
The Scorpion Spider Demon appeared.
Its body was enveloped in thick Floating Pagoda Black Armor, with a terrifying and fierce scorpion-spider lower body, a robust humanoid torso with four arms, and a weighty Wolf Fang Club in hand.
Gao Bin's people felt an icy chill in their hearts.
Damn it, how can this guy have three Angels Envoys?!
They still believed that the Alien Thorn Worm was Su Han's Angel Envoy, not realizing it was just an ordinary beast.
"Brother, we were wrong!"
Gao Bin cried out, but the Scorpion Spider Demon had already struck, sweeping its Wolf Fang Club across with cracking sounds. The first wave of monsters charged forward only to be cast into the lake by the Scorpion Spider Demon.
Some were sent flying horizontally, others directly having their midsections broken with spines protruding, blood staining the surface of the lake.