Zhu Zhuo decisively chose to strike first, her long sword flashing as she swiftly moved to the largest monster's front, severing half of its left head with a single strike.
The monster let out a sky-shattering roar. Sensing danger, it quickly twisted its body, but Zhu Zhuo's follow-up sword strike still sliced off a large patch of its fur, and bright red blood gushed out, agitating the other异形 monsters.
A pack of cats and dogs around it lunged at Zhu Zhuo. Her body and long sword continuously twisted as she dodged, seizing opportunities to hack at the monsters. Almost every hit severed a large chunk of fur, and some were cut in half.
What disgusted her further was that the incomplete body parts of the monsters that fell to the ground were quickly devoured by other monsters. Even the half of the tiger's head she had cut off earlier was carried by a giant wolf to its companion, a狈. The strangely ugly 狈 opened its mouth and bit into the bloody tiger head, eating with relish.
The so-called organization of these monsters was simply selecting the strongest one to lead them in attacking humans. In their eyes, a group of relatively weaker humans was the best choice for their buffet.
The 狈 quickly swallowed the entire tiger head, then chattered something to the giant wolf. The giant wolf, carrying it, took two steps back and set it down. Then, it charged forward, leaping into the air and lunging towards Zhu Zhuo, who was engaged in combat with the monsters.
It chose a tricky angle. For an ordinary person, they would have been crushed under its massive body, and then the other monsters would have swarmed in to tear them to shreds.
Unfortunately for it, it encountered Zhu Zhuo.
She threw her long sword, which flew towards the giant wolf and pierced its body mid-air. The giant wolf fell from a height of four to five meters, landing on the ground with a loud thud. It twitched a few times and quickly died.
Many monsters stopped attacking Zhu Zhuo and began tearing into the giant wolf's body.
Seeing this, the 狈 immediately turned and began to crawl backward.
A few wolves behind it surrounded it, appearing to protect it with their lives.
The异形 spiders at the very back also crawled over. Most of them were half the height of a person, and the largest one was as tall as an adult. Their slender legs scraped the ground as they approached Zhu Zhuo. When they were still some distance away, glands on their abdomens ejected yellow silk, which stuck to Zhu Zhuo's clothes with a "snap," attempting to ensnare her.
The long sword flew back and slashed down. To her surprise, it didn't cut the silk but instead got stuck to it. She pulled back hard, trying to free herself from the annoying silk, but almost stumbled.
"So stupid."
Zhu Zhuo's body temperature rapidly increased, and golden-white flames appeared around her. The silk snapped, breaking apart. As the long sword was pulled towards the spiders, she reacted in time. The sword body emitted golden light, and it too broke free from the silk.
It seemed a bit angry, circling in the air a few times. When the silk flew towards it again, it actively returned to Zhu Zhuo's hand.
"Go yourself."
The flames around Zhu Zhuo were too hot for the silk to withstand. The spiders and other monsters were too afraid to approach her, watching her warily from the side.
The long sword had no choice but to go on its own, radiating light as it quickly darted towards a large spider, piercing it through. It then flew away rapidly.
Clearly, it also detested the silk.
Zhu Zhuo gathered her spiritual energy and struck directly. The large spider hit by the spiritual energy had its flesh and blood mangled. The surrounding异形 were blown away. A cat, severely mutated in parts, fell to the ground and kept yowling, its cries incredibly shrill and unbearable.
The other异形, while devouring the bodies of their own kind, continued to crawl towards her, waving their claws, opening their gaping mouths, and some attempting to pounce and crush her. Zhu Zhuo easily repelled them all.
Compared to golden dragons or similar beings, these异形 were like ants to her. They were not numerous, and their individual strength was weak. Dealing with them was like stepping on ants; she could kill many with a single stomp.
Just as she was about to finish off the monsters, gunshots suddenly rang out beside her, and a hellhound, nearly a meter tall, fell.
She turned her head and saw the woman she had met before, along with Cheng Tian and five or six others.
They held peculiar-looking weapons and were attacking the monsters.
The remaining three large spiders immediately shifted their targets and crawled towards them, spitting silk not far away. It stuck to one of the women with a "snap."
"Ah!"
Someone fired at the spider, but it missed the vital spot. The spider immediately began to reel in the silk, trying to drag the woman away.
The long sword circled once and slashed down, instantly splitting the large spider in two. Zhu Zhuo then unleashed another gust of wind, instantly severing the slender legs of the remaining two spiders. They tumbled to the ground, moving with great difficulty, appearing comically awkward.
Cheng Tian quickly pulled the woman who was stuck by the silk to her feet. The others continued their attack, leaving the remaining few异形 in disarray. Some, when their bellies were ripped open, revealed the corpses of their own kind that they had eaten.
When the half-lion, half-tiger monsters jumped onto Zhu Zhuo's head, she slit their bellies. Their intestines spilled out instantly, and they fell heavily to the ground, howling as they died.
Those wolves were also killed by them. The 狈 still tried to escape but was impaled by the long sword and brought back. It was held up before Zhu Zhuo as if seeking praise. Zhu Zhuo was utterly disgusted, saying with disdain, "Take it away, it's disgusting."
The long sword shook the dead 狈 to the ground. A golden light flashed across its body, and it returned to its pristine state, flying obediently by her side.
Those people fired a few more shots at the half-dead异形, killing them completely. Then, they gathered around, looking at Zhu Zhuo and her sword with disbelief.
Cheng Tian murmured, "I didn't expect you to be so powerful!"
The woman extended her hand towards her.
Zhu Zhuo tentatively reached out and shook her hand. It seemed the handshake etiquette had not been abolished, and this time it was correct.
"I apologize for my earlier rudeness. My name is Zhou Yan. May I have the pleasure of meeting you again?"
Zhu Zhuo smiled and said, "Zhu Zhuo."
"Your sword is amazing. What kind of weapon is it?"
"A common weapon," Zhu Zhuo replied, not quite sure herself. "It was given to me by my family. I don't know how it was made."
The woman didn't press further. The group returned to the small base. The others also came from not too far away. They had walked a certain distance and, after hearing Cheng Tian's description of Zhu Zhuo, were curious to see how she would deal with the异形, so they ran back to watch.
Seeing how powerful she was, with the异形 almost all killed, they stepped in to help finish them off.