Celestial Human Diagram

Leaving the garrison fortress, Chen Chuan saw that the vegetation outside had grown much denser, as if he had stepped straight into a thick jungle.

Usually, the vegetation within a three-to-five-kilometer radius of a garrison was cleared out. In its place were reaction outposts armed with machine guns, surrounded by trenches and barbed wire.

This way, neither local creatures nor remnants of the Old Imperial Family could approach easily. It also provided a degree of separation from the anomalies of the night.

But what lay before him was a simulation. They certainly wouldn’t waste resources simulating an entire Merging Land; this was likely just a demonstration of a specific area.

And so, after walking only a few dozen paces, he and Chen Bitong arrived at the edge of a lake. Within the dense fog, a massive creature seemed to be moving, its form faint and indistinct.

As the two drew closer, Chen Chuan got a clear look at the creature.

It stood over three meters tall with thick, powerful legs, a long neck and tail, and an arched, rounded spine. Its back was covered in thick, gray skin like a hard shell, from the edges of which hung strands of algae-like hair crawling with parasites.

Its slender neck was ringed with carapace-like plates. It had small eyes, two hard, protruding bone hammers on the edges of its skull, and a barbed, conical tip on its tail. As it walked, its head and tail swung rhythmically to maintain balance.

Chen Bitong said, "This is a Ringed Neck Armor Rhinoceros. It lives near water and is extremely territorial. If we need to collect water or set up camp in the wild, we’ll run into these most of the time we approach any body of water, aside from places like streams."

"These creatures of the Merging Land are all born with Mutated Organizations. Only these Mutated Organizations can support their massive bodies, giving them agile movements and powerful strength."

"Although they can’t gain Power through training like we can, they still have instinctive ways of using it. Their size advantage compensates for this, and underpowered firearms won’t be able to take them down."

"Its tail is the strongest part of its body and also where its Mutated Organization is most dense. If you get hit by it even once, you’ll be reduced to a bloody pulp."

"Heavy firepower is the best way to deal with this type of creature. But during actual clearing operations, the situation in the Merging Land is complex, and it can be difficult to get weapons into position quickly. Furthermore, this creature’s body tissues have some value, so using a Fighter to take care of it is the most convenient method."

"Some people believe that since the weapons we have aren’t suitable, we need larger ones."

As he spoke, a long-handled great-saber appeared in his hand. It had a wide blade and a thick spine, measuring over four meters long from end to end.

Chen Chuan glanced at it. The weapon looked rather exaggerated, but with their physiques and strength, they could wield it with ease.

Aside from conventional firearms, perhaps only such a weapon could inflict significant damage on these large creatures. But its disadvantages were also plain to see.

Chen Bitong then casually tossed the saber to the ground. "Captain Chen, you’ve probably figured it out already. This thing isn’t convenient to carry and actually hinders our agility."

"Besides, when facing different large creatures, there’s no one-size-fits-all weapon. So rather than carrying this, we’re better off bringing more powerful firearms."

"But if we don’t have those, then we need to use a unique kind of Power."

He said in a low voice, "This is different from the Power used against human targets, which usually requires more refined variations. The Power needed to fight large species has to be stronger and more devastating."

"Captain Chen, watch closely."

After speaking, he slowly walked forward. The Neck Armor Rhino seemed completely unaware of him. But just as he got close, the creature abruptly swung its head at him, the hard bone protrusion at its edge smashing down. The move was incredibly sudden, without the slightest warning; it was in his face in the blink of an eye.

Chen Bitong instantly raised both hands and pressed them against the protrusion. The ground beneath his feet immediately caved in, forming a large crater, and he was pushed back, plowing a half-meter-deep trench behind him.

But he had also managed to stop the Neck Armor Rhino’s head. He suddenly leaped forward and slammed a punch into the junction of its head and neck. As he moved to the side, his fists fell like raindrops on its long neck, traveling all the way down to near its torso.

Then he took a deep breath, clenched his fist with his index knuckle protruding slightly, and threw an upward diagonal punch that struck the creature right in the chest. This blow seemed to carry immense power, as his entire forearm sank into its flesh.

The Neck Armor Rhino’s head was already swaying from the blows to its neck, and it seemed unsteady on its feet. Now, struck by this final attack, it instantly froze.

A moment later, the massive creature—with a body about five meters long and nearly twenty meters from head to tail—suddenly lost all strength and, with a tremendous crash, toppled to the ground.

Chen Chuan walked over and saw that the spot where Chen Bitong’s fist had landed was completely caved in and mangled. Through the anatomical diagram displayed on his Realm Token, he could see that this was where the creature’s heart was located. A large area around it must have been completely obliterated.

Chen Bitong said, "When this type of creature detects an external attack, its internal Mutated Organization instinctively tenses up. That’s why we first need to strike its head and neck to prevent it from controlling its body properly. This way, it can’t muster enough of its Mutated Organization to defend itself."

"At that point, as long as we drive enough Power into the right spot, we can kill it in a single blow. When you execute this, your thoughts must be clear and your actions decisive and swift. There can be no hesitation."

After explaining, he looked over. "Captain Chen, did you see that clearly?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "I saw it."

Without another word, Chen Bitong said simply, "Your turn."

As he spoke, the creature at their feet vanished, and a new Ring Armor Rhinoceros appeared by the lake.

Chen Chuan watched it. Chen Bitong hadn’t given him specific instructions, only a demonstration. If he understood, he understood. If not, there would be no further guidance.

This was the way elites were taught. The basics were assumed to have been mastered long ago. Without those prerequisites, one wasn’t qualified to learn more advanced techniques.

Thanks to his own Domain and Spiritual Power, he had been able to clearly perceive every one of Chen Bitong’s movements and the key points of his power generation.

’The attack actually consists of two parts. The first is a brilliant Defensive dissipation technique, capable of completely blocking the Ring Armor Rhinoceros’s head-butt and neutralizing its force.’

’I can feel that this technique would be very useful against other powerful attacks, too. Just learning this alone makes this trip more than worthwhile.’

’The second part is the power generation.’

’To achieve greater explosive force, you need more time to build it up, and you need to use your breathing to draw more oxygen into your body. This move isn’t very practical against an ordinary Fighter, because the power is overkill. Plus, the long wind-up time can reduce your own agility.’

’But a creature this large isn’t particularly fast, which gives you plenty of room to generate power.’

He followed Chen Bitong’s earlier angle of approach and walked toward the creature. This time, however, the Ring-necked Rhinoceros immediately swung its body and whipped its long tail at him.

He instantly dodged aside and glanced up to see the Ring-necked Rhinoceros staring right at him.

’The attack has to start with the head. That’s the key. If the creature won’t bring its head closer, the first step is impossible.’

’It seems there’s a trick to approaching it, too.’

He thought back. Chen Bitong’s approach speed had been slightly slower than his own. ’That must be the threshold. If I move faster than that, the creature perceives a greater threat and chooses to use its tail instead of its head.’

’So that’s how it is. The solution is actually very simple.’ He immediately retreated into the distance. Once he was out of the creature’s line of sight, it did indeed stop paying attention to him.

He quickly altered his own Domain and began to slowly approach again.

Chen Bitong said nothing, but the approval in his eyes was a clear endorsement of Chen Chuan’s actions.

An ordinary Fighter wouldn’t have noticed this issue, or if they had, they would have stubbornly tried to find another way forward rather than take a step back.

While the battlefield certainly needed people who dared to charge forward recklessly, he much preferred those who used their heads to solve problems instead of rushing in hot-headedly.

Dashun’s current understanding of the Merging Land was limited. It was impossible to solve every problem with brute force.

Just as he expected, when Chen Chuan approached this time, the creature didn’t recognize him as the same person from before. As he drew near, it whipped its head down at him.

Mimicking Chen Bitong’s move, he pressed forward with both hands. An intense force slammed into his body, a power that felt like it could blow him apart.

He remained perfectly calm, mobilizing the Mutated Organization within his body according to the rhythm and breathing he had observed. With that, he managed to hold the force at bay.

After a brief standstill, he surged forward, hammering punch after punch into the same spots Chen Bitong had targeted. Once he reached the creature’s torso, he took another long, deep breath. The Mutated Organization in his body rapidly mobilized according to a specific power-generation method. After building the force to its absolute peak, he unleashed a punch straight at the location of its heart!

Thanks to the high coverage of his Mutated Organization and his natural proficiency with Freehand Force, coordinating the strike felt incredibly smooth. The moment the explosive Power surged through his arm, he knew he had succeeded.

A moment later, the huge body before him crashed to the ground with a deafening thud.

Chen Chuan retracted his fist. Excluding the boosts from Furnace Respiration and his Second Self, this was the most powerful unarmed strike he had ever delivered.

But as he threw the punch, he had a subtle feeling that it was missing something. It seemed...

Chen Bitong saw his expression. "Captain Chen, do you have a question?"

Chen Chuan turned back and said, "I feel like that strike... was incomplete."

...

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