Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

...

At the northernmost edge of the entire campsite, along the river by the courtyard resort.

At least two hundred people were gathered here. Most were combatants, but some logistics personnel were still hastily erecting wooden fences.

To slow the impact of the beast tide, some ancient trees at the front line had been forcibly cut down and toppled, forming a nearly hundred-meter-long obstacle to impede their advance.

This was the first barrier.

And what do you know...

It was actually working.

At the very least, they had to slow down to break through the branches. By the time they crossed this wooden obstacle, they had officially entered the 30-meter firing range.

"Kill!"

The moment a monster on the other side showed its face, an arrow was already on its way to pierce its skull.

Furthermore, compared to last night, many long-range, damage-dealing Elemental Runes had also appeared. Fireball Techniques, Water Arrow Skills, and Wind Blade Skills were all unleashed, bombarding the monsters at the front.

But the resort’s northern defense line was, by a conservative estimate, around 400 meters long.

The pressure to defend it was immense.

Just as one assault was repelled, several large wild boars charged into the river channel in another area.

The dry riverbed was a natural trench—the de facto second barrier. Ordinary personnel behind the vehicle barricades took the opportunity to toss Molotov cocktails into it, while capable Spellcasters unleashed their Lightning Chains.

Despite being burned and electrocuted, the three large boars, which glowed with an earthy-yellow light, were completely unharmed. They scrambled up from the dry riverbed and slammed directly into the wooden fence.

The entire section of the fence shuddered violently. The mortise-and-tenon joints let out a piercing groan, and rammed earth crumbled away, but it still showed no signs of collapsing.

Not only that, but the armored wooden wall did its job. The large boar crashed into the thorny bushes on the outer layer, riddling its body with bloody holes.

Furious, the other boars had no choice but to go around. They sent a not-yet-secured derelict vehicle flying and charged directly into the courtyard.

This was not an isolated incident...

Under the first wave of the beast tide’s assault, the entire northern defense line was like a sieve, letting more than ten monsters slip through at once.

What was even deadlier were the Wind Attribute tigers, leopards, and foxes. Wreathed in pale cyan whirlwinds, they nimbly leaped over the many obstacles, some even clearing the high walls in a single bound.

Just as Su Chen stepped off the sightseeing bus, a long-bodied Wind Fox, buoyed by the Wind, leaped down from the top of a villa. The crowd screamed in terror, and the driver who had gotten out before him even collapsed to the ground.

Before anyone else could nock an arrow, a flaming stone tore through the air, pierced the curtain of rain, and its blazing Power blasted through the creature’s Wind Gauze, violently punching a hole through the large fox’s head.

Amid a spray of sparks and gore, a headless corpse plummeted from the air.

"Wh—"

Many people stood stunned. After their initial shock, they followed the lingering crimson trail in the air to find the person who had attacked.

The tall young man lowered his raised right hand, his expression nonchalant as if he had just done something trivial. He stepped forward, helped the collapsed driver to his feet, and then, with a lift of his hand, summoned a portal.

A pitch-black gateway burst open, and Xiaoye stepped out from the Netherworld.

As the Netherworld War Dog’s dense aura fully spread, the previously listless Shadow Hound in the back immediately dropped its front half to the ground, its belly nearly scraping the dirt and its tail tucked tightly between its hind legs.

The bloodline suppression was on full display.

And it hadn’t misjudged the scent; the aura clinging to Su Chen from the moment he boarded the bus had kept it trembling nonstop.

As for Xiaoye, it merely held its head high, shot a disdainful glance at the lesser canine, and ignored it. After its master collected a Wind Element Rune, it immediately followed him toward the front line.

It took only two steps before it vanished like a gust of wind, completely melting into the darkness.

Leaving behind a crowd of dumbfounded onlookers.

"That young man is incredible."

The driver, having escaped death, never expected that a random passenger would turn out to be such a monster.

’The feed was a success!’

Just then, the Wind Element shield Rune that Su Chen had picked up successfully fused into the handle of his battle-axe. However, it didn’t trigger an upgrade; apparently, it still needed one more to reach Lv3.

The next moment, through the Resonance of his consciousness, a layer of Wind Silk Clothing as thin as a cicada’s wing instantly enveloped his entire body, warding off the falling raindrops.

As if propelled by a jetpack, Su Chen got a boost forward. With a push of his feet, he was lifted by the force of the Wind, soaring nearly nine meters into the air and landing smoothly on a third-floor villa balcony.

The increase in his Strength Attribute clearly allowed him to perform such difficult maneuvers with ease.

’Someone’s flying.’

Interestingly, from his high vantage point on the villa balcony near the riverbank defense line, Su Chen spotted a figure in a raincoat hovering steadily more than ten meters in the air.

The person’s hands continuously unleashed Wind Blades, sweeping them toward the monsters trapped in the river trench.

’Pure Wind Element Runes.’

With his sharp eyes, Su Chen could also tell that, in addition to mastering the Flying Skill and Wind Blade Skill, the person also had the same kind of Wind Element shield he did.

The combination was quite logical, covering offense, mobility, and defense Runes. With high affinity, there might even be bonuses. Seeing a Wind Element Flying Skill firsthand sparked an idea in his mind.

Being able to fly was undeniably cool.

And extremely convenient.

Additionally, Su Chen heard a faintly familiar fiery roar. Dozens of meters away at the vehicle barricade, he saw a figure draw a bow and precisely blast a Demon Dog to death with a Flame Burst Arrow.

’A Level 3 Flame Burst.’

He noted thoughtfully, looking into the distance, that its power was a far cry from his own Level 5.

The Flame Burst Rune only unlocked the new ’Fission’ trait at Lv4. After the all-around enhancements at Lv5, the bonus to the flame bombardment was even higher, so the visual difference was indeed immense.

Su Chen didn’t watch for long.

Down below, three tiger-leopards were already surging through the gap in the vehicle barricade.

His eyes sharpened. Pushing off the balls of his feet, he shot up like a falcon and leaped directly off the third-floor balcony.

WHOOSH!!

Swinging his axe with both hands, Su Chen brought it down from above with the force of a thunderbolt, directly obliterating the lead tiger-leopard’s head into a bloody mist.

The next instant...

The Jingzhe Rune activated, completely unleashing his body’s potential. His neural conduction speed skyrocketed, dragging the real world into slow motion.

At that moment, the raindrops seemed to hang in the air, and the flickering flames of a nearby brazier froze. But his figure, like a phantom, flashed through the slowed time, darting straight for the other two tiger-leopards.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

The battle-axe swept out again and again. The sharp Wind Element fluctuations were compressed to their limit, and the shriek of the blade tearing through the air was drawn out in slow motion.

When the rain finally began to fall again, and the flow of time returned to normal...

The head of one tiger-leopard flew into the air, blood fountaining from its severed neck. The other tiger, which had a Wind Element shield, took an extra blow from the axe that turned its skull into a pulpy mess.

In less than two seconds, the three tiger-leopards that had charged in so fiercely had been killed one after another.

Their corpses lay before him, not even having had time to let out a final cry.

Just yesterday, Su Chen had still been worried about fighting tiger-leopards in close combat. The difference in sheer weight was undeniable.

But now, with the increase in his Strength Attribute and the Lv3 Jingzhe Rune awakening his body’s full potential, he was like a War God.

Without a second thought, Su Chen looked into the distance. Another wave of monsters was swarming over the forest boundary, several of them heading straight for the breach.

His left hand reached into his canvas backpack and pulled out the lightning-wreathed Thunder Magic Staff.

As he raised it slightly, electrical charges danced like living snakes in the low sky before him. A thick, blazing pillar of lightning descended from the heavens, striking precisely into the middle of the beast pack.

BOOM!

The lightning exploded, and arcs of electricity spread out like a net. Two monsters were struck and killed on the spot, while those nearby were paralyzed, their charging speed dropping dramatically.

At this, many nearby gazes turned to look his way.