Chapter 21: Night Battle: Level-3 First Kill

“It’s here.”

Fang Shi, watching the red light slash through the night sky, realized the alien creature, the Firewing Bird, had arrived on Blue Star.

Before his rebirth, the Firewing Bird was one of the main monsters dominating Ancheng.

And the city Fang Shi currently stood in was Ancheng.

A typical Firewing Bird had a level of 3, with 12 Strength, 17 Agility, 12 Constitution, 3 natural armor, and 19 HP.

Its attacks carried 1D6 fire damage and possessed the special abilities Alertness, Flyby Attack, and Multiattack.

This creature posed a far greater threat to surviving humans than the Walking Dead.

The Firewing Bird, capable of soaring through the skies, could eliminate a life with a single dive.

Its dive speed reached 100 meters per second.

Its sharp talons could easily rip open a human skull or pierce through a human chest.

Even if one narrowly avoided vital areas, the incidental fire damage would burn the wounded part, reducing human combat effectiveness.

Even with thrown weapons or bows, the Firewing Bird’s 17 Agility allowed it to easily dodge.

Fang Shi dared to hunt the Firewing Bird because he had a method to counter it.

In fact, after humans overcame their initial confusion, all found ways to deal with the Firewing Bird.

In short, it was simple: one person distracted the Firewing Bird while others struck.

Compared to the sturdy frame of a level-3 Walking Dead, the Firewing Bird’s mere 19 HP was extremely fragile.

As long as one could withstand its attacks and restrict its flight, humans could leverage their numerical advantage.

Cut the Firewing Bird to pieces with countless blades.

Fang Shi was alone, yet even by himself, he could effortlessly withstand the Firewing Bird’s assault.

And he didn’t need anyone else to deal damage—he could kill it alone.

That was the power of a level-3 Martial Artist.

“Name: Fang Shi”

“Race: Human”

“Attributes: Strength 15, Agility 15, Constitution 15, Intelligence 14, Perception 19, Charisma 15”

“Class: Level-3 Martial Artist”

“HP: 35/35”

“Experience: 2/6000”

“Attribute Points: 0”

“Survival Points: 410.2”

“Race Specialization: Versatile I”

“Life Skills: Focus 12…”

“Class Skills: Stealth 8, Hide 10, Listen 10, Scout 12, Roll 15, Taunt 6, Medicine 10, Jump 14, Intimidate 7, Swim 6, Climb 6, Spellcraft 5, Survival 10, Dice 12, Estimate 3, Balance 3, Bluff 3, Focus 3, Craft 3…”

“Personal Specializations: Iron Will I, Athlete I, Excellent Memory I, Resilience I, Natural Armor I, Fang’s Breathing Method III, Lightning Step I, Lightning Reflexes I”

“Class Specializations: Gale Combo I, Unarmed Attack I, Steel Bones I, Shatter Punch I, Reflexive Evasion I, Improved Initiative I”

Reaching level 3, Fang Shi’s combat power had further increased.

The most obvious improvement was a one-third increase in HP.

This allowed him to significantly reduce damage taken from the Firewing Bird’s beak and talons.

Moreover, the two new specializations he gained were extremely powerful.

“【Lightning Reflexes I】: Your reaction speed exceeds that of an ordinary person. (Reaction Speed +1)”

“【Improved Initiative I】: Your combat reflexes are swift, enabling rapid response to danger. (Initiative Check +4)”

These two specializations, combined with Fang Shi’s Perception of 19, allowed him to react swiftly to the Firewing Bird’s attacks.

Even when ambushed or surrounded, he could effectively counterattack.

This was why Fang Shi had confidence in withstanding the Firewing Bird’s assault.

Now then,

He would use the attraction of the law force to lure a lone Firewing Bird down for a solo kill.

Three years after the apocalypse, humanity’s strongest had already uncovered the reason alien creatures attacked humans.

After undergoing transformation by the law force, human bodies contained the law force.

This law force greatly aided all life, accelerating its own evolution.

The attribute panel was the manifestation of the law force, which is why humans could level up by killing monsters and evolve rapidly after the apocalypse.

This was humanity’s lifeline in the apocalypse—and the reason alien creatures were drawn to attack.

Thus, some human elites proposed a plan: siphon the law force from the weak to reduce alien attacks on them.

Simultaneously, channel the siphoned law force into the strongest human, forging an invincible supreme being to protect all humanity.

Naturally, this plan failed—otherwise, before his rebirth, humanity’s stronghold would not have been breached by monsters.

Yet it was strange: Walking Dead also contained residual law force, yet alien creatures targeted only humans.

…

The rooftop, once piled with debris during the day, was now completely empty.

Fang Shi held his steel sword, standing at the center of the rooftop, periodically scanning the sky for the glowing lights.

He knew that, as a level-3, the law force within him far surpassed that of any other survivor.

It would inevitably draw the Firewing Bird.

On the street below, a silver disc slowly unfolded as a Firewing Bird descended onto Blue Star.

Unlike its reckless predecessors, this one had come to Blue Star three times and understood the rules well.

Too bad, no matter how well it understood the rules, it was useless.

The prey here was too cunning—they never ventured out at night, and it had gained nothing these past days.

By day, it was driven away by the law force and forced to return to its world.

Yet even so, the Firewing Bird could not resist the lure of the law force and came to Blue Star daily without fail.

Today, as usual, it emerged from the spatial rift and did not rush to hunt.

Instead, it slowly preened its feathers with its beak.

Suddenly, its eyes sharpened, and it flared its wings upward.

Instantly, its speed reached 30 meters per second.

Unlike before, this time it clearly sensed an intense presence of law force above this building.

Far denser than anything it had sensed before.

But that wasn’t the point—no matter how dense, if it couldn’t catch it, it was meaningless.

Yet this time, the presence was directly above the building.

The Firewing Bird had been here before—it was an open rooftop.

That meant the place was not inside any structure, and thus not under the protection of the gods.

If it flew there, it could capture its first prey in days.

How could it not be excited?

“It’s coming,” Fang Shi thought silently.

Though he had not yet seen the glow, he had already heard the flapping of the Firewing Bird’s wings.

The vibrating wingbeats were unmistakable to Fang Shi, who had hunted countless Firewing Birds.

And now, that sound was right below him.

Fang Shi stepped forward, leaping in a few strides to the rooftop’s edge.

Without hesitation, he swung his sword downward.

“Ahh!”

A bird cry rang out—under Fang Shi’s preemptive strike, even the Firewing Bird could not dodge.

It could only rely on its 17 Agility to barely avoid its head.

Even so, a deep wound, bone-deep, appeared on its shoulder.

A crack even formed on its scapula.

“Cleave attack initiated.”

“You dealt 5.5 damage [ (Strength 15/10)/2 + Steel Sword 6 (1d8) - Natural Armor 3 ].”

The Firewing Bird lost one-third of its HP from this strike.

Its left wing suffered severe injury and could no longer maintain flight.

But the Firewing Bird refused to give up—twenty meters up was no joke.

Even as a bird, a fall to the ground meant broken bones and torn tendons; if it hit a vital spot, it would die instantly.

It flapped desperately, struggling with all its might.

Despite the excruciating pain in its left wing and its inability to generate power, it refused to surrender.

The Firewing Bird regretted its carelessness.

It should not have charged straight toward the rooftop, leaving no room to evade.

Its underestimation of Blue Star humans and its desire for the law force had clouded its judgment.

It had lost its usual discernment.

If it had first soared into the sky to scout the enemy before diving down, it would never have ended up in such a state.

Just as the Firewing Bird felt despair, a large hand firmly gripped the edge of its left wing, stabilizing its form.

The one who acted was Fang Shi.

This was not out of mercy—he could not bear to see life and death. In the post-apocalypse, no one was merciful.

It was because the Firewing Bird’s body had great use.

Fang Shi did not want to have to go downstairs afterward to clean up the shattered flesh of the Firewing Bird.

“Crash!”

A violent impact rang out as Fang Shi slammed the Firewing Bird onto the rooftop.

Fifteen points of strength made this move effortless.

Though the Firewing Bird stretched two meters in length—with a wingspan of five meters—its avian bones were hollow and its weight extremely light, only thirty kilograms.

Already injured in its left wing, the Firewing Bird, under Fang Shi’s throw,

suffered a tear in its left scapula.

With injury piled upon injury, its left side had lost all mobility.

Coupled with the impact from the rooftop, the Firewing Bird had lost all combat capability.

It had become a lamb ready for slaughter.

Fang Shi charged again toward the Firewing Bird, aiming to sever its head with a single sword stroke.

The Firewing Bird refused to die so easily; it struggled upright with its hind claws, flapping its wings.

Enduring excruciating pain, it twisted its head, its agile beak darting swiftly forward.

With seventeen points of agility, its reaction was swift—it anticipated Fang Shi’s attack trajectory and struck the blade, aiming to knock the steel sword away.

But Fang Shi’s reaction was faster: his base agility of fifteen points, augmented by Lightning Reflex I and Reflex Dodge I, granted him two additional reaction points.

His reaction speed now equaled nineteen points of agility.

As the Firewing Bird attacked, he changed his motion even faster, flipping his blade to slash at the beak.

“Squawk!”

As the beak flew into the sky, the Firewing Bird lost all capacity to resist.

“Piercing Attack activated.”

“Target received fatal damage.”

“You dealt 24.5 damage to the target.”

“Target deceased.”

“Extracting target’s soul energy—you gained 60 experience points and 6 survival points.”

“After consecutive battles, you obtained partial information on Weakness Insight.”

In the end, Fang Shi drove his sword through the Firewing Bird’s eye socket into its brain, ending its life.