Chapter 309: Steel Beast

Father of God nervously swallowed, tightened his grip on the fine‑quality dagger: "This place is gloomy, it won't suddenly have some monster pop out, will it?"

As soon as the words fell, the ground trembled slightly, and heavy footsteps sounded in the distance. The three instantly stared toward the source, and saw a three‑meter‑tall beast charging at them. The creature resembled a rhinoceros, but its whole body was covered with metal‑like scales, and the single horn on its head glimmered with a cold light.

【Steel Rhinoceros Beast (Elite)】

【Traits: Physical defense extremely high; charge damage extremely strong】

"Raven's beak!" Ruan Qingtan glared at Father of God, and swiftly entered combat stance.

Lin Yifan's eyes narrowed, and he whispered, "I'll hold the front line, Qingtan find a chance to ambush, Father of God watch out and dodge!"

With that, he drew the Godslayer Blade and rushed toward the Steel Rhinoceros Beast. The beast, seeing a challenger, let out a roar, accelerated its charge, and the ground was split by deep cracks.

At the moment the two were about to collide, Lin Yifan's figure flashed, sidestepping the beast's charge, and at the same time swung his blade at its hind leg. Yet the blade met the scales, sparking a string of sparks, leaving only a shallow scar.

"What a hard defense!" Lin Yifan thought, startled.

At this moment, Ruan Qingtan's silhouette suddenly appeared at the beast's side, dagger thrust straight at its eye. The beast reacted instantly, swung its head violently, the horn swept horizontally, forcing Ruan Qingtan to abandon the attack and retreat quickly.

"Its weak point isn't the eye!" Ruan Qingtan shouted.

Father of God, hiding at a distance, stamped his foot anxiously: "My dagger can't break its defense at all!"

Lin Yifan's mind raced, his eyes scanning the beast's body, and he suddenly noticed a slightly lighter‑colored scale on its abdomen.

"Abdomen! Attack its abdomen!" he shouted, charging at the beast again.

This time, Lin Yifan didn't brute‑force; instead he used agile footwork to circle beneath the beast, and the Godslayer Blade drove hard into that light‑colored scale. The blade pierced flesh, and the beast let out a painful howl, blood gushing out.

Ruan Qingtan seized the chance, activated the Phantom Cloak, and vanished in an instant. The next second, she appeared on the beast's back, dagger precisely stabbing into the gap of its neck.

Under the double strike, the Steel Rhinoceros Beast finally roared and fell, turning into specks of light that dissipated, leaving only a piece of material shimmering with metallic luster.

【Obtained "Rhinoceros Beast Scale Core" (Rare Material)】

Father of God ran over, still trembling, and said, "You scared me half to death, thought we'd be done here."

Lin Yifan put away the scale core, and said gravely, "This is only the beginning; there are more dangers on the battlefield. We must find the others quickly, otherwise they'll be in trouble when they encounter such monsters."

Ruan Qingtan nodded: "I just saw smoke to the northeast, maybe another team is fighting; we should go check."

The three hurried toward the northeast. Along the way, they met a few lone monsters, but all were resolved without incident.

Soon they arrived at a ruin, and saw several Survivors battling a pack of wolf‑shaped monsters. Those monsters were extremely fast, and the Survivors' formation had already been scattered, the situation was dire.

"It's our people!" Father of God exclaimed.

Lin Yifan's eyes hardened, and without hesitation he charged, "Rescue them!"

The Godslayer Blade unsheathed again, a blood‑red blade flash cutting through, a wolf‑shaped monster was instantly sliced in two. Ruan Qingtan used the Phantom Cloak to slip into the battlefield, silently dealing with several ambushing monsters.

With the three's addition, the battle quickly turned. After the wolf pack was eliminated, the Survivors collapsed on the ground, faces showing the relief of having survived.

"Thank you… If it weren't for you, we'd be dead." One of them gasped, saying.

Lin Yifan reached out, pulled him up, and asked, "What about the others?"

"Don't know, after the teleport we scattered, only found these few companions."

Ruan Qingtan thought a moment, and suggested, "Finding them like this is too inefficient; we need a way to gather everyone."

Father of God suddenly slapped his head: "Right! Earlier I opened a Treasure Chest and got a Signal Flare that can be launched into the sky, visible from far away!"

Lin Yifan's eyes lit up: "Good idea! Let's launch the signal flare now; others will see it and come."

Father of God pulled a cylindrical signal flare from his backpack and pulled the cord forcefully.

Whoosh—Bang!

A dazzling red Light Sphere rose into the sky, standing out even against the gloomy canopy.

"From now on, we wait here, and set up defenses to guard against enemy ambushes." Lin Yifan said.

Everyone nodded, and quickly erected simple defensive works among the ruins.

Half an hour later, silhouettes appeared in the distance one after another, all District members who had come after seeing the signal flare.

"Great, everyone's still alive!" someone shouted excitedly.

As the team reassembled, Lin Yifan counted heads, finding two fewer, most likely lost in an accident.

He inhaled deeply, and told the group, "The next battle will be even harsher; we must stay united to survive the trial!"

Everyone responded in unison, morale soaring.

At that moment, the ground suddenly shook violently, and a deafening roar came from afar.

Roar—!

Lin Yifan turned his head and saw a massive silhouette on the horizon, a ten‑meter‑tall giant monster resembling a lizard, its back covered with sharp bone spikes; each step shook the earth.

【Abyssal Earth Dragon (Lord‑tier)】

【Traits: Terrifying strength, extremely high defense; Skills "Earthquake Wave", "Spine Spike Spray"】

Everyone's faces changed.

"Is this… the final trial BOSS?" someone whispered.

Lin Yifan gripped the Godslayer Blade, eyes steady: "No, this is our chance! Defeat it, and we'll prove our strength!"

He raised the long sword high and shouted, "District, prepare for battle!"

The crowd roared back, battle spirit soaring!

As soon as Lin Yifan's words fell, the Abyssal Earth Dragon was already closing in; its blood‑red eyes locked onto them, spewing a foul poisonous mist from its mouth. Each massive footfall cracked the ground like a spiderweb, shaking everyone's footing.

"Scatter! Don't stay together!" Lin Yifan barked.

Everyone quickly dispersed, each seeking cover. Ruan Qingtan activated the Phantom Cloak, her form blending into the air, silently circling to the dragon's flank. Father of God hid behind a huge boulder, dagger clenched, palms slick with cold sweat.

Roar—! The dragon suddenly threw its head back, the spikes on its back instantly rose, and in the next instant, countless spikes shot out like a rainstorm!

"Dodge quickly!" someone shouted.

Pfft! A Survivor who failed to dodge was pierced through the chest by a spine spike, dying on the spot.

Lin Yifan's eyes were icy, his body moved like lightning, weaving through the rain of spikes.