Chapter 231 - 135: Area F-6

Chapter 231: Chapter 135: Area F-6

They were fish, but they were definitely not the fish of a peaceful era.

Each was about a foot long, with a thick, streamlined body covered in heavy scales. The edges of the scales had an eerie metallic sheen.

Their heads were absurdly large, taking up almost a third of their bodies. Their mouths split open all the way to their gills, revealing rows upon rows of fine, sharp, triangular teeth that glinted bone-white in the sunlight.

The most horrifying part was their eyes—small and bulging, a murky dark yellow, filled with a pure, frenzied desire to attack.

The three mutated fish shot out of the water as if launched by springs. Before the splash even fell, they had already used the explosive power of their tails to trace a short arc through the air. With their tooth-filled maws wide open, they lunged straight for Xu Mo, who was closest to the riverbank. The foul stench and sharp killing intent that washed over them made the two men on the opposite bank’s scalps tingle. They subconsciously stumbled back several steps, their gun muzzles waving wildly, unsure of where to even aim.

Xu Mo, directly facing the assault, became incredibly calm in an instant—one could even say indifferent. The gunshot was still ringing in his ears as his right hand let go of the AK, allowing the strap to swing it to his side. At the same time, his left hand shot toward his waist like a bolt of lightning.

"SHING!"

A brilliant flash of a blade suddenly appeared. The short, crisp scrape of the Mountain-Cutting Saber being unsheathed was so sharp it even drowned out the hissing sound of the mutated fish cutting through the air.

Xu Mo shifted his body slightly to the side, evading the first mutated fish’s ferocious frontal bite. The blade immediately drew a simple, clean diagonal line.

"SCHLICK!"

The blade sliced precisely into the back of the first fish’s open mouth, passing through the gap between its skull and spine. Head and body were instantly separated as dark red gore and unknown fluids sprayed out. The headless body continued its forward momentum, brushing against Xu Mo’s combat fatigues before landing on the scorched earth, where it began to writhe violently.

After dealing with the first fish, Xu Mo didn’t even look back. With a flick of his left wrist, the blade’s downward slash transformed into a backhanded upward swing, the motion so small it was almost imperceptible.

"CRUNCH!"

The blade traveled upwards, cutting through the mutated fish’s relatively soft lower jaw and piercing its entire skull, the tip just barely emerging from the top. The fish’s charge came to an abrupt halt, impaled on the blade as its body convulsed wildly.

The last mutated fish, the largest of the three, arrived almost at the same time as the second. Its target was clearly Xu Mo’s face. The massive, gaping mouth made Xu Mo feel as if he could already smell its foul stench.

Xu Mo’s right foot took a half step back, his center of gravity shifting with it to avoid the direct assault. At the same time, his right hand grasped the end of the hilt, allowing him to wield the saber with both hands. He put his waist into it, and the Mountain-Cutting Saber, momentarily slowed by the corpse of the second fish, carved a vicious semi-circle as he spun.

"SPLAT!"

The blade unceremoniously cleaved into the center of the third mutated fish’s head. The immense force split its skull in two, sending gore and brain matter flying.

The entire slaughter—from Xu Mo’s warning shot to drawing his blade, sidestepping, swinging up, and cleaving down, all the way to sheathing his weapon—was a single, fluid motion. It was as fast as a flash of lightning, taking no more than a couple of breaths.

Only after Xu Mo returned the bloodless Mountain-Cutting Saber to its sheath with a firm "CLICK" did the bodies of the three mutated fish finally land on the blackened ground with a series of dull THUDS. Their foul-smelling blood quickly seeped into the dry soil.

The riverbank fell deathly silent.

There was only the mournful whistling of the wind across the open plains and the gurgling of the river.

Zhang Yun had just managed to point her gun at the river, her finger not even on the trigger, when the fight was already over. She looked at the three gruesomely slain mutated fish on the ground, then at Xu Mo’s calm back as he sheathed his saber. Her eyes were filled with incredulous shock and an indescribable tremor.

She prided herself on her quick reflexes, but in that lightning-fast assault, she had only had time to raise her gun. Xu Mo, on the other hand, had already executed a perfect counter-kill. The gap between them wasn’t just about speed; it was a near-prescient awareness of danger and a killing instinct honed through countless battles. ’Just who is this Xu Mo?’

As for the two men on the opposite bank, they were dumbstruck, frozen in place like clay statues. The tall man’s jaw was hanging open wide enough to fit an egg, while the stocky man’s hands, holding his gun, were trembling slightly.

All they had seen was Xu Mo suddenly fire his gun, then the mutated fish lunging out, followed by a dazzling flash of his blade. By the time they could see clearly again, the battle was over. All that remained were three fish corpses on the ground and a man sheathing his saber, his expression as calm as if he had just swatted a few mosquitoes.

’Is that speed and precision even humanly possible? To instantly dispatch three mutated fish ambushing from the water with Cold Weapons? We didn’t even see how he drew his saber, and now it’s already sheathed.’

Several seconds passed before the stocky man finally managed to gasp for air, as if he’d just been pulled from the water. His face was a mixture of lingering fear and immense admiration, his voice cracking as he spoke, "Brother, you... your skills... that was fucking godlike!"

The tall man also snapped out of it, sucking in a sharp breath. He gave Xu Mo a forceful thumbs-up, his words tumbling out, "Damn! That was insane! Man! I’m impressed! Truly impressed!"

For that brief moment, both of their minds had gone blank. They were only just now processing what had happened.

Xu Mo merely gave a slight nod in response to their praise. He walked over to the fish corpses and prodded one with the tip of his boot. ’The scales really are tough, but the Mountain-Cutting Saber is sharp enough to break through them. Besides, I’ve already reached the Iron Bone Realm.’