My Apocalypse Territory-Chapter 198 - 196: Taming Beasts

Magma flowed down from the mountain peak, leaving traces of sizzling air and puffs of smoke in its wake.

The rumbling sound continued to explode, the sky covered by leaden volcanic ash while orange-red fireworks erupted incessantly from the volcano's mouth.

Tang Yu leaned against the window, holding a high-power telescope in his hand, his gaze fixed on the volcano in the far distance.

That figure was small, barely a dot to the naked eye, and even within the scope of the telescope, obscured by the flames, it was still unclear. Yet he could vaguely discern that the figure, somewhat resembling a human, was carefree while wandering amidst the spewing columns of fire.

Despite not being able to see clearly, for some reason, Tang Yu had this feeling that the figure at the volcano's mouth, facing the blazing columns, facing the scalding magma, seemed as though they were bathing in comfortably warm water.

The very thought was terrifying!

"Is it a Demonized Beast, a Mutated Beast, or something else? Could it be like Zuofo, a human from the old era, or perhaps some creature I'm unaware of?"

He was curious, but he considered it best to not get closer to observe. He simply marked this location on the map, with plans to check it out in the future if he had a safe means to explore.

The Floating Chariot restarted and flew out of the bounds of Yu City after some time.

Traveling by day, resting at night, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The landscape had changed greatly after the apocalypse, with whole regions looking like spired stone forests and trees dotted with purple-blue glows, forming territories of dreamlike forests - some perilous, some peculiar. On the journey, Tang Yu saw many previously unimaginable sights. Leaving aside the danger, some of the scenery would have certainly been excellent tourist spots before the apocalypse.

"According to our path, we should reach Luoxia Sanctuary by tomorrow." Tang Yu tapped the preset route lightly, zooming in on the area ahead, "This region is mostly mountains and hills, sparsely populated even before the apocalypse. There's no establishment of any large Sanctuary here now, and the danger level shown on the map is mostly unknown. We ought to be extra careful during this time."

He chose to skirt around the six-star, life-threatening territory that lay between two provinces. However, the other areas were not necessarily safe either. Tang Yu even slowed down the Floating Chariot to avoid rushing headlong into any highly dangerous areas.

Just this morning, due to speeding, he had accidentally crashed into the lair of a powerful Mutated Beast and happened to crush a few eggs that were larger than a human body... This thoroughly enraged that Flying Mutated Beast, which clung to the convoy incessantly. In an attempt to escape, the Floating Chariot went full throttle and then collided with the territories of several powerful Mutated and Demonized Beasts. Two of the Floating Chariots had their external rotary machine guns damaged, causing Tang Yu heartache for a good few seconds.

Indeed, speeding was not good.

...

...

Deep within the mountains, the danger was even more severe. Aside from the Demonized Beasts that poured out of the Abyssal Rift, most animals from before the apocalypse would become demonized by the red mist that spread from the rift. Those that remained were partly mutated, becoming stronger, faster, with sharper claws, and some even awakened special abilities akin to humans.

Just like the Awakeners and ability users among humans, the Mutated Beasts were similar: powerful, intelligent, and sometimes even more troubling to deal with than Demonized Beasts.

In such regions, villages from before the apocalypse either had already relocated, joining into various Sanctuaries, or they could not withstand the trials and were obliterated amidst the dangerous mountains.

However,

In an area surrounded by peaks and dense jungles, wisps of cooking smoke rose.

This was a small mountain village with houses mostly two or three stories high, haphazardly scattered. From an aerial view, you could see several wider paths in the village, like roads carved out by wagon tracks.

Hundreds of survivors lived in the village, residing here generation after generation since before the apocalypse, even for hundreds of years or longer, without ever leaving.

Even as technology developed and this secluded village deep in the mountains was discovered by the outside world, becoming connected with electricity and signals and understanding the colorful external world, the majority of the villagers still chose to remain.

It was as if it were a paradise hidden away from the world, where the villagers relied on nature's bounty to live a peaceful and simple secluded life.

Even after the apocalypse, they didn't leave, relying on their own methods to survive to this day in this dangerous area. The entire small mountain village had hardly suffered any damage and still retained its original appearance.

But at this moment, the hundreds of villagers living here were all tense, looking up at the sky together.

A Flying Demonized Beast with brownish-red feathers and a curved beak resembling a reversed hook, its wingspan stretching over thirty meters, was soaring above.

With every flap of its wings, it stirred up hurricanes sharper than knife blades, leaving mottled marks on the ground, and houses with tiled roofs were lifted off, turning the tranquil village into a mess.

"Quick, stop it!"

An elderly man with graying hair in the center of the villagers spoke up.

In an instant, with several loud whistles, figures flapped their wings and flew up into the sky from all corners of the village.

Behind the elderly man with white hair, a Mutant Beast resembling a White Crane but much larger, fluttered up as well.

The Mutant Beast White Crane had a sharp beak and wings tougher than steel, radiating a surging and angry aura. Like a rocket, it shot straight towards the Demonized Beast.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

All the villagers watched anxiously as the figures intertwined and danced across the sky.

Chirp—

A piercing cry rang out, and a flying Mutant Beast plummeted from the sky: bright red blood scattered all around, staining the ground below.

This was just the beginning; one flying Mutant Beast after another was struck down. The villagers' faces grew uglier and uglier.

Boom!

The Mutant Beast White Crane crashed, causing a building to collapse beneath it. The White Crane struggled, fluttering its wings in an attempt to ascend, but a massive wound where its wings met its chest tore at it, leaving it powerless to rise again.

In the moment the White Crane fell, the elder with white hair's face turned red as he spat out fresh blood, his body becoming hunched and extremely feeble.

"Village Chief!"

People exclaimed as a villager quickly brought over herbal medicine, "Quick, give this to the Chief to swallow; it can reduce some of the backlash."

The powerful Demonized Beast with brownish-red wings was still rampaging.

Within the village, capable Awakeners fought back with all their might, and numerous Mutant Beasts, growling with rage, threw themselves at the Flying Demonized Beast.

But even the strongest Mutant Beast White Crane was critically injured, and the others, most of which couldn't fly, seemed powerless in their struggle against the onslaught of the Demonized Beast.

From time to time, villagers covered their mouths, spitting out scarlet fresh blood.

The village chief coughed up more blood, a look of regret coloring his face, "It's my fault. It was I who proposed that we all stay in the village; otherwise, we wouldn't be in this crisis now."

(PS: There's another chapter after this emmmmmm...)