Chapter 6: The Mantis Hunts the Cicada
Sacrifice is the routine basic operation of a God Nest Hunter.
In his previous life, Zhang Yuan played Illusory Trace for ten years. The class he played the most and understood best was the God Nest Hunter, so he was naturally very familiar and proficient with it.
But reality isn't a game—you can't just tap a keyboard and click a mouse to make things happen easily.
This was also his first real-life sacrifice!
When Zhang Yuan's left fingertip touched the wild boar's resilient flesh, he immediately felt a strange sensation.
An ancient incantation silently unfolded on the tip of his tongue.
The next moment, the God Nest sigil on the back of his left hand emerged, glowing faintly.
Under his finger, the wild boar's flesh rapidly lost its color, decaying and withering in seconds—like watching a flower wither at a thousand times speed.
In the blink of an eye, only a pile of gray-black powder remained on the ground!
A notification popped up in Zhang Yuan's field of vision:
[Source Essence +0.7]
This half of a wild boar sacrificed to the God Nest yielded 0.7 points of Source Essence.
Not much, but not too little either.
Zhang Yuan felt a bit of regret—had he sacrificed a full boar, he would've gained at least 1.5 points!
Without hesitation, he immediately invested all the Source Essence into the First Nest Chamber.
Source Essence can either be used to feed the parasitic creature within a nest chamber to speed up its growth and evolution, or it can be fed to the God Nest itself to help it evolve.
After the God Nest levels up, not only will it increase the number of chambers, but it will also enhance the abilities of the parasitic creatures.
But for Zhang Yuan, feeding the precious Source Essence to the parasite was clearly more important at this moment.
He needed to grow stronger—urgently.
After checking the God Nest panel, he closed it.
Once the Source Essence was invested, the parasite's growth would still take time—it couldn't happen instantly.
But he could feel the once-dormant black giant ant inside the chamber stirring.
It was growing!
Zhang Yuan packed up his hunting bow and machete, then hoisted the remaining half of the wild boar onto his back.
It was the height of summer—hot and humid. If he didn't hurry home to deal with the meat, it would rot and stink and couldn't be sold.
He turned to the feasting Crow Fiend and said, "I'm heading back. Can I trouble you once more?"
The path they had taken was like a forest maze. Zhang Yuan wasn't confident he could find the correct route on his own.
So, he politely asked for the Crow Fiend's help again.
The Crow Fiend didn't look up. It flicked its left wing, and a black feather shot out.
The feather hovered in front of Zhang Yuan before drifting gently into the woods ahead.
"Thank you!"
Zhang Yuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly followed the feather.
Carrying over 100 jin (about 110 pounds) of boar meat, he trudged through the dense forest, sweating profusely. At last, before nightfall, he emerged from Qianfeng Mountain.
What surprised him was that the feather accompanied him all the way to the mountain path's entrance.
"Thank you!"
Zhang Yuan sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Thanks to the feather's guidance, though the journey was difficult, he didn't take a single wrong step.
But just as his words fell, the feather suddenly darted into a nearby thicket.
"Ah!"
A cry of shock rang out. A man in plain clothes jumped up in terror, clutching a machete.
Zhang Yuan was startled.
He instantly recognized the man—it was Chen San, the notorious loafer from Chen Family Village!
Both of Chen San's parents had died, and spoiled by his family growing up, he developed into a lazy and delinquent troublemaker.
He never worked, often hung out with bad company, and was known for petty theft. Most villagers disliked him.
And now, this guy had been lying in ambush at the mountain path, clutching a weapon—clearly with malicious intent.
"Give me the boar!"
Startled by Zhang Yuan's gaze, Chen San realized his plot was exposed and immediately shouted viciously, "Or don't blame me for being rude!"
As expected—he was trying to rob him!
Zhang Yuan wasn't surprised. This guy had probably been lying in wait for him for a while.
Now that the ambush failed, he simply went for outright robbery.
Without a word, Zhang Yuan dropped the boar and charged at Chen San with his machete.
If not for the feather's warning, he might already be dead under Chen San's blade.
In such a situation, Zhang Yuan saw no need to talk.
When enemies meet, the brave win!
Chen San hadn't expected Zhang Yuan to charge at him without hesitation.
Caught off guard, he hurriedly raised his weapon.
But Zhang Yuan was too fast. In a blink, he was upon Chen San, slashing down hard toward his head.
It was the same opening strike he had used to kill the wild boar!
And it wasn't just a random swing—it had form and purpose.
Over the past three years, although the hunter master never taught Zhang Yuan any combat skills, Zhang Yuan had secretly watched him train in martial arts many times.
He had been secretly mimicking and learning.
Though he never formally trained, years of daily practice had not only strengthened his body, but allowed him to master one "killing move."
He had practiced this single strike tens of thousands of times. He knew it perfectly.
To avoid being caught by the hunter, he had never used it in front of others.
Now, putting it to use again, it was executed with maximum speed, force, and precision.
Most importantly, the recent victory over the wild boar gave Zhang Yuan confidence and courage!
Chen San was older and more muscular, but startled by the feather and caught off guard by Zhang Yuan's sudden attack, he was doomed.
He instinctively tried to block the strike with his own machete.
Clang!
The two similar weapons clashed violently. Zhang Yuan's blade stalled for just a moment—then slammed down onto Chen San's forehead.
The blade sank deep into the center of his brow.
Chen San's body shuddered, his eyes full of disbelief.
When Zhang Yuan wrenched the blade back, the thug collapsed like a boneless dog—lifeless.
Zhang Yuan held the bloody blade in hand.
His heart was strangely calm.
In both his past and present lives, this was the first time he had killed a person.
Yet he felt no discomfort. No guilt. No regret.
Because this world left no room for weakness. The weak were prey—meat on someone else's chopping board.
Chen San had evil intentions first. Zhang Yuan's retaliation was completely justified. Why should he feel remorse?
Clap, clap, clap!
Suddenly, applause rang out from behind him.
Startled, Zhang Yuan turned quickly.
Standing just a few paces away was a man in tight-fitting clothes.
As he clapped, he smiled and said, "Wonderful. Truly wonderful. I didn't expect to find such talent in this little mountain village!"
Zhang Yuan's heart sank.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?
Because he recognized this man—it was the Chen family guard who had come to his home with Master Zhang two days ago.
Chances were, this man was a martial artist!
(To be continued)
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