From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 127 Iron-Scaled Jackal

After the group passed through the gap between two low mountains, the fog in the mountains immediately thickened.

Lin Yan walked at the front, and the gravel path under his feet turned into a path paved with decaying leaves, making a dull thud when he stepped on it.

The trees around the road were ridiculously tall, their crowns hidden in the fog and their trunks covered with dark green vines, reducing visibility to less than ten feet.

He activated his Qi Observation Technique, and the trees, vines, and rocks within a hundred paces around him appeared clearly in his mind.

There were also some living creatures emanating different strengths of aura in the woods in front of them, some even moving around them not far away.

"Stay close, don't get separated." Lin Yan said to the people behind him without turning his head.

Sun Laoqi drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it on his bow, and scanned the woods on both sides warily.

Wu Meng and Yang Tie walked at the very back, constantly on guard against those behind them.

After walking for about half an hour, the fog in the forest not only did not dissipate, but instead became thicker and thicker.

Sun Laoqi approached Lin Yan and said, "Sir, this fog is a bit strange today. I've been to this mountain twice before, and the fog surrounding it is usually not this thick."

Lin Yan also noticed something was wrong with the fog. His [Aura Observation] tried to go any further out, but it was like throwing a mud ox into the sea, completely undetectable.

He stopped and focused his senses to scan their surroundings again.

Some living creatures were rapidly approaching them from within the fog, with the fastest ones already within a dozen meters of them.

These demonic beasts had almost blended into the mist; if we hadn't stopped to carefully sense them, we probably would have been caught red-handed.

"Watch out, something's coming." Lin Yan drew his Zhenyue Blade and assumed a defensive stance.

No sooner had they finished speaking than three gray figures suddenly sprang out of the bushes on the left side of their group.

There were five creatures about the size of wolves and dogs, with ten eerie green eyes that stood out in the fog. Their bodies were covered in grayish-brown scales, and their mouths were long and pointed with two huge, yellowed fangs sticking out. Saliva was dripping down the corners of their mouths.

The five demonic beasts were staring intently at them, and the others in the group also noticed them.

Old Sun's expression changed, and he drew the bowstring taut. "This is an Iron-Scaled Jackal! A peak second-grade demonic beast. Its hide can be used to make armor, its teeth can be used in medicine, and its marrow can be used to forge weapons. Sir, this thing is a treasure from head to toe. If we kill them, we can sell their parts for a lot of silver!"

Before he could finish speaking, seven more iron-scaled jackals emerged from behind the trees on the right and in front, surrounding the six of them.

Sixteen iron-scaled jackals attacked simultaneously.

The first, larger iron-scaled jackal pounced on Lin Yan, its claws whistling as they aimed directly at his face.

Lin Yan dodged to the side, then slammed his right palm upwards onto its chin. The force of the five-layered wave blasted directly into it. A muffled thud was heard from the Iron-Scaled Jackal's head, and its entire body flew backwards, crashing to the ground and convulsing violently. After kicking its legs a few times, it finally stopped breathing and lay still.

Having just dealt with this one, five more Iron-Scaled Jackals pounced on Lin Yan. He used the [Swimming Step] technique to fight off the five Iron-Scaled Jackals.

Shi Gan grabbed his short sword and charged at the second one. The tip of the sword grazed the scales, sending sparks flying. Not only did he fail to break through the monster's defenses, but he was also slapped back several steps by a claw.

"These scales are too hard, my sword can't cut through them, Old Sun, come help me!" Shi Gan shouted.

Sun Laoqi fired arrows in quick succession, one of which pierced the left eye socket of an iron-scaled jackal that charged forward. The creature howled in pain and rolled on the ground.

Xue Li swung his ghost-head saber at the back of an iron-scaled jackal, but the blade got stuck half an inch in. He gritted his teeth and tried to pull the saber back, but before he could get it out, the fifth jackal pounced on his side and bit his left arm. With a snap, the two huge fangs pierced through his flesh and broke his bones.

"Damn it!" Xue Li's face turned pale with pain. He wildly swung his knife at the thing's head. The Iron-Scaled Jackal jumped away in pain, still holding a piece of meat it had bitten off from Xue Li's arm in its mouth.

Wu Meng and Yang Tie's side is not having an easy time either.

The remaining seven iron-scaled jackals attacked the two of them simultaneously, coordinating their attacks perfectly. Several jackals pounced and bit from the front, while others circled around to the sides to attack their lower bodies.

Relying on his third-grade cultivation, Wu Meng withstood two claw attacks and swung his heavy axe to sever the neck of an iron-scaled jackal. The head flew off, and dark green blood sprayed all over Wu Meng.

"Holy shit! This is disgusting! I just changed into these clothes, and you're all dead!"

Several more heavy axe blows were unleashed, venting Wu Meng's fury wildly.

Yang Tie's long staff suffered a great loss this time. When he struck an iron-scaled jackal, the force of the blow was blocked by its scales, leaving only a shallow white mark on it.

After about an incense stick's time, Lin Yan had dealt with the five Iron-Scaled Jackals on his side, and Shi Gan and Sun Laoqi also led Xue Li to retreat to the side.

The remaining four iron-scaled jackals, still able to move, rearranged their positions, tightening their encirclement of Wu Meng and Yang Tie.

Just as Lin Yan was about to step forward and deal with them, he caught a glimpse of Yang Tie suddenly taking two steps back, stopping less than three feet to his left.

The largest iron-scaled jackal chased after Yang Tie and pounced. Yang Tie dodged to the side, and the jackal landed right where Lin Yan was standing.

Lin Yan didn't move.

The instant the Iron-Scaled Jackal lunged at him, he took a half-step back with his left foot, lowered his right shoulder, and lashed out with his entire arm like a whip, striking the Iron-Scaled Jackal's neck with a palm strike. The force of the five-layered wave of energy penetrated through its scales and directly shattered its neck bone.

The Ironscale Jackal died before it could even let out a wail, collapsing to the ground and leaving a pool of green blood.

Another iron-scaled jackal pounced right after, and Lin Yan raised the Zhenyue Blade in his hand, the tip pointing upwards, and slashed diagonally upwards, the blade piercing through the jackal's chin, penetrating its upper jaw and embedding itself in its brain cavity.

He died on the spot.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining two iron-scaled jackals turned and ran into the woods.

Sun Laoqi fired two arrows in quick succession. One arrow missed, while the other hit the hind leg of one of the creatures, which dragged its injured leg and disappeared into the bushes.

Wu Meng was furious and was about to chase after them with his axe when Lin Yan called out to stop him.

"Stop chasing. Who knows what else is in the fog? Our battle has been so loud that it has probably attracted the attention of many monsters. Let's quickly clear the battlefield and find a place to rest."

Yang Tie picked up the long stick from the ground, wiped the blood off it, walked over to Lin Yan, looked down at the corpses of the two Iron-Scaled Jackals on the ground, and said, "Brother Lin, you have excellent skills."

Lin Yan ignored Yang Tie.

He turned around and walked to Xue Li's side, squatted down and looked at his bitten left arm.

A large hole was bitten through the flesh, revealing the stark white bone inside. The edges of the wound had already begun to turn black. The iron-scaled jackal's teeth were poisonous, and it needed immediate treatment.