Divine and Demonic Breeding Grounds

Chapter 7 Into the Forest

Everyone instinctively felt a tightness in their chests, even Su Yu, who had already killed four green-skinned monsters, gripped his wooden club tightly with his left hand. Three small black scales appeared on the back of his left hand.

Qin Jiagui gritted his teeth and let out a muffled groan before charging out first, followed by Zhang Zhongmou and another student with powers, then Su Yu...

The six green-skinned monsters, upon seeing the humans rush out, stopped pounding on the iron door. They tightened their grips on their wooden clubs and charged at Qin Jiagui, Zhang Zhongmou, and the others, swinging their clubs wildly and emitting sharp cries.

With a loud "bang," Qin Jiagui swung his club with his right hand, the back of his hand showing a metallic black spot, as his wooden club collided with one of the monsters' clubs. Both of them groaned and staggered back.

Zhang Zhongmou growled and swung his club, but with a loud "bang," his expression changed dramatically. His arms trembled, and his club flew out of his hand, causing him to stagger and fall.

Su Yu, who was right behind him, froze. Hadn't Zhang Zhongmou already killed a green-skinned monster? By logic, he should be as strong as the monsters now, so how could this happen...?

There was no time to think. Several green-skinned monsters charged at them. The student who had fallen alongside Zhang Zhongmou became flustered and, although he managed to block one monster's attack, was struck in the chest by another monster's club.

He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, and the students and teachers inside the iron door cried out in shock.

A girl among them lost her mind and rushed forward, screaming, "Ye Xuan—"

Several people immediately grabbed her, with one shouting, "Lin Xiao, don't be impulsive! Ye Xuan will be fine—" The scene suddenly became chaotic.

"Attack—don't be afraid—" someone in the back shouted wildly.

Su Yu's right arm was immobile, so he hadn't intended to charge forward. By his calculations, six green-skinned monsters and thirteen people with powers should have been enough to handle the situation easily. Most people there likely had the same thought.

But it soon became clear that this wasn't the case. The monsters were faster than them, and the small side door by the iron gate was so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time. When two people tried to go through together, they got stuck, causing three people to be caught in the doorway. They lost precious seconds.

In those few seconds, the people in the back couldn't get out in time, and with Zhang Zhongmou falling and the student named Shi Xuan getting struck in the chest and collapsing, it ended up with only Qin Jiagui and Su Yu facing six green-skinned monsters.

"Jiagui!"

"Su Yu!"

Shouts from inside the iron door were faintly heard as the situation became critical. Su Yu let out a low growl and charged forward. Seeing a monster about to strike the fallen Zhang Zhongmou, Su Yu didn't have time to think. He swung his club hard.

None of them had undergone professional training and didn't know many techniques or fighting skills. They could only swing their clubs clumsily. Fortunately, these green-skinned monsters weren't skilled hunters either and were just as clumsy.

With both sides at the same level, Su Yu's terrifying powers came into play.

After absorbing the crystals from four green-skinned monsters, three black scales had appeared on the back of Su Yu's left hand. Su Yu didn't know what these scales were for, but he could tell that the power in his left arm was immense. With a single swing, he sent the monster, along with its club, flying away, saving Zhang Zhongmou.

With a loud "bang," the monster let out a shriek as it tumbled and crashed to the ground, prompting gasps from those watching. Su Yu charged into the group of monsters and swung his club again.

This time, his club collided with a monster's club, but instead of blocking Su Yu's attack, the monster's club rebounded, hitting itself in the head.

With a sickening "splat," its brains splattered, and the monster fell to the ground. The black crystal in its head turned into a black light and disappeared into Su Yu's right hand.

A muffled groan from Qin Jiagui caught Su Yu's attention. He turned and saw Qin Jiagui fall, and then felt intense pain in his right shoulder. Su Yu let out a cry as a club struck his shoulder, nearly tearing it apart.

"Ah—" Su Yu screamed, swinging his arm. His club flew out of his hand, smashing into the chest of the monster that had struck him.

The impact was so powerful that the monster staggered back several steps before crashing to the ground, with a black light flashing as another crystal disappeared into Su Yu's left hand.

Although he absorbed two crystals in quick succession, a fourth scale didn't appear, and his power didn't increase much. It seemed the more monsters he killed, the less effective the enhancement became.

Despite killing two more monsters, Su Yu found himself surrounded by three green-skinned monsters, with no weapon in hand.

"Su Yu—" Inside the iron gate, Su Yu's sister, Su Yu, screamed and rushed forward, clutching the doorpost. Everyone could see that Su Yu was in grave danger and that he might die at any moment. His blood had already stained half of his body.

"Damn it—" Su Yu gritted his teeth as the power in his left arm surged. He instinctively swung, and though he was struck on the left arm, causing excruciating pain, to his surprise, his left arm deflected the blow. It was only painful, but not injured.

Su Yu circled his left arm, catching a monster by the neck. With a terrifying burst of strength, he heard a sharp "crack" as the monster's neck snapped, blood gushing from its mouth.

Finally, the other teachers and students with powers rushed forward, surrounding the remaining monsters.

Shrill cries and groans echoed as one student stumbled back, while another monster was taken down.

After Su Yu pushed aside the monster whose neck he had broken, the remaining monsters were swiftly dealt with.

Everyone in the team had now exited the iron gate, including the eighteen ordinary people. Seeing the bloody scene before them, their palms were drenched in cold sweat.

All six green-skinned monsters were defeated, but one student with powers had died. His name was Ye Xuan, and a girl was now wailing over his body, clearly his girlfriend, Lin Xiao.

Sadness enveloped the area.

Su Yu's right shoulder was nearly shattered, Qin Jiagui's left arm was injured, but Zhang Zhongmou, though he had fallen, was fortunately unharmed.

Among them, Su Yu's performance once again drew attention. Despite being injured, he had single-handedly taken down three green-skinned monsters. If not for Su Yu's bravery, both Qin Jiagui and Zhang Zhongmou, who were at the forefront, would have died.

Su Yu looked at the back of his hand, where the fourth scale finally appeared, feeling an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Due to the sudden injuries, they performed a simple bandaging on the spot. Leaving behind the body of the deceased student, the remaining thirty people, bearing the last hope of over a thousand students in the school, headed into the unknown forest.

The school's iron gate was once again locked tightly, awaiting the group's return in two days. But with the team losing one member right after leaving, how many of the remaining thirty would survive and return?

Everyone wore grim expressions, their hearts heavy as lead.

"Su Yu, please come back safely," Su Yu's sister silently prayed, clutching the iron bars of the gate as she watched Su Yu and the others disappear into the distance.

Although Su Yu's right shoulder had been bandaged, it still hurt terribly, and he kept frowning along the way, a layer of cold sweat forming on his face.

Fortunately, the mysterious power in his left arm was working its subtle magic, not only speeding up his recovery but also easing his pain. Otherwise, Su Yu would have passed out from the agony by now.

Outside the school was a vast forest stretching endlessly in all directions. Their only option was to choose a direction and keep moving forward, hoping to find a way out, encounter other rescue teams, or at the very least, find some food.

With over a thousand people in the school, the amount of food needed was staggering.

Since Su Yu's right shoulder was injured and his right arm was immobilized, Zhang Zhongmou carried his backpack, staying close to Su Yu.

Suddenly remembering something, Su Yu whispered, "Zhongmou, didn't you also kill a green-skinned monster? You should have powers now, so why did it seem like you couldn't match that monster's strength earlier?"

By logic, absorbing the black crystal from a monster should have given him strength equal to it.

Zhang Zhongmou touched the half of his face wrapped in white gauze and said somewhat awkwardly, "My... my power... is here."

Su Yu was taken aback.

At that moment, the sound of rustling surrounded them, and in the blink of an eye, the thirty of them were surrounded.