Many times, Tang Yu thought about giving up.
He had the system, powerful followers, and Puppet guardians. Even with his own strength being somewhat lacking, he could still stand firm in this apocalypse.
Yet, he clenched his teeth and persevered.
In the Basic Period of the apocalypse, facing the Demonized Beasts, the fear that surged in his heart. Afterwards, facing the Demon Tide at the Sanctuary, that sense of powerlessness and despair.
He didn't want to feel that way again. Indeed, he now had many advantages, but these should not become reasons for his laziness... Since he had the system, he must not let this opportunity go to waste!
The upcoming trip to Lindong, Tang Yu didn't want to be someone who was just a drag on the team, even if... after completing extremely intense training, he might probably still just be a support person.
Standing on the pockmarked land, Tang Yu carefully felt his own strength.
In terms of combat experience, he might not compare with Luo Zhe yet, but he didn't know just how much he had improved. Not to mention, now when facing Demonized Beasts, his heart, was no longer perturbed in the slightest.
Even Heavy Slash, which had always been stuck on the last step and he hadn't been able to complete, he had successfully performed under immense pressure.
Suddenly, Tang Yu stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows raising.
Having experienced countless life-or-death situations, he had developed a different kind of sensitivity to danger.
His gaze fell on a mound of dirt not far away, where two Demonized Beasts with red eyes and gray-brown bodies, somewhat like oversized lizards, emerged from behind the pile.
This was a type of hunting-oriented Demonized Beast... Although Demonized Beasts lacked intelligence, they possessed high combat instincts. If survivors were not alert, the Demonized Beasts would pounce out the moment the survivors approached the mound, and bite the survivors to pieces.
Clearly, the two Demonized Beasts did not understand the reason Tang Yu had discovered them, but the combat instincts ingrained in their bones compelled them to change their approach. The two Demonized Beasts pounced from the left and right.
Tang Yu's hand touched the hilt of his sword, then he suddenly smiled and let go.
These two Demonized Beasts, with strength at the Second-tier Awakening, even a typical Third-layer Awakener facing these two Demonized Beasts would not have an easy victory, but...
The Demonized Beast on the left raised its front paw, pushing off with its hind legs to pounce first.
The foul wind hit, and in his pupils reflected the increasingly large gray-brown claws. Tang Yu's expression remained unchanged, he merely took a slight step back, making no other move.
The claw swept past Tang Yu's chest, the strong breeze bulged his collar, Tang Yu remained still... This distance, this speed, he was too familiar with, he could easily judge the attack position of the Demonized Beast.
These experiences, he had exchanged with his life. An inch short, life lost; an inch too much, unnecessary effort. Until later, when he stopped fleeing and instead proactively sought out battles with Demonized Beasts... Let alone just two Demonized Beasts, even against hordes of Demon Tide, Tang Yu still surfed the waves. After all, once he had gotten used to the pain in the Spirit Space, nothing much mattered anymore.
Right now, there were only two Demonized Beasts, perfect for testing the results of his training.
The other gray lizard made its way behind Tang Yu, its whole body leaping forward.
In the next moment, just as the lizard was about to strike, Tang Yu quickly squatted down.
The lizard lost sight of Tang Yu in its eyes, crashing directly into the other lizard, pressing against the belly of that one. In an instant, the two lizards clung together, tumbling far away.
Atop the city wall, two survivors on watch duty scanned every inch of the area beyond the wall. Despite the darkness, nearly unable to see anything, both fulfilled their duties with due diligence.
For Liang Hao, who had arrived at the Sanctuary early on and witnessed every bit of its development, this was a job filled with a great sense of honor. However, they were unaware that such vigilance was, in actuality, rather pointless.
"Today's our last shift," one said, "Tomorrow, we'll switch with members of the Patrol Team. Sigh, if only I had awakened and hadn't had such a weak constitution, I would've definitely applied to join the Patrol Team."
"Right? And to think some Awakeners don't want to join the Patrol Team. They have no idea how strong the foundations of the Sanctuary really are. Just look at the Patrol Team heading out today, all in fine uniform equipment. I bet those who didn't join are green with envy and regret by now."
As they spoke, they continued their surveillance when suddenly, Liang Hao ran to the rampart and peered into the distance, "Is there something stirring over there?"
The outside world was shrouded in darkness, barely illuminated by moonlight, allowing only faint glimpses of distant scenes.
Another grabbed a monocular and looked in the indicated direction. "Let me see... it's Demonized Beasts! And someone's there!"
Liang Hao was shocked and was about to sound the alarm when he heard his companion cry out, "It's Director Tang! Director Tang is fighting the Demonized Beasts!"
The survivors at the Sanctuary never doubted Director Tang's strength. Still, not a single one had actually seen Director Tang in action. They were more inclined to believe that feats such as constructing buildings and even erecting Arrow Towers to exterminate packs of Demonized Beasts required premeditation and the use of a big move in a burst of power.
Haven't they seen Director Tang always prepare the building materials before constructing anything?
As survivors of the Sanctuary who had arrived early and seen Director Tang more frequently, they naturally speculated like everyone else about his strength—perhaps it was the brute force of Captain Luo, or the cunning use of powers like the Ice Goddess to kill Demonized Beasts—or perhaps…
He paused the foot that was about to trigger the alarm when he heard another cry of astonishment from his companion.
"Director Tang has not drawn his sword; is he unarmed? Oh no, those two Demonized Beasts are pouncing on him, and Director Tang is facing them barehanded!"
Liang Hao was taken aback.
An Awakener, only just capable of confronting a Demonized Beast with fine equipment, would be utterly unable to kill one if unarmed. In contrast, Demonized Beasts had sharp claws and teeth—natural weapons capable of inflicting lethal injuries on Awakeners.
He hesitated, uncertain whether to sound the alarm or not.
Then he heard his companion shouting again, "Director Tang dodged the attack! Director Tang used just a small amount of effort to shift a great weight! Woah, Director Tang has thrown a punch, and the Demonized Beast was sent flying out. NICE!"
Liang Hao, looking frustrated, snatched the monocular from his companion's hand.
In his field of vision, the silhouette subtly swayed, dodging the Demonized Beast's offensive. Liang Hao couldn't make out the beast's movements, but Director Tang's actions were crystal clear to him. Against two Demonized Beasts, Director Tang barely made any significant movements at all.
A sway of the upper body, a short slide step, a tilt of the head—these movements were not quick, in fact, they might even seem slow to the average person. Yet, it was this slow motion that effortlessly evaded the Demonized Beast's attacks. In Liang Hao's eyes, Director Tang seemed like a Beast Tamer teasing wild beasts.
Heaving become absorbed in the scene himself, he pushed away his companion who tried to wrestle back the monocular, and said, "Sure enough, it's Director Tang, delivering a perfect two-hit combo to the lizard beast's weak point, dealing it a critical strike!"
"The lizard beast has become enraged, yet Director Tang had already anticipated everything. With a turn, he made the lizard beast's attack miss entirely. The force of the attack blew Director Tang's clothes, and that silhouette, it seemed to speak of an invincible loneliness..."