Chapter Seventy-Eight: Close Combat, the Sawtooth Hyena!

Jagged Hyena.

This was the battlefield creature that Fang Mu chose to test the possibility of advancing to the next level.

Jagged Hyenas inhabit this region known as the “Thousand Shades Wasteland.” They are beings of the Bronze tier.

But just like humans, even among those of the same tier, the gap in strength can be vast. For example, Jagged Hyenas cannot compare to Gale Tigers in either power or speed.

Fang Mu had considered the Gale Tiger before, but after seeing its towering four-meter stature...

After some thought, Fang Mu decided to let it go...

It was definitely not out of cowardice!

But was it really necessary?

Close combat is mainly about the thrill and the surge of adrenaline it brings. Besides, this was Fang Mu’s first time engaging in melee, and a Jagged Hyena was more than enough.

He ventured alone into the “Thousand Shades Wasteland.” Upon entering, he noticed quite a few other Evolvers. These Evolvers operated in groups. When they spotted Fang Mu in his mysterious black attire from afar, they cast wary glances his way.

This was normal. On the battlefield, it wasn’t just Wolfbane’s people who would be tempted by profit, playing at murder and plunder.

However, when they saw Fang Mu had no intention of approaching them and continued on his way, their vigilance gradually eased.

Fang Mu pressed forward, seeing many Jagged Hyenas along the way—though most were already engaged in combat with other Evolvers.

Jagged Hyenas, as their name suggests, resemble ordinary hyenas but are much larger, with bodies over two meters long, covered in mottled grey fur. Their pupils glow blood-red, and when they open their jaws, a row of teeth as sharp as steel saws is revealed.

Their speed and strength are terrifying. Most dreadful are their teeth—razor-sharp, with a bite force so powerful it snaps G-series alloys in a single crunch.

The bones of Bronze-tier Evolvers are brittle in comparison.

Yet close-combat Evolvers possess gene combat skills. If a Heavy Blade professional deploys defensive gene skills like “Iron Body” or “Thorn Armor,” the threat posed by those vicious teeth is greatly diminished.

Fang Mu witnessed several fierce battles, and when he saw even melee professionals grievously wounded beneath the Jagged Hyena’s fangs, his heartbeat quickened.

Had he perhaps taken too bold a step by choosing this battlefield creature for his first melee encounter?

In the end, he took a deep breath and decided to try anyway.

After observing several battles, he felt... he had a fair chance of taking down a Jagged Hyena.

Besides, if there was no challenge at all, the fight would have no meaning.

He took a deep breath and pressed onward.

He walked for another half day, delving deep into the “Thousand Shades Wasteland,” where the traces of other Evolvers had all but disappeared.

Soon, his gaze sharpened—he understood why so few Evolvers ventured here.

The terrain of the wasteland was flat, offering wide visibility. He immediately spotted, about six or seven kilometers away, a massive pack of Jagged Hyenas roaming!

Their numbers surely exceeded several thousand!

It was a formidable sight.

If that pack were stirred up, even a Gold-tier Evolver would have to retreat before their ferocity. No wonder no one came here lightly.

Fortunately, the pack was far off, and even a sniper rifle wouldn’t carry sound to them. Besides, he had no intention of using a sniper rifle.

As long as he kept an eye on their movements, there would be no major issue.

Nearby were some solitary Jagged Hyenas, searching for prey among the sparse vegetation of the plain.

Fang Mu carefully surveyed the area and finally locked on to a target.

A Jagged Hyena stood three hundred meters away.

At that moment, the creature was beside a clump of grass, tearing at something, blood staining its jaws—it had clearly caught its prey.

It was operating alone; the nearest Jagged Hyena was hundreds of meters away.

Fang Mu took a deep breath, scanning the surroundings to confirm his target, and silently drew a pistol.

He crept cautiously to within two hundred meters, took a deep breath, raised his hand, and fired at the Jagged Hyena.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out.

A pistol’s report is far less loud than a sniper rifle’s; in such open terrain, the sound dissipates quickly beyond five hundred meters. Fang Mu wasn’t worried about alerting the other hyenas.

Sparks flared from the muzzle; a second later, the Jagged Hyena’s head snapped back as if struck by a powerful blow, its body staggering, then it suddenly turned and spotted Fang Mu two hundred meters away.

Its pupils blazed red, and it let out a piercing roar. All four limbs launched into motion, sprinting like the wind, charging directly at Fang Mu!

Fang Mu’s heart raced. A beast over two meters tall, eyes bloodshot, rushing straight at you—anyone would be shocked in that instant!

Then Fang Mu felt his heart pounding wildly, adrenaline surging.

Indeed, close combat is far more exhilarating than sniping!

Even now, before short-range weapons come into play, the excitement is palpable!

He hadn’t used incendiary rounds for the first shot, but seeing the Jagged Hyena hurtling toward him—no more than seven or eight seconds away—Fang Mu, for all his experience with life and death, felt his heart accelerate yet his mind stay relatively calm.

No matter what, he had to try close combat first!

He didn’t fire again. His muscles tensed, eyes locked on his opponent.

Eight seconds later, the Jagged Hyena reached him, leaping with jaws agape, aiming straight for Fang Mu’s throat.

Those jagged teeth were still slick with blood and flesh.

Fang Mu’s heart thundered, but he’d been preparing. In that instant, his leg muscles exploded with power, and he darted sideways.

Whoosh!

In a hair’s breadth, he dodged the hyena’s attack, his body slipping past.

A foul wind assaulted him; the creature reeked of blood and rot.

The Jagged Hyena was incredibly agile. Missing its first strike, it landed lightly on its forepaws, its slender body coiling like a spring. In a flash, its hind legs touched down, and it sprang again, lunging at Fang Mu with ferocious speed.

The entire sequence was lightning-fast and brutal.

Fang Mu’s heart hammered. Instinctively, he ducked low, dodging as the hyena’s claws—sharp and aimed at his face—swiped past.

Startled, he pushed off the ground and swung a powerful kick at the creature’s belly.

Bang!

A heavy thud sounded, revealing Fang Mu’s terrifying physical prowess in that strike!