CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 2: THE BARREN IRON HILLS

Yan Luo adjusted his backpack, straddled the motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and headed towards the checkpoint.

This time, for the Abyss Hunt, he planned to go farther, needing the motorcycle.

After registering at the checkpoint, Yan Luo drove the motorcycle into the Abyss.

With the motorcycle, Yan Luo could carry more supplies, but during the Abyss Hunt, he couldn’t observe as meticulously as before.

After entering the Abyss, Yan Luo stopped the motorcycle, tapped the dashboard, and opened the pre-downloaded map of the Crimson Abyss.

The current location was the Dark Forest, and adjacent areas include the Bone-Eroding Plain, the Rusty Iron Hills, and the Blood Lake.

The Bone-Eroding Plain is the largest area of the Crimson Abyss, with the most abundant Demon resources, making it the main activity area for battle groups and Advanced Hunter teams.

However, Yan Luo’s destination wasn’t there; he planned to head to the Rusty Iron Hills, a region near the Blood Lake with some overlapping parts, and not highly dangerous as rarely do lethal-level Demons operate there.

Compared to the Dark Forest, the Rusty Iron Hills and Blood Lake resemble a novice area.

However, this was only relatively speaking.

The Red Two Entrance is closer to the edge of the Crimson Abyss, with very few lethal-level Demons appearing. The Rusty Iron Hills and Blood Lake are in the inner layers of the Crimson Abyss where lethal-level Demons are a part of the ecosystem.

After a few glances at the map, Yan Luo planned the route and resumed his ride toward the destination.

The motorcycle zipped through the forest, with Yan Luo keeping the speed at 80 kilometers per hour, allowing him to observe his surroundings and avoid falling into a Demon’s trap.

The Dark Forest harbors many insect and arthropod Demons, like the Blade Mantis and Venomous Web Spider, adept at hiding in dark corners, waiting for prey to wander close before pouncing and killing with a single strike.

The Blade Mantis can slash off a Hunter’s head with its forelimbs, armored with an exoskeleton, while the Venomous Web Spider weaves toxic webs, and hitting these webs with unprotected body parts will instantly allow the venom to seep into the body, prolonged contact causing swift death.

Dangers lurk in the Abyss, and even Sequence Three powerhouses dare not be reckless.

Owning one Engraving qualifies for Sequence 5, two for Sequence 4, yet becoming Sequence 3 requires at least four Engravings, while Sequence Two needs eight.

There are no Doomsday Level Demons adjacent to the Blue Star within the Abyss, nor Sequence One powerhouses.

According to the ’Tiangong’, the United Government’s most advanced quantum computer, reaching Sequence One demands at least thirteen Engravings.

However, these issues held little meaning for Yan Luo, as he couldn’t pursue the path of Engravings, and could only honestly strengthen himself.

The limits of Magic Power enhancement for himself remained unknown, though being a carbon-based life form, there surely existed a physical limit.

Silently riding the motorcycle, Yan Luo occasionally glanced at the map displayed on the visor.

As he approached the destination, Yan Luo became increasingly vigilant.

He was now within the inner layers of the Crimson Abyss, where lethal-level Demons were no longer rumors, and a moment of carelessness could cost his life.

Thankfully, he was still riding a motorcycle; as long as he wasn’t killed instantly, its speed allowed swift escape from chasing Demons.

Approaching the Rusty Iron Hills, the trees around Yan Luo became shorter, and the sparse grass exposed the dark brown soil beneath.

Screech!

A shrill cry suddenly came from above, and Yan Luo, whose visor was linked with the motorcycle’s radar, immediately noticed a fast-approaching bird-type Demon from behind.

Calmly, Yan Luo leaned forward, avoiding the Demon’s strike.

Looking up, Yan Luo saw the bird-type Demon had feathers of intermingled white and brown, medium-sized, with a hooked beak reflecting the crimson moonlight.

It was a Hard Beak Falcon, considered relatively easy to handle thanks to its ordinary class size.

Other than its notably hard beak, this Demon held no other distinctions.

Yan Luo pulled a net gun from the side pocket of his backpack, took careful aim, and squeezed the trigger as the Hard Beak Falcon swooped in again, releasing a capture net.

The capture net enfolded the Hard Beak Falcon, with weighted edges dragging it down. Although it struggled to flap its wings, it lost flight power and plummeted to the ground.

After shooting the net, Yan Luo didn’t even glance at it, confident about the outcome.

In the Abyss, even ordinary-level Demons could kill a Hunter; only harmless-level Demons were truly impotent against Hunters.

Dashing through the forest, the motorcycle suddenly bathed in moonlight.

Yan Luo crossed a boundary; behind him lay the forest, replaced by a boundless, undulating hilly region.

This marked the basis for dividing the Abyss regions according to Hunters!

The Rusty Iron Hills, unlike the Dark Forest, was desolate, with barely visible trees. Only a few scattered in some corners of the hills, their growth deplorably poor.

The ground bore few flowers or grasses, exposing vast patches of soil to the air.

Instead, stone pillars and blocks jutted out from the mountainside, with metallic spots dotting the surface, the very reason behind the name Rusty Iron Hills.

To create an ’Engraved Instrument’ capable of holding Engravings, metal from the Abyss was required, as Blue Star’s metal couldn’t bear Magic Power.

Thus, many Hunters operated in the Rusty Iron Hills.

At its peak, this 270,000 square kilometer area accommodated 340 Hunters.

Indeed, a staggering 340!

While more than 5,000 Hunters belonged to Crimson No.2 and numerous exploratory towns bordering the Crimson Abyss housed thousands more, Hunters needed rest and ventured to other areas for hunting.

If 2,000 Hunters remained in the Abyss simultaneously from over 5,000, it was commendable.

The peak count within the Crimson Abyss reached 11,000 Hunters, with the area spanning about 2.7 million square kilometers.

Having 340 Hunters in the Rusty Iron Hills at once was already an impressive figure.

After all, no entry point in the Crimson Abyss led directly to the Rusty Iron Hills and Blood Lake, and metals weren’t its chief resource.

Yan Luo drove the motorcycle to a hilltop, stopped, and snapped a few photos.

The sparse vegetation of the Rusty Iron Hills, coupled with jagged stone pillars resembling a stone forest, appeared strikingly desolate under the crimson moonlight.

Yan Luo planned to send the photos to Guo Xu and Wang Lingyu after this hunt, letting them glimpse the Abyss’s scenery too.

It’s urgent to see now or possibly never again.

Yan Luo was determined to vanquish all Abysses, with the Crimson Abyss as his first target.

After taking the photos, Yan Luo shifted his gaze back, slowly advancing on his motorcycle.

The hunt had begun!

Yan Luo aimed for at least ten Dangerous-level Demons, each providing at least an 8-kilogram strength boost. Though effectiveness should diminish with quantity, any enhancement was welcome.

Riding at a leisurely pace on the hills, his companions were only stone pillars and blocks.

The Rusty Iron Hills were fairly barren, hosting few plants and even fewer Demons.

Yet, sparsity aside, there were still Demons present in the Rusty Iron Hills.

Passing a stone pillar, Yan Luo suddenly drew his knife and stabbed it.

A snake camouflaged in gray-brown writhed as the blade pierced its body.

Yan Luo parked, pulled out a hand axe, and cut off the Mimic Snake’s head.

The head fell, still wriggling energetically, the body more so without a head.

Snake-type Demons didn’t die easily, surviving over ten minutes post-decapitation, hence Yan Luo dared to act boldly.

Once headless, Yan Luo lifted the snake and drank its blood straightaway.

In the past three months, he’d grown accustomed to drinking Demonic blood raw.