Tang Wen began to visualize the scene.
A fireball rapidly ascended into the sky, bombarding the mountain.
Tang Wen flicked his wrist, sending a pebble flying.
Plop.
The pebble flew several dozen meters before losing momentum.
What? At this distance, it didn't even go as far as a child's throw during a fight.
He shook his head, thinking it would have been better not to visualize at all.
He couldn't even grasp the feeling of exerting force.
Again!
Visualize, then launch the pebble.
The pebble arced through the air, losing accuracy and quickly falling to the ground.
No, this wasn't right.
Once, twice, five times, ten times.
With each attempt, the results only worsened.
Captain Liu, standing below, had no idea what Tang Wen was doing.
Zhou Bing stepped forward and reminded him, "From what I know, the way of exerting force in hidden weapons has its own unique Contemplation Method."
Tang Wen nodded thoughtfully.
The Flying Stone was a type of hidden weapon.
What other hidden weapons were there?
His mind flashed through images of:
Coin darts, throwing darts, hand-thrown arrows, flying spikes, flying swords, flying knives, and more.
But the next moment, he shook his head inwardly. These were all hand-thrown items and held no reference value.
Buzz!
The bowstring vibrated.
Tang Wen looked up to see a massive arrow, as long as a spear, shooting toward a flock of birds circling in the sky.
A ballista!
This was the kind of ballista that could pierce through a wooden hut.
Turning his head, he saw four soldiers on the city wall working together, turning the winch to draw back another bowstring.
"Those damn birds, flying so high, they're too cunning!" Captain Liu cursed.
In the sky, the flock of birds nimbly dodged the spear-like arrow, which then weakly turned downward.
The ballista was powerful, capable of shooting people, horses, or even breaching city walls.
But the birds were small and airborne; by the time the arrow reached them, they had already evaded.
However, the elasticity of the bowstring made Tang Wen think of another weapon.
The slingshot.
He focused and began to visualize.
In his mind, he slowly sketched a massive "Y"-shaped tree, with no branches, only a trunk, as if it were a natural slingshot frame.
Two thick yellow rubber bands, tied to a black pouch, were attached to it.
As he visualized, the rubber bands suddenly snapped taut, whoosh!
The pebble flew over a hundred meters.
Plop. It fell to the ground.
Huh?
This shouldn't be the case.
With such little power, it didn't even go as far as a stream of urine.
What was the point of visualizing?
After some thought, Tang Wen once again visualized an oversized "slingshot" in his mind.
But when pulling the rubber bands, he made an adjustment. The bands went from loose to tight, to taut, to their limit, until the tree trunk itself seemed to bend slightly!
Whoosh!
At the most extreme moment, Tang Wen felt a slight warmth in his right shoulder, as if a warm current had poured in. His arm seemed to transform into a massive catapult, launching the pebble with tremendous force.
The pebble whooshed into the distance, becoming a barely visible black dot.
What?
Tang Wen picked up the Thousand-Li Mirror to estimate the distance.
The pebble had flown nearly a kilometer.
But this was practically useless.
There hadn't even been a sonic boom, meaning the initial speed was pitifully slow, not breaking the sound barrier.
Yet Tang Wen felt invigorated, because the proficiency of his Flying Stone skill was rapidly increasing.
[Flying Stone, Expert (4103→4339/6000)]
For an expert-level skill, gaining over 200 proficiency points in a single attempt was a rate of improvement he had never dared to imagine before.
Visualize, launch the Flying Stone.
Visualize again, launch the Flying Stone…
The system panel continuously provided feedback!
(4339→4501→4597/6000)
The experience points gained were decreasing each time.
Something was off, and Tang Wen furrowed his brow in deep thought.
If the Contemplation Method he designed for the slingshot was correct, the experience gain should have been increasing with each attempt.
"Coos," "cackles," and "chirps" echoed louder as the avian Mutated Beasts seemed enraged by the continuous barrage of crossbow bolts.
Different species of birds and beasts began circling high in the sky.
On the ground, the guards felt uneasy.
Years of martial training had sharpened their senses, and now they felt as if they were being watched by predators.
Clearly, the flock of birds wasn't just fixated on the bait on the ground—they were eyeing all the humans as well.
As for the armor worn by the guards, to the diving avian Mutated Beasts, it was merely the hard shell of their prey.
A sharp screech pierced the air as the birds began their descent.
"Raise your shields!" Captain Liu shouted.
The sound of something cutting through the air erupted repeatedly—Tang Wen had made his move.
The birds, unable to dodge in time, collided head-on with the flying stones, sending flesh and feathers scattering.
The hunting squad breathed a sigh of relief, casting grateful glances toward Tang Wen.
The birds were incredibly fast, and few had the confidence to evade them.
The surviving birds, frightened by the thunderous stones, scattered in all directions.
"Commander Tang is amazing, though it's a shame the lethality is too high! Not a single good bird was left," Captain Liu remarked, then added loudly, "Stay vigilant. We're bound to hit it big today."
The wilderness fell silent once more.
Tang Wen continued his Contemplation Method, launching Flying Stones with varying intensity.
Captain Liu, resting at the stone table, asked Wu Tian, "Commander Tang's Flying Stones have such explosive power, almost comparable to a Martial Master's full strike. And he's already taken down two waves of birds and beasts. Why isn't he resting?"
Wu Tian sighed, recalling how Tang Wen had dominated them during their first encounter when he had just joined the squad.
His stamina was formidable—even a prolonged battle hadn't worn him down.
Now that he had become a Martial Master, his endurance had grown even more monstrous.
[Flying Stone, Expert (4866→4870→4873/6000)]
Time passed slowly, and the experience gain dwindled until it finally dropped to single digits.
Tang Wen realized this meant the slingshot Contemplation Method wasn't the right approach.
Or perhaps it was, but he simply didn't understand the principles of a slingshot—the conversion between tension and elasticity—so the Contemplation Method lacked a foundation, leaving no room for imagination.
It seemed he needed to try something else.
He thought of many technological weapons.
For example, guns and cannons.
He had some understanding of the principles of firearms: the bullet strikes the primer, the gunpowder ignites rapidly, the air expands, generating thrust that propels the bullet forward in an instant.
With this in mind, Tang Wen closed his eyes again, slowly visualizing a long rifle in his mind.
"Howl!"
"Captain, Commander, Sand Wolves, Sand Wolves!"
Captain Liu was both startled and excited. "Quick! Both Commanders, please act immediately!"
With that, he led the charge, sprinting toward the Sand Wolves.
Isn't it better to defend from the city?
Tang Wen was puzzled but knew this wasn't the time to ask questions.
He and Zhou Bing didn't hesitate and immediately rushed in the direction of the wolf pack.
Something strange happened. The howls of the Sand Wolves echoed repeatedly, suggesting their numbers were significant and spread out.
But when they saw Tang Wen and the others charging in, they turned tail and fled.
Mutated Beasts, regardless of their combat power, are generally more agile and faster than human Martial Practitioners of the same level.
Captain Liu and his team were unable to keep up.
Fortunately, Tang Wen and his companion were swift. In the blink of an eye, they used Flying Stones to kill two Sand Wolves.
Zhou Bing was slightly slower, injuring one before finishing it off.
"It has to be the two Commanders!"
"Quick, drain the blood, drain the blood!"
"This is the blood of a Mid-level Exotic Beast, it's sure to attract something bigger!"
Captain Liu's face flushed with excitement.
He then explained, "Sand Wolves, these Mutated Beasts, are cunning and intelligent. These few were actually the scouts of the pack.
Even if they smell blood, they won't all attack at once.
Instead, they'll send scouts to check how much food is here and whether it's a trap.
Seeing that we've only hung three baits and there are so many of us, the pack will definitely think it's not worth it."
Wolves are naturally difficult to deal with, and even more so when they're Mutated Beasts.
This was Tang Wen's first time seeing a Mid-level Exotic Beast kill a wolf.
The Sand Wolf's fur had a yellowish hue, blending well with the wilderness.
From a distance, it was hard to distinguish.
Their size was also much larger than that of ordinary wolves.
Their eyes were amber-colored vertical slits, and it was said that they glowed red at night, unlike the green glow of regular wolves.
Splash!
A bucket of Sand Wolf blood was poured over the three baits.
The crimson blood dripped down.
The air grew heavier with the stench of blood!
Captain Liu and his team busied themselves, dismembering the three Sand Wolves on the spot.
From the fur to the internal organs, everything was valuable.
The bone marrow, spinal cord, and brain were to be sent for medicinal purposes.
The other parts were excellent meat.
Tang Wen continued to ponder the Contemplation Method of the Flying Stone.
Zhou Bing sat in the courtyard, resting her mind.
After an unknown amount of time, as the sky began to darken.
Suddenly, Tang Wen looked towards the shadow cast by the distant mountain and slowly spoke:
"It seems I'll be on night watch tonight."
Captain Liu was about to say that the Commander should rest well and that they w
ould handle the night watch.
But then Tang Wen continued, "We're being watched by something."
Huh?
Captain Liu's heart instantly tightened.
He followed Tang Wen's gaze but saw nothing and felt no abnormality.
Could it be a Superior Exotic Beast?!
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