Dumby slowly turned his head . His stiff spine made loud kacha kacha sounds .

With every inch his head turned, the bones in his neck gave off a sound like a firecracker going off . Dumby's gently burning soul flames were frozen .

At that moment, the world seemed silent .

Just like his name, Dumby dumbly turned his head around slowly, facing backwards .

The soul flames in Dumby's eye sockets suddenly shrank back inwards, and then exploded outwards in the next moment .

Flames burned fiercely from his eye sockets, and his Blood Thread Heart began to beat wildly, as though it would explode out of his chest cavity .

Roar!!!

A thunderous roar reverberated across the dense jungle, echoing on and on .

Dumby turned his body around, planting his right foot down forcefully . Dust and sand were sent flying into the air, and leaves fell from the trees above . A black shadow cut through the falling leaves, generating a strong wind that blew past the leaves, before scattering them all around behind the shadow .

Dumby crossed seven to eight meters with each stride of his legs .

She will be fine, she will be fine!

Dumby's chest cavity whistled like a bellows as wind pa.s.sed through .

…

It was a monster hunting squad of around a dozen men . They were fully armed, wearing helmets and carrying rifles in their hands .

Nearby them, familiars were agilely sprinting through the dense trees . These familiars were mainly canine monsters . Canines had an extremely acute sense of smell, and coupled with their agility, flexibility, and fierce loyalty to their masters, they were one of the most common types of familiars .

Although the Huaxia areas still strictly controlled gun owners.h.i.+p as they had before the Cataclysm, enforcement wasn't very tight anymore . With some effort, and through the right avenues, it was still possible to get simple firearms such as hunting rifles .

"Brother Li, why are we going through such trouble to catch these Red River Apes? They aren't valuable monsters anyway," asked a burly member of the squad .

Brother Li was the captain of this monster hunting squad . As he inserted bullets one by one into his rifle, he replied plainly, "Miss Zhou of the Zhou Family has recently developed a taste for Red River Ape hearts, and that's why they are offering a high price for the monsters . Their market price has already tripled . "

The Zhou Family! The burly man who spoke earlier backed down after hearing this, and a hint of admiration flashed across his eyes .

Lizhou City was a small base city . There were only a few powerful business ent.i.ties there, and one of them was the Zhou Family . But that had nothing to do with the monster hunters . All that mattered to them was the tripled price!

No wonder Brother Li had brought them here to hunt Red River Apes . At that moment, these Red River Apes were no longer apes in their eyes, but living, moving sacks of cash .

The initial attack left the Red River Apes unable to react .

Elite tier monsters and above all had strong defenses against firearms, and Commander tier monsters were practically immune to normal rounds . But for a normal tier monster, guns were still very dangerous . Just like how ferocious beasts like tigers or leopards could hunt down common folk but could also be killed by a single bullet to a vital point .

Brother Li squinted as he raised his head to look at a fleeing female ape in the distance . Her fur was smooth and glossy . From one look he could tell that her heart would definitely fetch a good price .

He raised his rifle, took aim through the sights, and . . .

Bang!

The shot was a miss . The bullet dug into the ground five or six meters away from the female ape .

Brother Li shuffled another sh.e.l.l and squinted once more as he aimed through the sights, following the movements of the female ape .

This barely felt like a hunt; it was more like a game .

These were just a bunch of normal tier monsters on the sh.o.r.es of the Red Sand River . There was practically no chance of running into any powerful monsters here, so there was no worry of encountering…

Suddenly, he could hear something rustling through the jungle behind him . He could almost feel the heavy thumping of powerful footsteps . From the commotion it was causing, this monster was definitely not small . It was drawn by the sound of gunfire .

Brother Li's facial expression darkened .

He motioned to his Iron-Backed Wolf familiar, signaling it to stop the monster rus.h.i.+ng up behind them . At the same time, he slung his rifle back on his back and immediately ran towards the nearest large tree . With his nimble body, he climbed up onto a branch in just a few movements .

Most monsters were unable to climb trees, and trees also had plenty of leaves which were good for avoiding being seen . Brother Li carefully poked his head out, and cautiously looked in the direction that his Iron-Backed Wolf had run .

Suddenly, through his blood contract, he felt immense fear from his Iron-Backed Wolf, and right after that, he lost connection with it .

Brother Li's pupils shrank, and he quickly climbed higher .

The more alert members of the squad followed suit immediately, climbing up nearby trees .

These were all veteran hunters used to the wilderness . They knew what to do at the right time, and they weren't likely to succ.u.mb to greed when hunting prey, because greedy people always ended up dead .

A black shape flew out of the jungle behind them . The shape drew an arc in the air, before landing on the ground solidly .

Crash .

It skidded through the leaves, then finally came to a stop under Captain Li's tree .

All of the Iron-Backed Wolf's limbs had been broken . Its head was bent unnaturally, turned 180 degrees and facing backwards . Its eyes were opened wide, staring at Captain Li up on the tree . Its tongue hung limply out of its mouth, with blood flowing out from the side .

It looked like a broken rag doll . Bones were sticking out of some of its joints, and the wounds were leaking continuous streams of fresh blood .

The atmosphere of the jungle became immediately still .

This Iron-Backed Wolf was one of the strongest familiars within the squad . Even amongst Elite tier monsters, it would be considered extremely powerful .

Seeing the pitiful state of the Iron-Backed Wolf, all the squad members hiding in the trees felt a chill run deep into their bones .

A burly figure pushed aside the trees . Its strong heart made a dull thumping sound, as though it was heavily beating on all of their hearts like a drum . When they got a clear look at Dumby's appearance, the squad members were all stunned . Since when did Lizhou have ghoul-type monsters?

Dumby's strong aura could not be faked; this was definitely a Commander tier monster!

All the squad members lamented . How bad could their luck be, to actually run into a Commander tier monster! Right now, they could only pray that the monster would not notice them, or that it could not climb trees .

Dumby looked all around him, then walked straight ahead in a random direction, all without making a single sound in the process . Dumby did not say anything, so the people up in the trees dared not either, much less the familiars still below the trees .

A small female ape trembled as she looked at the approaching Dumby with eyes that shone brightly . On the female ape's arm, there was a patch of broken skin . As though smelling something, the small female ape tilted her head as she looked at Dumby . He was not as frightening as she had imagined .

Dumby bent over, picked up the small female ape, and gently put her on his shoulder .

Some Red River Apes roared angrily, starting to rush forward to save the female ape .

Dumby gave a low growl .

All the charging Red River Apes stopped in their tracks, terrified, doubtful, and staring at Dumby with disbelief in their eyes .

At this moment, Stripey leaped high and landed on the ground, breaking apart the leaves on the ground . Gao Peng was sitting on Stripey's back .

Feeling the Commander tier aura from Stripey, the faces of the squad members up in the trees turned pale . But then, they saw Gao Peng who was sitting on top of Stripey's back . Suddenly, their will to survive welled up again!

"Brother, save us . " Captain Li frantically signaled to Gao Peng, pleading for help .

. . . . Dumby slowly turned his head . His stiff spine made loud kacha kacha sounds . With every inch his head turned, the bones in his neck gave off a sound like a firecracker going off . Dumbys gently burning soul flames were frozen . At that moment, the world seemed silent . Just like his name, Dumby dumbly turned his head around slowly, facing backwards . The soul flames in Dumbys eye sockets suddenly shrank back inwards, and then exploded outwards in the next moment . Flames burned fiercely from his eye sockets, and his Blood Thread Heart began to beat wildly, as though it would explode out of his chest cavity . Roar!!! A thunderous roar reverberated across the dense jungle, echoing on and on . Dumby turned his body around, planting his right foot down forcefully . Dust and sand were sent flying into the air, and leaves fell from the trees above . A black shadow cut through the falling leaves, generating a strong wind that blew past the leaves, before scattering them all around behind the shadow . Dumby crossed seven to eight meters with each stride of his legs . She will be fine, she will be fine! . . Dumbys chest cavity whistled like a bellows as wind pa.s.sed through . … It was a monster hunting squad of around a dozen men . They were fully armed, wearing helmets and carrying rifles in their hands . Nearby them, familiars were agilely sprinting through the dense trees . These familiars were mainly canine monsters . Canines had an extremely acute sense of smell, and coupled with their agility, flexibility, and fierce loyalty to their masters, they were one of the most common types of familiars . Although the Huaxia areas still strictly controlled gun owners.h.i.+p as they had before the Cataclysm, enforcement wasnt very tight anymore . With some effort, and through the right avenues, it was still possible to get simple firearms such as hunting rifles . Brother Li, why are we going through such trouble to catch these Red River Apes? They arent valuable monsters anyway, asked a burly member of the squad . Brother Li was the captain of this monster hunting squad . As he inserted bullets one by one into his rifle, he replied plainly, Miss Zhou of the Zhou Family has recently developed a taste for Red River Ape hearts, and thats why they are offering a high price for the monsters . Their market price has already tripled . The Zhou Family! The burly man who spoke earlier backed down after hearing this, and a hint of admiration flashed across his eyes . Lizhou City was a small base city . There were only a few powerful business ent.i.ties there, and one of them was the Zhou Family . But that had nothing to do with the monster hunters . All that mattered to them was the tripled price! No wonder Brother Li had brought them here to hunt Red River Apes . At that moment, these Red River Apes were no longer apes in their eyes, but living, moving sacks of cash . The initial attack left the Red River Apes unable to react . Elite tier monsters and above all had strong defenses against firearms, and Commander tier monsters were practically immune to normal rounds . But for a normal tier monster, guns were still very dangerous . Just like how ferocious beasts like tigers or leopards could hunt down common folk but could also be killed by a single bullet to a vital point . . . . Brother Li squinted as he raised his head to look at a fleeing female ape in the distance . Her fur was smooth and glossy . From one look he could tell that her heart would definitely fetch a good price . He raised his rifle, took aim through the sights, and . Bang! The shot was a miss . The bullet dug into the ground five or six meters away from the female ape . Brother Li shuffled another sh.e.l.l and squinted once more as he aimed through the sights, following the movements of the female ape . This barely felt like a hunt; it was more like a game . These were just a bunch of normal tier monsters on the sh.o.r.es of the Red Sand River . There was practically no chance of running into any powerful monsters here, so there was no worry of encountering… Suddenly, he could hear something rustling through the jungle behind him . He could almost feel the heavy thumping of powerful footsteps . From the commotion it was causing, this monster was definitely not small . It was drawn by the sound of gunfire . Brother Lis facial expression darkened . He motioned to his Iron-Backed Wolf familiar, signaling it to stop the monster rus.h.i.+ng up behind them . At the same time, he slung his rifle back on his back and immediately ran towards the nearest large tree . With his nimble body, he climbed up onto a branch in just a few movements . Most monsters were unable to climb trees, and trees also had plenty of leaves which were good for avoiding being seen . Brother Li carefully poked his head out, and cautiously looked in the direction that his Iron-Backed Wolf had run . Suddenly, through his blood contract, he felt immense fear from his Iron-Backed Wolf, and right after that, he lost connection with it . Brother Lis pupils shrank, and he quickly climbed higher . The more alert members of the squad followed suit immediately, climbing up nearby trees . These were all veteran hunters used to the wilderness . They knew what to do at the right time, and they werent likely to succ.u.mb to greed when hunting prey, because greedy people always ended up dead . A black shape flew out of the jungle behind them . The shape drew an arc in the air, before landing on the ground solidly . Crash . It skidded through the leaves, then finally came to a stop under Captain Lis tree . All of the Iron-Backed Wolfs limbs had been broken . Its head was bent unnaturally, turned 180 degrees and facing backwards . Its eyes were opened wide, staring at Captain Li up on the tree . Its tongue hung limply out of its mouth, with blood flowing out from the side . It looked like a broken rag doll . Bones were sticking out of some of its joints, and the wounds were leaking continuous streams of fresh blood . The atmosphere of the jungle became immediately still . This Iron-Backed Wolf was one of the strongest familiars within the squad . Even amongst Elite tier monsters, it would be considered extremely powerful . Seeing the pitiful state of the Iron-Backed Wolf, all the squad members hiding in the trees felt a chill run deep into their bones . A burly figure pushed aside the trees . Its strong heart made a dull thumping sound, as though it was heavily beating on all of their hearts like a drum . When they got a clear look at Dumbys appearance, the squad members were all stunned . Since when did Lizhou have ghoul-type monsters? Dumbys strong aura could not be faked; this was definitely a Commander tier monster! All the squad members lamented . How bad could their luck be, to actually run into a Commander tier monster! Right now, they could only pray that the monster would not notice them, or that it could not climb trees . Dumby looked all around him, then walked straight ahead in a random direction, all without making a single sound in the process . Dumby did not say anything, so the people up in the trees dared not either, much less the familiars still below the trees . A small female ape trembled as she looked at the approaching Dumby with eyes that shone brightly . On the female apes arm, there was a patch of broken skin . As though smelling something, the small female ape tilted her head as she looked at Dumby . He was not as frightening as she had imagined . Dumby bent over, picked up the small female ape, and gently put her on his shoulder . Some Red River Apes roared angrily, starting to rush forward to save the female ape . Dumby gave a low growl . All the charging Red River Apes stopped in their tracks, terrified, doubtful, and staring at Dumby with disbelief in their eyes . At this moment, Stripey leaped high and landed on the ground, breaking apart the leaves on the ground . Gao Peng was sitting on Stripeys back . Feeling the Commander tier aura from Stripey, the faces of the squad members up in the trees turned pale . But then, they saw Gao Peng who was sitting on top of Stripeys back . Suddenly, their will to survive welled up again! Brother, save us . Captain Li frantically signaled to Gao Peng, pleading for help .