Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The night wind swept across the gravel beach like a knife, whipping up fine sand that stung my face.

The campfire had burned out, with only a few dark red embers remaining, flickering in the ashes.

Most people were asleep curled up under tattered blankets or burlap sacks.

The sounds of snoring, teeth grinding, and children sobbing in their sleep blended together, becoming the only sign of life in this desolate wilderness.

Li Yao was fast asleep, nestled behind a rock about half his height.

Ian sat beside him, his back against the cold stone surface, an iron sword resting across his lap.

He closed his eyes slightly and meditated silently, replacing sleep with meditation.

[Starlight Perception] is like an invisible net, slowly spreading outwards from him as the center.

Fifty meters... eighty meters... one hundred meters, that's the limit.

The flow of energy in this area gradually became clearer in his consciousness.

Most of it was gray and messy, like water mixed with mud.

However, abnormal "stagnation" and "peristalsis" appeared in several directions.

It looks like something is underground... They're digging very quickly.

The direction... is right here at this camp.

Ian opened his eyes, and a faint golden light flashed deep in his pupils.

"Watch your step." He had barely finished speaking when...

At the edge of the camp, a seemingly flat patch of sand suddenly rises up.

The sand exploded like a fountain, and a dark, calf-sized thing emerged from the ground!

The creature was covered in a jet-black carapace, which was riddled with honeycomb-like holes and constantly oozing a viscous, dark red liquid.

Its head resembled that of a flattened lizard, its mouth split open to reveal three rows of spiraling fangs.

Its limbs were short and thick, but its claws were as sharp as sickles, gleaming with a metallic sheen in the dark red light of the sky.

"Corrupted Burrower!"

Someone cried out in surprise.

Then, a second, a third... a total of six emerged simultaneously from the sand in different directions of the camp.

They seemed to possess a smattering of hunting intelligence; instead of immediately pouncing, they formed a loose semicircle.

Its dark yellow eyes were fixed on the crowd, and it made low growling noises in its throat, as if assessing its prey.

"Guards, charge!"

Chen Daoba's roar exploded.

He jumped up from the fire, machete in hand, the scar on his face looking like a grotesque centipede in the flickering flames.

Several guards hurriedly grabbed their weapons and gathered around.

But it's too slow.

The first digging beast has already moved.

It pushed off with all four limbs, its massive body crashing into the nearest guard.

The guard was a young man, who looked to be under twenty, and he hadn't even held the spear steady yet.

"Be careful!"

Someone nearby screamed in terror, but the burrowing beast was too fast.

The sharp claws slashed past, leaving a dark red afterimage.

scoff!

The leather armor was torn apart like paper.

The young man had three deep, bone-revealing wounds on his chest, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

He stared wide-eyed, looked down at his chest, made a "hoarse" sound in his throat, and then collapsed limply.

"Ah Jie!"

Someone let out a mournful cry.

Panic spread like wildfire throughout the camp in an instant.

"Run! Monster!!"

"mother……"

……

The crowd erupted in uproar.

The woman screamed and shrank back while holding her child, the man grabbed whatever was at hand as a weapon, and many more people ran around like headless flies.

Chen Daoba's face turned ashen as he slashed at the nearest burrowing beast.

clang!

The machete struck the carapace, sending sparks flying.

Only a white mark remained on the carapace; the skin wasn't even broken.

The burrowing beast, in pain, suddenly turned its head and bit at Chen Scarface's arm.

Chen Daoba hurriedly retreated, but tripped over a pebble and almost fell.

"Boss!"

Two trusted guards rushed up, grabbed him from the left and right, and dragged him backward.

Several other burrowing beasts had already charged into the crowd.

Claws waving, teeth tearing.

Screams, cries, and the cracking of bones breaking mingled together.

The blood splattered on the sand was quickly absorbed by the greedy soil, leaving only patches of dark brown stains.

Ian stood up and took a deep breath.

"Li Yao, hide well."

He pushed the boy back, then picked up his sword and walked toward the nearest area of ​​chaos.

A burrowing beast pounced on a middle-aged man, its claws pressing against his shoulder, its mouth wide open, dripping foul-smelling saliva onto the man's face.

The man turned pale with fright and tried desperately to push it away, but he couldn't budge it at all.

The burrowing beast's teeth were already at his throat.

Just then.

A flash of silver light.

laugh!

The sword tip pierced precisely through the skull of the burrowing beast, through the gap where the eye sockets met the carapace.

Under [Starlight Perception], the energy flow there is most chaotic, and the defenses are weakest.

The sword was submerged half a foot deep.

The burrowing beast's body stiffened abruptly, and its dark yellow eyes instantly dimmed.

It loosened its claws, its massive body slumped to one side, twitched twice, and then remained still.

Basic swordsmanship proficiency +1.5%

[Starshine Perception Proficiency +1.2%]

A notification flashed across the panel.

Ian looked at the remaining burrowing beasts, shifted his feet, and activated [Star Step].

Its body flashed out like a ghost, rushing towards another burrowing beast that was chasing and biting a woman.

The burrowing beast sensed someone behind it, turned around abruptly, and swung its claws horizontally.

Ian neither dodged nor evaded, but swung his iron sword in his right hand to meet the claws.

Ian neither dodged nor evaded, but swung his iron sword in his right hand to meet the claws.

The moment the sword touched the claw, the wrist flicked slightly, and the tip of the sword traced a tiny arc.

[Starlight Perception] is activated at full power, and the sparse starlight in the surrounding air is slightly disturbed, forming a weak chaotic "force field".

The burrowing beast's claws deviated an inch from their trajectory due to the interference of this force field.

Ian's sword had already slid in along the inside of the claw, piercing the base of its forelimb.

Joints that are not covered by the shell.

laugh!

Blood splattered.

The burrowing beast let out a miserable howl, its forelimbs drooping limply.

Ian kicked it in the side, using the momentum to drift backward, while simultaneously flicking his sword tip, slicing open a major blood vessel on the side of its neck.

Black blood gushed out like water from a tap that had been turned on.

The digging beast staggered a few steps and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The proficiency level prompt popped up on the panel again.

Ian took a breath, and the wound in his chest began to ache again.

But he didn't stop. There were still four left. As long as he kept fighting, he could gain proficiency.

Even though his injuries hadn't fully healed, he didn't mind handling these beasts himself.

"Everyone, move closer to me!"

He roared, not loudly, but it pierced through the chaotic screams and howls, reaching everyone's ears clearly.

The people who had been running around paused for a moment and subconsciously looked at him.

Those two sword strikes were too fast and too ruthless.

This young man, who doesn't look very old, kills monsters... like cutting melons and vegetables.

"Listen to him!"

One of the guards shouted and dragged his injured companion toward Ian.

The others realized what was happening and scrambled over to get to them.

Chen Daoba was escorted by two trusted men to the outer edge of the crowd. He looked at Ian's back with a complicated expression.

There was shock, fear, and a hint of barely suppressed... jealousy and hatred.

Isn't this kid supposed to be in the Awakening stage? How come he's so good at killing monsters!

Ian didn't have time to care what Scarface Chen thought.

He stood at the front of the crowd, his iron sword pointing diagonally at the ground, the tip still dripping black blood.

The remaining four burrowing beasts had gathered around him, forming a semicircle and surrounding him.

They seemed to sense the threat posed by the human, and instead of immediately attacking, they growled and slowly approached.

"Li Yao!"

Ian shouted without turning his head.

"Here!" The boy peeked out from behind the rock, his face pale but his eyes bright.

"Take a few men and find some sturdy wooden sticks or rocks. Go around to their sides and smash their leg joints!"

"good!"

Li Yao gritted his teeth, picked up a broken piece of wood about the size of a bowl from the ground, and pulled two seemingly calm young men along. He crouched down and reached out to the side.

"The others!"

Ian looked at the dozen or so people who were still able to move who had gathered around, including civilians and guards.

"Form groups of three, back to back, don't be alone! When they charge, hit them in the eyes and mouths with something, don't fight them head-on!"

Once someone organizes the camp, it immediately becomes different, and people stop running around aimlessly.

The crowd calmed down a bit and began to move closer together, holding stones, sticks, and even half of a fire poker in their hands.

The four digging beasts finally couldn't hold back any longer.

The one on the far left suddenly lunged forward, its target Ian.

Ian's eyes turned cold, and he was about to meet the attack when he suddenly caught a glimpse of one of Chen Scarface's trusted guards out of the corner of his eye.

The short man who had bullied Li Yao was hiding behind the crowd, his face pale and his short spear trembling.

A thought flashed through my mind.

Ian shifted his feet slightly, activated [Star Step], and slid half a meter to the right.

The burrowing beast's claws grazed his left arm, the force of the blow stinging his skin.

At the same time, Ian flicked his iron sword diagonally downwards with his right hand.

It scratched its front paws, splattering a pool of thick, rotten blood.

With a slight, unintentional tremor, the sword precisely flung away the pool of black blood.

The black blood drew an arc in the air and splashed precisely onto the short guard's face.

"ha!"

The short man was startled and hurriedly wiped his face.

Some of the thick, black blood seeped into the skin and mouth, then quickly disappeared.

The short man wiped the blood off his face, revealing an unnatural bluish-gray complexion.

But no one noticed him at that moment.

All eyes were on Ian.

Ian was already locked in combat with the burrowing beast.

The sword flashed, and silver starlight flowed across its blade.

Each strike precisely pierced the gaps in the armor, the joints, the eyes...

There were no superfluous movements, no fancy moves.

Only high efficiency, simplicity, and lethality.

laugh!laugh!laugh!

Three swords.

The burrowing beast had three more bloody holes in its neck, from which black blood gushed out.

It staggered a few steps and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Seeing this, the other three burrowing beasts pounced at the same time.

Ian took a deep breath, and the Starfall Core in his chest warmed slightly, a warm energy surging into his limbs and bones.

His eyes gleamed, and he looked at the Digging Beast as if it were an easy experience point.

When 【Star Step】 is activated to its maximum, the body leaves a trail of afterimages in the air.

The iron sword transformed into a silver light curtain, simultaneously enveloping the three burrowing beasts.

Each time the sword tip struck, it was accompanied by the cracking sound of bones breaking and the hissing sound of blood splattering.

Each time the sword tip struck, it was accompanied by the cracking sound of bones breaking and the hissing sound of blood splattering.

Li Yao led two men out from the side, and slammed the wooden stick in his hand hard into the hind leg joint of an injured burrowing beast.

Click!

Joint dislocation.

The burrowing beast let out a miserable howl and its body slumped to the side.

Ian's sword has arrived.

The sword tip pierced through its open mouth and exited from the back of its head.

He drew his sword, turned around, and the sword flashed again.

The neck of the second burrowing beast was cut open.

The third one, seeing that things were not going well, turned around and tried to run away.

Ian stumbled, flicked his wrist, and the iron sword flew out of his hand.

laugh!

The sword pierced precisely into the back of its neck and emerged from its throat.

The burrowing beast charged forward a few more steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud, twitching a few times before going still.