Under Jiang Yan's command, the Monster Association wasn't scattered and fighting without coordination; that would be too inefficient.
Arranged by An Conghao and Lei Xiangchen, the first target was Shi Country, the small nation bordering Liyang Country.
Inside a Shi Country city near the border, chaos reigned; once the upper-echelon Fourth-level Awakeners abandoned the populace and fled, all order collapsed.
"Brothers, those Awakened can't be trusted! If we want to live, we'll have to grab supplies and survive in the deep mountains ourselves!" a middle-aged man shouted, iron rod in hand, to the dozens of equally armed men behind him.
"Hurry up and loot—money's worthless now, and the wife and kids at home have almost finished the rice," someone in the crowd grumbled.
With the Blue Star Federation gathering every global powerhouse in Nanwu Country, every other nation's economy and social order had completely collapsed—no one knew when the Monster Association might strike, and no one wanted to die on the job.
"Follow me!" the middle-aged man roared, leading the mob in a charge toward the nearby supermarket.
On the streets they weren't alone; plenty of other groups were banding together to loot supplies.
Just a short distance away, dozens were breaking into a gate, a blood-soaked middle-aged man already lying on the ground.
No one cared; they simply hauled away goods with greedy faces.
As for the authorities, they'd stockpiled supplies and run for shelter even earlier.
Even the military had begun using their guns to commandeer local stockpiles outright.
The group soon spotted a small shop on the street, its door tightly shut.
"Pry it open!" the middle-aged man ordered excitedly, pointing at the door.
Several men stepped forward eagerly and began forcing the lock, ready to seize the goods inside.
Other armed bands passed by; seeing the group of several dozen, they paid no further attention and went looking for the next store or supermarket.
The chaos had only just begun, so supplies were still plentiful—no need to risk fighting others for them.
Bang! In barely a minute or two the men had pried the door open.
"What do you think you're doing? Scram, or don't blame me for being rude!" As the door swung wide, two pale-faced youths with long knives shouted at the crowd outside.
"Beat it, or we'll get nasty!" the lead middle-aged man barked, glaring at them.
Behind him the crowd, clubs in hand, was itching to move; faced with supplies, two youths with knives couldn't stop them.
Watching the youths who refused to move, the middle-aged man was about to order everyone to rush in and teach them a lesson when—
whoosh—BOOM! A tearing sound cut through the air, followed by an explosion.
Startled, everyone spun toward the noise.
A shop entrance not far ahead had burst; severed limbs littered the ground.
"This…!" At the back of the crowd a skinny middle-aged man paled—he was sure dozens had been looting there moments ago; now not one survivor remained.
"Hahaha, what glorious times!" A shrill laugh rang out from farther down the street.
Everyone looked up to see a nearly three-meter-tall white rat-like creature, its tail a thigh-thick, two-meter pipe still glowing red.
The rat-being raised its tail, aiming at another cluster of people, and a red beam shot out.
BOOM! The beam struck the crowd, an explosion engulfing them and leaving only fragments of flesh.
"Run!" the middle-aged man's group yelled; after a stunned second they scattered in all directions.
People fled in terror while the Rat Monster grinned, the red light on its tail flaring again.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh! Beams lanced across the street, explosions erupting everywhere.
"Hahaha—only the survivors are worthy of our rule!" the rat creature laughed, raking the rioters with crimson rays.
Throughout the city, Monsters appeared—not to slaughter everyone this time, but to select valuable humans.
All researchers, Martial Artists, Awakened, and those in good physical condition.
The former would be sent to ever-expanding research bases; the latter, once converted, would start at least the peak of Level Two or directly reach Level Three.
Boom-boom-boom! Explosions rocked the city; the unlucky were simply eliminated.
Others who survived were herded into plazas and placed under guard.
That day the entire nation of Shi fell; Monsters swarmed everywhere, even in ten-thousand-person towns.
With only thirty million citizens, Shi Country was completely overrun in half a day by the full-force Monster Association; casualties numbered barely a million, while vast numbers of humans were taken captive.
Videos flooded the networks, but they only spread further panic elsewhere, proving useless.
After seizing Shi Country, the Monster Association used it as a springboard to expand outward.
In a single day two small nations had fallen.
While the Monster Association struck on a massive scale, inside a cavern in Liyang Country—
Jiang Yan stood at the center of the cave, consciousness sinking into his mind.
pearl of the abyss: 61,920,000 / 61,920,000
"Negative-emotion value full. Summon now?" A message came from the pearl.
The moment the Monster Association attacked, his progress value had skyrocketed, maxing out in a day.
'Summon!' Jiang Yan willed, and the summoning began.