“What are we waiting for? Men! Follow me out of the gates to meet the enemy!” Jax waved a hand and marched toward the town gate at the head of the group.

  He could barely wait to test the full power of the Forbidden Artifact.

  Viper and Talan exchanged a look， said nothing， and signaled their men to follow Jax out of the town.

  Soon， a group of more than thirty people marched out in formation.

  The fighters gripped their guns tightly， eyes darting nervously around， terrified a hyena would leap out from any corner.

  They formed a tight circle， shielding Jax， Viper， and Talan inside， creeping forward inch by inch.

  The hyenas in the distance didn’t react at first — not until the group was a hundred meters from the walls. Suddenly， the few hyenas in the bushes burst into frenzied barks.

  Roar! Roar! Roar!

  More and more beastly roars answered. On the horizon at the edge of sight， yellow sand billowed into the sky. Through the haze， countless black dots slowly emerged.

  One， two， three… fifty!

  More than fifty hyenas came charging from the distance， each far larger than a normal hyena， nearly the size of a fully grown bull.

  The thunder of their paws shook the ground， and the tremors rippled up into Talan and his men’s hearts.

  “Open fire!!” Talan roared， his gun cracking to life first. It was the signal， and the battle exploded in an instant.

  Facing the charging hyenas， the thirty-odd fighters raised their guns and fired wildly， a dense web of bullets streaking toward the pack.

  No one held back on ammo， no one stepped back. Everyone knew if they didn’t take down these hyenas， they’d all starve to death trapped in Ashwood Town sooner or later.

  It was this life-or-death crisis that had forced the two rival leaders to join forces without holding back.

  The hail of bullets slowed the hyenas’ charge. Jax， in the center of the group， didn’t fire a single shot. The range was too far， and his aim was terrible — he couldn’t afford to waste his life force on the Forbidden Artifact for nothing. He’d wait until the hyenas were closer.

  He watched silently， seeing firsthand just how powerful the mutated beasts were. Their warped flesh and blood barely flinched at bullets from normal guns.

  The rounds only broke the hyenas’ skin， spraying blood that looked horrific， but only dealt surface wounds. They weren’t fatal.

  Unless dozens of bullets focused fire on a single hyena， or a lucky shot hit an eye socket， killing them was nearly impossible.

  Talan’s group only had a few dozen guns， and limited ammo. They couldn’t maintain heavy fire suppression. Their only hope was the overwhelming firepower of the Breath of Bone.

  After the first volley， the men scrambled to reload. The hyenas used the gap to close the distance at terrifying speed.

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  Suddenly， a hyena burst from behind a dead tree to the side and sank its jaws into an East District fighter’s arm.

  “Ahhh!!!” The man screamed in agony， never noticing the hyena that had circled around behind them.

  Panic and fear ripped through the group. The gap between those with and without training showed instantly. Frenzied fighters fired blindly， missing the hyena entirely and shooting the trapped man dead instead.

  “Jax! Fire now!” Talan shouted in panic and rage.

  Jax calmly loaded a bullet into the chamber， his cold eyes and the gun’s barrel locking onto the hyena at the same time.

  “Call me Vice Leader Jax.”

  Bang!

  The deafening roar of the Breath of Bone tangled with his cold voice.

  A bullet glowing blood-red streaked through the air like a falling star， trailing a long tail， and slammed into the hyena.

  Boom!

  The hyena’s head exploded instantly， like a watermelon dropped from a ten-story building， blood and flesh spraying everywhere.

  The blood-red bullet didn’t stop there. It continued on， snapping the two-person-thick dead tree behind the hyena clean in half.

  This was the power of a Forbidden Artifact?!

  Talan stared in shock. Even as a genetically modified warrior with physical strength far beyond a normal human， he knew he could never block that shot.

  His killing intent toward Jax flared higher — until he saw Jax’s pale face and ragged gasps， and his heart eased.

  Thankfully， that immense power came with a brutal cost. With the kid’s build， he couldn’t keep firing for long.

  Jax panted for breath. The second he pulled the trigger， he felt like his body had been hollowed out， like he’d donated blood three days in a row. If he hadn’t eaten well the past few days to build up his strength， he would’ve blacked out on the spot.

  But the second the hyena died， a warm current flowed up from the Breath of Bone and spread through his entire body.

  In an instant， not only was the lost life force fully restored， it had even grown slightly stronger.

  The rush of his physical body improving sent a jolt through him， sharpening his mind.

  He raised the gun again and opened fire on the closest hyena.

  Bang!

  The gun roared once more. The blood-red bullet hit its mark perfectly — not because Jax’s aim was good， but because the charging hyena was already riddled with bullets， its movements slowed to a crawl.

  The warm current washed through him again. Jax’s eyes burned brighter， the wildness and defiance in them fully ignited. If he hadn’t needed to keep up the act， he would’ve laughed out loud.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  He fired again and again. Bodies piled up around him — hyenas， and the fallen fighters too.

  More and more hyenas poured in， forcing the two proud leaders to join the fray themselves.

  Viper ripped off his shirt， revealing his gleaming mechanical arm. Hydraulics hissed sharply， the silver alloy frame locking into place， and the arm charged to full power in 0.3 seconds.

  He threw a punch， the force compressing the air into a visible ripple. Boom!

  A hyena’s skull caved in instantly， sending it flying several meters back.

  Even with the brutal injury， the hyena dragged itself back up and charged again， unyielding.

  Talan roared repeatedly， the hair on his body thickening and hardening into coarse black bristles， a perfect suit of armor that let him brawl with the hyenas up close without giving an inch.

  With his defenses holding， he even had the mind to keep an eye on Jax.

  Seeing Jax fire nonstop， he grinned inwardly. The fool must be blood-mad， using the Breath of Bone this intensely. He’d drain himself dry in days.

  He’d been worried Jax would hold back， that he’d have to hold a gun to the kid’s head to make him fight. But Jax was throwing himself into it more than he’d ever dared hope.

  Talan snickered to himself. At this rate， he wouldn’t even have to kill Jax after. The kid would work himself to death.

  His amusement faded quickly.

  Because Jax was still firing?!

  Was the kid suicidal? The fifty hyenas here were just the vanguard. The main pack， led by the Hyena King， hadn’t even shown up yet.

  Watching Jax， pale and swaying on his feet， Talan’s stomach dropped. He’d never planned to wipe out the hyenas in one go. He wanted a war of attrition， to wear the pack down bit by bit.

  Jax could die — but not now.

  They had days of fighting ahead of them.

  “Jax… I mean， Vice Leader Jax! We’ve got great results today! We can fall back， fight again tomorrow!” Talan shouted.

  He’d expected Jax to listen. Instead， the pale boy roared back: “Fall back? The enemy isn’t defeated. I’ll shoot anyone who takes a single step back! KILL THEM ALL!”