Chapter Thirty-Six: The Tide of Rats

As expected, a truly bizarre power...

Lin Dong stared silently, though he still could not discern where the culprit was hiding.

On the street, two people gnawed at each other, blood flowing in torrents, their breath of life growing weaker and weaker. Before long, they both collapsed, dead. Two living people had, in the end, bitten each other to death!

If an ordinary person witnessed such a terrifying scene, they would surely be scared out of their wits.

At that moment, a shadow as black as pitch wriggled out from a sewer grate, squeaking excitedly as it ran toward the two corpses. It was a massive rat, as large as a wolfhound, its dense black fur bristling and two incisors sharper than daggers.

It feasted greedily, tearing into the flesh and blood of both bodies.

Clearly, this was the mastermind behind it all—a mutated beast with a crystallized core, capable of controlling human minds, the king of rats in this area.

I wonder what the taste of a mutated beast’s crystal core is like...

Lin Dong had once hunted a mutated two-headed wolf, but that wolf had only reached the brain pellet stage, and even then, it tasted quite good.

Now, he found himself craving the rat king’s crystal core.

Yet the giant rat, though engrossed in its meal, possessed powerful spiritual senses and keen awareness. It seemed to feel someone watching it.

It quickly turned its head, and sure enough, it spotted a human figure atop a tall building.

Oh? I’ve been discovered?

Lin Dong raised an eyebrow.

Man and rat, separated by hundreds of meters, locked eyes upon each other.

For a moment, their gazes met.

The rat suddenly grew agitated, its dark red eyes glowing with ferocity. At the same time, a faint black mist drifted from its body, floating straight toward Lin Dong.

Its spiritual attack covered a vast range.

But compared to Lin Dong’s domain of corpses, the difference was immense; it was like a minor sorcerer before a great mage, worlds apart.

A red gleam flashed in Lin Dong’s eyes as he unleashed his domain.

The domain of corpses spread outward.

The wispy black mist was instantly dispelled, melting away like snow and ice, unable to approach him at all.

The rat’s nostrils twitched, clearly frightened.

It stared fixedly at the figure atop the building.

It was as if it saw a sovereign ruling over all, feeling an incomparable pressure.

Rats, by nature, are highly sensitive to danger; they are often the first to detect earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters.

At this moment, the giant rat sensed that the aura of death was drawing ever closer.

It promptly abandoned the two corpses and turned to flee.

Trying to escape?

Lin Dong leapt from the tall building, landing on the street with astonishing speed, covering more than ten meters in the blink of an eye.

He moved like a ghost, flickering in and out of sight.

Hundreds of meters were crossed in a single breath.

The rat king emitted sharp, piercing screams that echoed across the entire street.

Lin Dong immediately heard rustling beneath his feet, accompanied by the rat king’s shrieks.

Soon, countless rats poured out from the sewers—black as night, a dense mass like a fountain of darkness.

The eruption of rats quickly surrounded Lin Dong.

Not only that, rats from every street and alley came charging in from all directions, as if rushing to protect their leader.

So it’s summoning its underlings...

Lin Dong stood alone, encircled by a tide of millions of rats.

They ranged in size from dogs to cats, each at a different stage of evolution, all ferocious beyond measure as they launched their assault.

But Lin Dong’s domain was formidable; any rat that entered was smashed like a watermelon struck by a hammer, bursting apart without pause.

The tide of rats was fierce, but a vacuum formed around Lin Dong, leaving them unable to approach.

Yet the rats showed no fear of death, still charging at him like moths to a flame.

Lin Dong became a meat grinder.

Flesh flew, blood sprayed, and within moments, corpses piled layer upon layer at his feet.

Everywhere he looked, there were rats.

Lin Dong studied his surroundings and realized that the rat king had blended into the swarm and vanished, its trail lost.

This rat is not easy to catch...

Scanning the area, Lin Dong suddenly spotted a large rat lounging atop a bus stop, half-squinting, tail swaying, its expression leisurely as it gazed at him with a mocking smile, full of provocation.

Still daring to taunt me?

Lin Dong was sure it was the rat king, and immediately rushed in that direction.

But the rat showed no sign of panic; it leapt into a nearby sewer and disappeared into the swarm.

Lin Dong lost the target once again, unable to lock onto it.

He began to sense something was wrong; even with his domain fully extended, it could only last about twenty minutes, and two had already passed.

If this dragged on, his odds of victory would shrink.

As Lin Dong pondered, the giant rat appeared again, this time atop a scrapped carport, watching him with that same mocking squint.

Just as Lin Dong was about to give chase, the rat pulled the same trick and escaped again.

Meanwhile, endless waves of rats continued to surge toward Lin Dong.

Clearly, the rat intended to exhaust him.

Lin Dong considered letting it go; once his domain ran out, the rats would swarm him.

Although his physique was strong enough that even their razor-sharp teeth couldn’t pierce his defense, these sewer-dwelling creatures were disgustingly filthy.

He had no desire to end up covered head to toe in rats.

More importantly, without the support of his domain, hunting the rat king would be even harder.

Even with my abilities, I can’t guarantee a successful hunt.

Yet the hateful giant rat appeared once more.

Just like before, it lounged atop a garbage bin, squinting and provoking Lin Dong.

This time, Lin Dong didn’t plan to chase it. He decided instead to use the remaining time of his domain to leave the area, and return another day to finish off the rat king.

But just as he was about to give up, an unexpected change occurred.

The once bright sky suddenly darkened, a mass of shadows looming overhead.

A piercing caw echoed from afar.

Amidst the cries, a distinctive bird voice was heard.

“Hello, good person...”

Oh?

Lin Dong looked up and saw a large crow circling overhead—the very one he’d fed before.

It seemed to have come to aid him.

The red-eyed crow fixed its gaze on the rat tide, its murderous intent undiminished, emitting a shrill screech.

Tens of thousands of crows in the air dove toward the ground.

Their bodies plummeted like artillery shells, their sharp beaks easily skewering the rats.

A multitude of crows, in fact, helped Lin Dong hold back the tide of rats!

The rat king atop the garbage bin no longer looked so composed; its nostrils twitched as it seethed with rage.

...