Dark Moon Era

The chameleon black-winged mantis was a Level 3 mutated insect. When compared to a demon insect, its intellect was not that impressive as it was more than a few levels inferior.

Even so, on the edge of the battlefield with its pitiful intellect, it was able to feel satisfied.

Yes, it was very satisfied.

It was able to bathe in the purple light that could power itself even though it was very dim.

Once in a while, it would even run into other living beings that fled from the battlefield. They were usually injured, so its ambush in the dark had a high chance of success. As for those who fought on the battlefield, the energy level of their flesh would not be very low either, so it was a great source of food for the mantis.

Coupled with the complicated terrain, if the mantis ran into some powerful monsters, it still had its color-changing ability to escape.

Lastly, since the mantis was still within the forest, even if it did not run into the unfortunate souls, it could still head into the forest to hunt.

Even though its pathetic intellect was able to recognize satisfaction but was unable to analyze all this properly, its instinct was enough to tell it to never leave this spot, so it would even defend it with its life.

It would soon evolve into a Level 4 mutated insect since the fourth faint purple spot on its wings had started showing.

The chameleon black-winged mantis strolled around its territory with swelling arrogance. As long as it could evolve into a Level 4 mutated insect, it would not be the weakest around the frontier of the battlefield. By then, it could enter the ranks of intermediate power.

Tang Ling was tossing a stone in his hand as he tilted his head and sized up the chameleon black-winged mantis that was less than 50 meters away with great interest.

He was curious about what was wrong with this mantis which was only half the size of a man. Did it lose the necessary vigilance of a Level 3 mutated insect? How could it neglect his presence in such a close range? It even walked at a strange pace and had its head cocked up high.

While Tang Ling would not believe that a Level 3 mutated insect had the intellect to think, it would have some self-consciousness at the most.

Would that little bit of self-consciousness magically change the way it acted?

The scariest ability in this world was still wisdom.

As he exclaimed in his mind, he stopped himself from probing the mantis’s inner world. His Precise Instinct was operating at full speed.

The moment the mantis discovered him and charged towards him, he flung the stone out when it was 37 meters away from him.

Tang Ling could already strike over a ton of force with a single punch, and it was not even his limit yet as it was just a standard punch. Therefore, the strength with which he used to throw the stone was terrifying.

The stone he threw had a sharp edge. Albeit not being big, its accumulated mass was over 500 grams.

Tang Ling threw it with all his might, and a very light whistle burst after the stone left his hand. Boosted by his Precise Instinct, the angle of the trajectory was narrow, and it traveled across the air very quickly.

His target was the soft abdomen of the black-winged mantis. He knew it was its weakness from the last encounter.

Bang!

A clear thud sounded as the black-winged mantis extended its wings and stopped the stone in a flash.

The sharp stone left a faint white scratch on its wings, but that was all it did. Still, that managed to enrage the black-winged mantis that chased after Tang Ling instinctively. The weak presence that Tang Ling emanated encouraged the mantis to chase him faster.

However, Tang Ling was already on the run. In fact, 37 meters was the optimal distance for him to attract the mantis. It was the result that his newly upgraded Precise Instinct gave him.

If the terrain was flat, 21 meters would be enough for him to escape, but the complicated corners and alleyways had to be compensated by extra distance.

Therefore, the moment Tang Ling launched the stone, he ran 31° to his left.

He was like a nimble monkey, shuttling through the complicated and intercrossing concrete forests with different heights of terrain. He ran as effortlessly as the black-winged mantis which had a few more legs.

Tang Ling repeatedly memorized the terrain of this place during his first encounter with the mantis, and he managed to etch the whole place in his heart. With the observation the second time around, he was confident that he could speed across the place like it was his own backyard.

The complicated terrain did not just provide convenience to the black-winged mantis, but it even benefited Tang Ling. Since he had grasped the layout of the terrain and gained the advantage, he was able to maintain a safe distance from the black-winged mantis. He kept provoking it by throwing stones as he lured it towards his designated location.

Tang Ling made his way into an unusually narrow alley.

The ruins of the buildings in this new location were unbelievably concentrated. There was a broken beam or a fallen wall along the alley every two to three steps, and the alley was no wider than 1.2 meters.

Above the alley was all sorts of rusty iron rods and old tree branches. There were also bushes that had sharp leaves and branches blocking the way at the end of the alley.

Although the alley was no longer than 30 meters, it was adequate enough to be the location of the final battle.

Tang Ling stopped when he was almost halfway in the alley. He did not have absolute confidence to win, and his plan was quite risky to begin with since it required a certain level of luck. Unknowingly, the excitement in his boiling blood stimulated him.

As a person who overly depended on food, was there any reason that he should not take the risk?

In less than 2 seconds, the chameleon black-winged mantis came into the alley without any hesitation. It seemed infuriated that its prey had run into a dead-end, and it felt like its prey had a death wish.

It lowered its body and slid forward for a dozen meters. At the same time, its ever-victorious blades slashed towards Tang Ling. It extended its blade-like arms so wide that it almost sealed off the entire narrow alley.

It was at that moment when Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct operated at its maximum capacity. His mind was able to somehow slow down the extremely quick movements of the black-winged mantis.

After the unusually fast calculation, he came up with three options to get out of this desperate situation with a survival rate of more than 50%.

The first option was to grab the iron rod less than a meter above him and pull himself towards the air.

The second option was to jump towards his left and launch himself towards the sharp bushes on the right with the rebounding force from his left kick. Although he might suffer some cuts, the bushes could slow down the slashing of the black-winged mantis, and by rolling away in time, he could avoid getting sliced into half.

As for the third option, it was the hole in the fallen wall beneath him that was less than 20 mm large. He had to stomp on the hole with all his might, and there would be an 80% chance that he could expand the space. He would have to slide over when the fallen wall crumbled away to avoid the slashing.

In order for the escape plans to work, he must carefully time the execution cue with his body reflexes. On top of that, the time and speed must align, and he could not afford to make the slightest mistake. The options were considered highly difficult movements.

The best option was undoubtedly the first one. According to his current power level, he would have at least a 95% chance of pulling it off, hence increasing his 50% survival rate.

The seconds ticked away, forcing Tang Ling to make a decision right away.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed. His Precise Instinct might seem useful towards an actual battle, but it was not a pre-battle simulation.

He somehow realized that his pre-battle calculations were a little off, and if he were to choose any one of the three options he came up with, he would fail to escape.