Atlas of Heaven and Man

Emerging from the fortified bunker, Chen Chuan noticed a significant increase in the density of the surrounding vegetation, as if he had suddenly stepped into a dense forest.

Normally, the area within three to five kilometers of a base would be cleared of all vegetation, with reactive sentry posts equipped with machine guns established, surrounded by trenches and barbed wire.

This would prevent both local creatures and remnants of the former Imperial Household from approaching easily, and also provide some protection from anomalies at night.

However, what he was seeing was a simulated construction, and they certainly wouldn't waste resources simulating a complete, interconnected terrain; it was likely just a demonstration of a localized area.

Indeed, after only a few dozen steps, he and Chen Bitong arrived at the edge of a lake, where a massive, indistinct creature seemed to be moving within the heavy mist.

As the two approached, Chen Chuan was able to clearly see the creature's true form.

It stood roughly three meters tall, with thick legs, a long head and neck, and a rounded, arched back covered in thick, gray skin that resembled a hard shell. Strands of algae-like hair hung from the edges, with parasites crawling within.

Its slender neck was encircled by rings of armor plating, its eyes were small, and the edges of its skull featured two hard, protruding bone hammers. Its head and tail swayed rhythmically as it moved, maintaining its balance.

Chen Bitong said, "This is a Ring-Necked Armor Rhino. It dwells near water and has a very strong sense of territoriality. If we need to draw water or establish a camp in the wild, aside from streams, we'll likely encounter one of these near any body of water.

These creatures in the Confluence Land are naturally born with mutated tissues. Only these mutated tissues can support their massive bodies, allowing them to possess agile movements and powerful force.

Although they can't gain strength through training like we do, they still possess an instinctive way of utilizing it, and their size advantage compensates for this. Some weaker firearms can't take them down.

The tip of its tail is the strongest part of its body, and the most concentrated area of mutated tissue. Being struck by it would result in a completely shattered body.

Using heavy firepower is the best way to deal with these creatures, but in the actual clearing process, the Confluence Land is complex, and sometimes weapons can't be deployed quickly enough. Furthermore, the creature's body tissues have some value, so using a combatant to deal with it is the most convenient.

Some believe that because the weapons we have aren't handy enough, we need larger weapons."

But if we don't have those available, then I'll need to use a unique kind of force."

He said in a deep voice, "This is different from the force used against human targets, which usually requires more refined changes. The force used against large creatures needs to be stronger and more powerful.

Captain Chen, watch carefully."

After saying that, he slowly walked forward. The Armor Rhino seemed oblivious to his presence, but just as he got close, the creature suddenly swung its head at him, the hard bone protrusions on the edge of its skull crashing down. The movement was extremely sudden, without any warning, almost instantaneous.

Chen Bitong immediately raised both hands, pressing them against the protrusions. His feet instantly sank into the ground, and a half-meter-deep trench was plowed behind him.

But the Armor Rhino's head was also held in place. Then, he suddenly lunged forward, landing a punch on the connection between its head and neck. As he shifted his body to the side, a flurry of punches rained down on the long neck, continuing along it towards the torso.

At this point, he took a deep breath, clenched his fist, slightly protruding his index finger knuckle, and then threw an upward punch, hitting the center of its chest. This move seemed to contain extreme force, as his entire forearm sank into the creature's chest.

The Armor Rhino's head had been swaying uncontrollably since Chen Bitong's first punches to its neck, as if it was losing its balance. Now, after this blow, it suddenly froze.

A moment later, the massive creature, five meters long and nearly twenty meters from head to tail, suddenly lost its support and collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud.

Chen Chuan approached and saw that the area struck by Chen Bitong's fist was completely collapsed and softened. According to the anatomical diagram displayed on his interface, that should have been the creature's heart, and a large area around it had been completely shattered.

Chen Bitong said, "Because these creatures instinctively tense up their mutated tissues when they sense an external attack, we need to first strike their head and neck, preventing them from properly controlling their bodies, which would prevent them from organizing enough mutated tissue to defend themselves.

At this point, we only need to deliver enough force to the correct location to kill it with one blow. The execution requires a clear mind, decisive and swift movements, and no hesitation."

After saying this, he looked over, "Captain Chen, did you see the movements clearly just now?"

Chen Chuan nodded, "I saw it clearly."

Chen Bitong didn't say anything further and directly said, "Try it out."

As he spoke, the creature beneath his feet disappeared, and another Armor Rhino appeared on the edge of the lake.

Chen Chuan looked over. Chen Bitong hadn't specifically told him what to do, only demonstrated the process. If he could understand it, he could understand it; if he couldn't, there would be no further instruction.

This was actually how elites were taught. The basics were assumed to be already mastered, and without those prerequisites, one wouldn't even be qualified to continue learning.

Thanks to his own field and mental strength, he had clearly seen every movement and force point of Chen Bitong's attack.

This attack actually contained two parts: a sophisticated defensive technique to completely block and dissipate the force of the Armor Rhino's headbutt.

He could sense that this technique would be very useful for defending against some powerful attacks. Just learning this alone made the trip worthwhile.

And the second part was the application of force.

To pursue greater explosive power, it required a longer period of preparation and more oxygen to enter the body through breathing. This move wasn't very applicable against ordinary combatants because the power was excessive, and the excessive adjustment time could easily lead to a decrease in one's own agility.

But generally, large creatures weren't as agile, which gave people plenty of room to generate force.

He walked towards the creature, following the same approach Chen Bitong had taken earlier. However, this time, the Ring-Necked Rhino directly swung its long tail at him.

Seeing this, he immediately dodged and glanced upward, seeing the Ring-Necked Rhino staring directly at him.

The attack must start from the head, that was the key point. If the creature's head wasn't going to come close, then he couldn't even begin.

It seemed that there was a trick to approaching.

He recalled that Chen Bitong's speed of approach had been slightly slower than his current speed, and he figured that was the threshold. Once the speed exceeded that threshold, the creature would perceive a greater threat and no longer use its head to attack, but instead choose to use its tail.

So that's how it was. The solution was actually very simple. He immediately retreated into the distance, and after leaving the creature's field of vision, it indeed no longer paid attention to him.

At this time, he quickly changed his own field and slowly approached again.

Although Chen Bitong didn't say much at this moment, the approval revealed in his eyes clearly affirmed his approach.

Ordinary combatants wouldn't notice this problem, or even if they did, they would still think they could achieve their goal with other methods, and would be unwilling to take a step back.

Although the battlefield greatly needed people who dared to charge and fight fiercely, he preferred to encounter people who used their brains to solve problems, rather than rushing in with a hot head.

As for the Confluence Land, Great Shun only understood a limited portion of it, and it was impossible to solve all problems with force.

This time, after Chen Chuan approached, as he expected, the creature didn't recognize him as the same person from before. As he approached, the head suddenly swung down.

Following Chen Bitong's earlier actions, he pressed down with both hands, and a powerful force surged into his body. That force seemed capable of bursting his entire body.

At this moment, he was extremely calm, using the observed rhythm and breathing to mobilize the mutated tissues within his body. As a result, he managed to suppress that force.

After a pause, he suddenly lunged forward, punching repeatedly at the same area Chen Bitong had attacked earlier. When he reached the creature's torso, he took another deep breath, and the mutated tissues within his body quickly mobilized according to a certain force generation method, accumulating to the extreme before unleashing a punch towards the location of the heart!

Thanks to his extremely high coverage of mutated tissue, and the fact that Freehand Force was his specialty, this attack was organized very smoothly. When the explosive force was transmitted through his arm, he knew he had succeeded.

A moment later, the huge body in front of him collapsed to the ground with a crash.

Chen Chuan withdrew his fist. If he didn't count the augmentation from the Kiln Breath and the Second Me, this was the strongest strike he had ever unleashed with his bare hands.

Only, when he unleashed this strike, he had a subtle feeling that this strike was missing something, it seemed...

Chen Bitong saw his expression, "Captain Chen, do you have any questions?"

Chen Chuan turned back and said, "I feel like this strike, seemed to have unfulfilled potential."

......

......