Chapter 88: Night Raid

Wu Qingsong led the main force in a slow retreat, but before they reached the planned rendezvous point, Angus and the scouting squad returned.

“What did you find?” Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but ask.

“Nothing at all,” Angus replied, baffled. “Sir, we searched the area extensively but found nothing. The footprints, bloodstains, and scent just disappeared abruptly.”

Wu Qingsong trusted Angus, a houndman with profound tracking experience, but this outcome was hard to digest. 

“The rest of you rest here. Angus, take me there for a look.”

The two squads of houndmen followed him briskly back to the site, which was less than a mile from where they had found the battle scene, located in a small valley between the mountains. The massive footprints led here and then vanished without a trace.

The ground bore only the footprints left earlier by the houndmen. Angus and his team must have circled the area extensively.

“What did you all find?” Wu Qingsong asked.

“There’s some blood on that fallen tree over there, and signs of chopping, but we couldn’t find anything amiss,” Angus pointed to a nearby tree.

Such trees were common in the woods. Often, prolonged rains would wash away the soil, or excessive snow would overload them, causing old trees to collapse. Over time, they would decay, turning into fertile ground for other forest plants to thrive.

Wu Qingsong inspected the fallen tree, and indeed, as Angus described, it was peculiar but seemed otherwise unremarkable.

However, the ground around it was uncovered by the snow, a stark contrast to the rest of the snow-covered terrain, and no pit was visible where it would have fallen. It was as if the creature that annihilated the entire mercenary troop had carried the tree to this spot and then discarded it without reason.

This oddity piqued Wu Qing’s curiosity.

“Burn it,” he ordered.

In this world, there seemed to be no legends of treants, but as a transmigrator, Wu Qingsong believed it was better to be overly cautious.

Two bottles of fire oil were poured on it, and the big tree quickly burst into flames.

Wu Qingsong had all the hound soldiers retreat to a safe distance, just in case the tree started moving as he speculated. However, as the flames grew, splitting the trunk in two from where the fire started, the tree showed no signs of life.

‘Am I being overly paranoid?”

Shaking his head, Wu Qing decided to drop the matter.

“Let’s head back.”

Due to the delay, the troop couldn’t return to the campsite that had proven safe the previous night and had to settle on a small hill with a clear view away from the mine. Wu Qingsong had Angus arrange double guards, but he still felt uneasy.

He regretted leaving Harold at the base due to his leg injury, as this would have been the perfect time to consult with him.

Although Angus and the others were loyal, willing, and able to fight, they lacked the knowledge and experience that the old wolfman possessed.

Liuli and Ling were also unsettled by the incident, particularly Liuli, who insisted on Wu Qingsong staying with them, singing them songs until they finally fell asleep in the late hours of the night. By the time he lulled them to sleep, Wu Qingsong was wide awake and stepped out of the tent.

Most of the houndmen slept near the fire, dressed, with a short wall they had behind them to reflect heat as Harold had taught. Alert by nature, many of them woke at the sound of Wu Qingsong’s footsteps.

“Sir?”

“It’s nothing, go back to sleep,” Wu Qing reassured them.

Angus wasn’t asleep either, standing guard. Beck, ever the eager aide, noticed Wu Qingsong up and scurried over.

“What should we do tomorrow?” Wu Qingsong asked directly. “Continue as planned or retreat?”

“We follow your lead, Sir,” Beck promptly responded.

Angus, however, stayed silent for a long time before responding, “The woods are silent, not a single bird. Even in heavy snow, that’s not normal.”

“You suggest we go back?”

Angus slowly nodded.

‘The destination is less than five miles away… Alright, let others figure out what’s going on here. There’s no need to risk my people,’ taught Wu Qingsong.

“Fine, we’ll go back first thing in the morning,” he declared.

The snow began to fall heavily again, accompanied by a growing wind that caused the surrounding trees to sway. Wu Qingsong made a quick round to check the sentry posts before braving the snowstorm back to his tent, where he found Ling awake and Liuli curled up asleep on her lap, drooling in her slumber.

“Such a child…” Both couldn’t help but shake their heads in amusement.

‘If only Liuli was this obedient in her transformed state,’ Wu Qingsong mused.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked Ling in a hushed voice.

“I can’t sleep,” she whispered back.

“Then let’s stay up and talk. Once it’s light, we’ll hurry back and you can rest properly.”

Ling nodded, her demeanor stirring something in Wu Qingsong. In this world, polygamy was common, especially among those in power, and this reality sent Wu Qingsong’s thoughts racing.

‘Ah, though I genuinely care for Nina, Ling is so endearing and obedient, and there’s the proud and tsundere Ram. At such a moment, should I give in to my baser instincts, or resist them?’

Suddenly, the sound of the wind intensified alarmingly, even causing the tree branches to emit strange noises.

Wu Qingsong realized something was amiss. That sound wasn’t just from the wind stirring the branches.

“Luli!” he shouted loudly, pressing his hand on Ling’s chest to awaken her latent powers.

Just in time, a massive shadow loomed overhead, but fortunately, Ling instinctively transformed her summon into a giant spherical shield that protected them from above.

Under the immense force, the protective sphere emitted a despair-inducing crack but managed to withstand the strike. Ling, however, as if struck by a heavy blow, violently coughed up blood.

Wu Qingsong, cradling both women, charged out of the tent just as the sphere shattered under the overwhelming pressure, disappearing into the darkness.

The massive shadow landed heavily on the ground, utterly crushing the tent.

“Master!” the houndmen soldiers roared in fury, hurling several incendiary bottles at the enormous silhouette. Flames erupted upon it, but they seemed to have little effect on the shadow.

Wu Qingsong, holding Ling and Liuli, hit the ground hard. The creature, unfazed by the fire, clumsily turned and raised its leg again toward Wu Qingsong.

“Die!” Angus’s voice thundered.

Wu Qingsong watched Angus pounce onto the colossal entity, frantically stabbing it with his dagger, but it paid no heed, continuing its crushing descent.

“Liuli!” Wu Qing called out again.

“Meow~?” The catwoman, dazed from being jostled awake, finally came to her senses.

Wu Qingsong pressed his hand onto her chest.

“Don’t make a fuss. It’s a matter of life and death!”

The catwoman’s body rapidly began to swell in size.