Chapter 25: When it rains, it pours

Zhang Shen signaled, and in unison, he and the squad leader began to fall back.

“Did you discover something?” inquired Elder Ye Ze.

“Yes,” responded Zhang Shen with a nod, “I sense the presence of two late-stage Innate spiritual beasts within this horde.”

Ye Ze’s gaze hardened. “Are you certain? This is not a trifling matter.”

“I am sure. This is not something I would joke about,” stated Zhang Shen with a grave expression.

Among the reconnaissance party, Zhang Shen had the highest cultivation level, so it was not uncommon for him to notice things others couldn’t. So Ye Ze chose to believe Zhang Shen’s words. 

“Return and report this to the command, we’ll continue to monitor them here,” Ye Ze immediately decided.

Zhang Shen melted away into the shadows, quickly heading back to the sixth squad’s encampment.

As he returned, he chanced upon a clash between a beast wave and the sixth squad.

Only a fraction of the beasts encircling the sixth squad had initiated an attack, and in response, the sixth squad had only dispatched a portion of their forces. The remainder stood guard against other potential threats from other beasts.

Zhang Shen didn’t hesitate to join the fray, unsheathing his Cold Moon Blade.

He pinpointed the strongest among the beasts and launched his attacks.

Unleashing his torrential internal energy, any ferocious beasts like bears, wolves, badgers, and the like that obstructed his path were torn apart, unable to slow his momentum.

With lightning speed, Zhang Shen reached the spiritual beasts engaged in combat with the sixth squad.

He executed a Half Moon Slash as a streak of white blade light flashed, bisecting a Honey Rat.

This spiritual beast wasn’t particularly potent, but its iron-like teeth could break stones, and it was adept at burrowing and stealth attacks. It became particularly troublesome once it hid and launched sneak attacks. A slight carelessness could result in a lethal bite. There had been instances of warriors being slain when a Honey Rat burrowed into their abdomen, gnawing through organs and brains.

Zhang Shen took advantage of a fleeting moment and ended it with a swift strike.

An Ironhide Rhino charged forward, flinging a warrior aside before aiming its horn at Zhang Shen.

With a swift sidestep, Zhang Shen unleashed his Missing Moon Strike, a move bursting with destructive power. The strike pierced through the Ironhide Rhino’s hide, severed tendons, and shattered bones. The rhino was dismembered with one swift blow.

This fierce display from Zhang Shen sent waves of fear through the attacking beast horde. The most formidable among them, a three-headed eagle, found itself in a state of panic. Its modest intellect rapidly assessed the situation, determining that if the fight continued this way, annihilation was imminent.

With a shrill cry, it signaled a retreat.

“Seven Ascending Birds!” A quiet voice echoed from behind the three-headed eagle, causing a shudder of dread to pulse through its three heads.

Its wings beat frantically, lifting it rapidly away from the battlefield.

Zhang Shen moved swiftly, propelling himself through the air with seven consecutive steps mid-air to close the gap between him and the three-headed eagle.

Realizing escape was no longer an option, the eagle’s ferocity emerged. Anticipating a potential ambush during its escape and with several late-stage Acquired beasts still behind, it felt sufficiently confident in its ability to tackle Zhang Shen.

Each of the eagle’s three heads spun around, launching their unique attacks.

Zhang Shen, undeterred, took an additional step in the air and prepared to counter.

‘Quadruple Moon Illusion!’

A swift slash of his blade sent four trails of sword qi converging to form a full moon, instantly decapitating the three-headed bird.

Three bird heads sailed through the air, their eyes wide with confusion and disbelief at the strength displayed by a late-stage Acquired warrior.

Upon landing, Zhang Shen collected the carcass of the three-headed eagle.

“If you had been focused solely on escaping and hadn’t revealed your strength, I might not have even been able to catch you,” he mused. “But you chose to return. Overconfidence, perhaps? You were in quite a hurry to meet your next life.”

He then turned his attention to assisting the inhabitants of Hongyuan City in dispatching the remaining beasts. Afterward, without wasting time, he hurried toward the main command post.

“Is that Zhang Shen?” asked someone who was unfamiliar with him.

“Yes, it is.” If Zhang Shen were here, he would see Lin Fei, from his previous team, answering this question.

“I heard you used to be in Zhang Shen’s team. Could you tell us what kind of person he is?”

“Well, our captain…”

Meanwhile, in the command post, Zhang Shen was briefing Zhang Si and Lin Sanjue on his findings.

“What? Are you sure about this?” Zhang Si was taken aback and quickly sought confirmation.

Zhang Shen nodded affirmatively. On receiving this confirmation, both Zhang Si and Lin Sanjue felt a sudden burden of responsibility.

As individuals at the Innate stage, they were more capable of understanding the formidable strength of an entity in the late-stage Innate. These entities, if left unchecked, could move about freely, unmatched by any.

To contain a beast in the late Innate stage, it would require the combined force of four to five warriors at the Innate 5th or 6th Layer. However, according to Zhang Shen, they were up against two such beasts.

Hongyuan City didn’t have enough Innate stage powerhouses, there were barely fifteen. To stall these beasts, they would need at least eight of the strongest individuals among the fifteen. This estimate was still optimistic.

But if they were to deploy eight of the most powerful to stop these spiritual beasts, who would handle the other Innate beasts? And in addition to the largest beast horde, there were several other hordes besieging Hongyuan City. Their resources were thin.

Considering the severity of the situation, Zhang Si and Lin Sanjue immediately used transmission talismans to alert all Innate stage warriors in Hongyuan City.

These talismans could relay messages within a certain range. Despite the delay, they were a good tool, much faster than the traditional method of sending messages back and forth.

However, these talismans were valuable and scarce. If they were more abundant, they would be perfect for communicating with the scouting team.

Using seven transmission talismans, the fifteen strongest warriors in Hongyuan City began an intense discussion.

The existence of two late-stage Innate spiritual beasts imposed a significant psychological burden on them. However, when it rains, it pours. Just as they were brainstorming countermeasures, another piece of distressing news reached them.

“What? The Han Mountain City has been breached?”

The news astounded the heads of the three families.

Many families had fallen under the onslaught of the beast tide in the past, but hearing such news was still chilling. For Hongyuan City, which was already confronting formidable enemies, this news was a chilling addition to an already harsh winter.

“The fall of Han Mountain City implies that the beasts, after recuperating, will inevitably turn towards the remaining six cities. We will be in peril then!”

Ye Shuang, the patriarch of the Ye family, was extremely anxious. The situation was alarmingly dangerous.

“Han Mountain City is strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to conquer. Their defenses even surpass ours in Hongyuan City. If they managed to conquer Han Mountain City, we must understand how these beasts achieved this, otherwise, we’re in jeopardy.”

The head of the Lin clan, Lin Wanfeng, seemed somewhat calmer. However, one look at his fierce and sharp gaze, and one could tell he was far from tranquil inside.

Upon receiving the news, Hongyuan City swiftly dispatched their top agents to determine the specifics at Han Mountain City.

Their mission was twofold, investigate the situation and rescue any surviving spies that Hongyuan City had planted in Han Mountain City.

Fortunately, one of the planted spies survived, though severely injured. He had sensed something amiss before the city’s fall, thus averting a fatal end.

The rescue team promptly escorted him back. Soon enough, Hongyuan City gleaned insights into the incident from the report of Zhang Chun, the spy who had infiltrated Han Mountain City.

“It was the pangolins and the rat wolves! They burrowed a large tunnel underground into Han Mountain City, even penetrating the buried ironstone,” Zhang Chun recounted, fear evident in his voice.