The demonic beast uprising in the forest had formed into a "Beast Tide," and everyone's faces were grim.
This was the last thing Scavengers ever wanted to see.
At that moment, Uncle Sam had also put on his armor. Fully armed with a small round shield and spear, he walked over.
He nodded to Canossa, then warned Rein, "Doctor Rein, judging by the sounds, there are quite a few demonic beasts coming. Once the fighting starts, I may not be able to look after you. Be careful."
Rein nodded. "Mm."
After a pause, Sam seemed to recall something. He glanced at Canossa beside him, then added to Rein, "Uh... you must make sure to protect the Countess too."
"Understood!"
Rein did not think there was anything strange about that. With a solemn expression, he said, "I will do everything in my power!"
Seeing how serious he looked, Canossa raised a brow slightly and merely pressed her lips together without saying anything.
Although Rein had once suspected that this delicate Countess was a hidden expert, after spending the past few days with her, he trusted his own judgment more: she really was just a pampered rich woman.
After all, this Countess's ankles hurt after walking a few steps. Nothing about her matched the traits of an expert.
Moreover, for high-ranking nobles, advancing to become a High-tier Extraordinary had never been a necessary life choice. Enjoying life was what mattered most.
The higher one's rank, the harder advancement became, and the more grueling cultivation it required.
Such exhausting work could naturally be left to subordinates. They had enough money to hire High-tier Extraordinary guards. There was no need for them to endure dull training day after day for years on end.
The commotion in the forest grew louder. Unable to tell what kind of demonic beasts they were, Rein asked Uncle Sam beside him, "Uncle, can you sense what kind of demonic beasts they are?"
A Third Tier Demon Hunter had an extremely broad sensory range. Sam surely understood the situation better than anyone else.
The honest-looking burly man listened carefully for a while before answering, "Their footsteps are light, and there are a lot of them. They might be Gale Wolves! Of course, there are some other things too..."
"Gale Wolves?"
Upon hearing that, Rein's expression grew increasingly grave.
He let out a heavy breath and muttered, "This is going to be troublesome."
Gale Wolves were First Tier wind-type demonic beasts, while their alpha was usually Second Tier.
Though they belonged to the low-tier demonic beast category, they were also among the most troublesome beasts people traveling through the jungle least wished to encounter.
Their intelligence was not particularly high, but they possessed sharp senses of smell and excellent night vision. They were also skilled at wielding wind Elemental Power, capable of spitting wind blades. Running with the wind, they were as swift as ghosts through the forest.
Swift, agile, evasive, and skilled at circling around to bite.
In packs of three or five, they could even hunt powerful opponents larger and higher-ranked than themselves.
For Demon Hunters who had broken through Third Tier Gene Locks, large packs of nocturnal wolves were a deadly threat!
Judging from the commotion, the wolf pack approaching through the forest was definitely not small.
Boom!
A portable cannon spat flames, and a huge burst of fire erupted in the dense woods hundreds of meters away.
The battle had finally begun!
"Everyone, fire! The wolves are here!"
"Concentrated fire! Use incendiaries to drive them back!"
"Sense out the alpha! Prepare to decapitate it!"
"..."
It had to be said that the members of the Chamois Scavenger Group truly had abundant wilderness combat experience.
Even after realizing that the pairs of glowing green eyes in the darkness belonged to a pack of Gale Wolves, they did not panic much. Instead, they chose the most reasonable response: kill the alpha and scatter the pack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames erupted everywhere as muskets and shells poured into the forest as if ammunition cost nothing. Explosions went off all around, instantly igniting vast patches of fire through the woods and gradually brightening their surroundings.
But slowly, everyone realized something was wrong.
These demonic wolves were too savage. Even with gunfire roaring like thunder, they showed no sign of retreating!
And the worse news was yet to come.
"Captain, I can sense at least fifty Gale Wolves!"
"Not good! A Third Tier Explosive Brown Bear is coming toward us too!"
"How is that possible?! Explosive Brown Bears and demonic wolves would never hunt together. How could they attack us at the same time? What is going on?"
"Watch the ground! There are poisonous insects too! Insect Repellent Powder, use the Insect Repellent Powder now!"
"..."
Hearing the roar of that giant bear, everyone panicked.
A Third Tier Explosive Brown Bear already belonged to the category of High-tier Demonic Beasts. Those enormous earth-type brown bears stood eight meters tall, and a single swipe could easily snap a massive tree. Their fur was as hard as armor, making it difficult for ordinary firearms to inflict any effective damage.
It was one of the apex demonic beasts of the jungle!
At the critical moment, Uncle Sam took the initiative to step forward and shouted, "Leave the Explosive Brown Bear to me! Watch yourselves!"
He was also the only Demon Hunter present capable of directly confronting a High-tier Demonic Beast!
"Look, someone has fired a distress signal!"
Before the members of the Chamois Scavenger Group could figure out what was happening with this Beast Tide, they looked through the trees and saw flare after flare lighting up the night sky.
Only then did they understand that it was not just them. The demonic beasts throughout the forest had all gone berserk. Dozens of battles had erupted simultaneously along this mountain road stretching more than a hundred kilometers.
The demonic beasts in the forest seemed to have gone mad, frantically attacking every human they encountered!
Captain Bart cursed, "Damn it! No rescue is coming. We can only rely on ourselves now! Everyone, fight to the death!"
"Yes, Captain!"
No one backed down. The members' gazes were cold and resolute.
From the very first day they had become Scavengers, they had possessed that awareness.
The battle was even more brutal than expected.
Under normal circumstances, demonic beasts would instinctively be frightened by gunfire, muzzle flashes, and explosions, then retreat.
But now, they seemed completely indifferent to death. With bloodshot eyes, they charged forward relentlessly, determined to kill every human before them.
Several demonic wolves, their bodies drenched in blood after being shot, ignored their injuries and quickly rushed through the trap zone, tearing open the Chamois Scavenger Group's defensive line.
The blood-crazed demonic wolves were like merciless hunters, baring their sharp fangs.
The firearms could no longer be used, and the battle turned into a brutal close-quarters clash. Casualties appeared immediately.
"Pasha, get over here! We need medical aid! Jack's leg was bitten off by a wolf!"
"Damn it! Pasha, are you done over there yet? Klein's artery was torn open by a claw! He needs stitches immediately..."
"Three-man formation, kill!"
"..."
The scene descended into chaos.
No one had expected the casualties to come so suddenly.
More than thirty Gale Wolves had breached the line, and in an instant, the Scavenger Group's members were crying out in pain. They had never encountered such a situation before.
As the only field medic, Pasha was now overwhelmed. Before she could finish dealing with one side, another emergency would arise elsewhere.
The battle instantly fell into a stalemate. Rein, standing not far away, flickered his gaze repeatedly and sighed inwardly. It looks like we may not get through tonight's Beast Tide safely.
In this situation, no one could stay out of it.
After weighing the matter for a moment, Rein made his decision.
He urgently said to Canossa beside him, "Countess, please go inside the house first. It will be safer there."
"?"
Canossa tilted her head and gave him a puzzled look.
Then Rein said decisively, "I'm going to help!"
Uncle Sam, their strongest fighter, was holding back the Third Tier Explosive Brown Bear with his round shield and appeared unable to spare a hand.
Rein knew perfectly well that although he was not in danger for now, once those hired Scavenger Group members were all dead and the defensive line was completely broken, it would be too late to act!
Continuing to hide his abilities now would be no different from waiting to die.
After saying that, he rushed out without hesitation.
The Mechanical Arm beneath his white coat clattered as the miniature Steam Boilers started up once more.
The battlefield was so intense that there was no time to think. Rein charged straight in.
Meanwhile, Canossa had no intention of retreating to the cabin. Instead, she watched that fearless figure rushing forward with great interest, the corner of her brow lifting slightly.
"Not bad."
Facing the surging Beast Tide, the vice president of the Black Gold Merchant Guild showed little change in expression, and there was not the slightest hint of panic in her eyes.
A moment later, she stopped watching the battlefield and instead looked deep into the forest, frowning in thought.
"These demonic beasts must have been hypnotized by some kind of spell. This resembles the beast-driving methods of those barbarian priests in the Ashen Forest."
Canossa seemed to have thought of something. Confusion flickered in her beautiful eyes as she murmured softly again.
"Strange. The intelligence gathered earlier said those barbarians only operated within the Ashen Forest. Why have they crossed the defenses of City of Radiance and come east of the Alkolon Mountain Range?"
But before she could think further,
at that moment, Canossa looked at Rein, who had just entered the battlefield in the distance, and a flash of amazement lit up in her eyes.
"Oh? So he's quite capable!"
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