A Fright

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The entire herb-gathering party watched the rustling, trembling bushes before them as if facing a great enemy.

The layers of shaking brush rolled toward them like waves.

"Quick, quick, quick! Shield mercenaries on the outside, spearmen behind them, archers in the center. Form a ring with the carriages and prepare for battle!"

At the rear of the group, the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group, one of Green Mountain Town's three major mercenary groups, moved in an orderly fashion and swiftly coordinated with Ten Thousand Medicines Hall's herb-gathering party, quickly setting up a simple defensive formation.

"What's going on?"

The sudden change left some inexperienced mercenaries looking utterly confused.

Hiss—

Before long, as the wave-like rustling leaves reached them, thousands of Crimson Ice Serpents suddenly shot out from the bushes.

Earlier, just five Crimson Ice Serpents had injured five mercenaries. Now, there were thousands of them.

"Damn!"

At that moment, even the seasoned veteran mercenaries secretly sucked in a cold breath.

Although Crimson Ice Serpents were low-level magical beasts, facing several thousand at once was undoubtedly a threat.

Thud!

The thousands of Crimson Ice Serpents seemed as though they had gone blind, completely ignoring the herb-gathering party and mercenaries as they charged forward blindly.

When the herb-gathering party and mercenaries blocked them, the Crimson Ice Serpents began launching suicidal attacks against them one after another.

"Aah!"

A mercenary screamed miserably as a Crimson Ice Serpent caught him off guard and bit his calf. Cold poison entered his body, making him shiver violently from head to toe. Mercenaries from the inner circle quickly carried him to Little Fairy Doctor, who was protected behind layers of merchants and mercenaries, for treatment.

The mercenaries were very brave, but the Crimson Ice Serpents seemed utterly fearless, charging forward like death-sworn soldiers in an army.

What was strange was that the Crimson Ice Serpents farther from the mercenaries' defensive perimeter remained completely indifferent when they saw their companions die, continuing to charge ahead.

"Could this be a Beast Tide?"

Based on what he had seen and heard, a terrifying term surfaced in Xiao Han's mind.

Everything happening around him was extremely similar to the magical beast tides he had read about in novels in his previous life.

The Crimson Ice Serpents came quickly, and they left just as quickly.

That single wave of attacks had already injured more than thirty people, temporarily robbing them of their ability to keep fighting.

Their comrades' withdrawal also increased the burden on every remaining mercenary.

"No way... a Beast Tide?"

The mercenary's face turned pale in horror. "According to descriptions of Beast Tides, there's usually more than one wave of beasts."

Thud, thud, thud!

As soon as the mercenary finished speaking, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.

The bushes ahead of them shook violently, and trees could occasionally be seen toppling over even with the naked eye.

The mercenaries' brows furrowed even deeper. Every pair of eyes was filled with fear.

Moo!

"That sound couldn't be..."

Before the mercenary could finish, a magical beast with a single horn on its head and the body of a bull burst out of the bushes ahead of them.

"Rhinoceros Beast!"

Xiao Han's heart jolted, and he could not help looking toward where Little Fairy Doctor was. If there was anyone in this group he truly cared about, it was only Little Fairy Doctor.

Bang!

The Rhinoceros Beasts were nothing like the Crimson Ice Serpents from before. Their powerful charges, combined with their hard rhinoceros horns, easily tore open a gap in the defenses. In just ten seconds, another seven or eight veteran mercenaries died on the spot.

"We can't hold them back!"

Even more Rhinoceros Beasts were charging toward them from ahead. Xiao Han had little faith in the caravan's defenses. In such a short time, nearly twenty out of fifty makeshift mercenaries had already lost the ability to continue fighting. His gaze turned toward Little Fairy Doctor again.

Even though the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had shield bearers, archers, and spearmen, comparable to a regular army, its members also began dying one after another under the Rhinoceros Beasts' suicidal charges.

"I'm afraid we can't hold them off!"

Just as Xiao Han caught the scent of danger, one of the previously inexperienced mercenaries unexpectedly abandoned his position and climbed a twenty-meter-tall tree nearby.

"Uh..."

Xiao Han clicked his tongue inwardly. The veteran mercenaries glanced at that mercenary in surprise, exchanged looks, as though conveying some unspoken message, and then all used something like a Light Body Technique to climb the nearby trees.

"Not good!"

These veteran mercenaries were all far too shrewd. Realizing that the group had no chance of resisting such a powerful Rhinoceros Beast tide, they had all chosen the most effective way to save their own lives.

"Damn it!" Xiao Han cursed inwardly.

This was the problem with a temporary mercenary force. At a critical moment of life and death, there was no trust or coordination to speak of.

With the mercenaries at the front gone, the entire team was immediately scattered by the charging Rhinoceros Beasts.

"Shrink the defensive perimeter! Protect the young master!"

In this critical moment, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's shield soldiers remained orderly and disciplined. They abandoned the herb-gathering team and formed a protective barrier around the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's young master. But by doing so, they had completely placed the herb-gathering team in the most dangerous position.

The Rhinoceros Beasts were incredibly fast. Within a few breaths, they would crash into Little Fairy Doctor.

"Young master, save me!"

Little Fairy Doctor looked pleadingly at the young master of the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group.

The young master glanced at Little Fairy Doctor, his lips moving slightly. But when he saw the herd of Rhinoceros Beasts nearly upon her, his gaze instead shifted elsewhere, as though he had not heard her cry for help.

"Ah!"

Little Fairy Doctor's heart tightened. In truth, she had never placed much hope in the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's young master. Seeing the Rhinoceros Beasts so close at hand, she lightly pushed off with her foot and leaped onto the back of one of them. But she had clearly overestimated herself. When she tried to borrow its momentum for another leap, her footing slipped, and she stepped wrong. Just as she was about to fall and be trampled to death beneath the Rhinoceros Beasts' chaotic hooves, a hand suddenly gripped her exceptionally slender waist.

Before Little Fairy Doctor could recover her senses, a distinctly masculine scent filled her nose, leaving her mind faintly intoxicated.

"Who are you? Why did you save me?" Little Fairy Doctor asked warily out of instinct.

But Xiao Han did not speak. No matter what Little Fairy Doctor asked, he gave no response, both hands gripping the Rhinoceros Beast's horns tightly.

Bang!

As it ran, the Rhinoceros Beast seemed to trip over something. With a stagger, it crashed to the ground. In that urgent moment, Xiao Han reacted swiftly, wrapping an arm around Little Fairy Doctor's slender waist and springing into the air with all his strength.

The fallen Rhinoceros Beast was trampled to death beneath the chaotic hooves of those behind it. Xiao Han and Little Fairy Doctor had narrowly escaped disaster.

"A cliff?" Little Fairy Doctor surveyed the surroundings, her heart jolting.

Before them was the endlessly stampeding Rhinoceros Beast Tide. Behind them lay a bottomless cliff shrouded in white mist. If the Rhinoceros Beasts turned around and attacked them, their situation would be dire.

"Huh? White Orchid Fruit!"

At the sight of it, Xiao Han was delighted.