Level-Five Alert

Level-Five Alert

The man looked as though he had been forged from brass. His face seemed coated in bronze powder, and he was so thin and gaunt that his skin clung tightly to his bones.

He walked slowly, yet carried overwhelming might, as though a thousand troops and ten thousand horses followed behind him.

Tong Tianxia looked at the Corrosion Priest and asked amiably, "Have you forgotten what I told you?"

The Corrosion Priest bent at the waist.

"I haven't forgotten. I was only joking around with these children." After saying that, the Corrosion Priest turned to the others. "You can leave now."

All seven recovered their normal forms and stood up, staring motionlessly at the Corrosion Priest and the man called Tong Tianxia.

Tong Tianxia glanced at Zhou Leng, swept his gaze over the others, and revealed a broad, genial smile. "Go back, put on your packs, and leave this place. Run straight toward the Pioneer Base without stopping. If the Demon Worshipping Cult or any demons intercept you, tell them I'm here."

Zhou Leng cupped his fists. "Thank you for saving our lives."

After saying that, he signaled the other six and headed toward the temporary camp.

The other six hurried after him, grabbed their packs, and did not even dare look at the two men as they jogged away.

Afterward, Zhou Leng worked up the courage to glance back.

Tong Tianxia stood before the Corrosion Priest and smiled. "Do you still remember what I said before we set out?"

"You... You said that we could kill people, but we couldn't hurt children."

"Then, do you remember?" Tong Tianxia spoke unhurriedly, steady and composed.

"I remember. I didn't lay a hand on them."

Tong Tianxia glanced back. The seven children had already disappeared into the forest, and had even dragged away the bodies of the two dead men.

Tong Tianxia turned back, smiling as he slowly extended a hand and placed it on top of the Corrosion Priest's head.

The Corrosion Priest said in terror, "You..."

Tong Tianxia gave it a light pat.

Pfft...

The Corrosion Priest's head was smashed into his chest. His body toppled diagonally to the ground as black, filthy blood flowed out.

Tong Tianxia turned and looked toward the direction in which the seven had fled.

"That child..."

Tong Tianxia narrowed his eyes slightly and sank into his memories.

Beneath the tree, the seven people stared at the corpses of Guo Xiaohao and Liu Teng hanging from its branches.

Grief and regret showed in every one of their eyes.

Two perfectly good Blood Circulation Stage experts had died just like that.

"I've sent our location. Someone will come collect the bodies later. Open your packs now and throw away all unnecessary weight. From here on, we're running all the way back to the Pioneer Base without sleep or rest," said team leader Xue Chengsong.

Everyone opened their packs, threw away tents and other nonessential items, and hoisted their half-empty packs onto their backs.

"As for these two bows and crossbows... Which of you has practiced archery?"

Everyone shook their heads. Only Cao Jiajia raised her hand. "I'll do it."

Xue Chengsong handed the Demonic Bow to Cao Jiajia, then picked up the Demonic Crossbow. "A crossbow is relatively simpler than a bow, but it still requires enough strength. Cui Mingcong has the strongest build, but we need him for breaking through obstacles, so he isn't suitable for this."

"What about me?" Feng Wenhao asked.

Xue Chengsong shook his head. "You're not decisive enough. Using a crossbow in battle, you're Very Likely to hurt us."

"Then I'll do it. When we run into demonic beasts, I can circle around and shoot them. I'm not very strong, but I've still reached the peak of the Qi Nourishing Stage," Ding Yan said.

"Good. Here you go. We're heading back!"

Xue Chengsong handed over the Demonic Crossbow. The seven set off at a jog with their packs on their backs.

Zhou Leng raised his head and glanced at the sky.

This was the Multi-Realm Overlapping Space. There was no sun to be seen, only sunlight in the sky.

Amid the suffocating silence, the seven crossed forests and streams.

Chasing the light, they continued until the sun set. Then, under the cover of night, the group trudged onward over a long distance.

The starlight over the Demon City was faint to the point of vanishing, making the night exceptionally dark.

Pioneer Base.

Monitoring Room.

An ear-piercing alarm suddenly rang out.

Everyone stood up all together, staring in astonishment at the monitoring map.

"Report! Monitoring shows abnormal Spatial Fluctuations appearing across a large number of areas. Levels one, two, and three are all present. Preliminary assessment indicates fluctuations equivalent to level four or even level five! The detected areas are as follows: 305, 306..."

Three minutes later, at the Seventh Division Martial Arts Brigade's training grounds.

Brigade commander Chen Shouhu raised a two-meter-long horn with red-and-white stripes, drew a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, circulated his Innate Realm true qi, and blew into it.

"Wuu... wuu... wuu... wuu... wuu..."

Five horn blasts rang out in succession.

The Water Continent Demon City entered a Level-Five Alert.

The sound of the Demonic Ox Horn traveled for a thousand miles.

In the jungle, the seven heard the five horn blasts, and their expressions changed slightly.

Ding Yan grimaced. "A Level-Five Alert means either a large number of Innate Demons have appeared, or a Grandmaster Demon has appeared. I hope the Four-Faced Duke doesn't show up. Once an upper-level demonic noble of the Grandmaster Realm appears, the entire Water Continent Demon City will be plunged into a protracted war."

Cui Mingcong looked at Xue Chengsong. "You're well informed. Is something major about to happen? Don't keep it from us at a time like this."

All the team members looked toward Xue Chengsong.

Xue Chengsong gave a bitter smile. "How would I know? As far as Ru City is concerned, there have only been two major matters lately. One is the mysterious treasure. All the well-known Xiantian Grandmasters are fighting over it, anyway. I don't know whether it has anything to do with this."

"What's the second major matter?"

"It shouldn't have anything to do with the demons mobilizing. The Zhao Clan's third young master is coming to the Water Continent Demon City because the Pioneer Base here has a fixed 'Super Spiritual Land.' He's used up his cultivation quota at the other Super Spiritual Lands, so he's coming here to cultivate."

"An heir?"

"If he weren't Martial Saint Zhao's direct grandson, how could he affect the entire Ru City? I've Heard Of the wealthy and powerful families of Ru City rushing into action after getting wind of it. They're all trying to find a way to befriend the Zhao Clan's third young master."

Zhou Leng said, "I've Heard Of the Grandmasters making moves too?"

Everyone looked at Zhou Leng.

Xue Chengsong nodded. "I've Heard Of it too, but it doesn't have much to do with Ru City. Apparently, it's on a higher level. All Ten Realms have been affected, though the impact on us is negligible. As for the specifics, probably only Grandmaster clans know."

"In this situation, falling behind by even a step could get us killed here. Should we go a little faster?" Ding Yan Looked Towards Xue Chengsong.

Xue Chengsong hesitated for several seconds before asking, "Can you hold out?"

"Yes!" Ding Yan said.

"Yes!" Cui Mingcong said.

"Yes!" Zhou Leng said.

Feng Wenhao hesitated.

He was at the seventh layer of the Qi Nourishing Stage's Minor Accomplishment. Carrying a pack, he found it difficult to keep up.

"Give it to me." Zhou Leng Took Off Feng Wenhao's pack and carried it on his own back.

Everyone looked at the two of them.

Feng Wenhao's eyes reddened slightly.

Zhou Leng smiled. "Over the years, at lunchtime, you and Hu Yi often found excuses to give me meat. That meat put down solid roots in my body."

Feng Wenhao nodded hard.

"Speed up!" Xue Chengsong glanced at Zhou Leng and issued the order.

The group increased their speed by thirty percent.

Ding Yan was neither out of breath nor flustered. "Actually, this kind of Level-Five Alert is a good thing. It'll be a glorious stroke in our records."

"Not bad. Battle merit is won through danger." Cui Mingcong gently rolled his neck.

Suddenly, a bright orb of light flew out directly ahead and exploded hundreds of meters in the air, illuminating the sky and remaining there without going out.

Xue Chengsong cursed and said, "Take a detour immediately! We've run into some rookies."

Cui Mingcong, running at the very front, immediately turned left, and the group followed.

Zhou Leng asked, "Because it can attract demons?"

"Right. Under ordinary circumstances, or with a large army nearby, it wouldn't be a problem. But the situation is unclear now. It's equivalent to telling the demons that there are people there, which will inevitably attract a horde of demons. Everyone nearby is now in danger. Prepare for battle."

Cao Jiajia and Ding Yan Took Off the Demonic Bow and Demonic Crossbow from their backs.

As he ran, Xue Chengsong said, "Don't be afraid. Innate Demons are still rare, and we're not far from the base. The Red Spot Forest is just ahead. Even if we encounter demons, they'll probably be ordinary lower-level demons of the Qi and Blood Realm. We have Demonic Bows and Demonic Crossbows. We can fight while retreating, and we'll definitely be able to escape."

Ding Yan said, "Once the horn sounded, the Seventh Division should already have mobilized. They'll certainly establish defenses near the Red Spot Forest. We might run into a Troop Transport Vehicle or Demonic Helicopter after only a few steps."

What followed was a silence as deep as the night.

After running for a while, Zhou Leng said, "My senses are relatively sharp. You decide the direction, and I'll run at the front."

"Good!" Xue Chengsong said.

Zhou Leng sped up and took the lead, circulating his true qi as he observed the darkness carefully.

Xue Chengsong occasionally took out a portable Demonic Thermal Imager, swept it across the area, and said, "If I'd known it would be this dangerous, I would've brought an advanced Demonic Thermal Imager."

"Compared with ordinary field-study teams, we're already armed to the teeth," Feng Wenhao said.

Suddenly, Zhou Leng twitched his nose, extended an arm, and said in a low voice, "Stop."

"What is it?" Xue Chengsong asked in a lowered voice.

"I smell blood. I used to work in a slaughterhouse. It isn't the blood of a demonic beast or Demonic Beast. It's More Like the blood of a person or an animal."

The others looked at one another. They were all high school graduates, yet for a moment, none of them knew what to do.

Xue Chengsong said in a low voice, "We can only use normal means. Move slowly, bend down, and take a detour. Wait a moment."

As he spoke, Xue Chengsong took out the Thermal Imager and handed it to Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng took it and carefully scanned the area ahead.

"At the two o'clock position to the right, the Thermal Imager shows something exceptionally dark, which means that place is very cold. The smell of blood is coming from there, so there must be bodies among those dark areas."

"Even if the bodies had cooled, they shouldn't appear especially dark. At most, they'd be about the same as the surrounding environment," Ding Yan said, puzzled.

"Look." Zhou Leng handed the night-vision binoculars to Xue Chengsong.

Xue Chengsong looked and said, "It really is low temperature." Then he handed them to Ding Yan.

"How strange..."

Cao Jiajia said, "I understand. It's the power of an ice-element Demonic Beast."

Several people's gazes grew frantic.

Demonic Beasts required at least the Blood Circulation Stage to deal with, even at their weakest.

A Demonic Beast that wielded ice-element power was even stronger.

Zhou Leng narrowed his eyes and observed. "I can vaguely make them out. They really are mutilated human corpses, and they're scattered across several places."

Zhou Leng said, "There aren't many lower-level ice-element Demonic Beasts in the Qi and Blood Realm. There have only been four kinds of lower-level ice-element Demonic Beasts recorded in the Water Continent Demon City: the Frost Rat Swarm, the Ice Crystal Demonic Lion, the Ice Snow Sorcerer, and the Frost Attendant."

Everyone watched Zhou Leng and listened attentively.

"The Frost Rat Swarm would gnaw away every scrap of flesh. The Ice Snow Sorcerer has no interest in eating people, while the Frost Attendant generally gives orders. Judging from the extent of the damage to the corpses, they probably encountered an Ice Crystal Demonic Lion. Of course, that's merely the more likely possibility, not a certainty. Captain, you have a microcomputer. You should be able to look up detailed information on the Ice Crystal Demonic Lion. We can learn about it while taking a detour."

"Good!"

Everyone felt a trace of reassurance.

But that trace of reassurance was soon crushed by the information on the Ice Crystal Demonic Lion.

The Ice Crystal Demonic Lion's claws could imbue attacks with ice-element power. Once it erupted, anyone below the Blood Circulation Stage would die without exception.

At the very least, one had to use qi to circulate the blood in order to dispel the chill.