Patrolling Demon Soldiers

Two days later, the long-brewing drizzle finally fell at dusk. This time, it was certain—spring had truly arrived.

Wang Wu seemed to hear the plants stretching and sprouting beneath the soil.

At the same time, he let out a long sigh of relief. The previous locust passage had stripped the shrubs bare, leaving only a few bald trees. Walking among them, even at night, had left him feeling utterly unsafe. But with thick wild grass, his Stealth would be greatly improved.

This was also something he had figured out through trial and error. He could not rely entirely on the Stealth Talent; he had to pay close attention to the cover and coordination provided by his surroundings.

Listening to the pattering rain, Wang Wu opened his Attribute Bar. Over the past two days, he had stuffed himself day after day and finally finished eating that rabbit.

In return, he had gained a total of 200 points of Spiritual Qi and 4% Growth Rate, along with the natural Growth Rate gained each day by consuming Satiety. His final Growth Rate had now reached 13.4%, which counted as rapid progress.

"I need to shore up my weak points."

Wang Wu pondered this. Plans could never keep up with changes. Once the Iron-Toothed Locust Legion arrived, it had directly destroyed the valley's ecosystem, leaving him with nowhere to obtain food.

Thus, migration had become imperative.

But while migrating, the Passive Concealment Talent would not be able to display much of its effect.

That was why he had not rushed to allocate points and level up over the past two days.

Now, the first thing he raised was his Health Points.

His current Health Points stood at 250. After spending 100 points of Spiritual Qi in one go and successfully raising it to 300, Wang Wu tried again, only to find that he had reached the current upgrade limit. Upgrading further was simple enough—it would require at least another 100 points of Spiritual Qi.

The Defense attribute worked the same way.

So he gave up on it for now.

Next, Wang Wu spent another 60 points of Spiritual Qi, consecutively raising his Strength from 12 to 15. It had likewise reached its current limit.

As for the final 40 points, he added them to Stamina.

"This upgrade system is a little complicated. Once I gather 20% Growth Rate, I wonder if I'll get another round of Basic Attributes?"

Wang Wu was quite looking forward to it. This feeling of gradually growing stronger was finally beginning to resemble a wonderful life.

But just as he thought he would sleep peacefully on this silent spring-rain night and enjoy this rare stretch of ease, an indescribable pressure suddenly descended without warning.

Yet there was no specific sense of danger, nor did he detect the slightest killing intent. Outside, it was still quiet.

Something was wrong. It was as if the sky had been lit up. Had a sun risen in the east?

Wang Wu was startled. Unable to care about maintaining Level 7 Stealth any longer, he shot out with a whoosh. Yet all he could see was a brilliant radiance shining in the eastern night sky.

The Sprites throughout the valley had also been alarmed.

Even the nest of night owls atop the cliff was startled into flight, circling endlessly in the air.

Wang Wu scrambled up the cliff. After one glance, he froze.

That was right. A huge sun had appeared in the east, unimaginably far from them—perhaps five thousand li away, perhaps eight thousand li. But the distance did not matter, because that enormous sun—or rather, some kind of fireball—was plummeting toward the earth from the depths of the night sky.

It was as though the heavens themselves had collapsed.

But Wang Wu knew that was not what it was. The rumor the Grey Fox had mentioned months ago—that Human Race cultivators were opening up the Western Wilderness—had likely become reality.

Wang Wu could not see or feel what effect that massive fireball had caused after striking the ground. The earth had not even trembled in the slightest. Perhaps it truly had been too far away.

This rainy night remained quiet, but his heart could no longer remain calm. Probably no Sprite or Great Demon could remain calm either.

So this was the scale of war against Human Race cultivators. So this was the terrifying dimension of it. That fireball from at least eight thousand li away—something capable of illuminating wilderness thousands of li away—was probably no less devastating than an ultra-high-yield nuclear bomb.

Human Race cultivators were terrifying indeed!

No wonder that Grey Fox had fled ten thousand li just from hearing a few rumors.

No wonder the Iron-Toothed Locust Legion had fled for its life as well.

Because it truly proved an old Human Race saying: killing you had nothing to do with you.

Next, would it be the demons and Sprites in the mountains and forests of their region fleeing in panic?

Or would some highly respected and powerful Great Demon gather them together to wage bloody, cruel massacres against the Human Race cultivator legions across the Western Wilderness?

"This isn't a war I can take part in. I need to run."

"But for now, the front line shouldn't reach here, right?"

Wang Wu was now rather grateful to that Grey Fox. Without the crucial information it had provided, even if he had seen that massive fireball tonight, he would not have known what had happened. Instead, it might have stirred up a nameless panic within him.

"So running is certain, but not now. I'm not ready yet."

After that, Wang Wu forced himself to forget the matter and swiftly entered a dormant state.

Nothing happened through the night. When dawn came the next day, the sky had cleared. Or rather, the rain had already stopped in the latter half of the night, and the clouds had thinned considerably. It should not affect the descent of Golden Particles.

"Caw, caw, caw!"

A burst of crow calls suddenly tore through the morning silence. A flock of several hundred black crows flew overhead. They flew high and showed no intention of stopping, swiftly passing over the valley toward the west.

Not long after the crows passed through, another enormous flock of birds flew by, numbering several thousand. Half of them were Red-winged Birds, while the rest were a motley assortment—sparrows, swallows, Great Mountain Sparrows, and the like.

They seemed to have formed a joint migration group, led by more than twenty especially robust and powerful avian leaders, sweeping past in a mighty procession.

It was obvious that these birds had all sensed danger. Early in the morning, they did not even care to absorb Golden Particles before migrating westward.

Thus, Wang Wu's previously calm mood immediately became tense again. He feared that he had misjudged the situation. Birds were undoubtedly the most sensitive creatures; since even they had sensed unease, was the situation more severe than he had imagined?

"No, it should be the commotion from waves upon waves of Sprites migrating and fleeing farther away that startled them. I can't lose my footing."

No sooner had Wang Wu thought this than he heard a thunderous eagle cry. The Black Giant Eagle came hurtling in from the southwest, followed by the Brown Giant Eagle rising from North Mountain. After merely circling a few times, they blocked and encircled the thousands of birds.

The massive flock exploded into chaos. They had been able to remain united before, but now, under the leadership of their respective flock chiefs, they scattered in all directions.

They did not even have the courage to resist the two Giant Eagles.

In the end, none of them managed to escape beyond the valley ahead. Chirping and shrieking, they scattered through the nearby valleys.

At that moment, a Green Wolf and a Grey Fox leaped down from the Black Giant Eagle's back. The two stood atop the highest cliff in the valley east of Wang Wu.

The Green Wolf first raised its head and howled toward the sky a few times. Only then did it stand upright and speak in human language, its voice spreading through the mountain forests for dozens of li.

"The South Mountain Great King has issued an order: all demonfolk are forbidden from acting rashly. There is no need to panic. Remain where you are and cultivate properly. If the sky falls, the Great King will hold it up."

"Furthermore, the Great King has decided to open this spring's recruitment for Patrolling Demon Soldiers ahead of schedule and expand the quota. In previous years, only ten were recruited from this region. This has now been increased to one hundred. Anyone selected will receive one Fortune Wisdom Heart Pill. You may not understand the wondrous effects of this Spirit Pill, but it can not only greatly enhance your Bloodline Talent and cultivation foundation—it can also let you understand human speech and speak human language!"

"Come, come, come! Those who wish to register, step forward at once! Opportunity knocks but once!"