I Will Make a Move (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"This isn't a Beast Tide, it's just a swarm of beasts summoned by a Skill's effect. It'll disperse naturally after ten minutes," Aunt Yun said.

An experienced old hunter thought of something and exclaimed in realization, "It was that beast roar just now! That's the Tiger-type Exotic Beast's Skill, 'Beast King's Roar,' which can mobilize exotic beasts with a lower Life Level than itself!"

"There's only one Tier 3 Tiger-type Exotic Beast in the Black Rock Mountain Range. Could we have encountered a Tier 3 'Rock Tiger' exotic beast?"

"No, it's not an exotic beast, it's a person!" Aunt Yun's gaze locked onto the treetop of a large tree. A man in a black suit had appeared there at some point.

Accompanying the man in the suit were dozens of exotic beasts from the forest, their eyes gleaming with ferocity as they surrounded Su Ze and the others.

Su Ze made a rough estimate; he figured there were fifty to sixty exotic beasts, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants, jackals, wolves, birds, and sparrows – everything that flew in the sky or crawled on the ground had shown up.

The presence of Tier 2 exotic beasts here meant that the man in the suit who had used the 'Beast King's Roar' Skill was a Butterfly Transformation Stage Evolver.

It was only now that Su Ze understood why Aunt Yun, a Butterfly Transformation Stage powerhouse, needed to personally protect Liu Wenyin, yet still posted an escort mission to hire a large number of "cannon fodder." It was because Aunt Yun already knew that the enemies pursuing them possessed the 'Beast King's Roar' Skill.

The 'Beast King's Roar' Skill was practically useless in a city, but in a place like the Black Rock Mountain Range, dense with exotic beasts, it was incredibly powerful – one person could be an army.

If Aunt Yun were to be tied down by the man in the suit, she wouldn't be able to protect Liu Wenyin. Without these hired hunters, Liu Wenyin would have to face dozens of exotic beasts alone.

Su Ze understood, and the other hunters naturally did too. Someone grumbled, "Damn it, I knew this money wasn't going to be easy to earn!"

Many began to regret their decision, but there was nothing they could do. When they accepted the mission, the employer had repeatedly emphasized its danger. They were blinded by greed and took a gamble, choosing to take the risk.

"Look closely, everyone. Although the number of exotic beasts is double ours, there aren't many Tier 2 beasts. Most of them are Tier 1. It's not necessarily impossible to fight them!" a Cocoon Breaking Stage Evolver said, trying to boost morale.

"Yeah, we don't need to defeat the exotic beasts, we just need to hold out for ten minutes. The odds are pretty good!"

Su Ze also chimed in at the opportune moment. He didn't feel any particular dissatisfaction; this was already his best option.

If he hadn't joined this team and had chosen any other path, it would have been even more perilous. At least now there was a chance; it wasn't a certain death situation.

Liu Wenyin also said, "Everyone, feel free to use whatever trump cards you have. I will compensate for any losses incurred, and I will also be responsible for medical treatment if anyone gets injured. Don't have any worries."

No one in the team spoke further. The situation had come to this; all they could do was try their best to survive this crisis.

Liu Wenyin subtly tugged Su Ze's sleeve, signaling him to stand beside her. When the fight started, her side would be the safest area.

Su Ze understood. He wasn't someone who tried to show off, so he obediently stayed by Liu Wenyin's side.

Huh?

Su Ze scanned the crowd and suddenly noticed that Li Gaojie was nowhere to be seen.

Others, at this critical juncture, hadn't noticed the disappearance of a Pupal Stage Evolver, but Su Ze had been deliberately keeping an eye on him and was the only one to notice.

This Li Gaojie might be problematic!

At this moment, the surrounding exotic beasts gradually closed in, and the situation grew increasingly tense. A great battle was imminent.

Aunt Yun let out a cold laugh, looking at the man in the suit. "You haven't made a move in so long, I thought you had given up and returned to the Guan Kingdom."

"Heh heh, I've been following you for so long, crossing the entire Mu Kingdom. How could I possibly let you go?" The man in the suit adjusted his collar. "You don't need to test me. It's just me this time, no one else came. But dealing with you is enough."

The man in the suit descended gracefully from the treetop and stood face-to-face with Aunt Yun, continuing, "I admit I'm not your match out there, but here in the Black Rock Mountain Range, this is my home turf. You will undoubtedly lose. I deliberately waited until today to make my move because I was waiting for this opportunity."

Aunt Yun stopped wasting words and suddenly lunged, arcs of electricity flashing all over her body as she charged towards the man in the suit.

The man in the suit let out a beast-like roar, and all the exotic beasts around them accelerated towards Su Ze and the others as if they had heard the Charge Horn.

In an instant, various Skills filled the air.

The battlefield was divided into two parts. On one side was the 1v1 battle between the powerful Aunt Yun and the man in the suit. On the other was the defensive battle of over twenty hunters facing more than fifty exotic beasts.

The situation on Aunt Yun's side was relatively clear. The two fought back and forth, but it was evident that Aunt Yun had the upper hand.

Su Ze's side, however, was pure chaos. All sorts of Skills – fireballs, ice cones, water arrows, and even snake venom – were being hurled at them indiscriminately in wide-ranging attacks. The hunters, while maintaining their Defense Skills, looked for opportunities to counterattack.

There were also those specializing in melee combat. One hunter was locked in a fierce struggle with a Bear Exotic Beast.

Su Ze stood by Liu Wenyin's side, helping her block ranged attacks that came from unknown directions.

As far as Su Ze knew, although Liu Wenyin was a Pupal Stage Evolver on the verge of her second evolution, she specialized in Scientific Research. Consequently, she had very little combat experience and few combat Skills. Almost all her Skills were designed to assist her in Evolutionary Research.

Therefore, Liu Wenyin's combat power was practically zero.

Time ticked by. Many of the hunters were already injured, though they had also killed quite a few exotic beasts.

But they soon discovered that exotic beasts were continuously arriving from afar to join the fray.

After fighting for a long time, the number of exotic beasts hadn't decreased; instead, it had increased!

Meanwhile, the hunters' combat power could not be replenished. People were getting injured, others were reaching Exhaustion, and their Combat Strength continued to decline.

The pressure on them grew, and despair began to set in.

If this trend continued, they wouldn't last ten minutes.

On Aunt Yun's side, although she had maintained the upper hand, she couldn't completely defeat her opponent.

It was clear that the man in the suit's plan was to tie down Aunt Yun, allowing the beast swarm to overwhelm all the escort team's hunters. Once the hunters were defeated and Liu Wenyin fell into danger, Aunt Yun would inevitably have to retreat to help. At that point, Aunt Yun would have to protect Liu Wenyin while facing both the man in the suit and the beast swarm...

Liu Wenyin also saw that the situation was unfavorable. Her face turned pale, but she still managed to force a smile and said to Su Ze beside her, "When you have a chance later, just run. Don't worry about me. My value alive is greater than my value dead. They won't kill me."

Su Ze shook his head. The team couldn't just fall apart like this. If he ran away alone, how would he get to the Luofan Kingdom?

"Don't worry," Su Ze patted Liu Wenyin's back. "I will step in."