"This isn't a Beast Tide, just a Beast Swarm summoned by a skill effect. Hold out for ten minutes and they'll disperse on their own," Aunt Yun said.
One experienced old Hunter seemed to realize something and said in sudden understanding, "That Beast Roar from earlier! That was the skill of a Tiger-type Exotic Beast—Beast King's Roar. It can mobilize nearby Exotic Beasts with a lower Life Level than itself!"
"There's only one type of Tier 3 Tiger-type Exotic Beast in the Black Rock Mountain Range. Could we have run into a Tier 3 Rock Tiger?"
"No, it's not an Exotic Beast. It's a person!" Aunt Yun's gaze locked onto the top of a tree, where a man in a black suit had appeared at some point.
Along with the suited man came dozens of Exotic Beasts from the forest. Their eyes gleamed viciously as they surrounded Su Ze and the others.
Su Ze made a rough estimate. There were probably fifty or sixty Exotic Beasts, both Tier 1 and Tier 2—snakes, insects, rats, ants, jackals, wolves, birds, and sparrows. Everything that flew in the sky or crawled on the ground was here.
Since Tier 2 Exotic Beasts had appeared here, that meant the suited man who had activated Beast King's Roar was an evolver at the Butterfly Transformation Stage.
Only now did Su Ze understand why Liu Wenyin, despite having Aunt Yun, a Butterfly Transformation Stage powerhouse, guarding her personally, had still issued an escort mission and recruited so much "cannon fodder." Aunt Yun had known all along that the enemy pursuing them possessed the Beast King's Roar skill.
Beast King's Roar was a useless skill in a city, but in a place packed with Exotic Beasts like the Black Rock Mountain Range, it was terrifyingly powerful. One person could be an army.
Once Aunt Yun was held back by the suited man, she would be unable to protect Liu Wenyin. Without these hired Hunters, Liu Wenyin would have to face dozens of Exotic Beasts alone.
Su Ze had figured it out, and naturally, the other Hunters did too. Someone cursed, "Fuck, I knew this money wouldn't be so easy to earn!"
Many people began to regret their choice, but there was nothing they could do. When they had accepted the mission, the employer had repeatedly emphasized its danger. They had been blinded by greed and clung to luck, choosing to take the risk.
"Look carefully. There may be twice as many Exotic Beasts as us, but there aren't many Tier 2 ones. Most are Tier 1 Exotic Beasts. We might not lose!" A Cocoon Breaking Stage evolver spoke up to boost morale.
"Yeah, we don't need to defeat them. We just need to hold out for ten minutes. We have a good chance!"
Su Ze also chimed in at the right moment. He did not feel particularly dissatisfied. This was already his best option.
If he had not joined this team and chosen any other route, it would only have been more dangerous. At least he still had a chance now. This was not a certain death situation.
Liu Wenyin also said, "Use whatever trump cards you have. I'll compensate you for any losses, and I'll cover your treatment if you're injured. Don't hold back over any concerns."
No one in the team spoke again. Things had come to this, so they could only do their best to survive this crisis.
Liu Wenyin quietly tugged on Su Ze's sleeve, signaling for him to stand beside her. Once the fight began, the area around her would be the safest.
Su Ze understood her meaning. He was not the type to force himself to act tough, so he obediently remained by Liu Wenyin's side.
Hm?
Su Ze swept his gaze over the crowd and suddenly realized that Li Gaojie was nowhere to be seen.
The others had not noticed the disappearance of a Pupal stage evolver at a time like this, but Su Ze had been deliberately keeping an eye on him and caught it.
There might be something wrong with this Li Gaojie!
At that moment, the surrounding Exotic Beasts gradually closed in. The situation grew increasingly tense, and battle could break out at any moment.
Aunt Yun gave a cold laugh and looked at the suited man. "You haven't made a move for so long that I thought you had already given up and returned to the Guan Kingdom."
"Heh. I followed you for so long, across the entire Mu Kingdom. How could I possibly let you go?" The suited man adjusted his collar. "You don't need to probe me. I'm the only one here this time. No one else came, but I'm enough to deal with you."
The suited man drifted down from the treetop and stopped face-to-face with Aunt Yun. He continued, "I admit that I'm no match for you out there, but here in the Black Rock Mountain Range, this is my home ground. You're bound to lose. I deliberately waited until today to make my move because I was waiting for this opportunity."
Aunt Yun stopped wasting words. She suddenly burst forward, electric arcs flashing all over her body as she charged at the suited man.
The suited man let out a beast-like growl. As though they had heard the call to charge, all the surrounding Exotic Beasts accelerated and rushed toward Su Ze and the others.
For a moment, all kinds of skills filled the air.
The battlefield split into two parts. On one side was the one-on-one battle between Aunt Yun and the suited man; on the other was the offensive and defensive battle of more than twenty Hunters against over fifty Exotic Beasts.
The situation on Aunt Yun's side was fairly clear. The two were evenly matched, but it was obvious that Aunt Yun held the upper hand.
On Su Ze's side, however, it was utter chaos. All sorts of messy skills—fireballs, Ice Cones, water arrows, even snake venom—rained down on them indiscriminately over a wide area. The Hunters raised Defense Skills while looking for chances to counterattack.
There were also those who specialized in Melee Combat. One Hunter was locked in a one-on-one fight with a bear-like Exotic Beast.
Su Ze stood beside Liu Wenyin, helping her block Ranged Attacks flying in from unknown directions.
As far as Su Ze knew, although Liu Wenyin was a Pupal stage evolver about to undergo her second evolution, she specialized in research. First, she had little combat experience; second, she had few combat skills. Nearly all her skills were meant to assist her Evolutionary Research.
Therefore, Liu Wenyin's Combat Strength was practically zero.
Time passed bit by bit. Quite a few Hunters were already injured, though quite a few Exotic Beasts had also been killed.
But they soon discovered that more Exotic Beasts were continuously arriving from afar to join the battle.
After fighting for so long, the number of Exotic Beasts had not decreased. It had actually increased!
The Hunters' Combat Strength, on the other hand, could not be replenished. People kept getting injured and exhausted, and their Combat Strength continued to decline.
The pressure on them grew heavier and heavier, and their hearts filled with despair.
At this rate, they would not last ten minutes.
Although Aunt Yun had held the upper hand all along, she had no way to defeat her opponent completely.
It was not hard to see that the suited man's plan was to tie Aunt Yun down and let the Beast Swarm crush every Hunter in the escort team. Once the Hunters collapsed and Liu Wenyin was in danger, Aunt Yun would inevitably have to come to her aid. At that point, Aunt Yun would have to protect Liu Wenyin while facing both the suited man and the Beast Swarm...
Liu Wenyin also saw that the situation was unfavorable. Her face turned pale, but she still forced out a faint smile and said to Su Ze beside her, "If you get the chance later, run. Don't worry about me. I'm more valuable alive than dead. They won't kill me."
Su Ze shook his head. The team could not just fall apart like this. Even if he escaped, how was he supposed to get to the Luofan Kingdom alone?
"Don't worry." Su Ze patted Liu Wenyin on the back. "I'll take action."
Before you continue