"Go!" I shouted. In truth, there was no need for me to urge them on. The two Gale Beasts were already charging conspicuously toward the great city. But even though we were racing against time, time had long since left us behind. There was still a long stretch between us and the city. We had missed the time to return, but that did not mean we could not hack out a bloody path.
Ferocious beasts were everywhere ahead. They were not actually panicking. Some had indeed been driven here by the Mountain-River Ants, but others had simply been swept along by the beasts' stampede. They had no idea what was happening behind them.
Of course, it was true that the Mountain-River Ants posed no threat to them. They were all charging toward the great city, while the Mountain-River Ants and the ferocious beasts were two different species. Still, they wanted the same things: treasures such as precious jade and New Moon Stones. Even a place like the great city, with its unique array core, should always have been a contested ground for Qiongtian energy. Surely even the ferocious beasts knew that.
The main force of the Mountain-River Ants was still far away, but scattered groups of worker ants and soldier ants from the vanguard had already appeared all around Chu Jiao and me. They raced about in search of prey. Their long, narrow antennae, their agile yet immensely powerful six limbs, and their bizarre, disproportionate mandibles were all distinctly different from the ferocious beasts'. They were killing machines—so powerful that they could even abandon intelligence altogether.
Their feelers probed the way. Any ferocious beast unlucky enough to be touched was immediately bitten in half by their mandibles. I had no doubt they could even clamp a chunk of green jade