"Awwooo!"
The furious wolf howl drew closer and closer.
After the Wave-Treading Bull had been thwarted by the Phantom Water Wolf and lost the Water Essence Lotus, it had been sleeping fitfully ever since.
Hearing the wolf howl now, it immediately stirred.
Who would have thought the Phantom Water Wolf would dare come to its doorstep to die!
The Wave-Treading Bull's eyes flew open in fury, and it glared viciously at the ill-intentioned visitor... Little Wolf.
The enraged Wave-Treading Bull's eyes visibly glazed over for a moment.
It had thought the Phantom Water Wolf had come to seek revenge, but never would it have expected a tiny runt that didn't even reach its knees.
Little Wolf felt no fear at all in the face of the Wave-Treading Bull's enormous body.
At that moment, its heart held nothing but rage over its mother's death!
When it opened its eyes, the first person it saw was Gu Han.
To Little Wolf, Gu Han had already become its father in every sense that mattered.
It had never seen its mother alive, so its memories of her were vague.
But during those days of flight, its mother had been the only one protecting it.
Little Wolf could never forget that.
With a roar, it summoned two Phantom Water Wolf clones and charged the Wave-Treading Bull from three directions.
"Moo!"
The Wave-Treading Bull snorted heavily, its gaze full of disdain.
Even an adult Phantom Water Wolf was no match for it, let alone this tiny runt.
The Wave-Treading Bull pawed the ground twice with its forelegs, then barreled forward with unstoppable force.
Two consecutive impacts rang out. Little Wolf's Phantom Water Clones were instantly smashed into two clouds of water vapor by the Wave-Treading Bull!
But in the next instant, the Wave-Treading Bull's eyes widened.
Little Wolf had vanished from its sight!
Then a searing pain ripped through its belly, as though it were being disemboweled!
Little Wolf slid beneath it, its sharp claws ripping open the Wave-Treading Bull's belly!
"Moo!"
As the bull bellowed in unbearable pain, its eyes turned crimson. It stamped its hooves wildly, trying to crush Little Wolf as it darted beneath its body.
But Little Wolf relied on its astonishing speed and the agility afforded by its small size.
It easily dodged the Wave-Treading Bull's attacks, one after another.
Meanwhile, Little Wolf's attacks left a steady trail of wounds across the bull's body.
The more violently the Wave-Treading Bull thrashed, the faster its Blood Qi drained away.
Its breathing soon grew weaker and weaker.
In the distance, Gu Han walked slowly toward the Wave-Treading Bull.
He'd thought he might need to help Little Wolf out, in case it ran into danger fighting the bull.
But now it seemed he had underestimated Little Wolf.
Before long, after being toyed with by Little Wolf, the Wave-Treading Bull's enormous body crashed to the ground!
Gu Han stepped forward and touched the Wave-Treading Bull's corpse.
"Attribute Absorption."
"Congratulations, Host. You have absorbed 100 points of Blood Qi, 10 points of Water Element Power, and 30 points of defense from the Wave-Treading Bull's corpse."
Hearing the system notification, Gu Han's eyes lit up.
He hadn't expected the Wave-Treading Bull to provide him with so much Water Element Power!
Previously, the most he'd gotten from water-element Demonic Beasts was just 1 point of Water Element Power.
But the Wave-Treading Bull had given him a full 10!
Didn't that mean he only needed to find ten Wave-Treading Bulls to gather enough Water Element Power for Little Wolf to break through its bloodline?
"But it seems that with a Demonic Beast's Blood Qi and elemental power, I can only absorb one of the two each time."
According to the system's description, Demonic Beasts at One-star Seventh-Order or above could provide him with demonic beast blood energy.
The Wave-Treading Bull was clearly a Demonic Beast brimming with Blood Qi, yet he hadn't absorbed any demonic beast blood energy.
"Why think so much? I'll find a few Demonic Beasts and try it out. Then I'll know."
Before setting off, Gu Han looked at the Wave-Treading Bull's corpse.
"A whole roasted bull sounds like a pretty good choice."
Meanwhile, many War Soldiers and Logistics Soldiers in the camp were wondering when Lei Chao would return.
"Nearly an hour's passed. Why hasn't that Lei Chao come back yet?"
"Could Lei Chao have stumbled into a ditch and gotten tricked by Gu Chen?"
"Oh, give me a break. If they were only one or two minor realms apart, an ambush might work. But Gu Chen's only a Fifth-Order Martial Disciple. How could he ambush Lei Chao? It wouldn't do him any good."
Everyone was guessing how things had gone for Gu Chen. Only a handful thought Lei Chao might have stumbled into a ditch.
The ones gossiping were mostly veterans. The new recruits were all worried, frowning one after another.
"Gu Lin and the others are still training in the combat zone. They probably don't know Gu Chen might be in danger. I have to tell them."
The moment the man stood up, someone stopped him.
"If you go now, won't you be putting Gu Lin and the others in danger?"
"Given the bond between the Gu brothers, if they learn Gu Chen's in danger, they'll risk their lives to save him. Then they'll get dragged into this too."
"Ugh, are the generals and instructors really going to stand by and watch the veterans bully us?"
"The instructors all have their own duties. Lei Chao and Gu Chen only went out, as far as anyone knows. The instructors can't just follow them around all day, with nothing better to do, can they?"
"Fair enough, but I still can't stomach it. Someone like Gu Chen will surely achieve great things one day. It'd be such a waste for him to die at Lei Chao's hands."
"If you can't stomach it, then go avenge Gu Chen. Kill Lei Chao."
"If I had that kind of ability, I'd be the first to go! I just don't, that's all!"
The people talking suddenly felt several icy gazes fall on them. They turned around instinctively.
The next moment, their expressions changed.
"Gu Lin, Gu Jing..."
Gu Lin and the others had just finished training and walked over. They'd heard the conversation, and their faces darkened like the bottom of a pot.
Gu Lin asked in a low voice,
"Which way did my older brother Gu Chen and Lei Chao go?"
The few people exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.
"Gu Lin, maybe Gu Chen isn't in danger..."
He hadn't finished speaking before Gu Lin cut him off.
"I understand what you mean, but we can't just stand by and let my older brother Gu Chen shoulder everything alone!"
They still didn't know that Gu Han had also left the camp.
If they had, they would have been even more panicked!
"Yang Tian, sorry for the trouble, but tell me which way my older brother Gu Chen went."
Looking at Gu Lin's expression, Yang Tian knew there was no point trying to talk him out of it. He could only point toward the camp's outskirts.
"That way."
Gu Lin nodded, then led Gu Jing and the other two out of the camp without hesitation.
Yang Tian hesitated, then said helplessly,
"It's already been an hour. Even if you hurry there now, it'll be too late."
"Alive, we'll see him. Dead, we'll see his body."
Gu Lin replied briefly.
He knew the three of them were no match for Lei Chao.
But they couldn't let Gu Chen's corpse lie exposed in the wilderness!
All four of them had resolute looks in their eyes!
If they ran into Lei Chao, then they would all die together!
Before you continue