Mu Zibai stopped at once, and the soldiers stopped with him. These were all battle-hardened warriors, especially sensitive to the scent of danger.
At that moment, everyone stood back-to-back in a circle and drew their sabers.
"It feels like there's demonic aura."
Mu Zibai asked, "Can you tell where it is?"
Xiao E shook her head. "I can't sense the exact direction. I can only tell that it's nearby."
"Fine." Mu Zibai tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand, remaining constantly wary of his surroundings.
Everyone fell silent, holding their breath and focusing as they listened carefully to every movement around them. They could even hear one another's heartbeats.
Rustling came from the weeds. The grass swayed, as if something had burrowed into it.
"There are quite a few of them." One soldier spat.
Faint roars and panting could already be heard. There was no longer any doubt—they were demonic beasts.
"Watch out!"
A shadow shot out of the weeds and pounced. With a swish, a soldier swung his saber and slashed it across the creature's body.
With a wail, the shadow crashed to the ground, twitched twice, and went still. That slash had nearly cut it in half; even its spine had been severed.
"Azure-Eyed Leopard?"
"These things are extremely nimble, skilled at sneak attacks, and strong in battle. But their bodies are fragile—they can't take many blows. They usually move in packs, and once they latch onto you, they're a real headache."
A soldier spoke.
No sooner had he finished than Azure-Eyed Leopards began pouncing one after another. There were huge numbers of them, surrounding the group. Thick weeds grew everywhere; they could only see the grass swaying, not the leopards' positions.
The Azure-Eyed Leopards took advantage of the grass to launch continuous sneak attacks.
Fortunately,