Wolf Ridge

That furious roar rang across East Ward, echoing through the silent night sky long after it faded.

At those words, Chen Bin's eyes narrowed. The constables, Captains, and Banner Captains atop the wall all changed expression, while Wang Sheng's face darkened and the chill around him grew stronger.

"Slay the rest of the Wolf Demons. As for that Wolf Ridge!" Wang Sheng ground out, his words seething with bone-chilling cold. "I want him alive!"

"Understood!" Liu Wei, Ding Jun, and the other Banner Captain drew their blades. Firelight glinted off their pitch-black steel.

Wang Sheng had already vanished, leaving only a fading afterimage.

"Children, charge out and slaughter every human!" Wolf Ridge roared. Razor-sharp blades of wind gathered in the air and shot in every direction like a torrential rain.

"Fall back!" Chen Bin immediately shouted. The Banner Captains scrambled down from the wall, their movements hurried but orderly.

Only the General Banner could withstand an attack like this.

With a thunderous boom, a crimson blade of demonic energy smashed through the brick wall. The bricks collapsed with a crash, sending dust billowing into the air.

Humans and demons clashed at the breach at close quarters. The clash of weapons mingled with roars and screams.

Chen Bin had only just leapt down from the gatehouse when the gate was blasted apart. A massive blade of pale-red demonic energy, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, cleaved it into splinters.

Fierce fighting immediately erupted in the courtyard, sparks from clashing metal flashing in the darkness.

Chen Bin strode toward the breach in the gatehouse.

Just then, the corner of his eye caught a Red Name drawing closer on the map:

[...: Qi Gathering Realm Wolf Demon, Merit available: 20]

He instantly quickened his pace and charged forward. His opponent had clearly sensed his presence and sped up as well.

Just as they were about to clash, the pitch-black blade slammed into a gray-white wolf claw streaked with crimson, sparks bursting in a blinding flash.

With a squelch, the black blade sank into the wolf's claw. The patterns on the blade glowed red, brightening in an instant.

The wound shriveled at once, and the Wolf Demon's blood gushed out in an unstoppable stream, dripping down the blade.

Chen Bin closed in swiftly, his movements nimble as a ghost, and drove the Demon Suppression Blade into the Wolf Demon's chest.

The Wolf Demon let out a shrill scream that rang through the night, its voice filled with pain and unwillingness.

Wounded, the Wolf Demon swung its claws in a frenzied counterattack.

Chen Bin nimbly dodged the claws, twisted to pull out his blade, then leapt onto the Wolf Demon's back. Planting both feet against it, he raised his blade and drove it into the back of its neck, the edge sinking straight into the vertebrae.

Chen Bin kicked hard. The Wolf Demon's corpse staggered and fell, dead, as blood spread across the ground into a crimson pool.

[Slain Qi Gathering Realm Wolf Demon, Merit gained: 20, Merit remaining: 1293]

Chen Bin pulled out his blade and darted into the courtyard.

The moment he stepped inside, the sight before him made his eyes narrow.

Two figures, one tall and one short, were locked in fierce combat. The once-neat courtyard had been left in ruins.

Deep furrows scored the ground; the beams and pillars of the buildings were broken and tilting, and shattered rocks from the artificial hill lay scattered everywhere.

Blasts of force crisscrossed around the man and demon. Trees snapped and flowers and grass were obliterated wherever they struck.

Every blast came from the Wolf Demon. Wang Sheng's blade, meanwhile, flashed as swiftly as the wind. Though he did not release his force outward, red light swirled around his blade and body like a brilliant rainbow. It was the power of scorching flames.

Chen Bin was about to go help when a blast of demonic energy howled past. The gale it kicked up cut into his cheek, nearly striking him.

Feeling the razor-sharp force of the demonic energy, Chen Bin knew he could not join this battle between powerful opponents.

He turned decisively, a resolute glint in his eyes, and charged toward Liu Wei.

A Qi Gathering Realm wolf cub was trying to break through there.

Its fur stood on end, its eyes wild with madness, as it charged toward the courtyard exit without a care for its own safety.

"Bang!"

A muffled boom, like thunder exploding on a clear day, instantly shattered the clamor of battle.

The Wolf Demon's razor-sharp claws, wrapped in a fierce gust of wind, lunged at Liu Wei with all their might.

Liu Wei reacted with exceptional speed, raising his blade to block in the blink of an eye.

But the Wolf Demon's attacks surged like a relentless tide, one wave following another. Its other claw came slashing in, carrying Thunderous Might.

At the sight of it, a pale-green aura instantly spread across Liu Wei's blade. It coiled around the steel like a dancing serpent.

As the blade shook violently, a powerful force rebounded from it, knocking the ferocious claw aside.

At the same time, Liu Wei flickered sideways, dodging with remarkable agility the heart-rending claw that could have shattered his heart.

Although Liu Wei and the Wolf Demon were at the same realm, the demon's huge frame and naturally lethal claws gave it a vast advantage in strength and agility over Liu Wei's swordsmanship.

No matter how much one trained after birth, it could never quite match what came naturally.

More importantly, the Wolf Demon was as fast as lightning.

Liu Wei had only just managed to dodge the previous attack and had yet to scramble fully to his feet when a foul, bloody wind rushed into his face.

This is bad! Liu Wei's heart jolted, as if a cold blade were at his back.

He lightly touched his toes to the ground and retreated at top speed.

But the Demon Claw was faster. In an instant, it was right before him. Life and death hung by a thread; the situation was perilous.

At that critical moment, a pale golden curtain suddenly appeared, blocking his view.

In his panic, Liu Wei had no time to think. His pitch-black blade instinctively snapped up in front of him.

Blood gushed across the curtain before him, spreading over it in a red stain before splattering onto his face. The warmth came with a strong, rank stench.

"Awooo!" A shrill wolf's howl ripped through the air and rang across the battlefield.

In an instant, a black figure flashed past Liu Wei's eyes.

The pitch-black blade, coated in pale-golden Pure Yang True Qi, flashed like a golden bolt of lightning as it swept through the Wolf Demon's waist with blinding speed.

The Wolf Demon, worth a mere 18 Merit, staggered backward from the blow.

Then its body split in two, and both halves crashed heavily to the ground.

[Slain Qi Gathering Realm Wolf Demon, Merit gained: 18, Merit remaining: 1311]

Chen Bin's face was cold as frost. "Are you all right?"

"Thanks for helping me. I owe you my life—I won't forget it!" Liu Wei let out a long breath and wiped the blood from his face. The overpowering stench made his stomach churn, and he nearly vomited.

Chen Bin did not help him up. He only said, "Hurry and support the others. I'll take care of those Body Tempering Realm wolf cubs."

"Good!" Without a moment's hesitation, Liu Wei turned and sprinted toward the distant battle raging at full tilt.

With that, Chen Bin turned and ran straight toward the wolf cubs under attack, not looking back, his steps swift.

His figure darted through the battlefield.

The Demon Suppression Division's encirclement tactics were second to none throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Without demonic energy to protect them, the Body Tempering Realm Wolf Demons were struck by the poisoned arrows, which sank straight through their fur and into their bodies.

But the Wolf Demons were huge, and the poison needed time to take effect. That gave Chen Bin the perfect chance to arrive and finish them off.

Chen Bin had just cut down the seventh Body Tempering Realm Wolf Demon when a powerful, frenzied surge of demonic energy suddenly erupted from the courtyard.

[Slain seven Body Tempering Realm Wolf Demons, Merit gained: 65, Merit remaining: 1376]