The surviving martial artists around them reacted extremely quickly, hurling the torches in their hands one after another at the attacking Strange Beast. Flames instantly wrapped around the Black Shadow's body, and the Strange Beast let out a shrill roar of pain, then slipped into the darkness under cover of night. In moments, the flames around it went out on their own, and its damaged flesh slowly repaired itself in the dark.
If not for dark night to rely on, open flames alone could suppress Black Shadows over a wide area. Unfortunately, the environment inside this barrier was bizarre; daylight could fall into eternal night in an instant, and the entire Valley had practically become the Black Shadows' hunting ground.
Qian Wantong swept his gaze over the wide, empty Great Hall. Pillars stood everywhere inside the hall, and its corners were deep and shadowed, making them perfect blind spots for Black Shadows to hide and launch Sneak Attacks. Once their firewood ran out, everyone trapped here would sooner or later be worn to death by the Strange Beasts.
When he Turned Head, he happened to see Chen Mo off to the side dismantling the wooden door of a side hall and splitting the thick timber for later use. His heart tightened, and he immediately raised his voice to command, "Quick, pile firewood at the main doors first to stop the Black Shadows from entering the Great Hall, then gather people to break open the doors of the smaller rooms. Move faster!"
Zhou Ke reached out to stop the people who were hurrying to move, his expression steady as he advised, "Steward Qian, that arrangement isn't quite right. There's no time to reopen the rooms' Protective Barriers. We should withdraw directly to Captain Ouyang Nan's little room and hold together there."