Buzz... buzz...
While Si Nan Ying and I were chatting happily now that she had recovered her spirits, a buzzing vibration suddenly came from her. It sounded just like a phone vibrating, and I instinctively patted my pocket.
Si Nan Ying pulled a new compass from her skirt—the old one had been damaged in the collapse—and it was the compass that was quietly vibrating.
"Hello? Sister Yuan?" Si Nan Ying flipped open the compass lid and held it to her ear. So this compass could double as a phone... I didn't even know where to begin with that.
"Mm, yes, I'm with Xiao Ye... What? A Beast Tide?... Are you kidding me?... Ah... yes, yes... Okay, we'll take shelter right away!" Si Nan Ying's expression kept changing as she answered the call—or should I say, the compass? By the end, her face had turned utterly serious, and I suddenly had a bad feeling.
Si Nan Ying put away the compass, turned to me, and said gravely, "Xiao Ye, Sister Yuan says that for some reason, the monsters in the Winter Mountains have poured out of their nests and formed a Beast Tide to attack the city!"
"What!? Why now of all times?"
The people who had followed me when I came back from the library suddenly flashed through my mind. Could it be...
"Whatever the case, an individual's strength is insignificant in the face of a Beast Tide, so we need to find shelter right away!"
"If we head to the city center now, we'll run straight into the Beast Tide! Which way should we go?"
"Uh... well... Sister Yuan says she's already sent people to pick us up... but she also said they might not make it in time."
"...So we have to find somewhere to hide ourselves?"
"...Ehehe~☆"
"Why are you acting cute!? Let's find somewhere to hide first!"
But where could we hide? When the monsters swept through, it wouldn't just be people—buildings could easily be trampled flat, too. Nowhere on the ground was truly safe. And if we went up to a tall building, we might run into flying monsters. In that case...
"Underground! There's bound to be a basement here! Let's go!"
With that, I grabbed Si Nan Ying and dragged her by her soft little hand toward the nearest building. Blood surged out and transformed into blades; in a few quick strikes, they chopped the building's doors to pieces. I charged inside without hesitation.
The building we'd entered seemed to be a warehouse. We fumbled around until we lit a spirit-stone lamp, instantly illuminating the floor in bright white. I anxiously scanned the surroundings, searching for the basement entrance.
"There!" Si Nan Ying pointed to the right with her little hand. An isolated trapdoor sat in the otherwise empty floor. That had to be the entrance.
We hurried over, smashed the lock on the trapdoor, and then—
The ground shook. Si Nan Ying and I instantly lost our balance. Had the Beast Tide already arrived? That couldn't be so fast! But there were no monster roars or thundering footsteps in our ears. What was causing the shaking?
Boom! The ground shook again, and Si Nan Ying, who had just gotten back to her feet, fell over with a "Wuaaah!" But she immediately scrambled up and lifted the trapdoor. "Forget about that for now! Let's get downstairs!"
"Something's wrong..."
"What is it?"
"Close the door, quickly!!"
But it was already too late. With a rumble, cracks spread across the warehouse floor, radiating out from the trapdoor! Si Nan Ying hurriedly backed away, barely escaping being swallowed by one of them. A rustling sound came from the pitch-black fissures, sending goose bumps all over me.
Damn it, I'd miscalculated!
I gritted my teeth. I'd thought we'd be safe as long as we avoided the ground and the sky, but I'd forgotten that monsters like Desolate Beasts could burrow underground! Those monsters moved freely beneath the surface, crossing the entire city faster than the others!
But what was this one? My weapon wasn't with me. If it was another Desolate Beast, we'd be done for!
With a crack, dirt and rocks flew everywhere, and what appeared before us was—
"A bug!?"
"It's a Drilling Worm!" Si Nan Ying cried.
The giant worm that had burrowed out of the ground was as thick as an oil drum, like an earthworm from Earth blown up to enormous size, complete with a thick, keratinous shell. Its savage mouthparts, oozing slime, and wildly writhing body made it the most disgusting creature I'd ever seen in my life! I'd rather fight a Desolate Beast barehanded than go up against this thing!
The Drilling Worm let out a strange cry and lunged straight at me. My blood instantly condensed into a gigantic fist, which slammed it into the ground in one blow! The worm sprawled across the floor, squealing in pain. Its thick shell had been badly damaged in several places, and it struggled to retreat underground.
This thing... was unexpectedly weak.
I'd only meant to slow it down, but I'd actually taken it out in one hit. Its shell looked thick, but it was nowhere near as tough as the Bone Armor Lion's.
"Xiao Ye, you're amazing!" Si Nan Ying bounced around excitedly. Seeing her like that, I couldn't help getting carried away myself.
That's right... I'm someone who's soloed a Desolate Beast. What's a measly worm to me!?
However—
Boom! Boom! Boom! As if to mock me, just as the wounded worm retreated underground, a whole swarm of them burst out of the ground. At a quick count, there were at least twenty!
"...This should be fun."
While Si Nan Ying and I were dealing with the worms, the city center had already descended into chaos.
"GRAAAAH—"
Countless piercing roars shook the air. The blood of countless humans and monsters drenched the streets—on the roads, the sidewalks, the overpasses, and the rooftops, horrifying corpses were everywhere. One wave of monsters had barely fallen before the next came charging and roaring over the bodies of their own kind.
"Hurry, hurry! This way!"
A young guard shouted as he led more than twenty people toward a shop by the roadside. They were all ordinary people with no special abilities and no fighting strength to speak of. He himself was only a novice ability user, nowhere near strong enough to fight the monsters.
"Come on! The people up there said we'd be safe as long as everyone made it inside a building! Just hold on a little longer... Aah!!"
A giant serpent shot out of nowhere, bit down on the guard, and swallowed him whole!
""Aaaah!!!""
The people who had been full of hope moments ago saw their guide die, and nearly collapsed in terror. One by one, they crumpled to the ground, left helpless at the mercy of the monsters.
More than a dozen giant serpents surged forward together, opening their greedy maws and lunging at the helpless people. At that critical moment—
"Stop!"
A dazzling bolt of lightning cut through the air and turned the first few giant serpents to charred husks! The others saw that things had gone awry and abruptly halted their attack. In that brief instant—
Thud! Thud! Fierce punches rained down like falling boulders, pounding the remaining serpents into a mass of flesh in just a few seconds. Rui Feng appeared amid the scattered gore. After days of recuperation, he'd been itching for a fight; now that he was back on the battlefield, he was like a fish in water, slaughtering seventy or eighty monsters all by himself!
"Xiao Xin, leave this group to you. I'm going to kill a few more!" With that, Rui Feng's figure flashed as he sprinted toward the front line, where the monsters were being fought.
"Brother, don't get carried away! Your safety comes first!" Rui Xin hurriedly shouted after him, but Rui Feng had already vanished...
On the top floor of the Winter Arrival Hotel, Si Nan Yuan stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down and surveying the entire battle in the city center.
"Captain!" A guard hurried over.
"What is it?"
"Rui Xin just reported that the last group of ordinary civilians has made it inside the buildings!"
"Good! Notify Elder Hong at once!"
"No need to notify me. Do you think I wouldn't know what was happening?" Elder Hong suddenly appeared beside them.
"All right, you all step aside. Leave the rest to me!"
Before you continue