When Li and the Undead Quartet caught up, they happened to see Dijia and Aili leading seven or eight people out of the swamp and fleeing toward the beach. Li tugged at the others and said softly, "Let them run. Let's see how far they can get."
Hela nodded lightly as well. At this point, everyone in that group had black and white lines on their bodies to varying degrees. They were practically dead already. If they caught up now, the enemy might still have the strength to fight back. But if they let them run a little farther, they probably would not even have the strength to raise a hand in resistance.
The five of them watched as their enemies fled into the forest before pursuing them in that direction.
Sure enough, along the way, they found four or five people collapsed on the ground. Some had already stopped breathing entirely, while others still had a few breaths left. But judging by the black-and-white fur intermingling across their bodies, they were beyond saving. Naturally, Li did not pity them. If Dijia had captured him and tortured him at will, these people certainly would not have pitied him either.
After chasing them for half an hour, despite deliberately slowing their pace, they still caught up to Dijia and Aili. Clearly, neither Dijia nor Aili had much strength left to resist. When they saw Li, both wore expressions of resigned acceptance.
"My lord, retreat quickly! We'll hold them off!"
The twenty people Dijia had left outside the swamp finally served their purpose. They immediately stepped between Li and Dijia. Dijia took a deep breath and fled toward the beach once more, with Aili close behind him. Dijia could not possibly abandon Aili, because Aili had used a Life Sacrifice on him.