Giant Footprints

Except for Lu Chuan, Wu Qiu's entire squad had withdrawn.

Because in these vast, boundless mountains, it was difficult to carry out someone who was injured and immobile; with nine people, however, it was no problem, and much safer.

Fortunately, when Zhou Ji approached the guide of another squad and heard that they could leave now and still receive their bounty, that man was willing from the bottom of his heart.

Lu Chuan naturally became the guide for the other small squad.

However, he felt that "scout" would be a more accurate term, as his role had always been scouting rather than guiding.

Wu Qiu was very grateful to Lu Chuan and kept saying that Lu Chuan had saved his life. Although Lu Chuan did not care about the matter, he would not deny it either.

Because it was the truth.

Wu Qiu told Lu Chuan that he must look for him upon returning to Chaoge, as he wanted to personally host a banquet to thank Lu Chuan for his kindness.

Lu Chuan casually agreed to the matter; he generally accepted the goodwill of others.

Next, the main army continued to push into the depths of the mountains.

However, the deep mountain forests were full of venomous insects and fierce beasts, and poisonous snakes were not uncommon, not to mention the large carnivorous beasts from before, so Lu Chuan walked very cautiously.

Because of the previous incident, he had received a military saber gifted by Wu Qiu for self-defense and scouting, for which Lu Chuan was very grateful.

When the Purple Firmament Sword could not be drawn, this saber from Wu Qiu was indeed a timely gift.

Bang!

A few days later, when they were searching at the foot of a mountain peak, a streak of white smoke suddenly shot into the sky from thirty zhang to the right of Lu Chuan.

Seeing this, all the squads immediately stopped and waited for orders on the spot, as this was the signal that someone in the team had discovered something.

"Move!"

Zhou Ji took the lead and rushed toward the center, with the squads behind him closing in.

At the foot of the mountain.

When Lu Chuan's group arrived, he saw that Huang Feihu had already reached the spot; being closest in the center, Long Huan, who was responsible for the right flank, arrived with his men at almost the same time.

Huang Feihu was accompanied by his Five-Colored Divine Ox, and he stood before a massive footprint, lost in thought with a solemn expression.

After dismounting, Zhou Ji and Long Huan also quickly stepped forward to ask Huang Feihu about the situation.

In the crowd, Lu Chuan caught a glimpse of the footprint from afar, and his eyelids twitched.

The footprint was three feet in size, looked somewhat similar to a human's, and was deeply embedded in the ground; the pebbles beneath it had been crushed into powder.

"Big Brother, this is..."

Seeing this enormous footprint on the ground, even Zhou Ji and Long Huan could not help but look shocked.

If the footprint alone was this large, one could imagine how massive the creature that left it must be; dealing with such a monster would certainly not be easy.

When Lu Chuan saw the footprint, the guides naturally saw it too.

Immediately after, many of them turned pale with fright and began to chatter in chaos, all of them undoubtedly falling into deep panic.

Ordinary wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards already posed a threat to their lives, let alone a creature whose footprint alone was half the size of a person.

Lu Chuan ignored them, and naturally, he would not mock or despise them for their cowardice, because even he felt a chill in his heart looking at this footprint.

At this moment, he focused all his attention on Huang Feihu and the others; there was no doubt that with a footprint this large, the beast's size would definitely not be small.

With such a massive beast, what would Huang Feihu and the others do?

Since he had come this far, Lu Chuan naturally wanted to see such a beast; otherwise, he would not be able to answer to Shen Gongbao upon his return.

As for the idea of engaging in battle...

He felt it was better to wait and see; he might not be able to handle a creature of such size, so caution was the best policy.

Up ahead.

Huang Feihu nodded and said with a solemn expression, "It seems there is no doubt that this is the beast we have been searching for so painstakingly."

"But... how could this creature's footprints... be so large?"

Even Zhou Ji, who had just displayed great power before Lu Chuan's eyes by kicking a large brown bear to death, was extremely surprised and astonished at this moment.

"Strange, why is there only one footprint in this vicinity?"

Long Huan turned his head to look around and, finding no matching footprints, asked curiously, "Could this monster be one-legged?"

"I have already sent men to search and investigate in all directions; there should be results soon..."

As he was speaking, they suddenly heard the commotion and noise from behind, and looking back, they saw a chaotic scene.

"What is going on with these people?" Long Huan frowned as he looked toward the soldiers on the side.

The soldier went to inquire and soon returned, saying, "Reporting to the General, they were terrified after seeing this footprint and refuse to move any further forward."

"Hmph, these spineless fellows," Long Huan said angrily upon hearing this. "They've been of no use the whole way, and at the critical moment, they are holding us back—yet they still have the face to ask for the bounty..."

"Younger Brother, that is where you are wrong. You are a warrior of exceptional courage, but they are merely common folk; how can the two be compared?"

Zhou Ji shook his head. "A man cannot stand without credibility. Since Big Brother promised them the bounty, not a single cent can be withheld; otherwise, losing faith with the people would be bad!"

"Report!"

As they were speaking, a soldier suddenly ran up from the front and said, "Reporting to the General, your subordinate has discovered another massive footprint thirty zhang ahead."

Before the words had even faded, another soldier arrived from behind and said, "Another footprint of the same size has been discovered thirty zhang further on."

The voices were loud enough that even Lu Chuan heard them clearly.

Upon hearing this, the guides became even more panicked; some were so terrified that their limbs went weak, and they collapsed directly to the ground.

"Hiss!"

Hearing this, even Lu Chuan secretly drew a cold breath. A single stride covering a hundred meters—the steps were that long?

That shouldn't be possible!

But he immediately felt it was unlikely. Even if the beast had feet three chi long and the prints resembled human feet, it didn't add up.

Taking a human as an example, the ratio of foot size to height is roughly one to seven. If one were to estimate the beast's height based on that, it would be around seven meters.

Yet, let alone seven meters, even a ten-meter-tall creature couldn't necessarily cover a hundred meters in a single step, unless...

"Jumping!"

Lu Chuan's eyes flashed. "This monster is jumping its way across."

A jump of thirty zhang is far more believable than a walk. Furthermore, the depth of the footprints and the fact that the stones beneath them were crushed into powder served as evidence.

However, possessing the ability to leap thirty zhang in a single bound—that monster was truly terrifying!

"Let them go!"

Huang Feihu shook his head at the sight and said, "Since we have already discovered the trail of the beast, we no longer need them. We shall advance rapidly!"

"Understood!"

Zhou Ji received the order and dismissed all the guides, dispatching a small squad of Flying Tiger Soldiers to escort them to ensure no accidents occurred.

This time, Lu Chuan did not remain behind; instead, he followed the rest of the guides as they turned back.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Huang Feihu riding his ox, leading the great army as they charged rapidly in the direction of the footprints.

Escorting a group of three hundred people with only ten men was naturally quite difficult, and it was hard to keep track of everyone.

"Hey, Ma San, don't you feel like... someone is missing from our side?"

Not long after the group had been walking and Huang Feihu's army had gradually faded from view, a man at the edge of the formation scratched his face in confusion and asked the person beside him.

"What do you mean someone is missing? Stop joking. The beast's footprints alone are that large; who would dare wander off?"

Ma San replied speechlessly, "Getting home safely is the only thing that matters. Once the Martial Accomplishment King and his men return, there will be a reward. The suffering of the past half-month won't have been in vain, haha..."

"Oh, but..."

The first man looked around in bewilderment and whispered in a voice only he could hear, "I really thought there was someone next to me just a moment ago—a small guy. He vanished in the blink of an eye..."

In truth, there really was one person missing from their group.

At this moment, the missing person was standing in a mountain forest, contentedly twisting his waist and stretching his body.

For the past half-month, he had been stuck with those people, unable to practice swordplay or perform breathing exercises, restricted only to circulating his internal energy through the Small Heavenly Circuit. It had been stifling.

Now that he had broken away, Lu Chuan felt like a bird returning to the forest—free and comfortable...

"Next, it is time to go and meet that beast..."

Lu Chuan whispered softly. He was now in high spirits, the Purple Firmament Sword strapped to his back and Wu Qiu's saber at his waist. His equipment could be considered quite excellent.

Clang!

Suddenly, he drew his blade in a flash and slashed backward. A gleam of light flickered, slicing a colorful snake—as thick as an infant's arm and hanging from a tree to ambush him—into three pieces.

"Why bother?"

Lu Chuan looked at the snake on the ground, its three segments still writhing, and said, "Even if you bit me to death, what would it matter? You couldn't even finish eating me; what a waste, right?!"

Although he hadn't been able to cultivate during his half-month in the mountains, he had mastered the skills of survival in the deep wilderness, so it hadn't been a wasted trip.

He then plucked a leaf, closed his eyes, and began to chant an incantation while forming a hand seal.

With the word "Escape," a cyan-green light of evasion flew into the sky and headed into the distance, leaving only a single leaf drifting gently to the ground.