Valley Counterattack, Wolf Pack Joins the Fight

As dawn gradually broke, Huo Yuhao had already been running for an entire night.

"Damn it, these people are like ghosts that won't go away." He hid behind a cliff, observing the movements in the distance through his Spirit Eye Martial Soul.

[Thought Palace, analyze the pursuers' composition.]

The pure white palace unfolded instantly, marking the enemies' information one by one.

[Detected Zhu Ruyi personally leading the pursuit. Total: twenty-three people.]

[Core combat strength: four-ring Soul Ancestor Zhu Ruyi, three-ring Soul Elder guard captain Zhang Hu, eight two-ring Grand Soul Masters.]

[Equipment analysis: standard-issue soul tools, communication crystals, tracking-type soul tools.]

[Threat assessment: extremely dangerous.]

"Fuck, that bitch Zhu Ruyi actually came herself?" Huo Yuhao sucked in a cold breath. "Looks like she really considers me a serious threat."

Zhang Hu's roar came from the distance. "Search carefully! That little bastard can't have gone far!"

"Yes!"

More than twenty people spread out in a fan-shaped formation, conducting a carpet search.

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. At this rate, they would find him sooner or later.

"If I can't hide from them, then I won't."

[Thought Palace, formulate a counterattack plan.]

[Terrain analysis: five hundred meters ahead lies a canyon, with cliffs on both sides and only one route in or out.]

[Tactical recommendation: lure the enemy deep inside and exploit the terrain advantage.]

[Required materials: explosive soul tool materials, audio vibration device.]

Huo Yuhao took out the materials he had acquired from the laboratory and quickly began assembling them.

"Three portions of explosive powder, two audio crystals, plus these metal wires..."

Ten minutes later, three fist-sized explosive spheres were complete, along with a palm-sized sonic emitter.

"Now it's time to fish."

Huo Yuhao deliberately left footprints on a conspicuous rock, then quickly ran toward the canyon.

"Found tracks!" a guard shouted. "Over there!"

"Chase!" Zhang Hu charged ahead, leading the others after him.

Huo Yuhao neither ran too fast nor too slow, glancing back now and then with a look of panicked desperation.

"Little bastard, you can't escape!" Zhang Hu drew closer and closer, a vicious grin appearing on his face.

"Is that so?" Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped and turned to face his pursuers. "Not necessarily."

Zhang Hu froze for a moment. "You're not running anymore?"

"Why should I?" Huo Yuhao grinned. "The scenery here is so nice."

Only then did everyone realize they had entered a narrow canyon. Steep cliffs rose on both sides, with only the path they had come through serving as an exit.

"It's a trap!" Zhu Ruyi's expression changed drastically. "Retreat, now!"

"Too late." Huo Yuhao pressed the detonator.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three deafening explosions erupted almost simultaneously, shaking the entire canyon.

The explosive spheres buried beforehand detonated along both sides of the canyon. Massive rocks tumbled down as dust filled the air.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"What's going on?!"

"I can't see!"

Amid the thick smoke, the pursuers' formation was thrown into instant chaos.

[Thought Palace, tally the results.]

[Enemy casualties: three severely wounded and unable to fight, five lightly wounded.]

[Remaining combat strength: Zhu Ruyi uninjured, Zhang Hu lightly wounded, fifteen others.]

"Still not enough." Huo Yuhao frowned. "I need to find a way to weaken them further."

Just then, a series of wolf howls suddenly echoed from deep within the canyon.

"Awoo—"

"Awoo—"

"Awoo—"

"What was that?" Zhang Hu warily looked around.

Before his words had even faded, pairs of glowing green eyes lit up in the depths of the canyon.

More than a dozen massive wind wolves emerged from the shadows, baring their fangs at everyone in the canyon.

[Thought Palace, analyze soul beast information.]

[Soul Beast Type: Third-rank wind wolves, pack-dwelling soul beasts.]

[Traits: Extremely fast, powerful attacks, possess wind-element soul skills.]

[Weakness: Sensitive hearing; afraid of sound waves at specific frequencies.]

[Number: Sixteen.]

"Third-rank soul beasts!" Zhu Ruyi's face turned livid. "Damn it, the explosion drew them here!"

"Madam, what do we do now?" Sweat beaded on Zhang Hu's forehead.

Caught between the soul beasts and Huo Yuhao, their situation had become incredibly dangerous.

"Deal with the soul beasts first!" Zhu Ruyi made her decision at once. "Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Hold on." Huo Yuhao's voice echoed through the canyon. "Who said these wolves came for me?"

He took out the sonic generator and adjusted it to a specific frequency.

"Bzzzz—"

A piercing high-frequency sound rang through the canyon.

Then something astonishing happened.

The wind wolves, which had been hostile toward everyone just moments ago, suddenly became restless. They kept shaking their heads and whipping their tails, as though trying to escape some unbearable pain.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Zhang Hu stared in horror.

Huo Yuhao adjusted the frequency again, and the wind wolves reacted even more violently.

[Thought Palace, analyze sonic effect.]

[Current frequency causes auditory interference in wind wolves, but has not achieved a control effect.]

[Recommendation: Adjust to resonance frequency to induce short-term behavioral guidance.]

Huo Yuhao fine-tuned the device, gradually stabilizing the sound-wave frequency at a particular value.

Then a miracle occurred.

The wind wolves stopped their agitation and turned in unison toward Zhu Ruyi's group, letting out low, threatening growls.

"Impossible!" Zhu Ruyi's eyes widened. "How can you control soul beasts?!"

"Control?" Huo Yuhao smiled. "I merely let them know who the real threat is."

He adjusted the frequency once more, making the sound even shriller.

The pack of wind wolves instantly went berserk and lunged at the pursuers.

"Ah—"

"Help!"

"Run!"

The entire canyon instantly descended into chaos.

Zhang Hu swung his soul-tool saber at a charging wind wolf. "First Soul Skill, Blazing Flame Slash!"

A crimson blade arc flashed through the air, knocking one wind wolf back, but more wolves quickly closed in around him.

"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!" Zhu Ruyi unleashed a powerful wave of light, instantly killing two wind wolves.

But there were simply too many wind wolves, and under Huo Yuhao's sonic interference, all of their attacks were focused on the pursuers.

"What kind of monster is this brat?!" Zhang Hu roared as he fought. "How can an eleven-year-old know this stuff?!"

Taking advantage of the chaos, Huo Yuhao quietly made his way over to several fallen guards.

"Sorry, I'll be borrowing these."

He swiftly looted several high-grade soul tools: a sharp soul-tool dagger, two defensive soul-tool bracers, and a pouch of precious soul-power recovery potions.

[Thought Palace, evaluate equipment enhancement.]

[Attack power increased: 30%]

[Defense increased: 25%]

[Sustained combat capability increased: 50%]

"Now my gear is up to par." Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction.

The battle continued.

Although Zhu Ruyi and the others were powerful, being besieged by more than a dozen third-rank wind wolves in a narrow canyon still put them in constant danger.

Five guards had already completely lost their ability to fight, and the rest were all injured.

"Madam!" Zhang Hu shouted. "At this rate, we'll all die here!"

Zhu Ruyi's expression darkened like still water. She knew that all of this had been Huo Yuhao's scheme.

"Where's that little bastard?" She looked around frantically.

"He ran!" A guard pointed toward the other end of the canyon. "He escaped in the chaos!"

Zhu Ruyi was so furious she nearly spat blood.

After painstakingly setting up the encirclement, not only had they failed to capture Huo Yuhao, but her own forces had suffered heavy losses instead.

"Retreat!" she ordered through gritted teeth. "Get out of here first!"

The group fought as they withdrew, fleeing the canyon in a sorry state.

Only after they had gone far away did Huo Yuhao crawl out from a concealed crack in the rocks.

"Tsk, tsk. This is what they call elite troops?" He looked at the mess covering the ground and shook his head with a sigh. "Pathetically weak."