Crisis

"For your birth, for the wisdom you seek."

"Do you wish to rule this land of Kunlun alongside us?"

"Then kill for the fruit of the Blood Bodhi!"

The beast tides led by the three Beast Kings began to converge. Most of the tide consisted of beast-soldier-class demonic beasts, with beast generals appearing only rarely.

Under the normal plan, the beast generals would seize the fruit. Once they left the Blood Bodhi Tree's range, it would be the signal for slaughter to begin.

But this time was different. If they wanted to seize the Blood Bodhi Tree, they had to use the beast tide to hold back seven War King squads.

To contend with so many War Kings, they needed a beast-general-class beast tide. And the Beast Kings commanding those beast-general tides were naturally their junior Beast Kings!

This time, nearly all the Beast Kings from the outskirts of the Kunlun Mountains had gathered!

Meanwhile, the humans knew nothing. They were still foolishly following last year's positions, preparing to intercept the beast tide.

As time crept forward, the Elephant-Trunk Beast King and Eagle-Eye Beast King revealed themselves first, confirming their positions.

The Bell-Deer Beast King, meanwhile, secretly drew near the Elephant-Trunk Beast King's territory.

All of it was an act put on for Rox.

Even with the beast tide concealing their auras, a War God could still distinguish the Beast Kings if he searched carefully.

"Get ready. Charge!"

Rox gave the command.

The beast-soldier-class floating corpses on Netherworld Lake immediately stirred up layer upon layer of waves.

Two beast-soldier-class demonic beasts had already seized the only ripe Blood Bodhi fruit!

The Bell-Deer Beast King and Elephant-Trunk Beast King acted together, tearing through the beast tide first as they charged toward the two fruits.

The War King squads had yet to break out of the beast tide's encirclement. The sheer size of the tide was there for all to see; human bodies were far too small, while beast-tide corpses blocked the way everywhere.

Rox leaped up and instantly cut his way out of the encirclement.

A war saber lay across his front, gleaming with flowing light as it flashed through the horde. Wherever it passed, demonic beast corpses instantly became blood mist and chunks of flesh, scattered by the north wind.

He had already closed in on the Elephant-Trunk Beast King. All it would take was one slash!

Yet the lake suddenly began to churn, and several auras he had not noticed before surged violently upward.

One massive Bell-Deer Beast King after another leaped from the water!

"They concealed their auras? They'd been staying beside the Blood Bodhi Tree all along?!"

Rox understood almost instantly. Only beside the Blood Bodhi Tree could they evade his perception, because that place suppressed cultivation realms.

A full nineteen Beast Kings surrounded Rox.

"Human War God..."

"Hmph. If you were merely War Kings, there would be no need for such a grand display."

Rox sneered. "Looks like you've learned your lesson. Pity you still aren't enough for me to kill."

A thread of blood droplets streaked out. The Beast King closest to Rox was instantly beheaded!

The remaining Beast Kings were immediately alarmed. They all shifted position, fleeing without fighting!

Even the directions in which each Beast King escaped were different. Though Rox erupted with all his strength, he only managed to kill six Beast Kings.

"No, they're bait?" Rox abruptly turned toward the lake. By now, he had been lured two minutes' worth of travel distance away!

Chu Wen and the other two fled frantically beneath the beast tide's pursuit. Every piece of cover and vegetation around the lake had been crushed flat by the tide!

"Eagle-Eye!"

Rox flew into a rage when he saw the Eagle-Eye Beast King pursuing Chu Wen and the other two.

Chu Wen sped over the lake's surface with Chen Dai and Lin Wei in tow.

The Eagle-Eye Beast King was inwardly shocked as well.

The other party's movement technique and speed were simply too ghostly. Even ordinary War King-class martial artists could not possibly possess such footwork.

"Let's see how long you can hold out."

Dense blood qi filled Chu Wen's body!

Blood Demon State!

The three of them had previously been lying in wait in the forest. Who would have thought that the beast tide would suddenly go mad and turn to attack them?

The beast tide that should have been intercepted by the War Kings charged at them as if it did not value its own life.

Beast-soldier-class demonic beasts were not particularly strong, but their corpses were simply too enormous. Tens of thousands of demonic beast corpses had piled up layer upon layer here, sealing the area so tightly that not even water could pass through!

He had originally intended to run toward the martial artist base.

But the Eagle-Eye Beast King had blocked the way!

The Eagle-Eye Beast King, who had not moved all this time, had been poised to strike ever since Rox left them behind! At last, it had found its opportunity!

Hounded from all sides, Chu Wen had no choice but to unleash all his blood qi and enter the Blood Demon State!

Combat power bonus: 400%

The speed of an intermediate warrior, combined with Return to Simplicity-level Shadow Follows Form, soared in a straight line to the level of an entry-level War King!

Because the Eagle-Eye Beast King had to guard against Rox noticing it, it had not erupted with its full strength either.

Only when Rox noticed did the Eagle-Eye Beast King dive with all its might, heedless of everything.

The surrounding ground was lifted by the gale of force. The chunks of corpses that had blocked the way were chopped into sludge by saber qi!

"Damn it! The Beast Kings have betrayed us! All War King squads, pull back! Prioritize self-preservation!"

With the number of Beast Kings coupled with the beast tide, even the War King squads might not be able to retreat unscathed!

Chu Wen knew that the Eagle-Eye Beast King was forcing him into the Blood Bodhi Tree's range.

Both sides knew that he had no other choice!

"Lin Wei, in a moment, you'll have to hold on for a while. If you can't hold it, we'll go to the underworld together."

Chu Wen spoke with extreme calm.

Lin Wei, whose scalp had been tingling with fear earlier, finally steadied herself. "Rox has already noticed us. Can't you hold on anymore?"

Though she did not know why Chu Wen could instantly burst forth with such speed, even while carrying her and Chen Dai as he moved at high speed.

But she could sense that Chu Wen's breathing was becoming faster and faster, as if he might stop breathing at any moment.

He was overtaxing his physical strength!

"Brother Wen, once we reach the Blood Bodhi Tree, we'll only have warrior-class strength."

"Which is why I'm relying on you two. The Beast King definitely won't come down. What you'll have to endure next is a sea of beast tide!"

As Chu Wen said this, he leaped onto the island at the center of the lake where the Blood Bodhi Tree stood.

The Eagle-Eye Beast King had achieved its goal as well. It instantly retreated, evading Rox's fatal slash.

"You should worry about your students instead, hmph..."

The Eagle-Eye Beast King pointed at the churning beast tide below, then plunged headfirst into the lake.

The other Beast Kings did the same, reverting to their original forms and rushing into the water.

In the water, human strength would be greatly weakened. Even Rox did not dare enter lightly, not to mention that the Blood Bodhi Tree's suppression would weaken them drastically there as well.

Rox sensed that these Beast Kings were surely planning something, but his most urgent task was to rescue Chu Wen and the other two.

Under Rox's command, the War Kings blocked the beast herds charging into the lake. Yet the number of beasts allowed onto the island at the lake's center was still astronomical.

"Senior War God, you absolutely must not! If you go in and something happens, it will be humanity's loss!"

"Yes. Those Beast Kings have broken their word. The agreement has gone without issue for over two hundred years, yet trouble arose precisely when you arrived. That means they are targeting you, or have some other scheme that forces them to make the choice most beneficial to themselves!"

The captains of several War King squads were no fools. They hurriedly stopped Rox from charging in.

"If you go in, you'll only add one more warrior-class combatant. Against a beast tide like that..."

"Besides, we need you to intercept the Beast Kings with us. Those Beast Kings will definitely come out! When they do, you alone can kill half of them!"

"Inside is the Lin Family's pearl from the capital. If she dies, we can't bear that responsibility." Rox's gaze turned icy as he silently drew a short, ink-black blade from behind his back. "Wait for me a few minutes. I'll be right back to butcher these bastards."

"Keep an eye on those things that slipped into the water! The moment they emerge, surround them! Don't let a single one get away~!"

They had actually dared to scheme against Rox. Then they would have to pay the price!