Beast Tide Strikes

Screech—

An eagle's cry pierced the sky.

Immediately after, two crimson giant eagles folded their wings and dove from the clouds, landing steadily within the Jiang Family residence.

One of them alighted on Yue'er's raised arm, its sharp beak drawing close to her ear as it let out hurried, low coos.

Yue'er listened intently, and her expression gradually changed.

A moment later, she suddenly whipped her head around and shrieked toward the roof:

"Father! The Beast Tide is here! So many demon beasts—they're coming this way!"

Jiang Fu'an was also gazing toward the Mizhang Mountains, but he had yet to spot anything.

Hearing this, he did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately shouted gravely into the courtyard:

"Xu the Elder, Stone, Yue'er, get into the cellar at once!"

No one asked any questions. They rushed toward the cellar entrance in the corner of the courtyard, covered by a straw mat, and filed down the wooden ladder.

Jiang Fu'an was the last to move.

He swiftly inspected the courtyard, making sure everything had been put away and that no living creature or food that might attract demon beasts had been left behind.

He bent over and crawled into the cellar, pulling the wooden hatch shut above him before sliding the inner bolt into place and firmly sealing the entrance.

This cellar had been dug exceptionally deep and was also quite spacious.

Because the village stood close to the Mizhang Mountains and suffered a Beast Tide every few years, every household had a place to hide.

Jiang Fu'an's had taken tremendous effort to build.

The interior was divided into seven or eight compartments, and concealed ventilation holes had been carved high into the walls, allowing air through while making them difficult to notice from outside.

The rice, grain, and cured meat stored inside were enough to sustain more than ten people for half a year.

After coming down, Jiang Fu'an ignored the others' hushed discussions and walked straight to a bamboo tube embedded in the earthen wall.

The tube was as thick as his arm, with one end extending above ground.

He brought one eye close to the glazed mirror at the bottom of the bamboo tube and looked inside.

The sight outside immediately appeared before him with perfect clarity.

This was a "periscope" he had made himself.

The principle was simple enough: two glazed mirrors placed at forty-five-degree angles reflected the light twice, allowing him to see the situation above ground around a bend.

He had made one in handicraft class at school in his previous life. Who would have thought it would come in handy for such a purpose in this life?

About a quarter of an hour later, Jiang Fu'an's hand resting on the bamboo tube suddenly felt a faint tremor.

Then the trembling grew increasingly distinct, turning into a deep rumble overhead, as though an army of a thousand men and ten thousand horses were galloping across the ground.

Blurry shadows began flashing through the periscope's view.

Crimson, pitch-black, dark green—they moved so fast their shapes could not be seen clearly. All he knew was that countless demon beasts were stampeding wildly past.

This terrifying commotion lasted for roughly a dozen breaths before abruptly receding into the distance.

Soon, the ground stopped shaking, and the view became empty once more, with only dust drifting slowly down.

Jiang Fu'an slowly turned the bamboo tube, and the glazed mirrors took in the scenes around the residence one by one.

The courtyard walls remained intact, the firewood stacks had not fallen, and those demon beasts had not even deigned to linger in this tiny village for a moment.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his gaze suddenly froze.

Outside the residence gates, a hulking wild boar had wandered over at some unknown time.

The beast was as large as a calf, its bristles standing on end like steel needles. Its hide was black tinged with red, and two curved tusks protruded fiercely from its lips.

With its head lowered, it rooted aimlessly through the dirt with its snout, wandering about without purpose.

Jiang Fu'an was exceedingly familiar with this kind of Half-Spirit Beast. His family had raised them before.

It was the offspring of a rank-one demon beast, the Steelback Boar, and an ordinary wild boar.

But this one was clearly different from the ones raised at home.

Its eyes were murky and vicious, and every scrape of its hooves sent dust flying. It looked like nothing anyone would want to provoke.

In truth, what that came out of the Mizhang Mountains could possibly be easy to deal with?

Jiang Fu'an did not move. He waited patiently.

The beast herd had only just passed. There might still be stragglers.

He continued observing patiently through the periscope.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and the Half-Spirit Boar seemed to have had enough wandering around.

It suddenly turned and headed toward the gates of the Jiang Family residence.

Jiang Fu'an knew he could not wait any longer.

He immediately ordered, "Stone, take your weapon. You'll go out first. Be careful."

"Got it, Father!"

Stone had long been waiting impatiently. At those words, he grabbed the long saber leaning against the wall.

He tied several short spears, each over a foot long, onto his back with leather cords, then climbed the wooden ladder hand over hand.

Jiang Fu'an followed close behind.

He had only pushed the cellar hatch open a crack when, before he could even show his head, he heard an incomparably miserable shriek from outside!

He hurriedly flipped himself up and saw the Half-Spirit Boar sprawled outside the courtyard gate, its limbs twitching.

A short spear was embedded squarely in the center of its forehead. Only a short length of the spear shaft remained visible, buried deep in its flesh.

Stone was nowhere to be seen.

A trace of approval flashed through Jiang Fu'an's eyes.

The batch of short spears Sun Xiuyuan had sent over last time were incomparably sharp. Paired with the Heaven-and-Earth Toss Stone had practiced so diligently, they truly were lethal weapons against these thick-skinned Half-Spirit Beasts.

He had no time to think further. With a tap of his toes, he leaped onto the low courtyard wall and looked toward the village.

The periscope's field of view was limited. He had to confirm the situation with his own eyes.

Soon, his pupils contracted.

Near the threshing ground at the western end of the village, six or seven gray shadows were vaguely wandering about—it was a pack of Half-Spirit Wolves!

And Stone, hunched low, was using the houses and haystacks as cover as he swiftly crept toward them.

That brat was far too bold!

Jiang Fu'an frowned slightly, but he knew this was not the time to hesitate.

He jumped down from the wall and quickly instructed Yue'er and Xu the Elder, who had followed him out:

"Yue'er, send the Blazing Fire Eagles into the air. Keep watch over the village perimeter, and sound the warning immediately if anything moves!

"Xu the Elder, take two men and bring the prey's corpse back from the gate. Make sure to clean up the bloodstains."

Xu the Elder had been somewhat frightened at first, but hearing that it had been dealt with so quickly, his spirits immediately rose. He answered, "Yes."

Then he waved at the two men who had just climbed out of the cellar behind him.

"Come on! The master has given the order—let's haul in the prey!"

The three of them hurried to the courtyard gate.

Seeing the Half-Spirit Boar's corpse up close, they could not help drawing sharp breaths.

The beast lay there like a small mountain of meat. Its bristles were as hard as iron thorns, its tusks were nearly half a foot long, and though it had already stopped breathing, its savage appearance still made their scalps tingle.

One man tried lifting one of the boar's hind legs, his face flushing red with effort.

"Boss Xu, it's too heavy. I'm afraid we can't lift it."

The other agreed.

"How about we go to the other cellars and call a few more helpers?"

Xu the Elder shook his head, his tone resolute.

"No. Since they chose to hide in the cellars, let them keep hiding there."

He understood that the master wanted to use this opportunity to weed out a group that was not loyal enough.

How could he let them come back at a time like this?

He turned back into the courtyard, found some thick hemp rope, looped it around the boar's hind legs, and the three men clenched their teeth as they dragged it back step by step.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fu'an had already reached the western side of the village.

The area beside the threshing ground was a complete mess.

Four short spears were stuck diagonally in the ground. One had pinned a Half-Spirit Wolf firmly into the yellow earth, wolf blood gushing out and seeping into the soil.

The other three had missed, driven deeply into the mud.

Five living Half-Spirit Wolves were crazily lunging and biting at Stone. They moved swiftly and coordinated flawlessly, stirring up waves of bloody stench.

Yet Stone was not flustered in the least.

The Lightness Talisman attached to his leg glimmered faintly, and his footwork was as swift as the wind as he darted and shifted.

The long saber in his hand whirled in a practiced display of the Wind-Thunder Saber Technique. Saber light flashed brilliantly, guarding every inch around him so tightly that not even water could seep through.

Where the blade had passed, two wolves had already been cut open, blood streaming down their bodies.