Friends Through Adversity

A cry of alarm rang out from the city wall. A young man abruptly opened his eyes and shoved aside the headless corpse in front of him. It was Shen Luo.

"Resurrected from the dead again... Could it be...?"

When he woke once more and saw that blood-smeared, ferocious face for the second time, he was startled at first. Then he realized a fact: he seemed to have fallen into that dangerous nightmare again.

"Roar..."

A foul gust suddenly swept toward him. Hearing the sound beside his ear, Shen Luo immediately remembered something. He rolled to the left at once, narrowly dodging the Gray Wolf that pounced at him.

Before he could get up, he spotted a long, narrow saber stained with blood near the base of the wall. He rolled again and grabbed the hilt, seizing the saber in his hand.

Having missed its pounce, the Gray Wolf twisted around, kicked off the ground with its hind legs, and opened its jaws as it lunged at him again.

Shen Luo had personally killed ghosts before and died several times. His courage had long surpassed anything an ordinary person could imagine. Instead of rolling away, he stared fixedly at the Gray Wolf. Only when its head was nearly at his nose and its nauseating, rancid breath washed over him did he sharply tilt his head aside, causing the wolf to bite at empty air.

Seizing the opportunity, he gripped the saber with both hands and thrust it sharply upward at an angle.

There was a sharp ripping sound.

The long saber pierced straight through the Gray Wolf's throat, emerging from the back of its neck and tearing open a huge gash with the momentum of its pounce.

Blood immediately gushed from the wolf's neck, splashing half of Shen Luo's face crimson.

Most of the Gray Wolf's body crashed heavily onto him. After twitching for a moment, it stopped moving.

Shen Luo let out a breath. Half his body was soaked in wolf blood. He pushed the corpse aside with one hand and used the saber to rise, but before he could steady himself, a man shouted from nearby!

"Watch out!"

At the same time, he felt a cool gust from behind. His heart tightened, and before he could react, something shot past his ear with a whoosh.

"Pfft!"

Shen Luo spun around and involuntarily sucked in a cold breath.

A Gray Wolf was twisted against a battlement, whimpering miserably. Blood poured from its left eye. A crossbow bolt glowing faintly with golden light had pierced its head and nailed it firmly to the battlement bricks behind it.

The bolt had been both swift and fierce. If not for that, he might not have been able to avoid the wolf's sneak attack.

The fletching of the arrow was still trembling. Its faint golden glow gradually faded, revealing what seemed to be a golden talismanic pattern engraved upon the vermilion shaft.

He looked toward the source of the earlier warning.

More than thirty meters away, a burly man of medium build with fierce, tiger-like brows was tucking a small black crossbow back into his belt. The battered quiver beside him was empty; that arrow had apparently been his last.

Seeing Shen Luo look over, the man gave him a slight nod. Then he swung the broad horse-chopping saber in his other hand. A flash of snowy cold light rose, and another Gray Wolf that had been trying to ambush him was beheaded on the spot.

The entire sequence was completed in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.

Not far from the man were three or four armored young men holding identical horse-chopping sabers. They appeared to be his retainers, guarding him from all sides as they fought together and watched for sneak attacks from the Gray Wolves.

Yet the tiger-browed man's Killing Intent surged. He charged alone toward the cluster of Gray Wolves with saber in hand. The others hurried after him while hacking at wolves, but they were repeatedly entangled by more Gray Wolves rushing in.

Shen Luo withdrew his gaze, wiped the blood from his face, and took a deep breath. Gripping the saber in one hand, he cautiously walked along the inner wall toward the watchtower ahead. Before he had taken more than a few steps, though, a head rolled to a stop at his feet.

He looked down and saw half a young face on the head, its flesh mangled beyond recognition, yet still filled with Rage and unwillingness. He jumped in fright.

"My son... You beasts..." A shrill, grief-stricken howl rang out.

Shen Luo turned and saw a tall old man in his fifties or sixties, his face filled with sorrow and fury. He clutched a red-tasseled spear tightly in both hands and charged forward with utter resolve, driving the spearhead through a Gray Wolf's neck.

But before he could pull out the spear, another Gray Wolf that had just rushed over bit into his throat, forcing him to his knees.

Seeing this, Shen Luo tightened his grip on the saber and rushed forward, wanting to see whether he could save the old man. But someone stopped him. Looking up, he saw two thick, upturned tiger brows.

It was the tiger-browed man who had saved his life earlier.

"It's too late," the man said gravely.

Before his words had faded, another Gray Wolf pounced over to fight the first wolf for food. Within moments, they tore the old man's body into several pieces.

Shen Luo's brow furrowed sharply, and he could not bear to look any longer.

"Little Daoist, is this your first time joining the city defense?" the tiger-browed man asked, warily watching their surroundings.

Shen Luo did not know how to answer and could only give a vague acknowledgment. The clothes he wore were the disciple robes of Spring Autumn Temple. Though somewhat tattered, they were still recognizable as Daoist attire.

"You did well handling one by yourself on your first time. What's your name? If we survive this, I'll treat you to a drink," the tiger-browed man said, spitting out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

"Shen Luo."

"Good, Brother Shen! My name is Yu Meng. If you don't mind, call me Brother Yu." The tiger-browed man chuckled.

"Brother Yu," Shen Luo called without hesitation.

If not for that man's arrow earlier, he would have died once again.

"Straightforward! Stand behind me in a moment and watch out for sneak attacks from the rear. I'll hold the front. I guarantee you'll live to drink with me." Yu Meng laughed heartily.

Shen Luo gripped his saber and stood behind Yu Meng. The two stood back to back, relying on each other. They looked somewhat like veteran soldiers fighting side by side on a battlefield.

Shen Luo actually wanted to ask where this place was and what these giant wolves were, but the current circumstances naturally did not permit it.

He had barely settled into position when Yu Meng raised his saber to block a Gray Wolf in front of him.

The Gray Wolf's sharp claws pressed against the blade, producing piercing scraping sounds that set one's teeth on edge.

Seeing this, Shen Luo immediately stepped forward. Gripping his saber with both hands, he thrust fiercely over Yu Meng's right shoulder and drove the blade into the Gray Wolf's left eye. The wolf let out a miserable howl, and the force pinning Yu Meng down immediately weakened.

Unlike Shen Luo, Yu Meng was battle-hardened. How could he let such an opportunity slip by?

His body suddenly lowered as he charged forward beneath the Gray Wolf in a kneeling posture. He swung his horse-chopping saber upward in a fierce horizontal slash with both hands. Blood sprayed into the air, and the wolf's head was severed.

Standing directly before the Gray Wolf, Shen Luo was instantly drenched in blood.

"Brother, well done!" Yu Meng crawled out from beneath the wolf's corpse and raised a thumb in praise.

Just as Shen Luo was about to speak, he noticed a disturbance in the distance.

An enormous Black Wolf suddenly leaped onto the city wall. It turned and slammed fiercely into the breach in the wall several times, widening it into a gap more than ten meters across. Then it spun around and dove down. With only a few swipes of its claws, it slit the throats of four or five men defending the city.

Unlike those Gray Wolves, which knew only bloodlust and flesh, it did not feast on the corpses. With a casual swipe of its claws, it sent the bodies flying, then pounced toward several other young men.

At once, the city defense line, which had barely managed to hold together, was torn open. Dozens more Gray Wolves took the chance to rush onto the wall and join the battle.

The Black Wolf, however, vanished amid the chaos after several leaps.

The scattered wolves happened to separate Shen Luo and Yu Meng from everyone else.