Chen Mu sprang forward with his lightness skill, never stopping along the way. He passed the Azure Dragon Martial Academy without going inside.
In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he climbed the western wall and reached the Watchtower.
Strangely, no great mass of demon beasts had gathered outside the city.
The war drums had sounded thirty times earlier, then stopped.
Yet Chen Mu did not let down his guard.
He knew the war drums were not sounded lightly. The defenders on the walls must have discovered something.
Many soldiers defending the city had already gathered here.
Liu Meng and the other academy disciples were scattered along the walls, keeping watch.
Zheng Hongyi was observing the enemy through the Bronze Thousand-Mile Spyglass.
Chen Mu's arrival immediately prompted everyone to greet him.
"Ninth Senior Brother!"
"Lord Chen!"
Without pausing for even a step, Chen Mu went to Zheng Hongyi's side.
"Brother Zheng, how do things stand?"
He voiced his question.
Just then, Liu Qingcang also led his troops up onto the wall.
Wu Yue and Li Huanzhen followed behind him, each bringing men to take up defensive positions.
Once everyone had gathered, Zheng Hongyi lowered the spyglass and said gravely:
"A scout just reported finding large quantities of snake sloughs at the northern water inlet."
"Those beasts must have entered the water."
Everyone's heart tightened at his words.
"How many?" Liu Qingcang asked.
Zheng Hongyi shook his head and merely said, "Large numbers of demon beasts have already gathered to the north. Our reconnaissance scouts can't get through."
"We'll have to wait until Martial Master Xiao returns, or until we discover something else..."
Everyone was startled as he explained.
It turned out that Xiao Wenbin had gone north to investigate the beacon tower last