Organizing a Defense Against the Ferocious Beasts

The night wind was still blowing, carrying the smell of scorched grass and wood. I sat by the ruins with one knee bent, Flowing Abyss resting across my legs. The spirit beast lay at my feet, its ears twitching from time to time as it stared into the darkness beyond.

That battle had drained too much from me. The cloth wrapped around my left arm was damp with seeping blood. The wound had not been treated, but I could still move it. I closed my eyes and spread out my spiritual sense once more. Within ten li, all was quiet. No large groups of auras were approaching, nor were there any traces of that black mist.

But I knew it would not end like this.

I opened my eyes and looked down at the blade in my hand. One person could not defend this land. Last night, I had been lucky enough to kill the lead wolf before they could encircle me. But what about next time? What if there were ten of them? Twenty? Even more? What if the person behind it all acted personally?

I could not wait.

"I can't keep shouldering this alone," I said softly, turning to the spirit beast. "I need to find people I can trust."

It looked up at me, its eyes brightening as though it understood. I rose to my feet, stuffed the remaining jade slips and medicine bottles back into my robes, and made sure everything was secure. Then I headed west along the edge of the valley.

The first place was a crevice on the northern slope. A wood spirit lived there, green all over like a little tree demon. Half a month ago, a pack of Shadow Wolves had surrounded it. I had casually cut down a few and saved it. It had not said a word then, merely nodded.

Now, standing outside the crevice, I called out, "I'm looking for help defending the valley."

The inside fell silent for several breaths. Then the green figure slowly emerged and stood beneath the moonlight, its branches and leaves swaying faintly.

"The ferocious beasts will come again," I said. "I may not be able to make it here every time. Are you willing to defend this place with me?"

It did not answer immediately. After a while, it nodded softly. A slender branch extended, pointing toward its roots. "I can bind their legs."

That was enough. I noted its location and continued downward.

The second place was a dirt pit beneath the eastern cliff. A rock lizard hid there, its grayish-brown skin nearly identical to the soil. The last earthquake had split open the ground, and it had nearly been buried. I had used Flowing Abyss to pry away the rocks and pull it free.

It poked its head out as soon as it heard my footsteps, its eyes fixed on the blade at my waist.

"I'm setting up an early warning network," I said. "You can sense vibrations through the ground earlier than anyone else. If you notice anything unusual, knock on the ground three times."

It blinked, then lightly tapped its tail against the ground twice to show it understood.

The third place was a foggy area deep within the southern woods. The mist cicada usually remained invisible; only the faint hum of its wings could be heard when it moved. It had once been trapped in poisonous miasma, and I had saved it with a Calming Heart Pill.

I stood at the edge of the forest, pressed my palm against a tree trunk, and sent a thread of spiritual energy inside. A moment later, three short beats of wings sounded in the air.

"From now on, whenever anyone spots the enemy, you'll carry the message everywhere," I said. "Fast, accurate, and without confusion."

There was a brief pause in the mist, followed by a clear answering tone.

The fourth was a little demon by the stream, its translucent body seeming to have condensed from bubbles of water. It only knew a little water-control magic and could not even raise a wave, but it could guide water to a designated place. When a mountain fire had spread before, it had injured its hand guiding the stream over to extinguish part of the fireline.

When I found it, it was curled up behind a rock, burn marks still visible on its body.

"Can you still hold on?" I asked.

It raised its face and nodded, its voice weak. "I can put out fires. I can also make the ground slippery."

"Then stay," I said. "Don't force yourself into a fight. Keep yourself alive."

The last one was that feathered bird. It had originally nested on a high cliff, only for a ferocious bird to seize its home and poison it with toxic mist. I had given it a pill, and it had survived, never straying far afterward.

I found it atop the cliff. It crouched on a broken rock, its feathers not yet fully grown.

"You can fly the highest," I said. "From now on, patrol the skies once every half hour. If you see anything unusual, warn us immediately."

It opened its beak and let out a hoarse cry, then spread its wings and flew up. It circled once in the air before landing back where it had been.

Five of them had agreed.

I returned to the original stronghold and began dividing the areas. The wood spirit would guard the northern slope entrance and set vine snares; the rock lizard would give warnings at the eastern cliff and be the first to detect movement; the mist cicada would relay messages from the center and connect everyone; the Stream Demon would guard the water source and prepare to control any fires; the feathered bird would take turns watching from the sky.

I would hold the center inside the barrier, Flowing Abyss never leaving my hand, my spiritual sense covering the entire valley.

There were not enough materials, so I could only make do. I took out a fragmentary Spirit-Gathering Array diagram rewarded by the system. I had won it in an earlier quiz and never used it. Now I buried it in the earth as the array core. Then I found seven jagged stones and arranged them in a ring according to the method Zhen Yuanzi had taught me, using the terrain to guide the flow of spiritual energy.

This array would not last long, and its power was limited, but it could at least keep the barrier standing a little longer and give us time to react.

"The outer snare array will harass them, the middle traps will restrain them, and I'll defend the inner layer," I said to the spirit beast as I set things up. "You stay with me in the core. Be ready to strike at any time."

It gave a low growl and lay down close beside me.

Dawn was near. I had not closed my eyes. The others were all in position as well. The wood spirit's branches had quietly stretched to the road; the rock lizard had burrowed beneath the soil; the mist cicada had hidden in the morning fog; the Stream Demon soaked in the shallows, ready to move; the feathered bird made one last pass over the valley and nodded three times when it landed.

I sat cross-legged, Flowing Abyss laid across my knees. My spiritual sense spread outward, linking to every person's position. As long as any of them made a move, I would know immediately.

At that moment, the system suddenly displayed a notification:

[Composite defense requirement detected. Preparatory question bank for 'Array Synergy' activated.]

I ignored it. This was not the time for questions. The real test had yet to come.

On the distant ridgeline, the sky had only just begun to pale gray. Wind rushed in through the valley entrance, stirring the tattered strips of cloth and the tassel on Flowing Abyss.

The spirit beast's ears stood upright.

I opened my eyes and looked toward the northern slope.

The wood spirit's branches suddenly tightened, as if they had caught something.

At the same time, three dull knocks sounded from the eastern cliff.

They were here.

The feathered bird suddenly shot into the sky, the beat of its wings hurried and chaotic.

The Stream Demon flipped upright, and water began gathering toward the valley entrance.

The hum of the mist cicada's wings drew a straight line through the air as it rushed toward me.

I gripped Flowing Abyss tightly and rose to my feet.

The first signal had been triggered. Everyone entered position. I gave no order, but they all knew what to do.

The wind grew stronger.

A faint glimmer reflected from the blade, cold enough to sting the eyes.

The soil on the northern slope began to loosen. Something was climbing upward.