Why Was He Running So Fast?

Ding Chen turned back and said, "Old Zhao said they were wolf demons and Thunder Patterned Leopards, around five hundred in all. The strongest were late-stage minor demons. We have to haul them all back before nightfall."

Old Zhao was Zhao Tong, the Chief Medic of the Cooks' Camp.

"Thunder Patterned Leopards?"

Chen Xian's eyes flickered slightly. In his memories, Thunder Patterned Leopards possessed formidable defenses and were even more adept at speed. Their offensive power, however, was about the same as wolf demons.

The battlefield was never fixed; its location changed every time.

This time, it was west of Wumeng Mountain.

When Chen Xian and the others arrived, they saw corpses strewn throughout the valley. Blood qi drifted through the air, and the stench was unbearable.

Zhao Tong, another Minor Cook Leader, and the cooks under them had arrived earlier and were loading demon corpses.

Ding Chen was also busy directing Chen Xian and the other fourteen. They split into pairs and began loading the carts.

Chen Xian was paired with Wang Yan. Together, they lifted a Thunder Patterned Leopard weighing five or six hundred jin and tossed it onto the cart. Its fur was silver-white, its thunder patterns black, and its head looked utterly ferocious.

When they loaded the seventh wolf demon, Chen Xian noticed its claw twitch. He immediately drew the straight saber from his waist and drove it into the wolf demon's neck.

Wang Yan had not noticed. Just as he bent down, he saw Chen Xian draw his blade and stab the wolf demon, startling him. Then blood sprayed all over his face.

The wolf demon let out a miserable howl, struggled a few times, and went completely still.

Sacrificed the soul of a spirit creature. Obtained 27 Experience Points.

A prompt appeared on the panel before Chen Xian's eyes, and his heart tightened. This wolf demon truly had not been fully dead.

"A spirit creature?"

The wolf demons he had killed before had been minor demons, each yielding 157 Experience Points.

Sacrificing the soul of a spirit creature gave far less experience.

Yet for the current Chen Xian, 27 Experience Points were equivalent to twenty-seven months of Martial Cultivation. They were incomparably precious.

Zhao Tong, Ding Chen, and the others' expressions shifted as they all looked toward Chen Xian.

"It wasn't fully dead?" Ding Chen rushed over and asked.

Chen Xian pulled out his saber, sheathed it, and nodded. "It wasn't fully dead, but it had no strength left to resist!"

Zhao Tong also came over for a look, then immediately instructed everyone to inspect carefully. If any were not fully dead, they were to give them another slash.

After that.

Chen Xian and Wang Yan were especially vigilant while carrying Demonic Beast corpses.

Chen Xian in particular. Though he could not take to the battlefield to slaughter demons, picking up scraps was not bad either. The danger was low, and he could still gain Experience Points.

Half an hour later.

Zhao Tong, the other Minor Cook Leader, and the rest had loaded their carts and began transporting them back to camp.

Meanwhile, Chen Xian and the others were still loading. One cart could only hold five Demonic Beast corpses over two meters long.

By the time seven carts were full, Chen Xian had not encountered another demon that was not fully dead. He could not help sighing inwardly. Even picking up scraps was difficult.

Then came the second trip, the third trip...

In the blink of an eye, they were on the seventh trip, and dusk was approaching.

The other team of cooks was faster than them. Once they had loaded their carts, few Demonic Beast corpses remained on the field.

Chen Xian and the others hurriedly loaded up. Once they were done, they still had to return and make dinner.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew in from afar, stirring the drifting blood qi without dispersing it.

Chen Xian and Wang Yan were carrying a Thunder Patterned Leopard when they both frowned.

That cold gust had come quickly and gone quickly, yet it sent a chill down their spines.

Chen Xian lowered his head and glanced at the Thunder Patterned Leopard in his hands. This demon was rather large, at least minor-demon level, and its body still retained some warmth.

Could it also not be fully dead?

"Wait!"

Chen Xian called softly, then gave Wang Yan a look.

Wang Yan understood at once. The two slowly set down the Thunder Patterned Leopard, then both drew their straight sabers and stabbed toward its neck.

Squelch, squelch...

Wang Yan was weaker than Chen Xian and could only pierce three cun deep, but Chen Xian's strike went straight through the Thunder Patterned Leopard's neck.

Blood splashed everywhere.

The two of them retreated at once.

No prompt?

Chen Xian's eyes flickered. Since the panel had given no prompt, the Thunder Patterned Leopard before them had already been dead. Its remaining warmth likely meant it had only just died completely.

What a pity. He had discovered it too late!

Chen Xian sighed inwardly.

"Another one not fully dead?"

Ding Chen spotted the unusual movements of Chen Xian and Wang Yan from afar and could not help asking.

"It's fully dead!"

Chen Xian answered, then began moving the corpse with Wang Yan.

"Pick up the pace! Once we finish moving them, we head back!" Ding Chen swept his gaze over everyone and dragged a wolf demon corpse by himself.

Whoosh!

The icy wind blew again, stirring the blood qi.

The foul stench seeped in through every opening.

Chen Xian rubbed his neck and raised his head to glance into the valley.

He had always been cautious by nature. Having come to this world of demonic chaos, he had become even more so.

At the slightest rustle of wind or grass, he became alert.

It was July. Even if the mountain wind was a little cool at dusk, it should not have carried such bone-piercing cold.

He noticed that Ding Chen, Wang Yan, and the others had also turned to look into the valley.

Chen Xian's eyes flickered. It seemed there was a reason the five of them had survived last time; they were all quite meticulous.

After looking for a moment, Ding Chen withdrew his gaze and said, "Everyone, hurry up. The moment we finish loading, we return."

Chen Xian said nothing. He and Wang Yan lifted a wolf demon corpse and tossed it onto the cart.

Among the fifteen, he was the strongest. Whether it was his eyesight or hearing, both were exceptionally sharp.

Just after tossing the wolf demon corpse down, his ears twitched slightly.

He heard the faint sound of pebbles rolling in the distance.

He immediately roared, "There are demons!"

Demons?

Ding Chen, Wang Yan, and the others froze, then all drew their long sabers and shouted warily, "Where?"

Chen Xian also drew his long saber and pointed it toward the depths of the valley.

Ding Chen frowned. "Are you sure?"

The dense blood qi rolled, and suddenly, a pair of dazzling blood-red lights appeared.

Before Chen Xian could answer, Ding Chen, Wang Yan, and the others had all seen them.

"There really are demons!"

Wang Yan shouted and backed away.

Ding Chen also roared, "Retreat! Retreat now!"

First, they did not know how many demons there were. Second, as cooks, there was no need for them to fight demons. Their best course was to quickly return to camp and report to the vanguard.

In an instant, everyone abandoned the demon corpses and sprinted toward the Ninth Camp.

Chen Xian did not hesitate either. He fled even faster than Ding Chen and the other fourteen.

"Why was he running so fast?" A fair-faced young man beside Ding Chen wore a look of utter astonishment.

His name was Qin Fei, one of the survivors from last time.

Ding Chen, Wang Yan, and the others were equally stunned. In only a moment, Chen Xian's back had already vanished from sight.

Roar!

At that moment, an angry roar finally came from behind them.

Ding Chen and the others turned back for a look.

They saw a tiger demon with a burly frame and blood-red eyes, running upright like a man. It was incredibly fast.

"Only one?"

Amid the rolling blood mist, only one tiger demon charged out. No other demons were in sight.

Even so, Ding Chen still shouted for everyone to flee faster.

If a single tiger demon dared charge out alone, it was at least a minor demon. Even if all of them joined forces, they would not be able to defeat it.

"Hm?"

Chen Xian had already fled three li when he heard the demon's roar. He looked back and found that no one else had caught up.

He froze slightly, hesitating over whether to go back and help.

His current position was still ten li from the Ninth Camp. If he ran back to notify the vanguard, Ding Chen and the others would likely already have met with disaster by the time they arrived.

"Is there only one demon?"

Chen Xian's eyes flickered. He had heard only one demon roaring.

After hesitating again and again, he finally gritted his teeth and turned back.

"Chen Xian, that coward, ran faster than a rabbit..." Wang Yan said angrily, but before he could finish, he saw a figure charging toward them along the distant mountain path, saber in hand.

It was Chen Xian.