Killing was easy. Burying the bodies was hard.
But that was no trouble at all for the Salvation Team.
Jiang Qingyue summoned Yellow Weasel.
She put Yellow Weasel to work once again, having the creature bury the Blood Knife Team's bodies.
Then.
Qi Wu clapped his hands, drawing the other two's attention.
"All right, forget about that trash. Let's look at our loot."
He opened his hand. The Full Moon Heart gemstone lay in his palm, glowing softly.
"What should we do with this Exotic Treasure?"
Jiang Qingyue said earnestly:
"Mr. Wu, you're our captain. I agree that you should have full authority over this Exotic Treasure!"
Gale folded his arms and nodded, keeping his reply brief:
"I agree that the captain should have the Exotic Treasure."
Jiang Qingyue and Gale agreed almost without hesitation that the Exotic Treasure belonged to Qi Wu.
Their stance was clear and firm.
In this world where strength reigned supreme, the distribution of spoils was often tied directly to each person's contribution.
Qi Wu had contributed the most by far during this mission. The two of them had played more of a supporting role, so naturally, neither had any objections to him receiving the Exotic Treasure.
Besides, they had absolute trust in Qi Wu as their captain.
Qi Wu looked at them, unsurprised by their reactions. He smiled and accepted without fuss, closing his fingers around the gemstone and putting it away.
"All right, I'll take the Exotic Treasure, then. You two can have my share of the contribution points from this mission."
"Let's go. It'll be dark soon."
With everything wrapped up, the three wasted no more time. They quickly left Lake Heart Island, crossed the silent swamp, and headed toward the outskirts of the forest.
But just as they were about to leave the depths of the forest-
"Awooo!"
A piercing, frenzied wolf howl, brimming with savage fury, suddenly rang out from every direction!
A second followed, then a third... Countless howls answered like a surging tide, shattering the night's silence in an instant!
The entire South Suburbs Forest seemed to erupt!
"What's going on?!"
Gale instantly went on alert, drawing his blade and holding it protectively in front of him.
Jiang Qingyue's expression shifted:
"It's the wolves, but they sound far too crazed! What's happening?"
Qi Wu's gaze sharpened as he immediately grasped the cause:
"It's that goddess's apparition! She vanished, but her power affected the wolves in this forest. As her followers, they've lost the force keeping them in check... A beast tide is coming!"
As if to prove his words, the ground began to tremble faintly, and the trees shook violently.
Countless pairs of eerie green lights flared in the darkness, closing in rapidly from every direction like ghostly flames!
Frenzied roars and pounding footsteps rolled toward them like thunder!
"Go! Don't get bogged down fighting! Get out of the forest!"
Qi Wu acted without hesitation, taking the lead as he charged in the direction he remembered them coming from!
Jiang Qingyue and Gale followed close behind!
The next moment, the terrifying beast tide erupted in full!
Hundreds of Demon Wolves lunged madly out from between the trees and the shadows!
Their faces were twisted with ferocity, their fangs and claws gleaming coldly. Only pure madness and bloodlust remained in their eyes. They had completely lost their reason!
"Awooo!!!"
The mass of wolves surged toward the team like a tidal wave.
"Get lost!"
Gale roared, darting through their ranks like a phantom. His blade blurred with each strike, precisely severing the throats of the lunging Demon Wolves in sprays of blood!
Jiang Qingyue summoned a magic circle, sending enormous rocks flying out one after another to blast away the Demon Wolves trying to attack.
Qi Wu was even more direct. He did not even bother dodging as [Limitless] activated automatically.
Every Demon Wolf that lunged at him was crushed and hurled away by an invisible force before it could touch him!
He was a walking disaster. Wherever he passed, wolves were sent tumbling, and he carved a bloody path straight through the frenzied beast tide!
The three worked in perfect sync, fighting as they retreated at tremendous speed.
Although the Demon Wolves were numerous, their mindless charges only added to the casualties in the face of overwhelming strength.
At last, they spotted the off-road vehicle parked in a concealed spot among the trees!
"Get in!"
Qi Wu barked, pulling open the door.
Gale cut down two Demon Wolves that lunged beside the vehicle, then nimbly slid into the driver's seat.
Jiang Qingyue got in last. Just as she shut the door, a Demon Wolf's claws scraped across it with an ear-piercing screech!
Vroom!
The engine roared. Gale floored the accelerator, and the tires spun furiously against the ground, spraying dirt and shredded grass as the vehicle shot forward like an arrow!
Behind them, the frenzied pack surged like a black tide! The wolves howled and chased the vehicle relentlessly, with Demon Wolves constantly trying to leap onto the roof or slam into the windows!
"Hold on!"
Gale's gaze was sharp as he wrenched the steering wheel, sending the vehicle into wild drifts along the rough forest road and shaking off wave after wave of lunging Demon Wolves.
The off-road vehicle was like a tiny boat in a storm, but its outstanding performance ultimately prevailed. With Gale's expert driving, it forced its way through the wolves' repeated encirclements, drawing ever closer to the forest's edge!
And there, at the edge of the forest-
Shrill alarms blared! Beams from searchlights sliced through the night sky!
A large number of military vehicles and combat personnel in 749 Bureau uniforms had already established a temporary defensive line!
Sandbags, barricades, barbed wire, guns, and even several heavily armored tanks stood ready!
The military and the 749 Bureau had reacted promptly, right as the beast tide erupted.
They had established an initial defensive line outside the forest to keep the beast tide from attacking the city.
A military commander was anxiously scanning the forest through his binoculars.
When he spotted the off-road vehicle charging out like a maddened bull, its body covered in bloodstains and claw marks.
And the vast black beast tide surging madly behind it, his expression changed drastically. He immediately grabbed his radio and roared:
"Target sighted! Large-scale beast tide behind it! All units, attention! Prepare to receive them! Ready the fire cordon! Not a single Demon gets out of this forest!"
The defensive line instantly went on maximum alert, every gun and cannon aiming at the forest exit and the speeding off-road vehicle!
Qi Wu looked at the defensive line standing ready ahead and its flashing warning lights, offering a word of praise:
"Looks like they were pretty quick to react."
Without easing off the accelerator at all, the off-road vehicle charged straight toward that steel defensive line, dragging an endless pack of frenzied wolves behind it!
Boom!
Under the covering fire of the military and the 749 Bureau, swathes of the beast tide charging behind them were cut down.
But the Demon Wolves were Demons, after all.
They were hardly so easy to rout.
Despite the heavy suppressive fire, several visibly larger elite Demon Wolves broke through the barrage. Covered in wounds, they charged toward the off-road vehicle at an even more frenzied pace.
"What a nuisance."
Qi Wu saw them in the rearview mirror.
He was just about to climb out through the roof and hit the Demon Wolves with a blast of Red.
Just then, an enormous pillar of fire descended out of thin air.
Flames swept outward, churning into a blazing sea of fire between the vehicle and the wolf pack.
Caught in the sudden blaze, the elite Demon Wolves howled in agony.
The artillery behind the line immediately opened fire, blasting the Demon Wolves to death.
The off-road vehicle continued for several hundred meters.
The closed wire-mesh gates opened, allowing it into the defensive line.
Qi Wu and the others had just stepped out.
When they saw a red-haired girl standing atop a temporary watchtower, gathering fiery power in her hands to hold back the beast tide.
At the sight of the people getting out, the red-haired girl jolted in surprise.
"Qi Wu?"
Before you continue