Scattered by the Beast Tide

The party traveled west for two days and entered Blackrock Canyon on the afternoon of the third.

Steep, blackish-brown rock walls rose on either side of the canyon, leaving only a narrow strip of sky overhead. The dirt track had been worn by years of passing feet and was riddled with ruts and hollows. Even at its widest, only two horses could ride abreast.

The party stretched out over nearly a quarter of a kilometer, moving at a modest pace.

After two straight days on the road, everyone was weary.

No one chatted as they had when they first set out. Most slumped over their horses, traveling in silence. Only the howl of wind sweeping past the cliffs and the clatter of hooves on loose stones echoed through the canyon.

Shen Fei rode toward the rear of the party, holding his reins and occasionally scanning the rock walls on either side.

He had spent a year in the City Guard in his previous life and read through all its records on wilderness terrain. He remembered Blackrock Canyon. Long, narrow terrain like this was ideal for an ambush. Once demon beasts sealed off both ends, they would be turtles trapped in a jar.

He stayed alert, his fingertips resting on his sword hilt.

As he watched for movement above, he suddenly heard loose stones tumbling overhead.

The sound was faint, buried in the wind and almost impossible to catch without listening closely. Shen Fei snapped his head up and saw a crimson shadow flash across the top of the cliff. A deafening lion's roar crashed down from above a moment later.

"Demon beasts! On guard!"

Someone shouted from the front of the party. Before the words had faded, packs of demon beasts burst from crevices in the cliffs on either side. Leading them were over a dozen bronze-rank Fanged Beasts, charging straight at the horses with bloodshot eyes.

The horses panicked, rearing and neighing. Several riders lost their grip and fell straight from their saddles.

Chaos erupted in an instant.

Shen Fei immediately swung off his horse and crouched against the cliff, avoiding the terrified horses stampeding past.

He looked up. The enormous crimson lion stood on a jutting rock, faint waves of heat rising from his body as his gold rank 1-star pressure bore down from every direction. He was a Blazing Demon Lion.

A gold rank demon beast was leading dozens of silver- and bronze-rank beasts. An ambush on this scale, in a canyon that should have held only low-tier demon beasts, was anything but normal.

The Beast Horde raced down the slopes at great speed. In the narrow terrain, the party had no room to form up and was scattered in an instant.

"Retreat east! Take the eastern mountain path!" Sheng Mingyuan's voice rang out from the front, amplified by spiritual power.

With guards from the Sacred Nether Family and several branch-family youths around him, he used the terrain to retreat toward the eastern mountain path. The ground was a little wider there, giving them room to shake off the Beast Horde.

The crowd surged east in a panic, many unable to spare a thought for their companions.

Shen Fei edged south along the cliff. South was the way they had come, while the Beast Horde was charging mainly from the north. Retreating south was the safest escape route. With his combat experience, he could feel his way out along the cliff and lose, at most, a horse. He would be in no danger himself.

He had barely taken two steps when, from the corner of his eye, he caught two gray shadows, one behind the other, trapping a plainly dressed figure in a dead end around a bend in the cliff to his left.

It was Xiao Ning'er.

Xiao Ning'er's horse had already bolted in fright. She held a short sword, her back against the cold rock. Two Silverback Wolves blocked her on either side, their forepaws scraping the ground as low growls rumbled in their throats.

The bend was too narrow for the nimble footwork she excelled at. All she could do was brace herself against the wolves' alternating attacks.

Shen Fei saw that a wolf's claws had torn open the sleeve over her left arm. Dark red blood seeped through the fabric.

She gritted her teeth, putting all her strength into each block. But the wolves worked together seamlessly: one feinted from the front while the other circled to bite from the side. They forced her back again and again until her back was pressed flush against the cliff.

At this rate, she would not last another few minutes.

Shen Fei paused for half a second.

He could have simply left. He and Xiao Ning'er had never even met. At most, they shared a nominal engagement arranged by their elders.

If he intervened now, he would not only delay his escape but might also expose combat skills far beyond silver 3-star.

But then he reconsidered. Xiao Ning'er's Inscription Art could prove invaluable when defending the city in the future. It would be a terrible waste for her to die in this canyon so soon.

Besides, this girl's original fate had been an early death. If he could lend her a hand, that was better than watching her tread the same doomed path.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Shen Fei had already bent down, picked up two fist-sized stones, and turned to charge over.

The two Silverback Wolves were preparing to leap together when something suddenly whistled through the air behind them. The rear wolf instinctively turned his head, and a stone struck him squarely in the left eye.

With an agonized howl, the wolf spun wildly in place.

Xiao Ning'er froze for a moment, then looked up to see Shen Fei charging toward her. He held an ordinary Fine Iron Sword and moved with incredible speed. Seizing the instant when the wounded wolf lost his balance, he drove the blade through the soft hide of the wolf's belly and straight into his organs.

His movements were clean and decisive, without a single wasted flourish.

"Watch your left!" Xiao Ning'er recovered and immediately called out a warning. Seeing his companion wounded, the other wolf lunged at Shen Fei's lower back with bloodshot eyes.

Shen Fei did not turn. He slid sideways, narrowly avoiding the claws. A backhanded sword stroke deflected the wolf's jaws, while Xiao Ning'er thrust her short sword from the side, piercing the side of his neck with precision.

Blood sprayed out. The wolf swayed, then crashed heavily to the ground.

In barely a dozen breaths, both silver demon beasts had been dealt with.

Xiao Ning'er panted, bracing herself against the cliff. Blood still seeped from the wound on her left arm, and her face was paler than usual.

She looked at Shen Fei with surprise in her eyes, clearly not expecting him to be the one who saved her.

Before she could thank him, a dense patter of footsteps sounded deeper in the canyon, accompanied by the Blazing Demon Lion's furious roar. More demon beasts were coming their way.

Shen Fei glanced east. There was no one left in sight along the eastern mountain path. Sheng Mingyuan and the others must have broken through.

He had faintly glimpsed Nie Li protecting Ye Ziyun as they slipped into the Western Forest. The closely packed trees would make it difficult for the Beast Horde to pursue them in force. They were safe for the moment.

Now the two of them had been left behind. Heading east after the main party would send them straight into the oncoming Beast Horde. Retreating south meant too long a journey, and the Beast Horde might already have split off to block their escape.

"This way." Shen Fei pointed toward the base of the cliff on the right.

An inconspicuous side passage through the valley lay hidden there, its entrance screened by weeds and shrubs. Without a close look, it was almost impossible to spot.

It was pitch-black inside, and there was no telling where it led. But at least it would let them avoid the main body of the Beast Horde for now.

Xiao Ning'er nodded her agreement without hesitation.

They slipped into the side passage one after the other. Shen Fei led the way, pushing aside obstructing shrubs with his sword and keeping his footsteps light.

Xiao Ning'er followed, pulling up some weeds as she went to obscure their tracks at the entrance.

After they had walked roughly half a kilometer, the Beast Horde's roars gradually faded into the distance. The valley was quiet, save for the rustle of wind through leaves and their footsteps.

The path grew wider as they went. Tall trees lined both sides, and sunlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled patches of light and shadow on the ground.

Only after confirming that no demon beasts had followed did Shen Fei stop.

"Let's rest for a while." He turned toward Xiao Ning'er, his gaze settling on her left arm. "You should treat that wound."

Xiao Ning'er nodded and sat down against a large tree. She took medicine and strips of cloth from inside her clothes, then struggled to loosen her sleeve. Lifting her left arm pulled painfully at the wound. Her brow creased slightly, but she made no sound.

Shen Fei averted his eyes and walked toward the valley entrance to stand watch. With his back to Xiao Ning'er, he watched for movement outside while listening to the sounds behind him.

He heard the rustle of fabric, followed by the faint sounds of medicinal powder being sprinkled. After a while, Xiao Ning'er spoke behind him, her voice a little softer than usual and filled with gratitude.

"Thank you for what you did back there."

"It was no trouble," Shen Fei said evenly. "We're both from Glory City. I couldn't just watch you get surrounded by demon beasts."

He meant what he said. Had an ordinary branch-family youth been surrounded, he might not have taken the risk.

But Xiao Ning'er was different. Her talent for Inscription Art was rare. If she truly developed it, she could be worth an entire squad when they fought the Demon Beast Tide in the future. Keeping her alive now could only benefit his later plans.

Xiao Ning'er said nothing more. Silence settled over the valley, broken only by the wind rustling through the leaves.

A little later, Xiao Ning'er stood and walked over to him. She had dressed the wound, wrapping strips of cloth around her left arm. Traces of medicinal powder showed through the bandage.

Her face was still pale, but her gaze was steady, betraying little weakness.

"The main party should have withdrawn by now." She looked toward the canyon, her tone calm. "Sheng Mingyuan and the others went east. They'll probably circle around to the ruins' entrance and wait for us. Nie Li and Ye Ziyun entered the western forest. They'll most likely head toward the ruins too."

"Mm." Shen Fei nodded. "The beast tide won't stay in the canyon long. Once they disperse, we'll go straight to the main entrance of the Gulan City ruins and rejoin the others."

"Do you think the beast tide appeared by chance?" Xiao Ning'er suddenly asked.

Shen Fei turned to look at her. The girl seemed cool and aloof, but she was perceptive.

"It doesn't look that way." He did not beat around the bush. "A Blazing Demon Lion is a gold rank demon beast. Normally, he stays deep in the mountains. He wouldn't come to a canyon like this to stage an ambush.

"And the timing was too precise. They struck just as the party reached the narrowest stretch, where retreat was difficult in either direction."

Xiao Ning'er was silent for a few seconds before murmuring her agreement. She also felt that something was wrong. But they had no clue who had drawn the beast tide here or what their purpose was. Surely no one in the party had deliberately tried to harm everyone.

"Leave that aside for now." Shen Fei looked away. "We'll rest here until evening and leave once it's completely quiet outside. Traveling at night is unsafe, but we should be able to reach the ruins' entrance before dawn tomorrow."

"All right." Xiao Ning'er had no objection.

They found a rock sheltered from the wind and sat down to rest. Shen Fei took two dry wheat cakes from his pack and handed one to Xiao Ning'er. She accepted it with a quiet word of thanks and began eating slowly.

The rations were dry and hard, scraping their throats as they swallowed. Neither spoke. They ate quietly, conserving their strength.

As Shen Fei chewed his wheat cake, he sorted through the situation in his mind.

The beast tide's arrival was suspicious. In all likelihood, the Dark Guild was involved.

They also had their eyes on the Gulan Ruins and did not want these family youths getting inside without trouble. Luring in the Beast Tide to set an ambush could both reduce their numbers and scatter the party, making it easier to strike from the shadows.

In his previous life, he had never heard the details of this expedition. He only knew that nearly a third of the party had died. Now it seemed that not everyone who had perished in the jaws of a Demon Beast had actually been killed by a Demon Beast.

If that was the case, members of the Dark Guild might already be lying in wait inside the ruins.

Shen Fei glanced at Xiao Ning'er beside him. She leaned against the rock with her eyes closed, regulating her breathing. Her brow was slightly furrowed, as though she was enduring the pain of her wound.

For the next stretch, it would be just the two of them. Xiao Ning'er's injury had reduced her fighting strength. If they encountered more demon beasts along the way, or ran into members of the Dark Guild, things would become troublesome.

He had to be more careful. At least until they rejoined the main party, he could not afford a single mistake.

The sun slowly sank westward, and the light in the valley gradually dimmed. The beasts' roars outside had long since ceased, and the wind had died down considerably.