The shadows slanted eastward as the sun neared the horizon.
Whoosh!
Above Blackwater City, a streak of red mystic light shot into the sky and burst like fireworks, dazzlingly conspicuous.
At once, the entire Blackwater Army sprang into action.
The city's defensive sentries went on alert.
Numerous night-patrol experts were dispatched from the city to scout deep into Northern Plains Forest.
All other patrol units were ordered to return to camp immediately.
At that moment, on the outskirts of the forest, the Tenth Hundred-Captain Office had just finished assembling.
Deputy Hundred-Household Commander Zhou Bin looked toward Gu Chenfeng, who had just arrived from the forest to assemble.
His face was somewhat pale, and he was clearly in poor condition.
"Hundred-Captain Li, what's wrong?"
Gu Chenfeng waved a hand.
"Nothing. I ran into a powerful pack of beasts deep in the forest just now. Fighting them drained me a little too much.
"By the way, that red light from Blackwater City just now was...?"
"That was the Blackwater Army's highest alert signal. Only the commander has the authority to send a signal of that level.
"The last time I saw that signal was ten years ago, during the Barbarian Tribe's invasion.
"Something major must have happened."
Zhou Bin could not hide the tension and gravity on his face.
Beside him, however, Gu Chenfeng let out a long inward sigh of relief.
It seemed the Blackwater Army's higher-ups had learned of the situation and responded in time.
Back in that gorge, he had personally wiped out the entire Barbarian Tribe battalion.
He had intended to rush out of the gorge and subdue the black-robed shaman, keeping him alive to interrogate him.
But through his divine sense, he had sensed the auras of Zuo Yutang and the others approaching.
So Gu Chenfeng had