"There’s only one Sect Beast. The rest are all Spirit Beasts and ordinary Magical Beasts at the Martial Artist, Martial Master, and Grand Martial Master Realms."
Soon, the reinforcement Martial Artists dispatched by the Xuanling Empire reported the Magical Beasts’ levels. Hearing that most were just ordinary Magical Beasts of the Martial Artist, Martial Master, and Grand Martial Master Levels, Wang Mo and Mu Gu Tian couldn’t help but breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief. That Sect Beast was a huge problem that their two families couldn’t handle even if they joined forces. However, among the Martial Artists sent from the Imperial Capital, there were some whose auras were no weaker than the Sect Beast’s.
"Most of them are just ordinary Magical Beasts? A force of this scale dares to dream of invading human territory? What a joke!"
"Boss! They’re not people, they’re Magical Beasts!"
"Hmm! Is that so? Then it’s a beast’s foolish dream! Everyone, charge! We’re switching from defense to offense! We’ll crush their tide in its infancy!"
"Yes, sir!"
This string of dialogue came from the Imperial Guards, making Mu Gu Tian, Wang Mo, and the others break into a nervous sweat. But the order to attack had been given, and their two families were already prepared to support the assault!
"Charge!"
"ROAR!!"
A roar from tens of thousands of throats erupted from the Imperial Guards. One by one, they gripped their weapons and charged toward the Beast Tide, leaving only five people standing in place.
Seeing the Imperial Guards charge out, Mu Gu Tian turned his head to Wang Mo and said, "Brother Wang, we can’t just sit here and wait for death either. Let’s go together!"
"Let’s go!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mu Gu Tian let out a low shout. A white vortex of energy burst from his body, wrapping tightly around him like a sheath of white flame.
Beneath his feet, five green Martial Rings slowly materialized, shimmering with a crystalline light. Standing beside Mu Gu Tian, Wang Mo saw this and rolled his eyes. "Old Gu, you’re really something else. In the last two years, you actually reached the realm of a Five-Ring Martial Spirit. I’m still just a Four-Ring Martial Spirit."
Mu Gu Tian chuckled. "Ever since I broke through to Martial Spirit, I’ve found that my Cultivation aptitude seems to have improved quite a bit! Huh? The battle up ahead has already started. We should hurry, or those Imperial Guards will get annoyed! Elites of the Mu Family, charge with me!"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
Hearing Mu Gu Tian’s command, all the elites of the Mu Family assembled at top speed. They simultaneously unleashed their Martial Artist’s Primordial Power, and one after another, orange and yellow Martial Rings flashed into view among the crowd, bathing the area around Luofeng City’s North City Gate in brilliant light!
Seeing the Mu Family’s magnificent display of power, Wang Mo shot into the air right after them, his own cultivation realm instantly on display—a Four-Ring Martial Spirit! At the same time, the elite members of the Wang Family quickly merged into the Mu Family’s ranks. The two groups converged. Although their individual cultivation realms were not high, their sheer numbers formed a force no weaker than that of a Martial Arts Master!
"Let’s move out!"
After the two shouts, the Mu and Wang families charged toward the Beast Tide ahead. In the first clash, Mu Gu Tian spotted a Gale Leopard that had broken through the Imperial Guards’ encirclement. Its eyes were blood-red, and its sharp claws were stained with blood. The instant it broke free, instead of launching a sneak attack on the Imperial Guards, it made a break for Luofeng City’s main gate! This strange behavior was what caught Mu Gu Tian’s attention.
"Vile beast! If you want to get through, you’ll have to get past me first!"
"BOOM!"
With a low shout, Mu Gu Tian’s fist, empowered by Primordial Power, slammed viciously into the Gale Leopard’s abdomen! The Gale Leopard had just broken through and paid no attention to its surroundings. Caught completely off guard, it was sent flying backward by Mu Gu Tian’s blow.
"ROAR...!"
"THUD!"
As it hit the ground, the Gale Leopard coughed up a few drops of blood. It scrabbled at the earth with its claws for a moment, then roared in fury and charged at Mu Gu Tian.
To be injured by a single blow from Mu Gu Tian, this Gale Leopard was clearly not of a high level. So, as the leopard charged, Mu Gu Tian didn’t even bother to dodge. Instead, he simply leaned his body to the side, easily evading its pounce. The instant the Gale Leopard’s body flew over his head, he shot out a fist, smashing it heavily into the beast’s ribs!
"CRACK!"
A crisp cracking sound came from the Gale Leopard’s chest. The huge force of the blow sent its body flying high into the air as a spray of red blood erupted from its mouth! After spitting out the blood, the Gale Leopard’s legs twitched twice in midair before it lost consciousness. Its entire body fell to the ground with a THUD, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Old Gu, not bad! You’re still as sharp as ever!"
In the distance, Wang Mo, who was fighting a Furious Barbarian Bear, smashed a fist into the bear’s nose, sending its massive body staggering back dozens of steps. He happened to see Mu Gu Tian finish off the Gale Leopard and immediately shouted his praise.
Mu Gu Tian turned his head, about to reply, when he suddenly noticed a barely perceptible figure appear behind Wang Mo. Mu Gu Tian was all too familiar with the owner of this silhouette.
"A Phantom Gale Leopard!"
Though the name only had the word "Phantom" added, Mu Gu Tian knew this Gale Leopard was far more powerful than the one he had just killed! Because it could conceal its form!
"Hmph! A mere bear wants to get the better of me? You’ve got some nerve!"
Wang Mo, his eyes fixed on the Furious Barbarian Bear in front of him, had no idea that an enemy was already lurking in the shadows behind him, watching him like a tiger stalking its prey.
"SHINK!"
Pushing off with its four paws, the hidden Phantom Gale Leopard suddenly lunged forward. Sharp claws shot out from its soft pads, and judging by their metallic glint, if that strike landed, Wang Mo would have no hope of survival!
"A sneak attack! I won’t let you have your way!"
Stomping his foot, Mu Gu Tian’s figure moved like a gale of wind, appearing in front of the Phantom Gale Leopard in an instant. He reached out, grabbed its front paws, and yanked down hard! The Phantom Gale Leopard was in mid-pounce. Hidden as it was, it had no idea that its form had been clearly visible to Mu Gu Tian from a distance.
With no balance and no time to react, the Gale Leopard was instantly pulled down. Not only that, but Mu Gu Tian also took the opportunity to form a Primordial Energy Vortex over his right knee, driving it upward to meet the falling leopard!
"BANG!"
"CRACK!"
Another crack of bone. Mu Gu Tian was like a seasoned Hunter, knowing the weaknesses of leopard-type Magical Beasts like the back of his hand! The broken ribs weren’t the actual cause of death. The real reason was that the shattered ribs formed bone blades that stabbed directly into the Magical Beast’s internal organs, dealing a fatal blow!
"Aooo..."
As Mu Gu Tian tossed aside the dead Phantom Gale Leopard, Wang Mo also succeeded in completely finishing off the Furious Barbarian Bear before him.
Only then did he notice that Mu Gu Tian had appeared behind him at some point. Beside Mu Gu Tian lay a stiff Phantom Gale Leopard, its eyes wide and round, blood trickling from its mouth and nose. Judging from its expression, the Phantom Gale Leopard’s death had been extremely sudden.
When he saw the Phantom Gale Leopard’s rigid body, Wang Mo’s back was instantly covered in cold sweat. As a Four-Ring Martial Spirit and a family Patriarch, he of course understood what that pouncing motion meant! And he understood even more clearly why Mu Gu Tian had suddenly appeared behind him.
"Old Gu! There are no words to thank you!"
Without any more words, Wang Mo just solemnly spoke those seven, then turned and charged back into the horde of Magical Beasts. True friendship is forged in adversity. At this moment, Wang Mo trusted Mu Gu Tian completely! Even if their children didn’t marry in the future, he no longer worried that the Mu Family would replace the Wang Family to rule Luofeng City alone.
Seeing Wang Mo’s back, Mu Gu Tian smiled warmly and said to himself, ’Brother Wang, oh, Brother Wang, now there can finally be no barriers between us.’ After speaking, Mu Gu Tian also plunged directly into the Beast Tide, found another target, and began a vicious fight!
Soon, this relatively small-scale Beast Tide was cleaned up with the help of tens of thousands of Imperial Guards and three thousand elites from the Mu and Wang families. But after all the smaller Magical Beasts were dealt with, the leading Sect Beast finally descended from the sky. With a single Elemental Power Cannon, it annihilated dozens of Imperial Guards!
The appearance of this Sect Beast caused considerable chaos. Fortunately, the five experts who had remained at the city gate all charged up at once. With the five of them attacking together, they dealt with it quite easily.
Overall, the Xuanling Empire’s defense in this battle wasn’t particularly difficult. The Magical Beasts’ levels were uniformly low. Casualties were inevitable, but there were far more injuries than deaths. The elites of the Mu and Wang families, who were assisting the Imperial Guards from the rear, suffered no significant harm. Not a single one of them died.
"Was the Emperor telling the truth?" After killing the Sect Beast, the five returned to the base of the city gate. One of them curled his lip and wagged his finger. "I barely threw two punches and that Sect Beast was already dead. So boring."
"Shut up." Another man with a cold expression snapped at him. "Are the words of His Majesty the Emperor something you can casually second-guess?! All of you, keep your eyes peeled. If the scale of this Beast Tide was only this small, His Majesty the Emperor would absolutely not have been so anxious! From my years of experience in battle, I’m afraid this Beast Tide is far from simple!"
"And this wave! It might just be a small probe before the Magical Beasts’ main assault!" After speaking, this serious man stomped his foot and shot swiftly into the air. His sharp, discerning eyes swept across the Demon Beast Forest, but aside from the broken trees and branches crushed by the beasts, there seemed to be no other movement!
’Is this really the only wave?’ The serious man frowned. He suddenly realized that the Demon Beast Forest had become extremely quiet—eerily, unnervingly so.
"No! The next Beast Tide... is already here!"
The serious man’s words had barely faded when an earth-shattering rumble suddenly rose from beneath the feet of the Imperial Guards...