Chapter 89: Piercing the Beast Tide

The sun had just risen, and hundreds of Martial Artists and Martial Masters had already gathered before the south gate of the camp, forming a formation like the tip of an arrow.

On the crude walls surrounding the camp, the on-duty Martial Artists were still drawing bows and nocking arrows, resisting the waves of the Beast Tide that kept crashing against them.

The core combatants, led by Lu Hanwen, stood at the front of the arrow formation, waiting for the moment that would eventually arrive.

Not until the very last squad merged into the formation did Lu Hanwen speak in a clear, loud voice:

"Soldiers are raised for a thousand days to be used for a single moment; you have trained in this battle formation for many days for the sake of this very day, for the sake of achieving success in one final battle.

"I won't waste time with unnecessary words; I will only make you this promise—

"After this battle, every Martial Artist and Martial Master, including those guarding the camp in the rear, will receive a reward of fifty taels of silver!

"Of course, this battle is extremely perilous, and it is inevitable that many will die in combat.

"You need not worry; Yangquan City will provide an additional thirty taels of silver as a pension for every fallen soldier and ensure it is delivered personally to your families!"

Hearing of these tangible material rewards, the Martial Artists, who had already made up their minds, raised their heads and puffed out their chests, their eyes erupting with a fiery brilliance:

Fifty taels of silver was no small sum; it was enough to purchase ten mu of fertile land in a prosperous county or a decent-sized property in a major city like Yangquan City!

Including the pensions for the fallen, Yangquan City would have to pay out at least tens of thousands of taels of silver after this battle...

And this did not even include various other necessary expenses.

Even for the great clans within the city, this was an expenditure that would make them wince.

But these Martial Artists were fighting for Yangquan City, and as a representative of the city's powerful clans, Lu Hanwen had the authority and the duty to make this promise.

And Lu Hanwen's next sentence completely ignited the enthusiasm of all the Martial Artists:

"Furthermore, after this battle, we of the Transformation Realm will not hoard the flesh and blood of those Spirit Monsters, or even the Demons; we will share this opportunity equally with all of you!"

For existences of their level, the only things worth noting were the Qi and Blood Origin of the Spirit Monsters and the Origin of that Snake Demon; their flesh and blood were, by contrast, not very important.

Since that was the case, it was better to use these things as rewards in advance.

In this way, it could both extinguish any thoughts the four Transformation Realm experts might have of seeking benefits for their juniors and maximize the fighting spirit of the crowd.

Having said this, Lu Hanwen raised his right fist and shouted, "Wipe out the Beast Tide!"

Under the motivation of the massive rewards and the influence of a common goal, this sentence seemed filled with magic.

Hearing this, the Martial Artists shouted in unison—

"Wipe out the Beast Tide!"

"Wipe out the Beast Tide!"

"Wipe out the Beast Tide!"

Amidst these shouts, the sturdy camp gate was slowly opened.

The beasts that had been launching constant attacks saw that the defensive line they were assaulting had finally revealed a huge gap, and they all lunged forward with green eyes.

But faster than them were the nine Transformation Realm combatants led by Lu Hanwen!

Each of them utilized their specialized techniques and plunged into the beast herd.

Like a hot knife cutting through grease, in just an instant, only a pile of mangled beast corpses remained before the camp gate:

The gap in strength was simply too great—facing combatants of the Transformation Realm, ordinary beasts were no match for these nine at all.

But they also knew well that their purpose was by no means to waste their strength on such "pawns."

Just after exiting the gate, the nine of them headed in nine different directions, rushing straight toward their respective targets that had been discussed beforehand.

Following closely behind the nine were Feng Zi, Qing Lin, and Lu Zhiruo, who held precious bows.

He casually drew his bow and fired, picking off the few fish that had slipped through the net, before stepping into the beast herd with ease.

The Martial Artists in the battle formation naturally would not let this golden opportunity pass, shooting out from the camp like a sharp arrow.

They very opportunely took over the "blank areas" created by their own powerhouses and, relying on this advantage, engaged in combat with the Beast Tide under the support of their allies!

Watching the battle in the rear immediately descend into a white-hot state, Lu Zhiruo repelled an attacking beast while asking, "Should we start acting now?"

Hearing this, Feng Zi merely shook his head casually and replied, "No rush; we must wait until everyone is engaged and has no time to observe the overall situation before we act."

While answering, he continued to nock arrows and repel beasts that came within three steps of him.

A bow and arrow was clearly a long-range response tool, but in Feng Zi's hands, it was as flexible as his own fists and feet.

In Lu Zhiruo's view, she could no longer understand Feng Zi's archery at all.

As the three of them gradually delved deeper, the surrounding beasts became more and more numerous, to the point that they couldn't help but feel as if they were facing off against an "army."

Even Feng Zi put away his playful attitude, a touch of solemnity appearing on his face unconsciously.

As time passed, the first to be unable to hold on was Lu Zhiruo:

This was unavoidable; after all, she was only a Minor Completion Martial Master, her strength was still somewhat lacking here, and the Qi and Blood Power within her body was far inferior to that of Feng Zi and Qing Lin.

After she narrowly repelled a beast once again, Qing Lin also noticed Lu Zhiruo's exhaustion.

She pulled Lu Zhiruo behind her and casually kicked the head of a jackal that had lunged at them to pieces:

"No, your strength is still too weak; you cannot continue like this. You had better hide behind me and Feng Zi."

Lu Zhiruo was clearly not very satisfied with Qing Lin sandwiching her in a safe zone, and she said with dissatisfaction:

"Qing Lin! I know my own state; I am not a burden yet!"

"By the time you realize that, it will already be too late." Before she could continue, Feng Zi interrupted Lu Zhiruo's stubborn words:

"The Qi and Blood Power in your body is already struggling to keep up; do not force yourself in such unnecessary situations—

"In other aspects, you are Qing Lin's teacher, but in terms of combat, you must trust her instincts!"

Having said that, he handed a medicinal herb that replenished Qi and Blood to her:

"You recover your strength first; it has only just begun, and there will be plenty of places for you to play your part later."

Since Feng Zi had explained it to this extent, Lu Zhiruo naturally would not argue any further; she just silently consumed the herb and regulated her breathing:

She was not ignorant of these principles; she had just been habitually stubborn.

Thus, with Feng Zi and Qing Lin handling things casually, the three of them strolled through the beast-surrounded tide as if they were out for a leisurely walk.

Before long, those nine people each sought out their own targets, using their respective methods with their own hidden agendas.

Among them, the battle involving Yue Hong and his two fellow disciples was the most eye-catching:

A flash of emerald light streaked across the distance—the next moment, a massive cyan axe appeared out of thin air in mid-air!