Deadly Crisis

Aside from Xia Tao, among the dozen or so figures fleeing frantically were several Black Ice Squad members Fang Yu had seen before, though he did not know their names. Fan Xing was not among them. Those Black Ice Squad members were spattered with blood and in utter disarray. Another seven or eight people sprinted ahead of them. Comprising men and women who looked to be in their thirties and forties, they did not resemble Huguang Martial University students and were most likely civilian martial artists. Their faces were twisted with panic and fury. "These civilian martial artists are clearly slower than Xia Tao, yet they're running ahead of him right now. Were they caught in the crossfire?" Fang Yu deduced instantly. "Did the Black Ice Squad draw this wolf tide?" "Or did the Black Ice Squad take the brunt of the onslaught first?" "Where's Fan Xing?" In that fleeting moment as he looked back, the thought surfaced instinctively in Fang Yu's mind—an instinct natural to the strong. However, the thought dominating his mind was simple: flee! "Quick, dump everything and run!" Fang Yu roared in a low voice. "It's a wolf tide! Let's get out of here!" "So many wind wolves!" The expressions of Bai Chen, Qin Yang, and the others changed drastically. Even with their ordinary sight, they could see silver-gray wind wolves, each standing over 1.5 meters tall. The wind wolves blanketed the land. As far as the eye could see, there were probably over a hundred of them, with even more charging out from the mountain forest behind. The earth trembled; there was no telling how many more were concealed within the woods. They surged like a tidal wave. This was no longer just a mere pack of beasts—it truly deserved to be called a "small beast tide." The vicious beasts in the Wilderness Zone belonged to diverse species, each a link in the food chain. Factoring in their intelligence, most were simply prey hunted by human martial artists. Under normal circumstances, so long as human martial artists did not trespass onto their territory, they would not be attacked. Yet certain beast species were exceptions. Canines, rodents, swine, and a few rare, specialized species... Their reproductive rates were astonishingly high. They could form extraordinarily massive populations, numbering in the hundreds, thousands, or even reaching a horrifying scale of millions. Once such a massive population went on a rampage, surging across the wilderness like a flood, they would drown and devour every beast and human martial artist in their path, forming a beast tide. Wind wolves were also known as "gray wind wolves." They were one of the fastest-breeding branches among wolf-type vicious beasts. Confronted by such an astonishing number of wind wolves, Fang Yu, Bai Chen, and the others all shared the exact same thought: throw away everything to shed weight and run for their lives. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Though it pained them to abandon their spoils, faced with the mortal crisis, Xia Yao, Xiong Meng, and the others immediately cast off their packs and fled desperately after Fang Yu. *Whoosh!* Fang Yu sprinted the fastest, while Bai Chen and Qin Yang were not far behind. Xia Yao and Xiong Meng, however, were much slower. Xia Yao in particular. Sprinting through mountain forests, due to all the obstacles, required not only a sufficient Life Level but also a severe test of movement skill... In both aspects, Xia Yao was the weakest in the squad. In a single breath, the gap between her and the others began to widen. *Not good. I'm too slow. In barely ten seconds, they'll catch up to me. I'm dead.* Xia Yao's face turned deathly pale. She did not blame her teammates. If anyone were surrounded by such a beast pack, even a Level 30 Advanced Martial Artist would perish. Under the crushing weight of impending death, everyone struggled just to save themselves. Who could spare thought for her? "Xia Yao! Hold tight!" A sudden roar startled Xia Yao. Fang Yu, who had been the fastest and was already leading the pack, abruptly wheeled around. With a flash of his silhouette, he arrived right in front of her. A pair of large hands reached out, seizing her shoulders like an eagle snatching a chick. Then, with a forceful hoist, Fang Yu threw Xia Yao onto his shoulders. *Boom!* Fang Yu's muscles coiled tight, power erupting through his legs. Like a bolt of lightning, he surged forward once again. *Me?* *Fang Yu is carrying me?* Xia Yao was completely stunned. She had already given in to despair, never imagining that at such a life-and-death moment, Fang Yu would actually turn back to rescue her and carry her along. A wave of profound emotion surged in her heart. A move like this meant taking on immense risk. Xia Yao gritted her teeth, keeping her mouth shut. Clinging tightly to Fang Yu's clothes, she pressed close to him and adjusted her posture to minimize any disruption to the exertion of his body. She did not feign modesty by shouting nonsense like "Put me down!" If there was still a shred of hope, who wouldn't want to live? *Whoosh!* Moving like a hunting cheetah, even with Xia Yao on his back, Fang Yu was far faster than Xiong Meng and Qin Yang, rapidly catching up to them. Fang Yu even had attention to spare to monitor the situation. Soon, he realized that although the wind wolves appeared frenzied, their eyes were actually fixed entirely on the members of the Black Ice Squad. "Captain!" "Those wind wolves are after the Black Ice Squad! Let's veer off!" Fang Yu shouted. "Don't get dragged down with them!" *Whoosh!* Fang Yu suddenly swerved, shifting his trajectory slightly to the side. "Quick, follow Fang Yu!" "Move!" Bai Chen and the others immediately followed his lead, attempting to flee sideways. "Hurry!" "Follow the martial artists ahead!" The civilian martial artists who had been caught in the disaster noticed this as well and madly charged toward Fang Yu's direction. They sought to get away from the Black Ice Squad. "Stay on them!" "Pass them!" "Make them hold off the tide for us!" How could the Black Ice Squad let them have their way? They similarly shifted their course to follow them to the side. Or rather, the Black Ice Squad was deliberately dragging them down into the water to buy themselves a chance to escape. *Boom!* Xia Tao moved with broad, sweeping strides like a ferocious tiger, swiftly overtaking the fleeing civilian martial artists. A sinister, furious grin crossed his face. "A bunch of second-rate martial artists! I told you to stop and help, yet you dared refuse? You're courting death!" Xia Tao lunged forward, staying low like a tiger pouncing on its prey, and his battle saber sliced toward the thigh of one of the civilian martial artists. *Thud!* *Crack!* With a sudden burst of thousands of kilograms of force, the razor-sharp battle saber instantly sheared through the sturdy fabric of his trousers, carving open a massive gash. Blood immediately gushed from the thigh of the civilian martial artist, a man in his forties. Though the bone was spared, excruciating pain surged through him, causing him to stumble as his speed plummeted. "You!" Despair washed over the man's face, his eyes blazing with fury at Xia Tao. "Brother!" "Old Yu!" The other civilian martial artists in the team instinctively slowed for half a beat, glaring in utter rage at the approaching Xia Tao. They had never expected someone could be so shameless. "All of you stay behind and hold off these beasts!" Xia Tao sneered maliciously. Swerving again, he lunged toward another civilian martial artist ahead of him. "Run!" "Move!" "That bastard!" The civilian martial artists were terrified and furious. They could all see Xia Tao's intent: he wanted to wound them, forcing them into a fight while using the scent of their blood to rile up the wind wolves and draw their attention. They tried to dodge. However, Xia Tao's speed was astonishing, and his strength far surpassed theirs. Casual flashes of his saber were more than they could parry; one by one, they were struck, their speed severely crippled. Most of Xia Tao's strikes targeted their legs without hitting bone. While not crippling their combat ability entirely, it drastically reduced their movement speed. "Damn you! Ah!" one civilian martial artist roared, trying to swing his weapon in retaliation. "Hahaha..." Xia Tao laughed smugly, sneering, "A bunch of second-rate martial artists actually want to hurt me? You think you're worthy? Every single one of you can go feed the wolves." "With their help, our Black Ice Squad has a much better shot at making it out." Xia Tao glanced back at his teammates and barked, "Hurry!" Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The members of the Black Ice Squad finally caught up to the wounded civilian martial artists. In an instant, they sped past them. In truth, Xia Tao was not acting out of the goodness of his heart to save his teammates. But he was leading this operation, they belonged to the same squad, and he was the captain. If the team suffered catastrophic casualties... he would lose a massive amount of Primordial Points and might even have his rank demoted. As for these civilian martial artists... In Xia Tao's eyes, he had merely wounded them. Even if they were torn to shreds by the wolf tide, it would hardly affect him. *Rumble! Awoo! Awoo!* The overwhelming wave of wind wolves surged forward. Most of them still poured all their effort into pursuing the Black Ice Squad, yet a large pack, provoked by the scent of blood drifting through the air, charged straight toward the civilian martial artists. *Bang!* *Rip!* "Damn it! That bastard set us up!" Their eyes nearly splitting with hatred, the civilian martial artists were forced to quickly form a defensive circle, desperately clashing with the wind wolves. "Ah!" One martial artist had his shoulder torn away in a single bite by a wind wolf, his severed arm flying through the air. *Awoo!* Stimulated by the scent of blood, a large number of wind wolves grew even more frenzied. ... After blasting past the civilian martial artists, the Black Ice Squad continued to stick close behind the Scarlet Flame Squad, the gap between the two sides closing rapidly. After all, the members of the Black Ice Squad were generally stronger. "Shameless!" "Utterly shameless!" Bai Chen's eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth. "Xia Tao clearly wants to use us as meat shields! Fang Yu, let's split up and run!" "Split up," Qin Yang said, his gaze icy. "The wolf tide's target isn't us." Staying grouped made for too large a target, and with the Black Ice Squad clinging to them, they would surely die... By scattering, since they were not the wolf tide's primary quarry, they might still find a slim chance of survival. Yet right at that moment— *Rumble!* The mountain forest ahead of them violently shuddered, followed by the sound of snapping trees. From the cliffside above, several dark afterimages leaped out and slammed heavily onto the ground. Three enormous, stunningly beautiful giant wolves covered in pure black fur stood before them. Each stood over two meters tall, their body lengths reaching a terrifying four to five meters. Two of the giant wolves were slightly smaller, their coats speckled with a trace of gray. Yet the lead wolf's fur gleamed pitch-black, devoid of the slightest blemish. Most striking were its blood-red eyes, burning like two balls of fire. Its gaze was bright, carrying a flicker of intelligence, and contained boundless, simmering fury. *Treasure-stealing humans!* Its eyes swept past Fang Yu, Bai Chen, and the others in the lead, locking firmly onto Xia Tao.