Life or Death

"Awoo—" The wolf king howled frantically. It had realized that among this group of human martial artists, the greatest threat was Fang Yu; as long as Fang Yu was killed, the rest posed no threat. The two alpha wolves roared. Numerous wind wolves surged forward. *This is bad,* Fang Yu thought, anxious. Right now, he appeared ferocious, resembling an Advanced Martial Artist and forcing even the wolf king not to dare recklessly step forward to clash with him. In reality, however, this was only because of his burst of Dark Force. *A burst of Dark Force doubles my strength!* *But the stamina consumption is immense. I fought other fierce beasts not long ago, so my stamina wasn't at its peak to begin with. I can't hold out for long.* Fang Yu's gaze turned chillingly cold. *Xia Tao! That cowardly bastard!* If Xia Tao had stayed, with the two of them launching a coordinated assault, they would have had more than an eighty percent chance of slaying the wolf king. Yet Fang Yu had never expected this. It wasn't even an inescapable death trap, yet that man had fled at the very first moment, completely disregarding everyone else... He hadn't even hesitated to abandon teammates who had shared life and death with him. For someone to be so utterly shameless and devoid of a bottom line was beyond Fang Yu's comprehension. Truly, Fang Yu was filled with murderous intent toward Xia Tao! However... Fang Yu also knew that now was not the time to dwell on Xia Tao. Out of the corner of his eye, he swept a glance over the large pack of wind wolves charging in. *If I run now, I still have a thirty percent chance of surviving.* If Fang Yu fled with a burst of Dark Force, his short-term speed would be no slower than the wolf king's. But if he didn't run now... Once the massive pack of wind wolves completely closed their encirclement, Fang Yu would be dead without the wolf king even needing to strike... Among so many wind wolves, there were plenty at Level 25 and Level 26, which posed tremendous threats. *What should I do? What do I do?* Fang Yu's heart churned with extreme urgency. If he fled alone, the captain and the others were certain to die... That was precisely why Fang Yu had risked his life in combat earlier. Having spent this time together, he couldn't just stand by and watch a group of friends die. Yet now, he had to make a choice once more. Flee? He still had a chance to survive alone! Don't flee? There was a ninety-nine percent probability that he would die alongside them! He had only a second or two left. Suddenly! Another lightning-fast saber slash whipped out. *Hm?* Fang Yu suddenly felt it. Under this state of intense anxiety, pushed to the utmost limit by the strain of channeling Dark Force, he finally made contact. At this moment... The profound mystery of the saber technique he had painstakingly pursued completely integrated into his soul. Body, mind, war saber... reached a state of truly perfect harmony at this instant. This was not merely saber Entering the Minute. It was—Unity! It was the ultimate lethal secret technique of the Flowing Light Saber—Flowing Shadow! Comprehending it signified reaching the peak of weapon technique at the Entering the Minute level. In this instant, the weapon seemed to become a complete extension of his body. As the long saber slashed out, both his instantaneous burst of speed and the speed of the saber surged to a terrifying degree. The speed of this slash multiplied several times over. A faint streak of saber light seemed to linger in the air as it swept across the neck of the giant wolf before him in a flash. *Pfft!* The alpha wolf's tough fur and hide tore apart in an instant. Its head was nearly severed, blood splattering everywhere as it crashed heavily to the ground. The alpha wolf was dead! Fang Yu's condition at this moment was better than it had ever been. He felt the blood throughout his body burning, boiling. His mobilization of vital energy and blood, tendons, bones, and every muscle bundle reached an unprecedented peak. It was no longer mere sensation! It was a feeling close to actually "seeing" it. The control over all the vital energy, blood, and physical power throughout his body was under his complete command, and he could even faintly perceive the transmission of force within his weapon. "Awoo—" "Roar—" The alpha wolf was dead, but a large swarm of wind wolves had already charged up, blocking the path between Fang Yu and the wolf king. "Kill!" Fang Yu shifted his footing, moving like wind and shadow. His speed spiked once more by a significant margin. Shield held to protect himself with one hand, he swung his long saber to slay enemies with the other, unleashing countless nimble, lethal blossoms of saber light. *Slash!* *Thud!* *Rip!* One wind wolf after another—whether weaker ones at Level 20 or formidable beasts at Level 25 and 26—was struck down, killed or severely maimed in a single blow. With long saber in hand, Fang Yu was like a god of war. No fierce beast could halt his advance, leaving only a trail of wolf carcasses and ground soaked in blood. ... "Fang Yu." "This kind of saber technique?" The members of the Black Ice Squad were already dumbstruck. "Good! Amazing!" "Hold on!" Seeing this scene, Bai Chen, Qin Yang, and the others were wildly ecstatic, their spirits soaring as they fought with all their might to withstand the wolves' onslaught. Fortunately! Xia Tao had drawn off a large number of wind wolves, and the Black Ice Squad members had attracted heavy firepower, which was what had allowed them to hold out until now... But they, too, were nearing their limits. *Snap!* A wind wolf abruptly clamped its jaws onto Xia Yao's thigh. The bite instantly punctured through her combat suit, fracturing her bone. Pain flooded through her, and the suit frayed around the wound, leaving Xia Yao barely able to stay on her feet. "Get lost!" Bai Chen roared furiously, thrusting his spear to fling the wind wolf away. But another wind wolf lunged suddenly, snapping viciously at Bai Chen's hand. Though Bai Chen vibrated his spear shaft and yanked his hand back with lightning speed, he was still a fraction too slow. A finger was bitten off in an instant, blood spraying. "Kill!" Bai Chen's eyes turned red. Feeling no pain at all, he continued desperately channeling Dark Force, frantically thrusting his spear at the wind wolves, yet there were simply too many of them... Suddenly! "Die!" A thunderous roar erupted. "Awoo—" Nearly a hundred meters away came an agonizing wail. Fang Yu had fought his way through the beast horde with his shield. Drenched in blood, he resembled a crimson phantom as he pursued the wolf king, which was attempting to flee. At this moment, Fang Yu's speed was even faster than the wolf king's! The wolf king swung its sharp claws in an attempt to block him, but Fang Yu's strength and speed were even more terrifying. His saber technique, in particular, was as misty, ethereal, and swift as a dream! True to its name—Flowing Shadow! *Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* In an instant, nine saber lights flashed simultaneously, making it impossible for the wolf king to tell which strike was real and which was false. *Pfft!* The tip of the blade stabbed into the wolf king's lower jaw and swept upward, spinning like a slicing blade that cleaved away a third of the wolf king's skull in an instant! Retreating explosively after a single strike! Fang Yu landed more than ten meters away from the wolf king, his eyes locked onto it as blood gushed like a geyser and the beast collapsed heavily. The creature continued to thrash and twist, but after only a few moments, it stopped moving completely. Even in death! The wolf king's eyes held an expression of disbelief. It had dominated the wilds for years, struggling to grow step-by-step in the North Cliff Mountains, and had even gained a fortunate encounter to become a Level 30 high-level fierce beast, awakening a trace of sapience. It had thought it had an even grander future ahead. And yet! It had actually died at the hands of a seemingly unremarkable human martial artist? "Awoo—" "Roar—" Hundreds of surviving wind wolves remained, but upon seeing the wolf king, both alpha wolves, and most of the high-level wind wolves all dead, how could they dare linger? Growling low, they rapidly fled toward the mountain forests behind them. They soon vanished from everyone's sight. Watching the retreating beast tide, Fang Yu held his saber and shield in hand, making no move to pursue. Then, with a single dart, he closed a dozen meters. After several successive flashes of movement, he approached the two surviving Black Ice Squad members and glared at them with icy eyes. "Fang Yu." "We..." The two surviving Black Ice Squad members were still gasping for breath. Looking at Fang Yu—drenched in blood and closing in step by step—their breath hitched in their chests, their hearts in their throats. Having witnessed Fang Yu's strength, they knew full well they were no match for him. "Get lost!" Fang Yu spat out coldly. "Yes, we'll leave right away." "We're going right now." The two Black Ice Squad members felt as though they had received an amnesty and prepared to flee. "Aren't you going to take your teammate with you?" Fang Yu pointed toward a Black Ice Squad member nearby who had already been partially gnawed on, a thread of anger in his voice. Of the three Black Ice Squad members, one had been killed just now. "We'll take him." "Hurry, let's go." The two hurriedly hoisted their teammate's corpse onto their backs. Disregarding their exhaustion, they quickly oriented themselves toward the space base and fled at top speed. Only after the two had completely vanished into the distance... "Cough... Cough..." Fang Yu could hold on no longer. He began coughing heavily, his tall, straight posture suddenly giving way as he nearly slumped to the ground. This bloody battle had practically squeezed every last drop of his stamina dry. "Fang Yu." "Brother Fang." Apart from Xia Yao, who was injured and half-reclined where she was, Bai Chen, Qin Yang, and the others rushed over immediately, their faces filled with anxiety and concern. "I'm fine, just severely drained of stamina. Bring me some high-energy food and healing medicine; I just need to rest a bit," Fang Yu said hoarsely, tasting the metallic tang of blood filling his mouth. He added in a low voice, "Captain, hurry and butcher the carcasses of the wolf king and the alphas, then quickly clean up and take the most valuable materials. "Leave all the ordinary wolf carcasses. "Right! "There's also the item inside that rock. That should be a treasure, so don't forget it. "Make every second count!" Fang Yu ordered. "I'm worried that once that bastard Xia Tao gets word, he'll double back. We have to be quick."