Chapter 330: Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf Pack
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Chu Guifeng was already outside calling for everyone to wake up and prepare to travel.
Shen Daoxing slowly opened his eyes and calmly walked out of his tent. At that moment, Xing, bleary-eyed, was still asleep while draped over Shen Daoxing’s neck.
The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat immediately poked its head out from Shen Daoxing’s chest. Seeing that Xin was still asleep, it scurried out and climbed onto Xin’s body, intending to play a prank.
But just as the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat appeared, a wooden stick came down with a THWACK, striking it directly on the head.
"You little rat, stealing again."
Xin murmured this with their eyes still closed. Unbelievably, even while dreaming, Xin hadn’t forgotten to strike the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat squeaked indignantly a few times, then helplessly burrowed back into Shen Daoxing’s robes.
Outside, everyone was already awake and had everything in order.
As before, Chu Guifeng and Qian Gui took the lead, as they were the most familiar with the paths in this area.
Luo An and Ma Wan were at the back of the group, protecting the rear.
Tai, almost seeming to not exist at all, scouted along the flanks to watch for ambushes.
Shen Daoxing remained in the middle of the formation, walking with the women and children.
By now, Xin had woken up and was sitting in Shen Daoxing’s arms, repeatedly tapping the wooden stick in their hands.
Meanwhile, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat kept leaping about in Shen Daoxing’s robes. No matter how many times Xin tried to hit it, they couldn’t land a blow, as if the rat were deliberately teasing them.
Beside Shen Daoxing, Luo Xi waved her hand, summoning one Magical Treasure and Magical Artifact after another. "This was a gift from my Master... This one’s from my Mistress... This one came from my Martial Uncle..."
It seemed she only felt secure enough when she was surrounded by a pile of Magical Treasures.
Chu Guifeng led the group forward at a slow pace, with even more caution than the previous day.
After passing through tall shrubs and parting the overgrown grass, the view suddenly opened up. They discovered that the towering, ancient trees that had blocked their path were gone, replaced by a vast, open grassland.
Everyone was immediately overjoyed. A grassland was much safer than a forest with its hidden, unknown dangers.
But as Chu Guifeng led the party onward, they saw a patch of grass ahead begin to rustle, as if something was hiding within.
A moment later, a Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf walked out. It was only a demonic beast at the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Transformation realm, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"It’s just a demonic beast at the Sixth Layer of Spirit Transformation. I’ll take care of it!"
Luo An immediately stepped forward from the group. With a SHING, he drew his longsword, seemingly determined to redeem himself for his performance the day before.
Luo An advanced, but after only two steps, he froze. Then, he abruptly turned and retreated back to the group.
Immediately after, the rest of the group saw more patches of grass rustling ahead.
One, two... ten...
Dozens of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolves emerged from all corners of the grassland, baring their fangs and glaring viciously at the travelers.
Chu Guifeng was instantly alarmed. "This is bad! It’s a pack! We’ve run into a Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf Pack."
A single Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf was only at the Sixth Layer of Spirit Transformation and easy enough to handle. But a whole pack was an incredibly thorny problem, even more troublesome than facing a single demonic beast at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Transformation.
A Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf Pack.
’This is the last thing I ever want to run into,’ Chu Guifeng thought. He had always tried his utmost to avoid the wolf pack’s territory. In the past, the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf Pack never ventured into this area.
"AROOOOOO~"
A deep, powerful howl echoed through the mountain forest, startling countless birds into flight.
The group looked up and saw a massive white wolf standing majestically atop a small hill in the grassland ahead.
It was twice the size of a normal Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf, and its entire body radiated a dazzling, opalescent light. Its bright eyes burned with an eerie blue flame, and two long fangs protruded from its mouth, hanging below its lips.
"It’s the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf King! Even the Wolf King is here! That’s a demonic beast at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Transformation."
Startled, Chu Guifeng immediately issued a command: "Quick, retreat! Forget the cargo! Fall back!"
A Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf Pack without its Wolf King is just a mob of demonic beasts. But with its Wolf King, it’s a well-trained army. The two couldn’t be compared.
Just as he expected, the moment the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf King appeared, the wolf pack sprang into action, charging forward on their powerful limbs.
However, they didn’t just charge straight at the party in a disorderly rush. Instead, they split into two flanks, spreading out to encircle the group from three sides.
They were trying to surround Shen Daoxing’s entire party and wipe them all out in one go.
"Ma Wan, Luo An, Tai, and all Darts Masters! With me! We’ll hold back the pack."
Chu Guifeng shouted, "Qian Gui, take the rest of the group and fall back!"
Instantly, Ma Wan and Luo An strode to the front lines, swinging their weapons fiercely to beat back the first few Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolves that charged in.
Qian Gui directed the others to abandon all the cargo and begin a steady retreat.
Compared to their lives, wealth was nothing, and Qian Gui didn’t hesitate for a second.
After all, Chu Guifeng and Qian Gui were veterans who had navigated the Jiuli Mountain Range for many years. Under their command, the entire party managed a safe retreat.
The group fled backward as Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, Luo An, and the Darts Masters formed a rearguard, beating back one charging Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf after another.
After all, Chu Guifeng and Ma Wan were experts at the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Transformation realm, so it was no easy task for the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolves to break through their defense.
Although some in the party were injured, no one was left behind or fell into the wolves’ jaws.
But as they were focused solely on fleeing, no one was paying any attention to their path.
Continuing their retreat, the group burst through a dense thicket of shrubs and found the landscape suddenly opening up before them. They saw a wide meadow, lush with green grass and with a small stream flowing through it.
But once everyone had burst through into the open, they all froze in shock.
They were in a massive valley. In front of them and to both sides were towering cliffs, leaving them with no path of escape.
’The wolf pack did this on purpose,’ they realized. ’They deliberately herded us in here.’
That explained why the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf King had remained so unhurried, merely pressing them from the flanks without launching an all-out assault.
This Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf King possessed a frightening degree of intelligence.
At that moment, Chu Guifeng and the others in the rearguard caught up, entering the valley only to see the sheer cliffs boxing them in on three sides.
"Damn it! We completely underestimated this Wolf King’s intelligence."
Chu Guifeng froze. ’Clearly, this wolf pack knows the Jiuli Mountain Range far better than we do.’
But they were not given much time to think.
"AROOOOOO~"
A blood-chilling howl rang out.
White shadows flickered among the trees as one Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Wolf after another emerged like forest phantoms, blocking the valley’s entrance.