The First Order

Tonight, everyone was exceptionally serious while performing their sentry duties. Of course, the members of this group with their own motives would only start working together in the face of a common danger.

After all, everyone’s goal was to get to the Sacred Mountains so they could stir up trouble, so they had better not die before they got there.

Over a dozen campfires were burning brightly in the campsite. Before going to bed, Luo Lan had led everyone to collect enough firewood to last throughout the night. Fortunately, it was winter right now, so firewood could be found everywhere on the ground.

There were nine sentry posts in total, and each of them was manned by two people. All of the trees around the sentry posts had been chopped down to ensure the sentries could have a broad view of their surroundings.

Luo Lan was well-versed in this aspect. In his own words, if one wanted to be able to sleep soundly during a war, one would have to prepare well during the day.

This time, Luo Lan was treating their expedition to the Sacred Mountains as a war.

Ren Xiaosu was sleeping soundly in the tent while Yang Xiaojin guarded the outside. She was fiddling with a palm-sized sniper rifle bullet in her hands. While other people usually played with walnuts or beaded bracelets, Yang Xiaojin was a little special compared to others. When she had nothing to do, she would fiddle with her bullets.

At this moment, “Old Xu” was sitting quietly about 500 meters outside the camp, apparently waiting for something.

The moon was not very bright, and dark clouds occasionally drifted through the sky. It looked like it was about to snow. Many of the group members wrapped themselves tightly with their blankets within their tents as the campfires around the campsite flickered nonstop due to the cold, piercing wind.

The sky was shrouded by a patch of dark clouds as a shadowy figure in the wilderness started approaching “Old Xu.” It did not make any sound as it walked across the ground.

Gradually, it could vaguely see Old Xu’s back in the darkness. It felt like it could kill the person in front like how it had killed the other humans.

Just as Ren Xiaosu had guessed, the other party had concentrated all of its hatred on Old Xu because “he” had killed that fox.

Moreover, Old Xu had been acting alone all this while, and a hunter always liked to pick off this kind of solitary prey.

In silence, the shadowy figure approached its target very quickly. There was even a hint of joy that the human in front of it still had its back facing it. Regardless of whether the other party had noticed its approach or not, it was too late!

In that instant, the shadow reached out and grabbed Old Xu’s neck. However, it was startled to realize it couldn’t cause any harm to Old Xu!

This was wholly different from any other prey it had encountered before. No blood spurted out of the other party, nor did he lose his consciousness. It was as though the figure it had touched was not made of flesh and blood.

But he was clearly a human being!

Ren Xiaosu, who was in his tent, suddenly opened his eyes. When Old Xu, who was seated, sprang up, it looked more like a terrifying ghost that had been unleashed. By then, it had already slashed the black saber that was resting on its knee at the shadow.

But to Ren Xiaosu’s surprise, Old Xu actually missed. That monster in the wilderness was even more alert and cunning than he had imagined. After discovering Old Xu’s abnormality, the other party turned around and ran back into the wilderness without hesitation. Its speed was not worse than Old Xu’s in the slightest.

When Old Xu chased after it into the forest, the monster started jumping freely between the tree trunks without any impediment.

“City Crusher.”

Ren Xiaosu was determined to finish off the other party here. It made no sense to constantly be on the guard against something like that. Who could sleep well with such a freak stalking them?

When the monster landed at the next tree trunk, Old Xu’s speed suddenly exploded. It arrived ahead of that tree and slashed its saber at the monster again.

However, something unexpected happened. The little monster was so frightened by the oncoming black saber that it let out a scream. Ren Xiaosu thought this slash would definitely not miss, but the monster seemed like it could defy the laws of physics as it changed its direction in midair. Thus, Old Xu missed it and slashed the air instead!

Ren Xiaosu frowned. The purpose of activating City Crusher was to catch the other party off guard. If his first attack missed, there would be no hope of landing any subsequent hits.

In the wilderness, Old Xu was pursuing the monster from behind. However, the path the other party took was way too strange. It kept changing its direction in midair, making it impossible for Old Xu to anticipate which way it would go. In the end, when City Crusher deactivated, Ren Xiaosu made Old Xu stop pursuing.

Many people in the camp were awakened by the battle. Although it happened 500 meters away from them, the commotion was deafening, as Old Xu cut down several large trees while trying to hunt down the monster.

Cheng Yu lit a torch with the campfire and stood at the edge of the camp as he looked out. However, he could not see anything as it was too dark.

When Ren Xiaosu sat up in the tent, Yang Xiaojin asked in a low voice, “Did you kill it?”

“No.” Ren Xiaosu lowered his voice and said, “It was harder to deal with than I thought. I don’t know how, but the enemy can actually switch directions in midair.”

“Did you get a clear look at what it is?”

“No.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “It was too dark, I could only tell from the silhouette that it was humanoid. I can’t confirm if it’s human or not, but if it is, it should only be around 1.2 meters tall or so.”

At this moment, Song Qiao went over to Cheng Yu and wondered, “Who’s fighting out there? Could it be the person that helped us kill the fox during the day?”

“It’s possible.” Cheng Yu said with a solemn expression, “I wonder which demigod is so bold as to wander around the wilderness in the middle of the night. Do you think he successfully stopped the enemy?”

“Why don’t we go and check it out?” Cheng Yu’s assistant asked. “We would at least have to see what happened out there before we can feel at ease.”

“No.” Cheng Yu shook his head. “It’s too dangerous to go out at this time. I’d rather go there tomorrow morning than risk my life now. What if it’s some monster trying to lure us there?”

The people around them did not say anything. No one was going to risk going out into the dark like this.

As everyone’s attention was focused on the dark place out there and discussing among themselves, no one noticed Wang Yun had carved a small triangular marking into the roots at the bottom of a tree. This marking meant there was danger ahead, and Wang Yun wanted to remind his subordinates to his rear to act carefully.

Actually, this action was quite unnecessary. After all, his subordinates were already very careful, having retreated.

Luo Lan furtively made eye contact with Ren Xiaosu while everyone was distracted.

He pointed at Ren Xiaosu first, then himself, and finally at the darkness outside. He was implying, “Bro, you have to protect me. It’s too dangerous out there, and I’m afraid of dying.”

When Ren Xiaosu shook his head back at him, Luo Lan’s expression turned bitter. Could it be that Ren Xiaosu was not confident of protecting himself?

Luo Lan started pondering his life and wondered if he had been too reckless by coming to the Sacred Mountains this time. If even Ren Xiaosu was not confident of protecting himself, that was enough to show how dangerous this place was.

When Yang Xiaojin saw the two of them making eye contact, she asked in a whisper, “What’s he gesturing about?”

Ren Xiaosu answered, “He pointed at me, then himself, and finally pointed to the woods. I think he was asking if I wanted to go to the bathroom with him, so I shook my head to say no.”