Tu Tian was already riding on the back of the Fengweidiao. Two younger sisters had also squeezed their way up. Tu Tian was extremely unwilling, but to maintain his persona and avoid suspicion, he could only let them on. At the same time, several other sisters mounted the Liehuojue!
The Fengweidiao flapped its wings and soared into the sky, shaking off a few Xingjunyi that had climbed onto it at some unknown time. Its body was already covered in bloodstains, and in just a moment, it was horrifyingly torn and bitten.
On the other side, the white-browed elder's Liehuojue was engulfed in dazzling flames. In the blink of an eye, it charged out of the ant swarm's encirclement. The Xingjunyi it trampled were immediately ignited. A few fearless ones even tried to climb onto the Liehuojue's body, but failed under the intense heat.
The Xingjunyi frantically chased after the Liehuojue, but their speed was no match. Gradually, the ant swarm began to calm down.
The group fled frantically for over ten kilometers before stopping at a clearing. Everyone was still in shock, and the sisters, their defenses lowered, began to sob softly.
"Ah! Xiao Lan! I've harmed you!"
Tu Tian cried out loudly, beating his chest and stamping his feet. His performance was quite convincing, and he occasionally glanced at the others to gauge their reactions.
A sister offered him a tissue and whispered, "Brother Tu Tian, please don't be sad. Your sadness makes us feel so miserable too, wuwuwu~"
The few young ladies cried even harder.
Tu Tian continued to wail, using his tears to mask his inner fear.
The moment he had pushed Xiao Lan out, he had appeared incredibly selfish. In other words, he had personally killed someone! Although he was a prodigal son, he had never killed anyone before. A sense of fear arose within him, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.
Yet, at this moment, he also felt a sense of relief because he had survived.
"Xiao Lan, don't blame me. When we get back, I'll burn a lot for you. You liked precious cosmetics the most, I'll burn them all for you. Didn't you like me? I'll burn my models for you too!"
Suddenly, Tu Tian grabbed the white-browed elder by the collar in a frenzy.
"Old man! What did you say before! You clearly said there was no danger here! Why are there such berserk contract beasts!"
"Aren't you a senior beast tamer! You can't even defeat these lowest-grade beasts, what's the point of the academy keeping you!"
He shifted all the blame onto the white-browed elder. This way, when they returned to the academy, he could smoothly push all the blame aside and appear before everyone as a victim.
The white-browed elder wanted to speak but stopped. He was also heavily wounded at this moment, his arm bitten bloody and deep enough to expose the bone. In this encounter, he had summoned four contract beasts in succession, which had saved the lives of the group.
However, this turn of events had also exceeded his expectations. The academy had sent him as a bodyguard to protect the safety of these students, and he was confident that his strength alone was more than enough. Yet, encountering these unreasonable, berserk Xingjunyi was something he had never anticipated.
After a long silence, the white-browed elder sighed, "It is indeed my oversight. Who could have imagined that contract beasts like Xingjunyi, who have always lived underground and subsist on soil and vegetation, would possess such combat power when enraged."
"With the strength they displayed collectively, it's likely that not only I, but even the principal himself, would be helpless."
Tu Tian snorted coldly and didn't press further. As long as the other party accepted the responsibility, his objective was achieved. Pushing too hard would only make him seem insincere.
The white-browed elder continued, "We will camp here tonight and take turns on watch. The news of the berserk Xingjunyi must be conveyed to the other team immediately, otherwise the consequences will be dire."
"Also, we need to find the two mercenary beast tamers in this forest as soon as possible and have them cover our escape from here."
Tu Tian let out a long breath, and the others nodded in agreement.
The next day, they continued their journey, dragging their weary bodies. The area was surrounded by endless, continuous giant trees. It was easy to enter but difficult to leave. Coupled with their aimless flight last night, they were already lost.
The signal in the forest was extremely poor, and communication with the outside world was impossible. They could only advance based on their instincts for wilderness survival.
However, the minds of the group were filled with the shadow cast by the berserk Xingjunyi, and every step they took was like walking on thin ice.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the ground.
"Ah! Berserk Xingjunyi!"
One of the girls screamed, trembling all over and hiding behind the crowd.
The tightly strung nerves of the group immediately tensed.
"Where!"
The white-browed elder shouted and then looked in the direction indicated by the girl.
They saw a group of Xingjunyi foraging behind a tree. However, their eyes were normal. Anyone who saw them at first glance could recognize this clear characteristic; they were clearly not infected.
The group let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if they had narrowly escaped death. Their hearts finally settled.
They continued to move forward. Their only option now was to find the other two mercenary beast tamers; perhaps they could recognize the way.
Thinking of this, the group couldn't help but quicken their pace.
After more than ten minutes.
They arrived at a clearing and could smell a foul odor from afar.
"Ugh, it's so smelly!" a girl exclaimed.
The group covered their noses and mouths in unison. The smell was unbearable and nauseating.
At this moment, Tu Tian's eyes lit up.
"Someone's there!"
The group's spirits immediately lifted. They were like startled birds, wanting nothing more than to find someone familiar with this forest to lead them out.
They ran over quickly.
But the scene that followed completely petrified them.
Six corpses lay on the ground. Their deaths were tragic, their flesh and skin almost completely gnawed away, leaving only bodies with flesh clinging to the bones. The corpses were scattered haphazardly, suggesting they had put up a fierce struggle before their deaths.
At the same time, there was a pile of contract beast corpses, all dead in the same manner.
Beside the corpses, a middle-aged man and a youth stood there blankly, dumbfounded.
"What's going on!"
The white-browed elder's voice was agitated.
Qiu Xia and Zhao Biao were startled by this turn of events. They had just arrived here, but they had not expected to find so many bodies lying around. From the scattered clothing, it was highly possible that these were students from the Dragon Town Beast Taming Academy who had come for training!
The two were stunned. So many people had died; they were both to blame!
Qiu Xia turned back and looked at the person who had asked the question. He saw that the person's arm was wrapped in thick bandages, and his clothes were tattered, as if he had just emerged from a fierce battle.
"Who are you?"
The white-browed elder's expression was excited. "I am a teacher from the Dragon Town Beast Taming Academy, Zhou Qiu!"
Qiu Xia suddenly realized, and frowned. If the students from the Dragon Town Beast Taming Academy were here, then the ones lying on the ground were...?
Before he could ask.
A girl screamed loudly, "Ah!!! Lin Yu! This is Lin Yu's backpack!"