360: Chapter 10 Beast Tide 360: Chapter 10 Beast Tide “Why would the Divine Weapons leave…”
“Imperial Heaven, my Lord, what has happened?”
“Heaven, heaven, heaven…”
An Jing was unafraid of the abnormal detachment of the Divine Weapons and faintly had an answer in his mind, but the others from Da Chen couldn’t say the same.
Before, when faced with a surprise attack by demons, they had not panicked but had orderly retreated in preparation to defend the town alongside Xu Tai, but now, the martial artists of the escort agency were completely disoriented.
This wasn’t because they weren’t strong, but because a well-accustomed and seemingly inviolable rule had been yanked from reality by an inconceivable force, and the shock and sense of collapse were overwhelming.
Even Xu Tai was now massaging his temples, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, falling into deep thought.
“Stop thinking.”
An Jing clapped his hands, producing a sound like thunder, drawing everyone’s attention to himself—he repeated the ‘retreat’ command once again.
This time, no one expressed a desire to stay behind.
The martial artists from Hanlang Escort Agency were somewhat impatient to leave the land that was no longer protected by the Divine Weapons, to return to the familiarity of the city.
Driven by a sense of crisis, they moved far faster than before.
“Let’s go.”
An Jing watched as they slowly retreated, leaving Shimen Town and heading south.
He turned his head and took out Tengshuang White, gesturing for Xu Tai to sit beside him in the passenger’s seat: “We’re going to Linjiang City.”
“Yes.”
Xu Tai glanced at Tengshuang White, his eyes revealing a flash of surprise.
Man’s instinct made him quite like this steel monster—yet he didn’t find it strange, as similar modes of transportation were not uncommon in developed towns, and small flying shuttles had a fairly similar design.
“How much silver for this thing?” he couldn’t help but ask.
An Jing thought for a moment but still shook his head, “Not for sale.”
The distant golden Earth Pulse Qi in the sky had not yet dissipated when the two of them sped off in that trajectory.
The disturbance of the Divine Weapons had startled not only the people and army of Da Chen around them, but also the many ferocious beasts surrounding Broken Blade Mountain.
The Beast Tide, which had been advancing slowly, suddenly became agitated and sped up.
Even the Great Demon Spirits deep in the mountains were unsettled, possessing wisdom surpassing ordinary people, they were aware of the terrible force contained within those Divine Weapons, that very force which had kept them from daring to approach human settlements for centuries.
And now, with such power gone, they were more frightened than humans because, while humans fear the disappearance of customary things, in the world of beasts, retracting claws might mean the need to strike in the next instant—who knew if this was a trap?
The chaotic energy of the herd connected heaven and earth, and suddenly, dark clouds enveloped the area around Broken Blade Mountain, turning in an instant into a heavy snowstorm.
In the blizzard, Tengshuang White sped through, becoming a white streak.
An Jing saw the true nature of the Beast Tide.
The beast tide was not an actual tide of beast herds, but the migration of one large settlement of the same kind of beasts after another, which caused the surrounding environment to undergo an extremely unique “wilderness-ification.”
Thousands of Moss Antler Deer leaped and galloped; these gentle spirit beasts usually lived solitary lives, but now they formed a huge group.
Wherever their traces passed, the roots of vegetation spread and grew within the frost, piercing through the cold frost and ice.
The solid ice began to bulge upwards and crack open, and tender green shoots sprouted, instantly forming a ‘grass path’ that could guide the beast herds that followed.
Following them came a large troop of Giant Tusk Boars, armored in sturdy wooden plating—these were exactly the Kang An Jing had once eaten.
It seemed that these Giant Tusk Boars had even richer bloodlines than the Fanged Pigs of the Tianyuan Realm.
Following the Moss Antler Deer’s grass path, the spiritual power they scattered caused the somewhat fragile grass sprouts to grow larger and thicker, transforming from fine shoots into wooden roots and vines, making them more robust and capable of supporting the heavier ferocious beasts and spirit beasts as they ran.
Among the group of boars, there was one particularly massive one; it was like a small cottage on the move, its entire body covered with snow-white fur, and its six intertwining tusks; if not for its too-short snout, it would almost resemble the mythic Six-Tusked White Elephant, solemn and holy.
Where it passed, the vegetation turned woody, transforming into a wide and sturdy avenue.
In the dual-toned golden and green eyes of this Great Demon Spirit, one could see the light of wisdom.
It noticed An Jing and Xu Tai on the Tengshuang White, watching as the pair moved in the opposite direction, interweaving as they went.
Then, it let out a thunderous roar, instructing its offspring not to panic.
“A Demon Spirit that’s comparable to the peak of the Martial Meridian…
This is one of the Mountain Masters of the Broken Blade Mountains!”
Xu Tai also noticed the Six-Tusked White Boar’s gaze.
He wasn’t afraid but just surprised, “Such a meeting comes once in a hundred years.
I’ve heard its legends since I was a child, but I never expected to actually see it this time…”
“A great age is about to begin.
You’ve already met me with a Divine Mandate; what’s a Great Demon Spirit compared to that.”
An Jing laughed heartily.
If these demon beasts lacked intelligence, he would be a bit worried they might attack the town, but with intelligence, it was a different matter.
However, after laughing, An Jing’s expression turned serious: “Even the Mountain Master has left his mountain, something must have happened in the Broken Blade Mountain…”
Searching for his mother and the Subdue Evil fragments were An Jing’s top priorities, but now that Linjiang City was in danger, he would surely go to check if his mother was in the city first.
If she was there, then they would reconsider their plans.
If she wasn’t, then he would have to head into the mountains immediately to sense for the Subdue Evil fragments.
Following the Six-Tusked White Boar, An Jing saw vast swathes of flying squirrels that resembled dark clouds.
These squirrels could use their fluffy tails to gather together, generate electricity through friction, and then hover in the air, moving rapidly like clouds; and below them were giant wolves bathed in Thunder Light.
The Thunder Wolves, in fact, didn’t possess earth system Art of Magic; they were a type of earth system Ferocious Beast but could store a great deal of thunder mana, serving as guardians and symbiotes to the flying squirrels.
Beyond these, there were also some ferocious beasts that, even when gathered in groups, numbered only three to five.
But the aura of these beasts was extremely powerful, being either mountain tigers or black crows with a wingspan over twelve meters long.
These former kings of the forest were now also leaving their homes, following the grass path onwards, with their spiritual power transforming the surrounding earth and stones, once again solidifying the path, leaving distinct ‘beast trails.’
Even so, An Jing and his companions also saw people.
Despite constant coercion from the Guidance Squad, some villages were unwilling to relocate.
They had planned to withstand the Frost Calamity and the beast tide, but they didn’t expect to see the Divine Weapons leave—a scene which greatly shattered their confidence.
Furthermore, with the beast tide growing more torrential and frenzied, they realized that staying in the countryside was not a good idea.
Even if the great cities no longer had Divine Weapons stationed in them, the Earth Vein Formations were still present, and the solid walls remained, which were far better than their rural villages…
Hence, An Jing and his companions also saw groups of people, somewhat panic-stricken, converging from all directions on the other side of the beast tide.
Just as the rising tide forces people to higher ground, the Frost Calamity, the Northern Barbarians, the beast tide, and the movements of the Divine Weapons drove people together, converging towards one direction.
In view now was the towering city edifice built along the river.
Linjiang City.