Chapter 92: Chapter 91: Great Battle and Little Tricks

People aren’t made of iron. After running for most of the night, they were all utterly exhausted. Finally, Xiao Lin cursed, "To hell with this! I’m not running anymore, I’m dead tired! I haven’t even seen what these bastards look like. I don’t think there are that many of them chasing us, anyway. If any humans were chased like this, they’d probably scatter long before reaching Cameron Town!"

Zhao Jie spat on the ground, ran to the riverbank, and scooped up a handful of cool river water, splashing it violently on his face. He paid no mind to his clothes getting soaked; the noble demeanor and refined elegance from his time at the academy were long since forgotten.

The river water was clear and cold, its temperature unaffected by the tropical climate. The group took out their waterskins, emptied the old water, and refilled them from the river.

Su Embroidery and Shangguan Yutong, the two women, also washed their faces with elegant movements before stopping. They watched as the thirty-some tall Beastmen caught up from behind. It was one thing not seeing them clearly in the dark, but now that they saw them, even Ling Xiao was startled by their grotesque appearance.

All thirty-plus of them were werewolves with wolf heads, wearing only a piece of animal hide around their waists. They looked no different from savages, especially with their blood-red eyes and mouths full of sharp fangs. They stopped at a distance, roaring and bellowing angrily at the group.

Su Embroidery and Shangguan Yutong both turned a little pale. Shangguan Yutong, in particular, felt a wave of nausea upon realizing *these* were the things she had killed last night.

The werewolves had long hair on their heads, and their scarlet eyes shone with a fierce, malevolent light. Their muscular arms wielded massive Wolf Fang Clubs. A few even carried human weapons: hammers, cleavers, and there was even one with a sword... It was a bizarre, incongruous sight, but no one dared to underestimate their strength.

The powerful aura they emanated surprised even Shangguan Yutong. After all, her group had been running for most of the night, and these Beastmen had been chasing for just as long.

By now, the humans were exhausted and weak, but in contrast, the Beastmen were still full of vigor, as if they had limitless energy.

"Why do you insist on chasing us?" Shangguan Yutong narrowed her eyes, took a few steps forward, and spoke calmly to the pack of Beastmen.

Legend had it that Beastmen could speak the human language, though they had their own as well. Moreover, these Beastmen were not unintelligent; they were far smarter than the average Magical Beast.

"You... humans... our comrades... killed!" The werewolf holding the sword stepped out from its pack. Its eyes fixated on Shangguan Yutong’s beautiful figure, a glistening trail of saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth. "You... humans... will not be spared!"

Shangguan Yutong was disgusted by the Wolf-headed Man’s stare and roared in anger, "Then you can be the first to die!"

As she spoke, a beam of Seven-Color Sword Qi suddenly erupted from her longsword, shooting out over two meters toward the Wolf-headed Man, whose eyes were filled with lust.

The Wolf-headed Man roared and dodged to the side. The attack tore a finger-sized hole in its shoulder, and blood spurted out. It let out a piercing howl. At the sight of blood, the thirty-plus Beastmen behind it seemed to be driven into a frenzy and charged forward.

With no room to retreat, the group mustered their courage, let out a battle cry, and charged to meet them.

Ling Xiao weaved through the Beastmen with peculiar footwork. These pursuers were much stronger than the ones they had killed last night; even the weakest among them had the strength of Third and Fourth Rank Sword Masters.

The massive Wolf Fang Clubs whistled through the air, carrying immense power as they attacked the group in a simple, brutal fashion.

The bodies of the stronger werewolves in particular were like steel. When Su Embroidery, a Fourth-rank Great Sword Master, struck one of them, her sword only managed to open a small gash.

The blow only enraged the werewolf. It swung a pair of massive iron hammers at Su Embroidery’s head with incredible speed. The corners of the werewolf’s mouth even split into a savage grin.

Zhao Jie, who was closest to Su Embroidery, shoved her aside. With a loud shout, he unleashed a cloud of gray Sword Qi from his own blade to meet the werewolf’s twin hammers.

CLANG! A deafening crash of metal on metal rang out. Zhao Jie, a Tier Six Great Sword Master, was actually forced back two steps. The werewolf stumbled back three or four steps, its scarlet eyes glowing with excitement. It howled again and charged toward Zhao Jie. But Ling Xiao darted in from the side and thrust his sword into its wide-open, clamoring mouth. The long, slender blade pierced through the back of the werewolf’s head.

An incredulous light flashed in the werewolf’s eyes as its body slowly crumpled to the ground.

Zhao Jie gave Ling Xiao a thumbs-up. The two exchanged a glance before charging back into the pack of werewolves. Su Embroidery, freed from danger, was still shaken but seemed to have had her own ferocious side awakened. Copying Ling Xiao, she began to stab at the werewolves’ weak points.

Xiao Lin’s sword style was grand and steady, each move packed with immense power. The Beastmen seemed to relish it. Several werewolves would get knocked back several steps, some even coughing up blood from the impact, only to howl and charge right back in, seemingly fearless of death.

Xiao Lin seemed to be intentionally using these incredibly strong werewolves for practice. He didn’t kill them, instead meeting their force with equal power to knock them back each time.

After killing another werewolf with a single strike, Shangguan Yutong shouted to Xiao Lin, "Stop playing around! Kill them! It sounds like more Beastmen are coming!"

At this, Xiao Lin’s expression sobered, and his aura changed completely. The gap between a Mad Sword Master and a Great Sword Master was immense! With a flick of his sword, he executed a dazzling series of techniques, and the werewolves he had been toying with were instantly drenched in blood.

Zhao Jie, meanwhile, could only imitate Ling Xiao by attacking the werewolves’ throats or abdomens. Most of their bodies were as hard as iron; a sword strike could at best create a gash, but not a fatal wound.

By now, the group had realized that these Beastmen didn’t know any Cultivation Techniques or skills. They relied solely on their immense brute strength and monstrously tough bodies.

But as the saying goes, even a master can be beaten to death by random punches. Underestimating such brute force could have tragic consequences. Knowing their throats and eyes were weak spots, the werewolves were smart enough to try and protect those areas.

It was just that Ling Xiao’s sword techniques were too tricky and bizarre. Every strike he made was guaranteed to seriously injure a werewolf. If not for his physical limitations, he could have likely killed all thirty of them by himself.

Ling Xiao’s efficiency in killing the werewolves also drew the attention of the Wolfman Leader, who directed several of its subordinates to surround him.

Ling Xiao relied on his agility. If he were surrounded, a single blow from each of these werewolves would turn him into meat paste. He immediately backed away at high speed. Just then, Zhao Jie moved toward him, sword at the ready.

The two stood back-to-back. Zhao Jie laughed, "Haha, Ling Xiao, if we make it out of this, you have to give me some pointers on my sword skills!"

By now, everyone could see that Ling Xiao’s sword technique, if not divine-tier, was at least saint-tier! Otherwise, how could a mere Tier Four Sword Master, no matter how amazing, kill more enemies than Shangguan Yutong, a Demon Swordsman?

Ling Xiao smiled. "Your sword skills aren’t bad either! Keep practicing, you’ve got potential!"

"I’ll take that as a yes!" Zhao Jie shouted, then roared and charged an approaching werewolf. As a Tier Six Great Sword Master, his meridians were almost all open, allowing him to store vast amounts of Inner Strength. Every one of his strikes carried a sharp Sword Qi, forcing even the thick-skinned werewolves to roar in pain.

Ling Xiao, meanwhile, picked his moments from the side, striking with precision. With Zhao Jie desperately covering for him, his success rate climbed even higher.

The Wolfman Leader roared, "Despicable humans!"

"Go eat shit!" Xiao Lin bellowed, sending a faint red arc of Sword Qi slashing down at the Wolfman Leader. Simultaneously, Shangguan Yutong’s Seven-Color Sword Qi swept in from the left. The two were planning to work together to take out this little Beastman chieftain first.

Two tall werewolves, one on the left and one on the right, roared and leaped in front of the two streams of Sword Qi, shielding their leader! One was split in two by Xiao Lin’s faint red Sword Qi, blood spraying high into the air! The other was sliced in half by Shangguan Yutong. The scene was incredibly gory!

The Wolfman Leader threw aside the sword in its hand as its body suddenly swelled. The animal hide around its waist burst open with a POP. Its body abruptly more than doubled in size, and the ground trembled as it stomped.

"Berserk!" the few from the Imperial Academy exclaimed almost in unison. Just because they had never seen a Beastman before didn’t mean they hadn’t heard the legends. This ability to mutate when provoked was known as going berserk.

A berserk Beastman’s attack and defense would increase severalfold. This werewolf was already a headache before. Even someone as powerful as Shangguan Yutong hadn’t been able to kill it quickly. A berserk werewolf would be even more terrifying, wouldn’t it?

"You... die!" the Wolfman Leader’s deep roar echoed through the area. It swung its arms, its razor-sharp claws slashing at Shangguan Yutong’s sword. The Seven-Color Sword Qi carved deep, bloody gashes into the werewolf’s claws, but the Wolfman Leader fearlessly grabbed Shangguan Yutong’s sword in a vice grip. It swung its other claw in a wide arc, aiming viciously for Shangguan Yutong’s delicate, jade-like face.

Shangguan Yutong tried to yank her sword back but found it stuck. She decisively abandoned the blade. With a sharp cry, a faint, seven-colored halo erupted from her body!

"Protective True Qi!" Xiao Lin cried out, his eyes wide with horror.

Shangguan Yutong pressed her thin lips together. Her right hand, now empty of her sword, also flared with Seven-Color Sword Qi. Her eyes filled with resolve as she met the Wolfman Leader’s claws!

After piercing another werewolf’s throat, Ling Xiao kicked off its body, launching himself into the air like a goshawk pouncing on a rabbit. He viciously stabbed his Fine Willow Sword at the Wolfman Leader’s neck! At the same time, he pressed the button three times, firing all three streams of Sword Qi from the Second Order Enchanted Sword into the Wolfman Leader’s neck!

The Wolfman Leader let out a pained howl. The claw that had been aimed at Shangguan Yutong changed direction and lunged for Ling Xiao!

Its neck... hadn’t been pierced by Ling Xiao’s Sword Qi! There wasn’t even a visible wound on its furry neck!

The Wolfman Leader’s eyes showed not only rage but also a hint of derision, as if mocking this human’s ignorance.

’Could a berserk Beastman be harmed by such a weapon?’

Ling Xiao’s face was fearless. In his other hand, he held a handful of sand... which he’d been holding this whole time. He met the Wolfman Leader’s mocking gaze.

Without hesitation, he threw it at its eyes.