Upon hearing the guard's report, Wen Jian went furious.
"Damn it! We truly ran out of luck this time! An Eight-Class Demonic Beast is stronger than a peak-level Qi Perfection Stage cultivator!"
Demonic beasts were monsters who achieved sentience and was able to manipulate the forces of nature with the qi they innately possess. All demonic beasts were classified into ten levels.
With tenth-class as the weakest, an eight-class was several times stronger than the tenth-class. Even a single Qi Perfection Stage expert, which is the pinnacle stage of the Qi Foundation Realm, wouldn't stand a chance against that beast.
Suddenly, Wen Jian and his group felt a huge tremor ahead of them. Without hesitation, Wen Jian ordered the guards.
"All of you, gather all the guards immediately and tell them to head towards that direction. Yao Tian and I will follow him and assist our men!"
"Yes patriarch!" the nine Qi Condensation Stage guards responded in unison and scattered.
Wen Jian and Yao Tian followed the guard to the battlefield. Minutes later, they arrived at the said area. They fell silent as they saw the monster in front of them.
"That's... That's a Poison Demonic Serpent!"
The Poison Demonic Serpent fought the Dantian Perfection Stage with ease. The bodies of the Wen Clan's guards scattered all over the area.
"We just f-fought it m-minutes ago... Yet it c-caused so much c-casualty...!" The guard said while trembling in fear.
"Tch! What a bunch of useless idiots! Why would they fight that beast while having a low cultivation leve!?"
Wen Jian looked at Yao Tian. Tian noticed the patriarch and immediately lowered his head.
"Yao Tian! Distract that beast! We'll buy our men some time to arrive here!"
Upon hearing the patriarch's command, Yao Tian picked the spear that was owned by one of the fallen guards. He threw the spear towards the beast with all his might, and the spear pierced on the serpent's skin.
To his surprise, the spear was too shallow to cause a discomfort on the serpent. But his actions was enough to divert its attention to him.
"All of you! Synchronize your attacks while the serpent's attention was on Yao Tian!"
The remaining twelve out of twenty Dantian Perfection Stage guards out of joined forces in order to deal the beast. But despite their joint attacks, it was weak enough to injure the Poison Demonic Serpent.
The serpent noticed the guards and halted for a brief moment. To their surprise, the beast spat a poisonous saliva and landed on the unsuspected Dantian Perfection Stage guards. Six of them immediately died on the spot.
"P-Patriarch... S-Save us...!" one of the guards said on his dying breath.
Wen Jian witnessed the horrible scene and went even more furious than before.
"Fuck! What took those damn guards so long to arrive here!?"
Wen Jian noticed some movements behind him and saw the remaining guards rushing towards him.
"Patriarch! We are here to assist you on the battle!" One of Qi Condensation Stage guard said.
"What are you still dawdling for? Assist those useless idiots immediately!" Wen Jian ordered them.
With the entire forces of Wen Clan's group, they fought the Eight-Class Demonic Beast ferociously. It was a hard-fought battle, with both sides struggling to survive.
Another hour had passed, and the battle was about to end. Wen Jian delivered the final blow.
"Take this! Sky-Rendering Sword Thrust!"
Wen Jian unleashed a huge qi manifestation, spending one-fourth of his qi reserve in order to kill the weakened serpent. With one huge blow, the attack destroyed the serpent's head. The serpent's body fell to the ground, and a huge tremor followed after its demise.
Out of the fourty-eight guards, only twenty-two managed to survive the battle. All nine Qi Condensation Stage guards was alive, only suffered minor injuries. The remaining Dantian Perfection Stage guards suffered severe injuries.
Yao Tian and Wen Jian didn't suffer any damages from the battle, but they were exhausted by their constant usage of qi.
"Huff... Huff... Damn it! Half of our men died from that battle!" Wen Jian shouted as he threw his sword away.
"Patriarch... We must hide from a secluded place in order to recuperate our injuries. We are too exposed here, and someone might ambush us!" Yao Tian told the patriarch.
One of the guards overheard their conversation and walked towards the patriarch while groaning in pain.
"Patriarch... W-While I was scouting the area earlier, I-I saw a small c-cavern ahead, not too far away from here. I-I suggest that we could h-hide there for a time b-being... Ngghhh!"
Wen Jian noticed that the guard's voice was shaking while talking to him. But he didn't paid any attention to it, knowing that it was too scared from the battle before, and the way he speaked to him was result of the trauma he experienced.
He paused for a moment, considering the guard's suggestion. Seconds later, Wen Jian stood up in front of his men.
"Right now, staying here might pose a threat to us. We must find a temporary shelter to recuperate our injuries! Luckily, he found a small cavern for us to shelter us temporarily!" Wen Jian said.
"Those who were still able to stand up, carry those who were gravely injured! Those who can walk by themselves, don't be a burden and follow him as he guides our way to that said cavern!"
All of them followed the guard without hesitation. They carried their companions and walked slowly.
...
The sun were past its peak, indicating that it was afternoon. They arrived at the said area and saw the small cavern that the guard told them.
"Check the cavern if there were any signs of beasts lurking inside! If you didn't notice any, you can place the injured ones and let them recuperate by themselves!" Wen Jian ordered.
The nine Qi Condensation Stage guards scouted the entrance, and signalled that there were no signs of wild beasts lurking at the cave.
Wen Jian ordered his men to rest inside the cave and entered along with them. The cave was dark, luckily they managed to bring soem torches and lit them. They placed the injured ones on the ground slowly and leaned them at the walls of the cave.
Wen Jian and Yao Tian rested at the rocks inside the cave. As they watched their men in silence, Wen Jian noticed that the guard who guided them from before approached them while trembling.
(Is that coward still trembling? Did he suffer so much trauma from the last battle?)
"Hey you! You should take a rest instead of walking around like a scaredy cat!" Yao Tian shouted.
The trembling guard noticed the patriarch and rushed towards them in a hurry. His pupils were restless and was looking around the cavern.
Wen Jian snapped his fingers, and the guard was surprised by the sound.
"Eyes up here!" Wen Jian told the guard.
The guard's mouth was shaking, as if it was trying to tell something from the patriarch but doesn't have a courage to do so.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Yao Tian told the scared guard.
"P-P-P-Patriarch... I'm really s-s-sorry... B-B-But h-he told me that h-he would s-spare me if I...!"
While the guard was talking, Yao Tian felt that the box where he hid the purple qi dagger was shaking.
(Hm?)
Yao Tian paused when he heard a loud thud on the ground. His attention was diverted from the box, and what he saw in front of him was shocking.
The head of the guard that was standing right in front of him fell to the ground. The sound of its head dropping echoed throughout the cave, rolling away at where he was sitting.
"Tsk-tsk. If you'd just followed my instructions like a good dog, I might truly spare your life, you know?" An unknown voice spoke.
Yao Tian noticed that the box trembled again for the second time. Before he could even react, all the torches began to dim in quick succession. The entire area turned dark in an instant.
Seconds later, the screams of the guards followed after the brief silence. It echoed throughout the cave.
"GRAAH!"
"AHHH!"
"GAHHK!"
Suddenly, a moment of realization struck on Yao Tian's mind. The sudden deaths of the guards and the box shaking uncontrollably, leads to only one answer: Ling was here.
"PATRIARCH! LING AMBUSHED US!"