Chapter 45. A Beast Tide Swarms the City, the Fourth Shackle Is Shattered! (2)

"Professor Zhao, what's going on?" Qin Lan asked, confusion evident in her eyes.

"Don't speak." Zhao Wuji kept his gaze fixed firmly ahead.

The next moment, the massive trees in the distant forest started collapsing. They were being snapped in half by something.

Then, a massive monohorn wolf with blue fur emerged from within the forest. The Blue Monohorn Giant Wolf towered over thirty meters in height, and its eyes, which were as large as buckets, shimmered in an azure light as it swept coldly at everyone.

As soon as it appeared, the mutated beasts actively made way for it.

It was the Giant Wolf King! The beast king of that forest. Naturally, it was the one who had unleashed this beast tide upon Qingyang City.

"ROAR!" The Giant Wolf King unleashed a deafening roar.

The mutated beasts around it bared their sharp fangs at Zhao Wuji and his group.

The killing intent and bloodlust in their eyes told everyone that they would immediately charge forward and tear everyone to pieces at the Giant Wolf King's command.

Just then, Zhao Wuji stepped forward and asked, "Esteemed Wolf King, may I have your permission to speak?"

Though he knew that a battle was inevitable, he still wanted to try and possibly resolve the issue with mere words. If he could stop the beast tide from attacking the city, even temporarily, it would be the best possible outcome.

Even if he failed, he would still end up buying a bit more time.

An existence like the Giant Wolf King could definitely understand human speech.

Unfortunately, the Giant Wolf King seemed uninterested in wasting words.

"Roaaaar!" it roared, ordering everyone to attack!

Roaaaar!

In response, hundreds of mutated beasts decisively charged toward Qingyang City.

"We have no choice now! Kill them all!" Zhao Wuji immediately reacted as well. A powerful aura erupted from him as he gripped his long spear with both hands. He leaped high, appearing dozens of meters in the air in the blink of an eye, and then he descended, carrying with him a force capable of splitting mountains as he slammed his spear into the ground!

BOOM!

The earth shook and split open. The shockwave generated upon impact shattered the organs of dozens of mutated beasts. Zhao Wuji was a practitioner of Huaxia's ancient spear arts; he was a Foundation Realm VII expert, and he had awakened his ancestral bloodline.

Any mutated beast below Foundation Realm VI simply couldn't withstand his attacks. Moreover, his long spear was specially crafted to withstand his mighty techniques.

Behind him, the teachers from Aurora Academy surged forward. Though they weren't as powerful as Zhao Wuji, they were still around Foundation Realm V and VI. They killed several mutated beasts with each move.

All living beings had stepped onto the path of evolution, so even the tiniest difference in tiers was like the difference between heaven and earth. Except for those with extremely powerful bloodlines, those on the lower tiers would always be suppressed by those on the higher tiers.

"We're going, too, but be careful not to stray too far from the teachers," Zhu Qingyu said, standing at the helm of the students beside her.

They weren't strong and were just at Foundation Realm I and II. Hence, they had to move around the teachers if they wanted to ensure a higher probability of survival.

The battle had begun. The Aurora Academy had only a few people, but they were full of courage. In addition, there were several powerful teachers on their side.

They actually managed to resist against the mutated beasts' offensive, but unfortunately, their resistance was bound to fail. There were just too many mutated beasts, and they were slowly being overwhelmed.

The students struggled the most; they had just embarked on the path of evolution, so their lack of experience meant that they were bound to make mistakes, resulting in them getting injured.

In the end, some mutated beasts managed to reach the city, and they began wreaking havoc.

Buildings collapsed one after another, raising huge clouds of dust.

A golden monkey uprooted a utility pole, wielding it like a staff to destroy a three-story building.

The other mutated beasts weren't idle. They destroyed many public facilities as if they were trying to prove that they were indeed beasts in the truest sense of the word.

The unchecked mutated beasts eventually started making their way to the western part of the city. Tens of thousands of people had yet to evacuate, and if these mutated beasts were allowed to get close, a brutal massacre was sure to follow.

"Things can't go on like this."

Zhao Wuji's face turned extremely grim at the sight. Their side had too few people and couldn't stop so many mutated beasts from entering the city.

He fixed his gaze on the Giant Wolf King before saying, "Old Liu, Old Zhang, let's join forces. We just have to kill that Giant Wolf King, and this beast tide will stop."

The Giant Wolf King was the leader. Once it was dead, the remaining mutated beasts would naturally retreat.

"ROAR!"

The Giant Wolf King roared, as if it understood Zhao Wuji's goal. Immediately afterward, the mutated beasts came to a halt and rushed toward where they came from. Even those within the city did the same; they ceased wreaking havoc and ran outside the city to stand before the Giant Wolf King.

"What's going on?"

Zhu Qingyu and the others found it strange to see the mutated beasts around them leaving for somewhere else.

Could it be... that the battle was ending?

However, the battle had only just begun, so how come it was ending so soon?

After a while, everyone realized that the battle wasn't about to end, and it was all because the Giant Wolf King had decided to step forward. Its pair of blue eyes revealed intrigue as it looked at Zhao Wuji and the others.

It seemed to be waiting for something.

"D-does it want to fight Professor Zhao and the others?" Senior Brother Wu asked.

"That's right." Zhu Qingyu replied, "That must be why the Giant Wolf King had decided to order the beast tide's retreat."

Zhu Qingyu's face became extremely grave. She had heard stories of how mutated beasts would sometimes deliberately refrain from killing people while causing widespread destruction.

Eventually, it was discovered that their goal was to showcase their power and to instill despair in humans. Only when they were finally tired of toying with their prey would they begin the slaughter.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

This behavior mirrored that of hunters who often tormented their prey before killing them. In the distant past, humans treated wild beasts this way, but nowadays, the roles were often reversed.

"Fine, if you want to fight, then let's fight!" Zhao Wuji immediately understood the Giant Wolf King's line of thought. He decisively gripped his bloody spear and charged at the Giant Wolf King.

The teachers behind him followed suit, each brandishing their own weapons.

They were all at the Foundation Realm V, and they possessed powerful physiques. Almost instantly, they reached the Wolf King. Under Zhao Wuji's lead, they took to the skies and unleashed their attacks.

Upon seeing that, the Giant Wolf King grinned.

"Roaaar!" It roared and raised its sharp claws before swiping down.

The Giant Wolf King's strength was too great; with just one swipe, all the teachers, except for Zhao Wuji, fell like meteors, crashing into the ground. Their bodies cracked open, and their consciousness dissipated.

They suffered grievous injuries after just one attack.

Even the strongest, Zhao Wuji, wasn't much better off. He had his spear to defend himself, but he truly couldn't hold on anymore after exchanging several moves with the Giant Wolf King.

He also plummeted from the skies, crashing into a building.

"T-that's..."

Zhu Qingyu and the others revealed solemn faces at the sight.

One was at the Seventh Tier, while the other was a Ninth Tier Foundation Realm expert, bordering close to the Awakened Realm. In terms of physique, mutated beasts were more than a tier stronger than humans.

The gap was simply too large; the two weren't on the same level at all.

"ROAR!" the Giant Wolf King roared, looking disappointed at the sight.

It thought these humans would be stronger than him, but they couldn't even withstand one swipe of his claws. It felt bored, and it decided to order an attack on Qingyang City.

Just as it was about to give the command, Zhao Wuji jumped up.

"It's not over yet!" he shouted. He stood on a building's rooftop and pointed at the Giant Wolf King from afar with his spear. "The real battle has only just begun!"

He gripped the spear tightly with both hands, and waves of powerful energies erupted from within him. Despite his injuries, his aura remained formidable.

Zhao Wuji's legs bent slightly, and with one stomp, he shattered the concrete rooftop and took to the skies with a deafening boom.

He was like a cannonball as he streaked across the skies and made a beeline for the Giant Wolf King.

A glimmer of spear intent shone at the tip of his spear. Zhao Wuji was about to perform his most powerful technique using all his might.

"Professor Zhao..."

Zhu Qingyu and the others clenched their fists. They prayed in their hearts. Even if he couldn't defeat the Giant Wolf King, at least... he would be able to do something to it, wouldn't he?

However, the Giant Wolf King's expression merely looked a bit more solemn at the sight. It raised its massive claws again, exchanging moves with Zhao Wuji.

A series of deafening noises reverberated as the two fought in midair. Soon, it had been ten minutes since the battle began, and Zhao Wuji was now puking blood. His arms were covered in cracks as he retreated rapidly for a respite.

However, he was still standing. He thrust his spear once again, using all his strength to block another attack.

"Professor Zhao!" Zhu Qingyu and the others shouted, their faces full of worry.

At this rate, Zhao Wuji was going to die. He was a Foundation Realm VII expert, and he had accomplished something amazing.

The sight of Zhao Wuji fighting with all his might elicited tears to rise unbidden in everyone's eyes.

Meanwhile, in a hidden corner somewhere in Qingyang City, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. A smile tugged at his lips upon sensing a surge of power inside him.

Great, the fourth shackle has finally been shattered!

Then, he frowned slightly, sensing something amiss. He could feel the presence of hundreds of mutated beasts in the distance.