Chapter 585 561: Saving the Squad

SWOOSH!

The valley shuddered as the seawater roared.

The massive wave slammed into the valley floor, blasting a muddy trench dozens of yards long into the gravel.

The seven or eight Four-star Demon Fiends in its direct path were sent flying, their limbs tumbling and colliding in the water.

Even more Demon Fiends were knocked off-balance by the surge, their formation collapsing in an instant.

Cyan Treasure followed close behind.

It rode the crest of the wave atop its Rootless Wood, the growth-ring patterns covering its body flaring with light.

The rhythm of its Quasi-Path Breathing Method formed a faint, visible green halo around its body.

It opened its mouth and spat, and dozens of Rootless Wood seeds shot into the battlefield like a rain of arrows.

The instant the seeds landed, they tore open rifts in the void, and a torrent of thick, purplish-black roots surged forth from the dark Space.

They blasted through the current, spreading along the ground like living things, binding, piercing, and strangling any Demon Fiends they encountered.

Many human Beastmasters and their Pet Beasts were saved because of this, getting a chance to breathe.

Their eyes widened. Seeing the sudden appearance of the purplish-black roots, they at first thought that Demon Fiend reinforcements had arrived. In their panic, they attacked a few times, not expecting them to be allies.

Wherever the roots passed, they formed an impassable sea of trees with the blade-like currents, breaking up the large Demon Fiend formation and cutting it into several isolated pockets.

Some Demon Fiends tried to cross the roots, only to have their limbs pierced through. Large amounts of their flesh, blood, and Mana were siphoned off, feeding the Rootless Wood in return.

The Demon Fiends were shocked, angry, and confused. 'Isn't this the sacred tree? Why has it lost its mind and started attacking us?'

Meanwhile, the mixed squad of Four and Five-star Beastmasters found themselves perfectly shielded by the Rootless Wood's roots.

With a thought from Gu Ming, Cyan Treasure's branches and leaves gently spread out into a soft cushion as they neared the humans, scooping up the Beastmasters who had been knocked down by the shockwave from the gravel and sending them back behind the safe lines.

As the sea of trees washed over the enemy formation, Ah Ji transformed into a blurry black shadow and, following the same method, burrowed into the root system of a nearby Rootless Wood.

A second later, its figure emerged from the base of another root dozens of yards away, appearing behind a Five-star demonized Ironback Bear.

The Ironback Bear's sharp claws were entangled by the Rootless Wood. It was still struggling and thrashing, completely unaware of the killing intent behind it.

Ah Ji's right paw balled into a fist as blazing light erupted.

The terrifying power of the Blazing Light Mountain-Breaking Fist poured into the Ironback Bear's back at close range. The Light Attribute energy penetrated its body and violently erupted outwards, causing a large amount of black gas to evaporate rapidly.

The Demon Fiend had Five-star strength. Under normal circumstances, the Four-star Ah Ji would have found it difficult to kill it with one punch.

But it was a Demon Fiend from the Inner World, and Light Element attacks were extremely effective against such enemies. It didn't even have time to look back before it was brutally killed.

The Rainbow Wing Butterfly beat its wings, hovering above the battlefield. Its pair of wings, flowing with ancient iridescence, slowly unfurled.

The Illusory Dream Tide washed over the battlefield like a silent ocean wave, one after another.

The Demon Fiends, already split up by the Rootless Wood and having lost their formation's coordination, were now further hampered by the continuous interference of the Illusory Dream Tide. Their reactions grew sluggish, their movements as stiff as if they were walking through water.

Mouse Treasure, meanwhile, used the Illusory Dream Tide as cover to execute its Earth Escape Technique.

Its figure flickered in and out of existence among the shadows of the roots and the gravel on the ground. Each time it emerged, it was at a Demon Fiend's most vulnerable flank.

A single swipe of its demon-dragon claws sent a Demon Fiend staggering in excruciating pain.

Before its opponent could counterattack, Mouse Treasure had already escaped back underground, leaving only a trail of churning earth in its wake.

In just a few breaths' time, the number of Demon Fiends on the field had been reduced by seven or eight.

The trapped Beastmaster squad also switched from passive defense to active coordination. Their Pet Beasts seized the openings created by Mouse Treasure and the Rainbow Wing Butterfly, killing the isolated and helpless Demon Fiends one by one.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the outcome of the battle in the valley was no longer in doubt.

The last few Demon Fiends were entangled by roots, evaporated by blazing light, and torn apart by blades of water, their desperate roars fading as the battlefield's clamor gradually fell silent.

Squad Leader Tie Chenfeng collapsed onto a pile of rubble, his chest heaving violently. His left arm, hanging limply at his side, was still trembling slightly.

His gaze swept over the remains of the Demon Fiends on the battlefield, which were dissolving into black smoke, before settling back on the two young people who had leaped down from the Cyan Cloud Falcon. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

His squad was all too familiar with this group of Demon Fiends. For half a day, ever since breaking out of Iron Gate Fortress, they had been pursued relentlessly by these beasts.

That Earth Rock Lizard—its hide was so tough that a full-power strike from their team's strongest attacker, a Five-star Flame Wolf, could only leave a scorch mark on its Rock Armor. Yet its rock spikes could pierce light armor in a single hit.

And that support-type Demon Fiend hiding behind the mountain wall, casting a Gravity Field, had made them suffer immensely.

If they flew even slightly higher, they were dragged down. If they ran a little faster, their legs felt as if they were filled with lead. Several of his teammates had been caught by the ground-based Demon Fiends in that viscous Gravity Field.

Then there were the Black Feathered Birds in the sky. They were too fast and numerous. Every charge felt like a moving curtain of blades descending upon them, forcing them to push all their defensive Pet Beasts to the front just to barely withstand a single wave.

But just now, right before his eyes, these very Demon Fiends that had cost him more than half his squad were forcefully divided and suppressed by two Four-star Beastmasters, alleviating most of the pressure.

When that colossal wave that blotted out the sun had crashed down, he thought some Five-star reinforcement unit had arrived.

But when he looked up, he saw that the one controlling the current atop the wave was just a strange Four-star Fish Pet.

Then came the purplish-black roots growing wildly from the ground, and the Rainbow Wing Butterfly's massive area-of-effect control—all of it was jaw-dropping.

'Who in the world are they?'

'They're just Four-star Beastmasters, yet they completely routed this Demon Fiend squad.'

Meanwhile, the flying Demon Fiends in the sky exchanged glances and actually retreated some distance.

It seemed their minds had been affected by the Rainbow Wing Butterfly's Illusory Dream Tide, and they were worried about unexpected developments.

One of his arms hung limply at his side, a clear sign of a serious injury sustained while fighting the Earth Rock Lizard.

He took a deep breath and cupped his fist in a salute toward Gu Ming, who was slowly descending from mid-air.

"Thank you for saving us."

His voice was hoarse, as if he had shouted himself raw during the long battle. "We're from Iron Gate Fortress."

Gu Ming recalled the Cyan Cloud Falcon and landed beside him. "How is Iron Gate Fortress now?"

Tie Chenfeng was silent for two seconds, his eyelid twitching.

The other two team members behind him also lowered their heads.

"It fell seven hours ago."

His voice was low, somewhat muffled by the wind and sand in the valley:

"After Iron Gate Fortress's Array was breached, the number of Demon Fiends that poured out far exceeded estimates. There were even some at Six or Seven-stars and above."

"There were also many mixed assault squads of Four and Five-star Demon Fiends that broke through Iron Gate Fortress's defense line."

"We formed temporary combat teams inside the city and broke out in several groups. I don't know if the others made it, but of the fifty people in my group, only thirty of us are still alive."

Gu Ming didn't speak. He just silently glanced at the wounded Beastmasters, his gaze lingering for a moment on their broken armor and faces exhausted to the point of numbness.

Lu You also landed her Cyan Cloud Falcon and stood beside him, hugging Mouse Treasure, which had returned to its original form, tightly in her arms.

"Where are you planning to retreat to next?" Gu Ming asked.

"To the northwest, toward Chongling Pass."

The squad leader pointed northwest with his uninjured hand. "That place hasn't fallen yet. I heard there's an Eight-star guarding it. We should be safe there for a while, at least."

Gu Ming nodded.

"What about you?" Tie Chenfeng looked at Gu Ming and Lu You, and at the Five-star Cyan Cloud Falcon behind them.

It was obvious that Four-star Beastmasters couldn't use a Five-star Flying Pet unless it was through a temporary contract.

Gu Ming and Lu You must have been flying on a mission as well.

However, the distant squad of flying Demon Fiends clearly had no intention of letting them go and was watching them from afar.

The Demon Fiends were likely calling for reinforcements.

If Gu Ming and Lu You continued on their own, they might be ambushed.

"We plan to bypass this battlefield and head south to Lanqi City," Gu Ming said.

Gu Ming's destination was different from that of the Iron Gate Fortress squad. This stopped Tie Chenfeng from voicing his initial thought of inviting the pair to join his team, and at the same time, another idea surfaced in his mind.