28 Battling At The Wandering Wood - One (1/2)
Outskirts of The Wandering Wood.
The group from the Forest Clan arrived and one of their scouts met with them. They carried a lot of equipment.
”Patriarch!” The scout bowed, not expecting the Forest Patriarch himself to show up.
”Have you found them?” Patriarch Lin Huangfu asked without delay. A big and muscular middle-aged man, his face had traces comparable to Little Fu, yet much deeper and manlier. At his back, a huge heavy axe hung proudly.
The scout shook his head, ”No. We searched for our bloodline but they seem to have gone deeper in. No way we can get past that many Spirit Beasts.”
”How many are there?” This time the Second Elder asked. One of the three peak of the Spirit Sea Cultivators of the Forest Clan, along with the Patriarch. The remaining one stayed in the Clan in case the worst happened.
”On this part alone, over three hundred. The strongest seem to be at the peak of the middle Spirit Sea Realm. But… the other Spirit Beasts became agitated on the other parts of the forest. The other Clans are having trouble with them,” the scout explained.
”Peak of the Sixth Layer? What about the Two-Headed Lioness Queen? The first report said the peak of the initial stage!” Second Elder questioned.
”That… was true before, but other beasts arrived. As strange as it sounds, they aren't attacking each other.”
”Patriarch… maybe we should wait. This looks strange,” Second Elder interjected.
The Forest Patriarch shook his head, ”Little Fu is inside. I don't know if dead or alive! Do you want me to wait? Second Elder, you stay here, if anything happens you will lead our Forest Clan!”
”No, no, how can I? If Patriarch wants to go in, these old bones will follow!” The Second Elder voice ended and the rest of the twenty Cultivators from the Forest Clan all clasped their hands.
”We will follow the Patriarch!”
The Second Elder already lived for one hundred and thirty years, without hope of breaking through to the Spirit Gate Realm. Their Patriarch, a rare talent, brought the Clan hope of becoming a fifth-ranked influence.
Aside from the Patriarch and Second Elder, the other cultivators only reached the middle of the Spirit Sea Realm at most. High ranked Spirit Sea realm Cultivators made up the backbone of the Clan. Losing too many here would bring trouble.
When the group braced themselves to go in, another party rushed in from the northern section. The leader nodded to the Forest Patriarch from a distance. He wore heavy armor and carried a halberd with flaming runes. Besides him, a white-robed elder with pure white hair also nodded.
”Flame Commander of BlueCloud City and an elder from the White Clan!” Second Elder recognized them. The group had over one hundred people, and those two in the lead reached the 7th layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. While the Forest Patriarch surpassed them in Cultivation Base, their Clans and the City Lord possessed better techniques and resources.
”Good, they should be able to handle anything! Let's go in as well!” Patriarch Lin Huangfu went in first and the rest followed. The scout led the way.
Not long after many Spirit Beasts rushed over, but not in groups. Random attacks with no coordination. The group had no trouble killing them.
”Patriarch, it's up ahead!” The scout pointed forward from one of the highest trees.
”Everyone, get in formation! Be ready for a fierce battle!” They needed to break through this choke point no matter what. From every corner of the forest, dozens of Spirit Beasts poured in. Most at the Peak of the Body Tempering Realm, but a lot of them also in the Spirit Sea.
The Forest Patriarch liked to lead the vanguard, always the first to hack with his axe. He held it above his head, hacking down with great force!
[Forest Clan Axe Technique - Woodland Fury]
A Grass-Eating Monkey Spirit Beast had its body hacked away in two. The Second Elder did not fall behind either, striking with [Leaf]. With them at the lead, the other Cultivators fought and took little to no damage.
In reality, the Patriarch and the Elder did not exhibit might anywhere near what their Cultivation base could reach. Both their Cultivation Law and Techniques lacked power and quality. To reach power equivalent to the Peak of the Spirit Sea Realm spent a lot of Spirit Energy and thus reduced their capabilities in a prolonged fight.
More than enough to deal with those lower-ranked Spirit Beasts, but far from sufficient to handle the more powerful ones. After the first few waves of Spirit Beasts, stronger ones came out.
Furious Roaring Red Lizard, the peak of the Fifth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm!
Triple Slashing Dragonfly, the peak of the Fifth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm!
Both could distract the Patriarch and Elder for a while. The sheer amount of Spirit Beasts overwhelmed the rest of the Cultivators. The scout shouted in a hurry:
”Patriarch, no good! There's a lot more of them coming then we predicted! Even I-” A Spirit Beast at the third layer of the Spirit Sea Realm pounced, forcing him to retreat to his fellow Cultivators.
”This… why are those beasts so fierce? Even the Spirit Traps we brought aren't enough!” They prepared before coming here but still found themselves pushed back.