43 Imminent Peril (1/2)
The conviction in Xue Wei's eyes was so overwhelming that both Luo Zhirou and Shen Mu shivered. They knew that he was not joking.
”You can only kill humans that are bandits or evil!” Lou Zhirou interjected with her brows knitted together, a worried expression on her face. Xue Wei smiled at her.
He said nothing, neither declining nor approving, but he smiled and ruffled her hair as he gently chuckled.
Lou Zhirou pouted slightly. ”You should take me seriously,” she muttered, but she wanted to look adorable in front of Shen Mu, so she did not flare up at the dismissal that Xue Wei showed in response to her words.
Xue Wei talked a bit more with Lou Zhirou and Shen Mu about what they had experienced so far during the trip, about the Genius Camp and what ranking they would get during the recruitment and about the army that they would be joining.
As Xue Wei was alone once more, he looked at Luo Zhirou who had left and bared his teeth in a sinister smile. ”I don't care whether or not people are good or evil,” he muttered to himself. ”I will kill anyone who stands in my way, whether it is an angel or a demon. For me, it does not matter.”
As Xue Wei said this he startled and a shiver ran down his spine. ”Why would I think like this?” he asked himself with befuddlement. ”I am not some bloodthirsty murderer, even if all of them think so, I am just a normal child!”
As Xue Wei was thinking about this, he was feeling uncomfortable. ”What is happening to me?” he questioned himself, but he did not have a long time to consider it as he was pulled out from his thoughts by a loud voice.
”Everyone, stop what you are doing!” the captain called out as he looked around him with a frown on his face. He soon kneeled on the ground and placed a hand on the soil, the scowl on his face deepening.
”Something is not right; everyone, get ready to defend yourself if things go awry!”
Everyone felt nervous. So far, the captain had battled with a Sky-realm giant Sand Snake and a group of bandits without ever losing his composure, but he had not been as solemn as he was now.
It was clear that whatever was coming their way was a dangerous threat to all of them, not only the young ones but also the guards.
Everyone understood that this was a severe threat to their group. They did not hesitate as they brandished their weapons and waited nervously for whatever it was that the captain had noticed.
”This is the best location for us to encounter a beast horde. We are just on the outskirts of the forest, and the beasts can only come from in front of us.”
”Beast horde?!” as soon as he said beast horde, everyone paled, and a large group of them trembled.
They had heard about beast hordes before. They were the real terror of any army and wandering mercenary group.
Primordial Beasts controlled beast hordes, which could range from some hundred beasts to hundreds of thousands.
All the beasts were Fierce Beasts, and thus their strength could not be underestimated.
”Will we even survive this?” one of the more petrified experts asked with tears in his eyes. ”We are still not at the recruitment camp, but we already lost this many of our comrades. Were it not for the ferociousness of Xue Wei, who we all had considered trash, then we would have lost even more of our brothers and sisters.”
”Don't jinx us!” another expert sneered. ”The other experts have made it to the recruitment camp every single year; we will too!”
”There is a real Primordial Beast controlling this group!” someone exclaimed in shock, and a tremor ran through the entire group. It was common knowledge that Primordial Beasts controlled beast hordes.
Everyone knew that Primordial Beasts existed in every strength, shape, and size. Some of them were strong; some were weaker. Some of them had appearances almost similar to humans, while others looked beastial in their original shape.
Primordial Beasts are incapable of cultivating for some time after birth. They were as weak as ordinary mortals. However, as they grew older, they would become familiar with the method of cultivating and their strength would skyrocket.
If they were lucky, they would be up against a young Primordial Beast that had just started training and hence gotten its human shape under control. A Primordial Beast of that kind might not prove too problematic as there were a chance that the beast horde would be small and that the captain could face off against the primordial beast. However, if it were a fully grown one, then they would have a very slim chance at survival.
”Was she a Primordial Beast?” Li Jian suddenly muttered to himself, his face filled with shock and his eyes open wide. He had not wanted to believe it, but considering that a Giant Sand Snake had attacked them and also now a beast horde, everything pointed towards the fact that she was a Primordial Beast.
”I colluded with a Primordial Beast,” he said again, his voice so weak, and trembling. He could not even hear it himself, and the turmoil in his heart was unbearable. He hated primordial beasts, but he equally hated Xue Wei.
”It will be fine,” he mumbled, trying to convince himself. ”I did nothing wrong. As long as Xue Wei dies, I will be okay. No one will ever know of this deal I made.”
Li Jian was more scared for himself than the others. If the world knew that he had worked together with a Primordial Beast, he would get executed right away.
”I should be safe. The beasts should know not to touch me,” Li Jian said to himself again and again. He had a deal with the Primordial Beast, and the deal was that Xue Wei would die, while he would survive.
At the same time, the first beast was visible in the distance. The beast horde was leveling the forest in front of them as they ran towards Xue Wei and the rest of the group.