45 Primordial Beas (1/2)

Everyone was busy harvesting beast cores, but as they could carry no more, they slowly had to stop. Instead, they started to roast the meat to get some more energy.

There were so many dead Fierce Beasts and only so many surviving humans that everyone had managed to get their hands on quite a lot of beast cores.

After that, all of them ate the roasted meat while they watched the guards place all the human casualties in a big pile.

”Burn them,” the captain ordered after a bit of consideration. ”We cannot bring their bodies with us, but we cannot just leave them here either. They will become food for other Fierce Beasts otherwise. They fought bravely; they do not deserve to have their remains gnawed on by Fierce Beasts.”

Hearing this, the majority of the youngsters that had been eating happily suddenly swallowed hard and lost their appetite. As the scent of burning flesh got more dominant, many even vomited as they realized that the scent they had found so delicious just moments before was similar to the one of their comrades being burned to ashes.

Luo Zhirou was a tough girl. Although she preferred to bake cakes and make food, she was still not easy to push around, but even she felt sick after realizing that the scent of burning humans was everywhere.

The captain said nothing as he stood in front of the massive pyre. Instead, he made a military salute to the dead. No one spoke either; everyone was busy with their thoughts. Some were petrified over what had happened, while others were in deep thought about how they had survived but their friends had not.

Xue Wei was carefree. He did not know these people that well. No one from Shen Mu's group had died; all of them had fought relatively close to Xue Wei and had received significant assistance from him, and those, in the whole group, who died had been the weakest amongst the entire group.

Although they had died, Xue Wei did not feel a hint of guilt or remorse. He had already done everything he possibly could to assist the other experts who fought the beast horde together with him, and it was impossible for him to do more than he had.

Since he knew that he could not do more than he had, then why should he feel sorry for them or guilty about not doing something impossible?

Still, he respected that they had fought the beasts to the death. For that, he too stood up, stopped eating, and bid his farewell to the many souls of the departed.

”You fought bravely,” he muttered as he stood in front of the pyre. ”Be satisfied with your performance and head for the cycle of reincarnation. Who knows, you might become a heaven-sent genius in your next lives.”

He knew that amongst the dead, many were jealous of him for his sudden surge in talent and even more who were looking up to him.

”I could not save you,” Xue Wei continued mumbling, but then his eyes turned sharp, and he glanced at Li Jian, ”but if these attacks were caused by someone's greed and desire for vengeance, then I swear that I will avenge you!”

The last bit was said with a hint of killing intent. As he said it, the flame within the pyre suddenly turned incredibly violent as it roared and a small ball of fire shot towards Xue Wei, where it hovered in the air in front of him for a moment before it burnt up.

Xue Wei was stunned. He had not expected the fire to react the way it did, but he nodded his head solemnly and gripped his hands.

”I might not be righteous,” he said honestly, ”but when I promise something, no one can make me go back on my promise.”

Xue Wei had not been the only one to stand around the pyre with a lowered head while muttering some words of parting, but it was only his words that had caused such a strange effect. As to whether or not it was a coincidence, no one knew.

”I believe you heard me,” Xue Wei sighed. ”I hope it will help you get some peace.”

Having said that, he returned to Shen Mu, Luo Zhirou, and the rest of their friends. He was deep in thought as to how exactly he should get rid of Li Jian.

By now, Xue Wei had no doubt that the reason that they were having such a hard time on their way towards the recruitment camp was because Li Jian had made a deal with a Primordial Beast. The problem was just that he did not know whether or not this deal only included his death, or if it also included the death of everyone else.

So far, many had died, but Xue Wei had not been in any real danger. Looking at Li Jian, he saw that the other was also looking at him while gritting his teeth and a hint of madness could be seen in his eyes.

”Captain,” Xue Wei suddenly called out, and the captain came to his side. ”What can I do for you?” he asked politely. Although he was much stronger than Xue Wei, he knew that the latter had much better talent than him and that he would eventually be overtaken.

It was only a matter of time, and as a result, he wanted to forge a good relationship between the two.

”Captain, I have a theory. I wonder if you would be willing to listen to it?” Xue Wei asked politely, and the captain nodded his head.

”I think I know why so many things have happened to our procession, and I think I found the cause for it,” he continued. He was not speaking with a low voice, and many heard what he said. Although no one went closer, everyone quieted down and raised their ears to hear more.

When Xue Wei glanced out the corner of his eyes, he saw that Li Jian was paling and that his hands were constantly tightening and loosening again and again.

”I don't know if Captain heard about the commotion in the Li Mansion before we departed?” Xue Wei asked, and the captain thought back to what had happened.

”I did indeed hear that some amazing expert snuck into the Li Mansion, but as to what this expert wanted, no one knows.”