173 Brothers (1/2)

Xue Wei was puzzled at first, but he quickly concluded that these experts must be the ones sent by the Celestial Dog Clan to kill Hei Gou.

They were Primordial Beasts. This was apparent when one looked first at Wang Xiaoyun, then at Hei Gou.

Hei Gou had amusement written all over his face, while Wang Xiaoyun's face was as stormy as thunderclouds with her brows deeply furrowed. Her one healthy eye looked ready to shoot flames, if it were at all possible.

”Hey, Gou, do you know them?” Xue Wei asked Hei Gou curiously. He was not too worried; their numbers were equal.

Wang Xiaoyun was a fourth layer Heavenly Warrior and a Wayfarer to boot, so she was the strongest person in their group.

Hei Gou was no longer the same as the old him when he was still with his family, now possessing Heavenly Warrior-level strength as well as the aftereffects of his mutation from a pair of wings to a higher level of purity.

And then there was Xue Wei. Xue Wei was only a fifth layer Sky Warrior, but it was hard to judge his true strength.

”I know them.” Hei Gou sighed and shook his head. There was a complicated look in his eyes. ”They are my brothers. My eldest brother, my third brother, and my fifteenth brother,” he continued. Xue Wei felt a mix of emotions when he heard that. Hei Gou was not on good terms with his family, but it would be wrong to kill them.

Xue Wei pondered over what to do. He felt inclined to eliminate them so they would not pose a future threat to Hei Gou, but he was also aware that doing so would hurt Hei Gou and might even give him a heart demon.

Hei Gou shared these sentiments, but Wang Xiaoyun looked at the beasts with undisguised hatred. It was clear that she wanted to kill all three of them.

”To think you actually have the guts to call yourself our brother!” the fifteenth brother yelled out. ”You disrespected our entire family and made it the family of a deserter! Mother and Father would never be able to lift their heads in the future. If it wasn't for the fact that we have Second Brother and his status as a genius in our clan you would have caused us all to be outcasts.”

”So I should just walk right into my own death?” Hei Gou snorted. ”What a good brother you are, willing to let me die for the sake of keeping the family honor intact!”

”That is a sacrifice that everyone should be willing to make!” the third brother retorted with a sneer. Xue Wei and Hei Gou just snickered.

”A name is nothing. A person's life is what truly matters!” Xue Wei countered. However, Hei Gou's three brothers just looked at him as if he were an idiot.

”Who are you? A mere human dares to talk back to us?!” The eldest brother sneered, but before he could say anything else, a small gem around his wrist started shining.

”Someone is trying to contact us?” All three were puzzled. The only ones who could contact them were the members of the Celestial Dog Clan, but the clan was situated in the Northern Taiga – it had to be urgent for them to make contact.

”What is it?” The elder brother paled as he listened to what was being transmitted to him; fear and trepidation showed clearly on his face when he looked at Hei Gou. He retreated a few steps backwards.

The other two looked curiously at him. They were unaware of what had been transmitted to him, so they were puzzled by their eldest brother's reaction. Why had he retreated from Hei Gou?

Hei Gou had always been the weakest amongst their litter of brothers. He was the youngest and also the one with the least talent.

He had been chosen as a sacrifice for that reason, but it now looked like he had encountered some life-changing luck.

”Retreat!” The eldest brother showed no hesitation in his following actions. The message he had received had spelled it out clearly to him.

”If Hei Gou is harmed or killed, the entire Celestial Dog Clan will be eradicated by the Ice Harpy. The Council of Elders has given him a special mission. He cannot be troubled or delayed. Return home at once,” was the message, shocking the eldest brother so much that he couldn't help but feel his existence shrink a little in size.

He was jealous and confused but also slightly relieved.

Although he felt great hatred towards Hei Gou for putting their family through hard times, he was still his baby brother. Having said baby brother's blood on his hands would make him feel regret for life.

This new development relieved him immensely. Hei Gou had been the weakest amongst them all back in the Celestial Dog Clan – but why would the Council of Elders, the group the eldest brother revered more than anything, give the weak little Hei Gou a special mission?

The Council of Elders was well-known amongst both humans and beasts. They were the strongest experts in the entire Chang'an Continent on the beasts' side.

They were the ones responsible for sending out their side's most talented Primordial Beasts on various missions throughout the continent, and they were the reason that the stalemate had lasted as long as it had. Many of them were survivors of the great human revolt.

To meet them, one needed to be one of the most outstanding geniuses in the entire continent, or one had to contribute with some sort of great accomplishment. However, Hei Gou had never been outstanding in any way – all he had done was run away from home.

”Why don't we kill him already?” asked one of the brothers. His viciousness made Xue Wei frown. Although they were beasts and did not have much feelings for their brothers and sisters, this was too much.

”Beasts will always be beasts,” said Wang Xiaoyun. She wasted no time in charging at them, brandishing a green fan with the snap of the wrist.