174 The Beast Tide Begins (1/2)
Laughter resounded all around. The cynics soon stepped forward for another round of arm wrestling with Wang Baole. They had all agreed at the start that Wang Baole was not to use his Spirit Qi; he could only rely on his physical strength.
The warriors who stepped forward were all of them at the peak of the Pulse Enrichment level. One after another, they lost to Wang Baole with grimaces on their faces. Round after round of friendly jeering arose.
”Wang Baole, are you sure you're a Dharmic Armament cultivator and not a Combat cultivator?”
”I heard that the Combat cultivators from the four great Dao Colleges were skilled in enhancing their physical abilities. Never heard that the Dharmic Armament cultivators were the same.”
Upon hearing what the crowd said, Wang Baole patted his tummy smugly.
”That's all due to my good looks. You know how good-looking people are usually geniuses.” Wang Baole laughed. He started letting himself go in this convivial atmosphere. He took out a bag of snacks and started munching.
The laughter from the surrounding warriors grew when they heard Wang Baole's words. The teasing got worse, but Wang Baole had thick skin and was immune to the friendly heckling. He started taking out more snacks and distributing them to the warriors. Soon, everyone was sitting together, munching on snacks.
”Wang Baole, I'm not going to eat your snacks for nothing. Do you have a girlfriend? I have a sister. How about I introduce her to you when I go home visiting? Let me tell you, my sister is real pretty!” The muscular man who had lost to Wang Baole earlier grinned and spoke with great pride, all the while eating Wang Baole's snacks.
Wang Baole was momentarily stunned. He had lived for quite some time; this was the first time that he had encountered something like this.
”You're talking about matchmaking me?”
Upon hearing the exchange between the man and Wang Baole, the crowd started another round of cheering. The man had likely forgotten the number of people to whom he had told he would introduce his sister. As soon as someone did him a favor or gave him a gift, he would immediately think of introducing his sister to the person. His mentioning of that now sparked unending teasing from everyone.
After hearing what everyone else said, Wang Baole could not help but find the whole thing funny. The thick-muscled man chuckled and continued shoving food into his mouth without a hint of embarrassment.
There were so many people snacking together. The sounds of crunching traveled and caught the attention of many patrolling warriors. They also laughed when they saw Wang Baole. During this period, Wang Baole's name had traveled far and wide in the barracks; there was no one who did not know of him.
He was different from the other cultivators. The warriors were not stupid; they could see that Wang Baole was sincere in being friends with them, and he had a likable personality. Since his arrival, the stronghold had heard more laughter than in the past.
This caught the eye of the military officers as well as big-bearded commander-in-charge. Their impression of Wang Baole continued to deepen.
Half a month passed by harmoniously. Just as Wang Baole fully assimilated himself into the warriors' group… the Beast Tide arrived!
One night, a shrill, ear-piercing whistle suddenly erupted, shaking every resting person in the entire stronghold. They dashed out and looked into the sky beyond the stronghold.
Wang Baole had been deep in cultivation. He opened his eyes abruptly and immediately came out from his residence. He heard the piercing alarm and saw a number of the warriors in the stronghold marching off in a swift and organized manner toward the spoon-like structure and the platforms connected to the stronghold and housing the hundred-odd Fire God Cannons.
The scene before him was a dose of sobriety. His body shook slightly and burst into sudden speed. When he reached the boundaries of the stronghold, he cast a look outside. In an instant, his pupils contracted. He was utterly stupefied.
Beyond the stronghold, on the primordial wildlands, between the heavens and the earth, appeared a boiling mist. Within the fog, one could vaguely make out numerous ferocious-looking beasts. The horde of beasts, roaring and thundering, were headed straight for the stronghold.
The beasts were each three to seven meters long. They differed from one another in appearance and speed, but they were all of them exuding ferocity and wildness. They carried the scent of blood, which filled the air.
They were filthy and had a strange, gruesome appearance. Some were wolves with two heads or some alligators with countless bone spikes growing out from their bodies; there were even a few grotesque-looking beasts that escaped Wang Baole's identification.
Among them was a beast towering twenty-odd meters. Be it raging bears, giant elephants, or even dinosaur-like, gigantic beasts, their numbers were great.
Wang Baole was especially stunned by what he thought that he saw in the distant Beast Tide—thirty-meter-tall giants that held heaven-piercing tree branches, their figures striking fear into hearts with every step that they took.