Chapter 1520 - 1517: The Tide Begins

"...But I still need to thank you. Then I will accept it graciously, and enjoy it well. I entrust you to protect me today."

Fang Wushang quickly turned around after speaking, heading towards the countdown clock gate. There was not much time left until the waves began.

"No way, don't walk so fast! How can I protect you when you're so far away from me?"

After the complaint, Ye Qiu could only sigh and chase after the swaying long black hair.

The two stood with others waiting for the waves to start at the countdown clock gate. Even though it wasn't their first time, Ye Qiu was still very nervous.

The forest trail extending into the labyrinth zone was surrounded by a warm atmosphere. Soon, the frightening atmosphere would disappear completely like a deceiving illusion.

Morning light filtering through the treetops formed several beams, with butterflies fluttering between them. Unfortunately, all these beautiful things were about to vanish, even though Ye Qiu and Ye Hui found it deeply regrettable.

As the sky darkened, everyone knew the waves had started. Numerous wormholes appeared in the sky; these were the portals magical beasts used to traverse between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm.

Ye Qiu swiftly raised his right hand, interrupting Fang Wushang. Almost beyond the visible sky, there was a reaction from the magical beasts. Focusing their gaze behind, numerous black dots slowly approached the crowd from the sky.

The group of magical beasts was already within a relatively close distance and would soon enter attacking range.

"Forgive me..." Ye Qiu said to the magical beasts, acknowledging that even magical beasts had their own lives, not much different from humans.

The automatic defense system of Aient had already begun its attack. To resist the wave's assault, Aient City had purchased numerous advanced weapons, including a Vulcan Gatling gun with a firing rate of 500 rounds per second, fully automatic tracking Patriot missiles, along with various jet fighters.

But none of these had any real effect on the magical beasts.

Ye Qiu noticed others also began their attacks; it seemed manageable as the survivors from previous waves were strong.

"We might... need to go directly for the boss..."

Individuals like Ye Qiu with Divine Realm Powerhouses level strength usually wouldn't fight against magical beasts meant to be cannon fodder. Every wave had a leader-like magical beast, known as the boss. Typically, defeating it would close the wormholes, leaving the magical beasts without command, making them easier to kill.

Although such boss-level creatures were singular, their terrifying prowess would indeed stir significant topics.

"Is this why so many people are here... but it's too chaotic regardless."

Ye Qiu noticed many with average strength also hunting for the boss, displaying ignorance of their own limits.

Furthermore, conflicts between families continued unabated, attacking each other to seize the last strike on weaker magical beasts, even some small families engaged in mutual assault.

"It's only during boss raids that family cooperation is needed. I wonder if those people understand this...?"

"It's hard to say... But those guys should know not to randomly challenge the boss, right? We should move quickly too. Hopefully, we won't encounter them inside..."

Defeating the boss a second earlier would mean closing the wormholes a second sooner, reducing sacrifices.

Based on past patterns of magical beast attacks, the vanguard tries to weaken human combat ability and endurance before switching to main forces for a total assault on remaining humans, and the boss usually remains hidden, only confronting humans when their forces start faltering.

Given the magical beasts heavily outnumbered humans—even though most beasts were only physically advantaged—sometimes sheer force was the most formidable and troublesome aspect.

It was nearly noon now. I, with Fang Wushang, kept an eye on the map while advancing as swiftly as possible.

Fortunately, we encountered no magical beasts while crossing the forest. After exiting the forest, a grassland with numerous light blue blossoms unfolded before us.

The forest was the easiest place to hide; thus, many rushed in when there were no significant boss characteristics visible in the sky.

After Ye Qiu and Fang Wushang crossed the forest and grassland, they sighted a towering presence on the far edge of the grassland, a colossal building constructed of reddish-brown sandstone.

Though Ye Qiu had visited the interior many times, as they drew closer, the gigantic building that seemed to cover the entire sky exerted significant pressure on them, and it was only one percent of Aient City's height.

No sign of the other family's people; they should have already entered the tower. Ye Qiu and Fang Wushang hastened their pace towards the Mist Tower entrance that was gradually nearing.

Currently, Ye Qiu was battling Magical Beasts encountered on the way, specifically the skeletal Magical Beast known as Demon's Minion. Over two meters in height, its body surrounded by blue phosphorescence, wielding a long straight sword in its right hand and equipped with a round metal shield in its left. Though lacking any muscles, its strength was extraordinarily formidable, making it a rather troublesome adversary.

Nevertheless, even confronting such strong enemies, Ye Qiu didn't retreat an inch. A strong enemy might pose a threat to others, but to Ye Qiu, it was just a matter of a single strike.

"Grumble... Gurgle... Gurgle!"

With the beast's bizarre growl, the skeletal hand's sword fell to the ground, as its body collapsed, swinging from above. Ye Qiu watched the situation a few steps back uneasily, only to see Fang Wushang's footwork drifting left and right elegantly, evading all Magical Beast's attacks completely.

Even though Ye Qiu and Fang Wushang often fought together, encountering weapon-equipped enemies in a two-on-one situation meant they couldn't attack simultaneously. It wasn't that Ye Qiu prohibited it, but under high-speed sword shadows beyond Ye Qiu's sight, simultaneous attacks posed the greatest risk of interfering with each other's moves.

The remaining Magical Beast became crippled from Fang Wushang's four-hit combo, losing balance slightly. Fang Wushang seized the opportunity to make the final strike.

With a thin sword glowing silver, piercing continuously from mid-range into the enemy's body. Each strike hit the target, causing the beast to spew vast amounts of blood with each stab. While the power of a single strike wasn't immense, the attack frequency was fearsome to count.

After three consecutive mid-range thrusts, she switched to repeatedly slicing the enemy's lower body, which began to ready its defense; the sword tip sharply angled upward, emitting pure white effect light, executing two powerful thrusts on the enemy.