Sunset Warrior Chant - Chapter 48 - Magical Beast Garden (Part 3)

The four waited for Lu Xiner to return, but she was nowhere to be seen. Fu Qiruo felt uneasy, so the group chased in the direction where the ox-headed man had run. The ox-headed man was ten meters tall, and his massive body had difficulty moving through the dense forest, so he knocked down trees as he went, leaving a wide “road” behind.

They followed the “road” and reached a corner where it took a turn. Fu Qiruo thought, “Senior sister must have sped up and run back from here.” They continued along the “road” and came upon a crossroad, with another “road” intersecting from left to right. The four of them were confused, not knowing where the ox-headed man had gone. Since the ox-headed man had run sideways somewhere else, why hadn’t Lu Xiner returned yet?

Xiao Gang laughed, “This demolition job is pretty well done!”

While the group was discussing which direction to follow, they suddenly heard the roar of the ox-headed man from afar. Fu Qiruo raised the Spirit Sword and said, “The ox-headed man is over there, let’s go after him.” In a short time, they saw the ox-headed man, with Lu Xiner sprinting in front of him about ten meters ahead. Fu Qiruo shouted, “Senior sister, why haven’t you shaken off that big guy yet?”

Lu Xiner looked displeased, dodged around a bend, and ran in another direction, calling out, “You’re causing me trouble again, hide quickly!”

Fu Qiruo asked, “What’s going on?”

Lu Xiner replied, “I ran into a team nearby, and I didn’t want to bring them trouble, so I had to lead this big guy around. But everywhere I run, I keep encountering people. Junior brother, what should I do?”

“Haha, this big guy is really sticking to you, senior sister.” Xiao Gang laughed.

Fu Qiruo paused and said, “Why don’t we join forces to take him down?”

Yu An sneered, “That’s easier said than done.”

Fu Qiruo shouted to Lu Xiner, “Are you tired, senior sister? If you are, I can take over for a while.”

“You little man, letting you run for me, I’m really not at ease with that,” Lu Xiner said, her voice fading into the distance.

Fu Qiruo furrowed his brows, “What should we do? Seems like we’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

The four waited again for Lu Xiner to return. After a short while, instead of Lu Xiner, a group of people came running towards them in panic. Their clothes were in disarray, and the girls among them were screaming loudly.

Fu Qiruo observed these people, seemingly two groups, unscathed but running with incredible speed. He stepped forward to stop one of them to ask what had happened, but the person swung a knife at him, shouting, “Get out of the way, or I’ll fight you to the death!”

Fu Qiruo was shocked. Was this person crazy? He quickly sidestepped and looked in the direction they were fleeing from, seeing no sign of the ox-headed man, making him chuckle at their cowardice.

Suddenly, Yu An exclaimed, “Oh no!”

Fu Qiruo asked, “What did you see?”

Yu An pointed in that direction, and Fu Qiruo focused his gaze. Dozens of meters away, the undergrowth in the dense forest was rustling as small black objects emerged from the ground. These objects flowed slowly but swiftly, like a tide surging toward them, overtaking the hillside in no time and filling their vision with darkness.

Fu Qiruo was taken aback. What on earth were those?

Fear gripped the four at the sight of the black mass, prompting them to consider fleeing with the others. Fu Qiruo steadied himself, tightened his grip on his sword, and upon seeing the black objects up close, realized they were a swarm of small black rats. Yu An remarked, “It’s black rats.”

With thousands of black rats charging at them, anyone would feel terrified, let alone a group of kids. Without needing a discussion, they knew to run and followed the others in escape.

As they ran, Fu Qiruo shouted, “I wonder where senior sister went; I’m really worried about her.”

Yu An replied, “Senior Sister Lu would be better off if she ran far; that ox-headed man is nothing compared to these black rats. Even the ox-headed man would flee, so your senior sister is safer than us.”

Qi Nanshan suddenly said, “Light magic and fire magic might work against these black rats.”

Yu An looked at Qi Nanshan and said, “So you knew that too.”

Qi Nanshan responded, “I heard about it, but how could we fight these rats covering the entire hillside?”

Xiao Gang said, “How long can we keep running like this? Are we supposed to run all the way to the border walls of the Magical Beast Garden and apply to the school to withdraw?”

Everyone was troubled. Fu Qiruo said, “There are over ten mages and swordsmen scattering like sand, too frightened to remember their skills. If we gathered together, we might be able to form a defensive circle. I recall the defensive formation of Manleiden soldiers, where they raise shields in front and attack with long swords from behind.”

Yu An exclaimed in agreement, “We can have the swordsmen, or those armed with swords, take the front line while the mages attack the black rats from the rear through the gaps. As long as everyone cooperates and coordinates well, we might be able to hold out for an hour or two by finding a suitable spot to make our stand. Although the black rats are numerous and intimidating, each is only a level 1 magical beast.”

The four of them, along with over a dozen others, scrambled desperately through the forest. Despite their efforts, the dense vines hindered their pace, while the swarm of black rats, like a rising tide, steadily closed in from behind. Fu Qiruo shouted to those ahead, “Gather together! We must unite to fend off the black rats, don’t scatter!”

A few black rats charged forward, prompting Fu Qiruo to unleash the Thousand Wind Blades. Several wind blades sliced through the air, shredding the attacking black rats.

Amid the chaos, nobody heeded Fu Qiruo’s words, so Xiao Gang roared, “If you scatter, no one can save you! Stay together to have a chance at survival.”

Under Xiao Gang’s intimidating shout, one or two people began moving towards the center, and soon a dozen of them grouped within a thirty-meter radius, sprinting in the same direction.

With a plan to counter the black rats, the group’s panic subsided, and they regained their composure. Xiao Gang laughed, “We’ll face the soldiers with soldiers and flood the waters with dirt. If we must die, at least we’ll die together.”

Fu Qiruo glanced at Xiao Gang, noticing the flush of determination on his face. Despite being chased by the vast swarm of black rats, Xiao Gang exhibited a fearless spirit, which Fu Qiruo couldn’t help but admire. While everyone harbored fear, Xiao Gang’s optimistic demeanor set him apart. Fu Qiruo thought it would be a shame to fall to these rats without comprehending how; at least dying heroically on a battlefield seemed more honorable.

After running for a few more minutes, the black rats finally surrounded them, lunging from all directions like crazed creatures, relentless and fearless. The swarm densely encircled the group of a dozen. Following their prearranged strategy, they allocated roles and formed three defense lines, establishing a stable formation.

The outermost layer consisted of five swordsmen. These swordsmen held weapons ready, each guarding a front, keeping the black rats at a distance of two to three meters. Behind them, the mages of water, fire, light, and dark elements worked in the middle layer, assisting the swordsmen and preventing the rats from attacking from above. Innermost were the earth and wind mages, their spells capable of long-range attacks. The earth mages spiked the ground with sharp Earth Spikes capable of striking the black rat swarm ten meters away.

For a moment, the sound of magic piercing the air and dazzling lights filled the scene. The entire defensive formation resembled a solid magic formation, forming a beautiful halo over ten meters in diameter.

The black rats were fierce and seemed fearless, continuously vanishing amidst the flashing swords and magical attacks. In front of the five swordsmen, the incessant screeching was deafening. Each black rat pounced within two meters, only to be reduced to a bloody mess, with their blood spraying everywhere, casting a mist of gore before the group. A mountain of black rat corpses piled up in front of the swordsmen, forming a circular hill that seemed to trap them. Yet, the relentless assault of the black rats came in waves, like a raging storm that showed no sign of stopping. After only a short while, the wall of corpses around them was two meters high, rendering the earth mages in the innermost circle unable to effectively deploy their Earth Spikes.

Xiao Gang was in the midst of the fight when Yu An voiced his concern, “These black rats won’t stop until the end. If we exhaust our magical battle energy, we could end up being buried alive. We need to find a way to break through.”

Xiao Gang thought for a moment and quipped, “This isn’t looking like ‘Little Brother Xiao fishing for black rats,’ but more like ‘Uncle Xiao digging his own grave.'”

Realizing the dire situation, the group couldn’t even muster a laugh at Xiao Gang’s joke. Fu Qiruo suggested, “We need to conserve our strength. There seems to be no end to these black rats. To conserve energy, we must find a place easy to defend but hard to attack.”

The group agreed and began to move their formation. The earth mages took the lead, casting several Flying Rock Spells that blasted the black rat corpses aside, clearing a bloodstained path. Fighting as they moved, they quickly headed in one direction. After about half an hour, they saw a high wall ahead, just a few dozen meters away.

“Look! It’s the perimeter wall of the Magical Beast Garden. We can get out of here,” someone shouted.

Joy spread among the group, and two people broke free from their defensive formation and sprinted toward the wall-a wind mage and an earth mage.

The wind mage raced ahead, shouting up at the wall, “I want to exit the Magical Beast Garden, to withdraw from the exam!” The black rats surged behind like waves. The mage cast wind blades repeatedly at their pursuers, but his pace slowed, and in the blink of an eye, he was engulfed by the swarm. The group watched as the wind mage leapt a few times within the mass of rats before his screams were silenced as they overtook him.

Seeing the wind mage disappear, the earth mage was overcome with fear and dared not advance another step. He stood in place, casting Earth Spikes within a few meters around him. However, while the front rats stopped, injured by the spikes, the ones behind continued to trample over their bodies, forming a small hill centered on the mage. The earth mage tried casting a few Stone Rains, but to no avail. In just a few moments, he too was buried under the swarm of black rats.

The remaining group dared not run off alone anymore. They slowly moved towards the wall, steadying their formation with their backs against it. The black rats returned, swarming over them like a tide. Many rats crashed into the Magical Beast Garden’s wall, triggering the magic formation there. With a booming sound, the magic shook the rats, knocking them unconscious, and they flew back. New waves of black rats devoured the stunned ones cleanly.

Witnessing this scene invoked fear in everyone. Some shouted up at the wall, “I want to leave the Magical Beast Garden, I want out of the exam! I want to go home!” Almost half the group echoed these sentiments.

A voice from the top of the wall asked, “Are you sure? Once you’re up, there’s no coming back down. Don’t regret it later.”

Those shouting replied in unison, “We want out, we want to go home. No more exams!”

“Alright, if you want to come up, get ready. Tie the rope around your waist and make a knot.” Long ropes were thrown down from the wall. The group grabbed them, following instructions, tying secure knots around their waists, and even wrapped the ropes around their arms for extra support.

The person on the wall shouted, “Ready, lift!” With a strong pull, seven or eight people were hoisted up like projectiles, disappearing in an instant.

From above, the voice asked again, “Anyone else want to withdraw? You can apply anytime. Up here, there’s food, drinks, purified water, and Spirit Gathering Pills, and maybe even some lovely company waiting…”

Left in the formation were eight or nine individuals, either the bravely stubborn or seasoned mages and swordsmen.

With three swordsmen gone, Fu Qiruo stepped forward with his Spirit Sword to fill one of the spots. The Spirit Sword was light and supple. As the black rats lunged, they were reduced to chunks of flesh and blood.

Fu Qiruo asked Yu An, “Do you want to head up?”

Yu An’s face was solemn. “I missed the first round of exams last year and had to really work for a second chance. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the third round then. I need to make the most of this assessment.

“Even though I got a pass to Yan Mountain Academy in the first round, once you enter the Magical Beast Garden in the third round, the first test doesn’t matter anymore. If I give up midway, I’ll have to say goodbye to Yan Mountain Academy. Even if I’m a prodigy-level mage, Yan Mountain Academy won’t keep a coward. I really don’t want to give up this time. I’ll hold on a bit longer.”

Fu Qiruo thought to himself, “That’s the way it is. I wonder where our senior sister disappeared to. If she led the ox-headed man far away, that’s fine. But if the black rats catch up to her, she might be in great danger.”

The group held out for a few more minutes before two more people called up to the wall, reducing their defensive formation by two members. Now, including Fu Qiruo, only seven people remained, and their defensive formation shrank to less than half its original size. The person on the wall called down again, “Is there anyone else who wants to come up?”

“Stop calling, I swear I won’t surrender, even if it kills me,” shouted Qi Nanshan suddenly. He hadn’t said a word for so long that when he finally spoke, it startled everyone, making them jump more than the black rats ever could.

Xiao Gang gave Qi Nanshan a side glance and whispered, “Do you want to be a hero or martyr?” Qi Nanshan kept silent, while Xiao Gang shouted up to the people on the wall, “We’ll hold on a bit longer, then come up. Get the ropes ready.”

A laugh echoed from above, “Two little brats, daring to mess with me.”

As the group below worried that the person wouldn’t drop the ropes, they heard a loud whistle from above. It was clear and resonant, echoing for hundreds of meters. The strange part was that the distant black rats stopped their advance, turned away, and began to retreat. A few nearby black rats even hurriedly picked up pieces of their fallen and followed the retreating swarm. In moments, the horde disappeared completely.

The black rats had retreated upon hearing the whistle. As the group caught their breath, they exhaled collectively in relief. Fu Qiruo remarked, “So it turns out the black rats were being controlled. Yan Mountain Academy really knows how to pull surprises; they have all sorts of people.”

Yu An sat down on the ground heavily and said, “I almost surrendered.”

Fu Qiruo responded, “Since that person made the black rats retreat, I suspect they won’t send them after us again. We’ve passed a small hurdle. I wonder how the level 5 mages and swordsmen who went into the Magical Beast Garden alone are handling the black rats.”

Yu An replied, “Advanced mages or swordsmen usually have defensive gear on them, so they probably won’t get bitten too easily. At least they’d have enough time to escape.”

Xiao Gang chuckled, “I could have held out for another hour or so, but I’m hungry now. Does anyone have any food?”

Among Xiao Gang’s four companions, there was no food, but one of the remaining three had carried a whole rabbit with them. With the black rats gone, he felt lucky to be alive and didn’t mind sharing. He cut the rabbit into pieces and distributed them among the group. Having feasted on rabbit meat, their lunch was settled. After resting by the wall for a bit, the group pressed onward into the deeper parts of the Magical Beast Garden, this time with heightened caution, arranging their formation to favor quick evasion or defense.