Chapter 550
Sounds of the Wind
It was true. It was what Shi Shi had guessed.
The green-faced fanged beasts had an acute sense of time. They hunted at night and slept during the day. They were disciplined for each season of the year.
During the winter season, the forests were covered in snow. The green-faced fanged beasts were not fans of the snow so they would hibernate just like bears. To ensure they were kept warm, they would hibernate together in the same cave. They would only appear once again in the spring of the next year.
With the extreme changes in the weather these two years, there was no snow to be seen during the winter season. Instead, it was hotter than before. Many animals in the forest gave up on the idea of hibernating but the green-faced fanged beasts stuck to their yearly schedule. They all fell into that deep sleep together, only to wake up if they were unbearably hungry to hunt.
That was the reason why it was hard to find any green-faced fanged beasts then, they were all hibernating.
Only a few of them woke up from the hunger and went out to hunt. After they filled their stomachs, they headed back to the cave.
The one that was caught by Shao Xuan was out hunting for food. Knowing that it would need a lot of energy to hibernate, it ate more than it usually would. If it hadn’t been caught by Shao Xuan, it would have stayed out for two more days to eat and to let its body absorb all the food. Only with its body returned to its original shape, it would return to the cave.
Shi Shi’s drums not only awakened all the beasts in the cave, it also woke up many other green-faced fanged beasts in the area. To a certain extent, he had got the results he wanted with the drums. However, it was way too effective. Too many beasts came out at once. More than he could handle.
The green-faced fanged beasts were extra temperamental when they were woken up. The first attack they made is usually one filled with most anger and the most violent.
They had the hunting nets but there were too many beasts around.
Cries of pain came one after another. Each stating that it was an unsuccessful catch. Each highlighting the fact that Shi Shi grossly underestimated them.
Huff!
A figure jumped out, the slave casting the web couldn’t help but grab his weapon.
Crack!
The sound of crushing bones was particularly ear-piercing. The slave was able to avoid the beast’s fangs but he tripped. His ribs all broke on impact. Blood gushed out of his mouth in a gruesome scene.
A mix of fangs and metals clashing with each other, bones cracking and horrifying screams filled the air. It was a mess.
A beast that came out from the cave aimed at its target and rushed towards them. Its light body shoots out like a missile from the bare ground, kicking so much dust into the air which blinded everyone.
Clang!
A sharp pair of fangs knocked against the Shi Shi sword.
Shi Shi felt it from his wrist to forearm. The numbness, the expanding pain, his exposed forearm with blood coming out from its pores came all at once.
A strong gust of wind knocked Shi Shi off balance. He took a few steps back to stabilize himself only to fall onto the ground leaving a fresh set of footprints imprinted on where he stood.
Shi Shi started sweating bullets as he looked at the beast coming at him again.
His back was now covered in sweat, not sure if it was from the hot weather or from his nervousness.
He looked around anxiously, mind travelling at a million kilometres an hour trying to think of a way to get out.
His wish of getting a more green-faced fang beast backed fired on him. It wasn’t a win to get more beasts, it was a curse.
He couldn’t fight it. What to do?
Run!
If he couldn’t run? Fighting these temperamental beasts with his teeth wasn’t an option either!
“Run! Retreat!!” shouted Shi Shi while holding a special whistle, blowing it with a certain rhythm. Each slave who heard the whistle would know what to do.
Shi Shi grabbed the tied up green-faced fang beast and let the slaves cover for him. He ran towards the mountain, not forgetting to shout, “For every beast you bring back, you will be rewarded! You can even raise your rank!”
When they heard about the reward, the slaves were now willing to risk it all to upgrade their level.
Who wouldn’t be willing to do it? What was the difference between a rock in a desert and the life of a slave who wasn’t able to raise their ranks?
This was the top tier brainwashing that the slave masters of Rock Hill City used. They gave the slaves just enough hope to continue living, bait them with prizes like this so that they were willing to pay the price for it.
Other than the ones who had appeared, some from the well-hidden caves in the mountains came out too.
The thick huffs indicated that they were furious.
In the pitch-black night, the shadows and sky were one.
Figures emerged from the forests and grasslands, bringing along that heat they radiated out. They ran onto the grass, with no intention of hiding themselves.
The one that Shao Xuan met before was quiet in its movements, essentially making no sound as it jumped around. These beasts were different. They showed up with fury, stirring up a storm as they ran towards the mountain.
All the figures gathered around the valley then headed in the same direction. The direction where Shi Shi was running towards.
The green-faced fanged beasts’ roars were even more violent gushes of wind. One could easily mistake it for a typhoon.
The grumpy beasts were looking for a place to vent their anger. They jumped at anything they saw. Shi Shi saw the beasts attacking any animal in their way too.
Hide in the grass? No!
Climb up a tree? No!
Nothing would escape the beasts!!
The leaves in the forests were acting like water in a pond that had a large boulder thrown in. It vibrated in seemingly never-ending waves.
The forest turned into nightmare fuel with its violent gushes of wind breaking its silence.
The tribesmen rested atop the mountain.
Shao Xuan felt the goosebumps all over his body.
“Did you hear anything?” Shao Xuan asked the two guards.
“I think so. Are those the screams of the Rock Hill people?” asked one of them.
“No, it should be ...wind? That doesn’t sound right... but it does sound a lot like wind.”
“Wind?”
Shao Xuan was even more confused by listening to their conversation.
Was there a problem with the wind sounds?
Huff–
The sound of wind blowing came from the cave.
The three instinctively looked at the cave.
“It sounds like that?” asked the tribesmen as he pointed at the mouth of the cave.
Shao Xuan paid closer attention to the sound. There was a difference between that sound and the sound of a gush of wind. What he was hearing was a green-faced fanged beast but the source was too far away for him to differentiate.
He looked at the endless mountains connected to one another. He listened again and urgently grabbed his whistle.
The piercing sound of a whistle broke the silence of the night. It didn’t matter if the person was in or out of the cave, they were all awakened by the whistle.
“What is it?”
“What happened?”
“Who blew the whistle?!”
Everyone rushed to gather at the source of the sound.
Duo Kang noticed the person holding the whistle and asked, “Shao Xuan, what happened?”
“Right, what’s so urgent that you used the whistle,” asked someone while yawning.
Shao Xuan looked at the forest and said, “If I’m not wrong, your prey is coming.”
Everyone snapped to their senses.
“The prey is here? Do you mean the beast?”
“That’s a good thing!”
“How many of them?”
Shao Xuan took a deep breath. “... Many!”