One hour later, the footsteps sounded on the walls of Anshan City.
Leading the group was Qin Jin.
Seeing Chen Fan sitting nearby, they exchanged a glance and both hesitated.
At this moment, Chen Fan’s eyes slowly opened.
With the Longevity Technique and the Sacred Heart Technique, it took him a little over an hour for his True Essence to fully recover.
In the remaining time, he waited for the Beast Tide while absorbing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. After all, every bit helped.
The moment Qin Jin and his group appeared, he had already sensed them. Looking in their direction, he said without emotion, "Have you decided?"
The group walked over.
"Chairman Li, we have decided." Qin Jin slightly bowed, "We have decided to stay and resist the Fierce Beasts with you, Chairman Li."
Chen Fan was quite surprised to hear this.
Frankly speaking, if he were in their shoes, he would consider his own safety and leave first.
If the city couldn’t be defended and was surrounded by Fierce Beasts, it wouldn’t be easy to escape.
"Captain Qin, are you sure?"
He showed a playful smile, "There’s less than an hour before the Beast Tide arrives. The later you leave, the greater the danger."
"Chairman Li, we’ve made up our minds," Qin Jin said firmly. "We believe that since you dare to stay, you must have full confidence. Though we’re not particularly strong, we want to do our part."
Hearing this, Chen Fan glanced at the people behind Qin Jin.
They remained silent, their eyes somewhat evasive.
It was clear they didn’t believe they could defend Anshan City. They were just following Captain Qin’s decision, which represented the opinion of the entire team.
However, the fact that Qin Jin dared to take such a risk meant he must have a backup plan, something that might give them a slim chance of survival if the city fell.
"Alright."
Chen Fan nodded and closed his eyes again.
Qin Jin smiled and led his group to the side.
Their Spiritual Power was sufficient; they didn’t need to meditate to recover just yet.
They looked out across the dark night, gazing into the distance.
On the city walls, it was eerily quiet.
The guards gripped their weapons tightly, their faces pale with fear.
The closer it got to midnight, the more anxious they became. Would there really be a second wave of the Beast Tide?
If it came, would Chairman Li be able to withstand it?
He definitely could, they reassured themselves.
Many people looked at Chen Fan with hopeful eyes.
Inside the city, it was relatively calm by comparison.
Most people were still unaware of the impending Beast Tide and continued sleeping peacefully.
Numerous patrols appeared in the streets, preparing for the chaos that would soon erupt.
Nobody knew how long had passed before the ground started trembling.
At first, it sounded like distant Thunderbolt, barely perceptible. But soon it grew more frequent, causing the earth itself to shake.
"A-an earthquake?"
Someone jolted awake, seeing the water glass on their bedside table shaking. Wiping their eyes, they watched as the glass toppled over.
Some people were quick-witted, immediately getting out of bed and heading downstairs.
In the open space outside, a considerable number of people had already gathered, their faces filled with panic.
"Is it an earthquake?" someone asked breathlessly.
"It should be, right? It came so suddenly. Luckily, I’m a light sleeper and woke up just as it started. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened."
"Yes, indeed."
Many nodded in agreement, casting sympathetic glances toward the residential buildings.
Who knew how many people were still inside, unaware that an earthquake had begun?
Thankfully, the earthquake wasn’t very intense, so the buildings should hold up.
"By the way, is it possible that this... isn’t an earthquake?"
A woman looked pale as she turned to the person beside her.
"Not an earthquake?"
"If not an earthquake, then what is it?"
"Wait, do you mean... the Beast Tide?"
As soon as these words were uttered, it was as if time froze.
"Boom, boom, boom."
Continuous thunder echoed from afar.
Everyone looked at the sky, but there were no signs of lightning and thunder.
Instantly, their hearts grew cold.
They remembered that a few days ago, the Beast Tide had the same effect.
Ground tremors that felt like an earthquake, similar to what was happening now.
The only difference was one occurred during the day, and this one at night.
In one of the residential buildings, two figures stood by the window.
"Sister, don’t we need to go downstairs?"
Meng Yu asked fearfully.
Meng Xue shook her head. Given the presence of underground-dwelling Fierce Beasts, going underground could lead to a quicker death.
These beasts were highly sensitive to the scent humans emitted, especially when many people were gathered together. It was like a 120-watt bulb in the dark, hard to ignore.
But staying in the upper floors wasn’t necessarily safe either.
If the foundation was damaged or the first and second floors collapsed, the entire building would fall.
From the moment the Beast Tide targeted Anshan City, no place was absolutely safe anymore.
"Sis,"
Meng Yu asked in a small voice, "Do you think Chen Fan can repel the Beast Tide again this time?"
"Probably,"
Meng Xue replied with a wry smile.