Hearing the shout, Zhao Ya reacted almost instantly.
"Zui’Er, take the things we prepared earlier and go to the Martial Arts Hall to find Master immediately."
As he spoke, Zhao Ya had already returned to the house to retrieve all necessary items like poison and the hand crossbow.
"Ya, where are you going?" Zui’Er asked anxiously.
"Going to the city edge to see what’s happening!" Zhao Ya replied calmly.
"Then... be careful!" Zui’Er’s face was full of worry.
Zhao Ya smiled upon seeing this, "Don’t worry, if I want to run, no one in the Commandery can keep me!"
With that, Zhao Ya leaped onto the rooftop, and with a few agile movements, he disappeared.
Zui’Er followed Zhao Ya’s instructions, picking up the pre-prepared bundle and went to the Dingtai Martial Arts Hall.
Even though they lived just an arrow’s distance from Dingtai Martial Arts Hall, Zhao Ya had Zui’Er go to the hall just to be safe.
With Lu Dingtai there, it was the safest place in the entire Commandery.
At the same time, Zhao Ya had already rushed to the city wall and leaped up onto the city tower.
Upon entering, it was empty inside.
The dozen soldiers responsible for guarding the city were huddled in the corner, trembling.
It wasn’t their fault, actually; the youngest of these soldiers was over fifty.
They could handle opening and closing the city gates and maintaining order on regular days, but in a sudden crisis like this, they were of no use.
Zhao Ya ignored them, walked directly to the lookout, and peered out, seeing shadows moving in the darkness while the distant forest shook incessantly.
Meanwhile, many exotic beasts had gathered below the city wall, pacing back and forth as if waiting for something.
"Who noticed it first?" Zhao Ya asked sternly without looking back.
At the lookout, there were a few others, all young martial artists whom Zhao Ya was addressing.
"Master Zhao, I was the first to notice it," one of the men said respectfully.
"Oh?" Zhao Ya turned his head to look at the man, finding him somewhat familiar but unable to recall where they had met.
"Do you recognize me?" Zhao Ya asked.
"Master Zhao, you forget; it was in the forest before where you saved me and Senior Brother Pan," the man replied.
Zhao Ya suddenly remembered, "Ah, you’re from the Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall..."
"I am Yang Ping, and this is my junior brother, Jiang Zhong!" The man pulled the person beside him, and both cupped their fists in salute to Zhao Ya.
Zhao Ya waved it off, "No need for formalities. How did you get to the city tower and discover the exotic beasts?"
"Master Zhao, as our Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall is closest to the city gate, and after the forest incident last time, Senior Brother Pan was always worried, so he’d send people to watch the city tower every night. Tonight happened to be my and Jiang Zhong’s turn," Yang Ping explained.
Hearing this, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
He didn’t expect the person he saved on a whim to now play such a crucial role.
Meanwhile, martial artists from other halls close to the city wall had also rushed over upon hearing the situation.
Including people from the Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall.
Pan Xuexian arrived with a longbow on his back, and upon seeing Zhao Ya, he couldn’t help but feel a burst of joy.
But it wasn’t a time for pleasantries or reminiscing, so he just nodded at Zhao Ya and then went to the lookout to observe carefully.
After watching for a while, he frowned slightly.
"See anything?" Zhao Ya asked.
He knew that people like Pan Xuexian, who were expert archers, often had extremely sharp eyesight, able to see details that others couldn’t.
"These exotic beasts below the wall are just moving around, while the distant forest, though not very clear, seems to be hiding a large number of exotic beasts. Such a large group gathered but not attacking, what are they planning?" Pan Xuexian expressed his doubts.
"Are they waiting for the right moment?" someone suggested.
"Don’t be ridiculous. These are exotic beasts, not humans; how could they have such intelligence? Waiting for the right moment? You might as well say they’re forming ranks," someone retorted.
But Zhao Ya’s expression grew more serious.
Because he had been suspecting this in his heart all along.
If these exotic beasts were chaotically attacking, Zhao Ya would actually feel more at ease.
What he feared was this current situation of silent patience.
"It’s a pity we can’t see what’s really happening in the distant forest," Zhao Ya lamented.
He had considered making a simple telescope but discovered there were no usable crystals near Yunxiao County.
As for glass products...
This world didn’t have the advanced glass smelting technology, and the produced glass was too opaque to use.
Helpless, he had to give up.
Hearing Zhao Ya’s words, Pan Xuexian took the longbow off his back and pulled out a specially made arrow from his quiver, its head round and containing liquid.
Lighting it with the fire lighter, the arrowhead burst into flames like a giant torch.
Then Pan Xuexian nocked the arrow, aimed towards the distant forest, and shot it.
With a whoosh, the arrow flew like a meteor, piercing the darkness and streaking across the forest sky.
The forest along its path became much clearer under the torch’s illumination.
Though still blurry, for someone like Zhao Ya with his level of expertise, it was enough.
He immediately saw the forest concealed many predator-type exotic beasts.
Wolves, tigers, and leopards were among them.
But at the moment, these exotic beasts were all lying in wait quietly within the forest, not making any move.
Just then, a sharp screech suddenly echoed through the night sky, and a huge bird flew past at great speed, its wings brushing against the arrow.
With a crack, the arrow was knocked into the forest, and darkness returned.
"It’s a flying exotic beast!" someone exclaimed.
Flying exotic beasts are very rare and extremely troublesome and fearsome, presenting extreme danger if encountered in the wild.
"Luckily, there’s not many of these flying exotic beasts, and they have a strong sense of territory, so they don’t appear in groups!" someone remarked with relief.
By now, more and more people were gathering on the city tower.
Shen Dao and Miao Shaocheng also arrived.
"What’s the situation?" Shen Dao asked upon meeting them.
"They’re laying siege without attacking, that’s the situation," Zhao Ya replied.
Just as they were talking, someone suddenly shouted, "They’re retreating, they’re retreating."
Everyone looked over, and sure enough.
The beast horde that was originally prowling below the city walls gradually retreated into the mountain forest and disappeared.
With the dispersal of the beast horde, the tense atmosphere within the city tower relaxed quite a bit.
Many people heaved a sigh of relief.
Someone even laughed and said, "I don’t think these exotic beasts are stupid; they probably saw so many of us and knew they couldn’t win, so they got scared and ran off."
But Zhao Ya didn’t feel relaxed at all; instead, his expression grew more solemn.
Of course, he wouldn’t believe that these exotic beasts were scared off.
Moreover, the retreat of these beasts was orderly, even vaguely resembling an army.
This made Zhao Ya even more anxious.
Shen Dao naturally noticed Zhao Ya’s concern and couldn’t help but ask, "Is there any way?"
Zhao Ya shook his head.
He was not a deity.
These exotic beasts were clearly waiting for the right moment, and they would launch a major attack once their forces were sufficiently gathered.
This situation was not something an individual could change.
Unless a master from the Fifth Realm intervened, only then would there be a chance to turn the tide of battle.
Seeing the situation, Shen Dao also fell silent.
It might have been the heavy atmosphere between the brothers that affected the others; the martial artists in the city tower gradually closed their mouths and stopped talking.
Pang Xuexian, who had overheard the conversation between Zhao Ya and Shen Dao, couldn’t hold back any longer and asked.
"Master Zhao, what do you think, can you share your thoughts for everyone to consider?"
"Yeah, Master Zhao, you’re sharp-minded. Why not share your ideas for everyone to hear?" someone echoed.
"We’ll all listen to you!" Someone outright expressed support.
With Zhao Ya’s growing reputation, his status in the hearts of the martial artists had also risen.
Many people looked at him with anticipation.
Zhao Ya pondered for a moment, then said, "This retreat of the exotic beasts is definitely not the end. I speculate that they are also waiting for the right timing, so we must not let our guard down."
"In my opinion, from today onwards, every Martial Arts Hall should send people to guard the city tower; this is our priority. After all, if it weren’t for the disciples from the Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall noticing things in time today, we might have been in danger."
No one disagreed with this point, and everyone readily agreed.
"Good!"
"It should be this way!"
"Our Mountain Guardian Boxing Hall will take the first night watch tomorrow!"
Amid the shouting, Zhao Ya continued, "Secondly, outside the city, there are forests that provide cover, making it easy for exotic beasts to hide, so we must clear them."
"When it becomes daylight, I’ll lead, and the various Martial Arts Halls should send more manpower. We’ll first clear the forests within two miles outside the city walls, leaving no place for the exotic beasts to hide."
Everyone naturally had no objections to this.
After some discussion, they each left for the time being.
After speaking a few words with Pan Xuexian and others, Zhao Ya also returned to Dingtai Martial Arts Hall.
When he met Lu Dingtai, Zhao Ya explained what had happened, and Lu Dingtai furrowed his brows upon hearing it.
"These beasts even have such discipline; it shows there’s definitely a strong and intelligent exotic beast commanding them."
Zhao Ya nodded, "That’s what I guessed too, so I decided to first fortify and clear out the fields, cutting down the forests outside the city as much as possible to force out the commanding beast’s form. Once we eliminate it, the pressure should alleviate considerably."
"Alright, go ahead with your plan."
With Lu Dingtai’s support, as soon as daylight broke, Zhao Ya led dozens of disciples from Dingtai Martial Arts Hall to the city gate.
By this time, people from the various Martial Arts Halls had also arrived.
Gathering everyone together, they opened the heavy city gate and commenced cutting down the trees outside the city.
For these martial artists, cutting down trees was incredibly easy.
Sometimes, they wouldn’t even need knives or axes; a single palm strike could break a tree.
Everyone joked and laughed, making quick progress.
But just then, a disciple from a Martial Arts Hall suddenly felt an itch on his face.
He inattentively scratched it, and the next second let out a tragic howl.
When Zhao Ya arrived, this disciple was already rolling on the ground, his face swollen like a watermelon, wailing miserably.
At the same time, a sweet and cloying smell emanated from his body.
The disciples’ brothers pinned down his hands and feet, preventing him from scratching.
Zhao Ya quickly approached and saw an inconspicuous small wound on the young martial artist’s cheek.
But it was this small wound that made his face swell severely, and something seemed to be faintly wriggling inside.
Zhao Ya’s heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to speak, the young martial artist suddenly let out a fierce roar, breaking free of the arms holding him, and desperately clawed at his own face.
With a pop.
The skin, already stretched thin, was torn, and dozens of black bees flew out from inside.
Zhao Ya’s expression changed drastically, "Get away!"
But it was too late; the few brothers closest were immediately surrounded by the black bees, and like the young martial artist, began to wail miserably.
The remaining black bees rushed toward the crowd, with a few even heading for Zhao Ya.
But as they got close, these bees fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya flashed around, secretly deploying poison, and finally managed to poison all these dozens of black bees.
Viewing those on the ground once more, their skin was already ulcerated, and they had died from their injuries.