Chapter Forty-Eight: The Crisis of Black Dragon City

The death of the Silverblood Ancient Beast, which had intimidated tens of thousands of fierce animals and even made savage beasts wary, was simply inconceivable to them. The news struck them with overwhelming force.

How did the Silverblood Ancient Beast die? Instinctively, they turned their gaze toward Yi Tian, who was walking from afar. Could it have been him who slew the Silverblood Ancient Beast?

Immediately, disbelief spread among them. Yet, the five members of the Samsara Squad had no doubt—there was a deep trust they held for Yi Tian. That he had killed the Silverblood Ancient Beast surprised them, but it did not shock them.

With the death of the Silverblood Ancient Beast, the wave of beasts assaulting the tribe finally ended. The Yi tribe’s settlement lay at the edge of the Fulong Mountains, and so they had faced the fiercest onslaught at the very first moment; other tribes, castles, and villages farther from the mountain’s edge encountered beast tides far less formidable—at most thousands or tens of thousands, sometimes only dozens or hundreds—never as overwhelming as the tens of thousands of fierce creatures and hundreds of savage beasts that struck the Yi tribe.

Once this wave was repelled, and after the savage and fierce beasts returned from rampaging across human territories, they would not launch large-scale attacks on the tribe again. After all, when they invaded human lands, they suffered the most intense counterstrikes from humanity, their numbers sharply diminished. Once the beast tide subsided, they would immediately retreat back to the Fulong Mountains; otherwise, they would be hunted down by human experts and armies, leaving them little inclination to attack the Yi tribe.

Ever since the appearance of the Silverblood Ancient Beast, there had been hardly any fierce beasts near the tribe. Thus, when the news of its death reached the mountaintop, everyone in the tribe felt as if they had survived a catastrophe.

But this exhilaration did not last. The heavy casualties among the tribe’s warriors plunged their families into grief. After tallying the losses, more than three hundred warriors had died in the defense against the beast tide, and over five hundred were wounded—nearly half the fighting force lost or injured, a devastating blow to the tribe.

Had they not excelled in archery and possessed astonishing prowess in ranged attacks, the outcome would have been far worse; faced with such overwhelming numbers, any ordinary warriors would have been annihilated.

The beast tide’s fury had finally dissipated.

The old patriarch, the great elders, and all the tribe’s people descended from the mountaintop. Some elders directed the tribe’s members to gather the remains of the fallen warriors, repair the damaged stone walls and gates, while many others carried wounded warriors aside for treatment.

The old patriarch, the great elders, the chief leaders, and most of the tribe’s warriors rushed to the Silverblood Ancient Beast, examining its mountainous body, touching its cold, hard silver scales in awe.

What a terrifying beast it was!

At the same time, the tribe’s leaders discovered the fatal wound—a hole no larger than a finger on the enormous skull, utterly smooth, piercing through the scales and bone, from which blood and milky brain matter oozed.

Now they understood who had slain the Silverblood Ancient Beast.

Yi Tian’s power had exceeded their expectations; he had brought down a beast with the bloodline of a king.

“Hurry, collect the Silverblood Ancient Beast’s blood!” the great elder cried when he saw blood flowing from the beast’s skull, feeling pained at the loss, and quickly ordered the surrounding warriors and women.

This was a king-blooded savage beast, and its blood contained traces of ancient silver blood, which was tremendously effective in tempering the body of any living creature—no less potent than body-refining elixirs.

The entire tribe sprang into action. The women fetched stone jars, while warriors tried to break open the beast’s scales to let the blood flow.

Yet, the Silverblood Ancient Beast’s scales were so hard that ordinary warriors could not breach them. Only the attacks of high-level warriors could leave sword and knife marks. After a dozen full-force strikes, they finally broke the scales and opened a vein; blood immediately flowed out, glowing faintly silver.

The women quickly used stone jars to collect it.

In the end, ten jars each holding a hundred pounds were filled—over a thousand pounds of blood.

Meanwhile, the old patriarch and elders sought out Yi Tian.

They knew he was the greatest contributor in repelling the beast tide and showered him with praise.

Yi Tian inwardly cursed them as old foxes. He had turned the tide, exerted himself most for the tribe, and deserved a reward—several thousand or even tens of thousands of mid-grade elemental stones would suffice. Yet these cunning elders said nothing of rewards, only praised him as a young hero.

Unable to bear it any longer, Yi Tian declared, “I will let the tribe distribute the Silverblood Ancient Beast, but I want one jar of its blood and its Essence Core.”

“Agreed!” “It’s settled!” the patriarch and elders responded at once.

Yi Tian was speechless at their directness—could they not be more subtle? Their greed was too transparent.

Satisfied with the outcome, the old patriarch and elders hurried off to oversee the tribe as they began to dissect the beast.

Pieces of dark silver scale were stripped off and piled nearby, forming a mountain of silver that shimmered with mystical metallic luster—the finest material for crafting spiritual armor and weapons.

This Silverblood Ancient Beast weighed at least a hundred tons.

Its flesh and blood contained far more vital energy than ordinary low-level savage beasts; even a small portion would fill a tribesman and visibly temper their bodies.

Its meat was enough for the tribe’s thousands to feast heartily for months, with no need to hunt in the mountains.

Of the beast tide, more than eighty thousand fierce beasts had died; most bodies were mangled or trampled to pulp, gruesome beyond description. Only seven or eight thousand remained relatively intact.

The tribe’s ordinary members immediately began collecting these corpses, stripping pelts, preserving meat by smoking, and storing it for the future.

They knew that after the beast tide, the number of fierce beasts around the Fulong Mountains would plummet, making hunting difficult—they must stockpile as much meat as possible.

Yi Tian met with his family; his mother was deeply worried, fearing he had faced danger during the defense. Xiaolong and Xiaoting wore anxious expressions.

Yi Tian comforted them, and his mother, Su Yue’e, seeing that he was unhurt, finally relaxed.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and others chatted with their families.

Soon, his mother and Aunt Hua joined the effort to tidy up the beast corpses.

While the Yi tribe was busy in the aftermath, the land around Black Dragon City suffered a calamity not seen in centuries.

Tens of mountains and hundreds of thousands of fierce beasts poured into this region of thousands of miles, destroying villages, castles, and towns. Most could not withstand the waves of beasts and were breached; hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of humans perished, becoming the prey of savage beasts.

Some castles and towns, bastions of powerful forces, fought desperately, resisting the attacks of thousands of fierce beasts and savage monsters, paying a terrible price.

But nowhere was the battle fiercer or more tragic than at Black Dragon City.

Outside Black Dragon City, three to four hundred thousand fierce beasts gathered, launching a frenzied assault. Thousands of savage beasts waited for their chance to storm the city and devour humanity.

Yet, Black Dragon City’s walls soared over a hundred feet high, like a mountain blocking the beasts’ advance.

Even so, the city faced unprecedented pressure. Countless fierce beasts attacked relentlessly; even the towering walls began to crack, the gates—prime targets—were stained with blood and severed limbs, covered with claw marks, and could be breached at any moment.