Chapter Forty-Nine: The Wolf Star

Under the relentless onslaught of the savage beasts, one of Black Dragon City’s gates finally succumbed and exploded with a thunderous roar. In the next instant, hundreds, then thousands of wild beasts surged through the breach. Yet as they poured in, they found themselves immediately confronted by tens of thousands of city guards, along with the retainers and defenders of the great families and factions. Archers let loose volleys of arrows, felling the invaders in droves.

Those that slipped through were swiftly dispatched by the martial artists. Though the city gate was broad—over a dozen yards wide—it could not accommodate too many beasts at once; their numbers were bottlenecked, and the assembled defenders slaughtered them with ease.

Meanwhile, atop the city walls, the battle raged even more brutally. Corpses of wild beasts piled high, forming veritable mountains. From these mounds of death, dire beasts of extreme danger leapt over the walls, plunging into the city to engage the martial artists in desperate combat, sowing chaos and carnage. Even with hundreds of thousands of beasts massed outside, the towering walls and the organized force of over a hundred thousand human warriors held the tide at bay, steadily wearing down the invaders’ numbers.

It was a colossal collision between humanity and the beast horde.

Had this occurred in the wilds, humans would have stood no chance against such a stampede. But the formidable city, constructed at such great cost, neutralized much of the beasts’ overwhelming numerical advantage. The battle continued unabated; every moment saw fresh casualties among both the wild beasts and the martial artists.

The siege had already dragged on for a long time.

The city walls, the surrounding earth, and the buildings near the fortifications had all become scenes of grisly slaughter. Corpses of humans, wild beasts, and dire beasts lay thick upon the ground. Rivers of blood flowed; severed limbs and shattered bodies were strewn everywhere.

By now, both human warriors and beasts had been driven to utter madness, knowing only to kill, kill, and kill again.

But just then, a pillar of fire suddenly lit up the distant sky, painting the heavens crimson.

From the horizon, a dire beast wreathed in flames—its body hundreds of yards long—charged forth. A roar of such magnitude burst across the world, as if the thunder of the gods themselves had split the heavens.

This was a beast shaped like the ancient Qilin, its golden eyes radiating boundless malice, its scales gleaming like ruby, each tongue of flame capable of tearing through the void itself, distorting even space around it.

Upon the city walls, all the city’s lords, leaders of great factions and family heads, fell into a deathly silence, their faces drawn tight with despair and terror.

None could have imagined that such a monstrous beast would appear amid this horde.

“That’s a Fire Qilin of imperial blood! Legend says it carries a trace of the ancient divine beast’s lineage. We stand no chance against it—we must flee, now, if we want even a sliver of hope!”

A faction leader cried out, his face ashen, terror-stricken.

The others, hearing this, were aghast.

A Fire Qilin of imperial blood meant that this beast possessed at least half the bloodline of the ancient Qilin; its power was unimaginable, an unrivaled scourge.

Flee!

In that instant, all the faction heads and family patriarchs turned and ran into the city.

They knew better than to dash themselves against a mountain.

These factions had long prepared for disaster, each with their own secret means of escape. Even the city lord’s mansion had a hidden passage stretching ten miles beyond the city walls, to say nothing of other methods.

With their leaders fleeing, the morale of the defending forces crumbled. Especially when they saw the immense form of the Fire Qilin, resistance collapsed entirely as the defenders scattered in panic.

Thus, Black Dragon City became an undefended ruin.

Wave after wave of beasts surged into the city, launching a frenzied massacre and devouring human flesh.

The city’s silence was shattered; everywhere was filled with cries of battle, the clash of arms, and screams.

The Fire Qilin, hundreds of yards tall, finally reached the gates of Black Dragon City.

It drew in its flames, for otherwise, any human nearby would have been reduced to ashes before it even approached.

With a thunderous crash, the Fire Qilin slammed its foot against the towering walls. Instantly, a massive hole was torn open, and before long, a vast corridor had been smashed through what once was impregnable stone.

Entering the city, the Fire Qilin began a rampage of devouring.

One inhalation, and hundreds—thousands—of humans and beasts fighting in the wide streets were swept up and sucked into its maw by a hurricane wind, unable to resist.

Like a gluttonous demon, the Fire Qilin consumed street after street, indifferent as to whether its victims were human or beast.

Shops and buildings collapsed into ruins under its wanton destruction.

No one in the city could hope to stand against such a terror. At this rate, the city’s entire population of several hundred thousand would be annihilated.

Just as the Fire Qilin’s rampage reached its peak, an angry voice thundered from the far reaches of the sky: “Foul creature, how dare you!”

In the next moment, a towering figure strode through the air from the distant horizon, crossing miles with each step, arriving above Black Dragon City in the blink of an eye.

It was a man in his forties, his brows sharp as swords, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

“Shatterstrike Fist!”

He threw a punch at the Fire Qilin; a fist-shaped aura, dozens of yards wide, carrying terrifying power, crashed down upon the beast.

The explosion shook the city to its core; shockwaves tore through the streets, shredding buildings to splinters.

But when the cataclysmic impact faded, the Fire Qilin remained, utterly unscathed.

With a furious roar, the Fire Qilin, interrupted in its feast, showed its rage and annoyance.

Someone dared to disturb it at such a moment.

“You are a mighty beast indeed,” the man muttered, his eyes narrowing, his expression grave.

Meanwhile, the city lord, who had retreated to his mansion and was preparing to escape with his elite guards through the secret tunnel, caught sight of the figure standing in mid-air.

“At last, General Shapolang has arrived,” Lord Qili Han breathed a sigh of relief.

Had the general not come, he would have abandoned the city altogether. Even if he survived, he would have faced the wrath of Tianfeng Empire—a grievous price.

He had long heard tales of General Shapolang’s reputation. Among all the empire’s generals, he ranked easily in the top three. He had defended the empire’s borders for years, standing against both the Great Barbarian Empire and the Demon Dragon Kingdom.

But his bloodthirsty nature had left mountains of corpses in his wake. For this reason, the emperor himself had recalled him to oversee a single province, fearing that Shapolang’s slaughter would provoke reprisal, perhaps even total war.

Now, having his feast interrupted, the Fire Qilin flew into a rage.

With a roar, it spat out a fireball several yards across, hurtling toward Shapolang like lightning.

The general’s killing aura surged. He met the attack with a punch.

Flames exploded in all directions.

Shapolang was blasted back hundreds of yards, left battered and disheveled.

Clearly, in this first exchange, he was outmatched.

Seeing that its attack had not destroyed this pest, the Fire Qilin’s fury only grew. In an instant, it unleashed a barrage—dozens of fireballs rained down upon General Shapolang, blotting out the sky.