Chapter 418 - 275: Fighting on Two Fronts

DONG—

DONG—

A deep, urgent bell toll rang throughout the village, followed immediately by the frantic sound of footsteps and shouting from outside the courtyard.

"Uncle Shichuan, make sure the old man is safe!"

Su Zhi frowned, leaping to his feet and rushing outside.

Last night, he’d had Yu Bao scout the village and its surroundings and even created a sand table model. Combined with the villagers’ oral accounts, he now had a solid grasp of Jinshi Village’s layout.

The bell now being rung was in the small square at the village center—the very spot of last night’s bonfire. The tolling of the bell meant only one thing: the Earthquake Beasts were attacking!

Panicked villagers ran through the streets. Su Zhi weaved through the crowd, reaching the center of the square in a few quick strides.

"Quiet!"

The young man’s voice wasn’t loud, but it instantly stopped the villagers from running around like headless chickens. They began to gather before him.

Su Zhi met the eyes of everyone present for a moment. He understood that he was their source of security.

"Who rang the bell?" Su Zhi asked, his voice grave.

"I did!" "And I!"

Two or three villagers frantically raised their hands.

Su Zhi’s brow twitched. "What direction are the Earthquake Beasts coming from? How many are there? And how long until they reach us?"

One villager immediately answered, "They’re coming from the mountain by the Golden Stone Forest! There are more than ten of them, and they’re less than half a mile away!"

The other two villagers frantically raised their hands. "By the river! There’s an Earthquake Beast by the river, too! A really big one!"

Su Zhi’s frown deepened. "How big? How does it compare to the largest Earthquake Beast that entered the village yesterday?"

"B-bigger than that one!"

’Fuck...’ Su Zhi barely stopped himself from cursing out loud.

’I haven’t even been in the Newbie Village for a full day and an Elite monster spawns? How the fuck am I supposed to fight this?!’

’Judging by the fact that yesterday’s Earthquake Beast had an Energy Value approaching Three-star, the one these villagers saw must have an Energy Value that’s solidly past Three-star. It might even reach the Quasi-Four-star Level.’

’Even if I threw all three of my Treasures at it, we couldn’t possibly win. The only question is how long we could stall it.’

’No, it’s not even a question of stalling. A Quasi-Four-star fighting Two-star and One-star beasts... an instant kill is a real possibility. It’s a good thing my three Treasures are all pretty tough. If I had something like a Hao Waterfowl, we’d be completely screwed...’

"We’re done for... we’re all done for..."

"There are Earthquake Beasts at both ends of the village! What are we going to do? It’s too late to even try to escape!"

"Why would the Earthquake Beasts swarm us during the day? Is today fated to be the day Jinshi Village dies...?"

"Everyone! What are you just standing there for? Hurry back and prepare the offerings!"

"That’s right! As long as we prepare enough offerings, everything will be alright!"

"But... but who has any offerings left? They’ve already eaten them all..."

Fear spread through the crowd. A cacophony of voices arose, growing louder and more frantic, like a churning tide.

"Quiet."

And once again, it was the young man’s voice that silenced them.

All eyes turned to Su Zhi—the young Beastmaster, who, even now, remained poised and calm.

In truth, however, Su Zhi was panicking. ’But I can’t let the villagers see that I’m scared.’ Until that elusive Beastmaster showed up, he was the only person these villagers could rely on.

"I’ll deal with the Great Earthquake Beast by the river."

After taking a quick, deep breath, Su Zhi said gravely, "I’m not confident I can kill it, but I will try to trap it, or at the very least, hold it back."

"Right, right! An Earthquake Beast that big... the other Beastmaster will surely come when he hears the news. Stalling it is good enough..." the two villagers who had witnessed it immediately agreed.

Several other panicked villagers immediately raised their hands. "But... but what about the Earthquake Beasts approaching the front of the village?"

"I’m leaving them to you."

Su Zhi looked up at the man.

"Earthquake Beasts are not without weaknesses. They’re actually not that heavy. If you can find a way to make them fall, or get their feet off the ground, they will die quickly. From my observations, their intelligence isn’t very high, either. Setting traps to kill them shouldn’t be difficult."

However, Su Zhi’s words were met only with the villagers’ terror.

"U-us!?"

"My lord, you must be joking! How can mere mortals stand against Earthquake Beasts?"

"Exactly, we don’t practice Beast Taming..."

"My lord, please, you do it! You’re so powerful, you can definitely solve this and get rid of all the Earthquake Beasts for us."

Seeing the villagers shaking their heads in refusal, Su Zhi’s brow furrowed tightly.

It was then he realized that although it felt like they had become a cohesive group, he and the villagers were ultimately two different kinds of people.

’Their fear of the Earthquake Beasts is like a seed that takes root the moment it touches soil; it’s already buried deep in their hearts. This isn’t something that can be changed in a day or two...’

"Why not!"

Just as Su Zhi was at a loss, another young man’s voice suddenly rang out, cutting through the crowd’s murmurs.

The villagers all turned their gazes to Wang Baichuan.

A smile spread across Su Zhi’s face as he looked with admiration at the young man, who was around his own age and the first to stop calling him "my lord."

Wang Baichuan strode to Su Zhi’s side.

Amidst a sea of uneasy and terrified faces, his eyes alone shone with fierce determination.

"Su Zhi said it—Exotic Beasts aren’t the most powerful thing in the world. People are.

"The Earthquake Beasts are terrifying, but they die when you kill them! If a Beastmaster can kill them, why can’t we?"

Wang Baichuan clenched his fists.

"We don’t have to live in fear! We don’t have to be like livestock, waiting for the slaughter! But how many people have the Earthquake Beasts eaten? How many families have they torn apart? We’ve lived in terror for so long because of them! I’ve had enough of this miserable life!"

"If you’re a man, then come with me! We’ll slaughter every last Earthquake Beast and take back the lives we were meant to live!"