Chapter 562: They Are Here

Xijing reacted at the exact same moment. Transforming into his beast form, he executed a massive tail swipe that swept all the cubs safely behind him.

Feiyan immediately leaped into the water and scooped Qiao Xixi into his arms.

Startled, Qiao Xixi glanced around, only to see pairs of fluorescent green eyes flickering with an eerie glow in the darkness.

“Let’s get to shore first.”

Jin Ling stepped in front of those glowing green eyes, covering Xijing as he led the cubs toward the riverbank.

Realizing their prey intended to escape, the creatures rapidly emerged from the shadows to launch an attack. Once they revealed themselves, Qiao Xixi could clearly see their appearance under the faint moonlight.

“They’re Giant Crocodile Beasts.”

These Giant Crocodile Beasts were massive—at least three to four times larger than the crocodiles she knew from her past. Under the moonlight, their exposed fangs gleamed with a chilling, sinister light.

As soon as Qiao Xixi and the others reached the shore, the Giant Crocodile Beasts crawled warily toward them, surrounding them in a large circle. There was a staggering number of them.

The Giant Crocodile Beast at the very front suddenly opened its mouth wide, letting out a sharp HISS before charging rapidly at them.

Jin Ling immediately handed the tiger cub to Qiao Xixi and spun around, transforming into his beast form.

“ROAR!”

A deafening tiger roar shook the sky. He raised his tiger paw and slammed it fiercely against the Giant Crocodile Beast’s snout.

“Feiyan, Xijing, take Xixi and the cubs and head toward her father!”

“Got it.”

Seeing a Giant Crocodile Beast approach Jin Ling with its gaping jaws wide open, Qiao Xixi quickly pulled out a Bubble Fruit and hurled it!

“BOOM!” The explosion echoed loudly. It intimidated the Giant Crocodile Beasts enough to make them hesitate, preventing them from advancing for a moment.

Jin Ling used this opening to leap back to Qiao Xixi’s side. “Let’s go.”

The moment they moved, the pack of Giant Crocodile Beasts snapped out of their daze.

“Don’t let these invading beastmen escape! Catch them!”

The Giant Crocodile Beasts swiftly gave chase.

Back when Jin Ling first roared, Qiao Yi and his group had heard the commotion. They had rushed to the shore to investigate, only to see Qiao Xixi and her companions sprinting toward them.

“Father, there are a lot of Giant Crocodile Beasts heading this way!”

Qiao Yi’s expression darkened. “Head back to the shelter first. Leave this to me.” With that, he led the beastmen soldiers and charged forward.

Qiao Xixi was still worried. After all, the sheer number of Giant Crocodile Beasts was overwhelming. “Jin Ling, go help my father.”

Jin Ling nodded. “Alright.”

She quickly shoved several Bubble Fruits into his hands. Those Giant Crocodile Beasts were thick-skinned and heavily armored; they would be hard to deal with without some explosives.

Qiao Xixi and the rest had just returned to the woods when they heard the bellowing of bulls from behind. She turned her head in surprise, only to see Lei Lie and his group descending from the sky.

“Why are Lei Lie and the others here?” she asked aloud.

Still, their arrival put her mind at ease.

“Yun Ji must have sent them,” Feiyan noted. “Let’s head back to the shelter and check.”

“Okay.”

The sounds of battle behind them gradually faded. The beastmen soldiers guarding the shelter had also heard the commotion and were hurrying over. Upon seeing Qiao Xixi’s group, they immediately asked what had happened.

“We encountered Giant Crocodile Beasts. My father and the others are dealing with them over there,” Qiao Xixi explained.

“We’ll go take a look.”

After the soldiers left, Qiao Xixi and her group quickly returned to the shelter. The beastmen soldiers had already finished constructing two simple shelters, lining the insides with animal skins.

Qiao Xixi took out clean animal skin clothes for the cubs to change into, before changing into clean clothes herself.

“Hurry up, everyone lie down and go to sleep.”

Having followed Qiao Xixi through many trials, the cubs were used to weathering storms. Although the recent incident had been dangerous, it hadn’t frightened them. Only after coaxing the cubs to sleep did Qiao Xixi step out of the shelter.

“Feiyan, are Sunxiao and Sangze still not back?”

Feiyan shook his head. “Not yet. They probably haven’t found the Cloud Mist Fruit yet. Don’t worry; with their strength, no ordinary person could hurt them.”

Even so, Qiao Xixi couldn’t help but worry. She went back into the shelter to check their locations on her system, only to find that Sunxiao and Sangze’s coordinates had completely veered away from the nearest Cloud Mist Fruit.

She thought to herself, “Could Sangze have fallen ill again…?”

Just as she was fretting, she noticed that their locations were rapidly moving back toward the shelter. Since they were on their way back, all she could do was wait. And then there was Yun Ji… She wondered if he was heading this way yet.

“Little Yao, can you pinpoint Yun Ji’s location right now?”

“Host, he and the others are currently heading this way.”

Hearing this, Qiao Xixi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A short while later, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Carefully nudging away the tiger cub who was hugging her, Qiao Xixi stood up and walked out. It was Qiao Yi and his men returning, though she didn’t see Lei Lie and the others behind him.

“Father, are you all right?”

Qiao Yi shook his head. “I’m fine. It was just a few Giant Crocodile Beasts; they weren’t hard to deal with. Go get some rest. We’ll talk about anything else tomorrow.”

Qiao Xixi looked over at Jin Ling. Seeing him nod reassuringly at her, she finally retreated back into the shelter.

Once Qiao Xixi had gone back to rest, Qiao Yi pulled Feiyan and the others aside, lowering his voice. “There was a massive number of those Giant Crocodile Beasts. Now that they’re dead, it’s bound to attract a large swarm of Vulture Beasts over there. Stay vigilant tonight. The smell of blood is very likely to draw other things here as well.”

The men nodded and returned to the area just outside the shelter.

“Jin Ling, you go inside,” Feiyan said. “Xijing and I will take turns keeping watch out here.”

Jin Ling didn’t refuse; resting was also a necessary part of recovering his strength. “Alright.”

He changed into a clean set of animal skin clothes and wiped the blood off his body before entering the shelter. As soon as he stepped inside, he met Qiao Xixi’s bright, sparkling eyes.

“Xixi, why aren’t you asleep?”

How could Qiao Xixi possibly sleep? She had only come inside because she didn’t want them to worry. “I was waiting for you. Come here quickly and let me see if you’re hurt.”

Jin Ling walked over and sat down beside her. “I’m fine. It’s just a few minor scratches.”

Qiao Xixi wasn’t about to believe that. She took out a sea pearl, using it to illuminate his body as she inspected him. Finding two rather large wounds, she hurriedly took out the Recovery Glue and applied it to his injuries. Watching the wounds scab over at a visible rate, she finally relaxed and settled comfortably into his arms.

For many, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Elsewhere, the Giant Crocodile Beasts were rapidly losing ground, completely powerless to withstand Lei Lie and his group’s onslaught.

“Retreat! Everyone, fall back!”

Following the order, the Giant Crocodile Beasts swiftly retreated toward their lair.

Lei Lie wanted to chase after them, but Chi Yan blocked his path.

“This group isn’t the only lineage of Giant Crocodile Beasts in this area. If you wipe out their entire lineage, it will only invite more trouble.”

Lei Lie snorted, puffing a burst of air from his bull nose. “Then we’ll annihilate all of them.”

Chi Yan knew he was just speaking out of anger; wiping out any entire lineage wouldn’t bode well for them in the long run. “Enough. Throw the corpses into the water.”

“Why?”

Chi Yan frowned. “If we don’t throw them in, there will be more trouble.”

“What trouble? Why are you suddenly talking in riddles?”