“What?!”

Long Wu gasped, stopping in his tracks as he scanned the surroundings. His eyes widened as a sea of glowing green eyes emerged from the underbrush.

“It’s a wolf pack!”

“There must be hundreds of them! We’re surrounded by wolves!”

The beastmen behind him also caught sight of the wolves, and a wave of panic swept through them, freezing them in place.

At the front, Long Mo stood alone, his cold eyes fixed on the one-eared tiger. “This was your plan all along?”

The tiger sneered, “Haha! You killed my brother, so today you’ll die here to keep him company. A little advice—this pack isn’t made up of just any wolves. Enjoy your last moments!”

The tiger threw something from its mouth toward the beastmen.

“What is that?!”

The beastmen ducked and dodged, while Long Mo flew into the air. Looking down, he realized it was bits of raw, bloody meat.

As pieces of the meat scattered over the beastmen, the air thickened with the scent of fresh blood. The wolves lurking in the shadows grew restless, as if triggered by some unspoken command, and they charged forward with bloodthirsty howls.

Long Wu and Long Mo hovered safely above, but the beastmen on the ground weren’t so lucky. Those closest to the edges of the group were pounced on immediately; one by one, they were brought down, some barely able to struggle before wolves clamped their jaws around their throats.

Blood splattered, painting the ground red.

The beastmen at the back tried to help, but the wave of wolves crashing down on them left no one with the strength to defend anyone else.

Meanwhile, Ying Yuan’s group was also overwhelmed, with more wolves tearing into them from behind. Already losing ground in their fight with the scorpion beast, the sudden attack forced them into a desperate retreat, many suffering grave injuries.

Seeing this, Long Mo made his decision and swooped down, his tail swinging forcefully to knock wolves away from a fallen beastman.

“Can you still fight?”

“Y-Yes!”

The beastman hastily wiped the blood from his face and scrambled to his feet, gripping his weapon and staying alert.

“That blood—it’s not even his,” Long Mo realized, as he saw the beastman covered in his fallen comrade’s blood.

“Good. Then get back in the fight!” Long Mo commanded before diving back into the pack of wolves, ripping through the snarling beasts with his razor-sharp claws. With every swing, another wolf fell, its head separated from its body.

Inspired by Long Mo’s bravery, the other beastmen surged forward, their own rage ignited. They threw themselves back into battle, slashing and striking with all they had.

But no matter how many wolves they killed, it was as if the pack was endless. Before long, the ground was littered with dismembered bodies, and Long Mo and the others were rapidly exhausting their strength.

Even Long Wu, usually so full of himself, was beginning to tire, growling in frustration as he tore into yet another wolf. “How many more of these damn wolves are there? Where did they all come from?”

Wolves usually roamed in packs of only a few dozen at most. A swarm of this size was unheard of.

Thinking of his options, Long Wu’s eyes narrowed as he glanced toward Long Mo.

If I fly high enough, these wolves won’t reach me. But as for the others… they’re finished. Let the weaklings fend for themselves; their deaths are no loss. Still, it would be nice if Long Mo met his end along with them.

Focused solely on the battle, Long Mo didn’t notice Long Wu’s calculating gaze. He turned his attention to a massive gray wolf in the distance, which was watching him with bloodlust. Its gaze felt unsettling, more intelligent than that of an ordinary animal.

Something’s not right with that one.

Surveying the surrounding wolves, he observed an unusual rhythm in their attacks: the pack would surge forward, then pull back just as the beastmen began to wear out, only to attack again. They were being toyed with.

“This isn’t good—that lead wolf is directing them. We have to take it down, or we’ll be overrun!” Long Mo shouted to the others.

If they didn’t eliminate the wolf leader soon, the pack would simply wear them down, leaving them easy prey for the scorpion beast and his allies.

Long Mo’s jaw clenched as he thought of Hu Jiao Jiao and his young ones back in the tribe. The realization hit him: The real target was the tribe all along.

At the thought of them falling prey to the same enemy, his golden eyes flared with a deep, red fury. Preparing to make a desperate stand against the wolf leader, he was suddenly distracted by a high-pitched cry from above.

“Cawww!”

A sharp, strange noise cut through the air.

The wolves paused, looking up to the sky, startled by this unexpected arrival.

The wolf leader growled dismissively as a group of birds descended. The pack leader sneered in its own way, seeming to think, These newcomers think they can stop us? They’ll die like the rest.

Long Mo, glancing up, recognized the approaching bird tribe beastmen—only a handful were left in the tribe, and they were no match for the wolves below.

He was about to refocus on the battle when his gaze landed on a small figure seated on one of the bird beastmen. His pupils contracted as he realized who it was.

Hu Jiao Jiao? What is she doing here?

She was here—in this chaos. Why would she come to a place as dangerous as this?

Long Mo’s mind went blank, his thoughts scattering like shrapnel. At that moment, one of the beastmen behind him shouted, “Long Mo, look out!”

Long Mo’s tail was suddenly caught in the jaws of a leaping wolf, the searing pain jolting him back to reality. With a snarl, he swung his tail, slamming the wolf into a nearby tree, splattering it into a bloody pulp.

Long Wu, watching from a distance, scowled as his plan was thwarted. He had intentionally left an opening for the wolves to ambush Long Mo, and yet someone had warned him. How annoying.

The young beastman who had called out was watching the skies, his jaw dropping in astonishment as he saw the last bird warrior gliding down, carrying Hu Jiao Jiao on its back.

“Little sister! What is she doing here?!”