Chapter Forty-One: Reinforcements?

“Damn you all, just you wait!” Clearly, the harpy was not the sort who cared nothing for his life; after all the effort it had taken to reach such a cultivation level, he had no wish to die here from Zhou Tian’s serpent venom. Though he knew full well that the odds of an antidote working against Zhou Tian’s poison were slim, he still couldn’t help but place his hopes on the shaman companion traveling with him. Throwing a hateful glare at Zhou Tian and his group, he turned and flew off in the direction from which he had come.

The moment the harpy departed, Zhou Tian collapsed to the ground. While the harpy’s attack hadn’t inflicted fatal wounds—thanks to the snake’s unique physiology—controlling the Pit of Ten Thousand Serpents and facing off against the harpy had pushed Zhou Tian to his limits. The prolonged tension left him unable to hold out any longer; as soon as the threat vanished, his strength deserted him.

“Quick, let’s go!” Exhausted as he was, Zhou Tian knew this was no time to rest. The harpy’s arrival made it clear that the Beast Empire had taken a stance against them. Though they had just narrowly escaped with their lives, the Beast Empire would never let them go so easily. One harpy had already proven almost too much to handle; should the Beast Empire send several more of equal strength, their fate would be sealed.

Thus, despite successfully driving the harpy away, they were far from safe. No matter how poor their condition, they could only force themselves onward, hoping they wouldn’t be discovered by the pursuing beastmen.

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“How is it?” Wiping the sweat from his brow and hearing his companion’s inquiry, the fox shaman could only shake his head and reply helplessly, “There’s no saving him.”

“Damn it!” At the shaman’s words, those beastmen nearby erupted with roars of anger. This mission wasn’t deemed important by the harpy nor the other beastmen; none of them had taken Zhou Tian and his group seriously. That was why, when the harpy went off alone to deal with Zhou Tian, the others had simply let him go.

Though the harpy wasn’t especially well-liked within the group, he was still one of their kin. Given their cultivation, every member was a treasure to the Beast Empire. Unless in times of war with another nation, it was rare for such a valuable member to die on a mission as minor as this. How could the beastmen not be furious?

They cursed the harpy’s carelessness, hated Zhou Tian and his companions, and also dreaded the wrath of their superiors. When the fox shaman confirmed the harpy’s death, a heavy silence fell over them.

“Can you find the location of those little ones?” After a moment’s silence, the leader cast a glance at the fox shaman and demanded the whereabouts of Zhou Tian and his group.

At his question, the fox shaman quickly produced the crystal orb once more. Performing a brief shamanic ritual, the orb soon revealed the image of Zhou Tian and his companions. With practiced ease, the fox shaman manipulated the scene, zooming out until their precise location was exposed.

“These little ones have certainly given us a surprise. But after killing one of us, do they really think they can escape unpunished?” With a cold laugh, the leader fixed his gaze on Zhou Tian’s image, then waved for his companions to follow as they set off in pursuit.

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Although Zhou Tian was well aware that the Beast Empire’s pursuers were likely hot on their trail, he had initially believed the harpy to be acting alone. Never having considered the harpy might have companions, he never expected the beastmen to catch up so swiftly.

Seeing the beastmen surrounding them, Zhou Tian’s expression changed again and again; his earlier composure finally gave way to anxiety. A single harpy had nearly forced him to the brink—had Zhou Tian not taken advantage of the harpy’s carelessness, they would surely have perished. And now, although the surrounding beastmen had yet to act, their mere presence told Zhou Tian that any one of them was no weaker than the harpy from before. If it took so much effort just to deal with one, what hope could he have against so many powerful opponents? Zhou Tian knew he didn’t stand a chance.

“What do we do?” The elves, out of ideas, turned once more to Zhou Tian. He had led them safely through so many dangers already, and faced with such deadly foes, their only hope lay with him.

But…

“What do we do? If only I could ask someone else!” In truth, Zhou Tian himself had no confidence of surviving this crisis. If their enemies weren’t so overwhelmingly powerful, perhaps—with the aid of his system’s artifacts—he might stand a chance. But now, faced with foes a hundred times his strength, not even the system could save him.

Silently, Zhou Tian opened his system shop. With no hope of victory, he could only consider escape. But just as he was about to purchase an escape item, the encircling beastmen suddenly froze, their expressions changing in unison. As one, they turned and reached behind them.

When Zhou Tian looked again, each beastman held an arrow.

“Elves!” Zhou Tian’s heart leapt with joy as he realized what was happening. If these beastmen were adversaries too powerful for Zhou Tian and his group to confront, there were only a handful of beings capable of opposing them—White Tiger King and a few others. While Zhou Tian didn’t know whether White Tiger King was present, the precision of those arrows left no doubt: the shooter was the elf who had been transported to the Beast Empire along with them.

Even if White Tiger King wasn’t with her, the elf’s strength alone was enough; perhaps they couldn’t defeat all the beastmen, but with her help, Zhou Tian was confident he could at least keep himself alive.

(A thousand thanks to Mingyue Hanyan for your generous reward—this humble monk is truly grateful!)