Chapter Sixty: Surrounded by Monsters

A night had passed. For some, it was a night of peace; for others, a night of disaster.

With dawn, news of the destruction of the Windsand Encampment spread throughout the surrounding regions. Their own Stormwind Encampment had accepted some of the survivors, assigning them among the various squads.

According to those who escaped, the events of last night unfolded thus: someone unleashed a massacre upon Windsand. Then, members of the Mystic Ice Sect arrived to intervene. What happened afterward was unclear; all they knew was that during the ensuing battle, the Mystic Ice Sect and their enemy utterly razed the encampment. The survivors had fled in the chaos.

In Li Kuang’s eyes, once the Mystic Ice Sect took action, not a soul from the opposing side could have survived.

As the new day began, routine returned. Lu Sheng and Shi Jiu went out hunting as usual. Around noon, a column of smoke rose from the direction of their encampment—a wolf smoke signal, summoning all to assemble. Such a signal meant something significant had happened.

Shi Jiu immediately led his squad back. Upon reaching the outskirts, they were left stunned by the sight before them.

An army of over a thousand Frogmen, origin unknown, was besieging their encampment. Each Frogman wielded a slender, sharp-tipped spear. Even hunched, they stood nearly as tall as a grown man; upright, they would be taller still.

The Frogmen’s tongues shot out with alarming speed and force, knocking warriors off their feet with every strike. Within the encampment, only about three hundred defenders remained, beset on all sides and facing imminent doom.

At the heart of the battle, Chief Li Kuang was locked in a deadlock with three formidable Frogmen—each one visibly stronger and more muscular than the rest.

Wang Xian, the Cardmaster, was unable to assist. His Firebird was entangled by dozens of Frogmen capable of shooting water arrows. Fireballs were blasted apart by the barrage, vanishing in midair. At times, the Firebird had to evade the relentless water arrows altogether.

The Stormwind Encampment was being overwhelmed. Without a dramatic shift, their destruction was inevitable.

Lu Sheng frowned, preparing to act, when a squad appeared before him. It was Lei Yan of the Sixth Squad, who had seen the state of the battlefield. He knew only the man before him could save them now; without his intervention, the encampment was lost.

Bringing his thirty men, Lei Yan dropped to one knee, fists clasped before him. “My lord, I beg you—save us!”

His thirty men followed suit without hesitation, kneeling and saluting as one: “My lord, we beg you—save us!”

Shi Jiu and his companions were dumbfounded, rooted to the spot, uncertain how to react.

Lu Sheng helped Lei Yan to his feet. “Rise. Since I live here, I cannot stand idly by while the encampment faces peril.”

This place had taken him in. Now, with his strength, he would not turn his back.

Lu Sheng raised his hand, summoning three cards: Steel Fang, Greenstone, and Giant Crocodile—his three Tier-3 cards.

In the next moment, over a hundred cards shot from his body, transforming into motes of light. Before their eyes, a swarm of Tier-2 Red Fire Ants materialized.

Shi Jiu and the others wanted to speak, but watching this display, the Lu Sheng they thought they knew now seemed a stranger—an insurmountable distance yawned between them.

Only Wei Liang felt no unease, but rather, a surge of excitement at Lu Sheng’s power.

“Follow my summons and charge in—slaughter every last Frogman!” Lu Sheng’s voice snapped them from their stupor. Instinctively, Shi Jiu and the others prepared for battle.

“Attack!”

Lu Sheng led his summons into the fray!

Steel Fang charged at the front, a massive body bristling with steel quills, tearing through the Frogman lines. Behind it, the Giant Crocodile swung its massive tail, crushing swathes of enemies.

Lu Sheng’s summons were a blade, cleaving through the ranks. The Red Fire Ants followed, swarming over the disoriented Frogmen, their mandibles shearing through flesh with ease.

“This front is yours. I’ll deal with the higher-ranked Frogmen.”

With that, Lu Sheng surged ahead. The perimeter was filled only with Tier-1 Frogmen; they were beneath his notice.

...

“Chief! Reinforcements have arrived!” the defenders within cried, hope blazing in their voices. Moments before, they had believed death inevitable.

Now, survival was within reach.

Yet, as the battle outside raged, they were bewildered. Who had summoned so many formidable beasts? Where had these allies come from?

Li Kuang was locked in combat with three early Tier-3 Frogmen, unable to spare a thought for anything else. The news of reinforcements registered only as the return of the hunting parties.

But even so, he worried. Against such overwhelming odds, even the returning warriors would likely perish.

He could, at the cost of his trump cards, slay these three Tier-3 Frogmen—but among the enemy was one at the peak of Tier-3, watching hungrily from the shadows. That was the true threat. If it joined the battle, he would have no choice but to flee, and the entire encampment would fall.

All hope lay with Wang Xian, though his situation was dire as well—a fact Li Kuang knew too well. Despair crept over him.

Compelled by some impulse, he glanced toward the perimeter, curious about these so-called reinforcements.

What he saw left him thunderstruck.

A massive, steel-quilled Boar rampaged through the Frogman ranks. A crocodile, twenty meters long, swept enemies aside with every movement. And a man, accompanied by a Stone-Throwing Goblin, was charging straight toward him.

Wherever this man went, Frogmen were sent flying with a single punch or kick, collapsing in heaps.

With raw, unstoppable force, the man and his Goblin companion carved a path directly to Li Kuang.

Li Kuang recognized him. That only deepened his shock.

Lu Sheng reached his side. “Chief, I’m here to help. Let’s slaughter these Frogmen!”

Li Kuang’s expression was complicated. “Lu Sheng…”

But he swiftly composed himself. Perhaps this was a prodigy spoken of in legends—favored by the heavens, rising in power with impossible speed. In this world, what was not possible?

With that thought, Li Kuang’s doubts vanished. To have such a genius emerge within his encampment was his good fortune.

“Hahaha! Excellent! Let’s kill every last Frogman!”

With Lu Sheng’s arrival, Li Kuang cast caution aside. His fighting style transformed—bold and aggressive, turning the tide in an instant.

Lu Sheng faced off against a Frogman. Curious, Li Kuang glanced over, eager to witness his strength.

Lu Sheng stepped forward and, with a simple, direct punch, struck the Frogman. Instantly, a Tier-3 Frogman’s body exploded, dead on the spot.

Li Kuang's brow twitched—such power!

At that moment, the peak Tier-3 Frogman, seeing its comrade slain, could no longer restrain itself. It charged at Lu Sheng.

Li Kuang felt a chill. “Lu Sheng! Beware—that one is at the peak of Tier-3!”