Chapter 58: Coming to Aid

At the junction of the two tribes, the battle had reached its fevered peak. The Mule-headed Wolves retreated desperately, biting at the wild boars, yet never managing to halt their relentless advance. When wild boars gather in numbers, their force is truly terrifying. Their massive bodies give them tremendous momentum; once they charge, unless they exhaust themselves, it is nearly impossible to stop them by force.

In this state of group assault, the boars’ main weapons—their twin tusks—become mere embellishments to the carnage, a flourish atop their primary devastation. Their chief tactic is the brutal charge; once a Mule-headed Wolf is knocked to the ground, it never rises again. The combined weight of countless hooves and bodies crushes any fallen wolf into pulp in an instant.

If the Mule-headed Wolves are driven into the valley by the boar herd, not only will they have nowhere to flee, but they will lose all space to maneuver and exploit their agility. Li Yunfei felt compelled to act; these wolves belonged to the same ancient lineage as the primordial pandas, surviving to this day against all odds. Had they not vanished so early, with their remnants hidden deep within the Shennongjia forests, they would surely be classified among the highest protected species.

To see them wiped out beneath the rampant hooves of wild boars would be a travesty. The boar monsters of the outer ring, at level ten or so, posed no threat to him—little Fox could easily slaughter them. As for the inner ring, with roughly seven or eight hundred boars at level twenty or so, they were no trouble either; he could take them down one by one, without suspense.

The only real threat lay at the heart: the White Boar King and its hundred or so beast-level boar monsters. These possessed demonic power, their offense and defense far superior to ordinary boar monsters. Even in reality, their levels far surpassed Li Yunfei and little Fox—at least in the thirties. But the Mule-headed Wolf King and its guards were also beast-level, though fewer in number, their individual strength was formidable.

All had awakened intelligence; if Li Yunfei intervened clearly on their behalf, they would surely seize the opportunity to mount a counterattack. His Daoist arts and talismans were not limited to exorcising ghosts—they worked equally well to subdue monsters. The Evil-Dispelling Talisman could disperse not only yin energy but also demonic energy, effective against all manner of monsters and ghosts.

In previous dungeons, he had no need of talismans; his martial skills sufficed. But now, they could finally be put to use. If he joined forces with the Mule-headed Wolf King, they might well defeat the White Boar King. This would be his first time battling monsters far above his level—at least ten levels higher—a worthwhile experiment to gauge his true combat power.

He had always sensed that level was not everything. For him and little Fox, level was tied to cultivation realm, and only represented that. But cultivation realm and real combat strength are never one and the same. A Daoist or monk who has cultivated for decades can subdue monsters with a thousand years of practice—proof enough.

Li Yunfei was not at all intimidated by the White Boar King. With everything clear in his mind, he said to little Fox, “Honghong, we must help the Mule-headed Wolves, we can’t let them be exterminated by the boars.”

“Ee!” The little Fox, sitting nearby, turned and nodded at him.

Li Yunfei pointed at the boar herd, giving instructions: “The outer boar monsters are yours. There’s no forest down there, so you won’t start a wildfire—this time you can go all out. Remember, if you can’t hold out, return to your pet space and rest; let me know and I’ll summon you out again.”

On hearing this, little Fox perked up, raised her head and called out, showing she didn’t regard the boars as any threat. Li Yunfei smiled, rubbed her head, fed her two Boar King Pills, and swallowed two himself.

Spreading his arms, two Rat Claw Blades appeared in his hands. “Go for the slope, attack from the rear. I’ll go down here; we’ll strike from front and back. Go!”

Little Fox instantly became a streak of red lightning, racing toward the slope, while Li Yunfei turned his back to the cliff and leapt off. As he jumped, he plunged his Rat Claw Blades into the cliff face; the blades sank easily, slowing his fall.

Sliding down the cliff, his descent grew slower. The cliff was about ten yards high; after four or five yards, his blades lodged in the rock, halting his drop. He pulled out the right blade, stabbed it two feet lower, then the left, and so on, alternating swiftly down the cliff.

…

Little Fox moved with astonishing speed. In moments, she circled the cliff, reached the slope, and charged through the rear of the boar herd. As she neared, her tail flicked up, and with a “whoosh,” crimson flames soared—her Fire-Tailed Fox powers unleashed for the first time.

Twisting her body, she swept her massive flame tail in a semi-arc along the ground toward the boars. A two-meter-high wall of red fire arose from the earth, fanning swiftly toward the herd, spreading like wildfire, creating an inferno.

“Lu lu lu…” The outer boar monsters hadn’t even realized what was happening before hundreds were trapped in the flames, shrieking in agony as they rolled desperately in the fire.

After creating the fan-shaped sea of flames, little Fox charged in, unleashing another “Foxfire Wildfire” at the far edge of the blaze. The flames did her no harm—being a fire fox, she thrived in fire.

Li Yunfei, descending the cliff, watched little Fox’s actions and swallowed hard. So this was what she could do when she unleashed her power without restraint—terrifying. Unfortunately, she was too restricted in the forest, afraid to destroy it, and never dared to go all out. Her ideal battlefield was the plains or desert.

Little Fox ignited fires along the periphery, throwing the boar herd into chaos. Once the rear ranks faltered, the vanguard would lose its momentum; as long as the Mule-headed Wolves could hold, the charge would break.

Then would begin a melee, each fighting for survival, no longer a one-sided slaughter.

The White Boar King soon noticed the fire at its rear and ceased pressing the Mule-headed Wolf King. Turning, it saw the flames and flew into a rage.

“Lu…” “Lu lu lu…” The White Boar King shrieked. The thirty or so beast-level boars at its side stopped charging and turned, calling out behind. The ordinary boar monsters split to either side, bypassing them and continuing forward, but the beast-level boars raced toward the source of the fire.

As they neared the edge of the blaze, the thirty boars screamed in unison, and a demonic wind rose. Dense demonic energy swept toward the flames, which began to shrink and recede at visible speed, revealing the scorched boar monsters.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…” “Boom boom boom…” In the next moment, a storm of fireballs erupted from the inferno, engulfing the thirty beast-level boars.