CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY

Lucius halted his steps, casting a sidelong glance at the female who had just calmed her pain, a dark gleam flashing in his eyes.

Without a sound, he retreated back into the cave, with no intention of warning the Beastman inside.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tree hole, Wen Shu had successfully broken through the Rank, the pain on her face gradually subsiding, as Wu Xuan pulled up the animal skin to wipe the sweat from her brow.

Nan, having overused his superpower, leaned weakly by her side, his gaze lingering indulgently on her face.

The atmosphere, under the reflection of the bonfire, seemed warm and tranquil.

But at that moment, Nan’s ears twitched, he heard sounds, dozens of faint but orderly footsteps were surrounding this giant tree.

With no time to fully recuperate, Nan pressed down on Wu Xuan’s arm, his expression turning cold as he pointed outside the tree hole.

Upon his reminder, Wu Xuan also finally sensed something wrong, the dense forest tonight was unusually quiet.

The dense forest was full of birds, beasts, and insects, but at this moment, it was dead silent all around, not a sign of any living creature’s movements.

Except for those dozens of footsteps, even more subtle than the rustling leaves.

Wu Xuan’s expression turned serious, the group of Blood Beasts had chased them again, but this time they didn’t charge recklessly but rather surrounded them in a planned manner.

He frowned, glanced at the sleeping Wen Shu, determination flashing in his eyes, and pushed her into Nan’s arms.

But Nan refused, shaking his head, he pushed the female back into Wu Xuan’s arms, reluctantly touching Wen Shu’s cheek, his pale eyes full of tenderness, "I can’t run far with my strength depleted, you take her and go."

Without waiting for Wu Xuan’s response, he turned and dashed out of the cave, transforming into a huge Snowy Owl at the moment of departure, flapping his sharp wings as he swooped towards the Blood Beast pack surrounding the tree hole!

His powerful impact immediately threw the Blood Beast pack into chaos, the dead silent atmosphere was instantly shattered, the sound of claws clashing and the ripping of flesh and blood melded together in an instant.

Wu Xuan held Wen Shu tightly in his arms, charging from the chaotic beast pack, his eyes keenly spotting the Snowy Owl in the center of the beast pack.

At this moment, he exerted all his strength, with one swing of his massive and sharp wings, low-level beasts were sent flying; the fierce wind hit the ancient tree, causing cracks to appear on the stout trunk.

The destructiveness of this strike was imaginable, the well-organized Blood Beast pack was instantly dispersed, low-level wild beasts’ bodies shattered and died on the spot.

But Nan’s situation looked grim, he seemed injured, enduring to exert his Full Rank ability, his pale eyes almost turned crimson, every strike causing him to emit a painful screech!

To protect the female, Wu Xuan did not hesitate, breaking through the blood path Nan created, he immediately transformed into a Black Panther, holding the female in his mouth and running at high speed.

But high-level Blood Beasts had still discovered them from behind.

A male with gray-white hair and bluish-gray eyes looked at them coldly, lifting a hand with a broken pinky, his hoarse voice twisted as if scorched by fire, "Catch them."

His dozens of male subordinates moved, immediately transforming into beast forms, chasing the Black Panther in the distance.

The male with a broken finger leaped forward, transforming into a giant Eagle Beast, flying towards Wen Shu and Wu Xuan.

In a half-conscious state, Wen Shu’s face was pierced by rain threads like blades, after breaking through, she was unprecedentedly energetic, her senses becoming sharper.

Feeling the jostle, she opened her eyes, but needle-like raindrops hit her face, stinging her eye sockets badly.

Squinting her eyes, she parted the strands of wet hair clinging to her face and looked around, finally realizing she was being carried by a Black Panther, escaping into the depths of the dense forest.

And there was no need to ask, for as she looked back, she understood the situation.

Amid the blurred phantom trees, dozens of massive beasts were biting closely behind them, and a pale eagle figure fluttered strong wings above, flying towards them.

That Eagle Beast was incredibly fast, in an instant, it changed from a faint dot to something massive even larger than the tree crown.

His Rank was high, and he had a significant advantage in the air, Wu Xuan couldn’t outrun him!

The sharp claw tips of the Eagle Beast got closer and closer, about to pierce Black Panther’s back.

Wu Xuan clearly noticed this too.

With a dizzying spin, Wen Shu’s legs were tightly held, her body pressed against the heaving chest of the male breathing heavily.

As soon as they stopped, the group of Blood Beasts immediately caught up, blocking all escape routes on the sides.

Facing the surging beasts ahead, Wen Shu felt a sense of urgency.

Yet the Blood Beasts did not move immediately, only arching their backs in place, poised to strike.

Fearing accidentally killing the female, the Eagle Beast above did not order an attack, he hadn’t forgotten the leader’s command.

After landing, he transformed into human form, his eyes coldly staring at Wu Xuan, his hoarse voice slowly rising in the night, "Hand over the female."

Seeing the leader transform, the beast pack behind him also reverted to human forms, over twenty robust males approached step by step, gasping as they looked at Wen Shu, their eyes gleaming red with excitement!

Noticing their excited expressions, Wu Xuan frowned, holding Wen Shu even tighter, retreating slowly a few steps, but then suddenly stopping.

This pause caused a surge of unease in Wen Shu’s heart.

Feeling the wind grow stronger around her ears and hearing a few ethereal bird calls, she glanced back, momentarily dizzy.

Behind them was a bottomless cliff, looking down from the top, one could only see swirling mist and the occasional shadow of birds and beasts flying by.

Loose stones kicked by Wu Xuan’s actions fell, breaking through the mist, revealing a glimpse of the bottomless dark abyss.

Wen Shu’s heart tightened, looking at the Blood Beasts ahead, she felt a strong sense of crisis.

They had nowhere left to retreat, Wu Xuan couldn’t possibly defeat so many Blood Beasts, she couldn’t let Wu Xuan risk himself for her...

Being captured by the Blood Alliance, as long as she controlled the villain, she would have a chance to protect herself, but facing it head-on, Wu Xuan definitely couldn’t survive.

Wen Shu calmly thought of a strategy, but before she could speak, Wu Xuan already put her down.

He lowered his head to glance at Wen Shu, his trembling golden eyes filled with determination, gritting his teeth and staring at the Eagle Beast, "Impossible!"

He indeed couldn’t defeat so many Blood Beasts, but to hand over the female, how could he?

This group of Blood Beasts was ruthless, the female falling into their hands would be better dead than alive...

He would rather perish together with these detestable Blood Beasts!

Seeing his stubbornness, the Eagle Beast’s face suddenly turned dark, a sinister chill flashing in his eyes, "Then you shall die."

As soon as his words fell, he stomped his foot, charging forward, followed by dozens of males instantly transforming into beast forms, lunging at the audacious male.

But Wu Xuan stood motionless on the spot.

Until the Eagle Beast got close enough, the veins on Wu Xuan’s forehead suddenly tensed, his golden eyes lit up with fiery brilliance, a streak of red light emitting from the corners of his eyes, enveloping his whole face and then spreading over his head, neck, and back...

Seeing this shocking scene, Wen Shu’s heart nearly stopped, the red glow on his body wasn’t a tattoo, those were cracks in his skin bursting with energy!

She widened her eyes in disbelief, suddenly rushing towards him, her throat tight with pain, her voice like a beast’s shriek, "Wu Xuan! Stop!"

The nearest Eagle Beast’s pupils contracted, suddenly retracting backward, the blinding red light surged instantly.

The Blood Beast pack unable to dodge was engulfed by the energy, their bodies scorched into pitch black, falling scattered to the ground, more than half perished instantly, the rest merely clinging to life.

Wen Shu, having recovered considerably, drew close to Wu Xuan with all her might, only to be swept away by the scorching aftermath.

Watching helplessly as Wu Xuan was swallowed by the red light, his charred body fell heavily to the ground, her heart felt as if pierced by a sharp steel needle!

She fell to the ground, her elbow scraping off a layer of flesh, but she ignored the pain and immediately scrambled up, stumbling toward Wu Xuan.

That silhouette still had a slight rise and fall, Wen Shu’s throat tightened, her eyes clouded with warm mist.

But before she could reach, a giant claw pierced through Wu Xuan’s body, lifting it at the edge of the cliff.

The Eagle Beast, with half-burned wings, eyes blood-red, swept his gaze over the messy corpses on the ground, finally landing on Wen Shu’s face, his hoarse voice eerie and cold, "Female..."