Chapter 7: Mad Slaughter (Part 2)

The climate was unbearably hot, with the evaporating heat forming rising air currents. Ordinary people could hardly survive in such an environment—within a few hours, they would turn into mummies. Professionals could use the power of certain spells to prevent rapid water loss, and those equipped with ice-based armor would fare much better.

Guo Shier returned to a tent set up for him, with Eagle Demon following in. The two sat down to rest.
“Uncle Eagle Demon, I have a bad feeling.”
Eagle Demon frowned slightly and said, “I too feel something strange—very uneasy.”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “I didn’t expect the mutants to be so troublesome and incredibly strong. If another group of mutants appeared in the valley—just 2,000 of them, five squadrons—it would be lucky if half of us survived; most would be doomed.”
Eagle Demon replied, “We don’t know much about the situation yet. Let’s decide based on what we observe.”
After discussing for a while with no clear plan, they had no choice but to step out of the tent again. Bushi Long was leading people to set up magic arrays. With so many people, they could utilize these arrays—each defensive array protecting an offensive one, arranged densely along the valley entrance to ensure a high density of attacks. If another 200 mutants appeared, they would be destroyed before even reaching the valley exit.

Guo Shier went to the valley entrance, where all the professional experts were standing; none were resting in the tents. Bushi Long was assigning tasks. Guo Shier’s squad was tasked with defending a section about 20 meters wide—no need to worry about the rest; they only needed to prevent the mutants from breaking through that small area.

Eagle Demon brought the members of Squad 10 and quickly arranged them into an offensive magic array before sitting down to wait. Yao Lixi Long organized a group of lower-level professionals from the camp, ordering them to bring large amounts of food and clean water, while also setting a rotation schedule.

Next to Squad 10 was Yu Lan’s squad. Eagle Demon somehow approached them and the two began whispering to each other. Guo Shier glanced at them briefly before closing his eyes and lost in thought. He was pondering the strange fluctuations in the valley—why were the mutants coming from there? Could this also be one of the ways to open the secret realm’s portal?

After much reflection and searching through his inherited memories, he finally understood why the coordinates in the ancient Miluo family’s legacy hadn’t been activated—because the area occupied by the ancient Xilong family and the ancient Miluo family were two distant realms, just like Asia and America in his past life, separated by vast distances.

The four ancient spellcraft families are also briefly described in the ancestral records, though unfortunately in a rather vague manner. The four ancient families are the Ancient Miluo Family, the Ancient Xilong Family, the Ancient Dai Family, and the Ancient Zhenren Family. Among them, the Ancient Dai Family is composed mainly of women and is a powerful female spellcraft family.

According to the ancestral records, the Ancient Dai Family is a highly formidable ancient family with a large number of female practitioners, especially those skilled in certain special abilities. Guo Shier is very curious about this, but the records are quite brief, offering no further details.

“The Ancient Dai Family…”

Guo Shier pondered for a moment. It wasn’t so much that he was interested in this female-dominated spellcraft family, but rather because in this world, few women became professionals, and even fewer reached the rank of advanced professionals. He was almost certain that the Ancient Dai Family must have some unique tradition that allowed it to increase both the number and quality of its female practitioners.

“Get ready for battle!”

“All squadrons, get ready for battle!”

Guo Shier opened his eyes. Eagle Demon had already rushed back quickly. He was in charge of Squad 10 and served as the vanguard of the attack. Guo Shier stood up and said, “Uncle, stay here. I’ll go ahead!”

Eagle Demon said, “Be careful. If something feels off, retreat back to the spell formation.”

Over four hundred mutants were charging toward the valley entrance, forming a vast, dark mass. Due to their extremely tall stature, their imposing presence was terrifying, and the thunderous sound of their footsteps made all the professionals pale.

Bu Xilong, Yao Lixilong, five captain-level Grand Masters, and Guo Shier stood at the forefront.

This time, Guo Shier did not summon the Giant Nesting Dragon. There were too many professionals along the entire defense line, and the 100-meter-long Dragon would block the path of their attacks. He also did not bring out the Dark-Winged Scorpion; instead, he kept the Moon Blade by his side.

As the mutants began to slow down, struggling desperately to move forward, Bu Xilong coldly ordered, “Attack!”

Dozens of attacks were launched simultaneously along the entire defense line.

Guo Shier’s Moon Blade stretched to eight meters long as it swept through the air with a whooshing sound, instantly cutting two people in half. Then, as he cast spell after spell, the Moon Blade moved like a fierce dragon, slaughtering the mutants.

Bu Xilong and Yao Lixilong’s attacks were equally fierce. In an instant, spells flashed everywhere, various innate spell weapons were unleashed, powerful skills were activated, and attacks formed from illusory spells also struck the mutants. Taking advantage of the constraints of the valley entrance, they launched a massacre against the mutants.

Guo Shier only focused on the 20-meter width in front of him, while the Eagle Demon and Yu Lan’s squadron next to them worked together to fight the mutants. The attacks were so intense that the mutants couldn’t defend effectively and fell one after another. They let out eerie howls, their faces twisted in terrifying expressions. The professionals knew that once freed from their restraints, they would tear themselves apart without hesitation, so no one dared to show mercy, nor would anyone. Everyone exerted their full strength to kill as many mutants as possible. A stench of blood filled the air, and in just a short time, over 200 mutants had been killed. The mutants behind them stopped advancing. Though they were strong, they weren’t fools; such a suicidal charge scared them, and they finally stopped pushing forward, standing at the entrance of the valley and roaring at the professionals. Guo Shier wondered, “What are they shouting?” He couldn’t understand their language at all. The situation stalled for a while—the remaining mutants didn’t dare to charge further and just stood there roaring. The two sides faced off across the valley entrance. Guo Shier felt no joy of victory; instead, he felt oppressed. The corpses of the mutants on the ground were quickly devoured by strange insects, leaving only skeletons. More and more mutants emerged from thin air, and soon the valley was filled with them. Guo Shier estimated there were at least 3,000 mutants. The great masters in the valley began to retreat to the other end—they could no longer hold back. Although hundreds more great masters arrived later, they were no match for such a large number of mutants. At that moment, another group of flying vehicles arrived, bringing over 200 great masters who came to defend the valley entrance. Only then did Guo Shier breathe a sigh of relief. Although there were many professionals in Camp 27, most of them were mid- to low-level, and having them block the valley entrance was tantamount to sending them to death. If it weren’t for Guo Shier organizing them into a magic array, even if half of these professionals died, they still wouldn’t be able to stop the mutants’ advance. Before long, another batch of reinforcements arrived, about 500 strong. But this time, not all of them were great masters; over 300 of them were master-level experts. With these two waves of reinforcements, there were nearly 800 high-level professionals. Most importantly, among them was a super expert with a Void Form Altar. This person was an inner disciple of the Gu Xi Long family, part of the family’s elite, named Ban Xi Long.

Ban Xi Long appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a loose and extravagant robe of a very strange design. Guo Shier never had seen such clothing before, but he had to admit it was magnificent; the symbolic characters on it would occasionally glow, creating shadows of light. Bu Xi Long and Yao Li Xi Long stepped forward to pay their respects. Ban Xi Long smiled slightly and said, “Lord Bu and Lord Yao have made significant contributions this time, and our family has decided to reward you. Once this matter is resolved, the rewards will be given.” Both men showed excitement and said in unison, “Thank you, Lord Ban, for your support!” Ban Xi Long waved his hand and said, “There’s a young man here who is quite good at training teams. Is he here?” Bu Xi Long replied, “Yes, he just advanced to Junior Grand Sage.” Ban Xi Long said, “Oh, please bring him over… That’s impressive—advancing so quickly just by arriving here.” Soon, Guo Shier brought Eagle Demon over, and he carefully observed this expert of the Virtual Spirit Mirror. Ban Xi Long had a horse-like face with a long shape, a prominent hooked nose, thin lips and a wide mouth. His eyes sparkled with symbolic light, giving him a somewhat cold appearance. Yet his attitude was quite friendly as he asked, “What’s your name? How old are you?” Given his status and strength, such questions were not excessive. Guo Shier replied, “I’m Guo Shier, a Junior Spell Grand Sage, twenty years old this year.” There was nothing to hide; if the other party investigated carefully, they could find out everything clearly. Ban Xi Long was stunned and said in disbelief, “Twenty years old?” Bu Xi Long and Yao Li Xi Long were also surprised. Any professional knew that the younger a person was when reaching a high level of expertise, the greater their potential. A Junior Grand Sage at twenty was an extraordinary figure even in the Ancient Spell Family. Such a person would be a key focus for cultivation and protection in any family. The many Grand Sages around Ban Xi Long were all shocked upon hearing this. Even in the Gu Xi Long Family, it was difficult to advance to Grand Sage before the age of thirty. To encounter someone even younger here—what kind of potential was needed to advance so quickly? In the Ancient Families, those who reached Grand Sage before the age of a hundred were inner disciples; those who did it before fifty were elite disciples. Those who achieved it before thirty were the ones under special protection, and even experts of the Virtual Spirit Mirror didn’t have the authority to guide them—they were taught by higher-level professionals.

Everyone’s expression changed. Sakai Ryū’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he said lightly, “Hmm, not bad.” He turned to Bushirō and said, “Bring this kid to me.”
Bushirō replied respectfully, “Yes, my lord.”
Guo Shier immediately was stunned. How could he escape if he followed Sakai Ryū?
Sakai Ryū asked, “What? Don’t you want to follow me?” He could see Guo Shier’s hesitation at a glance.