Retake *Discontinued*

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Spiritual-Grade Demon-Beast

"A Spiritual-grade demon-beast!" Shouted the twins in unison, their voices mirroring the fear that they felt.

The main difference between an ordinary demon-beast and a Spiritual-grade demon-beast was the amount of intelligence and the control of energy. This made Spiritual-grade demon-beasts much more dangerous that ordinary demon-beasts; also, at Legend-Rank, a Spiritual-grade demon-beast would be able to change into a human form. This concept sent shivers down spines as one thought of the repercussions that this could have.

"What's its strength?" Asked Ming, who was standing next to Biu Hao and Chen Linjian.

"Five-Star Silver-Rank; it's almost Gold-Rank," replied Nie Li. His brows furrowed as he tried to think of a plan; Chen Linjian showed worry, for the strongest of the group was only a Three-Star Silver-Rank Demon-Spiritist. Terrified murmurs rang around the group; all were glancing at each other nervously as loud thuds that originated in the direction of the roar came proceedingly closer.

"Into the forest!" Ordered Nie Tai, charging for the tree line. The group quickly followed suit; the large apes would find it more difficult to move around in the closely packed trees. The thuds sped up in frequency and sound.

Within the trees, they were ordered into a formation with the strongest on the outside of the circle. Nie Li and Nie Tai were at the center; they aimed their crossbows and accurately fired at the large shadows that jumped among the trees. Chen Linjian, Biu Hao, Ming and a few others were quickly covered in blood as they killed the demon beasts that fell to the ground. The twins knew that the Spiritual-grade ape sent its underlings to probe the humans' strength, and it would eventually come itself or overwhelm them with numbers. The Spiritual-grade Giant Blue-Armed Ape came proceedingly closer; Nie Tai could see it watching them from the top of a nearby tree.

"We need to get to the fort! It'll be easier to defend!" Shouted Nie Tai, straining to make her voice heard over battle. All heard her and were getting ready to run towards the fort; Chen Linjian was about to give the order when the Spiritual-grade ape attacked. Its palm swung forward, aiming for the noble's chest; his eyes went wide as he moved to dodge, but he would not make it in time. Ming, who was standing next to him, pushed Chen Linjian out of the way. The noble's eyes went wide, watching his childhood friend be sent flying. Ming broke through one tree and hit the next with great force; the male spat out a river of blood as the light died in his eyes.

"No!" Screamed Chen Linjian, dashing forward. He was stopped by Biu Hao, and the russet-haired male dragged him away. The noble blindly ran in time with his friend. Stunned, the group followed and dashed towards the fortress, trying to escape the Spiritual-grade demon-beast.

"Scatter! We are too big of a target!" Ordered Nie Tai, taking charge; her presence was calm and strong. Numbly, the group split into six groups; Nie Tai dashed towards the fort with Biu Hao, Chen Linjian, and two others. Very quickly, they arrived at and dashed inside of the black stone fort.

When safe, Biu Hao finally let go of Chen Linjian, who he had dragged along with him. The noble stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Biu Hao watched, afraid to say anything; Chen Linjian quickly composed himself, but Nie Tai could see the despair in his brown eyes. The brunette cleared his throat and said, "We should set up camp here and prepare for the others to arrive. Then, we will see if the dead bodies are intact when the demon-beast loses its interest."

"Who else was among the casualties?" Asked Nie Tai quietly, preparing a campfire.

"A commoner. I'll have to send reparations to the family when we return to the city," answered Chen Linjian, a desensitized aura around him as he pitched a tent.

With the conversation ending in an awkward tone, the five proceeded to make camp as they could. The two whose names Nie Tai did not know, offered to go hunting. Chen Linjian hesitantly let them go after they promised to be extremely careful.

❦❦❦

A few hours later, Nie Tai was skinning and preparing rabbit stew. Five of the six groups had made it to the fortress; the only one that hadn't was the one that consisted of her brother, Ye Ziyun, Huyan Lanruo, and three others that Nie Tai did not know. The redhead glanced at Chen Linjian; the noble was taking charge of the situation. He quickly composed himself and proceeded to check with every person that returned to camp in order to ensure that they were unharmed. In short, he was finding busy work.

A rustling outside the walls alerted Nie Tai to Huyan Lanruo's appearance. The beautiful female had another girl leaning on her. Nie Tai's sharp gaze flitted to the girl's swollen ankle; two more, they appeared to be unharmed, followed behind the girls. Seeing them, Chen Linjian sent the girl to the medical tent that he had set up earlier and spoke with Huyan Lanruo.

"I lost sight of Ye Ziyun and I've no idea where she is. All that I can hope is that she is safe," said the young woman, her pink hair bobbing as she shook her head in disappointment.

Standing, Nie Tai walked over to them and asked, "Where is Nie Li?"

Her question rang through the fort; everyone that was speaking quickly became silent as the serious redhead stood in front of Huyan Lanruo. The young woman lowered her eyes and sorrowfully said, "I have no idea. He sacrificed himself for me."

Tears dripped from her eyes, shocking the audience. Chen Linjian glanced at Nie Tai, worried for her. He was momentarily stunned: Nie Tai was smiling.

"You dare sentence him to death?" She loudly asked. Her arrogance caused her to shine, similar to the fire, as she laughed, "My brother will return! Do not mourn for him!"

Nie Tai had extreme faith in Nie Li; if she couldn't, then who could she have faith in?

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