62: Unprecedented tragic situation

Chen Xiaohu's desperate roar was like a poisoned ice pick, piercing deep into Qin Yuyan's heart.

The Great Beast Tide!

The Beastmasters had come out in full force!

This was no longer a sporadic conflict, but an extermination war against the entire group of examinees!

"Roar!!!"

As if to confirm Chen Xiaohu's doomsday declaration, a earth-shattering roar, full of primal savagery, suddenly came from the distant northwest, at the edge of the horizon!

Immediately following were the second, third… countless roars!

They rumbled incessantly like thunder, from far to near, converging into a terrifying sound wave that made one's soul tremble!

The earth began to quake slightly, dead branches and fallen leaves rustled down, and even the air seemed to become thick and reek of blood.

That was not a natural display of power, but a destructive wave of death, formed by countless furious demonic beasts!

Qin Yuyan's face was deathly pale, and the Ice Crystal Phoenix let out uneasy whimpers, the icy glow on its wings flickering erratically.

Lin Feng's eyes were sharp as blades; the aura of the Alien Queen, Rift, and Abyssal Venom instantly turned cold and violent, locking onto the direction from which the beast tide surged… In another corner of the Barren World, on the edge of a swamp shrouded in miasma.

"Run! Retreat to the eastern highlands!!!"

A middle-aged man in a Dragon Kingdom teacher's uniform roared hoarsely, covered in blood, his left arm hanging limply, his remaining right arm wielding a long saber burning with crimson flames, desperately hacking at the swamp venomous crocodiles and carrion jackals driven by the Beastmasters, which swarmed from all directions.

Behind him were seven or eight examinees, equally disheveled and covered in wounds.

Their faces were filled with terror and despair, as they desperately urged their remaining energy, trying to keep up with their teacher's pace.

But the swamp was muddy and riddled with venomous insects, making it impossible to pick up speed.

"Roar!"

A particularly large carrion jackal leader, its eyes glinting with cunning and cruel red light, suddenly leaped up and pounced on a girl who stumbled and fell at the end of the line.

The girl let out a piercing scream.

"Beast! Get away!"

The middle-aged teacher's eyes were bloodshot, and he turned around recklessly, throwing his flaming long saber with all his might!

The crimson saber light, carrying a resolute will, precisely pierced through the jackal leader's neck!

However, just as the jackal leader died, a strange bone spear, accompanied by a mental shriek, shot out from the dense miasma like a venomous snake!

"Pfft!"

The middle-aged teacher's body stiffened abruptly, and he looked down at his chest in disbelief.

The grayish-white bone spear had struck him directly in the heart, and wisps of twisted black mental energy still coiled around its tip.

"Teacher Zhou!!!"

The students let out heart-wrenching cries.

The miasma slowly dispersed, revealing the figures of several Beastmasters riding huge venomous lizards.

The leader held a bone staff, his eyes cold and indifferent, as if he had merely crushed an ant.

He uttered incomprehensible syllables and waved his bone staff.

"Woof!"

More carrion jackals and venomous crocodiles, like a black tide, instantly engulfed the few students who had lost their protection and fallen into despair.

Piercing screams, the sound of bones shattering, and flesh being torn… briefly echoed over the miasma-shrouded swamp, then quickly fell silent, leaving only nauseating chewing sounds and the excited roars of demonic beasts.

The Beastmaster priest holding the bone staff coldly glanced at the fallen teacher's corpse and the place where the students were devoured, then urged his venomous lizard, leading his small team, to vanish like ghosts back into the depths of the miasma, continuing their hunt.

To them, these "outer invaders" were merely sacrifices to the "Great Will" and prey to eliminate dissenters.

At the same time, on a relatively open Gobi desert hundreds of miles from the swamp.

A small group of examinees was surrounded by dozens of Beastmaster warriors riding iron-armored rhinos and their demonic beasts, trapped among a group of heavily weathered rock pillars.

The battle was exceptionally brutal, with several corpses of examinees and demonic beasts already lying on the ground.

"Hold on! Our Wang family's guard will be here soon!"

A young man, richly dressed, though disheveled, but with a hint of superiority in his eyes, shouted loudly, trying to boost morale.

Beside him, a middle-aged man in casual clothes, yet with an unusually steady aura, was wielding a heavy sword flashing with lightning, struggling to resist the encirclement of two Silver-level peak Beastmaster warriors and a berserk earth dragon.

Guard Li was also wounded, and as lightning flashed, his eyes were filled with solemnity and anxiety.

He not only had to protect the young master but also had to divide his attention to care for the other besieged examinees, facing immense pressure.

"Young Master, something is wrong! These Beastmasters are like madmen, and… they seem to have a priest interfering from afar!"

Guard Li gritted his teeth, feeling a chilling mental field weakening his perception and reaction speed.

"I don't care! My father paid such a high price to get you in here, you must guarantee my safety!"

The young man, referred to as Young Master, turned pale, his voice tinged with hysteria.

Just then, in the distant sky, a brilliant azure stream of light flew rapidly like a meteor!

The aura emanating from the stream of light had clearly reached Gold-level!

"It's Elder Zhang! He's here! We're saved!"

Young Master Wang's eyes burst with ecstatic light.

The azure stream of light was incredibly fast, reaching the skies above the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Within the stream of light, a cold-faced old man in an azure robe stood in mid-air, his gaze sweeping down like lightning.

However, just as Elder Zhang was about to make his move… "Buzz!"

A mental Impact, far more powerful than before, filled with savage will, like an invisible giant hammer, slammed fiercely into the azure-robed old man in the air!

This power did not come from the attacking Beastmaster warriors, but from the depths of the Gobi, from some hidden, even more ancient and terrifying existence!

Elder Zhang's face drastically changed, and the azure light around him surged, forming a protective barrier to resist.

"Boom!"

The mental Impactcollided violently with the azure barrier, and invisible ripples spread out, causing even the rock pillars below to shed gravel.

Elder Zhang grunted, his body swaying violently in the air, a trace of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, clearly having suffered a hidden blow.

"Who is it?!"

Elder Zhang shouted sternly, his gaze like a knife shooting towards the depths of the Gobi, filled with apprehension.

"Ooo… lulululu…"

From the depths of the Gobi, a low, long horn sound, as if from ancient times, echoed.

This sound carried a peculiar rhythm, as if conveying some command.

The attacking Beastmaster warriors, hearing the horn sound, all paused their movements, red light flickering in their eyes, and then, no longer keen on fighting, they retreated swiftly like a tide, not even bothering with the bodies of their fallen comrades on the ground, and vanished in the wind and sand of the vast Gobi in a flash, leaving behind only chaos and the still-shaken examinees.

Elder Zhang floated in the air, his face so grim it could drip water.

He did not pursue, but merely stared fixedly in the direction from which the horn sound came, his eyes filled with unprecedented solemnity and a hint of… bewilderment.

His powerful mental energy could vaguely sense a heart-pounding force lurking in that area, far exceeding Gold-level!

This was definitely not an ordinary Beastmaster tribe!

"Young Master, let's go! It's not safe to stay here!"

Guard Li immediately reacted, pulling the still-stunned Young Master Wang, and then calling out to the other surviving examinees.

"Keep up! Quickly!"

Young Master Wang looked at Elder Zhang's solemn face, then at the rapidly retreating Beastmasters, his initial ecstasy long gone, replaced by a sense of lingering fear and bewilderment.

His father had subtly hinted that this year's college entrance examination's "small world" was somewhat special, which was why the family had spared no expense to arrange for Elder Zhang to protect him secretly.

But now it seemed, the extent of this "specialness" far exceeded his imagination!