Three weeks later, the wolf tide attacked in full force, matching up with Fang Yuan's expectations.
The Lightning Lycan King had struck them in a pincer movement after wiping out the Xiong Clan last time around. However, the Lightning Lycan King had now been removed from the equation completely.
The Thunder Crown Wolf would soon make its appearance though, but they would not have to deal with reinforcements like they had to last time around. This time, the old clan head stood near the front lines, while Fang Yuan stayed in the rear, ready to intervene in case anything went wrong.
New main mission unlocked!
Would you choose the man or the bear?
Description: Save Gu Yue Yao Le from the bear.
Reward: One Yellow Gold Relic Gu (x1)
This was what Fang Yuan had been expecting. And Charity Gu was already primed for use, even though things should have gone far smoother this time.
With that said, although the enemy was weaker now, Fang Yuan was no longer soaring over them and striking them with his Rank 4 attacks like his previous lifetime. The former clan head out there fighting instead, but he could not rival Fang Yuan's skills with flying.
While it would have been better for Fang Yuan to have set out, this was another restriction of working as the clan head. He had to respond to other things going on in the battlefield, and had to keep himself reserved in case something unexpected happened.
Casualties were now beginning to pile up despite their best efforts. Qing Shu began taking a more active role in the battle, vines emerging from his arms and legs as he formed a literal wall between the wolves and the other villagers. 'He is going to end up turning into a tree this time as well at this rate,' Fang Yuan mused before letting out the Lightning Lord Wings and soaring out over the battlefield, despite some of the protests from the other elders.
He rained attacks down upon the enemy wolf tide, causing them to turn tail and flee or break up in formation. Qing Shu was stronger now than before, but still needed external help to get through this predicament as he had only just become an elder a while back.
On another corner of the battlefield, Gu Yue Yao Le was scouting out for injured Gu Masters in what was considered a "safe" location, when suddenly something charged at her from the bushes. It was a mass of fur and claws that roared loudly, even drowning out the surrounding wolf howls in the vicinity.
'Why is there a bear here?' she thought, panicking as she didn't have any good offensive gu worms. The bear in question had been trailing alongside the wolf pack, and so had found its way near this place. With food become evermore scarce, it had turned into an opportunistic scavenger, feeding on the scraps left behind by the weaker wolves that it could chase away.
With a tasty meal now in front of it and no wolves to compete against; it immediately began drooling as it chased after her.
"Grandma, save me!" she shouted out.
And in another corner of the battlefield, Li Mei barely avoided having one of her arms torn off, thanks to Gu Yue Yu Sai intervening. However, both of them were in a tough spot.
"Once the wolves close in, you should just run away and save yourself," Li Mei said.
Yu Sai privately agreed, but did not say this openly. They were in a sticky situation, though if the wolves were distracted while eating Li Mei, he might have a chance to flee.
Somewhere, someplace deep within him, he cursed his own lack of strength up till this point. He had given up on advancing in life, but if he was a bit stronger he might've been able to get both of them out of this situation.
Qing Shu, meanwhile, was still dealing with many of the wolves.
A few Frenzy Lightning Wolves had come to join the fray and were now pushing him to his limits. It'd be one thing if he was just fighting for himself, but Qing Shu was also concerned about many of his fellow villagers and erecting a barrier to save them as well.
Not that he would have to for much longer.
Fang Yuan activated Charity Gu, sharing the effect of Moonlight Plate Armor Gu with everyone on the battlefield once again.
The bear chasing Gu Yue Yao Le found its fangs and claws broken the moment that it clashed with the Moonlight Plate Armor.
These defenses allowed Yu Sai and Li Mei to escape and reach safety.
It allowed many of the Gu Masters to attack without restraint for a few seconds, freeing up Qing Shu to be less aggressive.
It also provided the small nudge needed to kill some of the Thousand and Hundred Beast Kings, thereby turning the tide of battle greatly in the Gu Yue clan's favor.
Mission accomplished!
Saved Qing Shu from being killed.
Yellow Gold Relic Gu (x1) has been added to your inventory.
Would you choose the man or the bear?
Gu Yue Yao Le successfully saved.
Yellow Gold Relic Gu (x 1) has been added to your inventory.
Fang Yuan used both of them without hesitation, and Rank 4 Peak Stage primal essence began to fill his aperture.
No one other than first gen Gu Yue could rival him on this mountain.
The Thunder Crown Wolf decided to show itself at this time, crashing into the walls with the momentum of an elephant. The Gu Masters reinforcing the wall squinted as their primeval essence was pushed to the limits.
Vermillion Blood Moonblade!
Fang Yuan shot out two of them simultaneously from the air, greatly damaging the Thunder Crown Wolf which backed off, narrowly avoided a third moonblade which struck its hind legs instead of its abdomen like Fang Yuan had planned for.
While it began hemorrhaging blood, it was far less than one would have expected and it stopped after a few seconds.
Fang Yuan's pupils dilated. This Thunder Crown Wolf had a healing-type gu worm, meaning that the bleeding effect of the Vermillion Blood Moon Gu was greatly reduced.
Such had not been the case last time around. Did a different Thunder Crown Wolf attack this village for some reason, or had something he had done changed the gu worms that it had?
The Thunder Crown Wolf lashed out at Fang Yuan, though it had no chance of striking him with the latter's flying mastery.
"Need a hand?" a voice called out to him as Gu Yue Bo appeared, launching a frosty moonblade at the Thunder Crown Wolf, and immediately becoming its focus of attention.
Five other elders leaped over the wall to join them in the fight, unleashing moonblades of varying colors at the Thunder Crown Wolf.
Fang Yuan let out two more moonblades. Even if the hemorrhagic effect was ignored, with his Rank 4 Peak primeval essence backing it, his attacks packed quite a punch.
The Thunder Crown Wolf lunged at an elder, only for Fang Yuan to intercept it with the help of Moonlight Plate Armor Gu. As its fangs wrestled to try to pierce through Fang Yuan's flesh, it was immediately bombarded with multiple attacks as it let go, leaving Fang Yuan unharmed.
'Time to test something out,' Fang Yuan though to himself, knowing that a better opportunity would not come by anytime soon.
He reached out to Charity Gu, Hope Gu, Doctor Gu, and Integration Gu within his aperture.
Mortal Killer Move - Hope of the Clansmen!
He had to alter this move slightly as he lacked Friendship Gu, but he had managed to make it work with what he had, focusing the majority of the buffs upon himself.
He immediately began feeling a boost to his strength.
The hopes and aspirations of his clansmen resonated through the air, powering up Fang Yuan.
Vermillion Blood Moonblade!
With a single strike, the Thunder Crown Wolf was completely bisected!
Such was the power of the Human Path.
The Gu Masters around Fang Yuan cheered, though he knew that this wasn't the biggest hurdle that they were going to face.
While his clansmen were celebrating what they thought was the end of the wolf tide, Fang Yuan was busy experimenting to ensure that he would be ready for what was to soon follow.