"How can I get rid of this?" he mumbled to himself. While struggling to sit up, he suddenly heard a voice rushing in from the tent entrance.
"You little troublemaker! Don’t use that kind of attack until you’re strong enough to withstand the backlash!" The voice was full of anger, but also worry. Yan Xiaobao instantly recognized the voice, and amidst the wolf-like face on his own, a smile emerged.
"Sorry," he said with a grin, "I’ll make sure not to commit the same mistake in the future. How long have I been out?" he asked the Single-Horned Jasmine Hawk as he finally managed to sit upright. He felt dizzy, utterly drained. While he had gained power, he had truly exhausted all the stored energy in his body to control the Wolf Head. It would take considerable time for all that energy to recover.
"You’ve been asleep for seven days," Wan Qiao said, her expression turning serious as the conversation shifted to war. Upon hearing how long it had taken him to rejoin the army, Yan Xiaobao felt equal parts worried.
"What happened while I was out?" Yan Xiaobao asked, biting his lip, his gaze fixed intently on Wan Qiao, waiting for an answer. Seven days might not seem like much for a cultivator, but during a war, it was an extraordinarily long time.
"Not much," Wan Qiao sighed. "Whenever they send troops our way, the Saints Team advances, and then they retreat. Two days ago, they stopped sending troops altogether. I think they’re waiting for us to make our next move."
Yan Xiaobao nodded while focusing entirely on the war. "No Saints from the Siban Empire have entered the battlefield?" he asked curiously. Though the beast tribe showcased their Saints by bringing them to the frontline, if the opposing side hadn’t dispatched their own Saints, it made continuing this strategy questionable. The reason behind their inaction made Yan Xiaobao realize these soldiers were mere cannon fodder—a disposable force sent only to fight and die while trying to weaken the beasts as much as possible. This understanding sparked anger deep inside him.
Though he mercilessly killed their soldiers, he still hoped to minimize losses as much as possible, but the Siban Empire seemed to disregard that sentiment entirely. Yan Xiaobao had even warned the Empire about their impending march, yet their sole response had been assembling a civilian force they didn’t mind throwing away.
Feeling his anger burning within, Yan Xiaobao closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and silently counted to calm himself. He shouldn’t be worrying about the opponent’s losses; instead, he should focus on leading the beasts to victory.
"Tell me," he said, rubbing his nose with two fingers, "how many casualties have we sustained during the seven days I’ve been out of action?"
Yan Xiaobao realized that if the Siban Empire’s crossbow cannons had been allowed to continuously fire at their forces—not to mention their conventional arrows—it could have led to significant casualties. Although Saints, Emperors, and Kings were capable of protecting themselves with layers of martial power, such defenses didn’t last indefinitely. Once their energy was depleted, the arrows would overwhelm them, causing countless experts to lose their lives.
"We haven’t sustained many casualties," Wan Qiao said, contradicting Yan Xiaobao’s expectations. The young man frowned as he looked at her, the lingering concerns still unanswered. Though the atmosphere carried a hint of relief, his eyes held a measure of worry.
"Don’t worry," Wan Qiao said with a faint smile on her face. "We used seven Saints. Each of them took turns maintaining a protective barrier in front of the army for an entire day. Not even crossbow bolts could pierce it. Once their shift was over, we confined them to tents for meditation so they could replenish their energy."
Hearing this, Yan Xiaobao nodded. He had initially hoped to conserve the Saints for a while longer, but given the situation at hand, he understood they had all acted in the best possible manner.
"Alright, I suppose it’s time for me to wake up and start leading the army again," Yan Xiaobao said with a sigh. "But first, I really need to deal with this mask-like face."
"Oh," Wan Qiao said with a hint of amusement, "the mask is tied to your attack. Why don’t you try figuring it out instead of just removing it?"
"I’d love to," Yan Xiaobao said patiently. "Unfortunately, if I try to understand this mask, it’ll likely take me several more days to thoroughly examine it. If I focus on researching it, you’ll all be swarmed by the enemy."
Wan Qiao shrugged. To her, victory seemed assured as long as Yan Xiaobao allowed the Saints to fight. The lack of action on his part made her increasingly confident in her own efforts. She now believed victory was within her grasp.
"Fine, if you can’t investigate it, then you’d better get rid of it as soon as possible. We wouldn’t dare touch it since it seems to have fused with your face," she said with a frown. While Yan Xiaobao’s current appearance seemed strange, she had grown accustomed to seeing half-beast hybrids, so it wasn’t particularly shocking to her.
On the other hand, Yan Xiaobao disliked the sudden changes to his appearance. Though he carefully examined the memories he had obtained from the Wolf, he quickly realized there was nothing there to explain what had happened to him. This was clearly a reaction caused by his human nature and the beast energy he had harnessed.