Dao of The Demonic Cultivator

Chapter 23: The Highway, Encircled by Wolves

After a prolonged reflection, Wang Yong at last declared, "Those creatures precisely block the highway stretching from Linjiang military base to us. Even a small team from Linjiang forces was overwhelmed by their assault; only a single soul managed to flee to safety. I propose that we should not act with haste. The priority now is to gather intelligence, to ascertain their numbers, and locate their lair. When Linjiang dispatches more troops, we shall encircle and utterly annihilate these monsters!"

Hearing this, Wang Gangjian nodded his approval, "A sound plan. Let us proceed accordingly. Let us take Song and probe their actual strength."

Wang Yong nodded and promptly set about making the arrangements.

A short while later, the trio climbed into a van.

They were Wang Gangjian, Wang Yong, and Song Dayi. Joined by Tang Jinchuan. Together, they constituted all the superhumans of the Black Blade Security Company.

However, the company always required someone to hold the fort. This duty was assigned to Tang Jinchuan.

Yet, before the van could depart, a figure staggered towards them, pursued by a gasping, portly man.

"Brother Jian, he insisted on coming," Tang Jinchuan expressed helplessly.

Wang Gangjian turned to the pallid man before him and sighed gently, "Zhuang Qiang, with such severe injuries, you should not be here."

The man was Zhuang Qiang. After he and Sun Meng had escorted Zheng Baoshan back to the Linjiang Province Institute of Life Sciences, he had received orders to lead a Linjiang military squad southward once more to aid Black Blade Security in clearing advanced zombies from East Lake City.

Yet, they had scarcely traversed the highway when a pack of gargantuan wolves ambushed them.

Apart from him, the rest of the squad perished.

Zhuang Qiang, a first-level superhuman with formidable physical prowess, had managed to escape and hide, narrowly evading the wolves' pursuit and finally reaching Black Blade Security.

He bellowed, "I must go. The brethren of the Linjiang army can not perish in vain."

Wang Gangjian firmly shook his head, "No, your wounds are too grievous. It is best you remain here to heal. Once you are mended, you shall have your chance for vengeance."

Zhuang Qiang gritted his teeth, "My gift is the Wood Spirit; I can scout through the plants. Are you not seeking to ascertain the reality of those giant wolves? I am most apt for this task."

Wang Gangjian and the others exchanged looks, one eyebrow arched.

Supernatural talents are indeed diverse and peculiar, each individual being unique.

Zhuang Qiang's capability to employ plants as his scouts was indeed most suitable for the mission.

Wang Gangjian nodded solemnly, "Very well, then accompany us, and we will safeguard you throughout."

At that, Zhuang Qiang finally allowed a small smile to surface and boarded the vehicle.

The van dusted the road behind and sped directly towards the northernmost highway leading to East Lake City.

East Lake City was but a modest town, its only conduit to the Linjiang forces being the highway that spanned its length.

Every instance of support from the Linjiang military had traversed this very route. Should an alternative path be adopted, both efficiency and safety would markedly decline.

Thus, all impediments along this highway needed to be eradicated, including the extraordinary animals that had evolved under the influence of Psionic forces.

As Wang Gangjian and his companions departed from Black Blade Security, a sword's hum resonated above the highway amidst the mists.

A figure emerged—Chu Xuan!

Chu Xuan chose a flat segment of the road to alight upon.

The highway appeared frequently traveled, with abandoned vehicles dragged to the sides.

With a casual gesture, Long, Hu, and six corpse puppets materialized beside him.

"Where were you ambushed?" Chu Xuan inquired.

Hu roared and gestured ahead.

Chu Xuan nodded and strode forward rapidly.

Covering several hundred meters in the blink of an eye, he reached a pickup truck that had broken down, its tracks suggesting it had been no more than three days.

"Linjiang Army" was emblazoned across the truck's surface, which bore numerous claw marks. Surrounding it were signs of a skirmish and scattered blood.

Additionally, he observed several patches of wolf fur.

Suddenly, a faint sound emerged from the woods on the right side of the highway.

It seemed to be a cry for help.

Chu Xuan's eyebrows raised, and he walked briskly toward the source. Approaching closer, the sound clarified—it was the cry of an infant.

His gaze swept through the woods, quickly locking onto a blood-stained pile of clothes. The pile was subtly quivering, the crying emanating from within.

Chu Xuan hastened his steps.

Long, Hu, and the other corpse puppets followed. Anyone who heard an infant's cry would feel a stir of compassion. Even the most heinous murderer might hesitate for a moment.

But Chu Xuan did not. Fifty meters from the pile, his right hand was already conjuring a nether fire orb.

When only ten meters away, he abruptly raised his hand and hurled the orb.

Boom!

A loud explosion erupted.

Both the clothes and trees were blasted into the air, along with splatters of fresh flesh.

Thud.

A piece of flesh, covered in hair, landed at Chu Xuan's feet. The hair was long and vigorous, clearly not human. It was, unmistakably, wolf fur.

"Psionics are indeed peculiar, teaching you to mimic an infant's cries to lure the unwitting," Chu Xuan remarked calmly.

"Unfortunately, your intellect remains lacking," he continued. "There are no living humans near the highway; how could an abandoned infant's cry be so resonant?"

As his words fell, over a dozen figures emerged from the depths of the forest. Each one was over three meters tall with extraordinarily agile forms. With a light leap, they could cover five or six meters in distance.

In the blink of an eye, they surrounded Chu Xuan and his subordinate corpse puppets from all directions. On a nearby boulder, a colossal wolf more than five meters in length and towering over two men stood silently, overlooking Chu Xuan.

The cold, bloodthirsty gleam in its remaining eye revealed it as the Wolf King.

Chu Xuan, intrigued, admired the Wolf King's robust musculature, his face breaking into a satisfied grin.

This Wolf King must be a second-level supernatural animal. Among its pack, there were also several first-level supernatural animals.

The rest of the giant wolves, although not supernatural creatures, far surpassed ordinary wild wolves in both size and ferocity.

No wonder such a den of giant wolves stationed near the highway could ambush the soldiers of the Linjiang army passing through.

As Chu Xuan observed the Wolf King, the beast assessed him in return. This human was different from many others it had encountered. Able to wield powerful fireballs and accompanied by several zombies, it gave the wolf a profound sense of danger.

But after a brief contemplation, the instinct born of nature overwhelmed reason. The wolf and its pack had fled from Shuanglong City on the northwest side of East Lake City, having been starved for a long while.

The soldiers they had killed two days prior had barely sufficed to sate their hunger. Now, with living humans before them, there was no logic in avoiding battle.

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