Chapter 464: Beast Tide Alarm

Crippled Wolf shot a glance at Xia Qing’s paws, then gave up on asking her to help him remove his protective mask and sped up to chase after Alpha.

Feeling a bit rejected, Xia Qing used her blunt fingertips to nudge the injured Er Gou higher inside her backpack. Holding her breath, she untied the strap around her neck, took off her protective mask, swapped out her thermal imaging goggles for night vision goggles. Thermal imaging was great for dense fog but up ahead, the mist thinned out and night vision would be better for running and fighting.

Every animal in this Evolved Forest was already paralyzed by poison gas. As long as she avoided the aggressive plants, there’d be no real danger. Even Alpha and Crippled Wolf had slowed down, proof they’d inhaled the poison too. So she had to find the last Trapping Team member fast, figure out what poison they used, check if there was an antidote, and then get the three wolves back to human territory to call for help from Idol’s domain.

So, after pulling her mask back on, Xia Qing hoisted Er Gou and sprinted upward at full speed.

“Attention all territories, attention! Large numbers of animals are escaping from the Evolved Forest on Hill Fifty, forming a small-scale beast tide and moving toward the territories. The front line is made up of evolved giant lizards, wild boars and rodents. ETA is fifteen minutes. Azure Dragon Squad on Hill Forty-Nine and Territory Seven, get ready to face the beast tide. Please confirm you’ve received this, Azure Dragon Squad and Territory Seven.”

Hill Forty-Nine stands west of Hill Fifty, with Territory Seven right at the valley exit between both hills. Territory Seven basically had the toughest defense assignment of all.

Ji Li replied, “Territory Seven, message received. We’re getting ready.”

Hu Zifeng answered, “Azure Dragon Squad’s trainees at the training camp are ready. We won’t let a single beast make it through Hill Forty-Nine into our territory.”

Tan Junjie issued another announcement, “This beast tide is forecast to be small-scale, so there’s no need to panic. Quick—cover the fields with rain tarps and get back inside, sealing doors and windows. I repeat: this wave is expected to be small.”

At the same time, Territories Fifteen, Eighteen and Twenty-Six—just across the barrier from Hill Fifty—also got word from the Inspection Team.

For the survivors of natural disasters, beast tides are a waking nightmare.

There weren’t many Evolvers among the territories. Most people here just tried to survive by farming. Any time a beast tide hit, regular folks, with little gear or combat skills, stayed locked up in the Safe Zone behind sturdy walls, doing whatever support tasks they could.

But this time, they were out in lands without walls or a line of Evolvers to guard them. So even a small beast tide was enough to terrify—sometimes even break—ordinary people.

From Territories One to Ten, the north was shielded by the Azure Dragon Squad stationed at Hill Forty-Nine, and the east was blocked by the powerful Territory Seven holding the mountain pass. So right now, the Lords’ Alliance members weren’t worried about their own safety—they were all focused on their absent ally, Xia Qing, who hadn’t made it back yet.

After Tan Junjie repeated the alert three times, Qi Fu immediately asked, “Captain Tan, has the search and rescue team found Xia Qing yet?”

Tan Junjie’s voice stayed as stern as ever. “The rescue team ran straight into the beast tide. They’ve stopped the search and are now standing their ground against the beasts.”

Holding back the beast tide was more important than finding a territory lord lost somewhere in the Evolved Forest. The Inspection Team had made the right call, but the other Lords’ Alliance members were anxious and desperate.

The Inspection Team had to form the first line of defense along the barrier. Third Brother and Territory Fifteen would form the second. Azure Dragon Squad was tied up guarding the hills. With Lords’ Alliance members spread so thin, they had no help to offer—everyone had to fend for themselves.

Qi Fu pleaded with Hu Zifeng, “Captain Hu, could you loan us two guns? Shidu and I will go search for Xia Qing. We’re both Evolvers—we can handle the Evolved Forest.”

But before Hu Zifeng could answer, Tan Junjie cut in coolly: “The beast tide is almost here. Anyone leaving the territory for the forest now would run right into it. Let me be clear: nobody inside any territory is allowed to leave right now.”

Zhao Ze broke down in tears. “Then what about Xia Qing? We’re just leaving her out there?”

Over in Territory Twelve, Tang Huai hobbled into his father’s office on his single crutch and begged, “Dad, can’t we send people to look for Xia Qing? She’s not dead—she’s probably hiding in a tree somewhere, waiting for rescue.”

Tang Zhengbo motioned for his son to sit beside him. After quickly assigning jobs to the territory crew, he sent his younger son off to help, then closed the door and said to his oldest, “Third Brother and Territory One are closest to Xia Qing. If they aren’t speaking up, it means she isn’t in danger right now. We need to focus on the beast tide. Afterward, someone’ll take the lead searching for Xia Qing.”

By the signpost at Territory Nine, Zhang Qikun led two fully armed squads and called out to the Inspection Team blocking their way, “I’ll say this one last time: our squad members are trapped out there—if the Inspection Team won’t help, we’ll rescue them ourselves. Let us through!”

Inspection Team member Su Ming stood firm, weapon in hand, just repeating the order from Base: “Our directive is to protect the territory. Nobody leaves during a beast tide. Period.”

Seeing the Inspection Team was totally unmoved, a Level 7 Speed Evolver in Zhang Qikun’s group lost patience and suddenly charged the Inspection Team’s line.

After all, the Inspection Team didn’t dare shoot him, and they definitely couldn’t keep up with his speed.

“Bang!”

But the moment he dashed out of Territory Nine, the Inspection Team kicked him clean back inside, knocking over a pile of people. Everyone in Territory Nine was stunned.

“A top-tier Speed Evolver!”

Hiding behind the wild grass wall between Territories Two and Nine, Vision Evolutionary Zhou Xun was also floored. “How does the Inspection Team guarding territories only made up of regular folks and basic Evolvers have someone that fast?”

With firepower like that, why would they be assigned to such an unimportant stretch of land? Whose orders were these?

“Idiot!”

Next to Zhou Xun, the Su Feng Reconnaissance Squad captain cursed him quietly, “Are you blind? That’s Yang Jin—don’t you recognize him?”

Yang… Yang Jin? But isn’t the Azure Dragon Squad supposed to be out holding back the beast tide? Why’s their captain Yang Jin blocking Territory Nine’s entrance with the Inspection Team?

Could guarding Territory Nine really be more important than fending off the beast tide itself?

“Tch! Xia Qing, you traitor to humanity!”

The last member of Fire Phoenix’s Trapping Team, hiding deep in the Bear Cave behind a collapsible bulletproof shield, started yelling the moment he saw Xia Qing walking behind the two wolves. “I’ve already recorded evidence of you colluding with these mutated beasts to murder other humans. Get them out of the way, or I’ll send the proof to Base right now and see you brought to justice. None of your family will escape!”