yasinovel Chapter 54 The Cage
Chapter 54 The Cage
Chen Luo's expression changed drastically. He grabbed the wood-chopping knife hanging on the wall, immediately got out of bed, and rushed out the door.
In the dead of night, the outside was pitch black. With the ability to see the night as if it were day, all he could see was the snow-covered ground and the howling wind. There was nothing else. As soon as he stepped out the door, he stared intently toward the western mountains, afraid of missing even the slightest sign of a demonic beast.
His reaction was noticeably faster than that of his neighbors. After observing for a moment, the surrounding neighbors seemed to wake up from their slumber, and scattered lights began to illuminate their homes one by one.
Initially, it was the residents at the foot of Xishan Mountain. Then, the lights spread like sparks, and voices gradually rose amidst the howling wind, becoming increasingly noisy and indistinct in the cold wind.
But having heard the roar of the beast, no one dared to sleep in fear. They all took their lanterns and went out. In the face of danger, they had a kind of numb familiarity and quickly formed a stream of people fleeing towards the county.
"Xiao Chen! Stop spacing out! Pack your things and run! A monster is coming!"
As the crowd passed by Chen Luo's house, a neighbor who knew him caught a glimpse of Chen Luo at the door with a lamp and immediately shouted. Chen Luo looked towards the western mountains for a moment before silently joining the fleeing crowd.
The source of the beast's roar might be coming down the mountain, or it might trigger a monster tide. Since there's an inner guardian in the county, fleeing to the county is the best option.
The crowd hurried toward the county town, and as they passed unlit doors, people would run up and bang on them, waking up more and more people and making the fleeing group grow larger and larger.
Chen Luo mingled in the crowd, listening to the cries of children, the panicked chatter, the screams of someone who had fallen in the dark, and the curses of others... Further away, the signal fire of the Mountain Guard could be heard, exploding in the air with a bang. All sorts of sounds mixed into his ears, and Chen Luo felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.
He suddenly remembered the chicks his grandmother raised in his previous life. He remembered how mischievous he was when he was a child. Whenever he saw the chicks resting quietly, he would sneak up and then suddenly shout at the top of his lungs. The startled chicks would instantly scatter and run away in terror.
Now, Qingshan County is surrounded by mountains on three sides, like a cage. The crowd that fled in terror at the roar of a beast is no different from domesticated poultry. He himself is one of them.
Chen Luo sighed. As he followed the crowd quickly to the outskirts of the county, near the city, he stopped fleeing and stood under the eaves of a house.
Humans cannot outrun demons and beasts. Because Xishan is located far from populated areas, and tonight is New Year's Eve, there are probably not many mountain guards stationed there. If the roar of the beast represents a horde of demons, it will most likely break through the mountain pass. At that time, the flow of people formed by the neighbors will be powerless to resist and may suffer heavy casualties.
He is now considered the strongest martial artist in the suburbs of Xixian County. With his vertical pupils and the fifth level of Nine Yang Strength, he should be able to protect himself without any worries. He can stay here to hold off the enemy for a while and observe the situation.
If we can't handle it, this location isn't far from the county; we can escape back and pass on a message or something.
In fact, he wasn't the only one with this idea; several other dimly lit yellow oil lamps had stopped in place ahead of him, and under the lamplight, the tense faces of several men could be clearly seen.
Chen Luo withdrew his gaze, frowning as he looked at the outline of the distant mountains, but they remained dark and motionless.
The last time the beast roared was in Nanshan. The roar ended and that was it; nothing happened afterwards.
Another beast roar was heard, this time from the western mountains. Was there still no further movement?
By the way, were the two roars from the same monster?
He couldn't help but frown, thinking of more. West Mountain and South Mountain, seemingly one in the west and the other in the south, must be connected deep within the mountains.
In other words, if these two roars came from the same monster, this monster must be located deep within the mountains, and in the past few months it had traveled from the South Mountain to the West Mountain, near the deep mountainous area behind the mountain, and then roared inexplicably.
Why do this?
Are they really being treated like domestic animals?
Chen Luo felt increasingly puzzled, and the oppression in his heart gradually turned into irritability.
What puzzled him most was that he happened to be present at both times the beast roared; whether this was a coincidence or some other reason was completely unknown.
Before he could think it through, a group of people came galloping up.
It was the Mountain Guard Command. They had actually assembled a mountain guard of over a hundred men so quickly on New Year's Eve. They moved in a hurry, with men on both sides holding torches high, illuminating the cold glint of their light armor. The group hurried towards the West Mountain Pass. The leaders were a few men on horseback, and the one leading them was a middle-aged man with a stern face. Chen Luo was quite surprised when he saw him from afar.
It was Luo Yi, the commander-in-chief of the Mountain Guard.
He knew that the Mountain Guard Command had two inner commanders: Deputy Commander Luo Sheng and the President Luo Yi standing before him.
Moreover, this person is above Luo Sheng in rank, so he must be stronger. Seeing him come to oversee things, Chen Luo felt a little relieved.
Not only did he breathe a sigh of relief, but the men who had stayed behind him also turned and left one after another after seeing the group, seemingly relieved and going to find their wives and children.
But Chen Luo did not leave, because if he left, he could only sit among the refugees and wait for news from here. In particular, the restlessness in his heart was like a fire that he could not suppress. He immediately gripped his wood-chopping knife and silently followed the group of mountain guards.
"Stop! What are you doing? Go to the county!" A guard at the back of the mountain guard team noticed him coming, glanced at the machete in his hand, frowned and shouted.
"I live nearby, and I'm at the fifth level of strength," Chen Luo replied calmly.
The mountain guard was taken aback. He looked Chen Luo up and down, then said nothing more. He turned around and continued to follow the group, and the other mountain guards who had looked back also turned their gazes away.
They soon arrived near the mountain pass.
Among the three mountains in the northwest and south, Xishan has the sparsest forests. The shallow mountain area is full of various rocks, and only in the depths will there be trees. There are not many birds and beasts that are active. Therefore, Chen Luo rarely goes to Xishan near his home to catch snakes. The number of people stationed here by the Mountain Guard is also the smallest among the three mountains.
As soon as his reinforcement team arrived, the remaining guard captain immediately came to meet them.
Upon seeing Commander Luo, the leader, the mountain guard captain was immediately startled and rushed forward to report the situation. "Commander, a beast roar erupted in the western mountains not long ago, similar to the situation in the southern mountains. I have already sent out reinforcements, but because the patrolling guards only have four levels of strength tonight, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I have ordered them to retreat back into the pass to hold their positions. Only a few brothers have been left to hide in the shadows on the mountainside. The current situation in the mountains is unknown!"
"Well done." Commander Luo nodded and said coldly, "Form ranks immediately. Brothers below the fifth level of strength, line up in the front and middle. Those above the fifth level of strength, step back. We will guard here tonight. If a beast tide comes, we will proceed as we have practiced. We will arrange the patrol after dawn."
"yes!"
The mountain guard immediately accepted the order and was about to turn around to carry it out when a loud horn sounded from the darkness in the distance.
This was a warning signal coming from the mountain pass halfway up the mountain. The mountain guard's expression changed drastically, "The beast tide is coming!"