Countless Amethyst Magic Beasts stampeded, their thunderous passage shaking even the mountains they trampled. Roars rose and fell like claps of thunder, but the clearest, piercing sound was from the small purple beast: "My little ones, chase them! Hurry!"
No need to look back. Lin Lei and the others knew it was the voice of the young Amethyst Beast.
Lin Lei sprinted like lightning, striding through the vast Amethyst Mountain Range. Sometimes he rushed down a slope, other times he climbed steep peaks with his dragon claws and feet, moving with incredible speed. In the extreme gravitational pull of this range, flight was impossible.
"Faster! Faster!" Lin Lei sent out in an urgent mental transmission as he ran.
Among the six, Oliver and Galan were the ones slowing them down. Oliver was only a middle-stage Deity, and his body wasn't as tough as theirs. Galan practiced the Laws of Fire, so he had no advantage in speed.
"Haha, you can't escape!" the small purple beast called out smugly.
Lin Lei and the others ignored it, charging relentlessly toward where the white fog was thickest. As long as the enemy couldn't see them, they'd be safe.
"Hoo!" The young beast opened its mouth, and a massive amount of white fog surged into its belly, clearing the fog around Lin Lei's group. It laughed smugly, "Haha, let's see you run now! Hey, my little ones, move it!"
The herd of Amethyst Magic Beasts had originally been several miles away, but after a short chase, the distance had shrunk to less than a mile. Their speed was terrifying. The gap continued to close, and Lin Lei could clearly feel the violent tremors of the earth beneath them.
"Whoosh!"
Like a gale and lightning, they dashed forward at top speed. Yet, the purple afterimages pursuing them from behind made them feel the immense pressure.
"These Amethyst beasts are fast," Bei Bei said anxiously.
"Someone's ahead," Lin Lei suddenly said, his eyes lighting up. About a hundred meters away, over a dozen people were fleeing in panic. They kept glancing back in terror as they ran. Their speed was much slower than Lin Lei's group.
Lin Lei understood instantly: "They must have heard the roars of the Amethyst beasts and tried to flee, but they're too slow." A thought flashed through his mind.
"Turn!" Lin Lei ordered sharply.
He pushed off a rock and shot out like an arrow released from a bow, angling toward a different direction. Di Liya, Bei Bei, and the others naturally followed, adjusting their course slightly. Their path diverged from the group of fleeing strangers.
Just then, the herd of Amethyst Magic Beasts crashed down upon the scene.
Some of the beasts swarmed the dozen or so people. They had only entered the mountain range that day, mostly middle-stage Deities with a few lower-stage ones. Such strength was utterly useless against the beasts.
"Roar~!"
"Roar~!"
The frenzied Amethyst beasts roared as they trampled over them with their thick limbs. The group was too slow and was completely overrun. The beasts deliberately aimed for their heads, stomping down.
"Pfft!" Their skulls burst open under the pressure, and divine crystals rolled out.
The Amethyst beasts roared even more excitedly and continued their stampede. Only on the day of the Fog Tide did they have such an opportunity. Once it passed, this chance wouldn't come again. Naturally, they were indulging in the frenzy.
"Haha, keep running! Let's see who's faster!" the small purple beast called out proudly from atop the most massive Amethyst beast.
The distance between Lin Lei and the herd was now less than a hundred meters.
In moments, it shrank to fifty meters.
Thirty meters...
Twenty meters...
"What do we do?" Jia Luo De sent in an urgent mental transmission. He could already feel the hot breath from the beasts on his skin and smell their heavy, unpleasant odor. It was the smell of the Amethyst beasts, and he hated it.
"Shut up!" Bei Bei snapped back telepathically. "Just run for your life! Escape if you can!"
Lin Lei remained silent, sprinting at full speed. The Amethyst Mountain Range was vast and filled with peaks. The path was never straightforward. Sometimes a peak blocked the way, other times a canyon appeared. He climbed when they encountered peaks and rushed down into canyons without hesitation, climbing out at the other end.
Whatever happened, they couldn't hesitate. A moment's delay would mean being caught.
"Haha, you're going to die!" the small purple beast squealed in excitement.
Its massive mount swung a sharp claw toward Galan, who was lagging at the back. This seven-meter-tall Amethyst beast was the strongest among them, capable of tearing through a high-grade divine artifact with a single swipe.
"Galan!" Jia Luo De shouted, pulling Galan aside.
But the claw was too fast. In that critical moment, another "Galan" shot out from his body—his divine clone. With a sickening crunch, one of the Galans was smashed to a pulp, divine crystals scattering.
Jia Luo De cried out in alarm and anger.
"I lost a middle-stage divine clone," Galan said, though there was no time for grief. Surviving was everything.
Leading the charge, Lin Lei also sensed the crisis. He could feel the shadow of the massive Amethyst beast looming just behind them. Suddenly, he glanced ahead and was startled: "A canyon ahead!"
Without hesitation, Lin Lei, Di Liya, Bei Bei, Oliver, Galan, and Jia Luo De shot into the misty canyon like bolts of lightning. No one knew what lay within, but none of them hesitated.
"Chase them! Chase!" the young purple beast urged, leaping down with its mount in pursuit.