Yao Le watched Xiong Jiaoman and her group walk out the gate, growing smaller and smaller in the distance.
But the parting proved extremely brief. Barely a quarter-hour later, Xiong Jiaoman and the others had returned to the bamboo tower once again.
"Bad luck — we ran right into a wolf tide," Xiong Jiaoman said with a bitter smile, explaining the situation.
The Gu Masters inside the bamboo tower tensed the moment they heard her words. Xiong Jiaoman's group was large and formidable, yet even they had been forced to retreat back to the stockade. That alone spoke volumes about the scale of the wolf tide.
"Everyone, get ready quickly. The lightning wolf packs will be crashing into the stockade any moment now," Xiong Jiaoman added.
The instant she finished speaking, the clanging alarm bells rang out across the entire stockade.
The stockade fell silent for a heartbeat, then erupted into a frenzy.
"That alarm… it means a massive wolf pack is attacking the stockade!"
"Move it, move it! Gather your squad members — there's a big fight coming!"
"Damn it, I just got back and was hoping to finally get some sleep…"
Some Gu Masters cursed under their breath, while others pressed their lips together with cold, grim expressions. In the span of moments, figures appeared sprinting across the rooftops and streets, all converging on the four main gates and the outer walls.
Along the inner side of the outer wall, wide wooden ladders had been erected at regular intervals for the Gu Masters to climb. The watchtowers loomed above the wall like mighty, stalwart guardians.
Fang Yuan wove through the crowd and reached the base of the outer wall. A Gu Master was halfway up a wooden ladder when Fang Yuan yanked him down and took his place.
"Who the hell—" the Gu Master started to erupt in fury, but the moment he saw it was Fang Yuan, he clamped his mouth shut.
Fang Yuan climbed the ladder and activated his White Jade Gu, peering over the top.
Beyond the stockade, lightning wolves blanketed the hills and plains as far as the eye could see. Thousands of them!
Every direction was a sea of glowing green wolf eyes, sending a chill straight through the heart.
Most of the wolves were starving. Some were so famished that their bodies had grown noticeably gaunt.
The lightning wolves were far too numerous — they had become a catastrophe. The surrounding wild beasts had been driven off or devoured. Food for the pack was dwindling with each passing day.
A stockade brimming with the scent of human life was an almost maddening temptation for them.
Wolves were creatures of extraordinary patience, and starving wolves were more fearsome, more dangerous, and more frenzied still.
Lightning wolves that were well-fed would never attack a stockade.
Among the ordinary lightning wolves, there were also Thunderbolt Wolves.
Though mixed in with the pack, the Thunderbolt Wolves stood out unmistakably.
Each one was as large as a young calf.
There were over thirty of them!
Many who saw this sight quietly drew in a sharp breath.
This was already the second time this year that Guye Stockade had been besieged by a wolf pack. But the scale this time was more than twice what it had been before.
Every Thunderbolt Wolf was as robust as an ox, operating at peak condition. The ordinary lightning wolves could not find food, but as the kings among a hundred wolves, the Thunderbolt Wolves naturally enjoyed an ample supply.
Resources always flowed to the top first.
Those at the bottom were squeezed dry, their interests sacrificed, everything consolidated and funneled upward.
Whether in human society or among wild beast clans, this principle held true.
"These Thunderbolt Wolves aren't the real threat," Fang Yuan shifted his gaze, scanning ceaselessly, and soon spotted three enormous wolf silhouettes in the rear of the pack, lurking in the shadows of the treeline.
Thousand-Beast Kings — Tempest Wolves!
Each Tempest Wolf was as massive as an elephant.
Fang Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, then returned to normal. He continued observing and noticed even more Thunderbolt Wolf groups converging from every direction.
But there was no sign of the Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf.
Fang Yuan quietly let out a breath. Without the Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf, the stockade was safe.
In his memories, the Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf had appeared in late August. It had inflicted catastrophic casualties on the Guye Clan, and had it not been for the Patriarch and the Elders fighting side by side at the cost of their lives, with Gu Yue Qingshu burning his very life force to unleash his full combat power, Guye Stockade would have been destroyed.
Since his rebirth, Fang Yuan had already changed many things. Gu Yue Qingshu had sacrificed himself ahead of schedule, and Fang Yuan dared not let his guard down even the slightest. The possibility that the Lightning Crown Alpha Wolf might appear early was entirely real. That was why he had come to observe the situation first.
Awoooo—!
The three Tempest Wolves tilted their heads back in unison and let out a long, haunting howl.
In response to the howl, the countless lightning wolves surged forward in a direct assault on the stockade.
On the stockade side, the Gu Masters had long since taken their positions, standing ready for battle.
The First Transformation Gu Masters pressed themselves against the base of the wall, both hands flat against the cold stone.
The Second Transformation Gu Masters had either climbed the wooden ladders or gathered atop the watchtowers.
Behind them, temporary fortresses converted from ordinary buildings were manned by additional Gu Masters. Some were reserve squads; some were healing Gu Masters from the Medicine Hall. Scout Gu Masters wove between them, relaying real-time intelligence to the rear.
Several Elders stood in the back, while others had ascended the watchtowers, arms folded, observing for the time being — conserving their strength to hold the line when it truly mattered.
"They're coming." Fang Yuan stood on the wooden ladder, a cold glint flickering in his eyes.
The lightning wolf horde rolled across the hills like a tidal wave, crashing toward the stockade.
Splurt, splurt…
They plummeted first into the trench traps dug outside the wall, their bodies skewered by sharpened stakes of Green Spear Bamboo, like dumplings being tossed into a boiling pot.
Some died on impact, while others lingered, crying out in anguish.
The wind carried the scent of blood, which spread thick and fast, and wolf howls filled the air.
The wolves' frenzied assault did not waver — if anything, the carnage only stoked their frenzy, driving them to attack with even greater ferocity.
One after another, the lightning wolves plunged into the pits, sacrificing their lives to pave the way for those behind them. The next wave trod over the corpses of their kin and slammed into the stockade wall.