41: Chapter 41 Arrival at Black Wind Canyon, the Gale Wolf King!
One hour later, at the western gate of the Fortress of Donghuang.
A modified dark gray off-road vehicle rumbled with a low engine growl. Chen Ye sat in the driver's seat, his expression as cold as ever, though a hint of softness had crept into his eyes.
He wore black combat gear. His long blade lay beside him. His aura was steady and formidable—he had clearly reached the fifth star of Qi Awakening!
Zhou Heng pulled open the car door and jumped into the passenger seat, grinning. "Not bad, Ye Zi! Fifth star!"
Chen Ye glanced at him.
He didn't respond. Instead, he picked up a can of energy drink emitting wisps of cold air from beside him and tossed it over. "Chilled. For the road."
"Thanks, brother! You know me too well!"
Zhou Heng caught the drink. It was ice-cold in his hand. He took a large, comfortable gulp. The sweet, icy-cool energy fluid instantly dispelled much of the stifling heat. "Let's go!"
Chen Ye nodded, stepped on the gas, and the off-road vehicle roared, charging out of the fortress's western gate and into the vast, dangerous wilderness.
Outside the car window,
the scenery flew past, desolate yet magnificent. Abandoned highways, collapsed buildings, the massive skeletons of demonic beasts... everything spoke of this world's cruelty.
"Things haven't been peaceful to the west lately. Since news of the Charm Clan spread, many teams have taken a fall," Chen Ye said, eyes fixed ahead, unusually offering a longer sentence.
"Heard about it. Appearing and disappearing unpredictably, impossible to guard against," Zhou Heng shook the drink can. "That's what makes it more interesting, isn't it? Better than hacking away at those brainless demonic beasts."
"Be careful," Chen Ye's voice was low. "Mental attacks. My Frozen Will can resist some of it, but I can't guarantee complete immunity."
"Don't worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve too," Zhou Heng smiled mysteriously, patting the dragon spine spear on his back. "If we really run into them, who ambushes whom isn't certain yet."
Along the way,
the two chatted intermittently. They navigated without major incident, avoiding several wandering packs of demonic beasts. Over two hours later, the ominous, gloomy silhouette of a massive gorge appeared on the horizon.
Blackwind Gorge!
Even before getting close, they could feel a chilling wind blowing from within the gorge, carrying a faint scent of blood and a disquieting sense of oppression.
"This place... has bad Feng Shui," Zhou Heng narrowed his eyes. His [Omniscient Eye] quietly activated, scanning the gorge entrance.
The flow of energy was somewhat chaotic. The air was permeated with a faint demonic aura and the extremely weak, unsettling residual traces of a mental fluctuation.
"Ominous," Chen Ye succinctly assessed, slowing the vehicle.
According to the mission briefing, they were to first head to the Demon Slaying Division monitoring station established just outside the gorge entrance.
It was a small, fortress-like structure equipped with basic defensive facilities and a communication tower.
But as they approached, both men frowned.
The station was deathly quiet. The main gate was slightly ajar. The defensive runes glowed dimly. No one was in the surveillance room.
"No one?" Zhou Heng and Chen Ye exchanged a glance, then cautiously got out of the vehicle.
Chen Ye tightened his grip on his sword hilt. Zhou Heng drew his dragon spine spear. Moving carefully, one on the left, one on the right, they approached.
Pushing open the slightly ajar iron gate, they found it empty inside.
Tables and chairs were neatly arranged, with no signs of a struggle. However, all equipment was powered off. A thin layer of dust covered the desks, suggesting no one had been here for some time.
"The communicator is functional," Chen Ye checked the internal communication device. "The last record is from three days ago, a routine report."
Zhou Heng walked to the control console, attempting to retrieve surveillance footage.
Most of the surveillance cameras were offline. The footage from the few remaining peripheral cameras was intermittent and filled with static.
He quickly replayed the records from the past few days.
The footage mostly showed the empty gorge entrance and howling wind and sand.
Suddenly, an extremely blurry nighttime recording caught his attention!
In the footage, a distorted, nearly transparent humanoid shadow flashed past the edge of a camera's field of view at an unbelievable speed, instantly vanishing into the darkness!
The shadow's movement was utterly bizarre—not like running, more like flickering and drifting!
His [Omniscient Eye] instantly captured and magnified the blurry image, analyzing it in less than half a second!
[Target: Suspected Charm Clan individual]
[Characteristics: High-speed movement, unstable form, energy fluctuations leaning towards mental and shadow attributes. 85% match with archived Charm Clan characteristics.]
[Warning: Unable to lock onto specific form or power level!]
"It's them!" Zhou Heng's gaze sharpened. "Can't see clearly, but this sneaky style... eighty percent chance it's the Charm Clan!"
Chen Ye leaned over to look, his expression turning even colder. "Trouble."
The mission briefing mentioned that
the missing investigation team, which later sent a distress signal, was last located about a kilometer inside the gorge, in an abandoned mining tunnel.
"Seems the station personnel either evacuated, or..." Zhou Heng didn't finish, but the implication was clear—their chances were slim.
"Into the gorge," Chen Ye said decisively.
The two exited the monitoring station, got back in the vehicle, and drove along the rugged gorge path deeper inside.
The further in they went, the dimmer the light became. The wind grew more mournful, like ghostly wails.
The steep rock walls on either side cast massive shadows, creating an intense feeling of oppression.
Suddenly!
Awooo—!!!
A piercing wolf howl echoed from the cliff ahead!
Immediately after, dozens of gray figures shot out from behind the rocks like ghosts, blocking the path ahead!
They had agile builds, gray-black fur, exposed fangs, and bloodthirsty green glints in their eyes. Their speed was extreme!
[Target: Swiftwind Wolf (Mid-tier Rank 1)]
[Characteristics: Pack hunters, swift speed, adept at wind blade attacks, coordinate well.]
[Status: Hungry, Frenzied]
"It's a pack of Swiftwind Wolves!" Chen Ye slammed on the brakes.
From within the pack, a significantly larger, more ferocious-looking giant wolf with a streak of silver hair on its forehead stepped forward, letting out a threatening roar!
[Target: Swiftwind Wolf King (High-tier Rank 1)]
[Characteristics: Extremely fast, wind blades more powerful, can command the pack.]
"Tsk, experience delivery is here," Zhou Heng cracked his neck and pushed the car door open. "Perfect for stretching our limbs. Haven't had a fight since breaking through."
Chen Ye also drew his long blade, a cold aura spreading around him.
The Wolf King seemed angered by their dismissive attitude and let out a low growl!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Dozens of Swiftwind Wolves opened their mouths simultaneously. Countless pale green wind blades shot forth like a torrential downpour!
"Ye Zi, clear the field!"
"Right!"
Zhou Heng let out a loud laugh and activated [Thunder Flash]!
His body transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging directly into the wolf pack!
The dragon spine spear swept horizontally!
Boom!
Lightning exploded! Five or six Swiftwind Wolves were instantly electrocuted into charred corpses!
[Rushing Thunder Thrust]!
The spear shot out like a dragon, piercing straight through one demon wolf attempting to pounce. Its momentum unabated, it pinned another wolf against a rock!
Chen Ye moved with equal swiftness. His long blade danced, trailing shards of ice crystals!
[Extreme Ice Slash]!
A massive, ice-blue blade aura shot forth, freezing and shattering seven or eight demon wolves along with the wind blades they had launched!
[Ice Burst Technique]!
He tapped the tip of his blade on the ground. A burst of frigid energy erupted. Sharp ice spikes instantly spread across the ground, impaling and freezing the wolves charging forward!
Seeing this, the Wolf King roared in fury and personally pounced at Zhou Heng, who seemed the greatest threat!
Its speed was indeed extreme, turning into a cyan afterimage. Its claws tore through the air with a shrieking sound!
"Good timing!" Zhou Heng neither dodged nor evaded. Lightning flashed in his eyes!
[Shocking Thunder Break]!
Lightning energy condensed intensely at the tip of the dragon spine spear. The surrounding air distorted and vibrated, emitting a piercing sonic boom as it met the Wolf King's claws head-on!
BOOM!!!
The Wolf King let out a shrill cry of agony. The moment its claws made contact with the spear tip, it was as if struck by an invisible giant hammer. The sound of shattering bones was clearly audible!
Immediately after, terrifying vibrational force and Annihilating Thunder Energy poured into its body, wreaking havoc!
Thud!
Zhou Heng flicked his wrist, the long spear twisting with the motion!
Half of the Wolf King's body directly exploded! Flesh and blood flew everywhere!
Instant kill!
Seeing their king slain in an instant, the remaining Swiftwind Wolves were terrified out of their wits. They howled miserably and scattered in all directions to flee.
Zhou Heng and Chen Ye had no interest in chasing down these small fry.
"Done and dusted," Zhou Heng flicked the blood off his spear tip, his breath steady as if he had merely warmed up.
Rank 1 demonic beasts were indeed like chopping melons and vegetables before him now.
Chen sheathed his blade, looking at Zhou Heng. "You've gotten stronger again."
"Just a small breakthrough, a small breakthrough," Zhou Heng chuckled. "Let's go. The main event is still waiting up ahead."
The two got back in the vehicle and continued deeper.
Deep within the gorge, the light grew increasingly dim. That disquieting sense of oppression grew heavier and heavier.
The entrance to the abandoned mining tunnel was now faintly visible, like a dark maw ready to swallow everything.