47: Hero saves the beauty

Deep within the Hope Forest, a Girl was struggling to lift the corners of her skirt as she ran through the woods. The uneven ground presented no small obstacle to her; fragrant sweat slid down the bridge of her nose, over her glasses, and dripped from her chin, dampening the tips of her hair.

Though she was out of breath and exhausted, she did not stop. Clenching her teeth, her pretty face was filled with a mix of panic and determination.

If anyone could read her inner thoughts, they would surely feel sympathy for her misfortune.

She had intended to travel alone to a plane to participate in a trial, but was attacked by a Yao Beast halfway there. Her Demon Tamers Beast's wings were injured, causing them to fall from the sky, and her phone, which she was using for navigation, was smashed in the process.

With such bad luck, the helpless Girl had to walk alone, but she had overestimated her sense of direction and got lost in the forest.

She finally managed to encounter six or seven boys carrying backpacks and asked them for help, but who could have known that they would be overcome by lust and attempt to assault her.

Enraged, she fought a battle against them, but unfortunately, she was outnumbered and had to flee in panic.

Now, her heart was filled with even deeper despair.

Stumbling, the Girl fell to the ground. She struggled to climb back up, muttering to herself, "If I had known this would happen, *pant—pant—* I shouldn't have set out alone."

To her surprise, as soon as those words left her mouth, a voice actually responded.

"Then we really should thank you for your stupidity. A pretty little Girl like you isn't something one gets to enjoy every day."

The Girl stood up abruptly, her face full of vigilance.

From the trees ahead came a 'rustling' sound, followed by a boy in flamboyant clothing jumping down. Two more people emerged from her left, right, and rear as well.

Seven boys surrounded her, looking at her with ill intent, their eyes shamelessly scanning her up and down.

Seeing this scene, the Girl immediately panicked. "I'm warning you! I am a candidate from Flower City No. 2 Middle School. If anything happens to me, my teacher won't let you off!"

Unfortunately, her blustering words did not intimidate them. They burst into laughter and said gloomily, "Everyone's attention is on the Secret Realm Trial today. Who would come to the Hope Forest? Once we're done with you, who would ever know?"

The Girl fell into complete despair. She summoned her already injured Heavenly Star Bird and took a stance, prepared for a desperate struggle.

"You'd better not resist," one of the boys said, eyeing a certain part of her body. "The more you resist, the more it hurts."

"Hahahahaha!"

Hearing this, the others reacted shamelessly and laughed loudly, their eyes gradually filling with lust.

"Heavenly Star Bird, Star Storm!"

The Heavenly Star Bird propped up its injured wings and flapped them violently. A storm carrying bits of stardust swept across a ten-meter diameter. Within the storm, the Girl looked for a Breakthrough point, but before she could find one, a trace of blood appeared in the storm within her sight. She was startled and hurriedly shouted, "Enough, stop! Heavenly Star Bird!"

However, the Heavenly Star Bird did not listen to her this time. With a cry, it erupted into an even more intense storm. While flapping its blood-soaked wings, its two claws hooked onto the Girl's clothes, and it took flight, attempting to escape into the air.

Unfortunately, before it could fly ten meters, the Heavenly Star Bird lost consciousness. It fell from the sky with the Girl, breaking several branches before crashing to the ground.

The seven boys strolled over leisurely.

A boy with dreadlocks walked up to the Heavenly Star Bird. "Tsk tsk, what a fine Demon Tamers Beast. Beauty, you'd better listen to us obediently, or else your Demon Tamers Beast will be gone." As he spoke, he stomped his foot down hard toward the Heavenly Star Bird's head.

"No!" the Girl could only manage a cry of alarm. Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked at the Heavenly Star Bird with heartache.

The other six ignored the Girl's reaction. They grabbed her hands and feet and were about to tear at her skirt.

"Let me go! No!" The Girl struggled frantically. One leg broke free from their control and kicked toward the person in front of her, but he caught it in his hand.

"Quite feisty, I like it." With an evil smile, the boy grabbed the Girl's hair and was about to deliver a slap.

Boom!

Before the slap could land, a pillar of fire shot from the distance, piercing through the trees. Amidst the boy's lingering evil smile, it enveloped him. In a single breath, he was burned into a pile of ash, leaving only a palm to fall from the Girl's hair.

"A-Ping!"

"Who's there?!"

The other six quickly let go and retreated, gathering together to summon their respective Demon Tamers Beasts. They looked toward the source of the flames with faces full of shock and anger.

The Girl's eyes, which had been dead with despair, regained their luster as hope reappeared. She hurriedly wiped away her tears, climbed up from the ground, ran to the Heavenly Star Bird, and took out the healing medicine from her bag to feed it all at once. Then, she also looked toward the source of the fire with a mix of curiosity and worry.

A massive beast shadow vaguely emerged from where the fire came. With light footsteps and a rustling sound, it walked over.

"W-What is this? A Yao Beast or a Demon Tamers Beast?"

"How about we forget it? Saving our lives is more important..."

"This..."

While these men were hesitating, the massive beast shadow had already walked close. It was a white wolf with a pure white body and a fire mark on its forehead. On the white wolf's back sat a person.

The newcomer was none other than Xie Ning.

He hadn't expected to encounter anyone in the Hope Forest while the whole country was focused on the Secret Realm Trial, let alone such a dangerous scene.

Fortunately, he had come over to retrieve something, otherwise, this Girl would likely have been ruined.

Thinking of this, Xie Ning jumped down from White Fang's back and came to the Girl. He first took his few remaining intermediate energy potions and fed them to the Heavenly Star Bird, then looked at the Girl. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine. Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Although the Girl didn't know what kind of potion Xie Ning had given, in her current situation, she had no ability to refuse or resist, so she was smart enough not to object. Moreover, it was highly likely the other party was helping heal the Heavenly Star Bird. She stood up, gave Xie Ning a deep bow, and spoke with gratitude.

"You're welcome. In this kind of situation, anyone would have stepped in to help." Xie Ning smiled slightly.

At this time, the six surviving boys had reached an agreement and were preparing to retreat. However, as soon as they took a step back, a wall of fire blocked their path. The scorching flames singed their hair into curls.

The six summoned Demon Tamers Beasts stared at White Fang with apprehension, not daring to take a single step forward.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Xie Ning's voice made the six men tremble. With faces full of terror, they knelt on the ground:

"Sir, we won't dare do it again. We beg you to spare us..."

"It was that guy who just got burned who told us to do it. We had no choice."

"Just treat us like a fart and let us go. We'll never bully anyone again."

"We beg you, give us a chance to turn over a new leaf..."

As they spoke, the six men kept kowtowing on the ground, begging for forgiveness. Their eyes were fixed on the dirt, and instead of guilt, they were filled with malice and anger. Their inner thoughts were undoubtedly of revenge, but Xie Ning's next words cut off any chance for that.

Xie Ning gave them a faint glance and replied, "Unfortunately, while killing someone is but a moment's work, your actions are thousands of times more evil than murder. I cannot let you live."

The six men immediately looked up, their eyes filled with resentment, wishing they could swallow Xie Ning alive.

The Girl, however, looked at him in surprise.

"White Fang, burn!"

With an order, deep red flames erupted from the wolf's mouth, sweeping over the six men.

Within the curtain of fire, six flickering figures gradually disappeared. When the figures were no more, the world had six fewer filthy Souls and six more piles of ash to nourish nature.

The six Demon Tamers Beasts also became corpses amidst their wails.

Perhaps some might feel that death is more serious than assault, but in Xie Ning's eyes, death is a temporary pain, while assault leaves behind an indelible lifelong agony.