After leaving the tribe, several days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these days, Fang Wuwei encountered hundreds of Reincarnators in this area, but Fang Wuwei easily dealt with all of them, which made him feel a bit inflated and also confused—how could they, with this level of skill, repeatedly push the Beastmen Tribe to the brink of extinction?
And were there so many Reincarnators active in this area?
One must know that the scope of the examination was an entire planet; even if it was impossible for anyone to run too far, this continent was ridiculously large, so why were people so concentrated here now?
Fang Wuwei stepped on a headless corpse, flicked the knife in his hand to shake off the clinging blood, and behind him lay several more people, motionless in pools of blood, then he quickly left to search for the next batch of prey...
Fang Wuwei was having a blast killing, but things were quite different on the Beastmen Tribe's side.
......
"Go!"
In a dense forest, countless flashes of blades and swords, and streams of magic light, swept through, as numerous Beastmen soldiers and Reincarnators fought in a chaotic mass within the forest.
However, the Beastmen soldiers were too weak. Several, or even more than a dozen, Beastmen soldiers were needed just to hold back one Reincarnator, and even then, killing them was incredibly difficult. The battle lines retreated steadily, and casualties were heavy, but not a single soldier collapsed or surrendered; they all held on with grim determination.
Even with such a dire situation, even with the blood of countless Beastmen heroes already flowing around them, the Beastmen Tribe's large-scale migration continued without pause.
Facing such powerful enemies, only the tribal chiefs had the strength to fight.
Ensi, the chief of the Werewolf Tribe, missing an arm, pulled his sharp claws out of a Reincarnator's body. Gasping for breath, his condition was now extremely dire. One eye had been gouged out, his entire body was tattered, and even his wolf muzzle had been half-severed, leaving only two breathing passages and half a mouth, grotesque and terrifying.
He was now at the end of his rope; even he himself knew that it was his turn to die today. However, Ensi felt no fear of death, nor any desire to live. His only wish now was for the tribe to survive, for their civilization to continue…
If it was for this! What did it matter if he sacrificed his life!
Ensi roared, and with half his mouth missing, he charged at the enemy, his sharp claws gleaming with a crimson light. His grotesque and terrifying face, coupled with his furious roar, made the enemy before him tremble with fear for a moment.
It was this instant that Ensi, rich in combat experience, seized the opportunity, drawing that enemy into his frantic attack rhythm, and for a time, he surprisingly held his own.
But it was only holding his own; at this moment, even if Ensi's spirit remained strong, his body was utterly exhausted, on the verge of collapse, and he gradually began to feel dizzy and lightheaded, his vision blurring, and the movements of his hands and feet slowed down.
The Reincarnator, who had been suppressed by Ensi's frantic attack rhythm, now noticed Ensi's abnormal state and immediately seized the opportunity to counterattack, dragging Ensi into his own attack rhythm, and finally thrusting his longsword into Ensi's chest, precisely piercing his heart.
Is this it…
Ensi could feel his heart being destroyed, all strength in his body vanishing in an instant, and his vision had already turned completely black.
He was going to die.
Die in the abyss.
He understood this was inevitable; someone always had to disregard life and death to step into the abyss, and only this method could lead civilization through the abyss—filling the abyss with corpses, feeding the abyss, so that civilization could pass through the abyss and continue.
But… he was unwilling… He, the Lion King, was about to fall before even seeing the dawn of hope.
By the way, why did I become the Lion King?
Ah… I remember now… The last time the demons invaded, my father also died in front of me like this, which made me want to become the Lion King and lead my people towards the future…
Ensi's blurry eyes drifted towards the distant figures of the main force advancing. There, he seemed to see his most beloved, newly sensible grandson and his wife, as well as his son, who fought valiantly alongside him.
Children… Watch closely! This is a wolf! This is a Lion King!!!!
Ensi's eyes instantly cleared. In his dying moments, with a final surge of energy, he let out a furious roar, unleashing his strongest and greatest punch with all the might he had ever possessed. In the Reincarnator's astonished and terrified gaze, he smashed his fist onto his head, crushing it and sending red and white matter splashing like a watermelon.
The headless Reincarnator fell, but Ensi remained standing, lifeless.
Even in death, he did not fall; this was his final dignity as the Lion King.
He hoped the Lion King could lead the tribe towards the future.
This was the dying Ensi's last thought.
However, reality is often cruel, and the Lion King's situation was even worse.
Because the Lion King was far stronger than the other chiefs, demonstrating the ability to easily slay ordinary Reincarnators, he was besieged by countless more powerful Reincarnators.
He had been fighting continuously at an extremely high intensity for seven or eight hours; even an iron man would be exhausted, let alone the Lion King.
Whenever the Lion King heavily wounded a Reincarnator, intending to kill him, other Reincarnators would forcefully interrupt his next attack, allowing the severely injured Reincarnator to retreat and receive treatment, while they took his place. If they couldn't hold on, the next teammate would step in, and at the same time, countless archers and mages were operating from the periphery. Whenever the Lion King wanted to retreat or adjust his breathing, an attack would precisely land on his head, disrupting everything he intended to do.
The endlessly annoying harassment tactics and relay attacks had left even the Lion King covered in wounds. His already short tail had been completely severed, and the whiskers on his face were almost entirely burned away.
If there were only a few Reincarnators, the Lion King would have been confident in killing them all, or at the very least, breaking through was not impossible.
However, there were over a hundred Reincarnators besieging the Lion King at this moment.
The Lion King's demonstrated power made them fearful; they understood that only by joining forces could they defeat this monstrous Beastman.
Of course, the points would be split evenly.
The selfish Reincarnators could only unite at such a time.
"Chief!"
The Reincarnators besieging the Lion King, who had started with one-on-one relay attacks, were now attacking three or four at a time, adding considerable pressure to the Lion King. Just then, Laomos, the chief of the Minotaur tribe, charged out, his immense strength sending a Reincarnator who was attacking flying, his fate unknown.
"Laomos! How could you…"
"Chief! The front line has been largely cleared! The powerful enemies have been repelled or killed by the various chiefs, and the remaining small fry have been held back by the soldiers! We decided to come and help you deal with these beasts first!!"
No sooner had Laomos, the Minotaur chief, finished speaking than several archers and mages in the forest let out screams, and no further sound came from them.
The sudden turn of events caused panic among the Reincarnation Team. How powerful was the Lion King? He alone held back over a hundred powerful Reincarnators, and with his own strength, he had almost crippled the entire melee force. What if other Beastmen joined in?
Originally, the Reincarnation Team worried that it was the enemy deliberately trying to disrupt morale and decided to continue the siege, but as screams from their own people continued to come from the forest, and spells and arrows rapidly shot towards them from a distance, constantly disrupting their attack rhythm, the Reincarnators finally began to retreat.
Casualties had already occurred; they dared not continue the attack—what if they were the next to die?
The selfish Reincarnators only ever worried about their own safety. Lacking cohesion, they would scatter like loose sand and flee once they lost their objective.
Watching the Reincarnators flee into the distance, the Lion King did not pursue, nor did Laomos. Even the enemy's dual-carry, who had darted out from above their heads, they did not pursue. The two silently watched the crowd escape far away, and after confirming the enemies were gone, they both collapsed to the ground, disregarding their image.
"Chief, you've worked hard."
A seductive female voice came from behind them, filled with exhaustion.
"You've worked hard too, Jiana."
Behind them, Jiana, the chief of the Fox Tribe, appeared. She was an experienced master assassin, naturally adept at dealing with ADCs and mid-lane mages, and she handled the lurking archers and mages besieging the Lion King with ease.
But at this moment, this master assassin was also covered in wounds, with a fresh, bleeding gash across her chest that almost split her slender body in two.
"...Are you alright?"
"...It's nothing, I can still… kill a couple more quickly, Chief. Let's hurry, we still need to provide support up ahead."
"…Alright."
......
The brutal siege finally ended, and the wounded finally had time to rest for a moment.
But they knew this was only the first wave; there would be a second, a third, a fourth, and the only thing they could do was keep running.
According to the ancestors' records, before the demon ritual was completed, they could only keep running, delaying time until everything was over.
As long as the demons remained, their barrier would continue to be disrupted and could not be established.
Therefore, they did not have much time to rest. The Lion King only received a brief treatment before he began to count heads and prepare to organize resistance against the next siege.
The Cat Tribe maiden, who was the messenger, was called over, holding a piece of paper stained with drops of crimson.
"Report… reporting, Chief, our casualties… our casualties are as follows…" The messenger Cat Tribe maiden was none other than Bumian, who had escaped earlier. Her body was now stained with blood, not only her own but also the blood of countless comrades. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her voice choked, and tears flowed uncontrollably.
"Ensi, the chief of the Wolf Tribe, Devin, the chief of the Bear Tribe, Feli, the chief of the Cat Tribe, Owen, the chief of the Deer Tribe, William, the chief of the Leopard Tribe, and Martha, the chief of the Lizard Tribe, have fallen on the battlefield. Furthermore, Jiana, the chief of the Fox Tribe, Owen, the chief of the Dog Tribe, and James, the chief of the Elephant Tribe, died from severe injuries.
Then there are… then… the soldiers and civilians… the casualties are too numerous, and the statistics are not yet fully complete, estimated to be no less than ten thousand… The Lizard Tribe, 3971 people, were completely wiped out…"
Bumian was already sobbing uncontrollably, and the Lion King remained silent.
These numbers were not just numbers; every character represented a living life. They had once lived and had rich lives, and the fallen warriors, whose parents were they, whose children were they?
Looking at the civilians crying in a heap not far away, the Lion King understood their sorrow. The dead were gone; they had simply stepped into the abyss first, solely for a better future, solely for the continuation of civilization!!
The Lion King raised his head, forcefully held back the tears about to fall, composed himself, then stood up and loudly announced the continuation of their march.
Life had to go on, and the escape… was not yet over.
(This chapter has 3400 characters! A big chapter!)