Chapter 171: Ancestor
Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Ancestor
Everyone looked at Shen Yan, confused. Seeing the blank expression on his face, they could only follow his gaze and stare intently at the cave entrance.
Xu Qingsui couldn’t guess what Shen Yan was thinking either, but she figured he had his reasons and didn’t press him.
As the longsword flew into the cave, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean. The inside was silent. Not a single sound emerged.
Logically, if this was the Mutants’ nest, the longsword should have already collided with a Mutant by now. It was impossible for there to be no sound at all.
It made Xu Qingsui begin to doubt her own judgment. ’Maybe I really was being overconfident.’
Just as she was beginning to have doubts, a blurry afterimage shot out from inside.
As it passed Xu Qingsui, she caught a thick, metallic scent of blood.
’What was that?’
Everyone’s gazes followed it, converging on Shen Yan. One of the two longswords that had flown in earlier had returned, hovering in the air before him.
Fresh blood dripped from the longsword. When it hit the ground, it actually corroded a small hole into the earth.
Seeing this, the team members were all stunned, not immediately understanding what had just happened.
Xu Qingsui was the first to figure it out. A look of relief washed over her face.
"The Mutants are in there! This is Mutant blood!"
Hearing Xu Qingsui’s confident tone, the team members glanced at her for a moment before turning back to Shen Yan.
After all, like them, Xu Qingsui hadn’t seen what happened inside with her own eyes. Her answer was essentially a blind guess.
Shen Yan nodded. "Even the small fry of this Mutant type are so aggressive. I was afraid their ancestor would be even harder to deal with, so I sent the sword in to scout first."
"So what’s the verdict on the situation?" The two of them ignored everyone else. Xu Qingsui glanced at the blood-drenched longsword and continued to question him.
"The thing inside is tough. The sword is trembling—it’s a warning to me."
Hearing this, Xu Qingsui finally noticed that the body of the longsword in front of Shen Yan was indeed trembling slightly.
At the same time, the others finally understood what the two were talking about. They immediately turned to the cave entrance, on high alert.
And just then, another afterimage shot out of the cave, this time carrying a stench of blood mixed with rot.
It was the other longsword. It flew straight toward Shen Yan and crashed directly into the first one.
After the two swords collided, they merged into one and plummeted to the ground, embedding themselves deep into the earth.
Seeing this, Shen Yan’s expression changed. Xu Qingsui even saw a flicker of panic on his face.
"It’s too dangerous inside! Retreat, now!" Shen Yan roared.
But before his voice had even faded, a deafening RUMBLE erupted from the cave entrance.
The team instinctively looked back, but before they could see anything, the ground began to shake violently beneath their feet.
Shen Yan’s face was grim. He grabbed Xu Qingsui and was the first to break into a mad dash outward, shouting again, "Retreat! As fast as you can!"
With things like this, everyone knew the situation was bad. Chu Tian quickly shoved a few people near him who hadn’t yet reacted, pushing them forward.
He mimicked Shen Yan, yelling for everyone to fall back.
The ground was still shaking violently, and it affected the speed of their desperate sprint.
They had only run about a hundred meters when a thunderous BOOM echoed behind them.
Pulled along by Shen Yan, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but glance back. The cave entrance had completely collapsed, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
And within the dust cloud, a massive figure could be vaguely seen, like a super-sized version of the Mutants from before.
Xu Qingsui’s heart skipped a beat. She understood instantly. They had truly poked the Mutants’ nest and disturbed the ancestor itself.
Xu Qingsui’s scalp tingled, and she quickened her pace.
These lesser Mutants might only have speed on their side, but their highly toxic and corrosive nature couldn’t be ignored.
The toxins of the small ones were already so potent; the ancestor’s would be unimaginably worse.
If it touched them, there probably wouldn’t even be bone fragments left.
By now, the others had also noticed the situation behind them.
One with weaker nerves was so scared they stumbled.
Fortunately, the team was united. Someone nearby saw it, reached out to pull them up, and didn’t let the frightened member fall behind.
But just as everyone was sprinting for their lives, trying to escape the perilous situation...
...countless lesser Mutants began crawling out of the surrounding walls from unknown crevices.
Many didn’t react in time and were bitten on the neck by the Mutants, dying on the spot.
The sudden appearance of the Mutants cut off everyone’s escape route.
In this situation, trying to run any further would only mean meeting the Mutants’ venomous fangs.
It was death either way, so staying alive for now was the top priority.
The team members still on their feet had no choice but to draw their weapons and deal with the Mutants that were pouring out.
Under Chu Tian’s lead, the team members tacitly formed a circle around Xu Qingsui and Shen Yan, blocking the Mutants’ attacks for them.
Faced with this situation, although Xu Qingsui was reluctant to use Crimson Chain again, she couldn’t just do nothing and watch the others shield her.
She immediately took Crimson Chain from her waist again. With a flick of her wrist, the razor-sharp weapon reappeared in her hand.
In contrast to Xu Qingsui, Shen Yan stood calmly in the center of the group.
Even though he was an SSS level Sentinel, for his own reasons, he had long grown accustomed to being protected by people far weaker than himself.
Now, seeing that Xu Qingsui was about to rush out, his hand shot out and gripped her wrist firmly.
"I have to help! There are too many Mutants. They can’t hold out for long. Especially if that ancestor comes over, we’ll all just be waiting to die."
Xu Qingsui desperately tried to shake off his arm. She had never been the type to hide behind others.
’If the situation gets any more dire, I can’t worry about hiding my abilities anymore. I’ll have to use my elemental powers to deal with these Mutants.’
"Don’t be hasty. If someone has to risk their life, it shouldn’t be you."
Shen Yan said coolly, his gaze locked on the Mutant ancestor the entire time.
After it broke through the entrance, the ancestor had appeared at the mouth of the cave.
But as the dust settled, it remained where it was, showing no intention of attacking.
Shen Yan watched the Mutant ancestor’s eyes and continued, "These lesser Mutants are being controlled by the ancestor. Its goal is to use them to wear us down. When we can’t hold on any longer, it can easily devour us as prey."
Xu Qingsui quickly understood what Shen Yan was saying. But so what if she knew?
"Even if we conserve our strength now, we’ll just become prey for these lesser Mutants."