Chapter 82 – The Second Stronghold

Cheng Yang and his party continued their exploration, encountering increasingly frequent battles. The durability of their equipment was slowly but steadily declining.

“Lord, how much further? If we keep going like this, some of our warriors’ shields won’t hold up,” Liu Hao said, approaching Cheng Yang after a recent skirmish.

Cheng Yang replied, “We’re almost there. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. The chance of encountering demonic beasts will be much lower on our way back.”

Liu Hao didn’t press further, assuming Cheng Yang planned to return the same way after reaching their destination. After all, having been killed once before, large groups of demonic beasts were unlikely to appear under normal circumstances.

After trekking another kilometer, Cheng Yang finally came to a halt. Before them lay a valley flanked by towering, steep mountains that stretched into the distance. Between these peaks stretched a flat plain about ten kilometers wide, bisected by a broad river flowing toward the horizon.

This river, known as the Xiang River, hadn’t existed before. It was created by the catastrophic earthquake that heralded the apocalypse. The small stream flowing by Luofeng Village was one of its tributaries.

“We’re here,” Cheng Yang exhaled deeply.

Li Wanshan looked around and asked, “Lord, you said this is our destination, but I don’t see anything special about this place.”

Cheng Yang smiled faintly, “That’s because you can’t see it. The area is densely forested. You can only see the riverbanks clearly. The deeper parts are hidden by the trees.”

Li Wanshan nodded, realizing Cheng Yang’s target must be within the woods.

True to his word, Cheng Yang led the group eastward along the riverbank, encountering no demonic beasts along the way. After about two hundred meters, Cheng Yang whispered, “Wait here. I’ll scout ahead.”

Without waiting for a response, Cheng Yang plunged into the forest, heading north. He moved cautiously, covering four to five hundred meters without encountering any demonic beasts. This didn’t surprise him; in fact, it confirmed his suspicions.

He was searching for a territory altar. According to divine rules, unclaimed territory altars exerted an extraordinary attraction on demonic beasts, drawing them from the surrounding area.

Cheng Yang had never been to this stronghold before and was relying on descriptions from his previous life. After nearly an hour of searching, he finally heard movement.

About two hundred meters ahead, occasional roars echoed through the forest. There were two possibilities: either he was nearing the edge of the altar’s influence, or he had reached his destination, with the roaring beasts being the altar’s guardians.

Cheng Yang crept closer, peering through the trees to behold a breathtaking sight. A clearing at least one square kilometer in size stretched before him, devoid of trees but teeming with nearly ten different types of demonic beasts – at least five thousand in total.

At the center stood a three-meter-tall, black-gray altar identical to the one in Luofeng Village. Standing atop it was a nearly three-meter-tall black bear, its massive frame radiating power.

The bear danced wildly on the altar, its movements mirrored by the horde below, as if it were a general commanding an army.

Cheng Yang wasn’t particularly familiar with bear-type demonic beasts. As formidable creatures, they typically possessed considerable strength from the apocalypse’s onset and rarely appeared near main cities. This giant bear’s presence was likely due to the territory’s influence.

In his previous life, the peak first-order demonic beast guarding Luofeng Village’s altar had been a massive leopard, far more intimidating than this black bear. Cheng Yang estimated this bear was at most late first-order, not yet at peak strength.

While the bear itself didn’t pose a significant threat, the five thousand-strong horde presented a formidable challenge. Cheng Yang pondered how to eliminate them with minimal losses.

Suddenly, Cheng Yang’s gaze fixed on the black bear as an idea struck him. A three-meter altar was insurmountable for most mid-first-order demonic beasts, let alone early first-order ones. If he could reach the altar and eliminate the bear, he might be able to slaughter the horde below at will.

The idea took root in Cheng Yang’s mind. After quietly checking his supply of spirit and health potions, he made his decision. It was worth a gamble. Even if he mobilized all of Luofeng Village’s combatants, they wouldn’t make much difference against such numbers, and the casualties would be devastating.

Luofeng Village was still in its infancy, its combatants not yet powerful enough. They needed more time to develop. Though Cheng Yang disliked playing nursemaid, he had no choice – the fledglings weren’t yet ready to shoulder the burden.

Cheng Yang calculated the distance – about seven hundred meters to the altar. Without obstacles, he could cover it in half a minute. But with countless monsters in the way, timing was uncertain.

However, with nearly twenty spirit potions and four health potions in his pack, Cheng Yang felt confident. He gently pushed aside the surrounding thorns and sprinted forward at top speed.

The demonic beasts noticed Cheng Yang after he’d covered about thirty meters, causing the entire horde to stir. In that brief moment, Cheng Yang plunged into the throng, leaping seven to eight meters before they could react. After his recent enhancements, his strength and speed had doubled, making such leaps possible with a running start.

As Cheng Yang landed, the surrounding beasts attacked, their claws and fangs aiming to tear him apart. Cheng Yang smirked as seven or eight strikes landed on him, but they might as well have been tickles, causing no damage.

“Ice Spikes!” Cheng Yang unleashed his area-of-effect skill without hesitation. A shower of icy spikes rained down, annihilating all beasts within several meters.

Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Yang advanced several steps before leaping again, repeating the process to clear his path. He’d used this tactic days earlier in a Xiangcheng alleyway against blackwater crocodiles, forced to break through when green-skinned monkeys cut off his retreat.

But compared to then, Cheng Yang’s power had grown exponentially. Previously, he’d worried about early first-order demonic beasts’ attacks. Now, even mid-first-order beasts’ strikes were negligible against his vitality.

Cheng Yang charged forward relentlessly as the demonic beasts threw themselves at him fearlessly…

Two minutes later, Cheng Yang had advanced over two hundred meters, consuming two spirit potions to replenish his energy. His results were impressive – at least four to five hundred demonic beasts had fallen to his Ice Spikes, including green-skinned monkeys, gray wolves, steel-bristled boars, poison frogs, and numerous mid-first-order beasts.

Cheng Yang didn’t keep count of his kills. His sole focus was reaching the altar. The black bear atop it had been watching Cheng Yang intently. Initially unmoved, it grew agitated as Cheng Yang closed within two hundred meters, roaring and summoning more beasts from other directions.

The density of demonic beasts around Cheng Yang increased dramatically. Previously, he’d found clear landing spots after each leap. Now, he often landed on beasts’ backs, forced to use them as springboards for further jumps.

Fortunately, even in this dense throng, Cheng Yang’s Ice Spikes cleared sufficient space, preventing him from being completely overwhelmed. This density also worked in his favor, as each Ice Spike attack killed more beasts.

As time passed, Cheng Yang drew closer to the central altar, and the demonic beasts’ attacks grew more frenzied. After consuming his tenth spirit potion, Cheng Yang was within one hundred meters of the altar, close enough to see the black bear’s furious expression clearly.

However, the number of mid-first-order demonic beasts had increased significantly. Though each attack only chipped away a small portion of his vitality, the cumulative damage was becoming alarming.