Chapter 134 – A Cry for Help

Chapter 134 – A Cry for Help

This journey indeed carried significant risks, which was why Cheng Yang hadn’t informed Niu Bing of their destination beforehand and hadn’t disclosed the plan to anyone else.

Niu Bing was straightforward and loyal. Once Cheng Yang brought him along, it would be easy to persuade him. However, if Yu Kai and the others had known about this, they would undoubtedly have tried to stop Cheng Yang or at least demanded to come along.

But Cheng Yang had no intention of bringing too many people. Firstly, with more people, he might not be able to protect everyone adequately. Secondly, there was no need for such a large group. If it weren’t for the fact that Niu Bing and Liu Xiyue were essential, Cheng Yang would have preferred to go alone.

According to Cheng Yang’s plan, the two strongholds near Yicheng would be taken over by Niu Bing and Liu Xiyue. Niu Bing was currently the strongest summoner in Luofeng Village. Once he advanced to a high-level summoner apprentice, his summoned beasts would become even more powerful. As an indomitable tank, he would be crucial for clearing certain dungeons. As for Liu Xiyue, her extraordinary talent spoke for itself. If she wasn’t worthy of focused cultivation, then no one else in Luofeng Village was.

As for rescuing the people of Yicheng, that was merely a secondary objective. If they could save some civilians, help them complete their class transitions, and secure a foothold, it would be a good outcome. If they couldn’t hold the area, there was nothing Cheng Yang could do. After all, newly transitioned combatants would struggle against hordes of demonic beasts, especially since many of the beasts had already reached the mid-tier of the first rank.

Cheng Yang had considered sending some of Luofeng Village’s combatants to develop Yicheng, but with the troubles in Xiangcheng City still unresolved, dispersing their forces would leave them vulnerable if problems arose.

Yicheng was about fifty kilometers from Xiangcheng City, while the explored area around Luofeng Village was only thirty kilometers from Yicheng. If the people of Yicheng could successfully transition and establish a foothold, they could eventually receive support from Luofeng Village as it grew stronger.

In his previous life, Yuan Jianze had sent explorers out from Luofeng Village four months after taking control, but the initial expeditions had ended in failure. The unexplored forests were home to a significant number of second-rank demonic beasts, and at the time, the strongest combatants in Luofeng Village were only high-level apprentices. Facing second-rank demonic beasts, the outcome was predictable. Fortunately, as more human experts emerged, they eventually managed to cross the no-man’s-land between Xiangcheng City and Yicheng and discovered the two strongholds there.

No one knew whether these second-rank demonic beasts had been there from the beginning or had evolved later. By the time human combatants encountered them, they were already second-rank.

Originally, Cheng Yang wouldn’t have dared to cross this no-man’s-land. With his current strength, he could barely handle a lone second-rank early-stage demonic beast, but if he encountered one leading a pack, he would be asking for trouble.

Fortunately, he had obtained a valuable item yesterday—the Bone Devouring Pearl.

This was his trump card. In a crisis, he could instantly upgrade the Bone Devouring Pearl to level 3. Even a second-rank early-stage demonic beast would be annihilated in just two seconds. And in those two seconds, no second-rank beast could kill him.

Of course, Cheng Yang didn’t plan to upgrade the Bone Devouring Pearl unless absolutely necessary, as it consumed a significant amount of spiritual energy.

At this point, Niu Bing and Liu Xiyue stopped questioning Cheng Yang. Since they had already come this far, turning back wasn’t an option. Moreover, Cheng Yang’s meticulous planning and past successes had earned their trust, allowing them to overlook the potential dangers.

Cheng Yang moved forward cautiously when suddenly, a prickling sensation crept up his spine, as if a venomous snake were watching him.

Following his instincts, Cheng Yang turned to look behind him.

Through the dense foliage, he saw a ridge about two or three kilometers away. If he remembered correctly, that ridge was the location of the Orc Outpost.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Xiyue noticed Cheng Yang’s serious expression and asked with concern.

Cheng Yang shook his head. “Nothing, just looking back.”

Liu Xiyue wasn’t entirely convinced, but after glancing back and seeing nothing unusual, she let it go. Niu Bing, however, knew that Cheng Yang had been looking in the direction of the Orc Outpost.

He had been the first to discover the outpost and remembered how serious Cheng Yang had been when he mentioned it. The memory had stuck with him, and now, seeing Cheng Yang’s reaction, his wariness of the outpost deepened. If Cheng Yang, with his strength, was so cautious, Niu Bing had every reason to be wary as well.

Cheng Yang couldn’t see the details of the ridge, but he was certain something had been watching them. Whether it was watching him specifically, he couldn’t say, but his guard remained high.

In his previous life, the Orc Outpost had been an unsolved mystery. This time, he vowed to uncover its secrets.

Putting the Orc Outpost out of his mind, Cheng Yang led Niu Bing and Liu Xiyue forward.

Their goal wasn’t to explore but to travel quickly. Unless they encountered an unavoidable group of demonic beasts, they avoided combat and found ways to bypass them.

With demonic beasts increasingly forming packs, solitary beasts were rare, which worked to their advantage. If this had been early in the apocalypse, they would have had to fight their way through.

Moving stealthily and with Liu Xiyue’s assassination skills, they encountered little trouble. Niu Bing, on the other hand, spent most of the journey idly, only getting a chance to act when they faced larger groups of beasts.

Niu Bing was frustrated. He had been one of the first to transition, yet now it seemed his combat ability was inferior to Liu Xiyue’s. Even in a one-on-one fight, he doubted he could defeat her, especially with her overpowered equipment. Her attack power far surpassed his.

He had heard of Liu Xiyue’s formidable talent, but seeing her silently dispatch first-rank late-stage demonic beasts was still shocking. Even Cheng Yang might not be able to kill such beasts in a single strike.

Cheng Yang wasn’t surprised. Liu Xiyue’s strength lay in her extreme specialization—her attack power was unparalleled, but her defense, health, and mana were lacking. Her equipment was entirely focused on enhancing her offensive capabilities.

This specialization wasn’t fully apparent yet, but once they reached the warrior rank and class branches opened up, allowing combatants to allocate attribute points, Liu Xiyue’s extreme build would become even more pronounced.

An hour later, they had advanced about seven or eight kilometers through the forest. While this pace would have been fast before the apocalypse, it was relatively slow now. Still, navigating through the dense forest at this speed was commendable.

The terrain around Xiangcheng City had been hilly before the apocalypse, but after the cataclysmic earthquake, it had become a mix of plains and endless ridges. These ridges, though not tall, were often steep, with cliffs and precipices everywhere. The familiar landscape had vanished, making it difficult to locate Yicheng based on pre-apocalypse memories.

Fortunately, Cheng Yang had been to Yicheng in his previous life, as one of its strongholds had been a subsidiary of Luofeng Village. He still remembered the route.

“We’ll pass through that ravine ahead,” Cheng Yang pointed to a narrow gap, about three to four meters wide, between two peaks.

Niu Bing and Liu Xiyue followed without question, and the three of them entered the gap, moving deeper into the ravine.

“Yang, do you think this counts as a ‘Thread of Sky’ landscape? Before the apocalypse, this might have been turned into a scenic spot,” Niu Bing joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Cheng Yang retorted, “If you’re talking about scenic spots, the bottomless chasm near Xiangcheng City would have been the best. Before the apocalypse, it would have been one of a kind in the world.”

Niu Bing chuckled but didn’t argue.

“Help!” A faint cry came from above, startling Cheng Yang and the others. How could there be someone here?

Since the apocalypse began, the most tragic fates had befallen those in rural areas or small towns, far from the main cities where transitioning was nearly impossible. Scattered rural households, lacking the protective ruins of cities, had suffered heavy casualties during the first wave of demonic beasts. By now, aside from a few surviving communities, isolated rural dwellers were virtually nonexistent.

Hearing a cry for help in this dense forest was astonishing. Surviving this long in such a place wasn’t a matter of strength but sheer luck.

Cheng Yang and the others looked up and saw a massive boulder suspended between two cliffs, about seven or eight meters above the ground.

“Help!” The faint cry came again.

Niu Bing glanced at Cheng Yang. “Yang, what should we do?”

“We’ll save them, of course,” Cheng Yang replied with a sigh.

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