Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

The Giant Eagle was flying in the direction of Chaihe Town's gathering place.

This coincided exactly with the route Wen Yu took through the forest.

So, it wasn't strange that Wen Yu and the soaring Giant Eagle crossed paths!

Wen Yu saw the azure giant eagle standing proudly on the enormous 'Welcome to Chaihe Town' signboard at the town entrance. He immediately shifted into battle mode, Touch of Greed quickly elongating in his hand!

Cyclops, beside him, let out a whining sound, curving his body slightly in battle readiness.

The Giant Eagle perched high on the signboard cocked its head, scrutinizing the man and dog below.

Then, a blast of cold air shot out, which both Wen Yu and Cyclops dodged.

The cold blast wasn't fast or particularly powerful, indicating that the Giant Eagle's strength had indeed suffered greatly.

However, Wen Yu and Cyclops had no way to deal with this feathered fiend!

They weren't afraid of it, but they couldn't do anything against a creature that could fly!

So, Wen Yu and Cyclops continuously dodged the ice spikes raining down from the sky, yet they had no way to deal with the Giant Eagle circling above them!

This was the strength and shamelessness of the "Air Force"!

"Damned feathered fiend!"

Wen Yu cursed bitterly, crushing the falling ice spike with his claw.

"WOOF."

"Boss, it was this fiend who stole the Corpse King's body last time!"

From Cyclops's spiritual fluctuations, Wen Yu could clearly detect its anger!

Wen Yu said helplessly, "Yes, it was him. Unfortunately, you can't fly, or we could have feasted on braised Giant Eagle."

"WOOF."

"You can't blame me for not having wings. If you must blame someone, blame my doggy ancestors!"

"You have a point there."

It wasn't strange for Wen Yu and Cyclops to be chatting and joking around; the eagle's attacks weren't particularly threatening, and Cyclops's Flames of Tyranny had trouble striking the swiftly flying Giant Eagle.

"CAW... CAW..."

The Giant Eagle swerved away from the black column of fire that Cyclops spewed out, then spat out a few more ice daggers down below.

"CAW, CAW..."

The Giant Eagle kept screeching. A mutant beast of this level already possessed high intelligence, so Wen Yu could understand the mockery in its cries, as if it were taunting: Come on, try and hit me!

"This is so damn shameless!"

Wen Yu griped bitterly.

「Some time later」

The Giant Eagle grew tired of playing. Yes, it had simply been toying with them.

The man and dog below were powerful; eating them would replenish a significant amount of its energy. However, even at its peak, the Giant Eagle wouldn't dare claim it could definitively defeat the pair on the ground.

The recent playful battle was merely the Giant Eagle venting its frustration from its defeat by the monster.

Now that I've vented, it's time for real business, the Giant Eagle decided.

The Giant Eagle thought of the humans in the settlement. To it, 'real business' meant eating a few humans to recover its stamina, then flying out of Chaihe Town to find another territory and re-establish itself as an overlord.

I can't handle that man and dog, it concluded, but among the humans, there must be some I can deal with, and plenty of them!

Seeing the Giant Eagle fly into the distance, its path leading away from them, Wen Yu's brow furrowed.

"It's heading towards the gathering place, isn't it? What do you think, Cyclops?"

"WOOF."

"Boss is right. What should we do?"

Looking at Cyclops's large dog head turned towards him, Wen Yu carefully thought it over.

We're not going to the forest anymore, I guess, Wen Yu thought. The creature that drove this thing away is probably not something we can handle easily. Besides...

A vicious glint flashed in Wen Yu's eyes. "I'm not one to suffer the same loss twice!"

No sooner had Wen Yu finished speaking than Cyclops bolted off.

Cyclops, too, was not one to suffer the same loss twice!

「Meanwhile, in the gathering place」

Most of the people had long lost the desire to continue resting!

After all, anyone would be rattled upon realizing that their "neighbor" possessed the power to kill them easily, especially if that "neighbor" viewed them as a delicious meal!

The sky was gradually brightening.

Zhang Wenhu squinted at the pale dawn sky. The distant energy fluctuations had subsided into calm. He couldn't help but speak to Zhang Lifei at his side.

"Do you think Wen Yu can handle this problem?"

Actually, this was just Zhang Wenhu expressing his feelings of weakness when faced with overwhelming power.

Zhang Lifei clearly understood his father's feelings and remained silent beside him. Whether Wen Yu could handle it depended on Wen Yu, not on anything I say, he thought.

"And how many times have I told you, you're young, don't just play around with women all day!"

Seeing his son's pale face, Zhang Wenhu seethed with anger, reprimanding him mercilessly.

Zhang Lifei pouted. As a rebellious youth, his father's words were like wind passing by his ears—utterly useless.

"You little rascal!"

Seeing Zhang Lifei's indifferent attitude, Zhang Wenhu's anger welled up. He promptly raised his hand, but after a moment, lowered it again. He couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I'm saying all this for your own good..."

After a pause, Zhang Wenhu's low voice drifted over, and it seemed to move Zhang Lifei.

"I understand, Dad."

Zhang Lifei murmured, standing beside him. There was something new in the way he looked at his father.

"You know my abilities. I'll live as long as I can, and while I'm alive, no one can hurt you. But accidents can happen at any time! My life, at this moment, is largely out of my own control, so you have to be strong..."

Zhang Wenhu muttered softly, his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.

"Alright, enough of this. I'm a little tired. Lifei, you stay here a while longer. Let me know when Wen Yu comes back."

Zhang Wenhu promptly ended the conversation about his private matters and headed towards the residential building behind them.

"Understood, Dad."

Behind him, Zhang Lifei's voice came, tinged with a sob.

With Zhang Wenhu's retreat into the residential building, most of the people in the camp stopped paying attention to the distant battle, which had now subsided.

After all, no matter how anxious they were, waiting was pointless when faced with a creature clearly beyond their power to fight!

Most people, especially in a post-apocalyptic world, only focused on what was happening right in front of them. Judging by the recent energy fluctuations, whoever was fighting is clearly not our immediate concern, they reasoned.

Not long after, only a few high-ranking members of the camp, along with Sun Ruixing, Sun Aotian, and their group, remained standing in the open area of the camp.