Wang Yun rushed to the vilge, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw it still intact. However, he noticed people outside, panicking and discussing something.
As he slowed his pace to a suitable level for his age, he eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Did you hear that?"
"Of course I did!"
"The people from River Han vilge are here!"
"What?! Why?"
"A powerful beast attacked them! And it's probably coming this way!"
"Gods no!"
What he overheard was deeply concerning. Soon, he was near his house, where he could see a crowd gathering in the distance. If he focused hard enough, he could hear their conversation, but...
"Wang Yun!"
He heard his father's voice calling him, the urgency in his tone making him alert. He saw his father running toward him, grabbing his shoulders.
"Get your things! Quickly! Zhang Chen! Yushen! Get the kids and valuables! Only what you can carry!" he shouted to those inside. Soon, Uncle Yushen burst out of the door.
"Why? What happened?" he asked worriedly, scanning his surroundings.
"No time to expin! Where are the kids?!" Wang Lee excimed. As he said these words, Wang Yun saw people in the distance scattering quickly, their movements filled with haste.
"Little Cai and Sister are inside! Little Xiaosi went out to py!" Uncle Yushen answered before quickly heading inside.
"Wang Yun, get inside and help your mother! I'll find your sister!" his father said before running off to find his daughter, not giving him a chance to respond.
Wang Yun gritted his teeth, wanting to find his sister as well. In the end, he trusted his father to find her and went inside to the second floor, where he already saw his mother packing.
"Grab this," she said, handing him a small bag.
"Is there anything more we need?" Wang Yun asked hurriedly. From the distance, he could hear the distress of people, the panic affecting him as well. However, he tried to calm himself down, knowing that panic would only worsen the situation.
"Mother! Where are we going?" Little Cai walked out of the siblings' room carrying a small bag and asked innocently.
"To the city, now let's go," Zhang Wang Chen answered, patting his head before pulling his wrist and heading downstairs. There, they saw his uncle already packed with a rge barrel on his back and a bag on his arm.
"Where's Xiaosi?" his mother asked worriedly.
"Wang Lee is after her. Quickly! Whatever is going on, we need to leave quickly!" Uncle Yushen said, his face serious and his usual lighthearted aura gone.
Soon, they headed out of the building, where they saw people were also packing and running away.
"Is it the roar...?" Wang Yun heard his uncle mutter.
Before they too set out toward the direction of the city, Little Cai was carried in his mother's arms.
"Should we get horned horses?" Uncle Yushen asked.
"No time, and we have a limited amount. Others would have probably gotten them already," Zhang Wang Chen replied, gncing back with concern for her husband and daughter.
Wang Yun was also worried. They were soon out of the vilge, joining others who were also running away. Wang Yun heard some conversations along the way.
"A mountain king has appeared and destroyed the neighboring vilge!"
"What?! A mountain king? How's that possible!?"
"Fuck if I know! All we know is that some survivors from the vilge went to ours and reported the situation. Not long after that, the roar sounded..."
"No way... I heard that a mountain king has to be at least equivalent to rank 10 to be acknowledged as such..."
"Which is why it's dangerous to be in the vicinity of such a creature!"
Wang Yun, his uncle, and his mother heard the conversation and felt a chill run down their spines.
How strong was a rank 10 mountain king beast?
Wang Yun had no idea, but somehow he had a feeling he wasn't its match.
'Damn it, why did it appear here and now? Give me a few weeks, and I won't be afraid of it!' Wang Yun thought.
At the same time, he looked behind, searching for any signs of his father and sister. He was greatly worried and cursed himself for not personally finding his sister and letting his father do it when he was stronger than him.
'A dozen seconds, if they don't turn up...' Wang Yun thought, giving himself a few seconds before deciding to find them himself. Just then, a figure emerged from the vilge, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Father, sister!" he called.
And soon, with his father's strength, carrying his daughter in his arms, he quickly caught up to them.
"Xiaosi!" Zhang Wang Chen excimed, tears in her eyes as she gripped her husband's shoulder and caressed her daughter's head.
"Mother, why are we running?" Little Xiaosi asked, her voice filled with panic.
"Don't worry, honey. Just think of this as a vacation in the city," Wang Lee answered, reassuring his daughter.
Now that they were here, Wang Yun sighed in relief. His movements rexed, and Wang Lee looked at him with surprise.
From the corner of his eye, Wang Yun noticed this and wondered why his father was surprised. It was only then that he realized he was running along with them effortlessly, even his uncle, who was rank 1 and struggled to keep up with his mother and father, was still keeping pace. Yet here was Wang Yun, casually running alongside them without any problem.
Wang Yun didn't mind this. It was even better as it could slowly give his father the idea that he was extraordinary.
Two people on a horned horse caught up to them. Looking at the person, Wang Yun realized they were the Yang family. Before he could ponder on it longer, however...
"Arrhnnnn!" a screeching and powerful roar suddenly sounded, terribly close!
People instinctively looked back toward the direction of their vilge. By now, they couldn't see it anymore because of the trees when...
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded, and dirt, stones, and parts of houses scattered in the air.
Their vilge was getting destroyed!
Then, with his incredible senses, Wang Yun felt a thumping sound, like something heavy hitting the ground.
His heart skipped a beat as his eyes continued to look back. He saw a giant head appear, rising higher than the trees. Its head was like that of a wolf but without fur, instead, it had three horns, and its skin was an earthy color. It turned its eyes toward their direction, and Wang Yun's heart skipped another beat before it lowered its head and disappeared into the trees. Wang Yun heard a scream.
"Ahhhrr!"
"Uncle!"
It was Xun Shen!
Then, everything in Wang Yun's perception slowed as he grappled with making a decision. In the end, the choice was easy. He was the strongest combatant at the moment, at least in terms of physical strength, and the mountain king was already so close. No matter what, it would definitely catch up, so the choice was set.
He smiled briefly, his perception returning to normal. Grinding his teeth, he stopped briefly, then...
"Wang Yun!" he heard his father call. The ground beneath Wang Yun's feet exploded as he burst into speed, shooting toward the mountain king through the trees and ramming into it!
The force managed to catch the mountain king by surprise, blowing it away for a brief moment before it stabilized itself.
"Go!" Wang Yun shouted to Xun Shen, who was supporting his bleeding uncle as best as he could.
"Uncle!" Xun Shen cried out to his uncle.
The mountain king, noticing the attacker, immediately retaliated. Qi gathered in its mouth, and it thumped its front leg to the ground, sending qi and the ground surrounding Wang Yun, writhed as if it came alive, and suddenly shooting out to hold him down.
"!" A burst of qi was released toward him, and Wang Yun grunted as he broke free from his constraints and barely dodged the attack.
The qi attack hit the ground, and he was blown away.
His ears rang. Even without directly taking the attack, he felt his entire body rattled. He stood up, his arms trembling. The dust soon cleared, revealing the mountain king.
Disdain and anger were evident in its eyes as it looked at him.
Wang Yun felt like prey being stared at by a predator.
The mountain king suddenly moved, lunging toward him and opening its wide, gaping mouth.
With gritted teeth, Wang Yun charged!
