How could they have allowed such a beast to escape under their watch? Javon frowned.
He was also afraid of death, no matter what. Even though he had died once, he didn't want to die again—at least, not now.
With that in mind, he took a cautious posture, readying himself for anything that might happen at any moment.
Roooar...!
The beast looked at everyone with a ferocious gaze; it was at its limit and was about to unleash its fury.
With a cruel expression, it took a step forward, its claws digging into the earth as it positioned itself to attack. But oddly enough, everyone present didn't move an inch.
What a joke! They all knew the person who moved first would be the one the fierce beast targeted. They were waiting to escape in the ensuing chaos.
The fierce beast glared at them with killing intent evident in its eyes as it sprinted toward the nearest person. It was at this moment that a shadow appeared behind it and struck ferociously. Having no time to react, it was hit by the fierce attack. It tumbled before standing its ground and turning to look at the person who had attacked it.
It was the leader of the group of disciples. He had emerged at the last minute, only to see the beast trying to kill someone. He had no choice but to act.
"You damned beast! You had the chance to escape, but you chose to wait here for me. You can die now!" the young man said indifferently.
With a step, he disappeared from where he stood, appearing before the pig-like beast as his fist struck like a hammer descending from the sky.
"Hammer Fist Force!" he yelled.
With a single blow, the beast's head was blown apart, causing brain matter to spatter everywhere.
Seeing everything that had happened, everyone present heaved a sigh of relief, though fear still flickered in their gazes.
"That was a close call," Javon muttered under his breath, sweat dripping down his forehead. He turned to look at the young man who stood proudly within the crowd. "He's so strong," he muttered with amazement.
"Alright, everyone! The mine has been cleared. You can enter now." Without another word, the young leader stepped into the mist once more, and Javon and the others followed closely behind.
When Javon entered the mist, he felt as though he had entered a new world.
Before his gaze was a mountain of beast corpses, numbering in the hundreds.
At that moment, he felt nauseous, and a chill ran down his spine. This was the first time he had seen so many corpses, even if they were only beasts.
He glanced around again, but all he could see was the thick red of blood splattered on the earth, followed by an iron-like stench.
"This..." He was speechless. Was this really the mine they were talking about? It looked more like a butcher's house.
"Alright, all of you; we're going to start the excavation now."
With that, the leader took out his ring and produced several kinds of tools used for excavation. He looked at the group of cannon fodder. "Choose any tool you see fit." With a gloomy look, he glanced deeply at everyone present before saying, "I want us to be through with the excavation in three days."
Without another word, he walked to the border of the mine. His voice rang out, "The ore is beneath you all. You can start digging."
Javon and the other cannon fodder could only look at the group leader and the members of the Spirit Worship Sect helplessly. They sighed in their hearts. This was the difference between a lion and a dog.
Seeing the gazes directed at them by the group of excavators, the sect disciples simply ignored them, not even bothering to glance their way. They continued to the mine's border, forming an encirclement.
Javon could only shake his head at this scene. Even if someone really wanted to escape, would they dare? After the display the young leader had just put on, who would entertain such thoughts?
Anyway, I don't care what happens after this. As long as I can get a cultivation method in the future, I'll be able to surpass them. No matter what, I must change my fate of being trash in this life.
Throwing all his thoughts to the back of his mind, he went to pick up a pickaxe from the pile of tools in front of him before walking into the distance to find an area to start digging.
Unknown to Javon, the red-headed young man who had forced him to join this group was now looking at him with a knowing look. After a while, it was as though he had made a decision.
"Young leader!" He walked up to the leader of the raid.
"What is it?" the young leader replied indifferently.
"I just wanted to share an idea with you."
"Go straight to the point," the young leader said, his voice grim.
"Young leader, I was thinking, since you're in such a hurry to clear the mine, we should at least offer them a reward so they can work even harder to complete the task. How about it?" Red Head said.
"Hmm... So what reward do you think we should offer?" the young leader asked, his voice no longer indifferent as he turned to Red Head with a deep look.
"I... I was thinking, how about you offer them a cultivation method?"
Hearing what Red Head said, the young leader's face turned glum. "Do you know what you're saying? The sect does not allow such a thing. Do you want me to be branded a traitor?"
"No... no, I didn't mean that. You wouldn't really give them the cultivation method in the end."
The young leader's face turned even glummer. "You want my respectable reputation to be tarnished?" His eyes were cold at this moment. He was a young genius of the sect, respected by all; he had his pride and wouldn't stoop so low as to deceive a nobody.
"I—"
"Enough! Go continue what you were doing," he said, not glancing at Red Head anymore.
"Yes, young master."
With a gloomy face, Red Head turned to leave when, suddenly, they heard a scream filled with terror.
"A beast! A beast attack! Somebody save me!"
The voice sounded for a moment before returning to silence.
The raid leader rushed forward to look, his face awfully gloomy.
"What is going on?" His voice spread, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
A fierce beast revealed itself, blood dripping from its mouth.
Horror dawned on the raid leader. "How is this possible? What is a Four-Horned Bull doing in the Cleave Forest?"
His fellow sect members' faces also turned pale. "A Four-Horned Bull? Impossible!"
Mooooooo!
The bull looked at the miners before it, including Javon, whose heart was currently in his throat.
This beast was too scary. It had just devoured someone whole before their eyes; how could they not panic? At this moment, every one of them was cursing the group of Spirit Worship Sect disciples. Hadn't they cleared the beasts here? Why was such a beast suddenly present?
Before anyone could react, with a loud mooooooo, the bull rushed toward a group of miners. They tried to escape, but they were too late. With a single bite from the large bull, they were either chopped in half or left near death.
"Everyone, attack!" the raid leader said as he took a step forward, holding his sword tightly. He moved in a blur of motion, appearing behind the bull. At this moment, his sect members had also come back to their senses. They all took out their weapons to join the fight.
"Star Tight Formation!" the raid leader yelled.
The five strongest sect members formed a formation, each standing at a star point with the raid leader at the center.
"Hcentres Fusion!" he yelled once more.
They all channelled energy into a single point.
"Attack!" As though their minds were in tacit agreement, they made the same gesture promptly, sending the point of origin energy flying toward the Four-Horned Bull.
Boooom!
A loud explosion echoed as a cloud of dust was sent flying, blocking the miners' field of vision. Suddenly, they heard the raid leader's voice, filled with disbelief.
"Impossible!"
Javon, who was in the distance and had witnessed everything from the beginning, had a bad feeling when he heard the raid leader's shout.
He dropped his pickaxe instantly and tried to escape.
Without anyone noticing, Javon had already made his way to the border of the mine, ready to flee. He didn't want to take a risk like this.
Mooooooo! A sound filled with pain and anger echoed as the bull appeared before their gaze, with bruises all over its body.
Without glancing at the group of miners, it charged at the raid leader in a fit of rage, tearing him apart and causing panic to fill the crowd. Without suspense, the five sect members who had launched the overbearing attack were torn to shreds by the bull beast.
Seeing this scene, all the miners broke into a rampant struggle for survival, charging toward the border of the mine where the mist was located.
At this moment, Javon couldn't help but slap himself. He didn't know the exact location to leave, since the border was covered in mist.
He could only enter the mist he was closest to. While running for his life, he could hear screams of agony and despair behind him, gradually fading as the distance increased. After about an hour of running, he suddenly fell, exhausted, and leaned his back against a tree—only to sink into the earth as though he had fallen into a bottomless pit. His already exhausted mind broke down at that moment, and he blacked out.