Despair washed over the rest of the villagers as they realized, they were trapped. Li Wei's eyes scanned the crowd, hoping and searching for Li Mei, even though he knows she isn't here.
His heart ached with a mixture of fear and guilt. He had promised to protect her, and now she is gone.
And now he will also meet his demise in the hands of this Creature's.
But what worries him the most, is the faith that likely awaits his Mum the little childrens and other women of the village.
His heart ache just imagining that.
But all of the sudden the creatures about to close in froze.
A sound like thunder split the night—not from the sky, but from the forest. Trees shuddered as something moved through them, snapping branches like twigs. Then, silence.
Moonlight spilled across the village square as a figure stepped forward.
A stranger.
Young, perhaps Li Wei's age, but his presence was commanding. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, his body streaked with gore that wasn't his own. In his fist, he clutched a weapon—not a spear, but a spearhead likely broken from a spear, its jagged tip still dripping black.
And behind him—
A girl
"Li Mei!"
Her name tore from Li Wei's throat, before he could even register. She was alive. Pale, trembling, her clothes torn at the edges—but alive. Her eyes locked onto his, and for a heartbeat, the world stopped.
Then the stranger raised his weapon.
The creatures screeched—not in hunger, but in something like recognition.
And for the first time Li Wei saw them hesitate.
The young man didn't give them time but exploded into motion.
Like ink spilled across parchment, his form blurred— he became like a shadow given teeth. Every strike landed with surgical precision, each evasion a hair's breadth from death yet executed with the calm of a man stepping through rain.
The creatures lunged, but their claws found only air.
He was already elsewhere.
It was as if he could taste their intentions—
He flowed between them like smoke, his weapon a violet flicker in the dark.
It feels surreal watching him fight.
like a dream.
All the villagers watch frozen.
Li Wei watched in awe as Wu Chen dispatched one creature after another.
Level 2 Demonic Humans—creatures that had torn through the village's strongest hunters—folded like paper under his blade.
Even the Level 3 creatures, which had seemed invincible moments ago, were no match for him.
"Who is he?" He muttered his eyes wide with disbelief.
Around him, the surviving villagers stared at the carnage with identical expressions—part awe, part terror.
"He's... a hero."
Li Mei's voice was barely more than a breath, yet it carried the weight of awestruck reverence. Li Wei startled—he hadn't even noticed her approach, so transfixed was he by the whirlwind of death and salvation that he is seeing.
And then, like embers catching flame, hope spread through the villagers.
Because of How Wu Chen fought, the villagers, moments ago frozen in despair, now surged forward with renewed fury.
Elders who had resigned themselves to death now swung rusted sickles with trembling but determined hands.
Youths who had thought they would never held a weapon again snatched up fallen spears, their fear drowned out by battle cries.
Even Li Wei, his heart pounding like a war drum, charged into the fray, his sister's words ringing in his ears: A hero.
The tide of the battle shifted.
No longer were they prey.
Now, they are the hunters.
They fought till all the creatures were defeated..
But just as the last of the creatures fell, Before they could make a sigh of relief, a low rumble shook the ground. Li Wei's heart sank as he turned to see a new horde emerging from the forest.
These creatures were larger, their eyes glowing with a malevolent light. From their Aura They were all Level 3s, their power radiating like a suffocating wave.
The villagers froze, their hope evaporating as quickly as it had come.
A one or two level 3 is manageable the stranger have fought them already.
But Level 3 creatures in such Numbers.
Survival seems bleak.
Even with the mysterious stranger in their midst
Wu Chen stepped forward, his expression calm but resolute. He raised his spearhead, his gaze fixed on the approaching horde.
"Stay behind me," he said, his voice steady.
Li Wei and the others obeyed, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear and admiration. They knew the battle was far from over, but with Wu Chen leading them, they felt a glimmer of hope.
As the horde closed in, Wu Chen stood tall, a lone figure against the darkness. The villagers watched in silence, their hearts pounding as they prepared for the fight of their lives.
The horde of Level 3 demonic creatures surged forward, their glowing eyes fixed on Wu Chen and the villagers.
The ground trembled under their weight, and the air grew heavy with their malevolent energy
Wu Chen stood at the forefront, his spearhead gleaming in the moonlight, but even he felt the weight of the task ahead.
'This is too much', Wu Chen thought
The Villagers may not know this, Due to Impression he gave and the Aura of Invincibility he projected in killing the Demonics.
But few days ago Wu Chen, Would have flee at the thought of fighting Any of the creatures here
The Reason he was able to grow to this level so fast was, partially because of the demonic cores burning in his dantian, partially his smartness and experience he got from the Suffernes and poverty he lived before.
But mainly because of his supreme Intelligence.
The villagers saw a protector. In truth, he was just a rat who'd learned to bite back - with sharper teeth and colder calculation than the monsters in the dark.
Without these hard-won advantages, he wouldn't be their shield tonight.
He'd be another nameless corpse in the demon's feast.
Because The battle was close even with the previous horde one mistake was all it would have Taken for the results to be different.
He knows his strength.
And he knows that even with his ability, taking on this many Level 3 creatures at once and also protecting the people, Isn't feasible.
At least for now.
But that doesn't mean they they is no way.