"So you are the ones responsible for all of this ruckus?" The man who had his feet on Yahe released him and stepped forward to address Lu Chen.
His mere aura made Lu Chen and Alex stiffen up, the hair on their backs rising.
"I think I am the one who should be saying that." Lu Chen muttered. His eyes simultaneously wandered here and there keeping an eye out for the black figure.
He didn't have a [Inspect] skill like Qin Hua but this time even he could tell that the battle was going to be a crucial one, one that they were going to bet their life and death on.
Both sides silently measured each other up for a few seconds, the two of them not yet barging in to start the brawl for some reason.
While Lu Chen and Alex were of course waiting for Qin Hua or Guan Ye to make the first move, no one knew what the other party was waiting for.
Unlike Yahe, none of these men were loose-lipped. So they weren't even talking or discussing or trying to intimidate them into submission. They silently kept watching the duo.
It was almost as if they were waiting for someone else's orders.
As this thought crossed her mind, Qin Hua did not dare to delay this any longer and snapped her canines.
She stretched her limbs and her huge lithe body bolted to land on the two men standing at the back.
Awoooo! A loud growl resounded in the silence of the night.
[Majestic Roar]
[Rip]
[Maul]
Blood splattered everywhere as the pitch black wolf that was indistinguishable from the darkness of the night except for its eyes started to pounce and claw in a frenzy.
Seeing this, Lu Chen, Alex, and Guan Ye as well immediately reacted.
Lu Chen moved several paces back, while Alex and Guan Ye dashed forward to engage in their respective close combat styles.
Guan Ye's moves were more nimble and swift, as he precisely targeted the exposed vital points with his dagger and slashed the skin in smooth precise cuts.
Alex, on the other hand, did the complete opposite.
She wasn't using a dagger any longer and held a thick and sturdy stick in her hands. It glowed brightly as if it was made of molten lava.
Alex directly bashed this glowing rod into the other party's head and blood started trickling down.
Lu Chen also had moved back several paces by now and hid in the surrounding wild lush greenery.
The ground where his gaze landed cracked and slowly started to freeze along with the feet of the men standing on it.
Before they could free themselves from the frozen imprisonment, ice arrows shot forward and pierced the muscular calf muscles and thighs above the frozen legs.
Thus, in a fraction of a second, all four of them had landed their first attacks, dealing a tremendous blow to the opponent without giving the other party a chance to counter.
All they had to do was to continue like this and this battle would inevitably be theirs to win in no time.
However, as the thick scent of the enemy's blood wafted in the air, an ominous aura enveloped everyone, even chilling Lu Chen to his very bones.
No one was able to take another step or move another muscle. Not them, not the enemy's troops, not even the almighty wolf marauding the battlefield.
Everything came to a standstill with only the distant rustling of the leaves echoing in the silence.
[Woof?] Qin Hua's eyes widened. She had a bad feeling. She tried to see past the darkness that swallowed everyone but it was useless.
The fact that her body was completely frozen at such a crucial time was extremely unsettling.
A feeling of fear and dread crept up her black furry body and she anxiously growled at the only thing that could give her any sort of answers.
[System, what is happening? What is this? Is this another powerful beast? Another creature like the goblin? What is happening damn it? What are these nameless beings?]
However, before the mechanical empty voice could respond to her, another voice sounded and this time it was not all in her head.
"Not so fast little one ~~~"
A melodious seductive voice rang amidst the silence, a voice that could probably even make the top singers of the world kneel in submission.
Qin Hua's entire body tingled and she felt small bumps rise up from head to toe for some reason.
She peeled her eyes open and looked in the direction from which the voice was coming. Someone was walking towards them.
Lu Chen, Alex and Guan Ye, and even Yahe had all heard this voice and everyone looked equally puzzled as they stared in the same direction.
It was clearly a woman's voice so it was probably a woman, but how could she be so powerful to freeze everything in sight?
[Who the heck is this woman? Woof!]
Before long, a set of heavy footsteps echoed, and instead of a woman who could match the alluring voice that had sounded, a rather stocky and sturdy man walked forward.
And this person was none other than the so-called Commander.
Yahe's eyes bulged in surprise as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Even Lu Chen was shocked as he had met the man previously and had also spoken to him, but this was definitely not the voice he had heard.
As the Commander continued walking towards them, the ominous aura intensified and the air started to feel suffocating. For a second, it felt as if God himself had descended down onto the earth.
But then the man opened his mouth and once again, the seductive melodious voice resounded. "Heh? I didn't expect to see another being of the nether realm in this lesser world?"
His dry cracked thick lips folded into an ugly unsightly grin, a complete opposite of the alluring sweet voice.