On Xiao Feng's watch screen, countless green dots surged rapidly toward them. He showed the communicator to Lin.
Lin furrowed his brow and cursed, "Damn it! Our luck couldn't be worse—running straight into a beast tide."
"Yeah, I reckon it's because of that dead Grade C magical beast. It must have attracted all these creatures. Damn it, we shouldn't have come out at night. There's no other choice now—run!" Xiao Feng said, sprinting toward his fighter jet.
Without hesitation, Lin also dashed toward his own jet, though slower than Xiao Feng. As Xiao Feng leapt aboard, Lin was still climbing in.
Xiao Feng's fighter had already ignited its engines, but Lin wasn't ready for takeoff yet.
Watching the radar, Xiao Feng saw the beasts closing in—only a few hundred meters away. He urgently shouted into the comm, "Lin, what the hell are you doing? Take off now!" Pulling the throttle, his fighter gradually lifted off. The ascent took precious seconds, making Xiao Feng anxious—for Lin's sake.
Suddenly, a ferocious wolf appeared in Xiao Feng's sight, charging at Lin's jet from only tens of meters away.
Without hesitation, Xiao Feng locked onto the wolf with his fire control radar and fired the autocannon. "Boom!" The powerful shot blasted the wolf's skull to pieces.
"Lin, damn it, get airborne now!"
Lin was equally frantic, knowing what awaited if the beast tide engulfed them. Even inside the fighter, its thin armor offered little protection against these monsters.
He caught sight of the wolf Xiao Feng had just blasted and, halfway sober now, frantically pulled the throttle upward.
But countless green dots on his radar were nearly swarming them.
Just as Lin's jet rose a dozen meters, a wolf leapt high, nearly biting Lin's wingtip—though it fell short.
Lin exhaled, "Lucky it didn't get me…"
Xiao Feng chuckled, "You're damn lucky. Otherwise, you'd be nothing but bones by now."
Looking below, Xiao Feng saw the massive carcass of a vulture covered with ravenous wolves, tearing at its sinew amid continuous howls.
He'd never seen such a vast pack of wolves. Usually, his hunts took place by day, when sunlight drove these creatures into hiding, so he rarely encountered such numbers. Yet upon closer inspection, the beast tide wasn't only wolves; other beasts swarmed, all ravenously feasting on the Grade C vulture's corpse.
Xiao Feng said to Lin, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Lin, watching the wolves, nodded grimly, "Me too…"
At that moment, a wolf was shoved aside by the frenzied pack and stood trembling amid them, howling at the sky.
Then, its body underwent an incredible transformation.
It rapidly grew in size, tearing through its fur, clumps soaked in foul slime falling away. It became a furless wolf, more than twice its previous bulk, towering five or six meters high.
Xiao Feng stared in disbelief and glanced at his watch's display—an orange dot appeared.
"Damn, Lin, did you see that? It just evolved into a Grade D beast. Shit, devouring the flesh of a Grade C magical beast can raise its grade? This is absurd!"
"What? D grade already?"
Without hesitation, Xiao Feng aimed his autocannon at the D-grade beast and fired. "Die, damn it!" A blast tore a bloody hole in the creature's chest. It snarled fiercely at Xiao Feng's jet, howling in rage.
Xiao Feng frowned—his shot hadn't killed it.
"The D-grade beasts' defense has strengthened. One autocannon round isn't enough. We need to call for backup. If this entire beast tide turns D-grade, Black Whale City hundreds of kilometers away could be doomed," Lin said, now fully alert. Even he had never witnessed such a terrifying scene.
Xiao Feng replied, "Right. Requesting support—carpet bomb this area…"
Before he finished, a swift flying beast crashed into Lin's jet with a bang, causing it to lose control and shake violently.
Focusing sharply, Xiao Feng saw a blood-red, fully transformed Grade E bat.
But it wasn't alone. Suddenly, countless bats filled his vision, dark as a black cloud, closing in fast.
Xiao Feng shouted, "Lin, we're retreating!"
Yet at that moment, two bats landed simultaneously on Lin's fighter, their sharp claws piercing its metal hull. They clung on, rocking the jet as it began plummeting.
Xiao Feng froze, yelling, "Lin—"
Lin sounded panicked but clear-headed in the comm, "Don't worry about me, get out of here!"
"Bullshit! I'm not leaving you behind!" Xiao Feng retorted.
His autocannon unleashed a furious barrage, aided by fire control and targeting systems, precisely striking the Grade E beasts.
One by one, they fell. But Lin's jet was descending, exposed to attack not only by bats but also the wolf pack.
Xiao Feng fired wildly at the beasts swarming Lin's jet. In his focus, he almost forgot himself until a sudden violent impact shook his own cockpit.
Turning, he saw a massive bat's head snarling inches away.
The intense ultrasonic vibrations rattled his cockpit canopy violently, spiderwebbing cracks all over.
Stunned, Xiao Feng grabbed his automatic rifle, aiming into the bat's open maw as the glass shattered. He fired a rapid burst, bullets ripping into the beast's mouth, wounding it severely, forcing it to abandon the attack.
Falling rapidly, Xiao Feng switched his comm channel, "Xiao Feng requesting emergency support, immediate backup required…"
"Command understood. Armed helicopters en route…"
Before he could protest their insufficient firepower, a slime-coated wolf's claw swiped at him. In dodging, his helmet was knocked off. Clutching his rifle, he jumped from the cockpit, stabbing the weapon deep into the Grade D wolf's eye and firing frantically.
While shooting, he glanced toward Lin—his situation even grimmer. Lin's jet was nearly torn apart.
Inside, Lin gripped an automatic rifle, but it was a mere toy against the massive beast tide.
Xiao Feng frowned deeply. "Lin, we're in serious trouble today. I don't know if we can hold out until reinforcements arrive…"
"Damn it, we fight these bastards to the death!" Lin growled.
With that, Lin's canopy snapped open. He unleashed a furious spray of bullets at the surrounding beasts, emptying his rifle's magazine in moments.
Xiao Feng dashed toward Lin, his enhanced speed and agility allowing him to leap over wolf heads and backs.
Though Lin was a Grade 4 psychic with ice powers, his abilities barely affected these wolves.
Xiao Feng's electric powers were different—not enough to kill en masse but sufficient to control them.
He jumped onto Lin's jet, placing both hands on its surface. A powerful current surged forth, rapidly spreading through the wolf pack.
A chorus of agonized screams erupted as the wolves collapsed, paralyzed and combat-ineffective.
Yet Lin was caught in the shock as well, cursing loudly, "Damn it, Xiao Feng! You trying to electrocute me?"
"Hell, I'm saving your ass, you know that?"
Xiao Feng pulled Lin from the cockpit, releasing his healing ability to ease Lin's pain.
The electric shock seemed to terrify the beasts—strong light had a profound stunning effect. For a brief moment, they dared not attack.
But the pause lasted only seconds before a colossal Grade D wolf charged forward, already taller than the fighter jet. To it, Xiao Feng and Lin were mere chicks.
Xiao Feng glared fiercely at the beast, then shouted at Lin, "Quit dawdling. It's your turn now…"
Lin blinked, bewildered. "My turn? What the hell does that mean?"
Xiao Feng grabbed Lin's arm and hurled him toward the Grade D wolf. "You idiot…"