Volume Two: Embarking on the Journey Chapter 13: Perish Together?

Shen Feng and the others proceeded cautiously for some time, yet they did not see a single person.

The path through the valley was difficult to traverse, and fierce winds howled through it, stinging their cheeks and making it easy to lose their footing.

Fortunately, they were all martial artists and could withstand it.

“Could they have already left?” Su Yu asked, frowning.

“Hard to say. Let’s continue forward and stay ready for battle.” Shen Feng thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I remember that the last time we saw the One-Horned Rhinoceros, it was not far ahead. I wonder if it is still there.”

Everyone drew their weapons. Each held a shield in the other hand as they warily watched their surroundings.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, a gray shadow charged down from the nearby cliff. It moved with astonishing speed, tearing through the air with a shrill whistle.

“Everyone, watch out!” Shen Feng’s expression changed drastically as he shouted.

“Ah…”

Jiang Yunyan’s face paled. She realized that the gray shadow was rushing straight toward her.

Caught off guard, she had no time to react.

Damn it!

Wang Jue was standing beside her. His expression changed, and he immediately shoved her away while swinging his battle sword with one hand.

“Bang!”

A tremendous force surged toward him. The powerful star force sent him hurtling backward. Without time to think, Wang Jue unleashed the star force within his body to counter the ferocious impact.

The wind created by that force spread in every direction like countless blades. Standing at the center of the gale, Wang Jue felt as though sharp winds were slicing into his body.

“Puff, puff, puff, puff…”

The surrounding grass and trees were instantly shredded, fragments filling the air.

“Urgh…”

Under the crushing impact, Wang Jue slammed heavily into the stone wall with a bang. His chest tightened, and a sweet taste rose in his throat. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

If he had not summoned star force in time to defend himself—and if his physical strength had not been nearly comparable to that of a martial artist in the Red Star Realm—he might truly have been gravely injured by that blow.

Although Wang Jue was not seriously wounded, his internal organs had still been shaken. Otherwise, he would not have coughed up blood.

“Being without a combat suit is a serious disadvantage.” Wang Jue rubbed his aching chest, his expression grim. “No, when we get back this time, I’m buying one no matter what. Money can always be earned, but I have only one life. If I lose that, earning any amount of money will be pointless.”

He had originally thought that lacking a combat suit would not affect him too much. After this encounter, however, he would never think that way again.

“Wang Jue, are you all right?”

“Wang Jue, are you hurt?”

Shen Feng and the others looked worried. Then they unleashed their star force and attacked the gray shadow.

However, the shadow’s speed was astonishing.

It moved across the cliff as easily as if it were walking on level ground, its body flashing repeatedly before finally appearing atop a large boulder high above them.

“The One-Horned Rhinoceros!” Shen Feng stared at the creature on the boulder, his teeth clenched.

After recovering from her shock, Jiang Yunyan immediately went to Wang Jue and asked anxiously, “Wang Jue, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Wang Jue shook his head and rose to his feet, his gaze turning toward the gray star beast standing on the boulder above.

“Thank you for saving me just now.” Gratitude appeared on Jiang Yunyan’s face.

“Forget it. We’re teammates. Helping one another is only natural. This isn’t the time to talk about that.” Wang Jue waved his hand, then pointed at the gray star beast with a strange expression. “That thing is the One-Horned Rhinoceros you were talking about?”

The gray star beast on the boulder looked like a large dog.

Its entire body was covered in fur, its eyes were red, and its coat was gray, except for the tips of its ears, which were white.

But it had a single horn growing from its head, four razor-sharp claws, and a row of jagged steel teeth revealed whenever it bared its mouth.

Looking at the creature, whose shape was almost indistinguishable from that of a dog, Wang Jue was utterly bewildered.

No matter how he looked at it, it did not resemble a rhinoceros in the slightest. Why was it called a One-Horned Rhinoceros?

“That’s right. It’s the one!” Jiang Yunyan’s expression was unpleasant. “I can’t believe we were ambushed by this beast.”

“Wait. It’s injured. Look at the right side of its back. Isn’t that blood?” Su Yu’s eyes remained fixed on the One-Horned Rhinoceros, and he immediately noticed something was wrong.

Following his indication, everyone looked over. Sure enough, a smear of red extended from the beast’s back, just barely visible from their angle.

“I think I understand now. It seems we were caught in the crossfire.” Shen Feng suddenly realized what had happened. “The previous group probably wounded it and then fled. When we happened to enter this place, the beast assumed that we were the ones who had injured it.”

Shen Feng felt utterly exasperated.

Although the One-Horned Rhinoceros was their target, being ambushed without the slightest preparation would have infuriated anyone.

“Captain, this is our chance!” Su Yu stared eagerly at the One-Horned Rhinoceros on the boulder. Then he said viciously, “Even injured, this beast is still ferocious. We should take advantage of its weakness and finish it quickly.”

The moment he finished speaking, Su Yu stomped hard on the ground and shot upward. He climbed the rock wall, his long blade sweeping out a sharp arc of star force.

“Roar!”

The One-Horned Rhinoceros roared down at Su Yu from above. A violent gust of wind burst from its mouth.

“Slice, slice, slice…”

The sharp star-force edge from Su Yu’s blade cleaved the wind apart, forming a long, narrow gap. With a flash, he appeared before the One-Horned Rhinoceros.

His long blade swept horizontally toward it.

Whoosh!

The One-Horned Rhinoceros vanished from the boulder in an instant, leaving behind only an afterimage that Su Yu split in two. The remnants slowly dissipated.

The next moment, the supposedly vanished beast reappeared beside Su Yu. A whirlwind coiled around its claws as it struck toward him.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Gunfire erupted.

Below, Jiang Yunyan had braced a heavy machine gun against her shoulder and was firing continuously at the One-Horned Rhinoceros.

The bullets dragged fiery tails through the air, aimed directly at the beast’s vital points.

Sensing the danger the bullets posed, the One-Horned Rhinoceros had no choice but to dodge. Su Yu was an experienced fighter and naturally would not waste such a good opportunity. Without a word, he pursued it with his long blade.

The weapon whistled through the air in his hands, while sharp arcs of star force tore through the sky and enveloped the beast.

Shen Feng and Jiang Yunxin arrived as well.

They each unleashed their martial techniques, blocking the One-Horned Rhinoceros’s escape routes and leaving it nowhere to flee.

“Bang!”

The One-Horned Rhinoceros took Su Yu’s blade head-on. Its enormous claw, wrapped in a whirlwind, struck the blade and produced a terrifying explosion.

“Thud, thud, thud…”

Su Yu was forced backward again and again. Taking advantage of the opening, the One-Horned Rhinoceros attempted to break out of the encirclement.

Elsewhere, Wang Jue had taken up a position at a high point. In his hands were the rune pistol Jiang Yunyan had given him and two magazines loaded with rune bullets.

Having lived two lifetimes, Wang Jue had never truly held a pistol before. In his previous life, he had only ever seen one on television.

Now, with the pistol in his hands, his blood began to boil.

His marksmanship was nothing special, but at least he had transformed from a frontline fighter into a ranged hunter, hiding in a tree and firing sneak shots from afar.

Bang, bang, bang!

Several consecutive shots failed to hit the One-Horned Rhinoceros. Instead, Wang Jue had no idea where the bullets had flown.

Recalling the sensation of his earlier shots, Wang Jue suddenly focused all his attention. He raised the rune pistol and aimed at the One-Horned Rhinoceros.

Bang!

He fired.

Whoosh!

The rune bullet tore through the air. Star force formed the phantom of an arrow at its tip as it thundered toward the One-Horned Rhinoceros.

“Roar…”

The One-Horned Rhinoceros let out a furious roar and twisted its body with all its strength, narrowly avoiding the shot.

However, Su Yu, Shen Feng, and Jiang Yunxin’s attacks had already followed close behind.

All three struck the beast’s back at once.

“Awwooo!”

The One-Horned Rhinoceros let out a mournful cry.

“Slice! Slice!”

Sword and blade arcs pierced through its existing wound, tearing open its back as blood sprayed in every direction.

Jiang Yunyan’s heavy machine gun had long since been straining at the leash. Naturally, she would not let such a good opportunity pass.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Gunfire rang out once more. Rune bullets plunged into the One-Horned Rhinoceros’s body, causing it to throw back its head and roar madly.

“Roar!”

It opened its enormous mouth. Star force gathered from the heavens and earth, rapidly condensing into a sphere of light that continued to swell.

“This is bad! Stop it!” Shen Feng’s expression changed dramatically. As he shouted, he charged toward the One-Horned Rhinoceros.

Su Yu and Jiang Yunxin also looked solemn. They no longer held anything back, unleashing their star force completely and bringing out every powerful technique they possessed.

Sword light fell like rain.

Blade light crisscrossed with the force of cleaving mountains.

“Boom, boom, boom!”

The One-Horned Rhinoceros neither dodged nor defended itself, allowing the attacks to land on its body while the sphere of star force in its mouth grew larger and more terrifying.

Bang, bang, bang…

The heavy machine gun in Jiang Yunyan’s hands trembled continuously, spitting out rune bullets as though ammunition were free.

“Careful! This beast intends to take us down with it!” Shen Feng suddenly realized what was happening. His expression changed drastically as he shouted at Su Yu and Jiang Yunxin, “You two, get out of the way! Leave this to me!”

With the long staff in his hands, he charged forward and smashed it toward the One-Horned Rhinoceros.

Seeing the attack that could nearly cost it its life, the One-Horned Rhinoceros stopped condensing the sphere of star force. A human-like ferocity and resolve appeared in its red eyes as it spat the sphere outward.

“Get out of the way!”

Shen Feng’s expression changed violently. Without thinking, he immediately retreated through the air while shouting at Su Yu and Jiang Yunxin.

The two of them also sensed the enormous threat to their lives and pushed their speed to the absolute limit.

Wang Jue and Jiang Yunyan were farther away. The moment they sensed that something was wrong, they fled and hid behind cover.

Boom!

The sphere of star force exploded. A violent whirlwind swept outward from the center of the blast, sending dust into the sky. Protruding boulders, thorns, and vegetation on the ground were all blasted apart.

Wind blades churned within the storm, covering the entire area and attacking indiscriminately. They slammed into the cliff walls, leaving deep scars behind.

Shen Feng and the other two had no time to evade. All three were sent flying.

The shock wave from the explosion swept in every direction, and its aftereffects continued for a long time before finally subsiding.

Dust slowly settled, and the valley gradually fell silent.

“Captain!”

“Su Yu!”

“Yunxin!”

Because they had taken cover at a distance, Jiang Yunyan and Wang Jue were unharmed. As soon as the explosion ended, they emerged from behind the rocks and anxiously searched for Shen Feng and the others.

Wang Jue remained relatively calm, but Jiang Yunyan’s face was deathly pale, terror written across her features.

The several teammates had been together for many years. They were not related by blood, yet they were closer than family.

She could not bear to imagine what would happen if anything had gone wrong.