Knights descend upon Douluo Continent; death awaits if they do not fight.

Tang Ying did not respond.

"Anything else?" Wuming suddenly asked.

Tang Ying glanced at him.

"There's also a passive ability. When facing multiple enemies, your reaction time and accuracy will be better."

"How many?"

"One and a half percent."

Wuming nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Hu Yanzhan looked around: "Alright, I think I understand. I'll take the lead, Yu Cheng and Tang Ying will be the main attackers, Wuming will look for opportunities to launch sneak attacks, and Sister Ning will provide healing from behind."

Ning Ruyu nodded.

"That's all for today," Hu Yanzhan said. "We'll take turns keeping watch; I'll be on the first shift."

No one objected.

In the darkness of the first night, the five people huddled together in the corners of the ruins.

No one slept soundly.

Because in the darkness, there is always something moving.

The roars that came from afar were sometimes near and sometimes far, like the horned demons calling to each other.

Occasionally, heavy footsteps would approach, linger outside the ruins for a moment, and then gradually fade away.

Yu Cheng closed his eyes, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

The broken rib was throbbing with pain. Ning Ruyu's treatment had stopped the bleeding, but the fracture would take time to heal.

He thought of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, of those who had looked down on him since childhood, and of the elders shaking their heads during each assessment.

"A collateral branch is just a collateral branch. If the bloodline is impure, it will never amount to anything."

If they go back alive.

If he survives seven days in this world.

If they see him kill the horned demon, see him gain power—

What will they think?

He rolled over and buried his face in his arms.

What's the point of thinking about this? Let's just get through tomorrow first.

Ning Ruyu leaned against the wall, her eyes open.

She was thinking about the outer disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

The youngest of those children, who was only twelve years old, tugged at her clothes and asked her when she would come back.

Is she able to go back?

she does not know.

In this world, support-type Soul Masters are a burden.

She knew what Yu Cheng was thinking when he stood in front of her.

He felt useful, while she felt useless.

This is a fact.

But she killed the horned demon.

They smashed its head with an iron rod.

She is a support class.

She had no combat experience.

Her hands were used to distribute supplies, organize accounts, and wipe away children's tears.

But she killed the horned demon.

Because if she doesn't die, Yu Cheng will have to die.

If Yu Cheng dies, there will be one less person who can fight.

If fewer and fewer people fight, everyone will die.

So she had to live.

Only by living can wounds be healed.

Only by living can we enable more people to live.

Wuming squatted in the corner, his eyes half-open and half-closed.

He wasn't thinking about anything.

His time in the killing city taught him one thing—those who think too much die the fastest.

He was just listening to the sounds around him.

The trajectory of the wind, the direction in which the sand rolls, the rhythm of the monster's breathing in the distance.

These voices told him a lot: where there was prey, where there was danger, and where he could hide.

He survived for over a decade in the Killing City thanks to this.

This is a more terrifying place than the Killing City.

But he is still alive.

I am alive today.

What about tomorrow?

We'll talk about it tomorrow.

Tang Ying leaned against the broken wall, her gaze fixed on the darkness.

He wasn't on night watch—Huyan Zhan said he'd killed three heads that day and should rest more.

But he couldn't sleep.

He was thinking about those horned demons.

Three heads.

He killed three heads.

It wasn't because his soul power was stronger than theirs—a level 71 Soul Saint, by the standards of this world, didn't seem to be much stronger than those horned demons.

He won because he didn't hesitate.

When the horned demons pounced, he didn't retreat, didn't dodge, and didn't think.

His body was faster than his brain—he swung the Haotian Hammer up, slammed it down, swung it up again, and slammed it down again.

He survived because he was more accustomed to death than they were.

But what about tomorrow?

What about the day after tomorrow?

What about the sixth day?

If something more powerful than the Horned Demon appears—

Will he survive?

Huyan Zhan sat at the entrance of the ruins, looking out into the darkness.

He was thinking about the northern frontier.

During his fifteen years of military service, he saw far too many dead people.

Comrades, enemies, and innocent civilians.

He thought he had long been accustomed to death.

But today, when the two horned demons chased after him, he ran away.

It was not a tactical retreat.

It's really running.

Because of fear.

He wasn't afraid of death. After serving in the army for fifteen years, he was no longer afraid of death.

What he feared was dying in vain.

Like Matthew, whose neck was bitten off; like Ximen Yan, who was slapped away.

There wasn't even time to struggle, and no way to resist.

He didn't want to die like that.

If he had to die, he wanted to die like a soldier.

Holding the knife, standing, facing the enemy.

A roar came from afar, closer than the previous one.

Huyan Zhan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Then, the sound disappeared.

Darkness returned to silence.

And so the first night passed.

[Day Two, Morning]

A dark red light rose from the horizon, illuminating the desolate battlefield.

Five people emerged from the ruins and stood in the morning light.

Everyone is still alive.

This was their only victory.

"What's the plan for today?" Yu Cheng asked.

Huyan Zhan looked around: "Let's find water and food first. Without food, we won't last until the seventh day."

"I'll go," said Wuming.

Everyone looked at him.

"I can climb. I can find things faster than you guys."

Huyan Zhan thought for a moment and nodded: "Be careful. Come back in an hour, regardless of whether you've found it or not."

The nameless figure turned and disappeared into the ruins.

The remaining four people began searching through the ruins.

Yu Cheng found a rusted iron sword. Although it couldn't compare to his lightning sword, it was still better than empty-handed.

Huyan Zhan found half a bucket of relatively clean water.

Ning Ruyu picked up some scraps of cloth and rope to use for bandaging.

Tang Ying didn't look for anything; she simply stood on high ground, monitoring her surroundings.

An hour later, Wuming returned.

He brought back some fruit—dark red, fist-sized, with a hard outer skin.

He took a bite, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"It's edible."

He shared the fruit with the others.

No one spoke. The four of them silently ate the sour fruit with the half-bucket of water.

This is breakfast for the second day.

"What's next?" Yu Cheng asked, wiping his mouth after finishing the fruit.

Huyan Zhan looked up at the dark red sky: "Those horned demons ran away yesterday, but they won't stay away forever. They know this place better than we do, and they'll come back sooner or later. Until then—"

He paused.

"We need to find a safer place. Or—find a way to take them out."

"I have an idea," said the nameless man.

Everyone looked at him.

"Those monsters," he said slowly, "weren't afraid of us. They ran away yesterday, not because they were afraid. It was because—"

He looked into the distance, in the direction where the horned demon had disappeared.

"They are not hungry."

silence.

"If they get hungry," the nameless man continued, "they will come back looking for food."

"What are you talking about?" Yu Cheng frowned.

"He's saying," Tang Ying suddenly spoke, "that we are not hunters. We are prey. Yesterday's battle wasn't a victory for us. It was that they felt it wasn't worth paying a price to eat us."

.....