The Dawn of the New World

Everyone stayed inside the tunnel for the time being. Kuo had sealed up the other end with a mid-grade holy shield formation which would provide some actual protection especially against powers related to the darkness, unlike the illusion formation Hao Xuan had put up.

It was still raining heavily outside and the weather was extremely cold. The siblings had to stay close to the campfire throughout the night. Fortunately, the others were high-level enough that it didn't bother them that much.

They all rested up during the night. Hao Xuan woke up a few hours later and took some medicine of his own and most of his injuries were healed by the time the sun rose up.

Hao Xuan explained what happened when he was separated from the saints and they explained their sides as well.

"Hmm, so we have to leave as soon as possible. We can't stay here for too long. Every beast hundreds of miles around us has probably woken up by now," he commented.

"Alright, let's go. Half will stay here and half will come with me to their camp. I think I know where it is now. No need to take everyone. It will only draw more attention to us," everyone agreed with him and of course only the strongest were allowed to go with them to the camp. Rest stayed in the tunnel with the siblings.

The rain hadn't ceased for even a second but still, it was like the jungle had come alive. There were beast roars and sounds of fighting coming from almost everywhere.

They ran into quite a few beasts themselves, with three being low-level demonic beasts.

After about two hours they reached the same spot where Hao Xuan was confronted by the Jia soldiers the day before.

"Anything?" Kuo turned towards Maddy and asked in a hushed voice. Maddy closed his eyes and opened them 20 seconds later.

"I can't say for sure but there seems to be something about 10 miles to the north," he pointed in front.

They followed the directions and finally found the camp. There were corpses, both monster and human littered all over the place. Apparently, quite a few beasts had attacked the place since it was right out in the open. It looked abandoned.

They stayed a few meters back and observed for a good 30 minutes before Hao Xuan got impatient, jumped down, and walked straight in.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he shouted casually.

"What the hell is the captain thinking??!" Maddy asked with an annoyed expression.

"It's the fastest way. No need to waste time," Jin Wang responded in his usual monotonous voice and followed after Hao Xuan.

The others all looked at each other until Kuo finally nodded with a sigh and they followed after them.

The dead bodies seemed to be both from the caravan prisoners and bandits. It seemed like they were freed at the end and fought together against the monsters but to no avail. Everyone perished.

"Tsk Tsk, what a shame," Jin Wang shook his head but none could tell if he was being serious or making fun of the dead. His face had absolutely no expressions.

"Oi, someone still alive? We're here to help!" Hao Xuan shouted once again but got no response.

He walked back to Kuo and whispered something in his ear but Kuo shook his head, "Damn it."

They looked everywhere but there was no sign of anyone escaping alive, that is until Hashirama checked one of the destroyed tents at the back.

"Captain! Lieutenant!" he shouted and everyone ran up to him.

"What happened?" asked Kuo.

"This..." Hashirama handed him an almost invisible string. It was leading into the jungle further in.

"What is that?" Hao Xuan inquired since he had no idea what that meant.

"One of the local tribes of this place, this is their signature," Kuo replied with furrowed brows.

"Tribes? People LIVE here? In the jungle?" Hao Xuan was speechless. Why the hell would anyone choose to live in such a place?

"Yes. But they're not exactly 'normal' people. They have been here since before the kingdom was formed. They live away from everyone. The military generals had an agreement with them. They wouldn't go against the Mei kingdom if the poison quarry and other such places were not disturbed," Kuo replied with a nod.

"Oh, so what's so special about these people?" Hao Xuan asked.

"Their abilities, physical appearances, and customs differ significantly from the norm. There is a tribe here whose people have abilities and appearances most similar to some of the arachnid species. They aren't exactly beasts but not completely human either."

"So this was is a spider web? Was it left by one of them on purpose?"

"Most probably. Their webs are like extensions of themselves. They don't just leave them behind like this. It can be softer than silk and stronger than diamonds depending on their level. I think the owner of this string wanted us to follow them for some reason," Kuo explained, still examining the string.

"Alright, let's go then." Hao Xuan said without any hesitation and started following it.

"But what if it's a trap?" Shouted Kuo from behind.

"Then let's spring it. I got shit to do man, been here way too long. If they wanna play like this then so be it," he shouted back without turning his head and disappeared in the undergrowth.

"I think he has a few screws loose," Maddy whispered to Hashirama but everyone still heard him.

"I know right? It's so awesome," Jin Wang said with a grin and followed after Hao Xuan.

"Was....he always like this?" Maddy asked after a few seconds of silence.. Hashirama shook his head in response and along with some of the others else before following after them.