Facing the horde.

"Now then, show your worth as a king or die as a peasant."

The woman clapped her hand as she spoke. When the sound of her clap rang out, a horde of insect type Demonic beasts started entering the inside of the mountain through the holes that let the sunlight in. There were mostly spider type Demonic beasts, but there were also Demonic beasts of other types, some armored, some flying, some fast, some slow.

"To the forest! It is the most easily defend-able position!"

Wei Zhong Jun let out a loud shout and led the others to the nearest of the various small forests. In this forest, Wei Yating would be able to utilize her powers to their greatest effect, meaning that everyone would be able to fight with all their power.

"Hanying, Yating. You two help me defend at the front. Huo and Yanyou, take up positions behind us and strike whenever an opening presents itself. Jun, stay in the back and keep an eye on our blind-spots. You are free to attack whenever you feel there is an opening."

Wei Zhong Jun quickly spat out orders, the others taking up their positions. They positioned themselves in a way that there were trees all around them, making it harder for the Demonic beasts to surround them or attack them from the sides.

While standing in the back, Yao Jun let his vision sweep over the inside of the hollow mountain, especially the lake at the deepest part of the mountain. The moment his eyes had fallen on that lake, he could feel his Demon God's Gate resonate.

It was not as strong as the resonating he felt that tried to drag him towards an unknown place within this hidden realm, but it was definitely resonating. Within that lake, there was something that his Demon God's Gate desired. And that meant that Yao Jun would definitely get his hands on it.

His eyes landed on the woman sitting in the air and looking at them with an amused gaze, no, looking at him with an amused gaze. At first he thought that she might be the same as the dragon he had seen earlier, but upon looking closely, he noticed that was not the case. She was strong, but not as strong as that dragon. If Yao Jun's guess was correct, she was about as strong as Wei Zhong Jun.

"Conserve as much Qi as possible while fighting! But if you do end up needing to refill your Qi, take these. We need to thin out their numbers to create an opportunity to attack that woman."

Wei Zhong Jun took out several bottles filled with pea sized pills, handing one bottle to each person. These pills were created using several herbs that restored Qi, so swallowing one would allow a person to quickly restore their Qi and continue fighting.

"Here they come! Stand steady!"

As Wei Zhong Jun let out the shout, the horde of Demonic beasts came upon them. There was a large number as well as a large variety of Demonic beasts, but they simply came running at them like they were frenzied. Even the Demonic beasts that would usually fight using ranged attacks ran at them in a frenzy.

Lin Hanying, Sito Yanyou, and Jing Huo all called out their Soul Beasts to reinforce the defenses. Sito Yanyou's was in the shape of a small fox with three legs and four tails. Lin Hanying's was in the shape of a large silver gorilla that was over three meters tall. Jing Huo's was in the shape of a humanoid goat that stood on two legs, three orbs of fire floating behind it.

While the three of them used their Demonic beasts to reinforce the defenses on the ground, Wei Yating used her control over wood to reinforce the defenses above them. She caused the trees to twist and weave together, forming a large net above them, sharp branches sticking out of the net and impaling everything that came close.

Yating and the others had reinforced their defenses and were fighting ferociously, taking down Demonic beast after Demonic beast. But even the four of them put together were not as effective as Wei Zhong Jun, who stood ahead of everyone else as the first line of defense.

The Demonic beasts that rushed at them were strong, but none of them were as strong as the woman who was watching them with an amused smile. And because of that, Wei Zhong Jun was like a tiger amidst a flock of sheep. While his fists crushed two, another five around him would die because their own blood turned against them.

Blood splashed every, providing more and more means of attack for Wei Zhong Jun and Wei Yating. But it was clear the controlling the blood, especially blood that was still within the Demonic beasts, required a massive amount of Qi. Wei Zhong Jun was constantly swallowing pills to restore his Qi.

Of course, Yao Jun was not just standing back and watching while all this went down. Whenever a flying Demonic beast came in from above and slipped past the sharp branches, Yao Jun would use his control over wind to attack it. If the Demonic beast was weak, he would kill it and snatch its Demon Crystal, swallowing it to absorb its energy. But if it was too strong, he would focus his attacks on its wings or eyes, causing it to crash into the ground and let the others deal with it.

As they fought, his eyes never left the woman who was watching them. She was the leader, as well as the strongest Demonic beast here. Taking his eyes away from her would be foolish. And because he was watching her so closely, he was the only one who noticed it.

Whenever they managed to kill a large amount of Demonic beasts, the woman would slightly raise her arm, causing more Demonic beasts to swarm into the mountain. If it was just that, he could still accept it. But he also saw her release a green light that turned into spider type Demonic beasts that joined the horde. If it was like that, didn't that mean that they would end up fighting an endless battle?

"Their numbers aren't diminishing! We need to finish off that woman or else we will just keep fighting until we are exhausted!"

Despite not seeing the woman summon more Demonic beasts, after several minutes of fighting, Wei Zhong Jun still noticed that the number of Demonic beasts attacking them did not shrink over time, it even seemed to grow.

"I will lead the charge. Hanying, Yating, and Huo, form a spearhead formation with me. Place your Soul Beasts in the back, Jun and Yanyou stay in the middle. We will have to risk it!"

Wei Zhong Jun took the lead of the spearhead formation, pushing out of the forest. Lin Hanying, Wei Yating, and Jing Huo stood at his side and helped him push. Sito Yanyou had a higher cultivation than him, but Jing Huo was more suite to combat like this. The three Soul Beasts defended the back and Yao Jun and Sito Yanyou stood in the middle, attacking whenever they saw the chance.

"Zhong Jun, Hanying, duck!"

While the group was working on pushing towards the woman, Yao Jun suddenly let out a loud shout. Wei Zhong Jun and Lin Hanying did not know why he shouted out, but they decided that now was not the time to question him. They quickly lowered their bodies, just in time to feel something pass over their heads, a few hairs falling down.

"She can create and control strings!"

Just as Wei Zhong Jun and Lin Hanying felt a slight shudder go down their spine and were wondering what had happened, Yao Jun's words answered their questions. He had just barely managed to notice a thin string move towards them at high speed, aiming for Wei Zhong Jun and Lin Hanying.

The group continued to try and move closer to the woman, but the closer they got, the denser the horde of Demonic beasts became. If they continued like this, they would be too exhausted to even attack properly when they reached the woman.

"Change of plans! We are moving towards the exit! At this rate, we won't even be able to attack if we were to reach her."

Wei Zhong Jun had also noticed that they would only die if they continued like this, so he quickly ordered a change of plans. The exit was further away than the woman, so odds were good that some of them might die, but it was better than all of them dying here.

"Zhong Jun. Would you be confident that you can take her out in one or two attacks?"

Yao Jun narrowed his eyes as he spoke. Moving towards the exit would probably lead to at least half of them dying, and then there would be no chance of acquiring whatever was in that lake. So Yao Jun decided to try something risky instead.

"... If I can catch her unaware, I am confident."

Wei Zhong Jun was not quite sure why Yao Jun asked that, but he still answered after a slight moment of hesitation. If he managed to catch her by surprise and unleash all his power, defeating her in two attacks would not be impossible.

"Good. If you can get me within 100 meters of her, then I will give you that chance."

Yao Jun nodded his head as he spoke. 100 meters was the range in which he could control his elements. If they could get him and Wei Zhong Jun to within 100 meters of her, there were things he could do.

"Then let's go. Everyone focus on pushing as hard as possible!"

Wei Zhong Jun narrowed his eyes at Yao Jun's words, but he still nodded his head and shouted out the order. He did not know how Yao Jun would do it, but he was willing to risk it.