Chapter 87: Chapter 86: A First Time in This Life

’Shit, they’re here just for me.’

Wu Chen recalled the Demon Corpse leader giving him a strange look as its horde retreated.

He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

’So it remembered me and was waiting here all along!’

’These guys must have eaten those fifty soldiers we sent to their deaths. That’s how they advanced into an elite strain over the past two days.’

Wu Chen suspected as much. If the Demon Corpses had been this powerful when they attacked the city, there would have been no reason for the horde to retreat.

If over thirty—nearly forty—elite Demon Corpses had assaulted the top of the walls, it was questionable whether Fenglin County could have held out.

SWISH!

Seeing the shadowy figures flitting through the surrounding woods, Wu Chen, who had just dismounted, didn’t hesitate. He tapped his toes on the ground, and his body rose as lightly as a swallow, landing back on the horse in an instant.

Before he could even speak, the horse, as if it had a mind of its own, bolted into a full gallop.

Since they hadn’t traveled hard during the day, the horse had plenty of stamina.

The Demon Corpses’ encirclement hadn’t fully formed yet, so the pair broke through and plunged down the road ahead.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Fortunately, the moon was bright, making the road ahead faintly visible. The horse wasn’t just blindly charging; it was galloping along the path.

It would have been fine during the day, but at night, with poor visibility, they were also running for their lives.

Branches jutting out from the sides of the road rushed toward them.

This made things rather unpleasant for Wu Chen on horseback.

After dodging one or two, he simply gripped the saddle tightly with his legs and stopped bothering to evade them.

’Crashing straight through them will actually save more energy.’

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!...

For a moment, a series of muffled thuds echoed through the woods.

WOOOOOO!—

The encircling Demon Corpses hadn’t expected the man and horse to react so quickly. A moment’s inattention was all it took for their prey to escape.

After one Demon Corpse let out a long howl, thirty of them immediately gave chase, relentlessly pursuing the fleeing pair.

The horse didn’t have to worry about its master being unable to withstand the impacts; it just had to focus on running for its life.

But because the road ahead twisted and turned, it wasn’t long before they were overtaken by the Demon Corpses, which were also extremely fast and taking shortcuts.

In just a moment, a few of the stronger Demon Corpses had caught up, closing to within a foot of the horse.

WHOOSH!

Seeing the horse within reach, a Demon Corpse opened its maw of jagged fangs and lunged, aiming to tear a chunk of flesh from the animal’s rump.

But it was met with a dark flash of light from a blade swung from horseback.

As the dark light flashed, the two lunging Demon Corpses were decapitated, their bodies falling to the ground in unison.

’Trying to kill my horse?’

Wu Chen sheathed his saber and snorted coldly, glancing at the Demon Corpse horde behind him, which had slowed its pace after he’d killed two of its number.

With his current level of strength, killing twenty or thirty elite Demon Corpses would be no problem at all.

The problem was that if he engaged them, he wouldn’t be able to protect his horse from such a large number of Demon Corpses.

The distance from Fenglin County to Mountain Mist City was said to be two or three hundred li, but the road was so winding that the actual journey was well over three hundred.

The journey was long and arduous, and Wu Chen was naturally unwilling to abandon his mount and travel on foot.

That was why he’d chosen to see if he could just outrun these annoying things on horseback.

Or, failing that, use the horse’s speed to kite them, picking them off one by one while on the run.

Perhaps the swiftness with which Wu Chen had dispatched two Demon Corpses with a single strike had stunned the rest of the pursuers.

Their pace slowed considerably.

For a brief moment, Wu Chen couldn’t hear any Demon Corpses approaching.

Aboard his galloping horse, Wu Chen felt a moment of relief, thinking he’d finally shaken off the nuisances.

But a glance back revealed a sea of green, glowing eyes still trailing about a hundred feet behind him. Clearly, the Demon Corpse horde had no intention of giving up.

’This is getting annoying.’

Wu Chen was exasperated, but he had no better options at the moment.

Whether he took the initiative and attacked, or let his horse run off on its own...

...no matter how swift his actions were, his horse would inevitably be torn to shreds and devoured by the vicious horde.

With no good options, Wu Chen could only continue his flight, remaining vigilant for any sudden attacks from the surrounding Demon Corpses.

The chase continued like this for nearly an hour.

PANT! PANT!

Wu Chen could clearly feel his mount’s breathing growing heavy beneath him, its speed slowing considerably.

The pursuing Demon Corpses sensed this as well and suddenly accelerated, surging forward.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Gusts of wind swept past as they instantly closed the distance to the man and his horse.

At the start, only three to five of the stronger Demon Corpses could keep up with the horse’s speed, forcing the rest of the horde to be more cautious.

But as the horse slowed, over twenty Demon Corpses could now keep pace, making them much bolder.

If they swarmed him all at once, even if a few died, the others would be able to tear off a piece of flesh.

Faced with this situation, Wu Chen had no choice but to...

SWISH!

He leaped off the horse’s back, hoisted the still-galloping steed onto his shoulders, and took off running through the woods at a great stride.

Horse: "???"

Demon Corpse: "???"

It was a ridiculous scene, but it was indeed the best option under the circumstances.

Between slaughtering all the Demon Corpses and protecting his horse, Wu Chen naturally chose the latter.

To protect his horse.

His Body Technique, the ’Swift Swallow Plucking Leaf Form’, allowed him to run as fast as any fine steed.

His Qi Power, like a brute ox shaking the earth, allowed him to lift his mount effortlessly.

And his inexhaustible stamina allowed him to run for long periods without fatigue.

’Never thought I’d spend my first time on my mount.’

Wu Chen grumbled to himself, but his pace didn’t slow.

The burst of speed from his feet widened the gap with the horde in the blink of an eye, leaving the pursuing Demon Corpses to lunge at empty air.

It was just that the magnificent steed on Wu Chen’s shoulders couldn’t quite process what was happening.

It only felt its hooves leave the ground as its forward momentum suddenly surged, becoming even a third faster than it could run on its own.

’This power isn’t mine!’

It was completely baffled.

The horse wasn’t the only one who was baffled; the Demon Corpses that had been chasing them for an hour were utterly dumbfounded.

They had sensed the horse’s speed steadily decreasing, a clear sign of exhaustion.

Their meal was within reach, and they were just about to swarm and devour it. Who could have imagined that the rider would suddenly jump off and start running while carrying the horse?

And the worst part was, he was even faster than the horse!

Watching him pull away in an instant, how could creatures that craved flesh and blood simply give up?

They exchanged glances, let out a long howl, and decided to continue the pursuit.

’Once we wear out this human’s stamina, both he and the horse will end up as food in our bellies!’

The chase was a long one.

Nearly another hour passed. Wu Chen, still carrying his horse, had rushed out of the dense forest and onto an open plain.

PANT! PANT!

Feeling the faint ache in his legs, he knew he was probably reaching his limit.

He set the horse down from his shoulders and leaped onto its back.

The chestnut steed was quite intelligent. After an hour of rest, it had recovered a good deal of its stamina.

The moment Wu Chen landed in the saddle, it took off again, its four hooves thundering across the open plain.

Seeing this, the Demon Corpses began to feel a sense of despair.

’Taking turns carrying each other... who could possibly win a race like that?!’

After chasing across the plain for a while longer, unable to close the distance, they finally decided to give up.

However, just as the Demon Corpse horde stopped to rest before returning to Fenglin County, a burst of rapid hoofbeats approached them.

"Did I say you could rest?"

"I thought you were good at running?"

"Get up. Keep running!"

Wu Chen charged in on horseback, his saber flashing. A few of the Demon Corpses had only just heard his shouts before their heads were rolling on the ground.

The tables had turned. The terrified Demon Corpses scattered and fled.

But after running for two straight hours, they were already exhausted. How could they possibly outrun Wu Chen’s well-rested horse?

They were ripe for the slaughter.

The man and horse became increasingly skilled at coordinating their attacks to kill the Demon Corpses.

As the horse weaved through them, it always positioned Wu Chen perfectly for a strike, allowing him to smoothly swing his saber and effortlessly sever their heads.

The twenty-odd Demon Corpses fled for their lives across the plain, but they couldn’t get far before the thundering hoofbeats caught up to them, and they became victims of his blade.

In a matter of minutes, all of the pursuing Demon Corpses had been slain by Wu Chen.

Afterward, Wu Chen gathered the plague-like creatures into a pile and set them ablaze.

To avoid starting a wildfire, Wu Chen waited patiently until the Demon Corpses had burned to ash before unhurriedly finding a place to rest.

Early the next morning, he continued his journey toward Mountain Mist City.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.