In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Chapter 966 Hattie's Surprise

"Lady Hattie!" Iron Thorn exclaimed, his voice rising several decibels in surprise and delight. He hadn't expected Lei Sha to send Hattie and her four henchmen to personally intercept Lin Qiye—this force was more than capable of taking down a new high-ranking deacon, let alone a rookie one; they could even face off a veteran high-ranking deacon head-on in the arena.

Hattie strode up to Iron Thorn, her gaze icy: "Where's Lin Qiye?"

"Ahead! He just crossed that bone mound and headed towards the Bone Ruins!" Tieji quickly pointed in the direction Lin Qiye had disappeared. "But the path he took had to go through the mountain pass. We've already taken a shortcut and are rushing over; he shouldn't be there yet!"

Hattie glanced in the direction Iron Thorn pointed, a cold smile playing on her lips: "Very good."

She turned to the four tall figures behind her, her voice crisp and decisive: "You lot, follow me and chase him from the front. Iron Thorn, take your men and circle around to the other side of the passage to block his escape route. Today, I'll make sure he can't escape."

"Yes!" Tieji answered loudly, a long-lost excitement welling up in his heart.

They outnumbered him and had all their experts, while Lin Qiye was all alone. No matter how skilled he was, he had only just killed a butcher.

Although Tu Gu was very strong, he was no match for four thugs!

Now that all four of his henchmen have arrived, and with Hattie personally taking action, even if Lin Qiye had three heads and six arms, he would have absolutely no chance of survival!

Tieji, along with two of his men, excitedly headed around to the other side of the passage at the foot of the mountain.

Hattie watched his figure disappear into the mist before turning to the four silent thugs, her voice lowered: "Lord Lei Sha means... to die."

"Understood," the four thugs replied in unison.

"Walk."

With a wave of her hand, Hattie sent the five of them into five dark streaks of light, which sped off in the direction where Lin Qiye had disappeared.

After Tieji and his two men lay in ambush on the other side of the passage at the foot of the mountain, they waited for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

There was no movement.

He frowned and lowered his voice to his subordinate, "Go and see why Lord Hattie and the others haven't arrived yet."

The skinny scout nodded and was about to get up when a violent tremor suddenly came from the layer of ashes beneath his feet—not the subtle, heart-pounding tremor of before, but a fierce tremor as if the entire earth had been kicked hard from below.

Iron Thorn was jolted up from the ground by the shock, only to fall heavily back down.

"What's wrong?!" the scout exclaimed, looking around in alarm.

Iron Thorn steadied himself, his face pale, a sense of foreboding welling up inside him. He looked up in the direction of Black Mountain—the silent, black behemoth was watching them.

No.

It's not "like".

They are really watching them.

The dark gray mist halfway up the mountain was churning violently, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand. From the depths of that mist, two enormous orbs of light slowly rose—dark gold. Cold. devoid of any emotion.

Those eyes.

Ironthorn's blood instantly congealed.

He saw a colossal black shadow slowly emerge from the mist halfway up the mountain. The shadow's silhouette was far larger than he had imagined—it descended from the mountainside, each step causing the entire mountain to rumble. Its head resembled a wolf's, but was a thousand times larger, and its pair of dark golden vertical pupils radiated an ancient, suffocating pressure. A row of bone spurs grew along its back, each gleaming with a dark golden luster, like a row of natural runes.

The giant beast has awakened.

And it was heading in their direction.

Iron Thorn's mind went blank for a moment. He even forgot to run away, just staring blankly as the huge black shadow walked down Black Mountain step by step, leaving a deep pit tens of meters wide in the layer of ashes with each step. His two subordinates were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, unable to even stand up.

Just then—

A series of hurried footsteps came from the other side of the passage.

Ironthorn suddenly turned its head.

He saw Hattie, accompanied by four henchmen, flying in from the other end of the passage. Hattie's face was ashen, her eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty—she had clearly also sensed the terrifying aura and was trying to leave the area.

"Lady Hattie!" Ironthorn cried out as if he'd seen a savior, scrambling towards them. "Help! That thing's awake!"

Hattie's face darkened further.

Of course she knew that thing had awakened. She sensed that oppressive aura when she was still more than ten miles away from Black Mountain—the aura was so terrifying that she immediately abandoned her pursuit of Lin Qiye and turned to run away with her four henchmen.

But it was too late.

That giant beast was too fast.

Before Hattie could answer Ironthorn's question, a massive black shadow swept over their heads—it wasn't running, it was leaping. The behemoth leaped down from the mountainside, its enormous body drawing a terrifying arc in the air before crashing down onto the layer of ashes in front of them, causing the entire ground to tremble violently.

boom--!!!

The ash layer was smashed into a huge crater hundreds of feet wide, and the flying ashes swept outwards like a tsunami, enveloping the entire area of ​​more than ten miles in a gray-white chaos.

Iron Thorn and his two henchmen were thrown back by the shockwave, crashing heavily into the ash layer in the distance, coughing up blood. Hattie and the four henchmen fared slightly better; they simultaneously released their source energy to protect themselves the instant the shockwave arrived, barely managing to stabilize themselves, but they too were shaken by the terrifying power, causing their blood and qi to churn.

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.

The colossal beast stood like a mountain in the center of the passage, blocking everyone's path. Its head was slightly lowered, its dark golden vertical pupils gazing down at the tiny figures below, its eyes devoid of any emotion—like a human looking down at a swarm of ants.

A scorching stream of air billowed from the beast's nostrils, sending the ashes dozens of feet in front of it flying everywhere. It slowly opened its mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth like giant black swords.

Then, it opened its mouth.

It wasn't a roar.

It was an extremely deep sound, as if the entire earth was resonating with it.

The voice carried an ancient, desolate quality, as if it came from the end of the river of time.

"Intruders die."

Tieji's heart sank completely.

Language. This behemoth can speak. A talking behemoth is ten thousand times more terrifying than a mere wild beast. Because that means it possesses intelligence.

Hattie's expression changed completely.

She quickly scanned her surroundings—the path ahead was blocked by the giant beast, retreat led to the Black Mountain, and on either side stretched an endless wasteland of ashes. And that giant beast stood between them and their only escape route.

"Scatter and run!" Hattie ordered decisively, "Every one who can escape is a winner! Go back and inform Lord Lei Sha!"