"Brother Xian!" Cai Kun screamed desperately. He tried to signal Zhao Xian to throw the Dark Orb his way, hoping to make amends for this colossal mistake.
"It's futile. We must find a way to eliminate these otherworldly creatures now," Huang Bo panted, his breath ragged.
"Regardless, I must save Brother Xian!" Kun Shao cried, clutching his weapon as he dashed toward Zhao Xian's direction.
Just as Xu Que emerged from the great hall, he was taken aback by the scene. He didn't have time to think about where things had gone wrong; all he could focus on was resolving the immediate trouble before him.
"Huang Bo, take Shen Mengchu and the others and leave!" Xu Que called out as he passed Huang Bo.
Upon hearing Xu Que's voice, Huang Bo hesitated not for a moment. He immediately skirted the otherworldly creatures and sprinted toward the valley entrance.
"You're never going to kill them all like this. You need to go and inform Qi Shan and the others to prepare to leave," Xu Que said, seizing Kun Shao's arm and forcefully pulling him back.
Thrown back by Xu Que's powerful grip, Kun Shao shouted, "Brother Xu, you must save Brother Xian!"
Xu Que paid no heed to Kun Shao's words. His only thought now was to reach Zhao Xian as swiftly as possible.
As he drew nearer, Xu Que's expression twisted with fury. He never expected Zhao Xian to be so gravely injured.
Just as Zhao Xian tried to discern the sounds of incoming attacks, Xu Que appeared in front of him in an instant.
"Get going! Leave this to me!" Xu Que snatched the Dark Orb from Zhao Xian's hand, matching his speed.
Zhao Xian understood Xu Que's intent. Clenching his teeth, he said nothing, pushing his body's limits to increase his speed.
As Zhao Xian finally broke free from the pursuit of the otherworldly creatures, Xu Que became their new target.
Just as Xu Que attempted to use the terrain of the valley to shake off the creatures, a voice cried out, "Watch out!" and Xu Que's instincts flared.
Before him, a swarm of black-and-white beetles appeared. Seeing them as the larvae of the Golden Scarab Beetles, Xu Que's scalp tingled in horror. It was like being trapped between a starving wolf and a pack of tigers.
"Brother Xu! This way!" Kun Shao shouted, trying to guide him.
But Xu Que had no time to consider directions. He abruptly halted and veered toward the valley's upper reaches.
Seeing Xu Que choose what seemed like a dead-end, Kun Shao and Zhao Xian were stunned.
Before they could react, Huang Bo, leading Shen Mengchu and eleven others, came rushing toward them.
"What are you two doing? Run!" Huang Bo urged.
"But—"
Before Kun Shao could finish, Huang Bo cut him off, "Xu Que told us to leave; he must have a way to deal with them!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately understood. He clapped Kun Shao on the shoulder. "Let's go!"
Clenching his fists, Kun Shao gritted his teeth and, carrying Zhao Xian on his back, rushed toward the great hall.
Shen Mengchu glanced toward the valley's upper reaches. Though she didn't know the specifics, seeing that both Zhao Xian and Huang Bo were injured, she could guess part of the story.
Meanwhile, Qi Shan and Qi Kai exchanged looks and quickly divided the skeleton creatures into two groups.
As Zhao Xian and the others entered the hall, Qi Shan and Qi Kai dashed to the entrance, shouting, "Move!"
The moment their voices echoed, Zhao Xian and the others disappeared into the hall.
Qi Shan and Qi Kai didn't enter the dimensional rift right away. Though they didn't fully understand the situation, they stuck to the plan.
They swiftly ascended the stone steps and climbed toward the center of the great hall's dome.
In an instant, the skeletons below were scattered like ants on a hot pan, scurrying in all directions.
Just as the otherworldly creatures seemed to be distracted, a wave of dark energy swept in from outside the hall.
Seeing the skeletons drawn away, Qi Shan and Qi Kai knew that Xu Que had arrived.
Just as they leapt down, Xu Que, bloodied and battered, appeared in the long hall of the great hall.
Seeing Qi Shan and Qi Kai, Xu Que managed a grim smile before throwing the Dark Orb.
"Catch!"
Qi Kai reacted quickly, leaping two steps before rolling to catch the Dark Orb. Holding it tightly, he performed a swift backward roll.
Before Qi Kai could stabilize himself, Qi Shan grabbed his clothes and tossed him into the dimensional rift.
As Qi Kai vanished, Qi Shan, disregarding his own safety, strode toward Xu Que.
"Go!" Xu Que shouted.
Ignoring Xu Que's words, Qi Shan reached his side, throwing his giant hammer and lifting Xu Que in a single motion, rushing toward the dimensional rift.
Blood poured from Qi Shan's back in spurts.
He had no idea how many times he had been struck, but he knew he couldn't die here.
His body merged into the dimensional rift, and with that, he closed his eyes.
"Save him, hurry!" Xu Que cried out hoarsely.
Upon hearing Xu Que's voice, Shen Mengchu didn't hesitate for a second. She tore off her combat suit and charged toward Xu Que.
Seeing the blood still pouring from Qi Shan's back as he lay unconscious, Shen Mengchu pressed down on the wound and shouted, "Call for a medic! He's lost too much blood!"
As Shen Mengchu and the others arrived, Chen Daguo had already sensed something was wrong, and medical personnel rushed to the scene.
Watching four medics perform emergency surgery, Xu Que understood just how severe Qi Shan's injuries were.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Shen Mengchu reassured.
Xu Que didn't respond but turned his attention to Zhao Xian and the others.
"What's going on? Why did the plan change?"
As Xu Que's voice rang out, one of the medics turned and shouted, "Quiet! We're performing surgery!"
Hearing this, Xu Que fell silent and gestured for them to speak elsewhere.
Once they were a distance away, Kun Shao dropped to his knees.
"It's all my fault. If not for me, this wouldn't have happened!"
Xu Que ignored Kun Shao's apology, instead glancing at the injured Zhao Xian and asking, "Can you hold on? Do you need me to bandage you?"
"I'm fine. I've been hurt worse than this before," Zhao Xian waved it off nonchalantly. "It's not really Kun Shao's fault. He didn't anticipate the problem with everyone retracing their steps. If the mountain is okay, I hope you can forgive him."
Xu Que understood what Zhao Xian meant. He didn't want to dwell on it too much, but the risk had been too great. If he hadn't acted quickly, Zhao Xian might have died at the hands of the otherworldly creatures.
"Get up. If Qi Shan doesn't wake up, I hope you'll look after his family. Also, I don't want anything like this to happen again," Xu Que said to Kun Shao.
"I understand. I swear, nothing like this will ever happen again!" Cai Kun vowed, raising three fingers.
Xu Que didn't concern himself further with Kun Shao. He instructed Chen Daguo to find more medical personnel, as everyone had suffered injuries to some degree.
After the wounds were tended to, Shen Mengchu walked over with a smile and said, "Don't worry. The army doctor said that Qi Shan is fine, just lost too much blood."
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone knew that this battle in the dimensional space had been a close call, or perhaps, they had underestimated the terrifying power of the otherworldly creatures.
"Well, don't be too upset. The important thing is that no one died," Xu Que encouraged.
The others were somewhat baffled. They couldn't understand how Xu Que had managed to adjust his emotions so quickly. Just a moment ago, he had been angry with Kun Shao, but now he seemed fine...
In truth, Xu Que wasn't angry with Kun Shao. His criticism was simply that Kun Shao hadn't followed the plan properly.
Compared to his past life, this operation had been far more successful. After all, in his previous life, the death rate from such adventures had been terrifyingly high!