Everyone returned to their tents for the night.
Smith and Wei Lin shared one tent, pitched right next to Yan Yue and Zhao Mei's.
"Hey, Smith," Wei Lin whispered as he lay near the tent's entrance, peeking outside. "Are those monsters from the Beast Taming Department?"
Under the soft glow of the moonstone hanging nearby, several monsters could be seen tied to trees just beyond the camp's perimeter. They weren't corpses—these monsters were still alive.
"They should be," Smith replied, shifting closer and glancing out.
The creatures were all first-level monsters, bound securely and visibly calm.
Those had been captured by the Beast Taming Department—a unique division within Huaihai College. Unlike others, members of this department didn't rely on offensive or defensive abilities. Instead, their powers specialized in controlling and taming monsters through mental influence.
"It's kind of cool, right?" Wei Lin commented. "No need to fight directly. Just tame some beasts and let them do the work. Feels safer—kind of like the Puppet System."
"Yeah, something like that," Smith replied indifferently.
But in truth, he wasn't impressed by taming first-level monsters.
He had psychic abilities too and could form contracts with spirit beasts, but first-level creatures? Not worth his time.
He had his sights set on second or even third-level monsters—anything less was simply unworthy.
"Let's just get some sleep," Smith muttered, turning away from the entrance and burrowing into his quilt. "We're heading home tomorrow, and I don't want to spend another second in the wilderness."
"Agreed." Wei Lin nestled into his own blanket, tugging it tightly.
But just as Smith began to close his eyes…
Boom… boom… boom…
He felt a deep tremor running through the ground beneath him.
"…Wei Lin, did you fart or something? Why's the ground shaking?"
Wei Lin turned, confused. "No way, my farts aren't that powerful!"
Yet the rumbling was real—and growing more intense.
Smith's eyes snapped open.
"…Something's wrong."
Outside, a thunderous voice suddenly echoed through the camp.
"Everyone, get up and assemble immediately!" shouted Qingyun, the head of the Executive Department.
His voice boomed like a thunderclap, waking everyone instantly.
"What the hell is going on?"
"I was just asleep…"
Groggy and annoyed, dozens of students stumbled out of their tents—but they didn't dare disobey Qingyun's command.
Smith and Wei Lin were already up, dressed, and stepping out into the moonlight-drenched camp.
Outside, Qingyun and the other executive officers—Bloodwind, Blackwater, and Huang Yu—were already gathered, faces grim.
"Huang Yu," Qingyun ordered sharply, "get to high ground and check our surroundings."
Without hesitation, Huang Yu leapt from tree to tree and quickly reached the tallest point nearby. From there, he peered into the forest, eyes narrowing under the pale moonlight.
In the distance, clouds of dust began to rise.
Massive, dark shapes surged forward, toppling trees like toothpicks.
"It's a beast tide!" Huang Yu shouted. "Less than two kilometers from us!"
His words struck like a hammer.
"Beast tide?!"
The students' faces turned pale.
A beast tide—a phenomenon where tens of thousands of monsters act in unison, surging like a tsunami toward human settlements.
These disasters usually only happened during wars or when monsters launched all-out attacks on human cities.
Every recorded beast tide had left destruction and death in its wake.
"Teacher Du!" Qingyun barked. "Get the students out of here and alert the academy! Now!"
"Yes!"
The instructor known as Teacher Du turned, already taking action.
"Everyone, return to the city! Immediately!" he shouted.
The students didn't need to be told twice.
Fear surged in their hearts as they followed Teacher Du, breaking into a desperate sprint toward safety.
But just as they began to flee—
"Screeee!"
Sharp shrieks pierced the air, and figures burst from underground right behind their path of escape.
In the moonlight, glinting fangs shimmered ominously.
Second-level monsters: Corrupted Rats.
Over twenty of them had dug beneath the camp unnoticed, emerging now in ambush formation.
Each one was the size of a lion, their sickly fur and bloodshot eyes a sign of their corrupted, frenzied state.
"Damn it! We're surrounded!" a student screamed.
The Corrupted Rats pounced toward the fleeing group.
"Bloodwind! Blackwater!" Qingyun shouted.
Without hesitation, the two executive elites leapt into action.
Bloodwind's dagger flashed like lightning as he dove headfirst into the horde, each strike carving through fur and flesh, splattering blood across the ground.
"Frenzy Attack!" Blackwater raised his hands, summoning torrents of inky dark water from the earth. The liquid twisted into countless arrows and launched with deadly precision into the swarm of rats.
Within seconds, half the Corrupted Rats were slain.
But more kept coming.
"There's no escape this way!" Blackwater called out. "We need to move the students in another direction!"
"Beast tide is now one thousand meters away!" Huang Yu shouted from above.
"Go left!" Qingyun ordered, pointing into the forest.
"Follow me!" Teacher Du yelled, guiding the students off the main trail and into the woods.
"Fight and fall back—now!" Qingyun commanded, joining the rear guard.
Bloodwind and Blackwater exchanged nods, pushed back the monsters once more, and followed.
Huang Yu maintained his position in the trees above, watching the advancing beast tide like a hawk.
"They're coming straight for us!" he shouted. "They're tracking us—seven hundred meters!"
"Six hundred!"
The retreat turned into a full sprint.
More than forty students ran, their breath heavy, eyes wide with terror.
Even the bravest couldn't speak—they were too focused on escaping with their lives.
"Smith…" Wei Lin stammered, his face pale. "Are we… are we going to die?"
"Shut your crow mouth!" Smith growled. But inside, his heart sank.
The sheer scale of the approaching tide was overwhelming.
They couldn't possibly fight it off.
If it caught up to them, they'd be wiped out.
"Five hundred meters!"
"Four hundred!"
The pounding of thousands of monster feet grew louder.
Smith could feel it vibrating in his bones.
The forest around them seemed to blur as they ran.
Despite their speed, the beast tide was catching up.
The four from the Executive Department stayed close to the rear, fighting back anything that got too close.
They could've gone faster.
But they didn't.
They knew—if they abandoned the students, no one would survive.
"Teacher Du," Qingyun called, "1,500 meters ahead, there's a Crescent Moon Formation set up by the academy. It's centered on a massive rock. You know what to do."
"I know!"
"Two hundred meters!"
"This wave is intense," Qingyun muttered. "Protect the students at all costs!"
"Understood!"
"One hundred meters!"
And then—
The four executive officers stopped in unison.
Without another word, they turned and charged directly into the approaching beast tide.
Their forms disappeared into the darkness.
"Don't stop! Don't look back!" Teacher Du roared.
"BOOM!"
A massive explosion thundered behind them.
Flames rose high into the sky, illuminating the forest in hellish red.
Monsters roared in fury.
No one dared to glance back.
They ran—hearts pounding, feet bleeding, lungs burning.
They didn't stop until—
A towering stone forest rose ahead of them.
In just three minutes, they had covered the 1,500-meter sprint through darkness and death.
But it had cost them everything they had.
Now, at the entrance to the stone formation, the students collapsed—panting, sweating, and wide-eyed.
The echoes of battle still roared behind them.
But for now—they had survived.
pàtréóñ(Gk31)