Boom—!
One sword thrust straight through the Fire Wolf King's throat!
The terrifying second-tier magic beast crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud!
"Ha… hahaha… HAHAHAHA…"
Captain Hades staggered, nearly losing his balance, but his face lit up with wild excitement as he threw his head back and laughed heartily.
His laughter echoed across the village entrance, reaching everyone's ears!
"It's dead?"
"The Fire Wolf is dead!"
"The captain killed the Fire Wolf!"
"Amazing…"
Everyone erupted into frenzied joy!
"Whew! Finally killed it!"
Meng Lei exhaled a long breath, his whole body relaxing. But when he glanced at his personal attribute panel and saw the completely empty "Wealth" column, his smile vanished.
108 gold coins—gone!
All spent on just five fireballs…
"Talk about burning money!"
Meng Lei clicked his tongue. "Good thing we took down the Fire Wolf, though!"
The Fire Wolf King's death had a massive impact on the beast tide. The madness and brutality in the beasts' eyes gradually faded. Their will to fight vanished, and they began retreating one after another.
That was how beast tides worked. Once the leader died, the rest scattered like monkeys fleeing a collapsing tree. There was no way they would stick around and keep fighting!
Most of the beasts had only been forced here by the leader in the first place. The moment the leader fell, they fled for their lives!
And that was exactly what happened.
The once-frenzied and savage beast tide receded like an ebbing flood. In just a few minutes, the entire tide had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a field of corpses, wreckage, and blood!
"It retreated?"
"The beast tide retreated?"
"The beast tide is finally gone!"
"Damn it, I really thought we were done for…"
Cheers erupted along the wall!
Some men flushed with excitement, waving their greatswords and roaring.
Others collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
The beast tide had finally retreated. They had won!
"Captain, are you okay?"
Several guard members jumped down from the wall and helped Captain Hades to his feet, their eyes full of concern and admiration.
"I'm fine!"
Captain Hades shook his head, but his gaze immediately landed on Meng Lei. "Little Meng Lei, we owe you big time just now. If it weren't for you, today would have been disastrous! But kid, you sure kept it hidden deep. I had no idea you were actually a mage!"
Meng Lei was a mage!
Hearing those words, the guard members all turned to stare at Meng Lei. Their gazes were completely different from before!
Shock!
Confusion!
Utter disbelief!
Compared to battle qi—which didn't require much talent—magic cultivation was far more demanding!
Battle qi?
As long as you had the proper technique and weren't ridiculously weak, almost anyone could train it.
But magic was different!
It demanded extreme talent. Out of ten thousand people, maybe only one possessed any magic aptitude at all!
That was why mages were far rarer than warriors!
And because they were so rare, mages had become the "aristocrats" among the strong—symbols of nobility, mystery, and power!
Legends about mages were countless across the continent, yet many people lived their entire lives without ever seeing one in person. Because of that, the looks directed at Meng Lei now carried a trace of… reverence!
No matter what Meng Lei had been before, the moment he released magic, he was wrapped in an aura of mystery and prestige. No one dared look down on him anymore!
"I can only cast Fireball Spell!"
Meng Lei scratched his head. He knew his own limits—he wasn't a proper mage yet. At least, not right now!
"Even that is incredibly impressive!"
…
The beast tide was over!
The old, weak, women, and children emerged from the shelter and began the post-disaster cleanup: treating the wounded, processing the beast corpses, repairing the wall…
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion!
For a mountain-dependent village like Magic Beast Village, a beast tide was indeed a disaster—but it also meant a massive opportunity. Every tide left behind a huge number of corpses!
Fresh meat could be turned into food.
Hides could be made into clothing and armor.
Extra materials could be traded for salt, spices, iron tools, and other daily necessities!
And because no one had died this time, it was an absolute bumper harvest. Every household received a large share of fresh meat. The villagers were overjoyed, their faces glowing with happiness!
With this much food, they could eat well for a long time!
Meng Lei carried a huge wild boar back to his simple home. For the next few days, this boar would be his food supply!
"Time to really indulge today!"
He chopped wood, lit a fire, and started roasting the meat!
Half an hour later, golden-brown roast pork dripped with oil, releasing an irresistible aroma. Meng Lei swallowed hard, his eyes practically glowing green!
Food shortages had always been the village's biggest problem. As an orphan with no strength, he had always been classified as "old, weak, women, and children" and could only survive on the village's allocated rations.
He never starved, but he was never full either.
Today, he was finally going to feast!
After an agonizing wait, the meat was finally done. Meng Lei couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed a perfectly charred pork trotter and sank his teeth into it!
"Mmm… so good!"
When you're starving, everything tastes amazing. This roast had no fancy seasonings—just some coarse salt—but Meng Lei devoured it with grease running down his chin, savoring every bite!
"Eating alone?"
Captain Hades appeared out of nowhere, a wine jug in hand, happily taking a swig.
"Captain Hades? What brings you here?"
Meng Lei quickly set down the pork trotter, his mouth still shiny with grease and looking a bit undignified.
"Hehe, I was just wandering around and ended up here… Here, try some!"
Captain Hades tossed the wine jug to Meng Lei, then grabbed a piece of roast meat and started eating himself. "Hmm? Not bad! Your roast smells really good…"
"Wine?"
The rich aroma wafting from the jug made Meng Lei's throat bob. In a resource-scarce little village like Magic Beast Village, wine was as rare as books!
Most people could never get their hands on it!
"Glug glug glug—"
"Damn! That's strong!"