Guarding the Neighborhood

**Whoooosh—**

The old banyan tree's branches and leaves thrashed wildly, shedding leaves and broken twigs in a chaotic rain.

"Yu'ang, quick — lay down another layer of Ice Vine!" Guo Caitang immediately sensed what was happening and called out urgently.

"I can't. The aura is too strong. It's crushing the breath out of me." Yu'ang said.

Mo Fan felt it too — the beast's frenzy crashing over him like waves from a stormy sea. With each howl the One-Eyed Demon Wolf threw at the sky, that savage, boiling pressure surged and churned without end, rattling the old buildings along the street on their foundations.

"Ascension Phase. We pushed it too hard — it's forcing itself to advance!"

"It's been feeding on the Earth Sacred Spring. It already had the foundation to break through. We have to stop it. If it succeeds, even Yang Zuohe arriving might not be enough to bring it down!!" The color drained from Xu Dahuang's face.

For all his years leading the City Demon-Hunting Squad, this was Xu Dahuang's first encounter with a Demon-Beast in its Ascension Phase.

A Demon-Beast mid-ascension wasn't the real danger. The danger was a Demon-Beast that had already ascended — something none of the basic-level mages on this street could stand against.

And once it was free to slaughter, every civilian in this district would be devastated.

"We can't stop it. While it hasn't fully advanced yet, we need to get out of here while we still can." Li Wenjie said, his face drained of color.

A fully ascended One-Eyed Demon Wolf — Li Wenjie had no answer for that, and neither did anyone else here. Not one person would survive. Less than ten seconds: a wolf that had completed its ascension would leave none of them standing.

"What kind of garbage is that?! Turn around and look at what's behind you!" Xu Dahuang erupted.

This entire area had been left desolate by the construction work. Rongshu Street, lined with its old banyan trees, was a neighborhood half-demolished and stuck in limbo. But just beyond it blazed a commercial district alive with neon light.

Families sat in living rooms watching television. Girls were picking out small gifts for the Qixi Festival. Elderly couples strolled in the evening air. Apartment buildings, shops, entertainment venues, a public square — all of it was right there, just past the rubble.

Not one of those people had the slightest means to protect themselves.

The moment the squad turned and left, it was a certainty: a freshly ascended One-Eyed Demon Wolf would need to feed, and those people were food.

There were Intermediate-Level Mages in this city — mages far stronger than any Demon-Hunting Squad — but they couldn't be on high alert every moment of every night. Even if the fastest among them arrived and put the wolf down, they could never prevent the carnage it would cause in the meantime.

How many lives that would cost, Xu Dahuang couldn't begin to calculate.

"That little punk is a genuine headache — but he did something remarkable today. This wolf was found before it could do real damage, and that prevented a much worse disaster. Still, there's no reason to be talking like it's already over. The wolf hasn't finished ascending. We can still stop it." Guo Caitang said, with a thin, wan smile.

Xu Dahuang had already made up his mind to stay.

Honestly, the man's resolve was something Mo Fan couldn't help but respect.

"Feishi — set up Earth Wave: Slow. The moment it breaks free of the Ice Vine, don't let it build any speed." Xu Dahuang said.

Feishi nodded.

He slammed his palms against the concrete ground, and in an instant, ripples spread across the surface like disturbances on the skin of a lake — all flowing in one direction, forcing the frozen One-Eyed Demon Wolf to shift away from the group.

But the Ice Vine's hold was running out.

A scalding heat began to forcibly evaporate the surrounding frost and ice — and then, impossibly, to boil it.

"This thing is really ascending. Its body, its bloodline — they're burning hot." Feishi said, deeply unsettled.

Li Wenjie bit down hard, unable to see a way out.

Plain truth: if this wolf completed its ascension, everyone here died. There wasn't a single one of them who could even slow it down as it crossed into the commercial district beyond.

Staying here was just waiting to die.

And the signs of its ascension were already unmistakable. Why wait here for it?

"It's going to break free!" Li Wenjie said, cold sweat streaming down his face.

Then that was that. Even if they tried to run now, there was no time left.

Xu Dahuang, Xiao Ke, Feishi, Guo Caitang — not one of them moved to leave.

Mo Fan kept his eyes fixed on the One-Eyed Demon Wolf. He could see it clearly: the muscles beneath the wolf's hide had gone almost translucent, and through them, each blood vessel stood out in stark relief — burning and pulsing at a furious pace.

Its bones cracked and split with sharp, rapid sounds. The shoulder bones erupted outward through the muscle itself, forming blade-like protrusions of jagged exposed bone.

The spine grew as well, tearing upward through the flesh of its back — bones still threaded with blood reshaping themselves into a brutal ridge of wicked bone spikes. Cold moonlight poured down over it, and the sight became something nightmarish.

"Fire Burst: Blast!!"

Xu Dahuang finally broke. He condensed a full mass of flame in his hands, fury bleeding into the throw as he hurled it at the creature.

**BOOM—**

Fire detonated directly in front of the One-Eyed Demon Wolf. Roaring flames swallowed it whole, and the firelight stained the entire street a deep, violent red.

A wall of heat flooded through the old neighborhood. The banyan trees caught fire and began to burn, the flames spreading toward the old buildings on either side.

The residents had long since fled. In the explosion's wake, both sides of the street were left in smoldering ruin.

Force like that should have torn the wolf apart.

Then the flames finally began to die — and a silhouette, still wreathed entirely in fire, came rocketing out of the inferno, smashing aside everything in its path—

"Captain, watch out!!" Feishi shouted.

Ice shot through Xu Dahuang. He stared.

It had taken a direct hit from Fire Burst: Blast — and it was completely unharmed.

"Earth Wave!!"

Feishi threw everything into the skill.

He tried to use the ground ripple to drag the charging wolf back, but the wolf was simply too fast. The pull barely registered.

**RAAAAR—**

Still burning, the One-Eyed Demon Wolf launched itself skyward. Its chest swelled with raw power, and its outstretched claws carved a cold, pale arc through the darkness — raking straight toward Captain Xu Dahuang.

"Water Control: Guard!"

In that split second, Xiao Ke completed her Star Trail. Several ribbons of water wove together in a blur and settled over Captain Xu Dahuang like a coat of living armor.

The claws tore straight through it.

A fine mist of blood filled the air. A long, savage gash split open across Xu Dahuang's body — so deep and wide it looked as though he had been gutted alive.