C15 Charge out of the Banquet Hall

Every second, something horrific occurred.

During the Devil Eye Ratmen's initial assault, Qin Feng bravely stepped forward to intercept their onslaught, sparing everyone but one unfortunate man from becoming victims.

But the monsters' second wave was even more savage, as they had adapted to the surroundings and mastered flanking maneuvers.

When they leaped down from the second floor, no one could withstand their assault—not even Qin Feng.

Forced to fall back, Qin Feng dodged the monsters' relentless attacks. His retreat allowed the creatures to surge into the throng of people.

The Devil Eye Ratmen, though not particularly tall or strong, instilled terror with their vicious claws and murderous gaze that reeked of death.

Had the people capitalized on their numerical superiority and quickly formed a defensive barrier, they might have held off the Devil Eye Ratmen's charge.

Regrettably, as the Ratmen bore down on them, the crowd dissolved into screams, scattering to what they hoped would be safety. Few had the courage to confront the beasts head-on. Surrendering the fight spelled the end of their hopes for survival.

Qin Feng saw a pregnant woman, shivering, trying to take cover behind the men. But when the monster approached, these same petrified men callously cast her aside.

Her screams were futile as she struggled to return to the safety of the group.

The Ratmen's grotesque claws, as unyielding as steel, effortlessly sliced through the woman's skin and flesh.

A feeding frenzy ensued, with one particularly robust Ratman mounting the woman, its claws deftly ripping open her belly to extract the unborn child.

The people's screams only underscored the brutality of the massacre.

"Please, spare us," pleaded a terrified man, kneeling and begging in agony, hoping for a shred of mercy from the creatures.

But the monsters showed no compassion, devouring him without pause.

They flipped the man over, his viscera and intestines gruesomely exposed and torn apart by their gnashing teeth.

The scene before them was nothing short of hellish.

More and more people were being herded by the Devil Eye Ratmen, forced into a tight cluster, their eyes brimming with despair beyond imagination.

Yet the monsters paid them no heed, instead forming an orderly, fan-shaped encirclement.

It was clear these creatures possessed intelligence, understanding the art of maximizing their advantage through collective combat.

Despite being outnumbered, the Ratmen's vicious claws, bloodshot eyes, and mouths smeared with human blood petrified everyone, rendering them motionless.

Qin Feng, the sole person in the crowd who had managed to keep his wits, had also retreated to the back. Clutching the Dragon Bone, his face was a mask of disappointment and rage.

He had intended to rally the people in the ballroom into a defensive barrier, hoping to hold off the monsters until dawn.

But his strategy had crumbled to dust.

Confronted by the Ratmen, the group could do nothing but emit cries of despair.

"Damn it!"

In his frustration, Qin Feng muttered a curse under his breath. He turned to Wang Gang, who was paralyzed with fear, and said, "Prepare to make a run for it. We need to find a new place to take cover."

Wang Gang, shivering, managed to ask, "But where can we hide?"

"The resort is vast. Beyond this banquet hall, there are many smaller rooms. Once we leave this place, the crowd will scatter, and the Ratmen won't be able to hunt us down as easily," Qin Feng explained with a chilling calm.

If the Ratmen didn't stick together, Qin Feng was confident he could fend for himself.

"What about everyone else?" Wang Gang attempted to challenge Qin Feng's plan, but Qin Feng cut him off with a cold rebuke, "Let these cowards serve as a feast for the Ratmen."

The fearful didn't deserve salvation.

Qin Feng had shown them how to survive, but their timidity made them unworthy of rescue.

If they wouldn't fight for themselves, Qin Feng saw no point in expending his energy on them.

Besides, the situation was perilous even for Qin Feng. His own safety was uncertain; saving others was out of the question.

"We can't just abandon the others!" Wang Gang protested, his anxiety palpable. Despite his mind agreeing with Qin Feng's logic, his conscience vehemently opposed the idea.

Qin Feng declared, "It's not that we don't want to save them; it's that we can't. Brace yourselves. They're coming back!"

No sooner had Qin Feng's words faded than the monsters encircling the crowd unleashed another ferocious roar and lunged at them.

The crowd descended into greater chaos. What was once a tight-knit group now scattered in all directions, with everyone screaming and sprinting for their lives.

"Now's our chance! Go open the door, quick!" Amidst the turmoil, Qin Feng gave Wang Gang a shove. He then bolted in the opposite direction.

Wielding the Dragon Bone, Qin Feng shattered the skull of a Devil Eye Ratman. With his left hand free, he seized the Ratman's neck, swinging its lifeless body to knock away two more of the oncoming creatures.

Qin Feng's physical strength was rapidly increasing. The potent energy-concentrating power of the Dragon Bone meant his evolution was progressing several times faster than a normal person's, with his power visibly surging every second.

As a result, any monster that set its sights on him met a grisly end.

The others, however, faced a different reality. They had only been absorbing Source Qi for a brief time. Even though some showed early signs of evolution, they were oblivious to these subtle shifts.

When confronted with the monsters, they could do nothing but wail in despair.

Not everyone was caught off guard, though. Wang Gang was one such exception.

Seizing the precious moments Qin Feng had fought hard to create, he dashed to the firmly closed door and yanked the bolt free.

As the doors swung open, a dense fog rolled in.

"Charge! Let's make a break for it!" The crowd glimpsed hope once more and, without a second thought, surged through the now-open doors.

With most of the monsters having breached the banquet hall, the outside promised greater safety. Clinging to this thought, the desperate throng spilled out into the night.

Qin Feng and Wang Gang were in the vanguard, reaching the lawn outside the banquet hall as the doors swung wide.

"Where do we head now? Everyone's heading for the parking lot. Should we follow?" Wang Gang yelled, pointing at the masses fleeing in the distance, once they were clear of the banquet hall.

Qin Feng quickly shook his head in response, "No, we're not going with them. We run the other way."

Wang Gang's eyes widened with urgency as he blurted out, "Why?"

"There's no time to explain!" Qin Feng replied, not wanting to delve into details. He grabbed Wang Gang and sprinted toward the vacation resort.

Sure enough, they had barely made it a short distance when agonizing screams echoed from the direction of the parking lot.

Wang Gang, running for his life, couldn't suppress a shudder. Glancing back, he saw a severed arm flung from the heights of the parking area.

To his horror, he noticed an increasing number of grotesque creatures swarming the parking lot, launching a frenzied assault and encircling the panicked crowd.