Shen Zuo began to feel a sense of satisfaction after securing the two Phantoms, his eyes sharp but carrying a hint of pride, and shortly after, he finally reached the observation post he'd built earlier.
Without hesitation, he climbed the tree with quick, practiced movements, knowing the path up by heart. There, among the branches he'd arranged beforehand, he found what he'd stashed away: a stack of extra arrows, some poisoned, some plain.
He also found a small bag of dried food, carefully prepared to last him several days.
Beside the food sat a sturdy piece of hide, carefully stitched into pouches for storing water. Inside was a modest but sufficient amount for someone who knew how to ration it well. What he found here saved him, especially after the food inside the tunnel had been buried during the collapse.
He sat for a while, watching the chaotic scene from above, the two Phantoms in his hands feeling like a small treasure amid the hell surrounding him.
A heavy half hour passed, and the chaos never let up. Roars, howls, and explosions kept tearing through the air, every moment carrying with it the possibility of death. Even the tree Shen Zuo was hiding in shook violently several times, some of it from shockwaves caused by fighting, and some from beasts crashing into it or ricocheting off it in the raging chaos around him.
But despite all that, Shen Zuo stayed deep inside the tree, hidden, braced firmly between the tight branches he'd built himself earlier. The air was heavy, dirt occasionally flying up from below, but the spot held firm.
He tried to rest, slowing his breathing, avoiding any movement that might draw attention. His wounds weren't minor, dried blood still coating parts of his body, but he pulled out what remained of the numbing herb he'd learned to make from the old men, from a small bag, and began bandaging his wounds in careful silence.
His mind was hazy but alert. Every passing second meant either a chance at survival, or a moment closer to death.
While Shen Zuo sat inside the observation post, his body wedged tightly within the hollows he'd carved into the tree earlier, he sat breathing calmly and began training again. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, trying to summon the Aether energy inside his body, organizing it and expanding its reserve as much as he could. His hands stayed firmly locked around the two Phantoms he'd caught, which occasionally squirmed slowly in desperate attempts to escape, but the pressure of his grip, combined with the intermittent pulses of energy he sent to petrify his hand, was enough to keep them subdued.
Every few minutes, he'd open his eyes and move with extreme caution toward a small gap between the branches, slowly poking his head out, barely lifting his eyelids, watching the scene from a distance.
Outside, below the tree, the aftermath of the chaos had shifted. Everywhere, many of the traps he'd planted earlier had been triggered: arrows piercing wolves' eyes, and pairs that had crawled across the muddy ground, another lodged straight in a wolf's heart, exposing it and getting it killed by another beast.
Corpses scattered everywhere, some dead, some still twitching in their final throes. Some traps were thorny ground pits, and a set he'd rigged with hidden threads had been triggered by the wind of battle, restraining some beasts' movement and exposing them to arrows coming from above or from the sides of the trees.
The arrows he'd planted earlier were spread across numerous zones, roughly a hundred in total, and he noticed most of them had already been used. Plenty of blood on the ground, sounds of collision, and distant roars from unseen but clearly audible beasts.
In his mental tally, between what he'd killed with his own hands, what the traps had taken down, and what he'd contributed to indirectly, he estimated he'd nearly finished off his quota of Level One beasts... or at least come very close to it.
Despite the hunger, exhaustion, and blood loss, his gaze wasn't one of despair, but steady, as he tightened his grip further on the two Phantoms.
Indeed, the area around the observation post had become relatively safe. The traps Shen Zuo had planted were doing their job effectively. Most of the Level One beasts hadn't made it, either killed outright, hindered and turned into easy prey for other beasts, or fallen victim to the poison coating the arrow tips or exposed wounds.
As for the higher-level beasts, they'd become completely occupied with feeding on the scattered corpses. True, the poison didn't kill them instantly, but it slowed their movement, weakened their focus, and possibly stunted some of their reflexes temporarily, a modest effect, but enough to buy some time or avoid a direct clash with them.
After an hour of careful observation and training, Shen Zuo noticed the water level inside his Aether Field had risen slightly, barely noticeable, but it was a small victory within his broader ambition. He recognized that progress, however slow, was still happening.
He fixed his gaze on the larger Phantom... which clearly showed stronger resistance and a stronger will.
He bound it tightly using plant-fiber ropes he'd already prepared, tying them around the Phantom's joints, making sure the ropes pressed against it from every direction so it couldn't escape.
The second Phantom was his current target.
He reached toward it and began the examination slowly. His energy wasn't fully stable yet, but he didn't have the luxury of waiting any longer.
He began pushing into the Phantom, trying to enter its consciousness, touching the edges of the will inside it. It wasn't as hard as the first one, but resistance was still present, and strong.
"Whatever strength I've got left, I need it now..."
Shen Zuo whispered to himself, feeling the weight of the process.
Even the Rock Mutation Phantom, the one that had saved his life just hours earlier, wasn't in good shape anymore. It was worn down from overuse and had started showing signs of internal damage. Phantoms, like weapons, need maintenance, and if used intensely without rest or rebalancing, they begin to deteriorate. Some collapse entirely, others become unstable. That's why Phantoms often gravitate toward beasts living in special locations rich in minerals or rare plants capable of repairing them.
But Shen Zuo didn't have that option right now... no time, no location, no help. Alone, in the middle of a battlefield.
He began the examination.
The process repeated itself just as it had before. The Phantom's resistance wasn't as strong as the previous one, but it drained every last bit of Shen Zuo's remaining energy. He kept at it steadily for nearly two hours, pushing forward with steady, deliberate steps into the Phantom, layer by layer, until it finally responded to him... and submitted.
He'd succeeded.
But his body couldn't match his willpower; the moment the process finished, his body temperature dropped suddenly, and he collapsed onto his side inside the tree's hollow, unconscious.
Amid the sounds of beasts and the chaotic fighting still raging on, Shen Zuo slept through the chaos.
Nearly two hours passed.
Then he woke up suddenly to a violent tremor that shook the tree from its trunk all the way up. It felt like a small earthquake, something massive had struck the trunk, or landed near it. The branches shook harshly, and a few dry leaves fell onto his face.
He opened his eyes quickly, still exhausted, but the sense of danger was enough to push him up. He grabbed his axe first, without even thinking, and heard the roar of a beast.
His energy had recovered enough to restore his balance, even though his body was still worn down from the back-to-back examinations. Shen Zuo rose calmly, took a deep breath, and the feeling of having a new Phantom in his possession, even without knowing its strength yet, gave him enough confidence to steady himself.
He made his way toward the small observation gap, gently pushed a few branches aside, and looked down.
And there... he saw that bird again.
The hawk-like bird, its blue eyes still burning with a calm, fiery glow, stood at the base of the tree, having just struck its curved trunk once with its wing, as though knocking on a door.
It wasn't angry... but its expression wasn't exactly friendly either.
Nearly still, it gave off the impression it was silent
ly calling out to Shen Zuo, an unfinished conversation still hanging between them.