Tang Shaoyang did not know how long he had been fighting the swarm, but he was sure that he and Li Na along with the spirits and Moon had killed more than a million beasts and monsters.
But he was sure they had been fighting for three days and three nights. The sun and the moon were the things he could use to count how long it had been. He was sure they had gotten through three nights.
The sun rose and lit the plain with the sunlight that was filled with beasts and monsters, "The fourth morning, huh!?" He was about to swing the battle-ax but suddenly the surrounding changed.
It was instant teleportation and he appeared back in HZ Bay. He appeared in the middle of the road. It was an unfamiliar road but he was sure that he had returned to HZ Bay because of the familiar houses. If not for the houses, he might have mistaken it that he was still in another world.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Then he heard that someone was still swinging the weapon. He looked toward the voice and saw Li Na was still fighting against the air. She stabbed the spear forward and slashed the sword horizontally. She then swung the spear and stabbed the sword forward. Li Na repeated the same actions even though she hit nothing.
Moon looked down on his Master. It looked silly, he poked her shoulder with his claw to awake his Master. Li Na was immediately awakened and realized that she was no longer in the plain. No beast, no monsters. She had returned to Earth, she had finished the sixth portal.
[You have completed the sixth portal!]
[Congratulations! You have gained the reward, +10 Level!]
[You have leveled up!]
…
Series of notifications rang in her head, it was foolproof that she had completed the sixth portal.
Li Na turned around and met her gaze with Tang Shaoyang's gaze. She soon realized that man was looking at her amusedly. Her face reddened and she lowered her head. She did not dare to meet with his eyes.
"Welcome back~" Elin greeted Tang Shaoyang. She brought a pot of hot water with a soaked towel on the side. Delia, Arina, and Selena were not following her this time.
Tang Shaoyang took the towel and wiped his face. He realized that the road was so unfamiliar. He saw many tables outside and also many couches, the road was now becoming a place to hang out instead. He could see a counter of food and drinks too.
He saw Delia was preparing the food with her mother-in-law, and Kang Zian's wife. He was surprised that his fierce mother-in-law had become close to one of his women. Selena and Arina were helping the others too, cooking some food.
They got a conventional stove and cooked the food outside. Selena and Arina blended with the other woman well. It was surprisingly less tense than before.
Not long after his return, Wei Xi and Lu An returned. Both men were in a better condition than Li Na, less exhausted but their faces and clothes were dirty.
"We are back!" Exclaimed Wei Xi, "Man, it was nerve-wracking at the last moment!"
Lu An ignored Wei Xin at the sight of Tang Shaoyang. He walked over and greeted, "Boss!"
"How is it, hard?" Tang Shaoyang asked the young man who had lost his naivety for experiencing six portals in a row.
"It's not hard but quite challenging," the young man answered with a smirk. Hearing Lu An's reply, Wei Xi's jaw dropped, "Challenging? I almost lost my life twice there," the Swordsman muttered in a low voice.
"It was indeed challenging, the last portal might have more fun. Go get some sleep, you look exhausted, or you can have a proper meal first if you want," Tang Shaoyang pointed at the counter that was filled with food. Li Na had feasted the food by herself there.
It was understandable, they did not have normal food for thirty-seven days. On top of that, she should have been starved as they had not eaten for three days.
"What about you?" Lu An glanced at the counter before he asked his Boss.
"I will wait for the others, I want to make sure everyone comes back alive," as soon as he finished his words, over forty figures suddenly appeared around them.
Zhang Mengyao that still wore her black armor and lance was among them. Her big lance was so catchy so he immediately found her. He was about to call Zhang Mengyao until he heard a gasp of shock and the sound of the pot fell ring.
It was Elin, the pot fell and she hid behind while pointing at a figure with a black robe, "U-undead!!"
He followed her finger and found a zombie with a pointy ear? Soon he realized that all the figures with a black robe were a zombie. There was no need to guess who was coming back with Zhang Mengyao as there was only a person who could control zombies.
"Yu Shun! Your boys are scaring the people!" He yelled as he could not spot where the young man was.
"Aye Boss!" A figure with a black cloak waved his hand at Tang Shaoyang. There was a woman in his embrace, Luo Lan immediately went to hug her boyfriend as soon as he came back.
Yu Shun was one of many who changed. The young man who was having a hard time believing people now became a sunny boy, cheerful and friendly even though the zombies around him looked not friendly at all.
Yu Shun left with his girlfriend and the zombies while Zhang Mengyao came over. She was comforting Elinova who was frightened by the zombies, "It's okay, they may look scary but they are our allies. Our people controlled them, so you don't need to be afraid."
"You should go rest or enjoy the food, let me and Wen take care of the rest," at this moment, an old voice entered his ears.
Tang Shaoyang looked toward the voice and found Kang Jiayi. The old man was walking side by side with the Jade Eagle with a notebook in his hand.
"My Lord," Wen bowed his head at Tang Shaoyang.
He looked into the old man's eyes for a moment. He could tell that the old man changed, and he seemed to want to help with the menial work. Wen also kept signaling to him to leave the work to them.
"I have the list of who entered the sixth portal!" The old man raised the notebook, "We will match the data and count the casualty. Of course, we wish for no casualties, but if there any, I hope you can compensate the family…" the old man wanted to speak more, but he stopped halfway upon noticing the exhaustion in Tang Shaoyang's eyes.
"You can go rest, for now, just leave this to us. We will make a compiled report to you later," The old man walked past him and approached the four people who just returned.
Tang Shaoyang was not used yet with the changes, but since the old man changes for the better. He was willing to give him the second chance.
"Alright, I want to have a cold bath and a nap for a few hours. It's so uncomfortable not sleeping for three days," Tang Shaoyang stretched his neck as he walked toward his house. There were a lot of things to catch up on, but a good rest was the thing he needed for the work later.
"Let me prepare that for you," Elinova followed him. Zhang Mengyao came to Li Na and asked what about Moon. The Mystical Bear was still standing next to his master with his towering figure.
Lu An went for the food too, leaving Wei Xi alone. The man looked at the Moon's towering figure for a moment before casting a glance at his leader's back, 'What he goes through to not sleep for three days?'
*** ***
Three hours later
Tang Shaoyang was sitting in his room. Wen and Kang Jiayi were standing across him. He just woke up and he immediately came here to hear the report. He took a sip of instant coffee prepared by Elin before looking toward the pair of beastmen and an old man.
"So, what do you have for me?" Tang Shaoyang asked the two. He heard a cheer from outside, it seemed his people were celebrating their return from the portal. Because of the cheers, he was hoping for good news.
Wen walked toward Tang Shaoyang with the notebook while Kang Jiayi opened his mouth, "We have casualties, two people did not return," the old man spoke in a heavy tone.
A deep frown formed on his foreheads and shot a cold glance toward the old man, "Did they aware that we have two people not returning from the portal?"
If the participants did not return within the designated time, it meant they died inside the portal.
"They" in Tang Shaoyang's mouth were the people who were partying outside.
"They should know…" the old man had not finished his words as Tang Shaoyang slammed the table hard and cursed, "B*stards!"
Bang!
It echoed inside the room, the bang and the curse. Kang Jiayi was shocked by the sudden outburst. He was clearly not expecting the man would be angry like this.
Tang Shaoyang almost wanted to rush through the window and beat everyone who was partying. He managed to hold back by taking a deep breath, "Did they have a family?"
Cold sweat started to drip down from the old man's forehead. He felt that the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. He felt a chill when he met with Tang Shaoyang's cold gaze. It seemed that his answer would determine the fate of the people outside.