Just as they relaxed, the passage rumbled again, heavier this time as multiple shadows shifted within the darkness ahead. The ground trembled steadily, and the sound of scraping and dragging grew louder as more beasts closed in.
Everyone moved at once, taking defensive positions as their focus sharpened again. The fat man raised his hand immediately, a talisman already between his fingers as he prepared to throw it.
Lin Xiao Tian stepped forward and stopped him with a light motion, his tone calm yet leaving no room for argument. "Follow us for now… and stop throwing money around like this."
Before the man could respond, a beast lunged out from the darkness, its maw opening wide as it rushed toward them. Lin Xiao Tian moved without pause, his hand shooting forward as he caught it mid-charge.
The impact was clean as he drove it straight into the wall beside them, pinning its body there with a single motion as the force crushed it in place.
