After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 81: Was this the end?

Sal’s brows drew together tightly. "We have to break away—now. We need to shake off the mutated beast horde."

He shifted instantly into his beast form. Nina climbed onto his back without hesitation.

"Hold on tight," he warned.

"I am."

Clutching Yinny and Didi securely against her chest, Nina lowered her body and tapped Sal’s side. He surged forward at once, accelerating into a blur. Wind howled past them, tearing at her hair and clothes as she gripped him firmly.

Yanai and the others also transformed, flanking them in a tight protective formation as they sprinted through the forest.

They were fast—terrifyingly fast—but the mutated beasts were no slower. The flying variants had an obvious advantage. Gradually, they began closing the distance.

Before long, the first flying mutated beast caught up and dove, talons flashing. Sal twisted sharply to evade, maintaining speed. Then came a second. A third.

More and more poured in behind them.

"Intercept them!" Sal roared.

Black Flame instantly transformed into a massive black hawk. Along with three other flying wanderers, he launched into the air, engaging the airborne mutated beasts in fierce combat, buying Nina and the others precious seconds to escape.

But there were too many.

Despite their combined efforts, several mutated beasts broke through the defensive line and lunged straight for Sal and Nina, forcing them to slow their advance.

Nina felt it instantly.

They weren’t attacking at random. They were focusing on her.

But why?

Was there something on her that drew them? A scent? An energy signature? Was it because she had absorbed the origin stones?

Her heart sank as a chilling realization crept in.

From behind, more beasts burst through the undergrowth, their snarls overlapping into a chaotic roar. Branches snapped. Soil churned beneath pounding claws.

Soon, the entire horde caught up.

The forest trembled under the sheer number of mutated creatures. Massive bodies crashed through trees as if they were brittle twigs. The ground quaked with every synchronized step, fallen leaves lifting into the air from the vibration alone.

They were surrounded.

Shapes moved between the trunks—glowing eyes, distorted silhouettes, flashing fangs. The beasts closed in from all sides, sealing every possible route of escape.

Yanai reacted instantly.

With a sharp gesture, he summoned a towering wall of vines from the forest floor. Thick, rope-like tendrils twisted upward in spirals, weaving together into a living barricade. Leaves unfurled in layers, dense and overlapping, forming a temporary shield that pulsed faintly with green light.

He wielded wood-element abilities—but even so, the strain showed in the tightness of his jaw.

"How can there be so many?" Ghost Wolf muttered under his breath, taking two uneasy steps back as the vine wall shuddered under the impact of claws and horns.

The air filled with the smell of sap and crushed greenery.

In Nina’s arms, Yinny and Didi trembled violently, their small bodies shaking as they clung to her clothes. Their frightened whimpers pierced through the thunder of growls and crashing wood.

Nina forced her breathing to steady.

"It’s okay," she whispered, though she wasn’t sure whether she was comforting them—or herself.

She stroked their heads gently, her touch deliberate and calm despite the chaos. Working quickly, she secured them tightly against her body with strips of beast-hide, knotting them with practiced efficiency so they wouldn’t slip even if she had to run or fight.

Behind her, the remaining eggs were reinforced as well. She tightened the bindings one last time, checking each strap carefully to ensure none would fall.

Outside the vine wall, the beasts roared louder.

And the barricade began to crack.

Then she called inwardly, "Little Bun, is there anything in the system that can deal with this?"

[Host, the strongest currently available offensive weapons are light artillery shells and bombs. However, they are only effective against mutated beasts below fifth rank.]

[The horde contains numerous high-rank targets. Escape probability is close to zero. No suitable escape items detected. You may purchase immobilization talismans—maximum fifteen.]

A chill ran down Nina’s spine.

Was this the end?

"What about the breakthrough pills you mentioned before?" she asked urgently.

[Yes. Breakthrough Pills can temporarily raise combat rank instantly. However, they cause physical strain. Each pill raises rank once. Effectiveness decreases at higher levels. Maximum three pills per use. Increased energy consumption. Use with caution.]

Nina immediately purchased immobilization talismans, bombs, and three Breakthrough Pills.

The pills likely wouldn’t help Sal much—his level was already high. She bought them as insurance for herself.

"Sal," Yanai called out, voice grim, "I sense four mutated beasts at ninth rank. There are several eighth-rank ones as well."

Ghost Wolf and the others went pale.

Four ninth-rank?

That was a death sentence.

Sal’s gaze sharpened. "Have you noticed something off about them? They’re unusually frenzied."

Yanai narrowed his eyes. "Their eyes... I thought it was my imagination, but they seem faintly bloodshot."

He had never seen such madness in mutated beasts before.

Ghost Wolf edged closer to Sal. "Boss... what do we do?"

"There are too many to kill outright," Sal replied. "We carve out an opening and break through."

He could not risk an all-out confrontation. Nina and the cubs had to survive.

"I’ll hold off the four ninth-rank beasts," Yanai said suddenly. "You take Nina and run."

Sal gave a sharp nod.

Nina hurriedly distributed the items she’d purchased.

She handed Yanai four immobilization talismans. "Stick these directly onto them. It should freeze them temporarily. Try to attach them somewhere secure."

She wasn’t certain how effective they’d be against high-rank targets.

"Be careful," she whispered.

Yanai gave her a steady look. "Don’t worry."

Even if it cost him his life, he would buy her time.

Nina passed one talisman to Sal and each of the wandering beasts, keeping one for herself.

Then she handed out the bombs. "These explode. Effective against fifth-rank and below. Use them strategically."

They nodded.

Ghost Wolf marveled at the strange tools she produced, though Sal and Yanai were accustomed to her mysterious supplies by now.

The vine wall splintered.

"Strike where they’re weakest!" Sal ordered.

Ghost Wolf and the others lunged toward a thinner section of the encirclement, fighting desperately to break through.

Yanai charged the four ninth-rank beasts head-on. Vines erupted from the earth, wrapping around them, sprouting countless sharp thorns.

The beasts tore through the vines with terrifying strength, counterattacking in unison.

Facing four ninth-rank beasts alone, Yanai held his ground—but only barely. Prolonged combat would be fatal.

Meanwhile, countless other mutated beasts surged toward Sal and Nina.

Sal’s strength had not fully recovered. Forced to split his focus between attack and defense while protecting Nina, he struggled.

Some mutated beasts shifted tactics.

If they couldn’t break Sal quickly, they would target Nina.

Several lunged at Sal’s back, attempting to drag Nina down.

Sal narrowly dodged again and again, but under the relentless assault, Nina was forced to leap off to avoid being struck.

They were separated.

Instantly, the mutated beasts rushed between them, tearing the group apart.

"Nina!"

Sal’s voice cracked with urgency as he slaughtered the nearest beasts, fighting to reach her.

But they surrounded him like a living wall, attacking recklessly, determined to keep him from getting close.

Nina landed hard on the forest floor.

All around her, mutated beasts turned, their bloodshot eyes blazing with savage hunger... And they lunged.