Chapter 646 - Sense of imminent danger
Chapter 646 – Sense of imminent danger
For obvious reasons, neither Bai Zemin nor anyone else present counted the number of Soul Stones they picked up from the ground. After all, it was impossible for them to do such a thing in the middle of a forest crowded with mutant beasts, mutant insects, and mutant plants lurking in the shadows waiting for the right moment to pounce on them and devour their bodies and Soul Power.
However, not knowing the exact number did not mean that everyone present was unaware of the great treasure they had managed to obtain on this occasion.
“Even if we leave now without exploring the five pagodas this trip was definitely worth it!” Feng Hong laughed proudly and pointed out, “Among all these Soul Stones, there must be at least two or three hundred thousand! There might even be several hundred of First Order Soul Stones!”
“This many Soul Stones alone could compare to the entire treasure of our Chinese Rebirth faction.” Huang Tian chuckled as he received some medical treatment since he had been injured in the previous battle.
Teng Hua petted his tame snake and fed it a piece of mutant meat as he agreed: “I must say, to get all this spoils of war with only a few wounded and zero deaths…. It’s like I’m dreaming. This kind of battle is one where it would be a miracle if one of us managed to escape alive under normal circumstances.”
“Jiejiejie…” Liang Jing laughed like some kind of creepy witch but his voice was brimming with admiration as he said in a raspy voice, “Isn’t this all thanks to our wonderful Team Leader Bai? Who would have thought that a human could achieve such a level of might in three months of evolution!”
Everyone nodded and it didn’t take an overly attentive person to realize that even the four guild leaders were looking at Bai Zemin with admiration and appreciation. If before they followed him because of orders from the higher-ups and because they knew he was the strongest among those present, then his demonstration of power about half an hour ago and his ability to keep them all alive won the hearts of each of the soul evolvers and soldiers present.
Under the eyes of everyone, Bai Zemin took a step forward and with a wave of his hand all the Soul Stones that had formed several small mountains that flashed with bright lights disappeared without a trace.
“This…” Feng Hong was startled at the sight of something so fairy-like.
“Jiejieji- Cough! Cough! Cough!….” Liang Jing wanted to act like it was normal but the coughing wouldn’t leave him and his face soon turned red as if he was having trouble breathing.
‘Fortunately and I left several things at home or my ring wouldn’t have been able to keep all this.’ Bai Zemin rejoiced before turning around and ordering in a firm voice, “We are moving. Remember to keep formation, the weaver ants have not yet been defeated! We also can’t discount the fact that we’re not just facing mutant ants here!”
Since the army general had not been defeated, Bai Zemin did not believe that this would be over just like that. Therefore, to avoid any problems he would rather keep his guard up. Even he did not dare to underestimate the full Strength of a First or Second Order mutant weaver ant.
The group soon resumed their advance in a southerly direction, moving deeper into the mountain range. While they had brought plenty of ammunition, it had all been expended in the previous long war so the once useful soldiers now had no choice but to move to the center of the formation and were reduced to nothing more than support party carrying tents, food, tools, and all manner of military logistical goods to facilitate exploration and survival in the forests.
However, the group did not feel the loss of the rapid fire support from the armed soldiers too much. After all, thanks to the support of people like Bai Zemin, Chen He, Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, and the four guild leaders; all the soul evolvers had reached at least level 18 and not a few had broken beyond level 20.
The only thing that was a bit cumbersome was that since the group also had normal humans and due to the terrain, it was impossible to advance at high speeds, therefore, even after walking for a full hour they still hadn’t even come close to reaching the destination they were aiming for.
In fact, to reach the five pagodas starting from Xingshou Town, tourists who loved mountain climbing and craved nature often took up to two or three hours in the past world where the distances were shorter. Therefore, even after walking for five hours almost without a break, the group still had not reached the five pagodas.
“Big brother, is something wrong?” Meng Qi asked with some hesitation after being silent for over one hour.
She had noticed that not only did her brother have a slight frown on his face but even Shangguan Bing Xue did. Since the two of them were the most powerful people in the entire team, Meng Qi had been watching them with the intention of noticing small changes in their expressions that would reveal when something might be going wrong.
“It’s weird…” Bai Zemin muttered under his breath and stopped in his tracks, causing everyone to stop behind him and look at him in confusion.
Suddenly, he looked at Shangguan Bing Xue and asked in a serious voice, “Did you notice it too?”
“Yeah,” Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and said somewhat coldly, “During the whole route, we have faced more than ten thousand mutant beasts and there were also not a few mutant plants that attacked us after not listening to Yijun, but curiously, no weaver ant appeared again.”
“… Weaver ants are very territorial creatures and also vengeful. We have killed millions of them but surprisingly no Second Order weaver ants popped up among the killed ones and the number of First Order weaver ants wasn’t too high either.” Bai Zemin said in a low voice as he looked at the surroundings with some caution. “I refuse to believe that the general or generals of the previous army just gave up just like that.”
As a biology student, Bai Zemin knew a lot about green life and for some reason he was beginning to feel uneasy. He rarely felt uncomfortable to the point where the expression on his face showed it, but now, each step forward he took seemed to feel heavier as if his body was trying to speak to him with clear signals.
The current Bai Zemin was no longer that Bai Zemin who knew nothing of the world, the current Bai Zemin was the leader of a faction composed of over 30,000 survivors and the top leader of armies of several thousand armed soldiers and over 4000 soul evolvers with great potential to grow. Therefore, he knew that as a leader and general, even in the worst circumstances he should not show any worries as this would affect the morale and fighting spirit of the troops behind him.
Precisely because they knew the kind of person Bai Zemin was, Shangguan Bing Xue exchanged glances with Chen He, Wu Yijun, Zhong De, Nangong Lingxin, and Cai Jingyi; all of them were becoming more and more serious and tensed as if they were about to face a great enemy.
Seeing the change in the expressions of several of the most powerful people present, the others also began to realize that something was not right. Even the indifferent Xia Ya did not dare to act relaxed at this point and the playful Sun Ling had a rare serious expression on her face.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Zemin finally waved his hand and the storage ring on his index finger flashed with a sparkle of purple light before turning off.
Under the attentive and confused eyes of everyone, several thousand Soul Stones appeared on the ground before them releasing faint beautiful glows and forming a kind of rainbow with their varied colors.
“All of you. I want you to take these Soul Stones and start evolving your skills as much as you can.” Bai Zemin commanded with a deep voice that left no room for argument. “If any of you can still evolve a skill further and the cost for it is made up of Unclassified or First Order Soul Stones, let me know and I will see what I can do.”
The words spoken by Bai Zemin were proof of how serious the situation was. He would definitely not give Soul Stones to anyone who was not his actual subordinate or who was not under his control in some way or another; much less strengthen a group of soul evolvers who did not yet belong to his faction and who if the worst came to the worst he might have to kill. However, he really felt uneasy so he was willing to do anything to calm that uneasiness.
People like Feng Hong, Feng Tian Wu, Huang Tian, Teng Hua, Liang Jing, Sun Ling, Xia Ya, and those who had been fighting alongside Bai Zemin for a long time already could not be shaken by Unclassified Soul Stones. They were strong enough or possessed sufficient status to obtain such Soul Stones and evolve the skills that required them so any skill whose evolution requirement was Unclassified Soul Stones had already been evolved long ago.
However, the same could not be said for all those present.
The 99% of the soul evolvers present did not hesitate in taking a step forward to get Soul Stones and start evolving whatever passive or active skills they had left to evolve. After all, Soul Stones were too precious treasures so except for a handful of privileged people none of them could own one just because the monster they killed had a Soul Stone. If they were discovered doing it, they might even be expelled from the establishment which would eventually result in their deaths.
Therefore, now that they were being offered on a silver platter the chance to become stronger none of them wasted even a second talking nonsense.
About one hour later, Bai Zemin had supplied each soul evolver with an average of 60 Unclassified Soul Stones and at least 5 First Order Soul Stones. Considering that the number of soul evolvers present was just a little less than 400, the number of Soul Stones that were consumed in that short amount of time was by no means small!
Bai Zemin even looked inside his storage ring to confirm that any of all the skill scrolls that could increase the safety of Meng Qi had already been handed over to his family despite knowing that there were no longer any strong skill scrolls with him.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Zemin even took out various swords, spears, bows, maces, leather armor, plate armor, shields, chains, and all sorts of equipment he obtained after slaughtering countless members of the asura race.
Bai Zemin didn’t know if he was feeling nervous about nothing or not. But he believed that the practically superhuman instinct that had accompanied him all his life and helped him countless times would definitely not fail him now.
When he handed these objects over to the soul evolvers and soldiers, they all looked at him with burning fervor and their admiration for Bai Zemin grew to levels never seen before. In fact, even though they were all aware that for someone as strong as him to be being so cautious meant that great danger was probably looming, feeling how they were becoming more powerful just by standing following his back made over 90% of those present swear in their hearts to follow Bai Zemin all the way to the grave.
“Move!”
Bai Zemin waved his hand and turned around, walking forward with resolution in every step he took.
“Yes!!!”
With new resolve in their hearts, they all shouted as they followed their leader with increasing fighting intent.
Lilith watched the advance of the human troops and as her ruby eyes focused on the back of the man leading them forward with courage, she couldn’t help but sigh.
She had seen the growth of Bai Zemin, from the very second number 1 to this point. She had seen the changes in his attitude, the growth in his character, the reaffirmation after reaffirmation on his resolve, his strengthening…. She had seen practically each and every step he took forward.
However, what Lilith was most relieved and proud of was that although Bai Zemin was basically a god among humans, he did not let that strength go to his head; this was what she feared the most but what thanks to her constant intervention and warning he did not forget and kept in mind.
Who knows… That caution and wariness despite being so powerful could save his life and the lives of many of his loved ones or subordinates who trusted in his leadership.