Chapter 55
Chapter 55: Half-spirit Beast
Once Yan Haobo put his hand out as a signal, the squad stopped.
They were not terribly frightened after the forest leopard’s sneak attack, but they were much more alert than before.
The few soldiers who were carrying quarries quickly put them down, then retrieved their weapons and hid carefully. If there was something unforeseen in front, their lives would be threatened, let alone the quarries.
Ou Yangming followed suit by putting the quarries down too. He hid behind a big tree but was not actually concerned because he had already seen what was ahead through the Vision +1 attribute.
Soon enough, the two scouts returned, but they were followed by a middle-aged man who dressed like them. They were conversing casually, which was obvious that they were acquainted.
After a brief moment, the man cupped his hands at Yan Haobo. “Greetings, Squad Leader Yan, I’m Zhuang Juncai from the South Camp’s Guards.”
He only did a simple bow at Yan Haobo, but since they were in a forest, nobody would make a fuss about it.
“So you’re our brother from the South Camp. Have you just entered the forest?” Yan Haobo nodded slowly.
“We followed Captain Yu into the forest, and it has been more than ten days.” Zhuang Juncai’s face reddened.
Yan Haobo was stunned. “Is Captain Yu here?”
The military camp was divided into five camps, which were the East, South, West, North, and Middle camps. Clearly, the Middle Camp was where the commanding general was located, whereas the ones from the four other camps were brothers but also competitors.
Captain Yu was Yu Hailiang, the captain of the Guards under the South Camp’s general command. According to his status, he should not be in the forest, so either he had a sudden impulse or the normal soldiers encountered something that could not be handled.
“Yes.” Zhuang Juncai had a grave expression on his face.
“Since Captain Yu is here personally, I’m sure your visit has been rewarding?” Yan Haobo laughed.
Zhuang Juncai looked at the six wild beasts on the floor, then smiled bitterly. “Squad Leader Yan, honestly, we haven’t gained anything unlike your squad did. In fact, we lost three brothers.”
Yan Haobo’s face changed as he was in disbelief. “What?”
Yu Hailiang was comparable with Captain Liu Zhengye from the West Camp’s Guards be it his status or his cultivation base.
If Liu Zhengye led soldiers into the forest but did not gain any quarries after more than ten days, and even lost some men, it could only mean one thing.
Yan Haobo stared at Zhuang Juncai as he asked, “Brother Zhuang, did you encounter a big fella?”
Ou Yangming was moved. He obviously knew that the big fellow he meant was not an ordinary wild beast.
As expected, Zhuang Juncai replied seriously, “Frankly speaking, we met a half-spirit beast, and we ended up like this after an intense battle. Captain Yu’s just in front, and he needs help from you, long-range archers, and brothers who have the cultivation base of Yin Grade Class Two and above.”
“A half-spirit beast!” Yan Haobo gasped and smiled bitterly. “Brother Zhuang, this is a serious matter, so I need to discuss it with my brothers.”
“Of course. If that’s the case, I’ll head back first to wait for your good news.” Zhuang Juncai smiled. Instead of persuading Yan Haobo, he gave him a fist salute then left.
Once he was far away, the archer and soldier who were scouting earlier mentioned, “Squad Leader, let’s do it!”
Ou Yangming was stunned because they answered before Yan Haobo raised the question. It seemed like Zhuang Juncai also knew that Yan Haobo’s men would agree to this.
Sure enough, the other men, even the three soldiers who were injured, were very keen and eager.
Yan Haobo looked at them coldly. “It’s a half-spirit beast, which is nothing like a ferocious beast. You know who Captain Yu is, but even he is helpless, and they suffered heavy casualties. Heh, even if we join them, we might not return safely!”
The soldier who was with the archer earlier stuck his tongue out to lick his dry lips. “Squad Leader, we’re soldiers who are destined to fight, and we’re always ready to sacrifice. Wealth comes from danger, and the only thing I know is that we’ll benefit greatly if we really kill that half-spirit beast.”
Upon hearing him, the others who were still undecided were firm with their decision, and they looked more thrilled than before.
Normal soldiers might be afraid of death, but those who were part of the Guards were courageous, fearless men. If they only cowered in the face of trouble, how could they be qualified in the first place?
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming began regarding the soldier with special respect because of this.
He knew from their journey that the soldier was Jin Tao, a master who was only second to Yan Haobo in the squad. Having the cultivation base of Yin Grade Class Two, he would not lose terribly even if he fought against Yan Haobo.
“Squad Leader, we’re doing it!”
The other men yelled, and none of them backed off.
Yan Haobo scoffed. “You’re being foolish. Didn’t you hear? They only need archers and those who are above Yin Grade Class Two. As for the others, wait here, take care of our captures, and don’t cause any trouble.”
The soldiers smiled embarrassedly. Apart from Jin Tao and the two archers, the rest looked regretful.
Ou Yangming suddenly asked out of curiosity, “Squad Leader Yan, what’s a half-spirit beast? Is it worth risking your life for it?”
“Master Ou, half-spirit beasts are actually mutated species of ferocious beasts in the forest. They’re more inferior to the legendary spirit beasts, but they’re powerful enough that it’s difficult for normal people to fight them. Even if the general gets involved, help from the military is needed to subdue and to kill them.” Yan Haobo smiled then changed his tone as he added, “But if we really succeed, it’ll be considered an extremely meritorious service!”
Ou Yangming knew how big the merit would be by just looking at the luster in Yan Haobo’s eyes.
Merits were very useful in the military in many ways, especially in exchanging pieces of equipment and medicine. Without enough merits, some things could not be acquired even if one had plenty of silver.
Although Ou Yangming did not require any equipment, he understood the importance of merits.
He only had the chance to come into contact with the Military Fire because of the merits accumulated by Old Craftsman for over more than a decade.
Ou Yangming pondered for a while before he asked, “Squad Leader Yan, how about you bring me along?”
“Master Ou, this is not a joke, our lives are at stake if we join them.” Yan Haobo’s face changed. He simply meant that it was too dangerous and that it was not a place for Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows a little. He knew that he could not get Yan Haobo’s approval if he did not show some real stuff, let alone getting Captain Yu’s consent.
Subsequently, he retrieved his dagger. “Squad Leader Yan, what do you think about this dagger?”
Yan Haobo praised it after taking a few looks at it. “It’s a sharp dagger, and I believe that it’s a High Grade?”
The others were envious and they looked at the dagger with greedy eyes. It was a High Grade weapon, so even though it was just a dagger, they wanted it very badly.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming only smiled. He took the dagger back, then threw it at a big tree as far away as hard as he could.
Yan Haobo and the others were confused as they did not know what he was doing. When the dagger finally hit the tree, an explosion was heard, and countless iron shards shot into the tree like a fall of rain.
While the areas around the tree were slightly affected, the effect mainly took place in one direction.
The faces of Yan Haobo and his men changed as they were dumbfounded. They wondered at the same time what would happen to them if the dagger exploded on them. In fact, Yan Haobo’s heart palpitated as well because he figured that he would have been a bloody corpse if that happened to him.
“Wh-what is this…” Yan Haobo mumbled.
“This is a new smithing skill that I learned, which allows weapons to explode when they’re thrown at enemies.” Ou Yangming shrugged, then looked at the two archers. “Since Captain Yu asked for archers, I’m sure arrows like that will be useful?”
Yan Haobo and the others were instantly interested.
After seeing the dagger’s explosive skill, there was a 180-degree turn in their attitude.
If the explosive ability was transferred to an arrow… The image was too emotional for them, thus they dared not think about it anymore.
“Okay, Master Ou, please come with us!” Yan Haobo made his decision.
He was extremely glad at that moment because he made the right choice in bringing Master Ou to the forest.
Everyone dug a big hole in the ground to put their quarries inside. Following that, Yan Haobo brought Jin Tao, two archers, and Ou Yangming away. As for the rest, they took care of the injured ones and guarded their quarries.
Forget about long-range archers, but those who were going to fight the half-spirit beast at a close range must have the cultivation base of at least Yin Grade Class Two, or one would only be a burden.
Needless to say, a blacksmith like Ou Yangming was in another category.
Before long, they met Zhuang Juncai who was not surprised by Yan Haobo’s decision at all, or he would not have stayed to wait.
With that, they advanced two hundred meters forward together until they saw a group of people sitting or standing around. There were at least twenty people there including the ones who were keeping watch nearby, as well as the lost men. There were at least three groups of men from the South Camp who entered the dense forest.
A tall man with muscular arms who was in the middle looked over.
His eyes were as sharp as lightning, which showed that he was a highly capable person.
“You’re Squad Leader Yan from the West Camp, right?” Yu Hailiang smiled, then pointed at the man beside him. “This is Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp. Hehe, three camps have to work together this time to kill the half-spirit beast.”
Yan Haobo and Jiang Chengwei greeted each other. Jiang Chengwei was the Middle Camp’s squad leader, and his status was slightly above Yan Haobo’s.
Jiang Chengwei frowned when he glanced at Ou Yangming. “Squad Leader Yan, we’re here to kill a half-spirit beast, which is extremely dangerous. This is not a sightseeing tour, so it’s best for those who aren’t capable to return.”