Chapter 41: Section 42: Small Victory


    The sixth day.


    After breakfast, Lord Zhenjin faced everyone and said, “We have just finished the last of our provisions.”


    Everyone stood silently, standing straight, fully prepared in their hearts for this outcome.


    Lord Zhenjin, in front of everyone, swept his gaze over the crowd with a sharp look.


    “Now, if there is anyone who doesn’t understand our situation, step forward!”


    No one moved, standing their ground.


    ...


    Every face bore a grave expression, as if harboring boiling magma inside their upright chests—a long-accumulated fighting spirit, a strong desire to survive!


    “Very well. You are all clever people, aware of what we will face if we lose.”


    “In these days, Lan Zao has conducted a thorough reconnaissance, and apart from the Flying Squirrel group, there are no more suitable targets nearby.”


    “Today, if we defeat them, they will be our food. If we fail, we will become their food.”


    “I, Lord Zhenjin, as a Holy Temple Knight and the sole heir of the Hundred Needle Family, will be with you. I will lead you through hardships and overcome obstacles to harvest victory. Follow me, let us obtain glory!”


    Morale soared, united in spirit.


    The team set out.


    Soon, they arrived at the designated battlefield.


    This battlefield was carefully arranged, with the most noticeable feature being low barriers made of vines and bamboo branches.


    These barriers, one after another, formed a long line of defense.


    In order to cross the barriers, the Flying Squirrels would have to take flight. This provided a good opportunity for the team members to shoot.


    There were three such defensive lines.


    Under normal circumstances, rivers serve as natural barriers and don’t require laborious setup, which is ideal.


    However, firstly, there were no rivers nearby. Secondly, the rivers on this island were quite dangerous, often harboring ferocious Magic Plants like the Green Vine Anaconda. Not only had Lord Zhenjin encountered these Golden Level Magic Plants, but Cang Xu’s exploration team had also come into contact with them several times, paying the price in blood.


    Under Lord Zhenjin’s command, Lan Zao advanced alone, his figure quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.


    Most of the people formed a battle array. The formation of the battle array was very simple—just a horizontal line. This formation facilitated the unleashing of ranged firepower.


    Cang Xu and Zi Di stood behind the horizontal line, beside Lord Zhenjin.


    Lord Zhenjin began to pray silently.


    “Holy Emperor, my God, You who are wise and mighty, forever grasping the opportunity for victory on the battlefield, You are the God of Knights, the God of War, the God of Victory. Please bless me with victory, I will add a glimmer to Your throne with faith and glory, with the blood of my enemies. Oh God, please hear my call…”


    There was no response from above.


    Lord Zhenjin sighed internally.


    Usually, when facing battle, Holy Temple Knights would pray. The Holy Emperor would typically respond, bestowing Divine Arts to protect the Holy Temple Knights.


    But since his awakening, after praying many times, the Holy Emperor had not responded.


    This was also why Lord Zhenjin did not pray aloud. Because if no Divine Arts descended, it would definitely create a bad impression on others, making them feel that Lord Zhenjin, as a Holy Temple Knight, was not favored and protected by the divine. Hence, even before fighting, morale would be damaged and shaken.


    The outcome now was as Lord Zhenjin had expected. He also felt relieved by his wise choice.


    The morning sun, emerging from the morning glow, began to probe through.


    The forest gradually bathed in the sunlight, the deep dark green slowly becoming bright.


    The air was still cold, everyone’s breath visible as white mist when they exhaled.


    As time passed, the chirping of birds became more and more frequent.


    Suddenly, a flock of birds flapped their wings in the front, leaving the canopy and taking to the sky.


    Lan Zao’s figure reappeared in front of everyone.


    He was in full sprint, with a large group of Flying Squirrels squealing behind him, several of which emitted a Bronze Level Magic Beast aura.


    The line wavered slightly, then quickly returned to silence.


    Lord Zhenjin’s eyes quickly flashed with sharpness, his spirit slightly uplifted—Lan Zao’s provocation this time was very successful.


    The next moment, Lord Zhenjin cried out, “Get ready!”


    The exploration team members had already prepared, withdrawing arrows at the signal, and placing them on their bowstrings in unison.


    They all drew their bows, ready but not releasing.


    “Fire,” Lord Zhenjin shouted again.


    The members immediately let go, and in an instant, the bowstrings vibrated as all arrows flew out.


    Lan Zao’s footsteps did not halt; seeing the arrows coming, he immediately hit the ground and rolled with the momentum.


    A Flying Squirrel leader lunged and missed him, crashing to the ground, turf and small clods scattering about, immediately creating a small crater of mud.


    Lan Zao quickly got up, continuing with the inertia from the roll. This time, he had a Shield raised in his hands.


    This Shield had already been prepared with multiple copies and were placed on the ground.


    None of the arrows struck Lan Zao’s Shield. The arrow screen filtered through, taking down several of the Flying Squirrels.


    One Flying Squirrel leader lunged for Lan Zao’s back.


    Hearing the noise, Lan Zao swiftly turned and swept his Shield in a broad arc, ‘thud’, directly knocking away the Flying Squirrel.


    “Get ready—Fire!” Spotting the moment when the Flying Squirrels crossed the vine barriers, Lord Zhenjin once again commanded.


    A dozen arrows, once more, formed a sparser Arrow Screen, among them a few Iron Short Arrows shot from Crossbows.


    The Arrow Screen traced a gentle arc in midair, falling accurately among the group of Flying Squirrels.


    A few wooden arrows struck Lan Zao’s shield and leather armor without causing any damage to the latter.


    The crossbows were in the hands of those with good shooting skills, so they wouldn’t hit Lan Zao.


    The rest of the arrowheads were made of wood, with no iron arrowheads yet; just the very tips of the wooden shafts were charred black and sharpened after carbonization.


    Of course, these arrowheads couldn’t do much damage to Lan Zao, and they wouldn’t pose much of a threat to the Flying Squirrel leaders. But they could still kill ordinary Flying Squirrels.


    Under this layer of Arrow Screen, several more Flying Squirrels fell to the ground, some dying on the spot, others wounded and shrieking in chaos.


    After two volleys, over a dozen Flying Squirrels had lost their combat ability, falling in the midst of the charge.


    The group of Flying Squirrels began to scatter.


    Most were still pursuing Lan Zao; a few directly attacked the formation.


    “Ready,” Zhenjin spoke again, “Shoot!”


    The third volley was fired, and the movements of the group became uneven. Although the Arrow Screen formed in midair, it was clearly not as neat and dense as before.


    However, due to the close distance between the two sides, the arrows still inflicted significant damage on the swarm of rats.


    Bai Ya and Huang Zao both aimed their crossbows at the Flying Squirrel leaders.


    Although the lead rat was hit by arrows, it was merely slowed down without injury. Instead, its ferocity was provoked, and it sped up.


    There were two lead squirrels in total.


    One locked onto Lan Zao, while the other pounced toward the line.


    “Combat freely,” ordered Zhenjin, and immediately he pulled out a Dagger, his arms forcefully thrusting, throwing with both hands at the same time!


    The two Flying Squirrel leaders were almost simultaneously struck by the Daggers, tumbling to the ground. Then, due to inertia, they rolled a few times before lying still. Fresh red blood quickly flowed from the fatal wounds in their eye sockets, spreading onto the surrounding grass.


    This distance had already reached the range of Zhenjin’s Flying Dagger attack.


    Zhenjin’s physical capabilities were astonishing; the strength in his throwing arm was much stronger than that of a Crossbow.


    Without the lead squirrels, the swarm immediately fell into panic. The team members fired at will, and only a few Flying Squirrels made it to the front of the team, only then to be skewered by several wooden spears at once.


    After a brief struggle, the remaining few Flying Squirrels broke away and scattered in all directions with a loud noise.


    “Whew… we won.”


    “The two Flying Squirrel leaders both died at the hands of Lord Zhenjin.”


    “Lord Zhenjin’s divine might!”


    Lan Zao returned with his Shield.


    Both his shield and his shoulder armor were pierced by wooden arrows.


    Zhenjin merely glanced at Lan Zao and knew that Lan Zao had not been wounded at all. Patting him on the shoulder, he said, “Well done.”


    “It’s all thanks to your leadership, Lord,” Lan Zao bowed deeply with respect.


    Everyone was clear that the key to this battle’s victory was still Zhenjin. His Flying Dagger skills dazzled everyone, taking out the two most threatening Flying Squirrel leaders and completely breaking the morale of the rat swarm.


    “Rest for a moment, and then we’ll continue hunting,” Zhenjin ordered.


    “Yes, my Lord!” The team members responded enthusiastically, their morale even higher than before the battle began.


    The way everyone looked at Zhenjin had now changed.


    Before, everyone still harbored doubts and worries in their hearts. After all, everyone knew that Zhenjin was taking a desperate gamble by hunting the rat swarm.


    No one knew how it would turn out. Even with the status of a Noble and Holy Temple Knight, there was no guarantee of success in hunting.


    Should they fail, the entire exploration team would collapse. And as the leader, Zhenjin would bear the primary inescapable responsibility.


    But now, having won a decisive victory in the first official hunt, all the worries in everyone’s hearts had vanished. Any previous doubts about Zhenjin’s decisions now seemed wise and resolute.


    “Lord Zhenjin truly is a Holy Temple Knight!” Bai Ya’s eyes shone with admiration.


    “Indeed, it’s my good fortune to serve under Lord Zhenjin,” Huang Zao sighed with relief.


    “With Lord Zhenjin, we’re sure to set sail anew.”


    Members whispered among themselves, looking at Zhenjin with reverence.


    A minor victory made them truly recognize Zhenjin’s leadership.


    Because Zhenjin had partially fulfilled his promise, he could indeed lead them to victory, earning glory, and it wasn’t just all talk.


    “My Lord, I knew none of this would be a problem for you,” said Zi Di with a smile, her amethyst eyes revealing strands of adoration.


    Cang Xu exhaled a breath of murky air, thinking to himself, “With this, the entire exploration team has shifted from peril to safety.”


    The situation before was like standing on the edge of a cliff, with one foot already dangling.


    Now, a complete victory, although it did not significantly replenish their food supply, swept away everyone’s worries. The entire team came together closely, all revolving around Zhenjin as their sole core.


    But just as the morale was boosted and the celebration uplifted, suddenly a strange noise came from the distant forest.


    The incessant squeaking was relentless to the ears.


    The escaping Flying Squirrels had attracted a large force!


    “Ah, there are so many Flying Squirrels, they’re charging at us!”


    “How did we alarm so many Flying Squirrels?”


    “We were only on the outskirts!”


    Suddenly, the exploration team was thrown into disarray. sea??h thё Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “Hahaha!” Suddenly, Zhenjin burst out laughing.