Chapter 52: Section 53: I’m Back Again


    The lizard opened its mouth, and a green Acid Liquid sprayed out. S~ea??h the Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “Be careful!” Lan Zao shouted.


    But it was already too late!


    The lizard had chosen the perfect moment, Huang Zao had a ferocious look on his face but could not avoid it, and could only close his eyes and clench his teeth.


    Puchi.


    In Huang Zao’s field of vision, everything went dark as he was tackled to the ground.


    ...


    The next moment, when he opened his eyes, he saw his blood brother Lan Zao’s face twisted in pain.


    “Brother!” Huang Zao shouted and quickly rolled on the ground to create some space; then with all his might, he threw the spear in his hand.


    “Die,” Huang Zao yelled.


    After the green-skinned lizard shot out its liquid, it immediately appeared sluggish. The gaping mouth had not yet closed when the thrown spear pierced into it, the tip drilled through a small section of the skull before getting stuck between the bones.


    At this critical moment of life and death, Huang Zao seized the opening exposed by the lizard and finally killed it.


    “Brother!” As the lizard fell to the ground, Huang Zao gasped heavily in relief and rushed to Lan Zao’s side.


    Lan Zao lay on the ground, in agonizing pain that even a tough man like him couldn’t bear, and he began to wail, his voice filled with despair.


    Upon seeing the wound on Lan Zao’s back, Huang Zao couldn’t help but gasp.


    The wound was terrifying. The green Acid Liquid corroded the flesh, hissing as it turned flesh into pus, wafting out a nauseating stench. The injury worsened rapidly; Huang Zao was sure that in a few more breaths, he would see Lan Zao’s bones.


    And this was just a Bronze Level lizard.


    Huang Zao didn’t dare to touch it with his hands; he quickly pulled out the water pouch from his waist and poured all the water out.


    The Acid Liquid was diluted by the abundant water, quickly easing Lan Zao’s injuries.


    Huang Zao grabbed Lan Zao’s upper arm, lifting his body while pouring water from the pouch, quickly flushing the Acid Liquid off Lan Zao onto the sand.


    “Conserve water.” Lan Zao’s pain was greatly alleviated, and with what little reason he had left, he reminded Huang Zao.


    “We can’t afford to!” Huang Zao ground his teeth; Lan Zao’s condition was severe, and he had no choice but to use up all the clear water in the pouch.


    At the same time.


    A streak of green liquid nearly grazed Zhenjin’s ear as it shot across the sky.


    Zhenjin’s expression was solemn.


    He was surrounded by a dozen lizards, including Black Iron and Bronze Level Magic Beasts.


    Relying on agile movements and extensive experience, Zhenjin not only dodged continuously but also killed several lizards; however, he clearly felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to move forward.


    He couldn’t help but look back at the path he had charged through, thinking in his heart, “Why haven’t they come yet?”


    Swoosh.


    A slight sound.


    An arrow flew over the heads of countless lizards and landed in the sand.


    “I’ve done my best.” At the top of the sand dune, Bai Ya was panting heavily.


    He looked at the short bow in his hands, shaking his head.


    Relying on his shooting skills, he had maximized the range of the short bow, but the arrow landed still a dozen steps away from Zhenjin.


    And this short bow, ravaged by sandstorms and after a series of battles, was also quickly nearing its breaking point.


    “Lord Zhenjin, use the potions! Inhale through your nose!” the others shouted together.


    Zhenjin hesitated; he had his own plan and Bai Ya’s unexpected arrow was not part of it.


    What to do?


    Zhenjin gritted his teeth and leaped.


    At this crucial moment, he chose to trust his companion!


    The lizard directly in front hadn’t expected this, and as a result, Zhenjin’s foot stomped its head hard, and he rose into the air, leaping a distance.


    This move was very risky; while in mid-air, if Zhenjin were hit by the Acid Liquid, it would be hard to dodge.


    Thump, Zhenjin landed.


    Three lizards, some opening their mouths, others swinging their claws, intended to kill Zhenjin.


    In a flash, Zhenjin glanced hurriedly, spotting the only path to escape. He rolled over and over, narrowly avoiding the two lizards by tumbling between them.


    He grabbed the arrow’s shaft and thrust his right foot hard against the ground, leveraging his body up and standing once more.


    Without pausing at his spot, he raced forward at breakneck speed.


    As he ran, he pulled the arrowhead out and saw a pale yellow smoke emerging from inside.


    Zhenjin inhaled sharply with his nose, drawing the smoke into his nostrils.


    “Cough, cough, cough!”


    He immediately started coughing, spitting out clouds of grey smoke.


    At the same time, his ears and nose emitted curling smokes of grey, and even pale grey tears streamed down.


    A few breaths later, Zhenjin realized he had lost his sense of taste and smell; he couldn’t feel his tongue or nose, and even his sight and hearing had diminished to some extent.


    This was quite disadvantageous for him.


    To break through the lizard swarm, he needed to use his sharp senses, which were now reduced by half.


    Instantly, the pressure from the lizard swarm more than doubled.


    At the top of the sand dune.


    “Use these arrows.” Zi Di took out five or six arrows from her small leather pouch at her waist.


    Bai Ya immediately took them and fitted them to the arrow shafts.


    These were arrows Zi Di had previously fashioned in the lizard’s hatching cave, and many had seen her do this, so it wasn’t strange.


    Swoosh.


    Bai Ya took a few breaths to gather strength, then drew his bow and released an arrow.


    The arrow flew through the air, its head continuously emitting green smoke, then landed in the sand and billowed out a large amount of green smoke.


    This green smoke slowly settled, eventually forming a temporary wall of smoke on the surface of the sand.


    The exploration team members shouted together again, alerting Zhenjin.


    Zhenjin immediately dashed into the green smoke, running along with it.


    The surrounding green-skinned lizards tried to rush into the smoke, but soon they were wailing retreat in disarray.


    “`


    The green smoke and the powder Zi Di had sprinkled earlier were the same; green-skinned lizards breathing in the green smoke would suffer severe corrosion to their respiratory tracts.


    But after Zhenjin had inhaled the previous medicinal smoke, he was able to breathe freely in the green smoke, showing no reaction.


    “What a miraculous potion!” the exploration team members exclaimed in surprise, their eyes wide with wonder.


    Zi Di, however, shook her head. “To be precise, it is a failed product. This potion is inherently toxic, and only Lord Zhenjin’s body can handle it. With it, he can breathe freely in the corrosive green smoke for a certain period. If it were us, we would have suffocated long ago.”


    Zhenjin’s cultivation was at least Silver Level, possibly Gold Level. His physical condition might not compare to most Magic Beasts, but it far surpassed that of ordinary humans.


    Thus, Bai Ya repeatedly shot arrows, creating green smoke. With such assistance, Zhenjin advanced unimpeded, smoothly reaching the top of the sand dune and successfully regrouping with everyone.


    “My lord!”


    “Lord Zhenjin!”


    The exploration team members crowded around Zhenjin, each of them immensely excited,


    Bai Ya looked at Zhenjin, her face full of admiration.


    “What should we do next, my lord?” someone asked.


    “Get ready, everyone follow me and charge out. I’ll lead the charge,” Zhenjin replied.


    Cang Xu shook his head and gave a wry smile. “Lord Zhenjin, I’m afraid that plan might not work.”


    Zi Di elaborated on the details of the potion.


    Zhenjin smiled but did not respond immediately. Instead, he turned back to look in the direction they had come from.


    His eyes narrowed slightly, gazing into the distance for a moment before suddenly smiling.


    This time, the scene he observed did not disappoint him, as he had finally awaited what he wanted.


    Thus, he said, “Relying solely on myself is indeed insufficient. However, I came here before and at that time, I hadn’t discovered you yet. But the pink potion indicated that there were traces of you deep within the lizard den. Alone, I couldn’t break into the underground den, so I turned back and provoked the Scorpion swarm.”


    “My wounds are from provoking the Scorpion swarm.”


    “Look, they’re here.”


    Everyone hastily looked and saw a large group of Scorpions rushing towards them.


    These Scorpions had large physiques, practically equivalent to the lizards. The Scorpion King leading them exuded a strong Silver Level Magic Beast aura.


    “Brilliant, my lord!”


    “Great, we’re saved!”


    Everyone was overjoyed, finally seeing a hope of escape.


    However, the anticipated clash between the two beast groups did not occur.


    The Scorpion swarm halted at the edge of the lizard territory, and after a chaos among the lizards, almost all the Black Iron Level lizards arrived in front of the Scorpions.


    The two groups didn’t directly fight but faced off instead.


    “Is this…?”


    “Could the Scorpions have seen through our plan?”


    “Damn it, start fighting!”


    Restlessness grew among the people.


    Yet Zhenjin smiled. “Don’t worry. This morning, I witnessed a fight between the lizard group and the Scorpion group. They first provoke and taunt each other. If neither side backs down, the strongest among them will step forward and fight alone. It’s the same situation now.”


    “Get me some water and food; I need to replenish myself,” Zhenjin requested.


    Water and dry rations were immediately handed to him.


    Zhenjin had already run out of food.


    After his first reconnaissance of the lizard den, he had eaten snake meat, then returned and found the Scorpion group, leading them here.


    Zhenjin chewed vigorously. As his Adam’s apple moved up and down, the food and water entered his stomach.


    The effect of the medicinal fog he had inhaled through his nose was still active, so right now, the young man could hardly taste anything. However, just the act of eating alone brought him an inherent sense of satisfaction and happiness.


    Zhenjin was indeed both hungry and thirsty now.


    Since discovering the pink potion, he had traveled long distances to the edge of the lizard den. After that, he withdrew and found the Scorpion group, not hesitating to get injured while provoking the Scorpions, racing back and forth between the two places.


    Afterward, under the intense sunlight, he alone burst into the middle of the lizard group; whether physical strength or spirit, everything was a huge test, consuming a great deal.


    “Eat a bit more, my lord!”


    The exploration team members clustered around Zhenjin, watching him eat heartily, many swallowing their saliva unconsciously. Though they had eaten, it was clear they were not full.


    “Yes, Lord Zhenjin, your strength is great; you need much more food than us.”


    “My lord, put on this leather armor. We have spares.”


    Someone noticed Zhenjin in a plain robe and immediately offered their equipment.


    The exploration team members all knew he was the key person to save them; they placed all their hopes on Zhenjin.


    “How much food do we have left?”


    After receiving the answer, Zhenjin shook his head and voluntarily stopped eating.


    The team’s food supply was already low, and future circumstances were unpredictable; he needed to conserve as much as possible.


    “Ah.”


    He stood up, straightened his back, and exhaled a dirty breath.


    Though he had only eaten to half full, he was indeed content at that moment.


    He took the leather armor offered to him and put it on.


    It was a bit large, and for its ability to resist acid corrosion, Zhenjin had no expectations.


    But having it was better than nothing, it was better than nothing.


    As for weapons, he had the Spider Blade, so he chose a Dagger.


    After this simple arming, he glanced around, surveying five or six exploration team members in turn.


    This was the most surprising thing for him—the fact that so many people were still alive! This was completely beyond his expectations.


    Zhenjin was not a Thief, lacking the ability of Stealth. So, he had only found the clue about the pink potion earlier and hadn’t immediately investigated deep inside the lizard’s underground cave.


    At that time, Cang Xu, Zi Di, and others were still in the cave. Neither party had discovered the other.


    The second time Zhenjin came here, he was suddenly thrilled to discover so many survivors!


    Seeing these people, he didn’t hesitate and instantly decided to do everything in his power to preserve and rescue them.


    On one hand, it was the creed of a Holy Temple Knight, and on the other, the pressure of surviving alone was tremendous. Zhenjin had deeply felt it. He needed Cang Xu’s knowledge, Zi Di’s potions, and even Bai Ya’s labor was precious. Looking even further ahead, once he escaped from this island and vied for the position of White Sand City Lord, he would greatly need the support of his subordinates.


    “`