Chapter 91: Section 92: Rescuing the Shipwright


    Many times, humans are often more fearsome than Magic Beasts!


    Half-Beasts are also high-grade intelligent beings, capable of using tactics and strategies.


    Another point of concern for Lord Zhenjin was that Zong Ge had excellent armaments. He possessed high-grade refined steel War Armor and a pair of War Spears. He had never used his War Spears in public, probably because the crises Zong Ge faced so far did not merit their use.


    An intuition told Lord Zhenjin that Zong Ge’s War Spears were no ordinary items, and their Grade might even surpass that of his refined steel War Armor. Sear?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In comparison, Lord Zhenjin now only had a thin sword in his hand, which belonged to Hei Juan.


    “Regardless, we must first search for Xi Suo and the others and safely bring them back,” Lord Zhenjin gathered his thoughts and made an immediate decision.


    ...


    Xi Suo was the third mate, and the old shipwright was skilled in the shipbuilding process. They were key personnel. To leave this island, they were quite important.


    “Lan Zao, Hei Juan, the two of you come with me,” Lord Zhenjin surveyed the group and selected two individuals.


    Although he would have liked to act alone, considering he might need to search for Xi Suo and others in the forest, Lord Zhenjin still needed extra hands.


    If he searched on his own, the efficiency would be too low.


    Whether it was Lan Zao or Hei Juan, they both had Bronze Level strength.


    “Next.” Lord Zhenjin raised his hand and tossed the thin sword to Hei Juan. As a Holy Temple Knight, he would definitely not covet another’s equipment.


    “Not a bad sword,” Lord Zhenjin even complimented Hei Juan.


    Hei Juan caught the sword, about to speak.


    “My Lord,” Zi Di suddenly interjected, voicing her concern, “If Zong Ge is the mastermind controlling the beast herd, then having been disrupted by Lord Zhenjin, he may have temporarily chosen to give up attacking the camp. But now that he is aware of your Lordship’s bravery and strength, by heading into the forest, could you also fall under his surveillance? Could this be a ruse by Zong Ge to divide and lure our forces?”


    “There’s that possibility,” Lord Zhenjin frowned. “So, what are your thoughts?”


    Zi Di: “I want to accompany your Lordship. I’ll do my utmost to assist you, and I also carry potions for protection, so I will try my best not to be a burden.”


    Lord Zhenjin hesitated.


    Zi Di looked back and said to Hei Juan: “Hei Juan, I know your sword isn’t ordinary. Please lend it to Lord Zhenjin for the time being.”


    Hei Juan was taken aback, his expression changing as he said, “This sword is my family heirloom.”


    Hei Juan refused.


    He was merely a mercenary hired by Zi Di, not her subordinate, nor a house servant to Lord Zhenjin.


    Lord Zhenjin smiled faintly: “Zi Di, there’s no need to trouble him.”


    Lord Zhenjin could mutate the Silver Spear Scorpion, and the gun scorpion’s scorpion tail should be able to pose a threat to refined steel.


    “My Lord, that won’t do!” Zi Di insisted, “We’ve just analyzed that Zong Ge is a powerful opponent. He also has a suit of high-grade refined steel armor, and his War Spears are certainly not ordinary. If your Lordship faces him with a common weapon, it’s almost no different from being unarmed. And if your Lordship were to fail, our fate would be dire. Please consider not only for yourself but also for us.”


    Lord Zhenjin was stunned, then he smiled bitterly. He understood that Zi Di’s words were heartfelt, “bullying” Lord Zhenjin who adhered to a Knight’s principles of compassion for the weak and protecting his comrades.


    But at the same time, Lord Zhenjin had to admit that Zi Di made a lot of sense.


    He was confident in his own mutated strength.


    But if he fought in public, he would not rashly use the Heart Core. Especially now with many onlookers, unlike a five-person squad, Lord Zhenjin couldn’t afford to be careless.


    “My Lord!” At that moment, Hei Juan voluntarily presented the thin sword with both hands and stepped forward to offer it, “I’ve been narrow-minded and short-sighted. This sword in your Lordship’s hands will indeed realize its true value. It’s my family treasure, named Silver Lightning. It will surely shine brilliantly in your Lordship’s hands!”


    Zi Di smiled: “Hei Juan, for this hire, I will pay you double the compensation.”


    A smile immediately appeared on Hei Juan’s face.


    “That works. I’ll treat this sword well, and I will ensure that it is returned to you intact,” Lord Zhenjin saw Hei Juan’s attitude and openly accepted the sword again.


    He abided by the principles of a Holy Temple Knight, but he wasn’t old-fashioned.


    Since he could use the Heart Core discreetly for his own sake as well as others’, borrowing a thin sword now was of course unproblematic.


    He had already used and carefully examined it before; this thin sword indeed was of high quality.


    Hei Juan wasn’t exaggerating in calling it a family heirloom.


    For nearly all warriors and Knights, armor and weapons are costly investments, passed down as inheritance. Because equipment is expensive, many Lords, when summoning Knights for battle, would only bear the cost of provisions and not of weapons or horses, as it would be too much for their finances.


    Of course, there are Grades for weapon and armor equipment. Evaluating whether equipment is superior or inferior involves many factors.


    One of the most important factors is the conductivity for Fighting energy.


    Lord Zhenjin didn’t know how the Silver Lightning thin sword conducted Fighting energy, but based on its hardness, sharpness, and flexibility alone, it was already outstanding.


    After another brief discussion, Lord Zhenjin set out with Zi Di, Hei Juan, and Lan Zao.


    He couldn’t possibly take everyone with him.


    Many severely injured companions had to stay in the camp to heal.


    Cang Xu, Mu Ban, Fat Tongue, and others were left behind as they had practically no fighting power. Going into battle would have made them a burden on Lord Zhenjin.


    Mu Ban was vehement about participating but was refused by Lord Zhenjin, who also took his Repeating Crossbow. With it in Mu Ban’s hands, his companions would be even more endangered.


    If this was a scheme by Zong Ge to divide their forces, then should the camp come under attack, Mu Ban would fire a signal flare. At which point, Lord Zhenjin would swiftly return to reinforce.


    There was no other choice. Lord Zhenjin couldn’t neglect to rescue the shipwright and others due to fears of a plot.


    As for the firearm used to shoot the signal flares, it wasn’t only available in the camp; Xi Suo also carried one with him.


    Xi Suo and the others’ logging site was to the southeast of the camp, on a hillside two kilometers away.


    Lord Zhenjin and his companions had covered half the distance when a gunshot rang out from the hillside, and a pink signal flare soared mid-air.


    “This is a distress signal! They’ve really run into trouble. Let’s hurry!” Zi Di whispered urgently.


    “Not necessarily. We need to be more cautious. It could be bait released by the enemy on purpose, tempting us to speed up and lowering our guard against the surroundings,” Hei Juan cautioned.


    “Maintain your current pace; I’ll go ahead and check the situation,” Lord Zhenjin instructed, then immediately quickened his steps.


    Though Hei Juan’s words made sense, the life of the old shipwright was at stake, and without this key individual, the others in the camp would be incapable of building a ship capable of crossing the ocean.


    It might be a trap set by Zong Ge, but it could also be something else.


    The quicker Lord Zhenjin acted, the greater the likelihood he would save the shipwright’s life.


    The young knight’s strides became quicker, and he began to run through the forest.


    His Heart Core surged, and his right eye subtly mutated, granting him thermal imaging vision.


    With this, even if Zong Ge and his men were ambushing, Lord Zhenjin would detect them in time.


    Soon, Lord Zhenjin heard the distinctive sharp cries of the bat monkeys.


    He sped up further, almost sprinting through the forest, until at last, he saw the hillside.


    The hill wasn’t steep and on it were several crew members trapped and under attack by a swarm of bat monkeys.


    This group of bat monkeys was clearly not the same that had attacked the camp before, with seven Bronze bat monkeys and one Black Iron bat monkey among them.


    The attacked crew members, all wounded, were in dire straits.


    Without halting his strides, Lord Zhenjin charged up the hillside as he triggered the Repeating Crossbow.


    Whiz, whiz, whiz…


    Short Arrows flew out, incredibly precise.


    One by one, regular bat monkeys were hit, falling to the ground like penguins diving into the sea, with thud after thud reverberating endlessly.


    “We’ve got someone coming to rescue us!” the crew cheered.


    The bat monkeys, enraged, several Bronze bat monkeys lunged towards Lord Zhenjin.


    He stowed away the Repeating Crossbow, and with a clank drew out the thin sword, Silver Lightning.


    He and the Bronze bat monkeys rapidly closed the distance between them.


    In a flash, Lord Zhenjin hurled several dazzling arcs of silver light from his sword!


    Then, he passed by the bat monkeys.


    The Bronze bat monkeys seemed to pause mid-air and then dropped to the ground one after another, their life force quickly fading away.


    The combat prowess Lord Zhenjin displayed momentarily stunned the crew members on the hillside.


    The sole Black Iron bat monkey was provoked; it flapped its wings, puffed up its chest, and let out a piercing shriek.


    The shriek stirred ripples in the air, expanding in circles swiftly enveloping Lord Zhenjin.


    Lord Zhenjin had already encountered such unique sonic attacks, and his mutated bear arm instantly launched a dart.


    The dart struck the Black Iron bat monkey, piercing through its left wing.


    Terrified, the Black Iron bat monkey, along with the few remaining of its kind, awkwardly fled.


    Lord Zhenjin did not pursue, instead, he hastened to the hilltop and saw the head of the crew.


    The leader was a young man, tall and thin.


    “Are you Xi Suo?” Lord Zhenjin asked intently.


    The young man nodded eagerly, “I don’t know who you are, my lord?”


    “Where is the old shipwright?” Lord Zhenjin glanced around and inquired immediately.


    Xi Suo quickly pointed in a direction, “We were attacked by monkeys. Big Fool was furious and charged out. The old shipwright, worried about Big Fool’s safety, took some men and went after him.”


    Lord Zhenjin clenched his teeth and darted off again, following the direction indicated by Xi Suo.


    The trail along the way was very clear, and soon Lord Zhenjin found his target on another hillside.


    There was a small giant, three meters tall, wildly swinging a wooden club.


    The young giant’s face was youthful; his upper body bare, his lower half covered by a yellow skirt with black spots, and his feet shod in massive straw sandals.


    His hair unkempt, he shouted incessantly, his spit flying every which way.


    “Die, all you flies must die!”


    “Big guy will squash you!”


    The young giant roared repeatedly; the club was so heavy that it could easily shatter boulders, fell trees, and when it hit the earthen ground, it created a small crater, with dirt flying all around.


    Several people surrounded the young giant, shouting, trying to calm him down.


    But the young giant, utterly provoked by the bat monkeys, wouldn’t heed any advice.


    “There’s the old shipwright!” Lord Zhenjin’s pupils dilated slightly as he saw an old man lying on the ground between the giant’s legs.


    The old man’s attire and features closely matched Mu Ban’s description, but his eyes were tightly shut, leaving it unclear whether he was unconscious or dead.