Chapter 116: Section 117: This is the Lord Zhenjin I follow


    The sun had once again unleashed its heat throughout the day, and now it began to plummet toward the west.


    The vast forest gradually darkened, and the elongated shadows of everyone spread out, completely covering the deep pit trap in front of them.


    In the deep pit, a Monkey-tailed Brown Bear let out the last roar of its life.


    The roar was weak, and soon after, it lay in a pool of blood with no breath left.


    Its body was almost filled with arrows, and the pit was in a mess, with shattered wooden stakes smashed by the Brown Bear all around. The walls of the trap were not smooth; clearly, the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear had struggled a lot to climb out.


    Boom.


    ...


    Zong Ge was the first to jump down.


    He bent down to check the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear’s condition and, after ensuring it was indeed dead, waved for the rest of the people to come down and handle it.


    The blood was also collected; it could be exchanged for resources and should not be wasted.


    The entire bear, being too large, would be dismembered. Each part of the body was secured with hemp rope, to be pulled up by the combined efforts of those by the trap.


    It took about half an hour to process the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear’s body.


    Zong Ge led the team and began the return to camp.


    Aside from the four Monkey-tailed Brown Bears, there were several monkeys, squirrels, snakes, and also the body of a Half-Elf.


    After killing a Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, this Half-Elf was the first to jump into the pit to harvest the bear corpse. Unfortunately, the bear was not completely dead, just unconscious. Awoken by pain, it struck the Half-Elf’s flank and kidney, shattering both.


    With such a severe injury and no Divine Arts or magic, the Half-Elf took only a few breaths before dying completely.


    Since then, Zong Ge was always the first to jump into the trap to personally check the condition of the Monkey-tailed Brown Bears.


    The afterglow of the sunset shone on the entire team.


    The team returned full-loaded. Although they had lost a companion, the faces of each were filled with the joy of the harvest.


    People chatted and laughed all the way home.


    They had once been part of a Mercenary Group; they had grown accustomed to the death of companions and even themselves. Some even felt happy for the Half-Elf—at last, he need not suffer any further on this accursed island!


    Zong Ge walked at the front of the team, still cautious and fully concentrated on scouting to guard against any possible ambushes.


    Sanda moved up from the middle of the team.


    He quickened his pace and caught up to Zong Ge, pulling out a map from his chest: “Lord, there aren’t many bears left. I think it would be best to finish off these last few tomorrow. Marching this way, we can conserve as much time and energy as possible.” Sёarch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zong Ge glanced at the map and saw Sanda’s finger trace a route on it; he knew this route Sanda had researched was no different from what he had envisioned.


    As for the map, Zong Ge had already committed it to memory. This was an excellent strategic skill he had cultivated in the army.


    Sanda expressed his concerns: “After we kill these last three Monkey-tailed Brown Bears, we need to consider what to target next.”


    “Lord, I believe we should not touch the Flying Squirrel group for now. Flying Squirrels are small, and our big guys’ archery isn’t too reliable either. Most of us are better at close combat, but Magic Beast-level Flying Squirrels can emit electricity, a huge counter to us.”


    “Lord, what do you think about targeting the Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa?”


    “On the exchange list, one Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa is worth almost two Monkey-tailed Brown Bears.”


    Zong Ge shook his head slightly.


    He had previously encountered the Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa, and it had been a hard-won victory.


    “The skin of the boa is very thick. Most of our arrows are made of wood or bone. There are few iron arrowheads, and only iron arrowheads can cause injury to the Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa.”


    “If we really have to deal with the Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa, I can’t hold it off directly. The deep pit wouldn’t limit the climbing ability of the Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa.”


    Zong Ge explained the reasons.


    “Then our next target should be the bat monkey group.”


    “This is also Lord Zhenjin’s target.”


    “On the exchange list, the value of bat monkeys is not high, but we compensate with quantity. The forests near the camp have the most wild bat monkeys.”


    “However, this means we have to compete with Lord Zhenjin’s group for the bat monkeys. When compared to archery, we’re still behind them.”


    Sanda analyzed the situation.


    His gaze was sharp, and he had a precise assessment of both sides’ strengths.


    Indeed, Lord Zhenjin’s side had stronger ranged firepower; Lord Zhenjin himself, with a crossbow, was a very powerful archer. The rest of his crew had practiced archery as well—after all, cannons and crossbows were standard weapons aboard ships.


    Sanda rolled up the map and tucked it back inside his clothes, then he pulled out the exchange list.


    Ever since he got the list, he’d been pondering it whenever he had time.


    Sanda was a goblin; even if honest, his racial shrewdness had not faded. He was once the squad leader of the Three Knife Mercenary Group, who understood the value of everyday necessities.


    “Sir, I have analyzed the situation. Now that our crossbows have been replaced with the new arm-crossbows, hunting efficiency has indeed increased a lot today. The production of other crossbows is low, and it wouldn’t be cost-effective to exchange for Jing Zhang crossbows in the short term. Replacing them prematurely with arm-crossbows is a waste.”


    “What we need the most now are iron-headed arrows!”


    “The production of iron has always been very low. I suggest that today, we first exchange all the iron-headed arrows in stock, then exchange for other materials.”


    Zong Ge nodded, patting Sanda’s shoulder, “Good, your analysis is excellent. Let’s proceed with this plan.”


    Sanda quickly flushed with pleasure at Zong Ge’s approval.


    However, their plans were beautiful only in theory. When they went to exchange at the camp, they were informed that the iron-headed arrows had already been monopolized by Lord Zhenjin.


    “They, they came back earlier. As soon as they arrived, they exchanged for them,” the man with the stutter was in charge of the exchanges.


    “Last time it was Jing Zhang crossbows, this time iron-headed arrows… This won’t do! Why is it that we can never exchange for the most valuable materials?” Sanda was furious.


    “You, you could come back earlier,” the man with the stutter said.


    Sanda sneered, “The reason we returned late is that we spent time clearing out the area. Look, this is what we caught today, a whole four Monkey-tailed Brown Bears!”


    “We hunted so many Silver Magical Beasts, and the cost wasn’t just effort, it included the life of one of our members.”


    “And yet, due to the delay in time, we are unable to obtain the materials we want. Do you think this is reasonable? Do you think this is fair?”


    “I remember that the Holy Temple Knight Lord Zhenjin once promised fairness to us. But now, there is no fairness at all.”


    “Wait, what is that?”


    Sanda’s gaze sharpened as he saw Bai Ya walking past the distant tents, holding a metal cage.


    Sanda immediately rushed over to Bai Ya, his eyes wide with anger, “A cage forged from iron? I’m not seeing things, am I? Can someone explain this to me?”


    “The production of iron has always been very limited. Is this how you use iron?”


    “We wanted iron-headed arrows, yet you’ve cast the iron into a cage. Do you realize how many iron-headed arrows could have been made from it?!”


    Bai Ya found his path blocked by Sanda. Confronting the goblin before him who had Black Iron Level cultivation, Bai Ya remained undaunted.


    He held the iron cage, looking down from his greater height at the goblin, “Lord Sanda, this iron cage has a far greater use than you could imagine.”


    “Oh? Kid, I’m curious to see what excuse you can come up with,” Sanda said, arms crossed, sneering coldly.


    Bai Ya smiled, “It seems that you are not aware that last night, during his patrol, Lord Zhenjin received divine instruction. He bravely ventured into the forest alone at night, tracking down the Silver bat monkey that had escaped and slaughtering the Flying Squirrel group by midnight.”


    “Lord Zhenjin killed the Silver bat monkey and even wiped out the largest Flying Squirrel group in the camp, bringing back several unconscious Magic Beasts.”


    “This iron cage is for holding the Black Iron Flying Squirrels and Bronze Flying Squirrels.”


    “With these live Flying Squirrels, there’s a much greater hope that Zi Di can continually experiment and develop potions targeted at Flying Squirrels.”


    “We should all be aware that with our current means and strength alone, the risk of clearing out Flying Squirrel groups is considerable.”


    “What?” Sanda and the others showed looks of astonishment.


    Even Zong Ge’s pupils contracted slightly.


    This was indeed the first time they had heard this news.


    They were all veterans of battle and understood that Zhenjin’s new feats outshone the four Monkey-tailed Brown Bears.


    Because while the Brown Bears were easy to deal with, taking down a wildly flying Silver bat monkey and the largest Flying Squirrel group was far from simple.


    “The Holy Emperor… Did he give guidance to Lord Zhenjin again?”


    “Such incredible luck!”


    “Holy Temple Knight…”


    “It’s not luck; who dares to venture alone into the forest? That Flying Squirrel territory is far from the camp.”


    “It may seem like an easy win, but the difficulty is high. The Silver bat monkey was hardly wounded… Lord Zhenjin truly is brave.”


    People started discussing.


    Bai Ya’s smile grew wider, and his head gradually lifted in pride.


    Although Bai Ya had heard such comments many times before.


    All day long, people in the camp had been talking about Zhenjin’s achievements, with no one failing to praise him.


    Now, hearing these people’s evaluations, Bai Ya still felt proud, honored, and joyful.


    “This is the Lord Zhenjin I follow…”


    Zong Ge fell silent. Subconsciously, his hand brushed the handle of the hammer on his back, and he made a decision, “I can’t let this continue. I must confront Zhenjin soon! A sacred duel… The Holy Temple Knight will have no reason to refuse me.”