Chapter 124: Section 125: Hmph, Zong Ge!


    The intense battle scene at the foot of the hillside unfolded before Zong Ge’s eyes.


    The Blue Dog Fox Wolf’s right hind leg was injured, and it lay on the ground, howling continuously.


    Under its impromptu command, those Monkey-tailed Brown Bears actually displayed exquisite coordination, tightly encircling Zhenjin. They cut him off from the left, blocked him from the right, one attacking above as another struck below, leaving no gaps for escape.


    Zhenjin swung his thin sword, Silver Lightning. Although the blade was extremely sharp, each thrust spilling blood and causing pain that made the Brown Bears retreat, his shortcomings were undeniably exposed at this moment. He lacked proper armor for protection, which made his offense strong but his defense weak, severely lacking the capacity to breach and break free.


    “Zhenjin would never be foolish enough to attack directly,”


    “It must have been the Blue Dog Fox Wolf using itself as bait to lure him in.”


    ...


    “Zhenjin hadn’t anticipated that these Monkey-tailed Brown Bears could coordinate like this. No, even I wouldn’t have expected the Blue Dog Fox Wolf’s command to reach such a level!”


    At this moment, Zong Ge fell into hesitation.


    Zhenjin… a Holy Temple Knight… the sole heir of the Hundred Needle Family…


    As for him, a Half-Beast, even if his lineage was superior, he couldn’t declare it openly.


    After this defense battle at the camp, Zhenjin’s prestige was bound to rise once more. Zong Ge had hoped to seize this opportunity to display his own formidable combat strength. Yet, it seemed he could not outshine Zhenjin’s brilliance. There was even a hint that the youth overshadowed him.


    “This young man, he truly is outstanding!”


    To be honest, Zong Ge was very envious of Zhenjin.


    How wonderful it would be if he were in Zhenjin’s place.


    All his aspirations could come true naturally.


    And now, after wasting so many years, having reached middle age, he remained unaccomplished. He could only go to the Wilderness Continent to seek opportunities, to try his luck.


    But what about Zhenjin?


    From the start, he was vying for the position of White Sand City Lord. If he were successful, such a starting point in his career would far surpass Zong Ge. Maybe Zong Ge would need to struggle for more than a decade to reach that level of City Lord.


    Jealous?


    Zong Ge admitted that he was.


    He often asked himself—


    “Why is there such a huge difference between people?”


    “Why are some born high above, while others are lowly, in the mud?”


    “Why do lineage, status, and racial prejudice make all efforts seem so trivial and weak?”


    “Why, after all my years of hard work, am I still only able to mingle with mercenaries? Still struggling at the bottom rungs?”


    And what about Zhenjin?


    He didn’t need to ponder these questions.


    He was free from such troubles that plagued Zong Ge.


    He had a fiancée, Zi Di, the Chairman of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce.


    He had the Hundred Needle Family as his support.


    People like Cang Xu and Mu Ban by his side were talents that Zong Ge longed for, all gladly siding with the youth.


    He was a man, a pure-blooded human, a noble, a Holy Temple Knight.


    He was a natural leader, radiating noble light from within, a light that made most others feel ashamed and bow down, ready to kneel. For the majority of people, following Zhenjin was a great honor!


    So much.


    Zhenjin had so many things that Zong Ge, despite efforts many times greater, perhaps dozens of times greater, could only hope to obtain a fraction of.


    And then there were things that, no matter how hard Zong Ge tried, he could never achieve.


    In Zhenjin, Zong Ge saw his own childhood, the castle where he lived, the half-siblings within the castle. They all had throngs of servants, smiling housekeepers, and loyal guards.


    Zong Ge had hated it!


    In his childhood, he cursed his siblings.


    “Why do you exist?”


    “With you around, father’s gaze lands on you first, then he turns to consider me.”


    “He must ask about your well-being before inquiring about mine.”


    “It’s because of you that I am here.”


    As a child, Zong Ge lay in bed, curling up his body.


    He had to curl up because he grew so quickly that the bed seemed short. If he stretched out, his feet would dangle off the edge.


    His bedding was torn, and his single layer of hemp clothing also bore stains.


    There was nothing he could do; it was the only set of clothes he had.


    He had to wait for a sunny day to wash them, else, if not dried properly, he would have to shrink back into his small room all day, unable to go out, and of course, unable to eat.


    Whenever Zong Ge washed his clothes, he curled up on the bed, his mind filled with dark thoughts, cursing his brothers and sisters, wishing they would all die.


    Die.


    May the horses run wild and lead to your demise in a fall.


    Make a mistake during sword skill practice, and perish skewered by each other.


    Slip and fall, plunge to your death from the castle during a rainy day.


    Die…


    Die.


    Die!


    “If you die, Father will only have me as a son.”


    “If you die, I’ll become the strongest in the exploration team, no one more suitable to lead. These people would then likely become my followers!”


    “I don’t need to do anything.”


    “I don’t need to backstab, I don’t need to kill, I just need to watch, that’s enough.”


    “When you die in battle, I will eliminate the Magic Beast that killed you, collect your body, bring you back, I will grieve, I will cry, I will become the team’s only leader.”


    “Perhaps this is the opportunity that fate has granted me!”


    “How many years has it been? Haven’t I always longed for this sort of opportunity?”


    “How easy, I hardly need to do anything! I just need to watch, I merely need to wait for things to happen…”


    As a child, Zong Ge spun dark musings, curled up on the cold, hard bed, staring blankly at the wooden door.


    Bang!


    The wooden door was suddenly flung open with force from the outside.


    Intense sunlight pierced into the small room like countless sharp swords.


    Shadows screamed in madness, retreating to shrink into tiny specks, hiding in the corners.


    A familiar figure appeared in front of the young Zong Ge.


    Because he stood with his back to the sunlight, his face was a blur, but his rough, loud voice was deeply etched in Zong Ge’s heart, “Get up, stinky boy, stop lying around in the dark nook. Come and learn sword skills with me!”


    “Teach, instruct…” Young Zong Ge was stunned.


    The hallucination abruptly ended.


    Zong Ge found himself still on the hillside, having just rushed out of the bushes, one foot still raised mid-stride in a posture ready to charge to the rescue.


    The hallucination felt lengthy, but not even a second had elapsed in reality.


    “Hmph, Zong Ge!”


    Zong Ge snorted coldly to himself inside.


    His confused gaze swept away, cleared by a sudden emptying of complex emotions.


    His hand clenched the wooden handle of the Bone Hammer tightly, lifting his head up proudly.


    He took a heavy step forward, pressing into the earth and leaving a deep footprint.


    “Ah—!” He let out a roar to the sky.


    And took another step.


    He began to run.


    Under the sunlight, his shoulder-length hair fluttered, his thick body hair and booming voice, the signs of his Half-Beast nature, made him appear like a lion descending the hill.


    His roars were unending, as if he opened his chest, allowing the sunlight and immense courage to pour into his heart.


    Taking strides, each one bigger than the last.


    He charged, his speed increasing.


    The wind whistled past his ears, and the distance between him and Zhenjin rapidly diminished.


    The wind’s sound seemed to change, transforming into the instructor’s loud voice, “Yes, that’s it, just like that. Charge, charge. I’m a soldier, and you will be a soldier too. Charge, your comrades are waiting for you to support them!”


    “Hold on, Holy Temple Knight!” Zong Ge bellowed, though he was not yet at Zhenjin’s side, he sent courage and hope into Zhenjin’s being through his shouts, “Your reinforcements are coming!!”


    His bellow echoed through the forest, and even the ground seemed to tremble with the sound.


    “Woof, woof, woof!” The Blue Dog Fox Wolf spotted Zong Ge, turned its head sharply, and barked loudly.


    In the next moment, a section of the ground erupted, dirt flying in all directions, and a massive monster, with its gaping maw wide open, lunged at Zong Ge.


    It was the Underground Giant Worm that had been driven off.


    The ground collapsed, and Zong Ge was immediately caught in a deep pit, only able to raise his Bone Hammer to defend.


    The mouth of the giant worm, though opened to its fullest extent, couldn’t swallow the entire Bone Hammer, only managing to take in a small part.


    A grating screech resounded, sharp and piercing. It was the sound of the serrated teeth within the worm’s mouth frantically grinding against the Bone Hammer.


    Zong Ge supported the Bone Hammer with one hand, while desperately throwing punches and kicks at the Underground Giant Worm with his other limbs.


    The worm’s fatty, greasy body caused Zong Ge’s punches and kicks to sink in, greatly reducing their force. His blows were nothing more than an annoyance to the giant worm.


    After a stalemate lasting several breaths, the Underground Giant Worm suddenly raised its head and retracted it, spitting out the Bone Hammer.


    Its mouth’s front rows of teeth were almost completely ground down, and the surface of the Bone Hammer also showed concentric circles, all marks of the Underground Giant Worm’s tight bite, with a large amount of bone powder ground off.


    “What are you waiting for? Move with the speed of the nobles, fast, fast, fast!” a guiding voice seemed to come through again.


    Zong Ge snorted coldly, stepping on the pit wall and leaping up.


    Next, he swung the hammer down fiercely, knocking down the Giant Worm, stepped on its body, and used the momentum to jump out of the deep pit.


    “I’m coming!” Zong Ge roared again.


    But he had just run a dozen steps when the ground split open again, and the Underground Giant Worm lunged at him a second time.


    “Another one?!” Zong Ge paled.


    In an instant, he questioned, “If there are two, why didn’t they use them when they attacked the Camp?”


    Continuing his observations, his confusion cleared, “No, it’s just one. It turns out the Giant Worm has big mouths at both ends!”


    Typically, Underground Giant Worms attacked with one end and kept the other buried in the earth, ready to flee.


    But now, under the command of the Blue Dog Fox Wolf, the Underground Giant Worm fought with all its might.


    As a result, it couldn’t burrow and escape in the event of danger.


    However, the ferocity of the attacks from both ends also put Zong Ge in a difficult position, trapping him and preventing advancement.


    Zong Ge was already struggling with one head, and with the attack of two heads, the Half-Beast was overwhelmed.


    On the other side, Zhenjin faced life-threatening danger.


    “No!” Zong Ge roared, “Hold on!”


    He wanted to rush over.


    “Damn insects!” In the next instant, the Half-Beast had to dodge again.


    “You have to take risks, a man’s got to take risks! Everyone faces danger on the battlefield, don’t be afraid, face your fears, only then will you survive, only then can you win!” the voice of guidance rose again in his heart.


    Zong Ge let out a low growl, suddenly extending his left arm, letting the Underground Giant Worm bite down on it on purpose.


    The Giant Worm was massive, but after biting down on Zong Ge’s left arm, its mouth contracted fiercely, shrinking its body by at least half, trapping Zong Ge tightly and preventing his escape.


    Meanwhile, the other head aimed for Zong Ge’s back.


    In this moment of crisis, Zong Ge swung the Bone Hammer, striking hard at one head of the worm.


    To bite Zong Ge, the Giant Worm had contracted itself, becoming more solid, no longer having the defense to absorb blunt force like before. sea??h thё novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The hammer kept pounding, and the pain drove the Giant Worm to thrash wildly, its body twisting and struggling frantically on the ground.


    Zong Ge was sometimes thrown to the ground, and sometimes lifted high into the air.


    No matter how the world in his vision spun, Zong Ge focused solely on his target, the hammer relentlessly beating on one head of the worm.


    With each fierce smash, he managed to kill the Giant Worm right there on the spot!


    Upon death, the Giant Worm loosened its jaws, and Zong Ge withdrew his left arm. His left arm was a bloody mess, the fine steel armguard had been sawed into strips, revealing ragged skin beneath, his flesh bloody and torn, some parts revealing white bone. Where pieces of the steel armor remained, they were embedded into his flesh in strips, creating a horrifying sight.


    Agonizing pain hit him, Zong Ge was covered in sweat, droplets falling into his eyes further blurred his vision.


    “Don’t give up, don’t give up! Stand up, don’t lie there. Do you want to be trampled to death? Are you not a soldier? Stand up, even if you have to die, die standing!” the guiding words seemed to whisper in Zong Ge’s ear again.


    “Shut your mouth! You old fart,” Zong Ge retorted.


    He dragged his numb left arm, and the Bone Hammer, towards Zhenjin.


    This time, there were no more obstacles in his way.