https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-39-Followers-of-the-Crimson-Emperor/12550591/
Chapter 38: The Forest Patrol
Chapter 38: The Forest Patrol
Late in the night, Ji Xinghuo woke up right on schedule and glanced at his mechanical watch. He had slept for six hours.
The Starry Realm had entered the "Mid-Month," the fifth month of the hot season, the middle month of the season. On the 18th day of Mid-Month, the length of Starry Night and Dark Night would be equal, both lasting 12.4 hours. After that day, the Starry Nights would gradually outlast the Dark Nights, and the weather would continue to get hotter.
Ren Mian was sitting at the entrance of the tent, her eyes half-closed as if she hadn't moved for hours.
Ji Xinghuo sat up, and this slight movement immediately caught her attention. She opened her eyes and looked over at him.
The two exchanged a glance in the darkness.
Ren Mian stood up and moved aside, allowing Ji Xinghuo to take her place. He sat on the grass mat that still retained some warmth and watched as she crawled into the sleeping bag next to Jiang Nan Caiyi. Within less than half a minute, she was asleep.
Ji Xinghuo averted his gaze.
He closed his eyes slightly but felt no hint of sleepiness. His spirits were high, and he instantly extended his magnetic field perception outward. Everything within a 350-meter radius was reflected in his mind.
The mountain hollow was quiet.
The occasional chirping of insects made the pitch-black surroundings seem even more profound.
Even if a wild beast passed by, it wouldn't discover the tent hidden among the thorny bushes. And if they accidentally came too close, the scent of the beast-repelling grass would drive them away.
Out of boredom, Ji Xinghuo opened the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil and, after a moment's thought, decided to invest all 15 spiritual source energy points he had obtained today into "Rotating Magnetic Field."
The upgrade progress changed to 117/359.
It was still a long way to reach level two, and the enhancement effect on his body wasn't very noticeable, but the range of his magnetic field perception had increased by nearly ten meters.
Given his current role in the team, the stronger his perception, the better, and the safer his teammates would be.
Ji Xinghuo calculated.
When the progress of the first level of Rotating Magnetic Field was full, the range of his magnetic field perception should reach about 500 meters.
This was a sufficiently safe distance. Even a legendary ranger would find it challenging to launch a deadly attack on a target 500 meters away.
As for enemies above the legendary level, if they were to encounter one, whether or not they could sense it wouldn't make much difference.
The night watch was the most challenging to endure.
However, Ji Xinghuo had excellent concentration and maintained a relatively high level of focus. During these six hours, monsters had entered the range of his magnetic field perception, but as they hadn't come close to the tent, he hadn't disturbed his teammates and had let the monsters leave.
When daybreak arrived, his teammates woke up.
Jiang Nan Caiyi heated up the leftover spider leg meat from last night for everyone's breakfast, and they also replenished their water supply before setting off again.
Before leaving the campsite, Ren Mian removed the plant protection from outside the tent, retrieved the seeds and samples, and restored the place to its original state.
They headed west.
By noon, the team had traveled over seventy kilometers.
The few battles they encountered weren't very intense, and they harvested two exotic species, but only one was of superior quality, worth around 100,000 Asia Dollars.
In the afternoon, they traveled even further, and Ji Xinghuo began to find it a little strange that they hadn't encountered any monsters, and even the number of wild beasts had decreased.
"Ren Jie, do you think we might have entered the territory of some powerful monster?" he asked in a low voice.
"Probably not."
Ren Mian took out a map, crudely drawn but with several places marked by eye-catching red crosses, indicating dangerous no-go zones.
"We're not in any of the danger zones, and the nearest one is still quite far away," she said after studying it carefully. "Either we've been unlucky and just haven't encountered any, or there's a gathering place of Starry Realm exotic races nearby, or perhaps even a tribe."
"Are there Starry Realm exotic races west of Freedom City?" asked Ji Xinghuo.
"Of course," Chi Zhonglin laughed. "Every place in the Starry Realm has exotic races. Just within the Thousand Peaks and Forest, there are dozens of races, all nominally vassals of the Heavenly Feather King's Court."
Ren Mian reminded, "Most exotic races can be communicated with, but we must remain vigilant and never approach them lightly. Because that minority of exotic races that cannot be communicated with can sometimes be more dangerous than monsters. You never know if they harbor hostile intentions."
She listed some of the Starry Realm exotic races and described their abilities and customs in detail.
"I'll remember that," Ji Xinghuo nodded.
Along the way, his teammates often shared their hunting experiences and knowledge of the Starry Realm with him.
Most of the time, it was Ren Mian who spoke, as her understanding of the Starry Realm was profound.
Chi Zhonglin and Jiang Nan Caiyi had been in the Starry Realm for several years, but their knowledge compared to Ren Mian's was like heaven and earth, and they often had to listen carefully.
Ji Xinghuo had a good memory and basically remembered everything.
In fact, before entering the Starry Realm, Ji Xinghuo had already learned a lot about exotic races. His major in college was the Starry Realm language, and those three exotic race languages came with related courses. Language was the best window to understanding a race or civilization.
In this regard, his foundation was better than most people's, and he grasped concepts quickly.
As Starry Night approached.
Ji Xinghuo suddenly stopped and said in a low voice, "Someone is approaching, and it's not a monster." After discerning carefully, he added, "There are three Forest Patrol members."
There really was an exotic tribe nearby.
Ren Mian wasn't surprised and asked, "Can you distinguish which clan branch they're from?"
"No," Ji Xinghuo shook his head.
The magnetic field perception had no color or visual images, and the images in his mind were very abstract. He could only identify people through the shape of their magnetic fields and gauge their strength through the intensity of the magnetic field.
"They're too fast; we probably can't avoid them." Ji Xinghuo sensed ill intentions and already had his compound bow in hand, an arrow notched and ready.
The sound of rapid footsteps approached, like a flurry of hoof beats.
"Get ready." Ren Mian reached for her waist, and Chi Zhonglin dropped his backpack, taking up his gun to stand at the front of the team. Jiang Nan Caiyi disappeared into thin air.
Soon, three towering figures burst out from the dense forest.
Their upper bodies resembled humans, but their lower halves resembled even-toed ungulates, like horses or deer. They had large, black hooves, and their extremely robust bodies were clad in leather armor. Their faces protruded forward, with large nostrils and a pair of forked black horns on either side of their heads. Their eyes were round, emitting a primitive and ferocious gaze.
The leader was clearly male, with a head that stood over two and a half meters tall. His bare chest was incredibly muscular, and his four legs were as thick as pillars. He held a massive spear in his hand and carried a bundle of javelins on his back.
The two females by his side were slightly smaller and more agile, but they still stood nearly two meters tall. Each carried a heavy longbow.
Their skin was adorned with blood-red tattoos that covered their entire bodies.
"Forest Patrol!" Ji Xinghuo murmured to himself.
The Forest Patrol was quite common in the Starry Realm and was considered a sizable race. They lived in the forests and considered themselves the masters of the woods.
Overall, the Forest Patrol's innate abilities were considered average among the exotic races in the Starry Realm, and they also possessed a relatively high level of intelligence.
However, the Forest Patrol was a race guided by their faith, and differences in beliefs caused the various Forest Patrol tribes to have starkly contrasting tendencies toward good and evil.
Some Forest Patrol tribes revered nature and were warm and welcoming.
Other Forest Patrol tribes were savage and violent, hostile toward any outsiders who entered their territory, behaving like uncivilized beasts.
Ren Mian had already activated her "Thought Necklace," and her voice sounded in their minds, "I haven't seen this clan before. Let's try to communicate first."
"I don't know their language," Ji Xinghuo replied, "but maybe they can understand the language of the Heavenly Tribe. I'll give it a try."
As the ruling power of the Thousand Peaks and Forest, the language of the Heavenly Feather King's Court should carry some weight.
"Everyone..."
Ji Xinghuo had just opened his mouth when the male Forest Patrol member at the front suddenly let out a furious roar and charged forward on all four legs. He swiftly pulled out a javelin and threw it at them.
The other two female Forest Patrol members also shot their arrows.
"What's going on...?"
Ji Xinghuo was confused, unsure of what he had done to provoke them.
However, his reaction was swift. The arrow from his compound bow was released almost simultaneously.
Ren Mian's hand glowed with green light, and a cluster of withered leaves instantly unfolded, forming a green lotus leaf about two meters in diameter. It served as a round shield, protecting herself and Ji Xinghuo.
Chi Zhonglin had already rushed forward.
Thud!
The javelin pierced the "Shield Leaf Lotus," penetrating the lotus leaf but getting stuck on it. The two thick arrows were also blocked by the lotus leaf.
At the same time, one of the female Forest Patrol members let out a painful cry.
"Ah..."
A willow leaf arrow had pierced her eye, penetrating her brain, and she fell to the ground instantly.
The remaining female Forest Patrol member, seeing that Ji Xinghuo had drawn another arrow and aimed it at her, showed a look of panic. She stared intently at Ji Xinghuo's compound bow, trying to dodge the arrow. However, she didn't notice that a transparent figure had already sneaked up behind her.
Jiang Nan Caiyi suddenly appeared, and with a flash of her katana, she beheaded the unsuspecting enemy.
In the blink of an eye, two members of the Forest Patrol lay dead.
The male leader didn't even have time to rescue his companions, and their deaths only stirred up his ferocity. He fiercely charged toward Chi Zhonglin.
"Heyah!"
Chi Zhonglin's body swelled to match the height of the Forest Patrol member, and his arm muscles bulged as he met the opponent's spear with his own.
The advantage of the Lava Gun immediately became apparent.
The Forest Patrol's spear snapped upon impact, and a scorching force traveled up his arm, penetrating his body. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Chi Zhonglin twisted the gun, taking advantage of the enemy's inability to defend, and stabbed it into his heart.
The starlight energy in the gun exploded, causing the chest cavity to blow up instantly.
Chi Zhonglin pulled out his long gun, and the blood that had splattered on it was instantly burned away. Without even sparing a glance at the enemy's corpse, he immediately retreated.
"Let's go."
Ren Mian didn't hesitate and ordered her teammates to leave immediately.
Chi Zhonglin, carrying the long gun and the team's backpack, ran at the front, followed by Ji Xinghuo and Jiang Nan Caiyi. Ren Mian, at the back, threw a black flower onto the ground.
The black flower took root, and its roots quickly spread, devouring all the plants it touched—flowers, shrubs, and even large trees—transforming them into nutrients. It gave rise to a blanket of fungus that spread over a hundred meters, consuming the three Forest Patrol corpses and digesting them thoroughly.
In less than ten minutes, the area of trees had turned into a pool of black water.
Soon after, a squad of Forest Patrol members arrived at the scene, staring at the empty black ground with a mix of wariness, anger, and bewilderment.
(End of Chapter)
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