Chapter 194: Oasis of Life (Third Update) |
Seeing Jin Hao looking at him, Cao Biansheng raised his right hand. "Come on, let me show you the strength of the sixth rank."
He emphasized the words "sixth rank" very clearly.
Seeing there was some fun to be had, a group of people gathered around, watching intently.
Jin Hao also prepared to extend his right hand, but Cao Biansheng said, "Use both hands."
Jin Hao paused for a moment, then extended both hands simultaneously to grip Cao Biansheng's arm.
Following a countdown of three, two, one.
Both men exerted force at the same time.
"Hah." With a low grunt, Jin Hao pushed with all his might through both hands.
Cao Biansheng stood as firm as Mount Tai, though his eyes narrowed slightly and veins bulged on his arm. Clearly, he wasn't having an easy time either.
Since childhood, his strength had far surpassed his peers. Back in university, he had even been a main player on the rugby team.
Yet today, both his hands couldn't match someone else's single hand. This was a situation he had never heard of before.
He looked at Cao Biansheng with admiration. "I'm convinced. Your strength is truly immense."
Cao Biansheng waved his hand. "No, I'm different. I've used Enhancement Cards. You are the one with truly exceptional natural talent."
After a pause, Cao Biansheng said, "Come with me."
Not far away, Qin Ziwen was taking a headcount. "Is the casualty count finished?"
Qin Ziwu replied, "It's done. Two people in our team are injured. One was bitten on the leg by a wolf, and the other sprained his ankle while running in a hurry."
"Alright. Take some Healing Spring water for the one bitten by the wolf to drink a little, to stop the bleeding first." "Got it." Qin Ziwu hurried off to act.
"Guild Leader! I found a talented individual. This Jin Hao's strength is no joke. He could probably make it into the top seven of our guild." Cao Biansheng excitedly pulled Jin Hao over.
Qin Ziwen looked at Jin Hao, who was being dragged over by Cao Biansheng.
Qin Ziwen smiled and greeted him, offering encouragement. "Keep up the good work."
Jin Hao quickly nodded, but hesitated for a moment, a look of uncertainty appearing on his face.
Qin Ziwen asked, "What's the matter?"
Jin Hao said, "I have a private matter I'd like to ask the Guild Leader about."
"Ask away."
Jin Hao described his wife's illness and finally said dejectedly, "I'm truly at my wit's end. Ordinary antibiotics simply can't treat it. Specialized antifungal medication is needed. I want to know if there are any cards that could save her."
Qin Ziwen shook his head.
Jin Hao's face turned pale.
Qin Ziwen said, "I'm not certain, but there are indeed healing cards that can treat injuries. However, I don't have any at the moment."
Jin Hao's heart, which had soared to the heavens, plummeted back to earth.
"Just knowing for sure that such cards exist is enough! Thank you, Guild Leader!"
Having received confirmation, a smile returned to Jin Hao's face.
After checking on everyone, the group began cleaning up the battlefield.
The wolf pack had left behind a total of thirty-one Gray Wolf corpses.
Through on-site investigation and group analysis, it was confirmed these were wild wolves living in the Gobi Desert environment, with a build similar to that of a wolfhound.
These wild wolves had longer teeth, with particularly sharp canines. Adult male individuals weighed between 70 and 80 jin.
They skinned the wolves and removed the sinews. A bonfire was lit, and skewered wolf meat dripped fat into the fire, sending up smoke with a fishy, foul smell.
Tonight, meat was unlimited. Eat as much as you can.
Hearing this condition, the crowd cheered.
It was a rare chance to fill their bellies with meat without restriction.
"I thought it would be like dog meat. This wolf meat is a bit gamey," someone said.
"Haha, it is a bit gamey, but we'll make do. It's better than the giant lizard meat I ate yesterday."
Someone took out a small packet of Green Salt from their pocket and evenly sprinkled it on the meat. "Be content. It's good enough to have meat to eat. Eat more. You'll need strength after you finish."
Qin Ziwen sat leaning against a wall, slowly chewing the wolf meat in his mouth. His expression remained normal, as if the gamey, fishy smell had nothing to do with him.
"Bro, what are you thinking about?" Qin Ziwu moved closer and asked quietly.
"I'm thinking about the Crowned Eagle's task. Should we play it safe, or go for a high-risk, high-reward attempt, or perhaps..." Qin Ziwen didn't finish the last part. Prey one hundred times the Crowned Eagle's weight.
That would be at least over twenty tons!
For a Crowned Eagle weighing just over two hundred jin to successfully hunt a creature of that size, and in a healthy state at that.
It would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
Qin Ziwu said, "Of course, go for the high-risk, high-reward attempt! If you fail, you can just try again. It's not like the breakthrough can only be attempted once, right? Bro, believe me, people always romanticize the path they didn't take. If you choose the first tier and succeed, you'll still regret it later, thinking, 'if only I had chosen the second tier.'"
Swallowing the meat in his mouth, Qin Ziwen said slowly, "Then why not choose the third tier?"
"The third tier is too hard. If it's too difficult, we don't consider it."
Qin Ziwen turned to look at the Crowned Eagle and stated the tasks for the first and second tiers. "Which one do you want to choose?"
The Crowned Eagle stared at him with its pitch-black eyes, unmoving.
Qin Ziwen chuckled at himself. "What am I thinking, really believing you can understand human speech."
"Ao ao~" The Crowned Eagle suddenly let out two calls.
"What?" Qin Ziwen was surprised.
"Ao ao." The Crowned Eagle called out twice more.
Qin Ziwen looked at it for a good while.
"Alright. But there's a prerequisite: we first need to find a suitable Pterosaur group. If you encounter danger later and can't handle it, retreat immediately."
...
The sky was dimly lit as the group crested the final Sand Dune and came to a simultaneous halt.
At the edge of their vision, a sapphire-blue lake and lush green meadows were rooted in the desert.
Reed marshes swayed in the wind, poplar trees spread out along the shore, shallow banks extended outward, connecting to vast stretches of continuous grassland.
A small river flowed into the lake from the North Side. Pterosaurs circled in the sky, while a herd of Hadrosaurs lowered their heads to drink at the lakeshore.
At the boundary between the grassland and the sandy desert, several Gobi Desert ankylosaurs clad in bony armor swung their tail clubs. Few creatures dared to approach these irritable fellows in their vicinity.
Further away, a Paraceratherium slowly pushed over a small tree, chewing on its green leaves.
On the grassland, herds of wild horses gathered in small groups. A multitude of creatures congregated here, composing the vibrant life of this Oasis.
Qin Ziwu sighed with emotion. "Basically all the animals from this region have run here."
Qin Ziwen nodded. He saw many mission targets.
For example, the Gobi Desert ankylosaur and the Paraceratherium. These were Hunting Ladder targets he had never seen before.
"Skree~"
Down the slope ahead, a group of Mononykus let out panicked cries. Behind them, a Desert Raptor was in pursuit.
The Mononykus lagging at the back was caught up. The Desert Raptor snatched it up in its jaws, violently shook it in mid-air, tore it apart, and chewed it into its belly piece by piece.
While savoring its prey, this Desert Raptor seemed to sense something. It warily raised its head to look at the group of uninvited guests who had suddenly intruded upon the Oasis from the hillside.
A hundred meters away, Du Yu drew his bow and nocked an Arrow.
"Whoosh—"
The Arrow cut through the air, accurately piercing the Raptor's throat. Its body stiffened, staggered forward a few steps, and collapsed with a thud.
The looks in the crowd's eyes towards Du Yu held a few more traces of awe.
...
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