Chapter 385: Fish-man Hunting Weapon (3/3) |
When Bai Zheng woke from his coma, what he saw was the giant leech burnt to a crisp and the Bluestone Fortress still glowing with lingering flames.
He struggled to stand up, but his head spun the next second, nearly causing him to faint again.
"Don't rush." Cao Biansheng steadied him. "The giant leeches inside are scattering."
Bai Zheng stood up, took a deep breath, then turned to Qin Ziwen and clasped his hands in a salute. "Thank you, my lord, for your life-saving grace."
Qin Ziwen pointed out, "This giant leech tide was not a natural disaster."
"What!?" Bai Zheng was shocked and furious.
"You've suffered significant losses. First, get properly settled, gather the survivors, and take stock of your manpower and food supplies." Qin Ziwen gave brief instructions. He paused, his gaze sweeping over the still-smoking ruins. "As for the rest... we'll talk after you've gotten settled."
Qin Ziwen then gave the order for everyone to go assist, helping to drive away the giant leeches.
Inside the Bluestone Fortress, in one of the houses.
In the courtyard, a giant leech was squirming.
It had caught the scent of humans and was searching for them.
The front half of its head raised, swaying constantly. Finally, it began moving closer and closer to the house.
Its massive body pressed against the window surface, making the wooden window frame groan and creak under the pressure. The window paper bulged inward, forming a huge convex shape.
Through the light of the flames outside, they could see the thick segment of its body undulating against the wall.
The couple held their breath, desperately covering their mouths.
*Click.*
The window latch jumped slightly.
The man's hand rested on his short sword, his teeth clenched tight, his arm trembling faintly.
His wife grabbed his hand, her eyes filled with terror.
The giant leech squirmed along the wall; inside the house, they could hear the sound of it moving against the wall.
*Thud~*
The wooden door shuddered.
The latch nearly burst open.
The wife gasped in shock. The giant leech outside finally confirmed their presence and excitedly slammed against the wooden door.
The wooden door was on the verge of breaking.
At that very moment,
a streak of firelight shot from outside the courtyard, accurately striking the giant leech's body.
"Is there anyone still in the house?!" a shout came from outside the courtyard.
The man inside the house's eyes lit up, and he quickly responded, "Yes!"
"Grab your weapons and come out to regroup! Let's drive these beasts out."
A figure on horseback charged into the courtyard, the torch held high in his hand smashing down onto the giant leech's tail.
The giant leech, stung by the pain, instantly reared up.
It slammed headfirst into the courtyard wall, bounced back, and curled into a ball.
"Get out!" The burly man on horseback raised his spear and thrust. The giant leech, hurt, fled towards the smashed-open courtyard gate.
In the courtyard, the tightly shut door opened. The man walked out and shouted towards the figure on horseback, "Brother Shi Qing."
Shi Qing reached to the side of his horse, took down another torch, and tossed it to the man. "Hold it, follow me to drive away the bugs."
"Yes!" The man followed Shi Qing out of the courtyard. Only then did he realize that within the Bluestone Fortress, many teams were driving away these giant leeches.
They were herding them like beasts, using flames and long spears to intimidate and force the giant leeches to flee along a predetermined route.
Among them were many unfamiliar faces. Upon inquiry, he learned they were from the neighboring settlement.
With everyone working together, one giant leech after another was driven out from the entrance, fleeing back to the underground river.
After completion, Bai Shu came out from the Bluestone Fortress to thank Qin Ziwen.
"Thank you very much for your assistance this time."
"We're all human forces, it's nothing." Qin Ziwen waved his hand.
He admitted he had his own selfish motives. This time, the Bluestone Fortress bore the brunt, suffering the attack from the Fish-man Tribe.
Now, the Fish-man Tribe had been hit by a decapitation strike. Regardless of who the new Fish-man Chieftain was, if it wanted to establish prestige and rally its people after taking office, the first thing it would do would surely be to shift internal conflicts outward.
With the Bluestone Fortress taking the front line, it could also share some of the pressure.
"This great kindness, this old man will remember it in his heart. However, the fortress is currently in this state... If you don't mind, allow this old man to handle the fortress affairs first, then I will personally visit to express my profound gratitude." Bai Shu clasped his hands and bowed deeply.
"Family Head Bai, you handle your matters first." Qin Ziwen could understand.
Bai Shu straightened up and looked at Mogu behind Qin Ziwen. A flash of surprise passed through his eyes, but he didn't ask further.
After thanking him repeatedly, Qin Ziwen led the team back to the residential complex.
First, he took the two fish-man superhuman corpses Mogu had hunted to the Ancient Hunting Mausoleum.
He planned to test if they could be buried.
Both fish-man superhumans had been cut into four segments.
He dug open the ground, threw one of the fish-man corpses into it, and buried it.
The ground swelled slightly. A stone tablet rose from the soil, and simultaneously, the earth churned. A curved blade, entirely ice-blue with a slender, sharp edge, surged out from the soil.
The most eye-catching feature of this curved blade was the crescent-shaped guard at its hilt.
[Hunting Weapon] Fish-man's Lament
[Level] Level 1 (0/1000)
[Category] Spirit/Foot
[Hunting Expansion]
First Stage: Water Breath
Second Stage: Not Activated
Third Stage: Not Activated
Only three stages, huh.
Is it because this fish-man race is inferior, or do all fish-man races entirely belong to this weapon?
Qin Ziwen stepped forward and pulled out this curved blade.
On the surface of the blade, there was a faint layer of crystalline, scale-like patterns.
"Suitable for underwater combat. A good blade, but unfortunately, I don't use blades."
Qin Ziwen looked at Du Yu. "Du Yu, I remember you use blades."
Du Yu shook his head. "Master, I practice straight or broad blades. This curved blade is too short, not suitable for me."
"You're quite modest." Qin Ziwen chuckled lightly. Others would desperately want more good things, but Du Yu always yielded, giving up good items.
Du Yu smiled faintly. "What's suitable is best."
Qin Ziwen pondered. Since Du Yu wouldn't use it, who should get this curved blade? He thought of a few targets.
Ten minutes later, the three Yan brothers arrived as summoned.
"Among you three, whoever breaks through to superhuman first, this blade will be theirs." Qin Ziwen raised the blade in his hand.
The curved blade was dazzling, under the firelight, it seemed otherworldly.
The three Yan brothers looked at each other. Yan San and Yan Wu spoke simultaneously, "Master, give it to eldest brother."
"If anyone can break through to superhuman, eldest brother will definitely be first." Yan San clasped his hands and said loudly.
"Master, give this divine blade to second brother. His blade techniques are the most outstanding." Yan Da said sincerely.
"I don't care who among you uses it. This blade needs an owner quickly. A weapon that is used is a weapon; otherwise, it's just a tool."
As he spoke, Qin Ziwen raised the curved blade and silently recited 'Hunting Expansion'.
In an instant, three gill-scale patterns appeared on the side of the blade's spine, swelling outward. The blade seemed to become a living thing; with each gill's breath, the curved blade vibrated accordingly.
Swinging the curved blade, its speed increased by ten percent.
But this was secondary. The true main ability of this blade was underwater breathing.
After activating Hunting Expansion, this blade could grant the user a special constitution similar to a fish-man, while also reducing underwater resistance.