When Bai Zheng awoke from his coma, the first things he saw were the giant leeches burned to cinders and the smoldering embers of Cyan Stone Castle.
He struggled to his feet, but the next second, his head spun, and he nearly fainted again.
"Take it easy," Cao Biansheng said, steadying him. "The giant leeches inside are scattering."
Bai Zheng stood up, caught his breath, and turned to Qin Ziwen, clasping his fists. "Thank you for saving my life, my lord."
Qin Ziwen pointed out, "This giant leech swarm was no natural disaster."
"What!?" Bai Zheng was shocked and enraged.
"Your losses are heavy. First, get settled. Gather the survivors, take a headcount, and inventory your remaining food supplies," Qin Ziwen said simply. He paused, his gaze sweeping over the still-smoking ruins. "As for everything else, we can talk about it after you’ve stabilized."
Qin Ziwen then gave the order for everyone to assist in driving out the giant leeches.
Inside a house in Cyan Stone Castle.
A husband and wife were hiding behind a window, peering outside.
In the courtyard, a giant leech was writhing.
It had caught the scent of humans and was searching for them.
It raised the front half of its body, swaying back and forth. Finally, it began to move steadily closer to the house.
Its massive body pressed against the window’s surface, squeezing the wooden frame until it groaned, "CREAK, CREAK." The window paper bulged inward, forming a huge protrusion.
Through the flickering firelight from outside, they could see its thick body surging against the wall.
The couple held their breath, clamping their hands tightly over their mouths.
CLICK.
The window latch jumped slightly.
The man’s hand rested on his shortsword, his jaw clenched and his arm trembling slightly.
His wife grabbed his hand, her eyes filled with terror.
The giant leech squirmed along the wall, and inside the house, they could hear the sound of it slithering against the exterior.
BANG~
The wooden door shuddered.
The bolt was nearly forced open.
The wife cried out in alarm. The giant leech outside, having finally confirmed their location, began ramming the wooden door excitedly.
The door was on the verge of collapsing.
In that instant,
A streak of fire shot from outside the courtyard and accurately pierced the giant leech’s body.
"Anyone still in the house!?" a voice shouted from the courtyard.
The man’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes!"
"Grab your weapons and join us! We’re driving these beasts out."
A figure on horseback charged into the courtyard, slamming a raised torch into the giant leech’s tail.
The giant leech cried out in pain and reared up instantly.
It crashed into the courtyard wall, bounced back, and coiled into a ball.
"Get out!" The stout man on horseback thrust his spear. The giant leech, struck again, fled toward the open courtyard gate.
In the courtyard, the tightly shut door opened. The man walked out and called to the figure on horseback, "Master Qing."
Shi Qing took a torch from the side of his horse and tossed it to the man. "Take this. Come with me and drive out the bugs."
"Yes, sir!" The man followed Shi Qing out of the courtyard. Only then did he realize that many teams were driving out the giant leeches throughout Cyan Stone Castle.
They were like herdsmen driving beasts, using fire and Long Spears to intimidate and force the giant leeches to flee along a set route.
Among them were many unfamiliar faces. After asking, he learned they were from a neighboring settlement.
With everyone working together, the giant leeches were driven out from the entrance one by one, fleeing back to the underground river.
After it was done, Bai Shu came out of Cyan Stone Castle to thank Qin Ziwen.
"My deepest thanks for coming to our rescue."
"We are all human factions. It’s no trouble," Qin Ziwen said with a wave of his hand.
He admitted to himself that he had his own selfish reasons. Cyan Stone Castle had borne the brunt of the Fishman Tribe’s attack.
Now, the Fishman Tribe had been hit by a decapitation strike. No matter who the new Fishman Leader was, their first order of business after taking power would be to build prestige and rally their people. The surest way to do that was to redirect internal conflicts outward.
With Cyan Stone Castle on the front line, some of that pressure would be diverted.
"This old man will never forget this great kindness. However, given the current state of the castle... If you don’t mind, Your Excellency, allow this old one to handle the castle’s affairs first. I will then personally visit you to offer my formal thanks." Bai Shu clasped his fists and gave a deep bow.
"Patriarch Bai, please, handle your affairs first." Qin Ziwen understood.
Bai Shu straightened up and glanced at Mogu, who stood behind Qin Ziwen. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but he didn’t ask any questions.
After he thanked him several more times, Qin Ziwen led his team back to the Gated Community.
...
The first thing he did was take the two Extraordinary Fishman Race corpses that Mogu had helped hunt to the Eternal Hunting Tomb.
He was going to see if he could bury them.
Both of the Extraordinary Fishman corpses had been cut into four pieces.
He dug up the ground, tossed one of the Fishman corpses inside, and buried it.
The ground swelled slightly, and a stone tablet rose from the earth. At the same time, the soil churned, and a long-bladed Curved Blade, icy blue all over, emerged from the dirt.
The most striking feature of this Curved Blade was the arched handguard on its hilt.
[Hunting Artifact] Fishman’s Weep
[Level] 1 (0/1000)
[Species] Spirit/Foot
[Hunting Exhibition]
First Stage: Water Breath
Second Stage: Not Activated
Third Stage: Not Activated
’Only three stages?’
’Is it because this Fishman species is weak, or does this weapon encompass all Fishman species?’
Qin Ziwen stepped forward and pulled out the Curved Blade.
The surface of the blade had a faint, crystalline, scale-like pattern.
’It’s suited 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 a blade."
Du Yu shook his head. "My lord, I practice with the Precepts Saber or the long saber. This Curved Blade is too short and doesn’t suit me."
"You’re certainly humble," Qin Ziwen chuckled. Others would kill to get their hands on good items, but Du Yu was always modest, passing up good things for others.
Du Yu smiled faintly. "The best is what’s most suitable."
Qin Ziwen pondered. Since Du Yu wouldn’t use it, he already had a few other candidates in mind for the Curved Blade.
Ten minutes later, the Yan Family’s Three Brothers arrived as summoned.
"Among the three of you, whoever is the first to break through to the Extraordinary realm, this blade is theirs," Qin Ziwen said, raising the weapon.
The Curved Blade was dazzling, appearing otherworldly in the firelight.
The Yan Family’s Three Brothers glanced at each other. Yan San and Yan Wu spoke in unison, "My lord, give it to our eldest brother."
"If anyone is to break through to the Extraordinary realm, it will surely be our eldest brother first," Yan San said loudly, clasping his fists.
"My lord, please give this divine blade to our second brother. His blade skills are the most outstanding," Yan Da said earnestly.
"I don’t care which of you uses it. This blade needs an owner soon. 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 activated the Hunting Exhibition.
Instantly, three gill-like scale patterns appeared on the side of the blade’s spine. They swelled outward, and the blade seemed to become a living thing, vibrating with every "breath" of the gills.
Swinging the Curved Blade increased his speed by ten percent.
But this was all secondary. The blade’s main ability was underwater breathing.
After activating the Hunting Exhibition, the blade granted its wielder a special constitution like that of a Fishman, while also reducing underwater drag.
...
...