'let go.'

Gu Shibing uttered two words in a slightly low voice.

His expression remained unchanged, and it seemed that the huge tiger claw on his arm, which was gradually tightening, posed no threat to him.

In the tense atmosphere, neither side was willing to back down first—although, although there were two sides, one side actually consisted of only one person.

Gu Shibing seemed completely unconcerned about the multiple gazes, some questioning and others rejecting him, as whether these people trusted him or not was of no concern to him.

Of course, one person is an exception.

"I am merely stating the facts I have observed; whether you believe them or not is your prerogative."

Gu Shibing glanced around at the beastmen, his gaze finally settling on Ye Nianzhen.

"but……"

"I hope you can trust me."

Ye Nianzhen stared into Gu Shibing's eyes for a few seconds, then looked away and nodded to Qin Qiu.

Although Qin Qiu disagreed somewhat, since it was Ye Nianzhen's idea, he obediently stopped.

Whether Gu Shibing's words are true or false is actually not important.

If it's true, then doing what he says will be beneficial and harmless for them; if it's false, with so many of them, they aren't afraid that Gu Shibing alone could pose any threat to them.

"ha."

A scornful sneer came from a corner of the cave on the outskirts of the crowd.

"Do you want her to believe you?"

"Just because she's what you call a 'goddess'?"

Mu Guang has always held a mocking attitude towards the so-called 'gods,' 'oracles,' and 'goddesses' that the beastmen pursue.

Ye Nianzhen was called the Goddess appointed by the gods by this so-called Son of God, which is a double joke.

Is this kind of woman a goddess? How ridiculous!

Even if she does, so what? What will she use to convince the public? Violence?

hehe.

Mu Guang's disdainful gaze shifted from Ye Nianzhen to Gu Shibing.

But the two ignored him completely, not even sparing him a glance.

Mu Guang: ...

The bats hiding in the shadows were not as compliant as they had imagined.

Rather, their strength far exceeds their balance, compared to their small size.

Their ferocious nature makes capturing them alive even more difficult.

Unyielding to the death—the black and red corpses on the ground seemed to be silently yet loudly proclaiming this fact.

After Hongxiao once again squeezing too hard and accidentally crushing the bat, he roared:

"Aaaaaaaahh ...

"What the hell is this?!"

"I'm done!!"

He flung the bat carcass from his beast-transformed leopard paw to the ground, then shook his hand vigorously.

The beast's paw slowly shrank, returning to its human form. He lowered his head and frantically sniffed his fingertips, then couldn't help but feel nauseous and gagged.

"vomit----"

He swayed left and right, pulled something that looked like a plant leaf from the ground, and frantically wiped his hands.

Perhaps because the blood seeped into the fur, the smell of bat blood was still pungent no matter how much you cleaned it.

Hongxiao's nose was as sensitive as ever, almost to the point of madness.

Ye Nianzhen took in all of Hongxiao's reactions and sensed something strange.

While Hongxiao's temper wasn't exactly mild, it wouldn't cause such a strong reaction... The smell of bat blood was indeed incredibly foul, but surely not to this extent?

Are orcs really that sensitive to smell? ...

The second attempt was successful, without being contaminated by any dirt, and Mingyuan, who had helped Ye Nianzhen catch a bat, simply watched quietly as a certain foolish red-haired man.

"Mingyuan?" Ye Nianzhen came to Mingyuan's side and called his name softly.

"Um?"

Upon hearing Ye Nianzhen's voice, Mingyuan blinked slightly and turned to face her.

Having good hearing has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that you can hear your loved one's every word clearly and distinctly. The disadvantage is that it's too clear... especially in a semi-enclosed cave, in a crowded place, or at a close distance where you're whispering but trying to make sure the other person can hear you.

Perhaps this is how humans can hear clearly. But actually, even if Ye Nianzhen had spoken softly from that spot just now, he could have heard her perfectly clearly.

How did you feel after smelling bat blood?

"Hmm? Bat blood?"

Mingyuan followed Ye Nianzhen's gaze and glanced at Hongxiao, roughly understanding what Ye Nianzhen was worried about.

He closed his eyes and carefully sensed whether there was anything unusual in his body and mind.

"Um... not right now, not at the moment."

After receiving his answer, Ye Nianzhen lowered her head and began to think.

Mingyuan stared at the top of her head for a few seconds, resisting the urge to rub against it, and gently whispered to Ye Nianzhen, "I will always be careful, whether it's Hong Xiao or Gu Shibing..."

Ye Nianzhen looked up at the sound, and Mingyuan's gentle face looked like a beautiful moon in the dim light of the cave.

He winked at her: "And me too."

Yeh Nianzhen thought he looked adorable and said with a smile, "There should also be little bats and everyone else."

The battle between Red Nitrate, who had already ventured deep into the cave to hunt the bats, finally came to an end. After a fierce and heated phase, Red Nitrate was ultimately defeated.

Of course, this failure still came at the cost of countless bat corpses.

Red Nitrate decided not to arrest Bat anymore, since it was questionable whether what that man said was true or false anyway.

Gu Shibing said he received a divine revelation.

The oracle showed him a very strange vision, in which they would pass through a place shrouded in mist.

The fog was so thick that they couldn't see their surroundings, but they still kept going.

He felt that this was not a specific place, but rather a place they were bound to pass through.

Suddenly, the thick fog seemed to come alive and rushed towards them.

The dense fog transformed into a deadly weapon, penetrating every crevice and invading their bodies.

Just moments before everyone was about to face death, a jet-black bird-like creature flew in, dispelling the thick fog and revealing a bright and clear view.

In the final moment before the dream collapsed, Gu Shibing saw its appearance clearly—a bat.

So he told everyone what he had seen and expressed his opinion.

—If we continue on this journey, it would be best if each of us were to be led by a bat.

He himself knew it was strange.

But it was a bat. So black, it was impossible to tell it was a sacred object meant to ward off evil.

It even seems like something that brings disaster.

But he still firmly believed that what he saw was correct.

Indeed, as the Son of God, the divine pronouncements he saw through his dreams were never wrong.

The current status of whether this group possesses bats is as follows:

Ye Nianzhen, Mingyuan, Luoshui, Qin Qiu: Yes

Light-sensitive, red nitrate: None

Whether others exist or not is not important to him, as long as Ye Nian truly exists. As for those who cannot be caught or who harbor doubts about the gods... death may be their fate.