"What a wonderful place! What a wonderful place!" During his rest at night, Han Chen stared at the medicinal herbs on the ground with shining eyes.
At this moment, Qin Mu made no attempt to hide anything, taking out several large pots and throwing the hunted beasts and medicinal herbs into them. With Han Chen, a skilled physician, the combination of medicinal herbs was no longer a problem.
Throughout the day, the most excited person was Han Chen. His usual cold expression disappeared, and his eyes shone as he constantly scanned his surroundings. Even near the camp, he walked around twice, afraid of missing any medicinal herbs.
"This is truly a master!" Baili Bing exclaimed, putting down his chopsticks. He felt completely refreshed after the meal, with steam rising from his nostrils. He was impressed by Han Chen, who had managed to create a nourishing medicinal formula entirely from the collected herbs. It's important to know that none of these herbs were of low medicinal value.
A simple stewed meat meal was eaten in varying amounts depending on the soldier's strength. Those with higher strength would close their eyes and refine the medicine, while those with lower strength would move their fists and feet in the camp to improve their absorption of the medicinal properties.
"You've got your eye on someone?" Huang Sanjian nudged Han Chen lightly and asked. Not far from him, Baili Rou was also wielding her sword. Martial artists eat more, especially this girl who was stuck in the middle of the martial arts category. She hid to the side and ate a whole thigh of a beast that looked like a fierce tiger.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Han Chen said hurriedly.
"He really fell in love with Miss Baili at first sight!" Qin Mu said in surprise, looking at Han Chen's flushed face in the firelight.
"Love at first sight? Hehe! Boss, do you know what love at first sight is? So-called love at first sight is commonly known as lust at first sight!" Huang Sanjian said with a strange laugh.
"hey-hey!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but laugh. After spending some time with him, he knew that Huang Sanjian, despite his serious and upright appearance, was sometimes a complete goofball.
Baili Bing watched the group's strange laughter, then his gaze fell on his younger sister in the distance, and he couldn't help but look at the group warily.
"Ahem!" Seeing Baili Bing looking over, Han Chen coughed twice guiltily, also to remind his bad friends not to talk nonsense.
Qin Mu and the others certainly wouldn't spoil his mood, so they straightened their expressions and began discussing tomorrow's actions.
"Tomorrow we'll advance! We'll split into two teams again! General Gao will lead the team that gathers herbs and set up camp! The rest of us will advance into the forest to confront those enormous beasts!" Qin Mu said.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Gao Kan nodded.
"The secret realm is vast! We'd better hurry up and just find the most conspicuous medicinal herbs! We have to leave some for others, right?" Qin Mu reminded them.
"Understood!" Han Chen nodded. As a physician, he naturally knew which places were easy to grow medicinal herbs, and he also knew how to find the accompanying herbs based on the plants, although many of them were different from those in the outside world.
Qin Mu's main reason for entering the secret realm in large numbers was to acquire medicinal herbs. Since so many people had come, they couldn't just sit idle; they also needed to hunt down as many ferocious beasts as possible.
With more people, there is more strength and more ways to deal with wild beasts. Especially with the arrival of soldiers, how could there be no crossbows?
After exchanging pleasantries, those who needed to rest went to rest. Qin Mu took out something, gently nudged Han Chen, and gestured with his chin towards the distance.
Han Chen looked at the radish-like ginseng in Qin Mu's hand, somewhat confused, not understanding what he meant.
"Idiot! If you like someone, just go for it! How will anyone know you like someone if you don't express it!" Qin Mu said, exasperated.
"Oh, oh!" Han Chen took the ginseng and walked forward in a daze.
"Is there something you need, Inspector Han?" Baili Rou sheathed her broadsword and asked Han Chen.
"I...I..." Han Chen regained his senses and was somewhat at a loss. It took him a while to calm down and say, "Miss Baili must have encountered a bottleneck, right?"
“Yes! We girls are inherently disadvantaged! It’s harder for us to break through.” Baili Rou nodded.
"Here, take this! It should help you break through your current bottleneck." Han Chen said nervously as he handed over the ginseng.
"Thank you for your kindness, Officer, but I cannot accept such a reward without having done so much!" Baili Rou said, shaking her head slightly.
Han Chen was surprised to be rejected and didn't know what to do. He turned around to look, but there was no one around the fire.
Qin Mu, who was watching the show from the shadows in the distance, muttered under his breath, "Idiot! He's usually so smart! How did he become an idiot now!"
"Hehe! All newbies are like this." A soft laugh came from behind.
Qin Mu already knew that Huang Sanjian and the others had taken out their items, and he gave him a disdainful look, saying, "You talk like you're very experienced, but you're still a single dog."
Although he'd never heard the term "single dog" before, he immediately understood its meaning. Huang Sanjian retorted angrily, "Nonsense! I'm a seasoned womanizer!"
"What are you doing?" The tent opened, and Baili Bing appeared in front of them, asking expressionlessly.
"Haha! The weather is nice! The moon is bright and the stars are few!" Qin Mu laughed and walked away with his head held high.
"Hey! I need to pee! Let's find a place." Huang Sanjian also hurriedly used the excuse of needing to pee.
"Uncle, wait a moment! Together! Together!" Zhang Yi hurriedly followed.
"General Gao! It's our turn to patrol the night!" Xi Junmai said, pulling Gao Kan, who had arrived later and was still somewhat unaware of the situation.
Baili Bing looked up at the dark night sky, then his gaze fell on his younger sister in the distance. He raised his hand to his mouth and coughed twice: "Cough cough!"
Hearing Baili Bing's dry cough, Han Chen was like a startled rabbit! He shoved the ginseng into Baili Rou's hand and hurriedly ran off into the distance.
Watching Han Chen flee, Baili Rou glanced at the ginseng in her hand. When she looked up, her face was flushed, and she gave a sweet smile. She gently opened her lips and carefully began to nibble on the ginseng.
Nothing happened that night. At dawn, the group split up and set off. The sight of the enormous bird flying overhead made everyone's hearts tighten, knowing that this was no safe place.
Qin Mu personally led his men into the forest again. This time, they outnumbered him and were ready to make a big splash.
First, it's a trap! Second, it's a way out, a temporary barrier in case we encounter something insurmountable.
Soon after entering the forest, they chose an open space and began to set up.
The specially recruited scouts began searching for wild beasts in the forest, luring them into an ambush. This is one of humanity's strengths: avoid direct confrontation if possible.
A deafening roar erupted!
Not long after, several figures emerged from the forest, looking somewhat disheveled. Not far from them was a huge beast, which made those who were seeing such a ferocious creature for the first time involuntarily tense up.
With a loud "bang!", the massive creature, over thirty meters tall, was launched into the air and crashed to the ground.
Those were the iron chains that the Six Doors carried with them, connected together to serve as tripwires, tied to two large trees that would take two people to encircle.
"roar!"
Never before had he encountered such a situation. Ordinary vines could not stop his charge at all. The dinosaur-like creature scrambled to his feet, dizzy and disoriented. Watching the little one disappear into the distance, he roared again and then chased after it.
"Thump!" The monster fell into a large pit. The pit wasn't high; normally, it could easily jump out. However, today, when it landed, there were some wooden stakes below, which hurt it a bit. Not only that, but several huge trees above were also crashing down on it.
In the forest, the one thing that is never lacking is materials. The huge logs are the best weapons. A tree that is lifted by hundreds of people and smashed down on a beast will make even the biggest beasts let out a painful cry.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!" Ten crossbows, made entirely of steel, fired arrows as thick as a thumb.
"Ooh!" The beast had no way to escape and let out another painful cry.
"Swish, swish, swish!" Another large batch of crossbow bolts was fired.
However, the subsequent crossbow bolts were far less effective than the ten large crossbows, only managing to barely pierce the beasts.
"Kill!" Zhang Yi charged forward, wielding his three-pointed, double-edged sword.
Without uttering a word, Baili Rou also charged forward, carrying her broadsword.
The beast was enormous; even if ten crossbow bolts pierced its body, they wouldn't be fatal! At least not for a short time. With a desperate effort, it shook off the massive tree that had crashed down on it and leaped out of the pit.
With two sharp "plop" sounds, the beast that had just jumped out was slashed across its long neck by two large blades, and blood gushed out instantly.
"Hit!" Huang Sanjian shouted coldly, and a longbow that had appeared in his hand at some point shot out a long arrow.
"Roar!" The beast roared again, then began its frenzied attack.
Everyone could see clearly that an arrow was stuck in one of the beast's large eyes.
The most terrifying beasts are those that have gone mad. Zhang Yi and Baili Rou had already retreated warily, while the others had also prepared to retreat behind the huge trees.
"Bang bang bang!" The frenzied beast triggered other traps, and huge trees flew through the air and crashed into them.
"Go!" Qin Mu calmly waved his hand.
Two hundred of the most skilled constables, each holding a long spear, used it as a javelin, and hurled it with all their might and killing intent.
"Buzz buzz buzz!" A sound of air being cut rang out, and the beast was riddled with quills.
"Ooh!" The beast cried out in agony, unable to get up again.
"Whoosh!" Zhang Yi swung his blade fiercely, and a flash of blood-red light pierced through the beast's neck.
"We won!" Qin Mu felt a sense of relief.
The others also got excited, after all, such a big thing brought a lot of psychological pressure.
Without being ordered, people naturally began to clean up the battlefield. The enormous beast was also quickly dismembered; otherwise, something so large wouldn't have been able to be moved.
"Why aren't there any beast cores?" Zhang Yi asked in surprise.
“That’s not surprising. After all, not all ferocious beasts know how to utilize spiritual energy. If they really had beast cores, they wouldn’t be so easy to kill,” Huang Sanjian said, stroking his chin.
"Yes! I've noticed that too. The beasts here seem to rely on their strong bodies. If we weren't well prepared, many would probably die or be injured," Qin Mu nodded and said.
"Everyone be careful! We don't know what's in the forest. If we encounter several at once, it might be difficult to handle," Baili Bing warned.
"Brother Baili is right. Everyone should be more careful and be better prepared next time," Qin Mu agreed.
They advanced, exploring as they went, clearing a path behind them. Once the scouts spotted the beasts, they began setting traps.
With the experience gained the first time, it became much easier afterward. A series of interconnected traps restricted the beasts' movements, followed by crossbow bolts and javelins! The javelins, in particular, were imbued with bloodthirsty energy, capable of breaking through defenses. Two hundred javelins covering the area could basically inflict serious injuries on the beasts, followed by an attack from skilled fighters.
What's most troublesome about these guys is the immense life force that comes with their huge size. Ordinary injuries are hard to kill, and even when they're severely injured, their attack power is still a headache.
Furthermore, their defenses are so strong that ordinary soldiers simply cannot break through them. Even heavy iron hammers and meteor hammers can only cause them some pain.
Qin Mu had tried using an iron chain to pull a meteor hammer the size of a human head and smash it on the heads of the beasts. These guys just continued to attack as if nothing had happened, without even a hint of being dizzy.
On the first day, they hunted down three large creatures. These creatures seemed to have territories, and there were no other ferocious beasts to be seen in their vicinity.
What pleased Qin Mu the most was that this forest was not like a tropical rainforest, which was full of poisonous insects and wild animals. In fact, it was quite clean. Apart from a lot of dead branches and leaves, the forest was not dangerous.
It was another day of great harvest, especially for the eight hundred people who went to gather herbs. Compared to Qin Mu and his group, the herb-gathering team hunted down far more animals, both large and small.
"What do you all mean?" Not long after returning to the camp, a guard came to report that a group of people had arrived and were brought before Qin Mu. A middle-aged man with an expressionless face asked.
Qin Mu and his group belonged to the imperial court, so they naturally knew this. However, since the people they sent out had not sent back any messages, they dared not act rashly.
Of course! They didn't know that Qin Mu's order was that no one should trespass! So the secret realm was a place where one could leave but not enter.
"This area is temporarily under the control of the imperial court! You may explore as you wish, but please do not disturb us," Qin Mu said solemnly.
"You..." When had he ever been so disrespected? The middle-aged man was about to get angry, but was pulled back by someone else next to him.
"In that case, we'll take our leave! We apologize for disturbing you all," another middle-aged man said, bowing slightly.
"Goodbye! Don't bother seeing me off!" Qin Mu nodded and said.
"Why did you stop me, Brother Nangong! We three could wipe them out with a flick of our wrists!" The middle-aged man, who had been expressionless just moments before, asked angrily as he walked out of the camp.
"The situation outside is unclear, and it's not advisable to clash with the imperial court." The speaker bore a slight resemblance to Ouyang Qing, and as he spoke, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. He didn't believe they could be wiped out with a flick of the wrist; aside from anything else, the crossbow bolts he had just displayed were enough to make him wary.
“Brother Ouyang is right. Besides, the court can’t possibly do anything to us. At most, they just want to take the first wave of benefits. We don’t even know who that young man is! He must have acted on his own initiative. We’ll settle this score with him later.” A short, stout middle-aged man agreed.
"Hmph! Let them be smug for a while."
"Time is tight right now, so let's speed up our exploration and find out the biggest resource in the secret realm."
"Yes!" The others nodded in understanding at Ouyang's words. Confirming the secret realm's greatest resources would make it easier to find a solution. Currently, the only resources they could confirm were the mines, forests, and open land mentioned by Baili Bing. They had discussed this beforehand; the secret realm was in Tianshui, making it difficult for others to compete. Just like with ores and timber, even if outsiders wanted them, how many people could they possibly arrange to transport them?
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