Chapter 68: The Journey Begins

Chapter 68: The Journey Begins

“As previously agreed, I will command the team. From the moment we enter the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain Range, spellcasters will take turns casting enhancement spells on the scouts.”

After the three tribes merged, Li Hongshen took over command. Whether as an alliance or a unified party, only one person could give orders; otherwise, chaos would ensue and the team would become scattered.

Li Hongshen split up the warriors, placing his own and Lin Shengzun’s on the outer flanks, while Li Bingbing’s archers and blade-wielders remained in the center. Even so, he selected a portion of Li Bingbing’s people and combined them with his own to form several ten-man advance squads, scattered at the very front to scout the path. These squads would rotate regularly to maintain stamina and alertness.

Eight spellcasters were positioned in the inner circle, taking turns to empower the vanguard. When necessary, they could unleash area attacks on beast packs.

Soon, this thousand-strong party moved out in formation toward the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain Range. Li Hongshen rode his giant hound at the center of the group; Li Bingbing was mounted on a black panther, while Lin Shengzun rode a chestnut horse—fierce and powerful, clearly the king of his territory’s herd.

As they advanced, the savage forest erupted with startled birds. These warriors, all seasoned hunters of the wilds, exuded such a potent killing aura when gathered together that even the fiercest beasts fled before them, not daring to draw near.

After two days of travel, they officially entered the Ten-Thousand-Mile Mountain Range without encountering any guardian beasts—the former sentry had long since fled. Passing through the entrance gorge, a breeze infused with spiritual energy greeted them, and the landscape opened up magnificently—ancient trees centuries or even millennia old stood everywhere. Looking back, the savage forest behind them was a world apart, divided by this very gateway; the scenery within the mountains was breathtaking, the air sweet and fresh. Beastly roars and birdsong echoed through the wilderness, immersing all in the primal spirit of the wilds.

“Let’s keep moving. We must reach the camp I marked before nightfall.”

The mountain range now lay before them. Li Hongshen would certainly dispatch scouts to check the area, at least to clear the surroundings near the entrance, ensuring they wouldn’t be ambushed immediately upon entry.

The original guardian beast here was a mountain tiger—formidable and cunning. Li Li had led men to drive it away many times, but it always escaped death.

After several scouting attempts, the team found a place to rest and recover about a day’s journey from the entrance. Beyond that point, a beast pack blocked the way. Because of this, previous exploration halted there; attempts to force a way through had cost two warriors their lives.

Those who escaped the beast pack brought word back to the tribe. Li Hongshen then decided to stop scouting and, this time, to lead his team to wipe out the pack and avenge the fallen.

The adversaries were a pack of wild jackals, nearly a hundred strong—the second trial for any lord seeking passage.

Jackals, as savage beasts, were not especially powerful. Even first-tier ones stood barely over a meter at the shoulder, and alone, they ranked among the lowest of the wild’s predators. Only as a pack did they become fearsome, which was likely why they dared to settle near the entrance of the range.

Once part of a pack, jackals turned frenzied and fearless, attacking anything in their path, willing to die just to tear a chunk of flesh from their prey.

“This is the place my scouts found before. We’ll rest here. Half a day’s march ahead, nearly a hundred jackals await us. Tell the warriors to prepare their weapons—tomorrow, battle awaits.”

At dawn, the party set out again. By midday, they entered a valley strewn with bones and dotted with low caves glowing with green eyes.

As they moved into the heart of the valley, jackals emerged from the caves, forming a circle of encirclement. Li Hongshen did not order a halt; instead, he instructed the warriors to keep advancing and cut down any who blocked their path.

The vanguard and the wolf-hounds pressed forward, causing the jackal pack’s formation to fray. Unable to hold back, the jackal king appeared atop a small hill and howled orders.

“Kill! Leave none alive! Shoot the king dead!”

The moment the jackal king howled, before the pack could act, Li Hongshen gave the command. He had never intended to let any jackal survive.

He already knew their habits from the encyclopedia—jackals would never let prey escape. Seizing the initiative, Li Hongshen had prepared his men in advance.

The jackal king, unable to restrain itself, was instantly pierced by three spears and nailed to the ground. Yet its command had been given—the pack charged in, only to be met by a hail of arrows and a wall of spears. Those that broke through were smashed by shields, then cut open by short blades.

Two hours later, the few remaining jackals, whimpering, tucked their tails and fled, leaving the valley floor littered with corpses and soaked in blood.

Thanks to their precautions, not a single warrior was lost; only a few on the flanks suffered minor injuries, quickly healed by the shamans.

The warriors began to clear the field, digging blood crystals from the jackals’ bodies and feeding the meat to their war beasts as a reward for their valor.

Li Hongshen then opened his domain here, allowing the warriors to rest and the beasts to clean themselves of blood. He hadn’t done so before because it wasn’t needed. After battle, however, the team needed a place to recover and cleanse their scent.

This was also why lords traveled in parties—each expansion and retraction of a domain consumed source points or blood crystals. For a single lord, the cost was too great, even for Li Hongshen. But in a group, they could take turns, sharing the burden.

After a brief rest, Li Hongshen and his companions set out once more. Their journey had only just begun.

I wonder… Should the scene where Li Bingbing resolves Li Hongshen’s misunderstanding be reserved as an interlude, or woven directly into the main plot?

(End of Chapter)