Several thousand miles south of Nanqing City, within the Demonic Beast Territory, stood a heavily guarded military fortress.
This fortress was a nail driven deep into the Demonic Beast Territory by humanity, a bridgehead for humanity's expansion of territory.
At that moment, above the central square of the Bridgehead, a giant bird whose feathers resembled flames was slowly descending with a "flutter~ flutter~."
When it was only a dozen meters or so above the ground, Chen Lin and the others could no longer wait. They leaped down one after another and quickly landed on the ground.
"A Lin, this is the Bridgehead our human race established in the Demonic Beast Territory. It's the forward base where we warriors usually carry out clearing missions in the depths of the Demonic Beast Territory. After clearing out demonic beasts, we generally come here to rest for a while!"
Zhu Wei pointed at the stone buildings around them, their surfaces covered in mysterious patterns, and explained with a smile.
Chen Lin nodded at this, curiously surveying the surroundings, his eyes filled with amazement.
The bluish-black boulders bore the weathering of countless years, while mysterious patterns occasionally gleamed across them, showing that this cluster of rough-hewn buildings was far from as simple as it appeared.
Amid the mountains and wilderness, surrounded by endless savage demonic beasts, the long-term existence of such a cluster of buildings truly left Chen Lin amazed and curious.
Once everyone had straightened their clothes, Zhu Wei familiarly led them into a stone building beside the square.
After handing their identity jade badges to the staff inside the stone building and briefly registering their information, Zhu Wei took the courtyard keys handed over by the registrar and headed outside.
Along the way, people frequently greeted Zhu Wei with familiarity.
"Brother Zhu, how long are you planning to stay this time? If you hunt any rare demonic beasts, you must sell them to me! Our Merchant Alliance will buy them at a high price!"
"Brother Zhu, don't listen to Old Zhang's nonsense. Although our War God Temple offers a slightly lower price, we have Merit Point rewards! You must take care of our own people first!"
"Alright, definitely, definitely!"
Faced with their invitations, Zhu Wei gave no definite answer. He merely laughed heartily and replied with ambiguous words.
He Yanjun patted the endlessly curious Chen Lin and said with a smile, "Those people just now were all personnel from the Four Great Powers. Most of them aren't very strong. Their main responsibility is helping guard the Bridgehead, and they also buy valuable materials from demonic beasts from warriors."
"So that's how it is!" Chen Lin nodded in sudden understanding.
The Bridgehead was not particularly large, only about half the size of Nanqing City's Inner City.
After Zhu Wei led them onward for a short while, they found the temporary residence assigned to them: a three-story stone house built from piled stones, with an exceedingly rugged style.
After opening the stone house with the key, Zhu Wei smiled and reminded all the team members.
"Everyone, pick a room you like and put away your extra belongings. Gather here again in a quarter of an hour, then we'll head out to hunt demonic beasts!"
The group answered with smiles. They were clearly long accustomed to Zhu Wei's style of doing things, and they dispersed to choose rooms they liked.
Chen Lin went to the third floor and chose a room with a small terrace. He placed the bamboo case from his back beneath the window, looked around, and, seeing nothing unusual, slowly went downstairs.
In the first-floor hall, Zhu Wei and He Yanjun had already put away their luggage and were sitting there early, leisurely drinking tea.
It was as though they had come here not to kill demonic beasts, but to travel.
Seeing Chen Lin appear, Zhu Wei smiled and invited him, "A Lin, do you like tea? Want a cup?"
"Sure!" Chen Lin nodded with a smile and sat down.
After finishing a pot of tea, the group, led by Zhu Wei, left their residence fully armed.
"A Lin, stay alert these next few days. Duan Hengyuan's team seems to have come here as well." He Yanjun gestured with his chin toward a figure in the distance and spoke solemnly.
"Hm?" Chen Lin followed He Yanjun's gaze, only to meet Duan Hengyuan's vicious eyes.
Duan Hengyuan was glaring at Chen Lin fiercely, looking as though he wanted to skin him alive and pull out his tendons, making Chen Lin frown.
"Second Brother, is that young man the culprit who got your younger brother sentenced to twenty years of hard labor?"
The burly man beside Duan Hengyuan, his face covered in beast-claw scars, followed Duan Hengyuan's gaze to Chen Lin and asked, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
Duan Hengyuan's eyes flashed with ferocity as he said hatefully, "That's him. That little bastard is the one who got my brother sentenced to twenty years of hard labor. I will never let that little bastard go!"
Whenever he recalled the sight of his younger brother being taken away with terror written all over his face, Duan Hengyuan's teeth itched with hatred.
To reduce his younger brother's sentence, he had spent no small amount of Merit Points.
And the massive expenditure of merit had delayed his progress toward breaking through to Grandmaster by an unknown amount of time. How could that not fill his heart with vicious hatred?
"Let that brat jump around for a while longer. As long as we're in the Demonic Beast Territory, there'll be plenty of chances to settle the score with him!"
The scar-faced burly man patted Duan Hengyuan's shoulder in consolation.
"Mm. Sooner or later, I'll settle the final account with him. A mere Martial Master actually dared to disregard my dignity. He has already chosen the path to death." Duan Hengyuan muttered darkly.
Chen Lin's team brushed past Duan Hengyuan's team, and neither group could stand the other.
After leaving the Bridgehead, He Yanjun said to Wu Fan, who was carrying six quivers on his back, "A Fan, give me two quivers. I'll help lighten your load."
"Hahaha, then sorry for the trouble, Brother He!" Wu Fan did not stand on ceremony. He directly removed two quivers from his back and handed them to He Yanjun.
"Brother Wu, I can help carry one of your quivers too!" Seeing this, Chen Lin also spoke with a smile.
"No, you're here in the Demonic Beast Territory for the first time. It's best to travel light and not carry too much baggage that could affect your movements. Otherwise, one misstep could cost you your life! I appreciate the thought, brother." Wu Fan repeatedly waved his hands in refusal.
Zhu Wei laughed and advised, "Hahaha, A Lin, don't worry about this guy. As an archer, carrying a few quivers counts as training. It's less than three hundred pounds, not even half the weight of my hammer!"
The group swiftly traveled through the boundless wilderness.
As the team's part-time scout, Jiang Tianyu walked at the very front. He Yanjun followed closely behind him. Wang Ming and Li Fei, one wielding a saber and the other a staff, occupied the two flanks of the team. Wu Fan was the team's ranged attacker, while Chen Lin, as a newcomer, was arranged in the middle. Zhu Wei, the strongest among them, took up the rear.
"Our target this time is the Purple Flame Lion at Qi Tian Cliff in Di Qiu. That cunning fellow luckily escaped last time. We absolutely cannot let him escape again this time!" Zhu Wei said with a serious expression.
"Don't worry, Boss. That guy escaped last time because our team was short-handed. This time, Brother He has returned after recovering from his injuries, and with A Lin joining us, we'll definitely make sure that fellow cannot escape even with wings!" Wu Fan replied with a smile.
Seeing how Wu Fan spoke of the Purple Flame Lion, whose strength rivaled that of a late-stage Martial Grandmaster, as though it were some random cat or dog, the others could only shake their heads.
"Roar~"
"Woo~"
As the group continued onward, demonic beast roars occasionally rang out from the patches of grass and shrubs taller than a person nearby.
Several times, Chen Lin and the others nearly brushed directly past demonic beasts, sending Chen Lin's adrenaline surging.
Unlike Chen Lin, who remained on high alert, Zhu Wei and the others seemed to be strolling through their own backyard, looking thoroughly relaxed and at ease.
As the setting sun began to glow red, dyeing the horizon blood-red,
Jiang Tianyu waved, signaling the team to halt.
Zhu Wei looked at the robust Jade Horned Ox in the distance, then suddenly called out to Chen Lin, "A Lin, that White Jade Horned Bull ahead will be our dinner tonight. Go take care of it. Be careful—this fellow is a Demon Soldier-level demonic beast. Watch yourself when fighting it, and don't let it hurt you!"
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