"My name is Zhang Yang—Zhang as in baring fangs and brandishing claws, Yang as in flaunting might and displaying power. But I'm actually a peace-loving person. I've only just arrived in your fine land, so please take good care of me."
Zhang Yang clasped his hands and spoke with forced composure, but his ashen face, legs trembling like sifted bran, and nearly uncontrollable urge to urinate still betrayed him.
Because three meters in front of him, a gigantic Azure Wolf was staring straight into his eyes.
Zhang Yang had seen wolves at the zoo and had even kept a husky and a small Teddy that seemed determined to fight the heavens and earth. But the Azure Wolf before him was simply too terrifying. Its head was as huge as a millstone, its eyes were crimson, its fangs were sharp and as long as his arms, and its body was as large as a truck.
This damn thing definitely wasn't a life-form from Earth!
That was Zhang Yang's first thought after he regained his composure.
The whole affair was bizarre. Three minutes ago, Zhang Yang had been leisurely eating watermelon on his own balcony when some heartless bastard upstairs dropped a brick that happened to hit him squarely on the head. The next second, he had arrived here. He had not even had time to say goodbye to his mother, who had been engrossed in watching The Story of Minglan in the living room. Then he had seen this Azure Wolf that was practically a monster.
As for why he had not been eaten yet, it was because a white barrier enveloped him within a radius of three meters. The Azure Wolf could not get in, and Zhang Yang naturally did not dare go out.
"So this is that damned, smoke-billowing brick?"
It took Zhang Yang a full three minutes to recover. He picked up a brick from the ground. It had an ancient appearance and gleamed with a bluish-purple sheen, with a flamboyantly carved character on it—"Order."
What kind of order?
The instant this thought flashed through his mind, a white light swept across the brick, and an attribute panel resembling a game interface appeared before his eyes.
Fantasy Village-Building Decree (Gray)
Energy: 97
Status: Partially Activated (Some functions can be used without placement)
Available Trait: Level-One Concealment (When activated, it can conceal an area of ten square meters. Consumes 1 point of energy per minute. Becomes ineffective when a dangerous target approaches within ten meters.)
Available Trait: Level-One Protection (When activated, it forms a fixed defensive energy shield covering an area of ten square meters. Consumes 1 point of energy per minute. When broken, it instantly consumes 3 points of energy to trigger a self-detonation, stunning all targets within the area.)
Available Trait: Level-One Vision (When activated, it can scan all dangerous targets within a one-kilometer radius, distinguishing them as green/safe, yellow/dangerous, or red/extremely dangerous. Each activation consumes 5 points of energy and lasts for 10 seconds.)
Available Function: Initial Recruitment (Recruitment limit: 500 people. The deaths of residents still occupy recruitment slots.)
Recruitable Population List: Spearman/1 point of energy, Swordsman and Shieldbearer/1 point of energy, Longbowman/1 point of energy, 5 farmers/1 point of energy, 4 lumberjacks/1 point of energy, 3 hunters/1 point of energy, 2 butchers/1 point of energy, 1 artisan/1 point of energy.
Village Chief: Zhang Yang (The 982nd village chief bound to the Village-Building Decree)
Age: 18
Strength: F- (Extremely Weak)
Agility: F- (Extremely Weak)
Defense: F- (Extremely Weak)
Soul: C+ (Very Strong. Only souls of C-rank or higher qualify to bind the Fantasy Village-Building Decree. A C-rank soul can be valued at 1,000 points of energy.)
The attribute panel displayed very little, but it still quickly helped Zhang Yang understand his surroundings and current state.
First, if he did nothing, he could only cling to life for another ninety-seven minutes. At that point, the Level One Protection energy barrier would shut down for lack of energy—unless he was willing to sell his soul.
Second, he was very weak. The soldiers he could recruit seemed very weak as well, and he could recruit at most five hundred people. Even if they died, they would still occupy recruitment slots.
Third, before him, 981 other unlucky fellows had been bound as whatever village chiefs this was. But they had all died.
"So what if I sell part of my soul?"
The instant this thought appeared in Zhang Yang's mind, a golden scale appeared before his eyes. His soul was displayed on one side, and energy on the other.
His C+ soul could actually be exchanged for 1,300 points of energy.
"But if I lose this incredibly interesting soul of mine, what use would I have for this body?"
Zhang Yang decisively chose not to sell it. He began staring at the Azure Wolf, trying to find its weakness. Clearly, however, the Azure Wolf was neither arrogant nor impatient. It seemed to know what delicious morsel awaited it next, and did not even blink.
Judging by its powerful body, sharp teeth, and azure fur, one could tell just how terrifying this creature was.
"My 981 predecessors shouldn't have been stupid. After all, only souls of C rank or higher can bind this damned Village Building Order. So they probably tried all sorts of methods. Then what happened? Maybe they all died in the Azure Wolf's jaws. Maybe some of them passed this trial, only to die during the village-building process that followed. After all, this is a vast Primeval Forest."
Zhang Yang muttered to himself as he looked past the Azure Wolf. This was definitely not scenery in the background—he had truly appeared in a Primeval Forest.
"Hypothesis one: If the monster encountered whenever a new village chief is bound is always an Azure Wolf, then there's a good chance someone killed it with no more than a hundred energy. In that case, I don't need to sell my soul to overcome this crisis."
"Hypothesis two: If the monster encountered whenever a new village chief is bound is randomly determined, then my life may be hanging by a thread. But selling my soul still isn't my first choice. No, I won't sell my soul."
"Hypothesis three—no, there is no hypothesis three. It's either life or death. Anyone who wants this incredibly interesting soul of mine can forget it!"
In just a few seconds, Zhang Yang had already understood what was most precious to him: his C+ soul. It had nothing to do with whether it was interesting or not. Rather, he believed that the reason the 981 village chiefs before him had all failed was very likely because each of them had traded away more or less of their souls.
Of course, he might have guessed wrong. But that was not important. What mattered was that Zhang Yang did not merely want to kill this Azure Wolf—he also wanted to survive the village-building process that followed, and keep on living.
If he sold part of his soul to cling to life for a while, only to die in the end, he might as well die in the Azure Wolf's jaws from the start. What if this was only a dream? There was still half a chilled watermelon waiting for him on the balcony.
That was how decisive Zhang Yang was. Then he took action.
He clicked the recruitment option on the Village Building Order's attribute panel and recruited one Spearman, one Sword and Shield Soldier, and one Longbowman. He would recruit these three for now, then formulate a plan to kill the Azure Wolf after assessing the situation.
A flash of white light passed, three points of energy vanished, and three tall soldiers appeared before Zhang Yang.
They averaged over 1.9 meters in height and had the standard yellow complexion of Earth's human race. Muscular and powerfully built, they could have become the most elite and strongest warriors on Earth.
All three soldiers wore simple leather armor, which seemed to offer roughly the same defense.
The Spearman's weapon was a 2.5-meter-long wooden-shafted spear. Its tip was made of iron and very sharp, but that was all there was to it.
The Sword and Shield Soldier carried a long saber and a thick wooden shield, both of similar quality to the Spearman's equipment.
The Longbowman carried a recurve bow and thirty-five feathered arrows. Zhang Yang did not understand much about them, but estimated that their quality was about the same.
Finally, he looked at their attributes.
Whether Spearmen, Sword and Shield Soldiers, or Longbowmen, their basic attributes were all F+, including their souls. Their only difference was that each had mastered one troop skill.
The Spearman had mastered Thrust.
The Sword and Shield Soldier had mastered Slash.
The Longbowman had mastered Triple Shot.
They seemed a little weak.
"Triple Shot!"
Zhang Yang first gave the Longbowman an order. The Longbowman nimbly and swiftly pinched three feathered arrows between his fingers. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the three arrows tore through the air and shot straight toward the Azure Wolf.
At that instant, the Azure Wolf outside seemed startled. It leaped up to dodge, though somewhat clumsily. It avoided two arrows, but the last arrow lodged in its back, penetrating ten centimeters into the flesh as blood gushed out.
Huh? It actually pierced its defense!
Zhang Yang grinned. If he recruited more Longbowmen, couldn't they shoot the Azure Wolf to death from inside the protection barrier?
Yeah, only a third-grade idiot and a newbie would think that way!
So Zhang Yang immediately recruited ninety Spearmen and gave them a direct order: attack without regard for anything else. Of the three weapons, arrows dealt the least damage, blades came next, and spears were strongest. Since their attributes were all the same, naturally he had to choose all Spearmen.
As for troop composition and the saying that working together made things easier—that was all nonsense. Zhang Yang was deeply worried about what kind of effect such weak Level One soldiers could create against that powerful Azure Wolf.
Rather than that, they might as well charge in all at once and use their numbers to compress the Azure Wolf's room to maneuver.
"Kill!"
Ninety-one Spearmen surged out at once and launched a death charge at the Azure Wolf. The next second, the five Spearmen at the front were swept in half by a single swipe of the Azure Wolf's claw. That leather armor was completely useless!
With attack power like this, could it really have been possible for a mere arrow to pierce ten centimeters into it?
Damn it, even monsters knew how to deceive people these days.
As Zhang Yang was lamenting, another five Spearmen charged forward without regard for their lives. Four were bitten to death by the Azure Wolf in an instant. The last Spearman survived for one more second. In that second, the spear in his hands flashed like lightning and stabbed into the Azure Wolf's chest, but penetrated less than five centimeters!
And that was after activating the Thrust skill.
Watching from behind, Zhang Yang felt both immensely fortunate and chilled to the bone. This Azure Wolf was far too powerful—and its intelligence was high, too.
"Bang!"
With one swipe of its claw, the tenth Spearman's head was smashed apart, blood spraying outward in a spinning arc.
That did not affect the Spearmen who followed. Just as Zhang Yang had anticipated, enough Spearmen were able to constrict the Azure Wolf's space within seconds. Although it was powerful, the distance between them was also sufficiently close. Ninety Spearmen had been recruited in an instant, surging out like a flood.
Even though they suffered tremendous casualties every second, a few Spearmen would always manage to land a hit.
"Pfft!"
Almost in the blink of an eye, after more than forty Spearmen had died, one Spearman finally seized an opportunity and thrust his spear through the Azure Wolf's left eye. It penetrated ten centimeters. Damn, even a vital spot was only ten centimeters deep!
"Awooo!"
The Azure Wolf cried out in pain and finally went berserk. It pounced and bit frantically, slaughtering the Spearmen around it as swiftly as scythes cutting wheat. But this frenzy naturally exposed more weaknesses. One Spearman after another continuously drove their spears into it. Although they were immediately swatted away and bitten to death afterward, there was no doubt that the Azure Wolf had suffered severe injuries.
"Longbowman, shoot its eyes!"
Even at this moment, Zhang Yang could maintain the last shred of reason and clarity. He did not let himself faint amid the scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere. Even he could not help marveling. So this was the benefit of a C+ soul—he did not vomit, collapse, or wet his pants at the sight of corpses. He had thought the effect of a C+ soul was to become a super academic genius.
"Thrum, thrum, thrum!"
As the Longbowman used Triple Shot again, the last eye of the Azure Wolf, which had fallen into a frenzy, was shot blind as well. But only nine Spearmen remained.
Even so, they still fearlessly gripped their spears and thrust them forward!
"Kill!"
"Smack, smack, smack!" Eight Spearmen were beaten to death, but the last Spearman pierced through the enormous wound in the Azure Wolf's chest with his spear. His head, face, and entire body were drenched in blood. The Azure Wolf died, and he survived.
In an instant, the Fantasy Village Building Order lit up. A beam of white light descended onto the Azure Wolf's corpse, seemingly pulling something back.
"Successfully slew a Level-One Wolf Demon."
"Successfully captured a remnant wolf-demon soul."
"Obtained 35 points of energy."
"Obtained 500 units of wolf meat (edible)."
"Obtained 28 wolf fangs (can be used to craft weapons)."
"Obtained 50 units of wolf-demon blood (contains a faint demonic power and can be used to make talismans or inscribe battle patterns)."
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