Smoke signals rose into the sky

A column of wolf smoke shot into the heavens, starkly visible against the clear sky.

In the quarry, Zhang Yang, Wu Yuan, and the others, who had been on full alert, were all dumbstruck.

What the hell?

"Village Chief, judging from the direction of the smoke, it should be about forty or fifty kilometers southwest of the quarry. If our previous guess was correct, it should be related to the Jackalman village."

Wu Yuan was the first to speak.

"Could this be some kind of conspiracy?" asked another Shieldsman Captain, Tao Yong. After all, their group was carrying out a plan to lure out the enemy.

Everyone turned their eyes toward Zhang Yang. In this Primeval Forest, intelligence was desperately scarce. No one dared predict what would happen next, and no one could afford to bear the consequences.

Thus, Zhang Yang was the only one who could make the decision.

"First, we can be certain that after the previous battle, the Jackalman village simply doesn't have enough strength to launch another war against us in such a short time. Therefore, those three scout imps discovered by the Ghost Priest earlier could not have been sent by the Jackalman village."

Zhang Yang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Second, the smoke is a full forty or fifty kilometers away from us. At that distance, I'm more inclined to believe it's some kind of distress signal, or a signal representing some other meaning. In any case, the chances of it being a trap are very low."

"Third, we've spent the past while busy consolidating our own strength, leaving us lacking in exploration and understanding of this region. That could very well lead us to misjudge things when we encounter enemies in the future. So I've decided that the change starts now. We need to find out exactly what happened there."

"Tao Yong, take two men and escort the craftsmen back. The rest of you will come with me."

Hearing Zhang Yang's decision, Wu Yuan said, "Village Chief, isn't it too risky for you to go personally? Why don't I lead some men there to investigate?"

"What's so risky about this? From now on, more dangerous things will happen every day. Am I supposed to hide in the fortress and wait for death forever? If our village is to develop, relying on the area within a few kilometers around us is nowhere near enough. We have to annex at least the demonic deer's territory and the Jackalmans' territory."

"And now an enemy has appeared on our future territory. How could I have the face to hide away? If I'm frightened into becoming a turtle hiding its head before I even know who the enemy is, then what kind of Village Chief am I? I might as well admit defeat and surrender right now."

Zhang Yang rebuked Wu Yuan with a resolute expression and righteous conviction, instantly earning the soldiers' respect. Little did they know that he had been using those words to encourage himself. Damn it, he was afraid of dying too.

But what use was fear of death? If he didn't find out what was going on now, then perhaps a more powerful enemy would be besieging their city in a few days.

"Move!"

Zhang Yang waved his hand, and the quarry team immediately transformed into a scout team, sprinting wildly in the direction the smoke had risen.

On a plain, a distance of forty or fifty kilometers could be covered in at most ten minutes. But in this forest, it took Zhang Yang and the others nearly an hour to arrive. Along the way, they also wiped out several monsters above level ten that had been bold enough to provoke them.

However, when they saw where the smoke was burning, they all sucked in a cold breath.

It was indeed the Jackalman village—and it was far larger than Zhang Yang had imagined.

The Jackalman village had been built on a hill, with a stream flowing at its foot. At the center of the village stood a giant stone castle over five hundred meters in diameter. Outside the castle, a two-meter-high stone wall had been built along the stream, encircling it.

Beyond the stone wall, at least a thousand mu of farmland had been reclaimed. Even farther away, they could see traces of mining activity.

Without a doubt, the Jackalman village had a prosperity rating of at least 500 points, while its Livability Index had to be above 50 points.

Yet this Jackalman village, whose prosperity was so high, had now been invaded by an even stronger enemy.

Not a single Jackalman farmer could be seen in the fields. The promising crops had been trampled into mud, and the seemingly sturdy stone walls had been violently blasted open in more than a dozen places.

At least several hundred green humanoid monsters were attacking frenziedly.

Overtaking the castle was only a matter of time.

"Village Chief, they're a type of monster covered in green scales. Although they have human bodies, their facial features are those of beasts. They're extremely strong and highly defensive. The arrows fired by the Jackalman Archer Captains can barely inflict fatal injuries on them. Also, there should be three heroes among these green-skinned orcs overseeing the battle."

"As for the wolf smoke we saw earlier, it should be some kind of spell or religious ritual belonging to the Jackalmans. I saw Azure Wolves constantly charging out of the forest and tearing into those orcs like mad. Unfortunately, it had no effect at all. Those orcs killed the Azure Wolves with ease."

Hidden at the edge of the forest, Zhang Yang listened to the intelligence brought back by an Archer Captain and furrowed his brows. Sure enough, the worst-case scenario had occurred. Before this self-proclaimed regional overlord could purge and control the area, a faction whose overall strength far surpassed that of the demonic deer and the Jackalmans had forcefully intervened.

The Jackalman village was doomed to be destroyed today, and this formidable orc village would certainly discover his village within the next few days. No—perhaps they had already discovered it. A new war had become unavoidable.

"Village Chief, this is bad! We've been discovered. Two Orc Squads are flanking us from the left and right. They have about fifty soldiers, and they're moving very fast."

The soldier responsible for keeping watch suddenly shouted.

"Good. Prepare for battle!"

Zhang Yang gritted his teeth and issued the order. Since war was unavoidable, he would first weigh the strength of these orcs.

"Wu Yuan, lead the team. Break through the Orc Squad on the left first! Don't give them a chance to surround us."

"Yes, Village Chief." Wu Yuan's voice was deep.

The soldiers were all brimming with morale. During this period, they had done nothing but patrol and escort the quarry team. The occasional monsters that appeared were nowhere near enough to satisfy them. Now they could finally test themselves against these seemingly powerful orc soldiers.

Wu Yuan charged at the very front. Behind him were two Spearman Captains and six Archer Captains, followed by nine Shieldsman Captains arranged in two columns. The formation resembled a flock of wild geese flying south. Zhang Yang was in the middle of it all. This simple battle formation had been designed by Wu Yuan.

When advancing, they could launch a swift assault. Wu Yuan would serve as the vanguard, the archers would suppress the enemy with fire, and the shieldsmen would form a human-shaped formation, raising their shields and charging forward. In the blink of an eye, they could shatter the opposing formation.

When retreating, they could quickly form a shield wall and cover one another's withdrawal.

However, Zhang Yang and the others had only charged a few dozen meters when another Orc Squad of around thirty broke away from the orc army surrounding the castle and rushed straight toward them.

"Village Chief, there are imps nearby watching our every move!"

Wu Yuan shouted in a low voice, because that was the only possibility.

"Can we fight?"

Zhang Yang asked quietly. The moment the words left his mouth, he felt he sounded a little cowardly and despised himself for it. Before Wu Yuan could answer, he roared viciously, "Charge them! Take them out! Finish this quickly!"

Fortunately, his own soldiers did not laugh at him. They all sped up, murderous intent surging.

At that moment, the three Orc Squads opposite them were positioned to the north, west, and south. Their straight-line distances were a little over 600 meters, a little over 800 meters, and a little over 1,000 meters respectively.

The northern and western Orc Squads charged straight toward them, while the southern Orc Squad took a wide detour, intending to cut off Zhang Yang and the others' retreat.

They were damn good at tactics.

At that moment, anyone who claimed Zhang Yang wasn't afraid would have been lying to the ghosts. The enemy had roughly three times their manpower, and this battle was completely different from their previous fights. This was a true field battle.

"Damn it, treat this like my first visit to a brothel. How could I possibly chicken out?"

Zhang Yang's teeth ground together with a creak, but he charged forward without saying a word. The blood throughout his body surged upward with a gurgle. Whether it was fear or bloodlust, he had thrown caution to the wind.

Because there was no way back.

In the blink of an eye, the two sides rapidly closed the distance. While running, the six Archer Captains on Zhang Yang's side suddenly stopped, drew their bows, nocked their arrows, and fired in one fluid motion.

Six enhanced Golden Eagle Armor-Piercing Arrows instantly broke the sound barrier. Amid their shrill whistle, they crossed more than four hundred meters and struck three orc soldiers charging at the very front.

The firing speed was far too fast—even faster than the Jackalman Archer Captains'. After all, Zhang Yang had previously enhanced their greatbows with magic power. Even a mere ten percent increase was enough to be lethal on a battlefield like this!

What was more, they were using Evil Slaying Golden Eagle Armor-Piercing Arrows with +3 sharpness.

The orc soldiers covered in green scales did have powerful defenses, but under this concentrated barrage, they were killed instantly without the slightest suspense.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of white light flashed past, reclaiming the spoils of war with perfect timing.

This was another benefit inherent to the Village Building Order. No matter where they were, as long as a village soldier killed a monster, the village had the ability to recover its spoils.

Killed Level 15 Berserker Orc Captain.

Captured 3 incomplete Captain-grade monster souls.

Obtained 1,800 energy.

Obtained 3 Fragment of Hope (Gray).