After returning to Great Qin Village, Zhao Fu gathered his troops once more. This time, the group had grown by five people, both men and women, all with relatively high Intelligence. There were thirty-five soldiers in total, not counting Liu Mei and the others.
First, Zhao Fu taught Holy Light Art to ten Goblin Champions and ten Infantry. They would charge at the front, with the Goblin Champions forming a shield wall. The soldiers could then stay safely behind the sturdy wall and use Holy Light Art—a thoroughly underhanded tactic.
As for the Archers, Zhao Fu didn't teach them the skill because of its limited range. Now that they had used Soul of Martial Refinement, their archery was deadly. If the Skeletons were caught off guard, the Archers could practically pierce their skulls with every shot.
As for the five new recruits, Zhao Fu taught them Holy Light Bullet.
Next came the test. They made their way to an unblocked passage and slowly advanced through the dark. Before long, more than a dozen Skeletons revived, raised their weapons, and charged at Zhao Fu's group.
The Goblins and Infantry calmly formed a shield wall, then cast Holy Light Art. Blinding beams of white light struck the Skeleton soldiers, and wisps of white smoke rose from their bones. With shrieks, the Skeletons staggered backward.
Another wave of blinding light fell upon them. The Skeleton soldiers shrieked again, and their fighting strength instantly dropped by a third.
As beam after beam of white light appeared, the passage, once pitch-black, became as bright as day—so bright it was almost dazzling.
Then five glowing orbs shot out from behind the shield wall and landed among the retreating Skeletons.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
The orbs hit the Skeletons and exploded, releasing a dazzling burst of light. More than half of the Skeletons let out a wail and collapsed into piles of bones. The few that remained had barely any fighting strength left, and several Infantrymen finished them off with iron hammers.
The Skeleton soldiers were no longer much of a threat. The battle was completely one-sided, and the group continued onward, easily killing several more waves. Even when they encountered a Skeleton captain, it only caused a little trouble. Zhao Fu and the others didn't even need to join the fight; the soldiers killed it themselves.
After thinking it over, Zhao Fu left Li Wen in charge of the area and told him to continue exploring. If he encountered a Skeleton General, he was to report back. Zhao Fu, meanwhile, returned to the surface with Bai Qi and a few others to take care of other matters.
Zhao Fu also distributed every Soul of Martial Refinement they had obtained to his soldiers without hesitation. Now that they had the Heaven and Earth Refining Array, there was no need to worry about aptitude.
Back on the surface, Zhao Fu took Little Gray and a group of people to scout the surrounding area in person, hoping to find villages they could annex and thereby increase the population of Great Qin Village. Even if he combined the troops from all his villages, they still numbered fewer than five hundred—nowhere near enough to defeat the Orc Tribe.
After leaving some soldiers behind to guard the village as usual, Zhao Fu set out to explore with three hundred troops. With Little Gray, they could find any village as long as someone had left a scent behind. Little Gray's keen nose was more than enough.
Little Gray was crawling along the ground, sniffing as it went. As a former wolf king, its willingness to do this showed just how completely it had submitted to Zhao Fu. Zhao Fu walked beside it.
"Whimper..."
Suddenly, Little Gray seemed to catch a scent. It gave a low growl, then looked up at Zhao Fu.
Zhao Fu nodded. At his command, Little Gray darted off, and Zhao Fu shouted for the others to follow.
The group began to run after Little Gray. Before long, they reached a hillside, where a village lay below.
The village seemed to have reached the intermediate level and had a population of more than six hundred. Its defenses were weak, however, and it was poorly managed. The houses had been built without any real planning, and the fields were scattered here and there. It was clear that the village lord had little management ability.
How should he take this village? Zhao Fu furrowed his brow. The village's defenses were weak, but there were no other obvious weaknesses to exploit. Poisoning them was out of the question: they didn't share meals from a single pot, they grew their own crops, and they didn't go out hunting in large groups. Picking them off one by one wasn't an option either. A direct assault would cost them quite a few soldiers.
For now, all he could do was wait. The sky was already growing dark, so he found a concealed spot to set up camp and see what they could learn the next day.
Although there was no moon that night, the sky was full of stars. Standing beneath the Milky Way, one could have admired the beautiful, spectacular view.
Zhao Fu had no mind to appreciate it. Frowning, he asked, "Bai Qi, what do you think we should do?"
Bai Qi pondered for a moment, then replied, "If we can't find any weakness, we'll have to launch a night raid around three or four in the morning, when everyone is at their most exhausted. The village's defenses are rather weak, so we have a good chance of success."
After hearing Bai Qi's suggestion, Zhao Fu nodded. If there was no other way, they could only launch a frontal assault.
At dawn, the sun slowly rose in the east, ushering in a new day. Zhao Fu had risen early and was watching the mountain village below.
A while later!
A burly man with a rugged face left the village, holding a large saber and carrying a bow on his back. More than a dozen people equipped much like him accompanied him. It seemed they were going hunting.
At the sight of them, Zhao Fu immediately gathered his soldiers.
"Brother Da Hu! Today, we'll definitely bring back a huge wild boar so everyone can enjoy a proper meat feast!" a young man said cheerfully to the burly man.
The man let out a hearty laugh. "Sure! I'll catch you not just one wild boar, but three!"
The young man gazed at him in admiration. "Mm! I believe you, Brother Da Hu. You're the strongest person in our village. If you can't do it, no one can."
The burly man laughed even louder at the young man's words. But the next moment, his smile faded, and he looked warily at the grass around them.
The young man saw his sudden seriousness and seemed confused. "Brother Da Hu, what's wrong?"
Keeping his eyes fixed ahead, the burly man lowered his voice. "There are enemies!"
The others immediately grew alert and huddled together, looking around. They didn't see anything, though, and assumed the man was mistaken. They turned to look at him.
"Enough hiding! I've already spotted you," the burly man suddenly shouted.
Zhao Fu heard him. Although the group hadn't completely entered the encirclement, there was no way they could escape now. He led his people out of hiding.
As the grass rustled, a group of Gnomes wielding crossbows emerged, along with Archers with their bows drawn and other soldiers. The men from the village went deathly pale.
"Who are you? Why have you ambushed the people of Da Hu Village?"
The burly man's face had also gone pale. He had sensed danger, but he hadn't expected there to be so many enemies. With arrows pointed at his group from every direction, there was no escape.