Consecutive Drops

At noon, after finishing up matters at the studio, Lin Yi logged back in.

Just like that morning, Lin Yi cautiously approached the section of wall guarded by Militia Squad Two.

But the moment he arrived, Lin Yi caught the smell of blood.

Voices came from atop the gate tower.

"Ow, Captain, go easy with the bandaging..."

"Quit whining. Wolf claws are poisonous. If I don't clean out the poison, don't fucking come crying to me when something happens later..."

Climbing up the wall, Lin Yi saw Gu Xiaoliu and two other team members clutching abdominal wounds and groaning in pain, while Captain Gu Chenghu bandaged them with a green liquid herbal medicine.

Scattered spots of blood stained the ground as well.

"Captain, what happened?"

Gu Chenghu turned to glance at Lin Yi. "These brats were ambushed by those two Heart-Devouring Wolves from this morning. Good thing I got here in time. No one died."

At that moment, the bandaged Gu Xiaoliu gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, those two beasts were way too smart today. They saw us eating lunch on the wall and actually crept over along the wall without making a sound..."

Gu Chenghu cursed, "Stop making excuses. You're veteran team members, yet you got played by a couple of beasts. You were asking to die. And I already warned you that Heart-Devouring Wolves wouldn't go far. How could you still make such a huge mistake? You're worse than rookies..."

Gu Xiaoliu and the other injured men did not dare utter a word under the scolding.

Afterward, Gu Chenghu wiped the blood from his hands and walked over to Lin Yi. "Qingshan, you came at the right time. Those two Heart-Devouring Wolves have tasted blood. They probably can't hold themselves back anymore and may sneak into the village this afternoon or tonight. I plan to deal with them immediately."

Lin Yi nodded. "All right, Captain. I'll do whatever you say."

Gu Chenghu patted Lin Yi's shoulder and said with satisfaction, "Haha, not bad. You've got some courage. Don't worry, I won't have you deal with the Heart-Devouring Wolves up front. You just need to help me slaughter those two beasts at the final moment."

"Don't worry, Captain. I have experience. Before, Captain Gu Man..."

"You killed a Ghost Fiend, right? I heard about that. Honestly, if you hadn't killed a Ghost Fiend at Level 1, then even if Brother Yongqiang recommended you, I wouldn't have let you join our team..."

Gu Chenghu said no more. He called out several members of Squad Two, sent them back to the village to fetch some things, then led Lin Yi directly beyond the wall and into the Wilderness outside Ancient Pool Village.

The Wilderness was bleak and desolate, with the wind howling through it.

Aside from sparse grass and trees, animal carcasses streaked with bloody flesh lay scattered everywhere.

It was Lin Yi's first time leaving Ancient Pool Village, and an intense sense of insecurity welled up within him, as though something all around him was watching.

Seeing this, Gu Chenghu smiled. "Don't worry. I cleared this area out recently. There's no real danger during the day."

After walking for over five hundred meters, Gu Chenghu finally stopped when the wall behind them vanished beneath a high slope.

Ahead lay a sunken marshland. The ground was depressed, and large numbers of animal carcasses had been piled there as flies buzzed wildly around them.

It was midday, and the weather was still scorching. With a slight breath in, Lin Yi felt a powerful stench of rot burrow into his lungs and linger there.

Fuck, that reeks!

Gu Chenghu swept his gaze around and explained, "This is a good spot. The terrain is sunken and there's a mud pit. If we can lure the Heart-Devouring Wolves here and ambush them from all sides, those two beasts won't be able to escape."

Hearing that, Lin Yi asked doubtfully, "Captain, those Heart-Devouring Wolves are intelligent, no less clever than humans. I'm afraid they won't be so easy to lure over, will they?"

"I plan to use something tempting enough that they can't resist. It'll just involve a little risk..."

Just then, Gu Shan, who had returned to the village earlier, came hurrying over, panting as he carried a package tightly wrapped in oil paper.

"Captain, I got it. Elder Gu Yuan told you to be careful. Besides that, he gave me a Divine Talisman in case of emergencies. He said he'd deduct the Contribution Points from you."

"That old bastard..."

Gu Chenghu cursed under his breath and accepted the two items Gu Shan handed over.

One was a blood-red Divine Talisman, its surface flickering with faint light. It was clearly a fine item, far superior to the Amulet of Extreme Speed Lin Yi had exchanged for yesterday.

As for the item tightly wrapped in oil paper, when he opened it, it turned out to be a writhing lump of flesh and blood.

Lin Yi leaned closer, his eyes narrowing. Was this Blood Food?

To be honest, it looked rather disgusting, seemingly flesh carved from some living creature.

Blood Food was important to humans, but it was also a rare treasure sought after by Monsters.

As far as Lin Yi knew, Blood Food could also be exchanged with Contribution Points. However, one gram of Blood Food cost 2 Contribution Points, making it extremely expensive.

The Blood Food in Gu Chenghu's hand weighed roughly six taels, requiring around 600 Contribution Points to exchange for.

It had to be said that Gu Chenghu had truly paid a steep price to lure over the Heart-Devouring Wolves.

Gu Chenghu then carried the Blood Food down into the muddy depression and began carefully arranging the trap.

Meanwhile, Gu Shan and the others brought Lin Yi to a pile of rocks nearby.

The area beneath the rocks had already been hollowed out, enough to hide quite a few people.

Gu Shan handed Lin Yi a bottle of medicine. "Use this odor-removing water first to get rid of your scent. Don't let the Heart-Devouring Wolves catch onto anything later."

"What about the Captain?"

Gu Shan said, "Don't worry about him. The Blood Food is so valuable that the Captain has to watch it from below. Otherwise, if nearby animals eat it, all our efforts will have been wasted."

"With the Captain down there, will the Heart-Devouring Wolves still take the bait?"

"You don't know this, but our Captain has a Breath-Hiding Art. Once activated, it completely conceals his aura, making him like a corpse. Then he wraps himself in mud, and the Heart-Devouring Wolves won't be able to smell anything."

Lin Yi asked a string of questions, and Gu Shan answered every one of them.

Then Gu Shan sealed the entrance to the rocky cave, leaving only a small opening for air.

Time slowly passed, and before they knew it, over half an hour had gone by.

Then an angry shout came from outside.

"You've got some nerve! They really came! Gu Shan, get out here and help!"

Gu Shan led four Militia Team members charging out, leaving only a Level 7 member named Gu He behind to protect Lin Yi.

Intense sounds of battle rang out from outside. Lin Yi tried to poke his head out for a look, but Gu He pulled him back.

"Qingshan, you're only Level 1. If a Heart-Devouring Wolf targets you, I won't be able to protect you. For safety's sake, we should wait for the signal before going out."

Lin Yi thought that made sense. Holding the Amulet of Extreme Speed, his only means of saving his life, he lay by the cave entrance and waited patiently.

In the low mud pit outside, Gu Chenghu wielded a Dark Long Saber that appeared to be a Spiritual Artifact, fiercely battling the two Heart-Devouring Wolves.

Both Heart-Devouring Wolves were Ninth Rank Monsters. Their intelligence was exceptional, and they knew how to coordinate with each other.

When they saw Gu Chenghu burst from the mud pit and seize the Blood Food that had nearly entered their mouths, they knew they had fallen into an ambush. They immediately attacked with all their strength, intending to kill Gu Chenghu quickly and seize the Blood Food that had drawn them here.

"Roar!"

"Die!"

Gu Chenghu's saber light was fierce. A blazing red glow shimmered across the Dark Long Saber's blade, as if it could cleave forth flames.

With two Ninth Rank Heart-Devouring Wolves attacking at full strength, even he could only barely hold them off.

"Captain, we're here!"

When Gu Shan and the others appeared, the pressure on Gu Chenghu immediately lessened.

"You handle one of them. I'll kill the other first..."

Seeing that things had gone badly, the two Heart-Devouring Wolves let out howls and tried to flee.

But the place Gu Chenghu had chosen was exceptionally treacherous. The soil was sandy, the terrain was depressed, and the bottom was filled with foul mud and stagnant water.

The two Heart-Devouring Wolves desperately tried to climb out of the pit, but their claws slipped repeatedly, and they even sank into the mud.

"I endured this stench for so long to lure you here. How could I let you two beasts escape so easily!"

Gu Chenghu sneered, and his saber attacks became even fiercer, striking specifically at one Heart-Devouring Wolf's vulnerable abdomen.

Less than two minutes later, Lin Yi, still hiding in the cave, heard Gu Chenghu call out.

"Qingshan, come out and help!"

Lin Yi hurriedly crawled out of the rocky cave. Gu Shan and the others were desperately holding down a Heart-Devouring Wolf trapped in the mud.

On the other side, Gu Chenghu stood with a blood-dripping saber in hand, while another Heart-Devouring Wolf lay at his feet in a pool of blood.

Not daring to waste time, Lin Yi quickly slid down the sandy slope into the depression and rushed toward Gu Chenghu.

"Take the saber. Chop at its neck!"

Lin Yi nodded and took the bloodied Dark Long Saber.

His arms immediately sank. Lin Yi found that this saber was far heavier than Gu Man's Azure Peak Longsword.

Dragon Roar Saber · Spiritual Artifact: A peerless weapon passed down in Ancient Pool Village for over a hundred years. Incomparably sharp. Strength +10. If tempered with dragon blood, the blade will become increasingly resilient, and its power will grow twofold.

Lin Yi glanced over the Dragon Roar Saber's attributes, then raised it with both hands and brought it down fiercely.

Squelch!

The Heart-Devouring Wolf at his feet already bore multiple saber wounds from Gu Chenghu around its neck, and its abdomen had been heavily injured. It was already on its last breath.

Lin Yi struck one of the wounds with all his strength and directly killed the Heart-Devouring Wolf, sending blood spraying a meter high.

Ding! You killed a Ninth Rank Heart-Devouring Wolf and gained 70 Experience Points!

The Heart-Devouring Wolf's corpse beneath Gu Chenghu's feet transformed into light and vanished, leaving behind two items.

Heart-Devouring Wolf Heart · Green: Rare material containing rich Qi-Blood. Consuming it has a high chance of increasing bodily attributes, but a small chance of Demon Transformation.

Low-grade Demon Blood · White: Dropped by low-grade Monsters. Contains violent, chaotic demonic power and has a wide range of uses.

"Two Drops. Not bad luck."

Gu Chenghu picked up the two items from the ground, a hint of delight appearing on his face. He stuffed the Drops into Lin Yi's hands, then gripped the Dragon Roar Saber and rushed toward the remaining Heart-Devouring Wolf.

Seeing its companion die miserably, the remaining Heart-Devouring Wolf no longer thought of fleeing and instead launched a frenzied assault on Gu Shan and the others.

The moment Gu Chenghu arrived, he saw the Heart-Devouring Wolf send several people flying in succession, then pin a Level 7 Militia Team member to the ground and viciously tear into him.

"You beast, you dare commit murder right in front of me!"

Gu Chenghu flew into a rage. Qi-Blood surged throughout his body, and the Dragon Roar Saber trembled faintly, releasing a sound like a dragon's cry.

Blazing Sun Saber Technique!

A three-meter-long blazing red saber aura erupted from his body and viciously slashed across the Heart-Devouring Wolf's blue-furred back.

Awooo!

The next moment, the Heart-Devouring Wolf was blasted several meters away, flesh and blood scattering through the air.

"Qingshan, get over here!"

After subduing the final Heart-Devouring Wolf, Gu Chenghu urged Lin Yi to come over.

Lin Yi was still immersed in the saber technique Gu Chenghu had just displayed. He hurriedly answered and ran over.

Taking the Dragon Roar Saber, Lin Yi drew a deep breath and slashed down fiercely once more.

Ding! You killed a Ninth Rank Heart-Devouring Wolf and gained 70 Experience Points!

Then two more items dropped.

Heart-Devouring Wolf Codex · White: A codex recording the Heart-Devouring Wolf race, habits, and weaknesses. An exclusive Reincarnator item. After use, you may permanently view the Heart-Devouring Wolf's status, Qi-Blood, and other attributes.

Monster Leg Bone · White: A leg bone dropped by some low-grade Monster. It can be used to refine weapons or ground into powder for other purposes.