Kazhu entered from outside and was slightly taken aback when he saw the room full of burly men. He greeted them with a broad smile, then leaned close to Li Qiang and whispered, "Brother, I've discussed it with them, we'll set off together tomorrow."
The guy with the Choujiao and sharp ears shouted, "Hey, Fatty, these are our men. Don't you dare pull people around like that, get out of the way!"
Zhutou said, " Choujiao, eat your meat, nobody thinks you're mute. Whether you come or not is up to you, bro. We can't persuade you. Bro, look how strong our group of brothers is, hehe, you definitely won't lose out if you come with us."
Li Qiang almost burst out laughing. This Zhutou was really something else; he kept telling people with Choujiao not to pull others, but he couldn't resist pulling them himself. He chuckled, " Kazhu, come with us. These brothers are pretty good guys."
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Kazhu's chubby face as he said with a wry smile, "Brother, we've already paid. Sigh, since you've already agreed with these guys, I won't insist. If anything happens on the way, please look out for each other."
It must have been tough on Kazhu; such a fat person running around like that, she was soaked in sweat.
Li Qiang laughed and said, " Kazhu, sit down and rest for a bit before you go. There's some fresh meat here. Nashan, get some meat for Kazhu."
Kazhu was too exhausted to run any further; his legs were so weak he plopped down next to Zhutou and chuckled, "Sorry to bother you. Hehe, it doesn't really matter who I travel with, the important thing is to cross the Heavenly Road Grassland safely."
He took a piece of fresh meat, pulled a sharp knife from his waist, and put the meat on the fire to roast.
"The water's here! Wow! And fresh meat too! Where did you get it? I just saw someone selling it, and wow, several groups of brothers were fighting over it, they almost came to blows, and it even alerted the Ban Dong chieftain."
Tudun came in carrying a large leather bag.
Someone stepped forward, took the water bag, and said, "Go and eat, these friends are treating."
Tudun sat down next to Kazhu, cut off a piece of meat, and said, "Sigh, I'm so hungry I'm sweating all over."
While eating, Kazhu said, "It seems this is the last large caravan. I just heard that a very powerful monster appeared on the Heavenly Road Grassland, and even the Beast-Splitting Tribe suffered heavy losses, losing dozens of their best members..."
Zhutou interjected, "What kind of monster is so powerful that even the Beast-Splitting Tribe can't defeat it? Is that true?"
Kazhu said, "It's not clear whether it's true or not, but I heard that Andu Stockade is going to close down. Apparently, the Beast-Splitting Tribe Clan is going to move back into the village, and they may have to temporarily abandon their outposts."
"This is it," said the Choujiao. "It'll be even harder to make a living from now on. Sigh! The world is getting worse and worse." Hearing what Kazhu said, everyone's mood gradually became heavy, and the atmosphere became somber.
Suddenly, the Laitou said, "To hell with it! We small fry can find a way to make a living anywhere. We'll just take it one step at a time, as long as we can keep our lives."
Tudun chewed on a large piece of roasted meat, mumbling indistinctly, "As long as I have some meat to eat, I'm content."
Zhutou asked curiously, "Hey guys, why aren't you two eating?"
Li Qiang laughed and said, "You guys eat, I'm not hungry."
Hong Qian had been resting with his eyes closed. He was too lazy to deal with this group of rude men, but he had managed to sit to the side because Li Qiang was chatting and laughing with them.
The Laitou said kindly, "Young man, you should eat more. You've gotten so thin; you won't be able to keep up with the journey tomorrow."
Wan Gong thought to himself: No one here can compare to Li Qiang. Don't let his thin appearance fool you, he's more powerful than anyone else.
Actually, Li Qiang wasn't particularly thin; he was just much thinner compared to these men who were constantly on the go.
He gave the impression of a frail scholar, and after entering the Leaving the Body Realm, the scars on his face were almost invisible, greatly reducing his fierce aura. Therefore, these burly men found it difficult to take him seriously.
The rule here in the Western Continent is that whoever is stronger speaks, and the weak must obey the strong. If Nashan hadn't just shown off his skills and been so respectful to Li Qiang, these men really wouldn't have taken him seriously.
However, Li Qiang's approachable demeanor made these men feel that he was a very nice person.
Before dawn the next day, people carrying torches walked along the streets shouting, "Everyone who is preparing to set off today, get up now! Everyone who is preparing to set off today, get up now!"
People carrying torches were shouting all around, waking up the entire Andu Stockade. Soon, coughing and talking could be heard from various rooms, and the village gradually became lively again.
Li Qiang, Hong Qian, Paben, and Nashan hadn't slept; they were all practicing their martial arts cross-legged. Nashan stretched and said, "Starting to shout so early, it's still dark."
Zhutou woke up too. He got up and shouted, "Get up, everyone! Choujiao, wake up! Pack your bags, we're on our way. Lao Chong, Tudun, you guys hurry up and get everyone in our team here. Little Brother, just follow my team, don't worry, I'll take care of things." Li Qiang and the others had given him a lot of money yesterday, so he was very polite.
Wan Gong didn't sleep well all night. These men were really bad sleepers. They farted, ground their teeth, and talked in their sleep, making a complete disturbance.
Although he was often out and about, he had never come into contact with men struggling to make a living like this before. Keep in mind, he was one of the Eight Heroes of Mangye, a well-known figure in the Western Continent. He rubbed his face vigorously and asked, "Boss, did you sleep well?"
Li Qiang now spends all his free time meditating and cultivating. He had been cultivating all night and looked to be in excellent spirits. He laughed and said, "Hehe, very good. Let's get ready too."
People took to the streets in small groups, with the leaders of each group shouting and calling for their people to gather. Zhutou's group also gathered, and he loudly introduced Li Qiang and his group to everyone.
It's common to see people picking up passengers along the way; it's an unwritten rule of the caravans and the only opportunity for these men to earn extra money.
Zhutou glanced at Li Qiang and the others and asked, "Have you prepared bows and arrows? What weapons are you using?"
Of Li Qiang and his group, only Wan Gong had a large cleaver stuck in his back, Paben was holding a black spear upside down, Nashan had the Light-Reversing Sword strapped to his arm. Li Qiang and Hong Qian were both empty-handed, with no weapons visible on their bodies.
Li Qiang laughed and said, "I don't have a bow and arrows."
Zhutou Head frowned slightly and said, "Young man, do you know how to use a bow and arrow? If you do, you won't have to fight monsters directly like we do; you can just fire arrows from behind. But your archery skills must be excellent."
Li Qiang said, "No problem, I'm very good at archery, but I don't have a bow and arrows, what should I do?" Actually, he did have a bow and arrows in his bracelet, but they were too powerful and too conspicuous to use, so he didn't want to show off like that unless absolutely necessary.
Nashan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Our boss's archery skills, hehe, are really amazing..." He was about to boast a lot when Li Qiang waved his hand to stop him.
Li Qiang laughed and said, "Do you have any bows and arrows? I can borrow them."
The Zhutou asked, "How heavy a bow do you use?"
Li Qiang didn't understand. How heavy could a bow be? He casually replied, "The heavier the better."
Choujiao couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh? The heavier the better? Zhutou, give him the heaviest bow to try!"
The group members were discussing among themselves, and one of them said, " Zhutou, the heaviest bow isn't here; we'll have to go to the caravan to get it."
Zhutou said seriously, "You really can use a heavy bow? Then I'll send someone to get one. I'll be in big trouble if you can't even draw it when it arrives."
Li Qiang was puzzled, not understanding why he was in such a predicament, and said, "No problem, it will definitely work."
Hong Qian also said, "Give me the same heavy bow as well."
Everyone stared at the two of them in disbelief. Zhutou's face lit up with joy, and with a wave of his hand, two men hurriedly ran to the back.
Usually, the most lacking thing in caravans is skilled archers. Zhutou's team was especially lacking in archers, but they didn't expect these two young men to be so skilled, even needing to use heavy bows.
This is simply ridiculous; a heavy bow can't even be pulled up by its own Zhutou, let alone used to shoot arrows.
The streets were crowded and chaotic, with everyone preparing their mounts.
Li Qiang noticed that Zhu Tou and his men's Black-Tipped Mount each had a strangely shaped weapon hanging on their Zhutou. He smiled, pointed to the weapon, and asked, " Zhutou, can I see it? What's it called?"
Choujiao exclaimed in surprise, "You don't even know what a sickle is? It's the most commonly used weapon here; you can't wield one without considerable strength!"
Zhutou smiled, took down the sickle, handed it to Li Qiang, and said, "It's quite heavy, be careful when you catch it."
Li Qiang reached out and took it, feeling that it was indeed very heavy, probably at least twenty kilograms. It looked like a spear, with a spearhead that was half a meter long, triangular in shape, with three sides and three blades, like an enlarged three-edged spike. The handle was more than one and a half meters long, wrapped with dense strips of animal hide.
Li Qiang casually waved his hand a couple of times and laughed, "It should be pretty powerful when it sprints."
Zhutou laughed, "Of course! With several scythes charging at the same time, most monsters simply can't withstand it. Hey, want me to get you one too?"
Li Qiang shook his head and thanked him, saying, "No need, I'll use a bow and arrow."
The two burly men who had run off earlier returned with two large bows and two bundles of long arrows. Zhutou took the longbows, glanced at them, and nodded, saying, "These are the heavy bows, young man, here you go."
Li Qiang took the heavy bow, strung the bowstring, tightened the bow tip, gently pulled, and then released it with a crisp "snap." He knew that this bow indeed required a great deal of strength to draw; no wonder they hadn't believed him earlier—it truly took real skill.
The Choujiao chuckled, "Hey bro, are you any good? Give it a try and let us see for ourselves."
Li Qiang knew they didn't believe him, so he casually pulled the bowstring, and the bow arm made a "creaking" sound, indicating that a heavy bow was fully drawn.
Hong Qian smiled and casually drew his heavy bow to its full draw, saying, "Unfortunately, it's still too light."
Li Qiang laughed and said, "They probably don't have any heavier bows left, so let's just make do with this one."
The two of them chatted as if no one else was around, drawing their heavy bows, leaving everyone who saw them stunned.
Choujiao yelled, "Wow, buddy, you're really strong! Zhutou, now our team has a heavy archer too!"
Zhutou Tou, beaming, said, "I really didn't expect this, young man. When we encountered monsters on the road, all you had to do was keep an eye on things from behind and lend a hand to anyone in danger. Brothers, thank you in advance, young man."
The group of men rushed forward in a chaotic manner to ingratiate themselves with the man. Wan Gong chuckled and said, "In the caravans of the Western Continent, heavy archers and Spine-Piercing Spear are the most respected; they can save lives in crucial moments."
The two bundles of arrows they brought each contained thirty arrows.
These arrows are also quite special; the arrowhead is as long as a palm, spiral-shaped, and gleams with a faint Blue Light.
Zhutou said, "Young man, these arrows are highly poisonous. Be extremely careful not to hit anyone, or it will be too late to save them."
Li Qiang laughed and said, "Don't worry. But there aren't enough arrows; thirty arrows will be used up in no time."
Zhu Tou opened his Zhutou, utterly astonished. If he hadn't just seen Li Qiang casually draw his heavy bow to its full extent, he would have thought the young man was talking nonsense.
You should know that once you've drawn a heavy bow by force and fired thirty arrows, you're basically out of strength, and having more arrows won't make a difference.
Tudun laughed, "We all brought arrows. If you need more, I'll give you some. I don't like archery anyway."
Li Qiang nodded and hung the heavy bow on the Black-Tipped Mount. He didn't want to put it in his bracelet, lest it attract the attention of these men, which would be difficult to explain to them.
As dawn broke, the main force assembled, and all the squads began their routine briefings.
Zhutou said, "Brothers, same old rules. Our team will provide cover on the right flank. Be careful, the Heavenly Road Grassland has been turbulent lately, so stay alert. I hope everyone can get home safely, but that depends on our own efforts. As the old saying goes, whoever is afraid of death will be the first to die. So, anyone who dares to lose their composure, even if the monsters don't kill you, we'll all chop you down. Understand?" Everyone roared in agreement.
Li Qiang found it very interesting. It seemed that this caravan was indeed quite strong. No wonder other caravans dared not set off, but they remained unchanged. Just by looking at Zhu Tou's Zhutou, one could tell that this caravan had a very strong organizational ability.
Li Qiang laughed and said, " Zhutou, just tell us what you need us to do, don't be shy."
Zhutou said, "You are guests after all. If there is any danger, step back. I only need to borrow your two heavy bows, and that will be a great help. Nothing else."
Nashan curled his lip, thinking to himself, "You guys are blind. If the boss were to take action, those monsters would be no match for him. Heh heh, the boss is playing dumb, and I'm happy to have an easy time too."
Everyone began to put on their armor. Li Qiang gestured for Nashan and Paben to put on their armor as well. He and Hong Qian didn't need to; wearing armor would be too conspicuous, and besides, they didn't care about these monsters at all.
As soon as Nashan and Paben put on their armor, it aroused the envy of the group of men. It was so gorgeous and exquisite that even their caravan leader did not have such good armor. It was made by a famous craftsman from the Tanbang Continent. Even Wan Gong was a little envious.
The Laitou reached out and touched it, exclaiming in amazement, "This looks like armor from the Tanbang Continent! We rarely see it here. Hehe, this is the first time I've seen such beautiful armor."
The horn blew, Zhutou Tou shouted, "Everyone mount up! We're about to depart!"
Li Qiang obediently flipped over and climbed onto the Black-Tipped Mount.
Zhutou and Choujiao companion, each riding a two-person horse, chuckled, "Young man, you guys are really generous, each with Black-Tipped Mount, that's impressive!"
Lao Chong, sitting behind Choujiao, said, "The day Choujiao gets rich, he'll have two Black-Tipped Mount, one riding and one leading..."
The Choujiao yelled, "What would I do with two horses? Have you got nothing better to do?"
Lao Chong laughed, "Showing off, huh?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
The thunderous sound of hooves echoed across the Heavenly Road Grassland as a large caravan marched in. Leading the way were more than twenty Silver-Tipped Steed, each with two soldiers on board. The soldier in front controlled the mount, while the soldier behind held a bow.
Fifty meters away from the Silver-Tipped Steed were one hundred and twenty Black -Black-Tipped Mount Black-Tipped Mount, divided into groups of five, four groups, and six squads in total.
Following the Black-Tipped Mount were over forty large carts pulled by the Mottled-Tipped Steed, each manned by five: two drivers, two archers, and one Spine-Piercing Spear. To the left were one hundred and twenty Black- Black-Tipped Mount Black-Tipped Mount, while to the right were one hundred and twenty-five, plus Li Qiang and his five riders.
Behind the caravan were 120 Black-Tipped Mount bringing up the rear.
The caravan consisted of over a thousand people, with another five or six hundred smaller merchants following in a disorganized manner not far behind.
Because Li Qiang could draw a heavy bow, Zhutou specially arranged for him to be in his squad. He was very proud of this, as the protection of two heavy bows made his squad much safer.
Along the way, he often chatted and joked with Li Qiang, and introduced him to the leaders of the other teams. Soon, Li Qiang became familiar with them.
Sitting on the Black-Tipped Mount, Li Qiang felt very comfortable, and the surrounding scenery was so novel.
Like Li Qiang, Nashan was curious about everything here. He moved closer to Li Qiang, and the two rode side by side. He said, "Boss, we don't seem to see any fierce wild beasts. Why are they making such a fuss? Hehe, with so many men, there shouldn't be any problems."
Zhutou laughed and said, "Brother, is this your first time entering the Heavenly Road Grassland? You thought the same thing I did when I first came in, that it was nothing special. But I don't dare to think that way anymore."
Nashan was Qi Ingestion and said, "Why? Are these beasts really that powerful? We're just as strong as they are."
The Tudun behind the Zhutou said, "That's because you didn't see it. If you had, you wouldn't have said that..."
Just then, a Black-Tipped Mount galloped up from the front, his rider shouting, "Everyone, prepare your weapons! Everyone, prepare your weapons! A large group of Saber-Toothed Hao has been spotted ahead! Form ranks! Don't scatter! Charge!"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Zhutou roared, "Make sure you keep up with the team! Brothers in each group, look out for each other, get your weapons ready, keep up the speed! The formation must not be broken! If it is, none of us will survive!" He kept shouting, and the leaders of the other squads were also yelling and shouting wildly.
Just then, a series of sharp howls came from afar, which were very unsettling to hear. The small merchants following behind quickly caught up, each of them taking out their weapons, including quite a few Spine-Piercing Spear. Everyone knew that only by getting close to the main force could they have any hope of survival.
Zhutou shouted to Li Qiang, "Brother, quickly draw your heavy bow!"
Li Qiang smiled slightly. To reassure Zhutou, he took down the heavy bow and held it in his hand, then casually drew three sharp arrows, saying with a smile, "Does anyone have any extra arrows for me?"
His tone was calm and unhurried, showing no sign of nervousness, which secretly impressed the group of men.
Tudun tossed his quiver to Li Qiang, shouting, "I have two quivers here, here's one for you, catch!"
Li Qiang took it and glanced at it. There were about twenty arrows in the quiver. He laughed and said, "Still not enough! Does anyone have more?"
Zhutou were both annoyed and amused. They thought to themselves that this guy was too arrogant; he already had fifty arrows, and he still wasn't satisfied.
Having no Zhutou choice, Zhu Tou tossed his quiver to Li Qiang, calling out, "Brother, if you can't draw the heavy bow, don't force yourself." Everyone understood what he meant: if you lacked strength, it would definitely affect the accuracy of the heavy bow, and who knew what his arrows would hit? He might accidentally injure someone, which would be troublesome.
There were thirty arrows in the quiver on the Zhutou, but Li Qiang still felt it wasn't enough. He thought about it and decided against it, feeling embarrassed to ask for more.
Hong Qian also asked for a bag of thirty arrows, bringing his total to sixty arrows. They didn't intend to be too ostentatious and planned to keep a low profile.
Nashan asked them for a large cleaver, which was shaped like a guillotine, but with a longer handle. It was a weapon that needed to be held with both hands, but Nashan only held it upside down with one hand.
The piercing howls grew closer, and the caravan could now see a vast expanse of dark backs rushing out of the waist-high weeds towards them.
Nashan exclaimed, "Wow! Damn, how come there are so many? Boss, look, there are at least several thousand!"
Li Qiang squinted, carefully examining the charging Saber-Toothed Hao.
That thing was quite large, about the size of a calf, with a long mouth full of dense white teeth that gleamed like blades. Most peculiarly, it had vestigial wings attached to its back, and its black tail stood upright like a scorpion's tail.
The Saber-Toothed Hao also has a common name, "Whip Hao," which comes from its powerful tail.
The sound of the Saber-Toothed Hao running was deafening; their target was clear: the Black-Tipped Mount beneath the group.
The soldiers on the Silver-Tipped Steed charged forward. These soldiers were extremely brave; the twenty-odd riders were arranged in a triangle, like a giant spike, plunging straight into the herd of beasts.
The archers on the Black-Tipped Mount, following closely behind, continuously fired arrows to cover the soldiers on the Silver-Tipped Steed. The entire force dared not linger for a moment, charging forward at breakneck speed.
At this point, the entire caravan resembled a long snake, with its weakest point being its waist. If it were cut off here, the caravan would be in serious trouble. Therefore, the most powerful guards were deployed on both sides of the caravan.
Li Qiang four men were assigned to drive alongside the large trucks, Zhutou's squad was responsible for the safety of the six large trucks on the right.
Saber-Toothed Hao roared and pounced.
Zhutou shouted, "No lingering in battle! Try not to get entangled!" His scythe swiftly pierced towards a charging Saber-Toothed Hao. The Tudun behind him also wielded a scythe, and the two thrust forward simultaneously at incredible speed.
Saber-Toothed Hao's wide-open mouth was pierced by the triangular sickle of the Zhutou, killing him instantly.
Zhu Tou flipped his Zhutou and drew his sickle, only to find another Saber-Toothed Hao leaping onto his head. He was startled; he didn't have time to raise his sickle, and the Tudun behind him was the same.
At this critical moment, a crisp and rapid bowstring twanged, and Li Qiang shot an arrow with great accuracy. The remarkable thing about this arrow was that it was shot by Li Qiang using his True Essence Power!
The Saber-Toothed Hao was sent flying backward by the arrow, as if it had been struck by a hammer rather than shot by an arrow.
Once Zhutou caught his breath, Zhu Tou straightened up his sickle and shouted, "Thanks, buddy!"
Nashan hadn't made a move yet; he was looking around cautiously when suddenly he exclaimed, "Those behind us are in for a world of hurt!"
He was referring to those small traveling merchants.