" Old Liu, how are you? Are you alright?"
A question came, accompanied by a figure approaching.
"What could a mere scout like me possibly do?" Old Liu glanced at the newcomer with annoyance.
"Hehe, I was just worried about you. What if that Azure Feather Bird had taken care of you first?" The warrior who came over chuckled.
"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I switched positions as soon as I saw that Azure Feather Bird! Unless it's bored and deliberately goes around to deal with me, I'll definitely be the last one to get hurt!" Old Liu said.
Upon hearing this, the soldier who had come over couldn't help but gasp.
"You old bastard, are you really that cunning?"
"What do you mean by 'cunning'? I made this based on a deep understanding of myself and the enemy, and it won't affect anyone else's actions!" Old Liu glared fiercely at the soldier.
"What's there to be afraid of? So what if it's underhanded? These days, 'underhanded' isn't a bad word anymore. As long as we win in the end, who cares about whether it's underhanded or not? Haven't you heard the saying 'the winner takes all'?" the soldier who came over urged.
"What nonsense! Let me tell you, I'm not cunning at all. I'm just maximizing my abilities!" Old Liu persisted. "Like the two of us, if we were to fight head-on, you can't expect me to beat you, can you? But if it's like this, where we're scattered in these deep mountains and forests, trying to survive, then you're definitely no match for me, believe it or not?"
Upon hearing this, the soldier who had come over couldn't help but curl his lip.
The scene from back then involuntarily surfaced in my mind.
I proceeded cautiously outside, and only after finally encountering the brigade commander and his men did I feel much relieved. Even so, I remained extremely cautious during the subsequent operations.
Unlike when they met Old Liu, who ran over excitedly, completely disregarding the situation around him.
The soldier who came over couldn't help but twitch his lips at the thought.
In a situation where soldiers are isolated and surviving in the wild, reconnaissance abilities naturally offer a significant advantage that their other abilities do not possess!
Of course, this advantage comes at a price: a significant reduction in combat power!
They're alright against low-level beasts, but against Calamity Beast of the same level, they probably won't be able to defeat many of them.
Of course, having a reconnaissance ability is always better than not being able to awaken any abilities at all!
Speaking of this...
Involuntarily, the approaching soldiers turned their gaze to the two figures who were exchanging words.
He leaned his head closer to Old Liu again.
" Old Liu, look, Captain Shen's abilities were originally reconnaissance-related, and so are yours. When will you grow to Captain Shen's level, and then you can carry me to new heights!"
"..."
Old Liu was exasperated and ignored him.
A sinister chuckle came from the side.
Old Liu still ignored him.
After a while.
"... But Captain Shen is really strong. The Azure Feather Bird, which we could only run away from before, couldn't even put up a decent resistance against him."
Exclamations of admiration followed.
Old Liu glanced to the side, then followed the other person's gaze and looked into the distance.
In their line of sight, the enormous corpse lay silently on the ground.
The scene from just now seemed to reappear before my eyes.
Indeed, Captain Shen...
Suddenly, the sleeve was forcefully pulled to the side, accompanied by anxious words.
"Hey, Old Liu, Old Liu!"
Old Liu gave him a disapproving look, then followed his gaze forward.
If the other party can't give him a satisfactory answer later, then he will definitely...
My gaze suddenly stopped.
The two who were supposed to be talking are now reduced to one; the other person...
He raised his eyes and watched the figure quickly disappear into the distance, unsure of what to say.
Captain Shen... is gone?!
He wasn't the only one reacting at that moment.
One soldier after another kept their eyes fixed on that departing figure.
"No, Commander, this...?"
Finally, one of the soldiers realized what was happening and looked at the figure still standing in the same spot.
The other soldiers also looked over one by one.
I can't help but watch it.
After all, they had finally put their minds at ease, but now...
Xu Ruiyu looked at everyone and began to explain:
"We weren't the only ones teleported in; there were countless others too. Under these circumstances, Captain Shen couldn't possibly arrange for each person individually!"
"Moreover, compared to others, those of us who have already gathered together are actually in a relatively good situation. We don't even know how many people are scattered outside."
"Under these circumstances, we absolutely cannot delay Captain Shen!"
Upon hearing this, everyone paused, unable to refute it.
"What do we do next?" a soldier asked.
The other soldiers also stared intently in that direction.
This is indeed their biggest concern right now. What will they do without Captain Shen's protection?
Xu Ruiyu breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the people who had accepted the gesture.
He began:
"Don't worry, Captain Shen has already taken care of everything in this space..."
On the other side.
Shen Heng flew forward rapidly through the air.
He had seen countless similar or different scenarios in the past few days.
After all, this was already the third space he had explored.
Aside from significant differences in environment, the situations of humans and Calamity Beast in the three spaces are largely the same.
Of course, they won't be exactly the same; there are still some differences.
For example.
In the beginning, Shen Heng often encountered only one or two warriors, or at most three or five who were lucky enough to gather together.
But now, you can occasionally encounter groups of ten or twenty people gathered together.
Although there was no one in command, every soldier subconsciously rallied around everyone they encountered.
Regardless, this is a good thing; at least it increases the chances of survival for soldiers who are grouped together.
But what lies hidden beneath this...
They were those soldiers, one after another, who didn't have time to meet others, or who, even after gathering together, still sacrificed their lives...
Shen Heng lowered his eyes, his mind racing with thoughts of the slowly, but undeniably declining, number of people he had encountered.
We need to hurry.
Suddenly, the figure stopped.
Shen Heng stood in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the Calamity Beast below.
"Whoosh--"
Blood flowed freely.
The Ring-Eyed Beast tore a piece of flesh from the dead Calamity Beast at its feet and chewed it.
Nearby, one after another, Calamity Beast lay on the sidelines, gazing enviously at the scene.
Ignoring them, the Ring-Eyed Beast gazed contentedly at the distant, rolling mountains below.
My mind started to wander involuntarily.
Was I teleported back to the Ruins Realm?
Does that mean I can go back to my old home?
If that's the case, that would be wonderful!
Well, the environment here is alright, but seeing those humans is a bit troublesome. What if...
My thoughts suddenly stopped.
The Ring-Eyed Beast raised its eyes and looked at the figure standing in the air.
A moment later, the figure disappeared.
Only a deathly silence remained where it stood.
One after another, the Calamity Beast that roamed everywhere died, and one after another, the humans who roamed everywhere turned away.
The high-level Calamity Beast within the space were being rapidly eliminated...