Emergency Rescue

Faint runes were etched into the surface of the silver ingot, glimmering with a faint, seven-colored light.

After all, it had been formed from the power of faith. Even after purification, it would still retain a trace of prayers and obsessions; its actual quality depended on the refiner's skill.

He glanced over the battlefield. Aside from some farmland that had been scorched and withered by the poisonous mist, this corpse tide had caused no casualties.

Noon was the time of day when the sunlight was strongest.

The Spirit Realm's sun was less intense than the one in reality. It seemed that the endless eerie mist had shrouded most of its brilliance, so that even at midday, sunlight fell like a thin veil, barely dispersing the lingering chill.

The village had returned to calm. Following Lin Xu's plan, the villagers began clearing the fields, repairing the fences, and setting fire to the remaining poisonous substances.

Just then, a militiaman who had been out on patrol came running from outside the village. "Daoist Lin, there are wounded soldiers back from the front east of the village. They're covered in blood and say they need to see you!"

Lin Xu frowned and immediately rose to meet them.

On a woodland path east of the village, two wounded soldiers in tattered clothes sat propped against a fallen log, covered in blood.

"Daoist, the outpost east of the village was ambushed by a dungeon monster legion. Three Daoists led us in a desperate breakout..." The wounded soldier struggled to his feet and saluted. "The enemy is still pursuing us. The three Daoists sent us back to report and ask you to send reinforcements at once!"

Lin Xu's heart went cold. "The dungeon moved this fast!?"

The mission panel flashed, and he opened it to take a look:

[Emergency mission: Reinforcements]

Objective: The outpost east of Peach Tree Village was ambushed by a dungeon legion. The garrison has been routed and is being pursued by the enemy. Reach the designated coordinates and rescue them within six hours.

Time limit: 5 hours, 58 minutes, 34 seconds

Reward: Merit +2500

Failure penalty: None

The fall of the outpost east of the village meant Peach Tree Village would next face the dungeon's threat directly, becoming the front line where the two great forces clashed!

"We have to rescue them!" Lin Xu made his decision on the spot. "Quick, summon the militia squad. The mage squad comes with me."

He glanced at Chen Yuanfu, who had followed him over. "Chen Yuanfu, take a squad of militiamen and stay behind to guard the village. Don't leave the village without authorization before I return. If anything unusual happens, light the beacon to raise the alarm."

Chen Yuanfu nodded and accepted his orders. Lin Xu then led the Daoist group and the militia squad out of the village, following the wounded soldiers who had come for help as they hurried toward the outpost to the east.

The Source Fire dispelled the fog, and the mist on either side of the wilderness path retreated like a living thing.

The group hurried along beneath the Source Fire's light. The dirt path underfoot gradually became covered in dark red moss, and a rusty, bloody smell filled the air.

"Crack!"

A dead branch snapped underfoot. Lin Xu raised a hand, signaling the group to stop, and looked into the depths of the fog.

His keen spiritual perception told him that something had set its sights on them.

It lurked in the fog, its breathing faint but carrying a scorching malice.

The Bright Light Lamp glimmered faintly. A line of fire tore through the gloom, shooting straight into the depths of the fog, then swelled in an instant into a fire python that swept forth with a roar.

The fire python exploded with a boom. A piercing, anguished roar came from the fog, and a dark shape tumbled out. The monster, shaped like a tangle of rotting tree roots, curled up and convulsed as flames caught on its skin.

Lin Xu fixed his cold gaze on the target, using the spirit lamp in his hand to control the fiercely burning flames. "It's a Grudge Corpse!"

These were usually formed when living people burdened with heavy resentment were corrupted by the turbid Qi of the earth veins. Their bodies were decayed, but their strength was boundless.

After a dozen breaths, a speck of source fire fragment drifted out of the Grudge Corpse's remains and flew straight toward Lin Xu.

"Move!" He glanced at the gradually dying flames and led the group onward at a brisk pace.

A moment later, the faint sounds of battle reached them through the fog, mingled with the clash of magical artifacts and low incantations.

"We're here!" Lin Xu tightened his grip on the spirit lamp and quickened his pace.

The Source Fire dispelled the fog. Just a hundred meters ahead, three outer disciples and eight or nine battered militiamen had formed a defensive formation against the encirclement of dozens of skeleton soldiers.

At a thought, the spirit lamp blazed, and lines of fire poured down like a rain of swords, piercing the skeletons' skulls before bursting into flames.

As the firelight exploded, the soul fires in the skeletons' skulls were burned away in an instant, and the remaining skeletons collapsed into piles of broken bones.

The militiamen he had brought advanced in formation, quickly filling the gaps in the defensive line and joining the outpost's surviving soldiers. Together, they turned the tables and surrounded the skeleton soldiers.

The Daoist group followed close behind. Incantations rang out, and fire talismans exploded one after another, scattering what remained of the skeleton formation.

A few minutes later, the last skeleton's skull was smashed by a hoe, and silence settled over the battlefield. Charred bone fragments carpeted the ground.

The dungeon legion responsible for the pursuit consisted of these relentless skeleton soldiers, without so much as a commander among them.

There was nothing but a pile of broken bones on the battlefield, nothing worth searching for.

"Come on, back to the village!" Lin Xu waved his hand and gave the order, and the group quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

On the way back, Lin Xu learned from the three outer disciples that the outpost had been attacked by a dungeon legion the previous night, led by several mages in black robes.

With large groups of skeletons and goblins joining the attack, the outpost's resistance was quickly crushed, and the survivors retreated in haste.

There had originally been goblins among the pursuers as well, but the cunning green dwarfs had quickly given up after seeing how fiercely the patrol fought back.

The situation at the front isn't looking good... Lin Xu's heart was heavy as he considered how to strengthen Peach Tree Village's defenses.

By the time they returned to the village, it was already dusk. After the wounded had been settled and the village patrols assigned to tighten their guard, night quietly fell.

Fortunately, the dungeon did not launch a surprise attack that night.

Early the next morning.

An inner disciple from the monastery arrived at Peach Tree Village with five outer disciples and thirty Dao soldiers, escorting more than a hundred villagers pulling ten carts of supplies.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Lin!" The inner disciple at their head, Wang Yue, wore a blank expression as he mechanically saluted and reported for the handover. "By the monastery master's decree, Wang Xu has brought his junior brothers to help Senior Brother defend Peach Tree Village!"

Lin Xu solemnly returned the salute. "Many thanks to Junior Brother Wang and all my fellow disciples for your help. I, Lin Xu, will not disappoint the monastery master's expectations."

Once the greetings were over, Wang Yue, the outer disciples, and the Dao soldiers naturally took their places at Lin Xu's side, waiting for his orders.

Lin Xu inspected the supplies. The hundred-plus villagers who had come with Wang Yue were in fact militiamen transferred from other villages. Besides the supplies issued by the monastery, the carts also carried their weapons and armor.

Indeed, the ten carts of supplies delivered this time included more than a hundred sets of leather armor, along with matching bladed weapons, bows, and arrows.

Besides those, five whole carts carried crimson crystal rice, fifty units in total.

Item: Crimson crystal rice

Grade: Cyan, ordinary

Type: Spirit rice

Effect: Strengthens the body, boosts Qi and blood, martial cultivation +5%

Description: Born and grown in nature, cultivated to maturity by generations of Xuanwei Monastery

Grain was a bulk commodity, and one unit was a hundred kilograms. Besides providing abundant nourishment, spirit rice also contained a special kind of Spiritual Qi.

Taking crimson crystal rice as an example, one kilogram a day was enough for an adult, so one unit was enough to last over a hundred days.

Besides the crimson crystal rice for the militiamen and Dao soldiers, there was also clear spirit rice reserved for cultivators.