Ou Yangming nodded. ‘It turns out that every squad that enters the dense forest can only kill five ferocious beasts.’
Although it was impossible that there was only one squad hunting in the forest, the fact that Sui Hezhi sent Ou Yangming a ferocious beast once in every ten days proved that he had put in a lot of effort.
For the next three days, they simply roamed in the dense forest. The biggest takeaway for Ou Yangming was that he understood the way to judge the depth of the forest by observing the surroundings.
Needless to say, it was not easy to survive in the deep forest. Even if one had exceptional martial arts skills, one who was not fully prepared would be in serious trouble. In fact, one could even be killed.
Ou Yangming paid attention to every detail because he needed to be well-prepared if he came alone next time.
Perhaps they were very lucky, they hunted five big-sized wild beasts by the third day. Other than the forest leopard from the start, they killed three wild boars and a giant wolf.
The giant wolf was a unique species in the forest, which was much larger than a normal wolf. Even though it did not appear as a pack, it was quite a problematic beast to handle. Despite that, they managed to kill it by working together.
After gathering five wild beasts, they achieved their hunting target.
It was worth noting that they could not overdo it when they were trying to survive in the dense forest. If they were too greedy, it was possible that all of them would be wiped out.
Nevertheless, there were still injuries among the soldiers when they tried to subdue the giant wolf, by which two soldiers were hurt. One was injured on the leg, whereas the other’s right shoulder and groin were hurt, all while having protection from their armor. If it was not for the pieces of equipment, they would have been half-dead.
Among the squad, five of them carried quarries, and two of them were injured, so they could not hunt in the forest anymore. In fact, it would be difficult for them to leave the forest with ease.
All of a sudden, Ou Yangming stopped and furrowed his eyebrows because the Vision +1 attribute allowed him to see things that were beyond a normal person’s range.
He noticed a dark shadow that had become one with a big tree far away, but he knew that it was a forest leopard that was a size bigger than the one they encountered in the beginning.
It stayed on the tree quietly and curbed its aura, so it was not eye-catching at all.
Nobody from the squad was being the pathfinder at the moment as they had limited manpower, thus they were not as careful as they were before.
The person at the front was a Yin Grade soldier, but it did not notice the danger above his head at all.
Ou Yangming hesitated then stopped. “Wait!”
Everyone stopped right away to look at him strangely.
“Squad Leader Yan, I sense danger. How about we stop to look around before we leave?” Ou Yangming proposed.
Yan Haobo was slightly stunned and frustrated. Ou Yangming had been very cooperative without causing any trouble throughout their journey, yet he suddenly raised this suggestion when everyone was eager to leave the dense forest after finishing their hunt.
“Squad Leader, there’s no danger ahead,” An archer frowned as he expressed, then continued after a pause, “Some of us are already injured, which lowered out combat power, so it’s best for us to leave before sunset!”
The others nodded in agreement.
In actual fact, the archer was one of the scouts in the squad, thus the others naturally believed him when he said that everything was fine. On the other hand, Ou Yangming was just a stranger who did not do much during the hunt, hence it was quite difficult that they would trust him.
Yan Haobo pondered. “Master Ou, I’m sure you can see that there are some in the squad who are injured, and we have quarries to carry, so we need to leave as soon as possible. We’ll only draw attention from wild beasts once it’s nighttime, and I’m afraid that there’ll only be more injuries. It’s best that we leave this place now.”
He would have agreed if Ou Yangming suggested this when they first entered the dense forest, but they were currently in a different situation. Besides, they could not afford to waste more time.
Ou Yangming sighed but was determined that he would enter the forest alone next time.
With that, they continued their journey but were more alert after Ou Yangming’s warning.
The archer did not leave the squad behind as he was still leading in front. Ou Yangming felt helpless because the archer soon took the path where the forest leopard was hiding above.
Since the big tree was very dense, and the leopard’s color was very similar to the branches’, it could not be easily spotted.
Therefore, Ou Yangming was the only one who noticed it.
Ou Yangming slowed down as he circulated his essential Qi inside his body while holding his saber tightly. He was ready to attack at any time. The soldiers who brought him into the dense forest taught him plenty of useful knowledge, thus he was not going to watch them die no matter what.
He soon felt strange because the forest leopard did not move an inch when the archer who was at the front walked past the big tree, let alone pounce on the archer.
Ou Yangming wondered, ‘Did it notice how powerful our squad is, so it didn’t dare to come down?’
If that was the case, it would be good for him as he would not need to waste his energy.
Ou Yangming would have devoured the forest leopard’s Qi and blood after killing it if he was alone, but he would not do something so improper since he was with the rest of the squad.
As they advanced forward, Ou Yangming walked past the big tree as well, but it was at that moment when he figured it out.
He came to a sudden realization that the forest leopard’s target was not the archer in front, but the last person in the line.
Hence, he quickly stopped.
Right then, the forest leopard that was hiding above him seemed to have sensed something, so it leaped down at the last person in the line.
“Oh no!”
Those who saw the black shadow screamed.
They knew that they had encountered a violent beast that lurked in the dark like a venomous snake.
Whether it was Yan Haobo or the archer who turned to look because of the noise, they were extremely regretful. Why did they not listen to Ou Yangming’s suggestion earlier? As a result, one of their brothers was going to be in grave danger.
The person at the back of the file was a stern-looking middle-aged man. He was being very cautious, but the moment the sound of wind above him, a black shadow came into view.
Knowing that he could not dodge in time, he faced danger fearlessly and quickly squatted while wielding his saber.
However, the forest leopard seemed to have interacted with humans before, thus it swung its claw at the middle-aged man’s hand. Instantly, the back of the man’s palm had numerous deep cuts, forcing him to let go of his saber as he lost his grip.
The man was appalled, but just as he had no choice left but to wait for his death, a strong force pushed him away.
“Scree—”
A sharp, shrill voice was heard as the forest leopard scratched the man’s armor with its claw to the point that sparks were seen as well.
It was Ou Yangming who pushed the man away during the crucial moment earlier, but his back was scratched by the leopard’s claw as he could not dodge in time.
Yan Haobo roared as he was exasperated. A frightening thought crossed his mind at that moment.
‘This is over. Even if Ou Yangming doesn’t die, he’ll be heavily injured!’
Wild beasts in the forest must not be taken lightly. Due to their sharp teeth and claws, one’s armor could even be torn apart if one faced a beast head-on. Since the forest leopard was able to hide himself to deceive the soldiers, it was obvious that he was unordinary and outstanding.
How could one’s armor withstand a ferocious beast like that?
If anything were to happen to Ou Yangming, Yan Haobo had no idea how he could explain to his good friend and the general.
After all, Ou Yangming was a Military Fire Blacksmith valued by the general.
With bloodshot eyes, Yan Haobo lifted his military saber while charging at the forest leopard. He only had one thought at that moment, which was that he would kill the brute no matter what, even if it meant that he had to sacrifice himself.
Just as he was going to attack, he was surprised by what he saw.
Ou Yangming did not collapse to the ground. Instead, he turned around with his military saber in the air, then shifted outward strangely yet reasonably to go around the forest leopard’s claws and body. While doing all that, he stabbed his sharp saber deep into the leopard’s rear.
“Roar—”
The forest leopard’s shriek was piercing, and its mournful cries shocked all of them.
Apart from that, the soldiers who witnessed this squeezed their butt subconsciously while shivering in fear.
Chapter 54
When the forceful leopard claw hit Ou Yangming’s back, he felt an enormous impact that almost made him collapse even though he was protected by armor that was High Grade Rank Five.
Ou Yangming understood something at that moment.
He gained enough power with the help of his equipment set’s attributes, but his body quality could not complement the power yet.
Just like the forest leopard behind him at that moment, its power exceeded his withstandable limit.
Ou Yangming’s armor protected him against the leopard’s claw, but it could not defend him against its great power. If he were to resist it by force, his bones would break and tendons would be torn for sure.
Therefore, he quickly fell down by following the momentum to minimize the damage.
All of a sudden, the purple light that allowed him to multitask began flickering intensely as if it sensed that he was in danger.
Next, the light arrived between his eyebrows to merge with his mental power.
This was not the first time Ou Yangming did something like this. After learning the extremely powerful skills, he was able to transfer his mental power into his Military Fire whenever he smithed weapons.
However, other than the time he was forced to release his mental power when he was pressured by Yan Haobo, he never initiated the power during a fight.
This time, his potential was unleashed again as he was in a critical moment of life or death.
“Swoosh…”
Although no voice was heard at that instance, Ou Yangming’s consciousness seemed to have ascended from his mind and soared mid-air.
There was a drastic change in the view of the consciousness that was detached.
The observing angle was not parallel with Ou Yangming’s body anymore because his consciousness was overlooking the area from mid-air.
By watching from that angle, he felt like a divine being who had everything under control.
Almost at the same time, countless light spots appeared on the forest leopard’s body. No explanation was needed as Ou Yangming somehow understood what they were.
The light spots were the forest leopard’s force-bearing points and weak points when it leaped, which were fully exposed to Ou Yangming’s consciousness that was looking from above.
‘Skill…’
The word crossed Ou Yangming’s mind at that moment, and he gained a brand new and unexplainable perception of it.
Following that, his mental power suddenly left from the middle of his eyebrows and transformed into an invisible rope that appeared beside him. His mental power was suddenly pulled, causing a strange turning point for his body that was on the ground.
The pull was not done to resist the forest leopard’s enormous force as it only made a tiny adjustment according to the leopard’s power, but it was as though the bit of power levered the natural moat’s foundation.
From the soldiers’ point of view, Ou Yangming’s body twisted, and he staggered as if he was going to fall anytime.
Despite that, the seemingly unstable teen managed to dodge the continuous attacks from the forest leopard, and soon arrived behind the beast.
It was then when Ou Yangming’s consciousness in the sky identified the leopard’s weakest point.
Therefore, Ou Yangming stabbed it with his saber without hesitation…
The forest leopard shrieked while falling to the ground, and rolled away with the intention to escape, but it fell down again as soon as it moved. Its body twitched, and plenty of blood along with some odd substance flowed out from the back of its body. Eventually, its eyes turned dull.
Ou Yangming took a step back, then looked at his military saber that had 15 points of Sharpness. He was secretly glad that he did not add the Devouring attribute into it as he had companions, or he would have endless troubles if something strange happened to the leopard’s carcass.
After putting his saber away, Ou Yangming sensed that the atmosphere was unusual.
When he turned to look, he realized that everyone was looking at him, and they were dumbfounded and in disbelief. Other than that, some of them looked at him respectfully and fearfully.
Regardless of how Ou Yangming killed the forest leopard, be it his real strength or just pure luck, he answered everyone’s question perfectly and was recognized by all of them.
“Handle the carcass,” Yan Haobo ordered as he was the quickest to react.
The men immediately removed the forest leopard’s internal organs to cover them, then spread medicinal powder on its body. Even though they worked very fast, a bloody smell filled the air.
Yan Haobo noticed the deep wound on the last soldier who was injured, and he could not help but sigh. “Throw half of the quarries away, we must leave as soon as possible.”
Ou Yangming was stunned. “Squad Leader Yan, we acquired a new quarry, why are we throwing the other quarries away?”
“We’re short-handed, and we must have two scouts to scout the trail this time, so we have to discard half of our gains.”
After experiencing the dangerous incident earlier, Yan Haobo dared not take things lightly anymore. Even if they had to reduce their gains by half, he must guarantee everyone’s safety.
“I haven’t been contributing, so let me help you carry some stuff,” Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he suggested. After all, they put in a lot of effort to obtain those items, so he carried the dead forest leopard, as well as another wild boar. “We can go now.”
The other men looked at each other as they wondered, ‘How strong exactly is this fella?’
“Okay, let’s go.” Yan Haobo sighed.
Since Ou Yangming carried two ferocious beasts, he did not ask them to abandon any of the quarries anymore. Nevertheless, everyone was more cautious this time.
The archer led the way with another partner at the front of the line. After verifying that there was no danger around them, they gave a secret signal to the others.
Perhaps their bad luck was all used up, they did not face any more danger for an hour.
However, the two men conversed secretly.
“Hey, what do you think about… Master Ou’s strength?” The archer hesitated before addressing Ou Yangming in a respectful way.
“He’s very strong!”
“Indeed, but don’t you think that he’s overly strong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Master Ou’s power is probably related to his equipment set, don’t you think?”
The soldier who was scouting the trail with the archer stopped suddenly to stare at his partner.
“Why are you looking at me like this?” The archer forced an embarrassed laugh.
The soldier replied, “Brother, Master Ou is Squad Leader’s guest, and he saved our brother just now. Do you remember?”
“You misunderstood me, I was just saying, and I didn’t mean anything else!” The archer’s face changed, and he quickly explained.
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��It’s best if you didn’t mean anything else.” The soldier nodded, then continued checking their surroundings seriously.
The archer sighed to himself helplessly and cast his thoughts aside to continue scouting.
On the other hand, Ou Yangming was crying to himself bitterly at that moment because he regretted deeply the fact that he showed off his abilities earlier.
It was true that he possessed sufficient power after wearing the powerful pieces of Attribute Equipment, but comparatively, his body quality was far from his gained power.
Ou Yangming did not feel much when he journeyed in the forest with his equipment set.
After all, the 11 Points of power were not added in vain.
Nonetheless, he realized that something was off when he had nearly 500 kilograms extra burden on his body.
The 11 points of Power allowed him to withstand the weight easily, but his physical power was obviously insufficient. Before long, he found it difficult to walk and was also breathing heavily.
Ou Yangming was suddenly struck with an idea, thus he retrieved his dagger.
Following that, he used his Military Fire to attach the Devouring attribute into it. The dagger was one of the daggers that he especially refined to have the self-explosive skill, but it was extremely sharp as it was at the peak of High Grade. Hence, it could be used as a weapon before it was thrown out.
By utilizing the chance where the two quarries were blocking him, Ou Yangming turned his wrist to stab the dagger into the wild boar’s body.
The Devouring attribute showed a great effect right away as a substantial amount of Qi and blood were transferred into his body through the dagger.
It was an extremely enjoyable process, but Ou Yangming had other plans this time. Seconds after the Qi and blood flowed, he pulled the dagger out decisively.
With that, the Qi and blood stopped flowing, and everything went back to normal.
Consequently, Ou Yangming was no longer weary, and was full of power instead.
While he did not absorb a lot of Qi and blood, the amount was more than enough for him to compensate for the lost physical power.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 32