Chapter 44: The Purge Begins [Bonus Chapter]

Yi Yeyu led more than fifty people, including Bai Yan, away. The remaining youths, including Lin Huang, numbered twelve. Aside from Lin Huang, all were at the third rank of Black Iron.

"You who have stayed behind, you must obey orders!" Yi Zheng addressed them sternly. "This is a battlefield. Your safety affects not only your own life, but also your comrades’. You must follow commands. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" The group of youths stood straight and shouted in unison.

"What’s your name?" Yi Zheng turned to Lin Huang.

"Lin Huang."

"Very good. You said earlier you want to see two hundred thousand people survive. Now, I’m giving these ten boys to you. Your task is simple: ensure they all make it out alive. Do you dare accept this mission?" Yi Zheng smiled at him. The assignment was not only a test, but also a safeguard, to prevent Lin Huang from acting recklessly and getting killed on the battlefield. He believed Lin Huang was smart enough not to risk the lives of his charges.

"I accept," Lin Huang nodded. He had guessed Yi Zheng’s intention, but he himself had other considerations. If these youths were placed with other hunters, cooperation would be difficult. Professional hunters wouldn’t trust their backs to children who hadn’t even registered as reserve hunters. But with Lin Huang leading ten Black Iron third-rank youths, clearing a level one stronghold should not pose much difficulty.

The youths themselves had seen Lin Huang’s skills before; two of them had even been beaten by Tyrant, and the bruises still lingered on their faces. They respected Lin Huang’s abilities.

Seeing that none of the ten opposed Lin Huang as leader, Yi Zheng, though unaware Lin Huang was a summoner, guessed that Lin Huang either possessed great strength or had a powerful background.

The arrangements had barely been made when Yi Yeyu returned with three hundred professional hunters. Most were Silver Hunters; only twenty or thirty were Bronze, and there were five Gold Hunters among them.

Most of these people knew Yi Zheng and looked at him with deference—even the five Gold Hunters.

Yi Yeyu quickly departed after delivering the group, leaving Yi Zheng to assign tasks.

The three hundred dispersed swiftly. The Bronze Hunters were sent to clear the canyon, Silver Hunters to the snowy mountain strongholds, and the Gold Hunters tasked with cutting boulders at the mountain’s base.

Yi Yeyu made four trips back and forth from the medium stronghold, bringing a total of twelve hundred professional hunters. Nearly a thousand were Silver Hunters, and over twenty were Gold. The remaining Bronze Hunters were either exceptionally powerful or possessed special skills.

Before the beast tide erupted, Yi Zheng, following Lin Huang’s plan, dispatched the thousand-plus hunters to clean out the snow mountain and canyon regions.

The boulders, cut by the Gold Hunters, were then moved and placed by tens of thousands of adult residents from the stronghold to block the canyon entrance.

Lin Huang and his team were assigned to sweep the canyon. The Bronze Hunters moved in teams of two or three, but their group had eleven members.

There weren’t many monsters in the canyon, and with the other hunter teams dividing the area, Lin Huang’s group searched for more than an hour without finding a single intact monster.

"These professional hunters are too fast! We’ve searched so long, changed routes several times, but only ever come across broken monster limbs and pools of beast blood," complained a tall, sturdy youth.

His name was Zhou Le, one of those who had provoked Lin Huang a few days ago. He still bore bruises from Tyrant’s beating.

"Their efficiency is a good thing. If the beast tide breaks and we don’t have to act, then this stronghold is truly safe," Lin Huang replied calmly.

"Lin Huang, do you think we can hold this stronghold?" Zhou Le asked.

"If the canyon entrance is fully sealed, holding for two days shouldn’t be a problem. I’m just worried…" Lin Huang’s brow furrowed.

"Worried about what?"

"The canyon entrance is too wide. I’m afraid the beast tide will erupt before they finish closing it off…" Lin Huang voiced his concern.

"Don’t jinx us, Lin Huang! We all want to survive and achieve greatness one day," piped up Yu Guang, a short youth standing nearby, another who had previously challenged Lin Huang and whose face still bore traces of injury.

"Rest assured, as long as I, Lin Huang, am alive, I will lead all of you out safely!" Lin Huang declared confidently.

"This path has already been traveled. The monsters ahead must have been cleared. Let’s try another route," Zhou Le squatted to inspect the ground and made his assessment. He possessed a scouting skill—not high-level, but sufficient for such judgments.

"Alright, which direction now?" Lin Huang trusted Zhou Le’s judgment.

"Let’s head toward two o’clock," Zhou Le observed their surroundings and suggested.

"Zhou Le, can you really do this? We’ve followed your routes for over an hour and haven’t even seen a monster’s hair," Yu Guang joked and cursed.

"How is that my fault? The canyon’s just got too many wolves and not enough meat," Zhou Le replied helplessly.

"If it doesn’t work out, Lin Huang, you lead the way," Yu Guang proposed.

"I’m not skilled at scouting. Let’s stick to Zhou Le’s route. If anyone thinks their scouting skills are better, feel free to volunteer," Lin Huang declined, knowing his limits. Although he’d learned basic scouting at the academy, practical application paled compared to Zhou Le’s actual skill. He saw no need to overstep in an area he was weak in—if he made a mistake, it would only embarrass himself.

Seeing Lin Huang’s attitude, no one else volunteered, and they continued along Zhou Le’s chosen path.

After about twenty more minutes, they finally spotted a beast herd in the distance and immediately went into hiding.

It was a tribe of Minotaurs—about twenty-six gathered together, the tallest over five meters, the shortest around three, making them giants compared to humans.

However, Minotaurs were not of the giant species, but rather exotic beasts. Unlike giants, their size and strength weren’t directly correlated.

Like humans, they walked upright on two legs and could use their hands to grasp objects and wield weapons. The difference was their bovine heads, hooved lower limbs, and a tail.

Minotaurs were also smarter than many Black Iron monsters. They even had their own faith and knew how to craft totems to enhance their strength.

Lin Huang’s group quickly noticed the five-meter-tall totem protected at the center by the Minotaurs.

"There are twenty-six of them, and a faith totem that can boost their combat power by at least ten percent. How do we fight?" Zhou Le whispered.

"Set some traps first. I’ll destroy the totem. When I do, they’ll definitely come after us. We’ll wait here for them to deliver themselves," Lin Huang instructed, pulling out his Gray Eagle 17 and loading armor-piercing explosive rounds...

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[Thanks to today’s generous rewards: 50,000 from ‘Brother Hao ing’, 20,000 from ‘Unexpected Trouble’, 10,000 each from ‘Free Passing By’, ‘XZ Wolverine x’, and ‘Sikong Wenjian’, 4,100 from ‘vi Soy Sauce’, and thanks to all other friends for their support~~ Today’s extra chapter is delivered!]