Chapter 00193: Cooperation
# Cooperation
Chapter 193
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 193: Cooperation
Blood splattered everywhere as the bear's snout was struck askew.
The thin man landed just right, crashing onto the giant bear's shoulder, rolling down its smooth fur, and grabbing onto the long spear with one hand.
The spear was already embedded in the bear's hindquarters, causing it to bleed profusely.
Now, with the weight of a living person pressing down, it was in so much pain that it began to claw at itself.
Fortunately, taking advantage of this moment, the thin man managed to stabilize his position and quickly climbed down the tree using both hands and feet.
Just as he steadied himself, he saw the giant bear crash down from the sky, hitting the ground with a thud, sending mud and dust flying into his face.
“Ah, spit, spit, spit!” The thin man hurriedly took a few steps back, seeing the giant bear sprawled on the ground, not moving at all, unsure if it was dead or just unconscious.
Six or seven people emerged from the trees, the woods, and the sorghum fields, surrounding the giant bear.
The thin man gasped for breath, unable to speak coherently: “The poison, didn’t you say that as long as I hold on for twenty breaths, it would… it would die from the poison?”
He had been chased for half a tea time, nearly sweating bullets.
This bear was truly stubborn, only chasing after him!
“The bear is too big, the dosage is insufficient.” The only female soldier in the team, carrying a bow on her back, said, “Didn’t you just shoot two more arrows?”
She had delicate brows and eyes, her face tanned a deep red by the sun of the red scarf plateau, making her features appear quite tough.
The thin man was still very angry: “Your skills are too poor! It was the Broken Blade that saved me.” Otherwise, this bear would have chewed him up like a grape, “Huh? Where’s the Broken Blade?”
“Right here.”
Another person emerged from behind a tree, just picking up the blade that had shattered the bear's jaw.
It was He Lingchuan.
In this nine-person team, he had given himself the nickname “Broken Blade.”
The basic unit of the Panlong Patrol Army is called “Fire,” usually referred to as a small team, with ten people forming one Fire, led by a Fire Leader.
This team had recently lost two members and added He Lingchuan, so there were temporarily only nine people.
Fire Leader Liu Tang pulled the long spear from the bear's body: “Stop chatting, let’s get down to business! Liu Tiao, chop off the bear's head.”
Liu Tiao was the female archer who had just shot the arrows; her figure was graceful, indeed resembling a willow branch.
With this assignment from the Fire Leader, the thin man pouted, feeling disgruntled.
According to the unwritten rules in the Patrol Army, the one who beheads or chops off ears in a team gets the most credit.
He had contributed the most in the bear-hunting operation and paid the highest price, so logically, the bear's head should be his to chop.
However, Liu Tiao had the most seniority in the team, second only to the Fire Leader, and was the main attacker.
She took the giant axe from her teammate.
Even lying down, this bear demon was like a small mountain; she had to step on the bear's head, holding the axe with both hands, and swung it down with all her might.
Before the axe blade could reach its neck, the unconscious giant bear suddenly sprang up.
Liu Tiao lost her balance and didn’t have time to retreat, getting her calf caught by the bear's claw, screaming in pain.
The giant bear pinned her down, ready to tear her apart.
Tigers and leopards choke their prey's throat to suffocate them before eating, but bears often prefer to rip open their prey's belly and eat them alive.
This giant bear knew its time was short and only hoped to rip open her chest and tear apart her insides, venting all its hatred on its opponent.
Just as its fangs were about to pierce Liu Tiao's belly, a cold light flashed from above.
The bear's head suddenly fell off, warm blood spraying all over Liu Tiao's head and mouth.
It was the thin man who had picked up the axe, striking down with a swift motion.
The bear's head rolled on the ground for two circles, its steel teeth snapping shut with a loud “ka-ba,” its crimson eyes still wide open.
Liu Tiao, pinned beneath the massive bear body, shivered at the sight.
If she had been even a breath later, her belly would have been opened up.
This time, the bear demon was truly dead, and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Help me…” Liu Tiao struggled to call for help.
The teammates worked hard to push the bear's corpse away, and Liu Tiao cried out in pain because the bear's claw was still hooked on her calf, the wound a bloody mess.
Another burly man, “Menban,” took out some medicine and helped Liu Tiao treat her wound, while Liu Tang said to the others: “Go dig a pit, bury the villagers.”
The team members returned to the village to look for shovels and picks.
The place was in disarray, wooden houses had been smashed open, and furniture was overturned everywhere; following the blood trail led to the corpses.
The bear demon had killed eight people but only ate children and teenagers, especially fond of chewing on eyeballs, leaving behind a gruesome sight.
One team member, who had joined three months ago, had seen dead bodies before, but upon entering a house, he saw a corpse with its mouth wide open, a pair of blood holes where the eyeballs should have been, staring straight at him.
He couldn’t hold it in and vomited.
The scene was too horrific, impacting He Lingchuan as well.
He turned his head away, silently reciting, “This is a dream.”
Everyone silently collected the bodies and buried them properly in an open space behind the village.
The bear demon had charged out from the mountains, and the Military Merit Office received a plea for help from the village, sending the team that He Lingchuan was part of to eliminate the demon.
As they dug the pit, the team exchanged words, all saying that the demons they had recently dealt with were much stronger than those from a few months ago.
In the world of Panlong City, two months had passed since the emergence of the Imperial Flowing Nectar, and the aftermath of the Imperial Flowing Nectar incident was becoming evident, with new demons appearing all over the Panlong Wilderness like bamboo shoots after rain, while the old demons grew even stronger.
The newly emerged demons were like teenagers around fourteen or fifteen years old, their strength surging and confidence skyrocketing, with a delusion of being the best in the world.
Their intelligence was just beginning to awaken, still somewhat dazed, but their temperaments had become exceptionally rebellious and violent, taking several months to gradually calm down.
During this time, they posed a significant threat to humans.
Reports of demon attacks were rampant in both the Panlong Wilderness and the Red Scarf Plateau.
The population was one of the most valuable resources in Panlong City, and the authorities would not allow man-eating demons to roam freely.
Since joining the Patrol, He Lingchuan had already carried out seven missions to eliminate demons.
The veteran team members said that before the Imperial Flowing Nectar, the Red Scarf Plateau had been quite peaceful, and it might take half a year to accumulate so many cases.
Before burying the dead, He Lingchuan reached out to close the eyes of the deceased.
This was a trial he had to endure.
Fighting and killing were the best ways to hone one’s blade and will.
But human life was so fragile, whether in Panlong City or the real world.
Menban brought several incense sticks to light at the grave, reciting eulogies, wishing them a safe passage to the divine realm.
He Lingchuan had heard this many times and knew that the deity they prayed to was “Mitian Niangniang,” the one who bestowed the Great Square Pot and the Red General, who had always protected Panlong City.
After taking care of the villagers' affairs, the team found a hay cart to transport the bear's corpse, harnessed the horse, and headed towards Panlong City.
This was the team's spoils; the bear's head was to be sent to the Military Merit Office for registration as a token, while the rest would be distributed among the team members by the Fire Leader, with those who contributed more receiving more, and those who contributed less receiving less.
They had just finished loading the bear's corpse when a gigantic spotted deer suddenly strolled out of the woods, its magnificent antlers already covered in moss, with two small flowers blooming on them.
It showed no fear of humans, walking over and speaking: “The Qianling Mountain and Marsh want me to inform you that many unfamiliar demons have appeared near the Bai Tou Mountain, both flying and walking beasts.”
Fire Leader Liu Tang stepped forward: “Aren’t they newly emerged demons?”
“No,” the spotted deer replied, “They appeared together with the new demon tide after the Imperial Flowing Nectar, trying to blend in. But the mountain and marsh have determined that they are outsiders.”
“Thank you for the information; we will report it as soon as possible.”
Since the emergence of the Imperial Flowing Nectar, there had been many unforeseen complications, both natural and man-made.
The spotted deer nodded and leisurely walked back into the forest.
As the overlord of the wilderness, Panlong City firmly controlled the entire Red Scarf Plateau behind it.
The mountains and waters here were all under its jurisdiction, carrying out cooperative management.
Otherwise, with the vast expanse of the plateau, enemy spies and scouts could easily infiltrate, and relying solely on the manpower of Panlong City would not be enough to drive them away.
At this moment, the Red Scarf Plateau was adorned with layers of colorful trees on the distant slopes, showcasing the grandeur of the mountains, while the rivers flowed clear as jade ribbons, winding through the golden fields.
With the heavens and earth so vast and beautiful, it was enough to sweep away the recent experiences of tragedy and anger that everyone had just felt.
He Lingchuan took a deep breath; the air here seemed sweet.
But he had indeed seen the Red Scarf Plateau two hundred years later.
What kind of power could turn the vibrant and beautiful mountains into a desolate and monotonous sea of sand?
Now, he might be walking in a world constructed by such power.
Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
Not long after, the team returned to Panlong City, heading straight for the Military Merit Office.
After handing in their mission, they could then distribute the spoils.
Panlong City was bustling with activity, with detailed divisions of labor, even having specialized hunting shops to handle the spoils obtained by the patrols in the wild.
The bear demon was one of the most popular types; its claws and teeth could be refined into weapons, its skin could be made into armor or cloaks, and its gallbladder, eyeballs, and inner dan could be used for alchemy, making it a treasure trove.
He Lingchuan was also calculating in his heart that after receiving this merit, the accumulated military merit should be enough to exchange for another divine ability.
He had already set his sights on the Li Dai Tao Jiang technique.
The description of this divine ability was very simple: it allows the user to instantly swap positions with a specific “cicada shell,” provided that both parties are in the same space and within a distance of no more than five zhang, and it can only be used once every three hours.
Just this one sentence provided enough scenarios for the imagination to run wild.
It goes without saying that Li Dai Tao Jiang would not only make He Lingchuan's combat methods more flexible but also grant him an additional life-saving skill.
As for the spoils, He Lingchuan received half a bear paw, a bear kidney, and the thin man even handed him an eyeball.
This was also an unwritten rule; if your life was saved by a teammate, you had to offer a tangible reward.
So He Lingchuan did not decline and happily accepted it.
Such nourishing items were rarely consumed directly; He Lingchuan could ask A Luo to refine them into pills, or he could hand them over to the Military Merit Office for credit, or simply sell them, with many uses.
At this moment, the thin man looked dispirited.
Originally, he had run wildly as bait for the bear, but ended up getting slapped into a tree by the bear, and he had also ruined a protective talisman.
Without this talisman for protection, the bear demon's paw could have easily opened a hole in his back.
Such life-saving items were not cheap, and just thinking about it made him feel pained, especially since his back still ached slightly.
At this time, Liu Tiao walked over and straightforwardly gave him the most valuable bear gallbladder as a token of gratitude for saving her life.
The thin man's resentment instantly dissipated, and he smiled widely, showing his teeth.
Thank you to the dreamer Hua and xiangyun8228 for their enthusiastic support~
(End of Chapter)