Chapter 60

Alone, He Boqiang traversed the dense forest of the Gandar Mountains, finally understanding why Sul Dak had led the second squad along the ridge beside the river valley. If one did not abide by the rules of the jungle, this dense forest would make one suffer greatly.

Now, he was somewhat regretful. Wading through a waist-deep wasteland of grass, he continuously used his Roman sword to clear the way, and the hand holding the sword had become numb.

He Boqiang licked his dry, cracked lips, looking up at the scorching sun, thinking that perhaps he should find a shady spot to rest before continuing.

The most common animals in the wasteland were the fat, yellow-brown otter rabbits. These large rabbits, when fully extended, could be over four feet long. They ran like lightning through the grass and had fur that matched the withered leaves, making them almost impossible to catch once they reached the depths of the grass.

Another abundant animal in the wasteland was the venomous snake.

A slight misstep could result in one of these snakes emerging from the grass, causing a fright.

These grass snakes, though not highly venomous, had almost no natural predators in the wasteland and were highly aggressive. To avoid being bitten on the ankles, He Boqiang had been using his Roman sword to clear the grass before stepping forward.

However, this made it impossible to move quickly.

He had been in this wasteland for almost half a day.

He Boqiang thought to himself that perhaps he would see the river valley where the second squad had passed if he crossed the ridge ahead. He touched the water flask hanging from his waist and shook it hard; there was only enough water for two sips left. His throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire, but He Boqiang wanted to hold on a bit longer. He was worried that if he drank all the water in the flask at once, he would be in trouble if any unexpected events occurred later.

After living in the native village for nearly ten days, He Boqiang had learned basic native language and the method of performing sacrificial rituals.

After bidding farewell to the great shaman Inoyatira, He Boqiang left the native village.

Initially, he planned to take a shortcut back to the ridge beside the river valley, but he soon realized that he had underestimated the difficulty. It seemed like only a few ridges away, but after crossing one ridge after another, all he saw was an endless expanse of mountains.

After getting lost in the mountains, He Boqiang calmly identified his direction and felt that his path was not too far off, so he continued to move forward.

...

A demon suddenly lunged at He Boqiang. The demon was over three meters tall, holding a spear with a blade over two meters long, and was tightly pressed against He Boqiang's back.

One hand reached out to strangle He Boqiang's neck, while the other hand's spear stabbed towards his back.

The demon left no room for error. Just as the spear was about to touch He Boqiang's back, He Boqiang suddenly turned around, his Roman sword simultaneously thrusting towards the demon, while his other hand held up a shield to block the spear.

He Boqiang underestimated the sharpness of the demon's spear. The spear pierced through the shield and then through He Boqiang's arm, directly into his chest, a trickle of blood flowing down the blade.

At the same time, He Boqiang's Roman sword pierced the demon's abdomen, and the two stood in the wasteland, locked in a deadly struggle under the scorching sun.

The demon ignored the wound in its abdomen, its fierce face twisted with a cruel smile, slowly pushing the spear deeper into He Boqiang's body.

He Boqiang felt his strength rapidly draining as blood gushed from his body.

The demon bared its teeth in a terrifying grin, arching its body to pull its abdomen back, gradually freeing He Boqiang's Roman sword.

In front of the demon, He Boqiang was at a significant disadvantage in strength, and the demon's surprise attack had put him in a very passive position.

The spear slowly pierced deeper into his body, the intense pain telling He Boqiang that his life was quickly slipping away.

...

The nodes in He Boqiang's body, which had been activated, began to glow, filling him with a continuous surge of strength.

The demon, as if stung in the eyes, finally raised its hand to block. Seizing this opportunity, He Boqiang released his 'momentum.'

A shadow of a two-faced, four-armed demon appeared behind He Boqiang, glaring fiercely at the demon in front of him.

At this moment, He Boqiang felt his lost strength return. He swung his Roman sword, which was enveloped in a pale golden light, and it cut through the demon's arm like butter. The demon's arm rapidly disintegrated, and its hand was severed at the wrist.

The demon roared in anger, trying to grab He Boqiang's throat and crush it.

However, He Boqiang kicked the demon, forcing it to retreat several steps.

Without waiting for the demon to regain its footing, he threw his Roman sword, which pierced straight into the demon's chest.

Even so, He Boqiang did not dare to be complacent. He took a deep breath, pulled the spear out of the shield, and, without giving the demon any chance to counterattack, staggered over and used the last of his strength to drive the spear into the demon's head and cut off its head with his Roman sword.

Seeing the dark, viscous blood flow to the ground and the demon's body convulse before finally stilling, He Boqiang hastily bandaged his wounds and collapsed on the grass, completely exhausted.

The blue sky and white clouds spun endlessly, and He Boqiang felt drowsy. He tried to get up from the ground but failed several times.

The demon's head was right in front of him, and He Boqiang saw a blood hole on its forehead, from which a demon core was faintly visible.

...

After an unknown amount of time, when He Boqiang woke up, the sky was full of stars.

He struggled to get up from the grass, scaring away a flower-tailed weasel that had been gnawing on the demon's body. It scurried into the grass with its bushy tail, looking like it had just come to scavenge.

He Boqiang poured the last of the water from his flask into his throat, feeling much better.

He checked the wound on his arm, which seemed to have improved slightly. Most of the wounds had scabbed over, but his leather armor was covered in blood.

He Boqiang sat on the ground for a moment, then managed to pry open the demon's head and extract the walnut-sized demon core.

Looking at the demon's body, He Boqiang sighed. If it were Sul Dak, he would have skinned the demon, but He Boqiang had not learned the skill of skinning, so he left the demon's body in the grass.

Thinking that his arm was temporarily useless, He Boqiang, worried that more demons might catch up, did not stay long and dragged his weary body into the wasteland ahead.