Chapter 63

The leather armor hung on a tree branch, and after the water stains dried, they left behind many large and small white circles, which were the alkali that had seeped out from the leather.

This set of leather armor, once soaked by the rain, became stiff and hard after drying.

Usually, such leather armor would be very uncomfortable to wear, and many ill-fitting areas could easily chafe the skin over time. This kind of leather armor typically needed to be sent to a leather shop for maintenance by leather craftsmen.

If one was unwilling to spend the money, one could also use a pig bristle brush to apply some lard, but that would make the leather armor shine brightly.

He Boqiang wore a pair of linen trousers, bare-chested, and squatted in front of the campfire, carefully tending to the wound on his chest.

The sharp spike in the demon's hand not only pierced his left arm but also injured his chest, though it did not penetrate his internal organs, it left a bloody hole.

At that moment, the spike was skewering a mink rabbit, the skin already peeled off, and the large, fat rabbit was continuously rotating over the charcoal fire. The abundant fat dripped onto the charcoal, making a sizzling sound and sending sparks flying.

He Boqiang held a skinning knife in his hand, cutting off a piece of the cooked rabbit meat and eating it directly.

After the rain, the air in the forest was particularly fresh.

A breeze blew, carrying a faint fragrance of pine resin and earth.

Suddenly, a flock of mountain sparrows flew up from the nearby forest. They flew about a hundred meters and landed on a large tree, but did not stay long, and with a whoosh, they all flew up again, landing on another tree not far away.

He Boqiang stood up and looked in the direction of the forest, but the dense branches made it difficult to see anything.

Perhaps it was a leopard cat hunting birds in the trees. Although He Boqiang thought this, his hands did not stop. He quickly put on the leather armor, which was not yet completely dry and was still scorching hot on the side near the fire, but he did not care at all.

After putting on the leather armor, he knocked over the barbecue rack, pushing the unfinished rabbit meat into the fire. He then used a Roman sword to scoop up some dirt and roughly covered the campfire.

He Boqiang did not dare to stay, and after glancing in the direction the sparrows had flown, he decisively chose the opposite direction and walked away.

Half an hour later, a dark red foot with three toes stepped on the dirt-covered campfire, crushing the still smoldering charcoal, which emitted a foul-smelling blue smoke.

The owner of the foot was a demon with a horn on its head. It seemed to feel nothing, its fierce green face showing no emotion as it waved its hand at the three demons behind it.

The three demons immediately crouched down, almost crawling on the ground, sniffing the surroundings like dogs.

It did not take long for one of the demons to determine the direction He Boqiang had fled. The horned demon waved its hand forcefully, and the four demons quickly pursued in the direction He Boqiang had fled.

...

He Boqiang thought he had shaken off the demons, but the campfire he had built turned out to be the best beacon, drawing the demon squad back again.

This time, he climbed from the halfway point of the mountain to the summit. Standing on a large rock, he could just see the tall figures of the demons running in the forest.

The demons ran very fast and were heading in the right direction. It would not be long before they caught up.

He Boqiang did not dare to stay any longer and quickly jumped down from the rock, running along the gentle slope to the other side of the mountain.

...

A giant earth bear slowly opened its eyes in a tree hollow, its pupils flashing with a hint of angry flames.

It lazily emerged from the dry tree hollow. The sky outside was clear, and it shook its thick layer of fat, making its bear fur as smooth as silk. This earth bear was the mother bear that the second squad had seen by the stream, which had fought the demons to the death after losing its two cubs.

The wounds it had sustained seemed to have healed completely, and it appeared even larger than before, indicating a breakthrough in strength.

It yawned widely at the entrance of the tree hollow, and a flock of birds flying up from the distant forest caught its attention. It crouched at the entrance of the tree hollow, listening intently for a moment, then slowly ran in that direction.

Another flock of birds flew up from the forest, and the earth bear no longer hesitated, quickly running in that direction.

The earth bear finally caught up to the demon squad halfway up the mountain, its eyes flashing with hatred.

The earth bear did not immediately charge forward but followed the demons at a leisurely pace, hiding in the dense forest whenever the demons became suspicious.

The demons were focused on pursuing He Boqiang and did not realize that an earth bear was following them.

...

A demon stopped and looked back, but the dense forest behind was quiet, not even a cricket chirping.

The tall demons, moving through the wet forest after the rain, had unknowingly soaked themselves, dripping water continuously.

The lead demon with the horn looked back, and the three demons following behind hurried to catch up.

Not long after, the last demon looked back again, suspiciously.

Throughout the journey, this demon kept looking back, but found nothing unusual.

The horned demon, though somewhat impatient, did not pay much attention to the demon that was slowing down.

When they reached the highest point of the mountain, they discovered that only two of the three demons were still following. One of them had not caught up. Just as the demons were puzzled, a roar of a giant bear and a warning growl from a demon came from halfway down the mountain.

The horned demon, no longer concerned with pursuing He Boqiang, immediately ran back along the path they had come.

By the time the horned demon and his two subordinates reached halfway down the mountain, the demon that had fallen behind was already lying in a pool of blood. The demon's head and part of its spine were lying nearby, and there were obvious claw marks on its body, with a clear indentation on its chest.

The terrifying aspect of the earth bear was its immense strength.

The horned demon let out a furious growl and began to search the nearby forest for the killer of the demon, but despite searching a large area, he could not find the earth bear.

When he climbed back to the summit, he found that only one demon remained by his side.

...

He Boqiang never imagined that the earth bear he had seen by the river would come to his rescue.

Although he did not see how it killed the first demon, he witnessed the entire process of it killing the second demon.

He Boqiang was hiding in a tall oak tree, watching the earth bear use its familiarity with the forest to hide in blind spots, always staying just out of the horned demon's notice while attracting the lagging demon.

The earth bear crouched behind a large rock, its body blending in with the rock. As the demon approached, the bear pounced, its massive body like a small house, and its huge mouth bit into the demon's throat with precision. A violent shake, and the demon's head was torn off.

The earth bear then seemed to notice He Boqiang's hiding place, making his hair stand on end.

However, the earth bear did not approach He Boqiang but retreated into the depths of the forest, continuing to pursue the remaining two demons.

Once He Boqiang was sure the earth bear had gone far, he nimbly climbed down from the tree, ran to the rock, and used his Roman sword to extract the demon's magic core. He then thought about it and found a hyena skin in his backpack, wrapping the demon's head and putting it in his backpack.

He then followed the direction the earth bear had disappeared, continuing on his journey...