“Lost Beast, I’ll remember that.”
With those words, the Kingdom Marshal led the Elite Kingdom Knight Order to withdraw first, waving to everyone as he left.
Only the seven-member Lost Beast squad remained, staring in a daze atop the scorched earth for quite some time, until Feini waved her hand and Xueyuedai took charge to lead everyone back to the camp on the small hill.
Our captain, Ten-Step Hall, just completely shut down.
She wasn’t crushed by the Hongshan Dragon—instead, she was left gloomy and depressed because the Kingdom Marshal mistook a teammate in the end.
Don’t be fooled by her cheerful, sunny big-girl appearance; we all know she’s actually a crafty little Dragon Tribe fairy.
Whenever something goes wrong, she turns into this miserable version of herself.
But enough about that. Feini got the campfire going first, took out her big pot to cook, and personally brought a bowl of meat over to her.
“Captain, Baicheng didn’t mean any harm. She had no idea those Kingdom knights were so clueless they’d mistake the wrong person,” Feini consoled softly. “Tomorrow, let’s go clear things up.”
“It’s fine.” As soon as Ten-Step Hall heard that, her mood immediately improved a lot.
She accepted the bowl and started gobbling down, so hungry she felt dizzy.
Just make sure the captain gets her fill and she’ll immediately become a lot more rational and friendly.
That’s how ancient dragons are. In theory, they’re a kind of anti-energy-conservation lifeform—even if they don’t eat for years, they won’t starve to death.
But just like us Weapon Demons, they need food to restore their rationality.
Now that Ten-Step Hall’s rationality was coming back, she was no longer acting like a big spoiled baby.
Of course, Feini spoke kindly for her own sake—if Ten-Step Hall really held a grudge against her, it’d be a disaster.
“Baicheng’s magic is truly exquisite, specialized in defense. It complements me perfectly,” Ten-Step Hall had regained her usual elegance.
“…” Xueyuedai quietly scooped up her own dinner beside them, almost losing her composure at those words.
After all, Ten-Step Hall had used these exact same words to recruit her back then: saying her magic specialized in defense and was a perfect match for Ten-Step Hall’s explosive flame fist.
Even though she’d long known Ten-Step Hall wasn’t sincere to anyone and everyone was just a tool in her eyes, and even though she herself wasn’t all that loyal, her sweet-talking tricks never improved. Honestly, it was so corny.
“You call that bit of meat enough for anyone? Give us some more!” Xueyuedai barked at Feini in a routine fashion.
Even while mocking the boss in her mind, even if she did care about her deep down, it never stopped her from picking a fight.
Still, Xueyuedai wasn’t wrong—there wasn’t enough dried meat. The Golden Fang Beast Sisters were bottomless pits too.
Although they were so terrified by the Hongshan Dragon that they just collapsed and were basically useless, they still managed to play the role of meat shields.
Feini simply took all the food from everyone’s backpacks and stewed it together. Tonight, they’d all have a hearty meal.
“Is this really okay? What will we eat after this?” Qingshamu asked.
“Next, we’ll head to the Kingdom of Huanxu. Once we’re in the city, food and drink won’t be a problem,” Feini replied.
“And how are we supposed to afford that?” Qingshamu questioned.
“With our abilities, you really think we can’t earn some money?” Feini laughed.
Unconsciously, she had become the acting vice-captain of the Lost Beast squad. All the plans now relied on her to devise.
All of them were total newbies to the Chaos Mountains. Apart from fighting, they didn’t know much else.
And Ten-Step Hall was more of a mascot captain—good in battle, but not much for management.
If she had any talent for operations, the Demon King’s Army in the north wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.
As long as Feini kept these hungry ghosts fed, she could easily seize command of the squad.
“We drove off the Hongshan Dragon, which means we’ve successfully blended into human society. Everyone, get some rest early,” Feini said.
“Listen to you acting like the boss already,” Lianjian said in a perfunctory tone as she finished eating.
But as soon as she was full, she dove into her tent to sleep.
After being roasted by the Hongshan Dragon’s breath, her internal energy was a mess, but a night’s sleep would have her back at full health.
Bai Yuge · Rose and Yeqi, on the other hand, were brimming with energy.
After dinner, they started warming up to spar—getting roasted by the Hongshan Dragon earlier hadn’t been enough; they still wanted to fight.
By the campfire, only the four who all had their own motives sat awkwardly, secretly watching each other, silently competing.
Even if nobody knew exactly what they were competing about, don’t ask—competing was just the point.
“Not going to sleep?”
“Not tired.”
In any case, Qingshamu and Xueyuedai were both secretly preventing Ten-Step Hall and Feini from getting too close, keeping a watchful eye on Ten-Step Hall from both sides.
“Good work, everyone.”
Ten-Step Hall thought Feini was now firmly in her pocket. Just now, Feini’s words had been so gentle, and she obediently helped manage the team.
Surely she’d already been won over by Ten-Step Hall’s overwhelming strength.
—————
The next morning, everyone got up early to pack up the camp.
They gathered up their tents and luggage, lining up in a row to head down the mountain.
This time, they were finally going to enter Human Territory officially.
Following the Kingdom Army’s supply route, the Lost Beast squad quickly found the so-called [Kingdom of Huanxu].
It was a truly unique, ultra-massive human city. After all, it was built right in the Chaos Mountains, serving as a bridgehead for humans attempting to enter the uninhabited zone.
So rather than calling it a city, it was more of a border fortress—everything inside was designed for war.
But if it were just a border fortress, it would constantly bleed funds, and the kingdom’s finances were notoriously stingy—everyone knew that.
If there weren’t some benefit to it, such border fortresses would’ve been abandoned long ago.
The reason was simple: this border city made a killing off Adventurers. Most of its facilities catered to the needs of treasure hunters, making it a paradise for Adventurers.
If you came to the Chaos Mountains’ uninhabited area to seek fortune, you’d inevitably have to visit the Kingdom of Huanxu.
Material merchants and forging specialists were stationed inside to buy goods; hunting tasks were posted daily, and the Adventurer’s Guild hall was packed with people at all hours.
Some rejoiced, some despaired. Some died without a sound; some became famous overnight. Some ended up as monster dung, others struck it rich.
In our words, it was simply a [Dream City].
From a distance, the Lost Beast squad saw the Kingdom of Huanxu’s round, towering city walls—magnificent and grand, though a bit worn down.
It hardly looked sturdy enough to withstand the Hongshan Dragon. It seemed like one hit from that beast would smash it to pieces.
The closer they got to the Kingdom of Huanxu, the denser the crowds became. All sorts of Adventurers were there—some fully armed, some nearly naked but with knives—all squeezing towards the city gates.
“Hey hey, where are you little ladies from?”
“First time as Adventurers? You’re looking way too clean!”
“Why not join our guild? Our beds are big and comfy!”
But out of all the teams, only ours was full of beautiful girls. We were like fireflies in the dark, attracting swarms of flies with every glance.