Chapter 58
“Swoosh…” When the Military Fire burned, a burning heatwave was released.
However, nobody despised it because everyone was looking forward to the outcome.
After witnessing the explosive arrow’s might, even an obtuse person knew how important Ou Yangming was, and they somewhat feared the arrow that exploded in the air.
Another arrow was upgraded after a brief moment.
[Item: Explosive arrow (Red)]
[Equivalent Rank: High Grade Rank Five]
[Attributes: Sharpness +15, Toughness +15, Durability 10]
[Skill: Self-explosive]
Ou Yangming exhaled deeply. He finally knew why Jiang Chengwei mentioned that three arrows were enough because the squad leader only had three High Grade arrows left in his quiver.
Other than normal arrows, Jiang Chengwei prepared twelve High Grade arrows before entering the dense forest.
For the same archer and bow, different arrows would result in completely different powers. Unfortunately, nine of the arrows were used when they previously attacked the Brown Earth Bear. It was such a pity because it had been impossible for them to retrieve those arrows during the chaotic situation, thus they lost the nine arrows.
Nevertheless, Jiang Chengwei did not regret it. If it was not for the nine High Grade arrows that threatened the brown bear, they could not have gotten away.
Jiang Chengwei’s face changed a little when he picked up the three arrows carefully. He turned to look at Ou Yangming, but could not let a word out.
Before this, he would have just spoken to Ou Yangming casually, but he respected the master very much after witnessing his great smithing skill.
Yu Hailiang mentioned, “Squad Leader Jiang, ask away if you have any question, you mustn’t keep it to yourself.”
Jiang Chengwei hesitated for a while before he nodded. “If I may ask, Master Ou, are the arrows’ quality better than before?”
A High Grade arrow could be good or bad.
The arrows provided by Jiang Chengwei were initially of High Grade Rank One or Rank Two, but in order to increase their lethality, Ou Yangming had upgraded them to the material’s highest withstandable limit.
15 points of Sharpness and Toughness were the tolerable limits for the three levels. If they were increased further, they would likely break.
After all, the three arrows were Jiang Chengwei’s trump cards, so he was very familiar with them, and could instantly tell that their quality had improved by just holding them.
Nonetheless, since he was not an appraiser, he could only tell that the arrows improved, but did not know in which aspect.
Ou Yangming grinned. “There were some impurities in the three arrows, so I got rid of them.”
Upon hearing him, the others respected him even more.
A master was a master. Even though he did it casually, he was able to upgrade the items’ quality.
“With help from these three arrows, we’ll surely succeed this time.” Jiang Chengwei nodded and touched the arrows lovingly. “Perhaps I’ll only need two arrows.”
Yu Hailiang chuckled. “Squad Leader Jiang, you mustn’t be stingy. Once we return to the camp, I’ll give you double the number of arrows lost.”
Jiang Chengwei’s eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Captain Yu!”
Since he was just a squad leader, he subsidized almost half of the expenses for the twelve High Grade arrows himself, so it was obviously heartbreaking if he lost all of them during the fight. As such, Jiang Chengwei was elated when Yu Hailiang promised to compensate him.
“Get ready, we’ll set out once you’re done,” Yu Hailiang mentioned as he opened the small earthen jar.
Jiang Chengwei scooped some crushed Bewitching Grass up using a tool, then began spreading them on his arrows. If these were normal arrows, he only needed to cover the arrowheads, but Ou Yangming’s explosive arrows were different, thus most of the areas had to be covered.
Fortunately, the herb would only unleash its effect upon contact with one’s blood, or Jiang Chengwei could not have used it at all.
Yu Hailiang smudged the medicine on his military saber too. Although the other men were envious, they did not do the same because they knew that only Yu Hailiang, who had a treasure saber, had the ability to slash the Brown Earth Bear’s skin. The other men would only be in charge of harassing the brown bear.
Ou Yangming turned to ask softly, “Squad Leader Yan, are you going to fight too?”
Yan Haobo laughed. “Of course, we’re not here to watch with folded arms.”
The direct attacks were important, but it was crucial for the others to contain the beast too. Needless to say, even the ones who were in charge of containing the brown bear had to have a cultivation base of at least Yin Grade Class Two, or one would simply be courting death.
Ou Yangming tapped the military saber carried on his waist, then handed it to Yan Haobo. “My armor’s tailored to my size, so it can’t fit you, but this saber will be useful for you.”
Yan Haobo’s eyes glowed right away. “Thank you, Master Ou.”
Dazzling light was seen the moment he pulled the military saber out. When he channeled some essential Qi into it, a mysterious power was fed back into his body.
“An Attribute Military Saber!” Yan Haobo’s eyes shone brighter, and he became more confident.
Yu Hailiang cast a confused look at him. “This is a High Grade Attribute Military Saber, and it looks like it’s better than mine…”
Ou Yangming could tell that Yu Hailiang’s military saber was of High Grade too, but it was not at the peak. Nonetheless, it would easily be a great saber if it had some Power attribute. On the other hand, the saber given to Yan Haobo was a weakened version of an already weak saber. Not only did it not have the Devouring attribute, but its Power attribute was reduced from 4 points to 2 points.
Despite all that, the military saber given to Yan Haobo was superior to Yu Hailiang’s.
Fortunately, Ou Yangming only lent it to Yan Haobo. If he had given it as a gift instead, Yu Hailiang would be moved.
“Squad Leader Yan, come over and spread some on your saber too,” Yu Hailiang called out to him. With the sharp military saber, Yan Haobo was able to be one of the main forces in the fight.
After half an hour, everyone finally set out.
Not everyone was qualified to join, so there were only more than ten of them including Ou Yangming and the archers.
When Ou Yangming mentioned that he wanted to watch the fight, Yu Hailiang and the others refused to let him come along, but Ou Yangming raged and swore that he would head there himself even if they disallowed him. Consequently, they could only allow him to join them, but he had to promise that he would stick with Jiang Chengwei without moving around himself.
Ou Yangming agreed right away. He was a smart person, hence he was definitely not going to play with a half-spirit beast.
Besides, he could watch the fight safely by staying with Jiang Chengwei, so how could he be unhappy?
They journeyed slowly in the forest. According to Yu Hailiang, although they failed their mission and escaped, they did not actually give up, hence they left two forest experts to keep watch over the beast from far.
Sure enough, a figure jumped down from a big tree when the group of people reached a spot. The person was thin, had a physique similar to Ou Yangming’s, and appeared to be a teen. However, the wrinkles on his face gave his real age away.
“Captain, that fella is still lying in its old spot. I’m guessing that it’s accumulating its power to break its blood meridians’ shackles, and transform into a real spirit beast.”
“Hmph, how can it turn into a spirit beast so easily? The Brown Earth Bear is having wishful thinking! Everyone, we’ll stick to the plan.” Yu Hailiang sneered, then looked at Jiang Chengwei deeply. “Squad Leader Jiang, our victory depends on your arrow art.”
Jiang Chengwei slapped his chest as he assured, “Captain Yu, don’t worry, there won’t be a mistake.”
Yu Hailiang nodded, then they proceeded to their own stations.
“Stay here, I’ll go up to shoot three arrows,” Jiang Chengwei instructed after leading Ou Yangming and the archers to a quiet spot, then added after a pause, “If the Brown Earth Bear goes crazy, Captain Yu and the others will contain them, and you’ll shoot its eyes with your cold arrows. Remember, its eyes are its only weak spot, and your arrows can’t shoot anywhere else.”
“Yes,” The archers responded to him. They were aware that their powers only allowed them to contain the beast, and the main forces were not actually Yu Hailiang and the others, but the Bewitching Grass’ drug efficacy.
Jiang Chengwei staggered forward with his bow and arrows, but he soon realized that something was off. He trembled when he turned to look. “Master Ou, why are you following me?”
Ou Yangming giggled. “Captain Yu asked me to stick with you, so I followed you.”
“Okay, you must be careful.” Jiang Chengwei smiled bitterly, but when he realized that Ou Yangming actually followed him quietly without being noticed, he felt chills down his spine.
Jiang Chengwei walked slowly and carefully to a giant tree, then climbed up like an ape.
Ou Yangming quickly followed suit, and when he was up there, he quickly fixed his gaze on a huge block far away.
The thing looked like a giant rock when it lay on the ground. If it was not because of its stomach that undulated rhythmically, Ou Yangming could not have noticed it so quickly.
“Squad Leader Jiang, is that fella a Brown Earth Bear? Why is its body yellow in color?” Ou Yangming asked curiously.
Jiang Chengwei was shocked. “You, you can see it?”
Ou Yangming was surprised. “Why can’t I see that big fella?”
“Master Ou, you have great eyesight, I can’t believe that you can actually tell its color.” Jiang Chengwei twitched his mouth.
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. He knew very well that it had nothing to do with his eyesight because it was probably the amazing effect of the Vision attribute.