"I don't know, but how will we know if we don't try?"
Lin Zhao smiled faintly, holding his long sword horizontally in front of his chest, his spiritual energy surging. Wisps of fiery sword intent coiled around the blade of the Qinglu Sword, already signaling the prelude to the Dragon Ascension Slash, fully showcasing the extraordinary strength of a level 40 probationary Sword Immortal.
The garrison commander Han Yi frowned and said, "Alright! Young man, if you are truly willing to take this risk for Yun Shang Commandery, I will make an exception and allow you to enter the Kumquat Forest to explore its secrets!"
"Yes, sir."
The next second, a bell rang in his ear, and the quest was obtained—
"Ding!"
System notification: You have obtained the quest [Explore the Kumquat Forest] (Rank A)!
Quest Objective: Enter the Kumquat Forest, slay a total of 2000 Gray-White Wolves. These Gray-White Wolves have a chance to drop Omen Fragments. Collecting 99 Omen Fragments will reveal the demons' scheme. However, be careful after entering the Kumquat Forest, as these Gray-White Wolves have been heavily tainted with demonic energy, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
...
An A-rank quest.
Lin Zhao smiled heartily. There were likely not many quests issued in Yun Shang Commandery so far. At this time, he couldn't be picky. Whether it was A-rank, S-rank, or even D-rank, doing quests while killing monsters would definitely be more efficient than "grinding" alone. Thus, he cupped his fists towards garrison commander Han Yi and said, "I'm going."
"Mm!"
Han Yi nodded. "I will wait for you at the border defense camp. The camp is located east of the Kumquat Forest."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao turned and stepped into the Kumquat Forest. Behind him, the sound of horses' hooves faded as the sixth-realm martial artist departed.
"Rustle..."
The grass in the Kumquat Forest was lush. Lin Zhao walked through the trees, the Qinglu Sword in his hand emitting a faint cyan glow. He frowned; he could even smell a trace of demonic aura. This aura was all too familiar. He had felt it most strongly when he drew the Dragon Slaying Sword and killed the thirteenth-realm Demon Sword Immortal Bai Lan with a single strike. He was intimately familiar with this demonic aura.
Not far away, streaks of blood-red eyes appeared in the night. The wolf pack had arrived. A pack of at least 30+ Gray-White Wolves appeared in his vision. The next second, their stats surfaced before Lin Zhao's eyes—
[Gray-White Wolf] (Gold-grade monster)
Level: 45
Attack: 500-750
Defense: 300
Health: 2500
Skills: [Claw Attack] [Serrated Bite] [Demonic Power Boost]
Description: These Gray-White Wolves were originally ordinary forest beasts. However, after the arrival of a mid-fifth-realm demon cultivator, demonic energy began to breed within them, and their tempers became extremely violent. They even repeatedly charged the border defense camp of Yun Shang Commandery in packs, causing immense suffering to the Great Shang Dynasty soldiers defending the border.
...
A level 45 Gold-grade monster was just right for Lin Zhao's current leveling needs. The Gray-White Wolves' attack power of up to 750 was already quite formidable, but Lin Zhao's current stats were even stronger. His true defense had reached 550 points. With an attack of 750 against a defense of 550, it wouldn't be a significant armor penetration. However, Lin Zhao's true attack power had a terrifying upper limit of 1250 points, so dealing with the Gray-White Wolves' 300 defense was as easy as slicing vegetables. The level gap of 5 levels made the level suppression almost negligible.
Onward, time to test the waters!
Lin Zhao drew his sword and slowly advanced, confronting the wolf pack. As it turned out, these wolves were indeed cunning, quickly spreading out to surround Lin Zhao. The wolves behind him constantly probed, and after a few bites, the damage dealt was only in the range of 100-200 points. With Lin Zhao's 8000+ health, he could still withstand it. Thus, he brandished his sword and lunged forward, directly knocking a wolf to the ground with a sword qi impact.
"Roar roar roar~~~"
The wolf pack stopped probing and charged forward one by one to surround and attack.
Lin Zhao couldn't help but chuckle; it was exactly what he wanted. He immediately activated his sword aura to protect himself and then threw skills randomly at the wolf pack. Qian Kun Yi Zhi, Heng Sao Qian Jun, and Zhong Zhan were continuously unleashed. As he launched his assault, the sword intent on the Qinglu Sword surged, transforming into wisps of sword qi that flew out, piercing through the wolf pack with "swish swish swish" sounds. This was the passive effect of Sword Qi Jue Zong, and thus the wolves' howls could be heard constantly from within the pack. They thought heaven had sent them dinner, but who would have thought it was a harbinger of doom.
At this moment, Lin Zhao possessed 16% lifesteal, and more importantly, his attack power was so high that he dealt over a thousand damage with every swing, absorbing one to two hundred health points with each sword strike. Therefore, he barely needed to use any health potions and could sustain the fight by engaging the wolf pack head-on.
In the blink of an eye, a pack of over 30 wolves was felled. He then began to collect the spoils of war, not missing a single silver or copper coin on the ground, all of which were collected. In addition, there were several pages of Omen Fragments with different serial numbers, which were placed into his inventory. Once enough were collected, he could return to turn in the quest.
...
Next, Lin Zhao began to grind monsters frantically in the Kumquat Forest, engaging in uninhibited group combat. He pushed the 16% lifesteal, the splash damage of the Qinglu Sword, and the passive tracking of Sword Qi Jue Zong to their limits. This allowed him to achieve an extremely efficient leveling speed. Moreover, these level 45 Gold monsters had a chance to drop Gold or Silver-grade equipment. If any dropped, he would keep them. Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, Mo Yin, Rong Xing, and others all needed to upgrade their equipment. As the patriarch of the Scarlet Moon Knights, Lin Zhao had to learn to bear some responsibility now.
Around 11 PM.
With the fall of Lin Zhao's sword, the 2000th Gray-White Wolf was slain. The Omen Fragments from page 1 to 99 had also been fully collected, and he could now turn in the quest.
However, as he looked back, he felt something watching him from the dim night. This feeling was disgusting. He frowned, ignored it, and turned to leave the Kumquat Forest. After walking east for about five minutes, a Yun Shang Commandery border defense camp appeared in his vision.
The camp was simple, its walls made of wooden palisades overgrown with thorny branches. Further out were rows of deer antlers. Inside the palisades, wooden watchtowers stood tall, where sharp-eyed soldiers on guard duty sat, armed with longbows and quivers filled with feathered arrows, their expressions vigilant as they watched the perimeter.
At the camp entrance, sixteen armored soldiers wielding heavy shields and long spears stood guard. Behind them was the main military tent. Not far away were stables and an archery range. The sound of urgent horses' hooves echoed from the stables, where cavalry soldiers were conducting night training. The northern Yun Province's greatest contribution to the entire human realm was its cavalry. Although the 530,000 Yun Province cavalry had vanished, the people of Yun Province were resilient, and new cavalry would always be born.
"Halt! Who goes there?!"
An armored soldier drew his long sword, pointing it at Lin Zhao outside the camp gate.
"Don't be rash..."
Lin Zhao grinned and said, "I am someone dispatched by Commander Han Yi to investigate the situation in the Kumquat Forest. I have completed the mission and returned. Please take me to see him."
"Understood. Follow me."
"Thank you!"
The armored soldier led Lin Zhao into the camp. Inside the military tent, Han Yi had already removed his armor and was intently studying an ancient military book made of bamboo slips. Only when he saw Lin Zhao enter the tent did he rise and say with a smile, "Young man, you have returned safely?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao took out the complete omen from his inventory and handed it to him, saying, "Sir, this is the demons' omen."
"Good! Good!"
Han Yi exclaimed twice with joy, accepting the omen and smiling. "Young Sword Immortal, thank you for your contribution to Yun Shang Commandery. Come, this is your reward!"
The next moment, the reward was obtained, and it was quite generous—
"Ding!"
System notification: Congratulations on completing the quest [Explore the Kumquat Forest] (Rank A)! Reward: Experience +20%, Gold Coins +10, Reputation +80!
...
While it wasn't comparable to the rewards of an S-rank main quest, it was still good, especially the 20% experience reward. It was already difficult for Lin Zhao to level up. Killing 2000 wolves hadn't even earned him 30% of his current level's experience. Just turning in this quest gave him 20%. He had to learn to be content.
At this time, Han Yi unfurled the demonic omen and studied it carefully.
Lin Zhao frowned, standing under the oil lamp, not leaving. It seemed this quest would have a follow-up, and leaving now would be a loss.
As expected, half a minute later, Han Yi seemed to suddenly understand something and slammed the table in anger, "These damnable demons, are they trying to sever the national destiny of our Great Shang Dynasty?!"
"Ah?"
Two centurions standing to the side quickly asked, "General, what's wrong? On this omen..."
"Damn it!"
Han Yi gritted his teeth and said, "This omen depicts the mountains, rivers, geography, and feng shui of our entire Yun Shang Commandery, almost a detailed survey map of the entire Yun Shang Commandery. They are plotting to use demonic energy to evolve the wild beasts within Yun Shang Commandery, transforming these beasts into the vanguard of the demons. They will use the changes in mountains, rivers, and geography to control these beasts, commanding them to attack the prefecture and counties. Afterward... the Great Shang Dynasty will naturally descend into chaos, and that will likely be the time when the demons and devils will once again descend south together!"
"Ah!?"
The two centurions stared in disbelief.
Another centurion, clad in fiery red armor, gritted his teeth and said, "These demon bastards... do they want to extinguish the vitality of our human race so badly? If the demons and devils descend south again, what will our Great Shang Dynasty do? This time, there's no Xueyu Tianchi Lin Baiyi to decide the fate of the battle in the north. Perhaps... the demons will push all the way south, break through the Fusu Great Wall, and their blades will point directly into the heart of the human realm!"
"Indeed, there is this concern."
Han Yi tightly gripped the omen and said, "Someone, take this omen to the Governor. Furthermore, immediately dispatch the cavalry in the camp. We will march into the Kumquat Forest tonight and, at all costs, must slay that mid-fifth-realm wolf demon. If he is allowed to continue his schemes, Yun Shang Commandery may face earth-shattering changes!"
Lin Zhao frowned. He had never imagined the situation would be so serious.
...
Han Yi stood up, donned his armor, and took his steel spear from the weapon rack, shouting, "Bring my warhorse!"
"Yes, sir!"
Just as Han Yi was about to leave the camp, Lin Zhao frowned and asked, "Sir, what can I do for Yun Shang Commandery?"
"This..."
Han Yi frowned and said, "Young man, your strength and courage have been proven... How about this, accompany me on the expedition to the Kumquat Forest. The mid-fifth-realm wolf demon's strength is terrifying. Perhaps I will need your strength. Are you willing to join me on this expedition, either to achieve merits together or to die together in the Kumquat Forest!"
Lin Zhao cupped his fists and smiled, "It is my honor!"