Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Victory and Cost

The fight ended way quicker than Ji Ye had estimated. Even though the wolf’s steel-like fur could deflect the crude metal weapons made by the settlers, it was useless against Ji Ye’s Black Serpent Sword, which could directly drain the wolf’s blood.
In just a moment, the alpha wolf had lost over a liter of blood and it kept going.
While glad that he possessed such a deadly weapon, Ji Ye also realized that it was a very wise decision not to confront the Black Serpent up close.
Probably because of his recent training and improvement, he felt his mind and eyes working a lot faster than before. He could mostly avoid the wolf’s desperate attacks with ease, while the occasional tackles and swipes that hit him had all been obstructed by a yellow barrier that covered his body.
It seemed his Earth’s Boon skill was enough to help him live through a brief fight.
Slowly but surely, the alpha wolf lost its balance and tumbled down due to its weakened state, allowing Ji Ye to stab his sword right at its heart.
But the finishing blow didn’t kill the wolf for some reason. Like any other cornered beast would, the wolf suddenly jumped back up, knocked him aside, and escaped into a cave nearby.
“Weird.” Ji Ye stayed put instead of chasing after it. “I should have injured its heart so it doesn’t have much longer to live, unless…”
The wolf didn’t use any superior abilities like the scorpion and the Mandrill. Though Ji Ye chose to be cautious nevertheless. Going inside the unknown cave unprepared could be risky.
Besides, he had to take care of the others first.
It seemed the fight at the main battlefield had also come to a conclusion when Lu Zhishen helped the others deal with problematic targets. When their leader escaped, and their strongest members had collapsed dead on the floor, the rest of the wolves turned tails and fled.
However, it wasn’t a perfect victory for the new players.
“Mister Ji, Li Qing is—” Jiang Wenming called anxiously when he saw Ji Ye coming back.
As a retired soldier, Li Qing seemed to be braver than everyone else. Since he knew that “dying” in the Land of Inheritance was not equal to real death, he was always the first one to charge into enemy lines.
And of course, his recklessness had cost him dear. When wrestling against a rank-5 wolf, he suffered a deadly bite on his neck and was bleeding profusely at the moment.
“I—I don’t have anything to patch up such a big wound!” Shang Yan uttered in despair as she tried to suppress the injury with her hands, which wasn’t helpful at all when Li Qing’s neck artery had been ruptured.
She might do some necessary first-aid to stabilize the condition if she had the proper tools for a simple surgery. But there was no way she could find any in those mountain woods.
The other players also knew that getting killed only meant that they would have to wait for some time to “log in” again. But seeing one of them bleeding out painfully was still not enjoyable.
“I’ll do something.” Ji Ye approached the downed man and took out his starter item—the Healing Pendant. This item could only be used by its owner, though he was free to decide where to apply the effect.
Several glowing dots like fireflies reached Li Qing and quickly sealed the wound. Meanwhile, the others watched with widened eyes.
“That’s a magical treasure, isn’t it?”
“A healing item… nice.”
“Darn it. I forgot that you can find all kinds of amazing tools here. Mister Ji probably already did so outside this ancient settlement.”
Ji Ye was satisfied with their reactions; letting them fight the wolves and using the pendant to save someone were both within his plans. For one, he wanted the new players to understand the great dangers they were going to face. But at the same time, he wanted them to know that there was no need to back away from challenges just because they were afraid of getting hurt.
As for the NPCs, they were regarding Ji Ye’s action in a completely different way.
“He’s alive!”
“That must be the magic of the gods…”
Li Qing coughed up some blood and took several hasty breaths.
“Thanks, Mister Ji. I owe you one… I guess.”
Being cornered on the brink of death felt terrible, even though he knew he could come back alive. At the moment, Li Qing understood why so many players refused to enter the Land of Inheritance ever again. Not everyone could withstand such dreadful experience without going insane.
“You can drop the formalities.” Ji Ye shook his head. “Remember to take a dose of Red Pip juice when we get back. You’ll be able to replenish your blood by tomorrow.”
He then stood up, checked his pendant and put it away somewhat unhappily. Telling from the condition of the pendant, it would shatter after another use or two.
The battle against something of similar rank had rewarded the players with over 20 item spheres, among which they discovered a few that were quite handy.
For example, Jiang Wenming picked up a skill book from the Rank-5 Blue Wolf he killed named “Iron Skin.” It was only a general-rank skill, but it would still help Jiang Wenming survive from common enemies a lot better.
Li Qing and Qin Yueyu discovered two syringes from the wolves they killed called “Wolf’s Blessing.” These could enhance their reflexes.
The next item found by Su Nongying was completely alien to the natives. It was a book titled The Way of the Wolves, a textbook of management-related instructions. And it was fully written in a foreign language.
By finishing off a wounded wolf Lu Zhishen sent her way, Shang Yan found the can of a drink called “War Wolf” that seemed to be some kind of neuro-stimulant. It could briefly improve her overall performance during a battle.
The settlers also looted a lot of items they could use from the dead wolves, such as arrows, vests and gloves made from monster body parts. Added to a considerable amount of EXP points and Honor points, the day’s expedition had greatly improved the Twin Dragon Mount settlement’s overall capabilities.