Forge a path to success

Chu Heng took a bite of the pear and awkwardly got up.

"Um, that's it." He forced down the pear. "Sorry."

"Ah, ah, it's alright, it's alright." The old man—the former warrior captain Silar—looked at each of them in shock, and after a long pause, said, "Welcome to the warriors' settlement."

Chapter 181 Welcome the New Recruits

"What's going on?!" "Is it a new messenger?!" "Could it be a new creation from the Limb Spider...?"

"Is it an external enemy that has bound the sergeant?!" A green-haired soldier stared intently at the crooked and twisted carriage.

"No, I think the warrior captain has locked down the enemy!" another warrior with a square head spoke up. "This ice monster is tough to deal with, and the warrior captain came back for reinforcements. Everyone, follow me and let's take down this giant ice worm!"

The settlement warriors suddenly realized what was happening. Most of them wore bone armor and wooden helmets, and their weapons were a motley crew, including bone spears, magic chainswords, and elemental slingshots. This well-trained ragtag army was about to swarm forward when several sour berries flew through the crowd, each one landing precisely in their gaping mouths from shouting.

"Ugh, so sour!" "It's so sour!" "High Priest, what are you doing...?"

"Feed you bunch of idiots some fruit." Slar tossed the fruit over, his big eyes gleaming... or rather, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. "It's one thing to not recognize the newcomers, but how come you can't even recognize your old friends?"

A trembling hand emerged from beneath the overturned ice sled, and the frog-faced researcher poked his head out: "Stop shooting, it's friendly fire..."

"Why is it a research institute?" the square-headed warrior exclaimed in surprise. "Something happened in the forest. We thought you wouldn't be able to make it."

"That's not right," the green-haired warrior muttered to himself. "The forest has become a dead end, how did they get here?"

The soldiers' eyes were fixed on their captain. Qingxia, who was happily munching on a basket of fruit, smiled upon seeing this and said, "We took down Wakoro!"

In the silence, the soldiers' auditory hallucinations of their eyes rolling wildly on the ground were particularly jarring.

"No way?!!!"

Chu Hengkong pulled out a Vacklo paintbrush from his sleeve as proof, and casually said, "Luo Hun is dead too."

Some of the excited soldiers fainted on the spot.

"This is the best news we've heard so far!" High Priest Thral raised his staff. "Quickly take the new warriors to rest, and then set up the venue! This definitely deserves a celebration!"

The warriors clenched their fists and pounded their chests in unison. A small team went under the ice cart and pulled the researchers out, while the majority evacuated the training ground, spreading this incredible news to every corner of the settlement. Before long, the entire settlement was like a kettle of boiling water, with everyone like lively steam rising from the kettle, eager to see what the warriors who had defeated the twins looked like.

"No need..." Chu Hengkong never considered himself a key member of the fighting force, and seeing this, he quickly tried to decline. But Qingxia grabbed his arm and called out to the old man, "Grandpa, call me when you're ready!"

“Alright, then you take the new warriors to familiarize themselves with the settlement…” Slar turned his head and, angrily, planted his cane on the ground. “Why did you only bring one! You brat!”

Qingxia had already dragged Chu Hengkong into the crowd and disappeared without a trace. Ji Huaisu, who was still busy tidying up the carriage, turned around and exclaimed in panic, "Wait, where did they go?!"

"Sister Huaisu, the person has been robbed." Qingye munched on a fruit. "You missed it."

"Damn it, you're still eating! Stop eating and come with me to chase after them!"

Qingye was wolfing down her food when she ran and almost choked on a fruit pit: "Ah cough cough cough... Sister Huaisu, why are you in such a hurry? Mr. Chu is such a composed person..."

Ji Huaisu recalled the process of someone being forcibly kissed, and thought about the inexplicably frequent interactions between him and the female demon, as well as Qingxia's "staring" gaze, which made her even more convinced of the correctness of her sense of crisis.

"So you don't understand, Xiaoye. That's a real threat!"

"I feel inexplicably angry. Were you underestimating me just now?" Qingye said.

Ji Huaisu grinned: "How could that be? Our sisterly bond is stronger than gold! Now hurry up and chase after her with me!"

"Sisterhood for great tools!"

The newcomers hadn't been there long before they left noisily. Silar looked up at Chongming and smiled, "Commander Chongming, these new team members are all very energetic."

Chongming shrugged and said sarcastically, "The most youthful class ever!"

·

Qingxia pulled Chu Hengkong, weaving left and right, and in just a few steps they were far away from the training ground where the soldiers were gathered, and arrived at the residential area with rows of tall houses.

The settlement's architecture is uniform, consisting mostly of earthen houses built from plants and animal bones. Each house is narrow and tall, all because the terrain is exceptionally uneven, with layers of land rising and falling like irregular steps. Since each "step" is not very large, people have to build their houses narrower; sometimes, the top floor of a house on a lower elevation only reaches the threshold of a house on a higher elevation.

Qingxia leaped and bounded like a deer, moving nimbly between the steps. The children in the village greeted her excitedly: "Commander!" "You're back!" "Please have some fruit!" "Please have some dried meat!"

"Good~"

Qingxia responded lazily, taking the various fruits and snacks and tossing them into her mouth. Chu Hengkong tried hard to resist the urge to speak, thinking that this scene was like feeding a large animal.

She walked so fast that the children had to run to keep up. Qingxia didn't slow down, and the children balanced food on their heads to run faster.

A little boy wearing glasses was the fastest, barely catching up to Qingxia's forelegs. He tossed up a ham: "Commander! Now that you're back, what happened to the enemy?"

"It's dead~" Qingxia ate the ham in one bite.

"Great!" the children shouted excitedly. "Wasn't his death horribly tragic?!"

"It's so tragic."

"Has he suffered terribly?" another little girl asked anxiously. "Is he filled with remorse?"

"Yes, I think he suffered terribly before he died."

"Good!" "Good riddance!" "As expected of our knight!" "Lady Qingxia is amazing!"

The children dispersed, satisfied, shrieking as they went. Chu Hengkong's expression was strange. These children were shouting about death and killing so naturally, just like ordinary children discussing a game. Even orphans in war zones wouldn't act like this.

He tapped Qingxia's horse: "The children have such strong martial spirit..."

Before Qingxia could reply, the little girl who had asked the question earlier angrily kicked him: "Stop! Outsider! How can you be so rude to a knight!"

Chu Hengkong was taken aback, but did not argue or let her kick him.

"You call her a knight?"

"What?! You don't even know that?!" The little girl exclaimed in surprise. "Lord Qingxia is the only 'Discipline Knight' remaining in the Despair Wilderness!"

"?" "?!"

Chu Hengkong stared in disbelief. Not far behind, Ji Huaisu, who had just caught up, froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning. She grabbed a middle-aged soldier maintaining order, pointed at Qingxia with wide eyes, and exclaimed, "She, a knight? She?!"

The warrior nodded repeatedly, completely understanding: "I understand your shock all too well. After all, the knights have been gone for countless centuries... but this is absolutely true, Lady Qingxia is the last remaining knight in this world. Her strength and bravery are perfectly aligned with the sacred image passed down through generations in the settlement!"

The warrior proudly raised his spear, pointing it towards the back of the many bone houses, to a "wooden wall" formed by the intertwining of various plants. The branches of varying shades twisted and wove, "embroidering" various heretical images on the wall.

A centaur-like knight statue stood before the army of heretics, wielding a heavy lance and displaying extraordinary bravery. Behind him stood small winged figures, holding long swords, seemingly priests assisting the knight.

The painting features red flowers adorning the knight's helmet, and a long, blood-red tuft of hair... exactly like Kiyoshi during battle!

"Oh, Lord Qingxia..." the warrior clasped his hands in reverence, "No one knows how noble you are..."

"No, no, no, that's not right! That's not right!" Ji Huaisu cried out in despair, "She's the last knight, so what am I?"

Qingye ate a few more pieces of jerky, her cheeks round from being stuffed with too much food: "I'm probably an elemental servant. The one responsible for warming the knight lady's bed."

"Something's clearly wrong here!!"

Chu Hengkong picked at his ear, trying to ignore the idiotic conversation coming from behind him. The little girl from before hadn't left yet; she was also wearing bone armor and a wooden helmet, looking like a miniature settlement warrior.

She missed her kick and couldn't catch up with the two of them. She hurriedly caught up and asked Qingxia, "Sir Knight... why did you send people from outside here..."

Qingxia looked down at her: "Vita, don't you like the newcomers?"

“How could I possibly like them!” Vita exclaimed, “Outsiders are all murderers! Last time was…”

"Yes, yes, I understand." Qingxia shook her head. "You will indeed be unhappy. But this is a decision made by everyone, and you are not strong enough to express your opinion on everyone's decision yet."

Vita immediately fell silent, a silence born of knowing she was in the wrong. Qingxia picked up the little girl, whose face was full of grievance, and laughed, "Come and give your opinion when you become a 'warrior'~"

She tossed Vita into the air, and the little girl landed on a giant mushroom about ten meters away, bouncing around on its trampoline-like canopy. She shouted angrily, "I will! It'll be my turn next time, and I'll definitely succeed!"

"Go go go!"

Qingxia strolled away leisurely, and Chu Hengkong frowned: "Don't treat children like that."

“There’s no distinction between adults and children here,” Qingxia said. “Besides, Vita is much more capable than the kids outside.”

What she said was true. Vita's physique was far stronger than that of adults in the outside world, and that kick she delivered earlier was a foreign martial art, not pure brute force. In Dragon City, someone like her would be a full-fledged member of the Resurrection Force, while she was just a child in the settlement.

“I observed many people when I was in Jinye City. I didn’t expect the children outside to be so weak! How could children like that survive? The wilderness really is a terrible place.” Qingxia tilted her head. “Were you like that when you were a child?”

“I was a cut above Vita when I was this age.” Chu Hengkong didn’t want to elaborate. “What do you want to do with me?”

"There's something I'd like to ask you for help with," Qingxia said softly, looking down. "Do you see that red-roofed house?"

Qingxia's ears twitched, and following her pointed ears, she could see a red-roofed house. The house was located on the highest "staircase" in the settlement, far from the center, and looked more like a lonely watchtower than a residential house.

Near that house, he also saw a building that clashed with the overall style of the settlement. But before he could investigate further, Qingxia was already giving him instructions.

"That's my home." Qingxia breathed into his ear. "Come over alone tonight. Please~"

"Hey you--"

Chu Hengkong covered his ears, about to argue, when Qingxia raised her head. She turned around with a smile, looked at Ji Huaisu who had caught up, and spoke first.

"Alright~ The preparations are almost complete, let's go start the banquet!"

Chapter 182 Don't Underestimate Comedy Characters

In less than half an hour, the settlement warriors had made all the necessary preparations. They laid out "picnic blankets" woven from animal hides at the foot of the bare tree to create a banquet area. Various fruits and vegetables served in earthenware bowls and plates were the first to be served, followed by appetizers such as cured meat, dried insects, and semi-liquid "cakes" made from plant root powder.

The banquet was small, attended only by Chongming, Silar, Qingxia, and the other outsiders. After everyone had entered, the main course was served. Two adult warriors carried in a whole roasted "blind bird," which was about the size of a person and had four wings. It needed to be pierced through with a wooden stick from end to end to be cooked.

The warriors carried the meat on small knives, while the best wings were given to the four members who had personally participated in the battle against Vaklo. Chu Hengkong and Ji Huaisu received two extra hind legs because they had participated in the battle against the Fallen Souls. After the best meat was distributed, they gave the breast meat to Silar and Chongming. Then they carefully chopped the blind-feathered bird and placed it on several large platters for the guests to take.

"It smells pretty good..." Ji Huaisu muttered softly.

Chu Hengkong took a bite of the bird's leg, his first bite consisting entirely of crispy, charred skin. The bird was quite large, and its skin was much thicker than that of ordinary poultry. The soldiers had marinated it inside and out with spices beforehand, allowing the flavors to penetrate the skin. With each bite, the oil and aroma burst in your mouth, like eating thick-cut potato chips made with chicken fat.

He quickly ate his second and third bites. The meat of the blind bird was tough, with a distinctive gamey smell, far inferior to the skin, but definitely several times more delicious than sandworm meat. After wandering for so long, being able to eat such a meal was a true blessing.

The aroma of meat wafted through the air as it was torn apart, and everyone was so engrossed in eating that they forgot to talk for a moment. Chu Hengkong's pocket twitched, and the demon in the eye, awakened by the sight of meat, exclaimed, "Wow! What are you eating? Give me some, give me some!"

As soon as it came out, it was met with angry stares from everyone. Chu Hengkong shoved it back in with one hand: "You, have no, right."

Van Der protested loudly, "Why should I! I've rendered meritorious service by defeating the Soul-Shattering Demon, I've shed blood by fighting the Immortal Machine! I want to sit at the table, I want to eat!"

Van der finally got a wingtip (twice as big as him), and he pounced on the golden bird skin, sucking away happily, like a silver parasite on a pile of fat.

After observing for a while, Silar quietly spoke to Qingxia: "What kind of demon is that?"

"Grandpa, are you seeing things? That's not a demon, it's an eye demon," Qingxia said in her normal voice.

Slar hit his granddaughter on the forehead with a piece of fruit: "Idiot. Keep your voice down!"

Qingxia switched to a very soft voice: "Grandpa, have you forgotten you're hard of hearing again? Can't you hear me when I speak softly?"

Grandpa Slar twitched his rabbit-like ears and glared with wide eyes: "What did you say?! Speak louder!"

“You’re sitting so far away, even we old folks can’t hear you clearly…” Ji Huaisu’s lips twitched.

Miss Centaur sat alone at the edge of the hall, far from the others, looking like a socially awkward person who wished she could just retreat to her own home for a meal. She strolled over to the others: "The Holy Pillars are especially strict with us knights, so I can't sit this close~"

"What does 'strict' mean?" Qingye asked.

"Well... to be specific, it's difficulty breathing, slowed thinking, and weakened vital functions..."

Qingxia reached out and touched the pillar of light, and her fingertips burst into flames.

"Then if you touch it, it will suddenly burst into flames," she said.

"This is clearly not a matter of being strict or not! The Holy Pillar looks like he wants to kill you! Seriously, the fire's already burning your arm, stop grinning like an idiot and put it out!!" Qingye screamed.

The old man was also getting impatient: "We'll perform the acrobatics after the banquet!"

"No way, old man, this isn't just a matter of occasion! It's really burning! It's even smelling burnt!" Van der exclaimed in shock.

Ji Huaisu quickly splashed a ball of ice water, barely managing to extinguish Qingxia's anger. Qingxia blew on it a couple of times, and her burned skin immediately healed completely. She sat down next to Chu Hengkong, holding her bowl, and casually tossed some dried insects she didn't like into Ji Huaisu's bowl, saying, "Grandpa, shouldn't we get down to business?"

Slar stroked his beard and laughed at everyone, "Haha, please don't mind! The Holy Pillar is extremely strict with itself, so you should all be able to touch it normally."

“No, who would dare touch it? I would never touch that piece of junk,” Van der said.

Slar remained unfazed, raising his wooden goblet: "Let's get back to the point... Today is truly a wonderful day, with so many things to celebrate. Let me confirm one more time: Does everyone here possess the will to fight against fear?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Slar laughed heartily, raising his glass: "Although it would be presumptuous of me to say this... please allow me to welcome you all to the 'Allied Forces'!"

People clinked glasses and drank the fruit wine in one gulp. Chu Hengkong put down his glass and asked, "Were you also a member of the 'Allied Forces' back then?"

"This isn't a matter of belonging to just one or two people, like me or Qingxia. Did Qingxia just show you all the knight's icon?"

Ji Huaisu's expression was quite interesting. Qingye replied for her: "I've seen it. It's very beautiful."

“That icon depicts the history of the Allied forces saving the ancestors of the settlement during the Great War,” Slar said proudly. “Before the Great War, the battle settlement ‘Volcaso’ was a dusty island dominated by demons. But the knights led the Allied forces to sweep away the heretics, restore our ancestors’ freedom, and left behind the great holy pillar to protect us from the invasion of the heretics.”

"To repay this kindness, our ancestors joined the Allied Forces and fought alongside the knights. Those unable to participate in the battles used the passages between the Dust Isles to supply the Allied fortress 'Halvira' from the rear. There were many, many small Dust Isles like ours during the Great War... We all received the Allied Forces' kindness and volunteered to contribute to the war. In a broad sense, we are all part of the Allied Forces."