Chapter 10: Cooperation (Part 1)

Guo Shier said, “Alright, Fatty and Xuan Ai, get ready—try again! Xiao Lanzi, work with Uncle Eagle Demon. Don’t get too close; you can’t handle the Mad Lion.”
Lan Hu nodded, picking up a talisman bow to shoot from the side and draw the Mad Lion’s attention.
Eagle Demon, about 200 meters away from Guo Shier and the others, raised his hand and threw Sun Min’er away. He shouted, “Fly on your own…” With tremendous force, Sun Min’er shot out like a cannonball. The 200-meter distance was no problem at all—she flew right over Guo Shier and the others. Then came her scream, “Oh my god…” as she fell in a arc.
Boom!
Sun Min’er crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Peng Yuanwang happened to walk over and asked in confusion, “Weren’t you told to fly? How did you end up falling?”
If not for the Great Talisman Warrior’s extraordinary strength, Sun Min’er would have died from the impact.
Sun Min’er turned over with a grim expression, sat up shakily, caught his breath for a moment, then sighed deeply and said, “Wangwang… if you were caught while running and thrown into the air before you could even react, would you have time to activate your flight talisman? I almost died of fear… and I was supposed to be flying?”
Peng Yuanwang laughed heartily and said, “You deserve it! For trying to frame me!”
Sun Min’er held his head and asked, “Why would I frame you?”
Peng Yuanwang replied, “You lured the Mad Lion over—what else is that but framing me?”
Sun Min’er snapped, “I was just panicking! I didn’t even know where to run… How could I frame you? You idiot were just hiding over there watching—while I was still by the Mad Lion… cheering for them…” He felt too embarrassed to continue; it was truly shameful.
Peng Yuanwang also blushed and said, “Forget it. I don’t want to argue with you. Look at them!”
After throwing Sun Min’er, Eagle Demon had a talisman shield in his hand. As he neared Guo Shier and the others, he suddenly turned and charged at the Mad Lion, his roar echoing like thunder as it collided with the beast’s roar. He already knew the Mad Lion was much stronger than him, so he used tactics—instead of facing it head-on, he angled the shield slightly to the side.
Boom! The Mad Lion’s immense force was deflected by the shield, causing it to lose its balance and fall. Eagle Demon roared, “Attack!” He soared into the air and rushed toward Guo Shier’s group.

Xuan Ai had experienced panic once before, but this time he stayed calm. He shouted, “Sky Hammer!” A huge circular object descended from the sky—it seemed to be made of metal, covered densely with runes, and appeared very heavy. It crashed headlong at the Mad Lion.

Yang Qi activated his own life talisman book, and a series of triangles flew out, looking like a red centipede. They moved slightly in the air before, following his incantation, suddenly transforming into countless triangles that shot fiercely at the Mad Lion. The sound of those red triangles cutting through the air was deafening.

Guo Shier nodded secretly—this attack finally seemed proper.

The Mad Lion let out a terrified roar and lunged forward. With triangles spinning rapidly toward it, it had no choice but to act. The Sky Hammer plummeted down with a thunderous crash, shaking the ground. Following Xuan Ai’s incantation, the hammer rose immediately after hitting the ground and struck the Mad Lion again.

Thud! Thud! Thud…

The Mad Lion roared violently, a layer of golden light enveloping its body. The rapidly spinning triangles struck it but were repelled by the golden light. Then the Sky Hammer came again, crashing down with force. This time, the Mad Lion couldn’t dodge in time and was struck hard on its rear, followed by a pained cry. Due to the sheer weight of the impact, its lower back and leg bones shattered with a crack.

Yang Qi wore a bitter smile. His spinning triangles couldn’t break through the Mad Lion’s defense—clearly, the power of his runes wasn’t enough. As a junior grand talismanist, his attacks were far weaker than those of Xuan Ai, a mid-level grand talismanist.

The Mad Lion finally became terrified and tried desperately to escape, but it was too late. Just as it tried to flee, Eagle Demon used his talisman shield to knock it over. The Sky Hammer descended once more, hitting the massive lion’s head.

Grok!

Guo Shier couldn’t help shrinking back. That strike was too brutal. Even with the golden light protecting it, the Mad Lion was thrown around on the ground. Eagle Demon took advantage to strike repeatedly with his talisman shield, while the Mad Lion kept roaring. The Sky Hammer also struck in rhythm, knocking the Mad Lion unconscious after just a few blows.

Guo Shier shouted, “Uncle Eagle Demon, use my talisman dagger!” He threw a dagger—a talisman-etched dagger made from ancient beast teeth, obtained at the Beast Talisman Sect’s trade fair.

Eagle Demon caught the dagger with his hand and thrust it deep into the Mad Lion’s neck, slicing through its trachea in one motion. He then darted aside like lightning. The Mad Lion raised its head abruptly, swinging its thick front limbs forcefully. Its sharp claws sliced through the air, emitting a high-pitched tearing sound.

Guo Shieru was sweating profusely. This was why the Eagle Demon was so experienced—he dodged immediately after succeeding, otherwise it would be hard to avoid the dying strike of themad, wild, fierce, or fierce lion lion.
The Eagle Demon sighed and said, “You kids together aren’t even as good as Shieru. Your strength is way too weak.”
Guo Shieru said, “Alright, let’s start gathering materials now. I only need the skin of this mutatedmad, wild, fierce, or fierce lion lion; I don’t want anything else… The meat of themad, wild, fierce, or fierce lion lion will last us a month.”
Xuan Ai and Yang Qi started dismembering themad, wild, fierce, or fierce lion lion with enthusiasm—both of them loved this kind of work.
Guo Shieru walked up to Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang and asked, “Hu Zi, Wang Wang… are you two hurt?”
A hint of embarrassment appeared on their faces. Peng Yuanwang forced a smile and said, “It’s okay… we’re fine… Hehe, Min’er, what do you think?”
Sun Min’er replied, “Yeah, we’re fine… nothing wrong! Hehe!”
Guo Shieru said, “You’re both great talisman warriors. You should be at the front line in battle. If this continues, it will doom the entire squad… Think about it. If you still want to muddle along like this, then go and fend for yourselves.”
The Eagle Demon brought over a talisman dagger and said, “You two are such fools. What else can you do besides run?”
Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang turned red in the face. Guo Shieru said, “It’s fine to have weak strength, but if you lack the courage to fight, you won’t achieve much… Xiao Lanzi’s strength is about the same as yours, but she kept fighting against themad, wild, fierce, or fierce lion lion. You’re not even as good as a little girl! Yang Pangzi’s talismans are average, but he still dares to attack…”
The two were panicked. From Guo Shieru’s tone, it seemed he intended to abandon them. Sun Min’er swore, “Shieru, I… this is my first time fighting! Next time… next time, if I’m still like this, I’ll leave the team on my own without you having to say anything!”
Guo Shieru’s gaze shifted to Peng Yuanwang. Peng Yuanwang forced a smile and said, “I’m the same as Min’er!”
Guo Shieru said, “Good! You both know that in the Gray Mist Zone, there won’t be any advanced mutated talisman beasts, so we can still cope. But if we go to the Blood Mist Zone and the Black Mist Zone, with your current state, not only will you bring misfortune upon yourselves, but you’ll also drag everyone else down… What I need is the strength of a team, not just individual strength!”
Lan Hu walked over and said, “Shieru, give them one more chance.”

Guo Shier didn’t expect Lan Hu to plead for them. He said, “Xiao Lanzi, I’ll give them a chance. We won’t stay in the Gray Mist Area for long. Once we find enough food, we’ll head to the Blood Mist Area. Everyone needs to hurry up and train to improve our coordination.”

Now no one dared to underestimate Guo Shier. He hadn’t even had to lift a hand, yet he had already made these people completely submit. Da Hu’s Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang smiled, knowing they had passed this hurdle for now. Guo Shier said, “Rest today. We’ll continue luring the mutated talisman beasts tomorrow… There are so many of them here—it’s a great place to practice attack techniques. Once our team gets more coordinated, I think the food will be ready as well.”

Eagle Demon said, “Next time, I won’t intervene. Lan Hu will take command, and you two follow. The three of you need to find a way to block and entangle the mutated talisman beasts… Do you have the determination?”

Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang’s faces turned pale instantly. Even Lan Hu was shocked. The three of them just stared at Eagle Demon without saying a word.

Eagle Demon sighed and said, “Master-level… A great Talisman Warrior is extremely powerful. Why do you all look so incompetent? Can you do it?” He shouted the last three words, scaring the three of them into shouting, “Yes!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh, inwardly marveling that in the North Talisman Sect, every master-level professional was a skilled fighter. Even a junior master had extraordinary combat strength. But these so-called masters here seemed to be only theoretically skilled, with almost no real combat experience. No wonder the sects on the Advanced Continent sent their disciples here for trials—otherwise, they would be good for nothing.

Soon, Xuan Ai dragged over a wild lion skin and said, “Not bad. This time I obtained the essence of a level-four mutated wild lion. Hehe, here’s the skin for you…”

Guo Shier put away the wild lion skin and said, “Don’t throw away the wild lion’s bones. They can be used to make soup.” He now realized that these guys must have lived too comfortably at home and had no idea about the cruelty of the secret realm. In his opinion, these were all novice-level masters. Their strength might be greater than that of the Talisman Warriors from the North Talisman Sect, but in a fight, they might still not be able to defeat them.

Guo Shier laughed and said, “We’ll eat lion meat today, haha.”

Lan Hu looked worried and said, “I have no appetite for anything right now… Uncle Eagle Demon, should you take command instead?” She had no confidence at all.

Eagle Demon narrowed his eyes and said, “What?”

Lan Hu, frightened, kept saying, “I… I didn’t say anything… Ah, I’m a girl…”

The Eagle Demon said, “When Fat Yang and the others tried to rob you, did they stop because you’re a girl? When the mutated talisman beasts came to eat you, did they refrain because you’re a girl?”
Guo Shier said, “Xiao Lanzi, you’d better discuss with Hu Zi Wangwang how to coordinate, otherwise when we meet those mutated talisman beasts tomorrow, it’ll be a mess again.”