Chapter 3: Defeat (Part 2)

Qian Rongyao followed closely behind, also carrying two unconscious professionals in his arms.
Sixty or seventy more professionals were desperately running toward the entrance of the valley. As Guo Shier released the professional he was holding, he heard continuous screams.
Qian Rongyao’s body trembled slightly as he stared red-eyed at the valley entrance, watching helplessly as those professionals were killed one by one by the mutants.
At that moment, dozens of Great Saints flew in from the other end of the canyon. The mutants tried to retreat, but it was too late. After a frenzied massacre, all of them were killed at the entrance of the canyon.
Qian Rongyao exhaled deeply and said angrily, “Damn it… They timed it perfectly!” His voice was soft, but Guo Shier heard it clearly.
Guo Shier saw a mutant try to rush toward the exit of the canyon, but its movements slowed down as if it had suddenly fallen into mud, before being killed with a single slash from behind by a Great Saint. He realized that this canyon must be controlled by some kind of secret realm rule.
Qian Rongyao looked at his team with a bitter smile. Out of nearly two thousand people who had set out, at least a hundred had died, and many more were seriously injured. The exact number of casualties hadn’t yet been counted. He knew this patrol had suffered heavy losses.
The Great Saints didn’t even glance at them; they were busy refining Soul Beads and collecting eyeballs, leaving the rest behind in the canyon.
Suddenly, many fist-sized dark-colored symbolic worms appeared in the sky and swooped down, quickly devouring the corpses on the ground until only bones remained.
The Great Saints quickly returned the way they came.
Qian Rongyao said with a bitter smile, “A few months ago, it was rare to encounter even one mutant. Now, there are seven or eight, or even a dozen of them at every turn. If this continues, our entire team will be wiped out soon.”
Standing beside him, Guo Shier asked, “Why did those Great Saints appear only at the end?”
Qian Rongyao replied, “In the canyon, mutants can disappear at any moment, making it difficult to chase them… Sigh, we’re just bait. As long as we lure the mutants to the entrance of the canyon, they can’t escape! As you saw, this canyon acts like a transit point. Mutants often pass through here, and during that transition, there’s a timing gap. When they encounter us… of course, they won’t let us go.”
Guo Shier felt chilled and said, “Then there’s no need to use so many people as bait!”

Qian Rongyao smiled bitterly and said, “If there are few of us, we can only attract a small number of mutants to chase after us. If we want to draw them all here, we need to deploy a large number of mid- and low-level professionals so that they will pursue us relentlessly.”
Yu Lan walked over and said, “Thank you.” She bowed solemnly to express her gratitude. Guo Shier said, “You should thank Uncle Eagle Demon; he’s the one who helped you.”
Eagle Demon glanced at Yu Lan, his face turning slightly red. He turned away, unwilling to accept her thanks.
Guo Shier wondered to himself why Uncle Eagle Demon’s face had turned red. Both of them seemed a bit odd.
Hu Chen was supported by two of his subordinates as he walked over, his face pale. He had suffered severe injuries this time; many in his squadron had died or been hurt, and he himself had almost perished. If not for Guo Shier’s timely rescue, he would have died in the canyon. Grateful for this life-saving act, he came specially to express his thanks.
Hu Chen said, “Captain Guo…” He paused briefly before adding, “You saved my life.”
Guo Shier replied, “I told you already. You still owe me ten thousand points. How could I just watch you die? If you died, I’d suffer a huge loss.”
A faint smile appeared on Hu Chen’s pale face as he nodded and said, “I won’t default on my debt. I, Hu Chen, may have a bad temper… but I’ve made a friend like you!”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Go take care of your teammates.”
A look of gratitude flashed in Hu Chen’s eyes. He nodded and left, supported by his two teammates.
By eliminating a potential enemy, Guo Shier felt a little more relieved. The bloody scene earlier had unsettled him. Although he had also risen from a sea of corpses in his past life, the battles here were completely different, especially the way the mutants killed—tearing their opponents apart, making it even more brutal and bloody.
Qian Rongyao asked, “Captain Guo, how many casualties did your squadron suffer?”
Guo Shier replied, “Lord Qian, we were positioned further back, so… none of us were hurt. We all managed to escape.”
Qian Rongyao hadn’t noticed the Tenth Squadron at all. Hearing this, he was stunned and asked, “Did you not encounter any mutants?”
Guo Shier said, “We encountered three. We killed them and then retreated.”
The squadron leaders gathered around Qian Rongyao all showed expressions of disbelief. Qian Rongyao exclaimed in surprise, “How is that possible? Three mutants could have wiped out an entire squadron. How did you kill them? And not lose a single one? By the way, did you extract their eyeballs?”

Guo Shier also remained silent. With a twist of his wrist, six ruby-like eyeballs appeared in his hand. The mutated beings’ eyeballs were originally as big as muskmelons, but after being removed, they had shrunk to the size of eggs. These were proof of killing the mutated beings and also precious materials—known as Red-Eyed Pupils.

The six Red-Eyed Pupils left everyone in awe.

Killing three mutated beings silently, with not a single member of the team injured—this was utterly unbelievable. Everyone present had fought against mutated beings and knew they were not easy to deal with. Mutated beings were far smarter than mutated beast beasts, stronger, with thick skin and a fearless attitude toward death.

Qian Yiming, the captain of the First Squad, sighed and said, “You should be the captain of the First Squad. How did you do this?” This was the question on every captain’s mind. It was hard for them to believe that a high-level Saint Master, even with an intermediate Saint Master as an assistant and a poorly equipped team, could kill three mutated beings without a single injury. As Qian Rongyao had said, how was this possible?

Guo Shier replied calmly, “It’s simple—using the power of talisman arrays.”

Qian Rongyao didn’t believe it at all. “There’s no time to set up an array… Forming a talisman array takes time. When encountering mutated beings, you simply don’t have time to set one up—they’re fast.”

Guo Shier said, “Use people as talismans.”

Everyone was stunned; no one had thought of that. After a long pause, Qian Rongyao said, “Talisman arrays require precise positioning and the correct flow of runes. Using people as talismans isn’t impossible, but if even one person’s position is wrong, the entire array fails…” He suddenly remembered the neatly arranged team of the Tenth Squad and realized what Guo Shier meant, his face showing shock.

The other captains weren’t stupid either; they immediately understood why Guo Shier trained his team.

Qian Rongyao asked, “Has your team’s training been successful?”

Guo Shier replied, “They’ve only mastered two simple talisman arrays. More training is needed!”

Qian Rongyao said, “Did everyone hear that? When you go back, start training immediately! No matter what methods you use, you must form talisman arrays like the Tenth Squad!” He said this through gritted teeth. The hundreds of professionals lost in this patrol filled him with deep sorrow.

A few captains bowed and replied, “Yes, Lord Qian!”

Professionals have talismans for healing, so as long as the injuries aren’t too severe, they can usually recover quickly—at most, they may drop in rank and see a decline in strength. If the injuries are severe, such as being disemboweled or hit hard on the head, survival is very difficult. Soon, all squadrons gathered, and the number of casualties was reported.

Qian Rongyao’s expression turned icy cold—the casualty count amounted to as high as 110 people, almost losing an entire squad. This was the biggest loss in recent years.

If it weren’t for Guo Shier’s Giant Nest Dragon, the death toll would likely have been even higher. The Giant Nest Dragon rescued nearly 200 people at once. Qian Rongyao realized he had underestimated Guo Shier; this man must be a direct disciple of some major sect, extremely powerful.

After bidding farewell to Eagle Demon, Guo Shier returned to his own team.

Through this battle, Guo Shier gained great prestige within his squadron. His leadership ensured that not a single member was hurt, earning him the respect of all team members. Having such a captain was a fortune for them.

This patrol mission was completed, and it was now the turn of another unit to patrol, allowing them some time to rest.

Back at Zhaomo Yuan, everyone boarded flying vehicles and returned to the camp late at night.

After dispersing the team, Guo Shier and Eagle Demon went back to the talisman house. They sat in the living room, silently eating dried food. Guo Shier had no mood to prepare talisman food; he simply filled his stomach. With a sigh, he said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, what should we do?” After arriving at Broken Bone Gorge, Guo Shier realized it would be extremely difficult to escape, and he didn’t know what to do for a while.

Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Aren’t you always full of ideas? Why can’t you figure something out this time?” He couldn’t help but tease him. Guo Shier had always acted like an adult since childhood, his behavior and speech not resembling those of a child at all. Now that he had grown up, he seemed lost instead.

Guo Shier gave a bitter smile and said, “The Gu Xi Long family is truly formidable. They don’t use slave talismans but instead use their strength to subdue others, leaving no chance to exploit them. Heh, although I know there must be an opportunity, until we find it, we must have the ability to protect ourselves… Look at how ferocious those mutants are. They’re just mutants; the transformed ones haven’t appeared yet. The transformed ones might be able to fight professionals with Void Form Altars… We’re no match at all. We probably don’t even have a chance to escape.”

Eagle Demon said, “Shier, you’re too anxious.”

Guo Shier shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “Yes, I’m too anxious. The old man hasn’t been found, and I’m stuck here.”

Eagle Demon said with a smile, “Relax a bit. Maybe we can advance quickly here…”
Guo Shier said, “It’s not that easy. This isn’t a bloody secret realm. There are soul threads for you… uh…” He suddenly remembered something very important.
Seeing the surprised expression on Guo Shier’s face, Eagle Demon couldn’t help asking, “What’s wrong?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Maybe there really is a way to advance quickly! If I’m right, we’re in luck!” He gestured excitedly, unable to hide his joy.
Eagle Demon urged, “What is it? Tell me quickly!”