Decaying World

Chapter 42 042 Strength II

The Mist Barbarians are often thought to be former humans who were corrupted by the mist, but after killing a few, Lin Hui found this to be nonsense, because he discovered strange characters carved on the equipment of these Mist Barbarians.

This is a completely new and special script, but it seems to be incomplete due to its age.

But such traces are enough to prove that these monsters are some kind of non-human race.

These once intelligent beings are now reduced to nothing but killing instincts, turning into harmless monsters.

However, this four-armed creature in front of us might already be approaching the level of intrusion.
Roar! !

Just then, the four-armed barbarian suddenly accelerated, took a step, and charged forward like a heavy rhinoceros, savagely crashing into Lin Hui.

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The other direction is far away.

In the misty air, two blurry figures gradually emerged in front of Mingde's wooden cabin.

The figures slowly approached and became clear; they were the two people Lin Hui had encountered before entering—one old and one young.

"Teacher, there's a makeshift safe house up ahead, probably built by hunters from the neighborhood. Shall we go in and rest for a bit?"

The cold-faced woman glanced at the wooden house and asked for permission in a low voice.

The old man carefully observed the footprints on the ground around him.

"Sure, the only martial arts school around here is Qingfeng Temple. They must have built it. We can go in and rest for a bit, and also replenish our supplies."

These temporary safe houses are generally used by hunters in foggy areas, serving as a form of mutual assistance among humans.

However, after borrowing the supplies, the hunters must replenish the used resources so that the next group can use them; this is an unspoken agreement among the hunters.

"Okay." The woman nodded.

The two had just killed more than ten unicorn spiders along the way and were somewhat tired, so they went inside to rest.

Soon, the two women crossed the courtyard and arrived at the wooden house, opening the wooden door.

The sight they saw at first glance stunned them.

It was a large bag of almost overflowing black crystalline substance. At a glance, there were at least thirty pieces inside the bag!
"So many black crystalline substances?! Who hunted them and temporarily stored them here?!" The old man's face lit up with joy, and he quickly looked around. He gripped Ningxiang tightly in his hand.

The young woman Wan'er standing to the side was also stunned.

Her goal in this hunt is to collect enough monster materials as proof of her lineage, so that she can stand out from her many brothers and sisters and gain a higher ranking and inheritance rights.

This time, the family moved from Xingdao and occupied more and larger fields and shops. The collateral branches, who were not originally entitled to a share of the property, were now entitled to compete for some of the shops.

This competition uses monster materials as evidence to determine the quantity of each team's strength.

This competition is not limited to one's own strength, but is a contest of total financial and human resources.

The only condition is that the time spent hunting monster materials cannot be too long; they must be hunted within two hours to be considered as proof.

Upon seeing so many black lenses, Wan'er's eyes trembled.

She had practiced her family's martial arts for over ten years, and even if she brought her grandmother along, it would be unlikely that the two of them could find so many materials in two hours.

This isn't just a matter of martial arts skill; it's also because their hunting efficiency wasn't fast enough. "It must have been done by skilled hunters from Qingfeng Temple. They excel at speed; judging by the luster of these crystals, they were almost all dug up within an hour." Grandma stepped forward and gently examined a crystal with her cane.

"Qingfeng Temple, is that the Tu Yue Martial Arts School that was defeated by Song Zhanlong of the Black Dragon Gate?" Wan'er asked, her eyes narrowed, a hint of calculation in them.

"Hmm. What? You have an idea?" Grandma looked at Wan'er.

"What is the value of these crystals?" Wan'er asked softly.

"It'll be around thirty pieces, including two rare ones, which will cost around 100,000 coins. Just take them; that way, you'll be much faster than the others." Grandma smiled, guessing what the other person meant.

"Ten thousand coins is a lot, but it's not worth it," Wan'er shook her head.

"What's not worth it? Qingfeng Temple is just a bunch of small fry. Even if they know we took it, so what? They're overjoyed. They can't even handle Black Dragon Gate, do you think they'd dare cause any trouble?" Grandma sneered. "Besides, every penny you spend now should be spent wisely, all of it should be used to buy fresh monster materials to boost your grades. Do you really want to save money for buying them?"

"That's true." Wan'er sighed and nodded.

Immediately, the two quickly put the crystals back into the bag, tied it up, and Grandma carried it away from the wooden house, disappearing back into the mist.

About twelve minutes after the two left.

Lin Hui emerged from the mist, carrying a thick, black horn-like object the size of a palm, and silently returned to the front of the wooden house.

"Hmm? Someone's been here?"

He looked down and saw two fresh footprints on the ground. He squatted down and identified them using the simple identification method taught by his teacher.

"They hadn't been gone long. They were either two women or children. Children couldn't possibly enter this foggy area, so it must have been women."

Standing up, Lin Hui picked up the materials and opened the door.

With a soft creak, the leather bag that had just been full of crystals vanished without a trace from the floor of the room.
Lin Hui's expression changed.

He had actually been worried about this for a while. Before, there were teachers watching over the materials, so he wasn't worried about them being lost. But now that he was acting on his own, problems inevitably arose.

Stepping out of the wooden house, he gazed at the gray fog outside, his face ashen.

He hadn't learned tracking techniques, and even his teacher was only a dabbler. They were okay at recognizing simple footprints, but completely useless for tracking people.

He's clearly going to have to swallow this bitter pill this time.

'The thief must be long gone. It seems next time I'll have to find a hidden, safe place to store the materials, or find a partner to watch over them.'

Lin Hui suppressed his displeasure, picked up the materials about the four-armed barbarian, and with no hope left, quickly used his movement technique to search for the thief around the wooden house.

It expanded in circles, constantly widening its range.

It would have been better if we hadn't looked. But as soon as we started looking, we discovered two sets of fresh footprints about two hundred meters to the northwest of the cabin.

Following the footprints, Lin Hui slowed down a few minutes later, focusing his gaze ahead. A large, misty cavity suddenly appeared ahead—a safe zone created by Ning Xiang's burning incense to disperse the mist.

This also means that someone ahead is lighting incense.

He spotted the two people, and they spotted him at the same time.

Both of them stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

Lin Hui immediately noticed the leather bags the two women were carrying, which were exactly the same as the bag he had made to store the black lens.

"Where did you two get those bags from?" He stopped and asked in a deep voice.

"People from Qingfeng Temple?" Grandma reached out to stop Wan'er from speaking and spoke first.

"You two should answer my question first," Lin Hui said cautiously. Although his strength had greatly increased, how many weaklings were actually allowed to hunt in the fog zone?
So it's never wrong to be cautious. What if the other person just happens to have a bag that looks exactly like the one you lost?

Let's make sure it's not a misunderstanding first.

“We borrowed this bag from a temporary wooden hut we just visited. Why are you asking this, young friend?” Grandma asked in return.

"Did those two see the more than thirty black crystals I put in the bag?" Lin Hui asked again.

"Crystals? These crystals are the result of our hard work hunting them. When we borrowed them before, this was an empty bag." Grandma smiled.

It's impossible for them to admit to stealing. This is a foggy area; let alone stealing someone's belongings, murder to cover it up happens all the time.

When asked if the other party was from Qingfeng Temple, the other party did not deny it, which confirmed Grandma's decision to force her to eat the bag of crystals.

Qingfeng Temple's movement techniques are fast, but their offensive power is too weak. Apart from being fast, they are really useless.

Previously, they were challenged by a single member of the Black Dragon Gate and quickly collapsed. If they couldn't even defeat the Black Dragon Gate, let alone the Wei family, who were even stronger than the Black Dragon Gate.

"Gentlemen, it's pointless to say such things." Lin Hui had now confirmed that the crystal in the bag was the one he had hunted before, and he immediately approached step by step.

"What a joke! Who can prove you shot these crystals? We clearly hunted them ourselves," Grandma sneered. "You brat from Qingfeng Temple, you need evidence to back up your words. You've already split into three groups, and you still haven't learned your lesson?"

“But I feel that it is mine,” Lin Hui said in a deep voice. “You two…”

"Is your master Mingchen, Mingxiu, or Mingde?" Grandma raised her voice. "Boy, think carefully about the consequences before you speak."

Lin Hui fell silent.

Looking at the bags in the two women's hands, he considered various possibilities, but finally sighed softly.

"Alright, perhaps I was wrong. I apologize."

He slowly retreated, quietly disappearing into the mist, completely gone.

After confirming that the person had left, the two women turned around and continued walking deeper into the fog.

"If we want to get into the top three, we need to hunt at least fifty more monsters for materials. Only then, with the money we spend on acquisitions, will we be able to barely guarantee a minimum," Grandma said in a deep voice.

“Yes, Grandma.” Wan’er nodded.

"The only dangerous place here is the Yanshan area. As long as we don't encounter any mutated individuals, we can handle the rest of the area easily. We need to speed things up now," Grandma urged.

The two continued walking in the direction they were in, but before long, they suddenly heard heavy footsteps ahead.

Thud, thud.

A four-armed barbarian roared in a low voice, wielding four huge wooden clubs and waving them wildly as he approached from the side and front.

This is a mutant, and its strength is far greater than that of a normal harmless barbarian.

"Be careful, this mutant is almost at the Intrusion level. I'll cover you, you try it first!" Grandma said in a deep voice.

"Alright." Wan'er gripped her twin swords tightly, took a few steps forward, and was about to make her move.

hiss.

Suddenly, a faint hissing sound came from behind the two of them.

As the voice appeared, it was yet another four-armed barbarian!
It seemed to be chasing something, bursting out of the mist and lunging at the two women.

"Watch out!" Grandma's expression changed slightly, and she whispered. "I'll handle this one behind, you handle the one in front!"

Before she could finish speaking, another four-armed barbarian roared and charged out from the right!
Roar! !

At the same time, a three-headed, four-armed barbarian pounced on the two from three directions.

This sudden and drastic change caused both women's expressions to change drastically, and their hearts sank slightly.

And some distance from where they were, on the branches of a tall, withered black tree.

Lin Hui squatted quietly, listening intently to the barbarian roars and the clash of blades coming from that direction.

This is a test, and also a trial.

If the two of them are truly capable of passing the test, then giving them a few crystals would be perfectly acceptable.

But if it cannot be passed
Lin Hui gently gripped the sword hilt, rubbing the rough, non-slip wrapping.

"Since you dare to threaten me to my face, and the entire Qingfeng Temple, you must be quite powerful."

"As an apology for misunderstanding you, I'll send you three gifts as compensation."

He looked up, listening to the sounds of the fight starting ahead.

If the other party can handle the apology, that's fine; if they can't...

(End of this chapter)