"Everyone, you mean you want the Spirit Maiden to lead the way from start to finish, facing any danger alone?"
"How can you all call yourselves gentlemen!"
"Let me ask you again, if you don't contribute anything to the mission, why should you be rewarded?"
Seeing Duguling remain silent, Ye Cangtian stepped forward and spoke with great disdain.
Everyone knew he was from the Hidden Group. Those with keen observation could also tell that his mission was to protect Duguling.
Therefore, he had revealed his hand and no longer needed to hide himself.
Coincidentally, Duguling still had reservations about him. This was an opportunity to show his goodwill.
Indeed, after his words, Duguling looked at him much more favorably.
At least at this moment, Ye Cangtian was the first to stand up for her!
On the other side.
The surrounding burly men flushed with embarrassment at Ye Cangtian's words.
To be honest, most of them did want Duguling to bear the brunt of everything. Until a life-or-death situation, no one wanted to act, hoping to gain benefits and contribution points for nothing.
But now, with Ye Cangtian's statement, this thought was clearly impossible, as no one would let them profit for free.
Because of this, they harbored resentment towards Ye Cangtian.
After all, in their minds, Duguling was a naive and sweet girl. If Ye Cangtian hadn't mentioned it, the matter would have been settled.
But now, Ye Cangtian had essentially disrupted their plan.
"Hmph! You speak so eloquently! Why don't you go scout the way?"
Finally, one of the burly men couldn't stand it any longer, stood up, pointed at Ye Cangtian, and shouted.
Ye Cangtian glanced at the man, scoffed contemptuously, and said, "If I scout the way and become overly exhausted, who will deal with the powerful enemies we encounter afterward?"
"..."
With just one sentence, the burly man was rendered speechless, as if choked.
Everyone knew that in scouting missions, unless it was a perilous area, the danger level in mountainous regions like this wasn't too high.
The real dangers were usually found in the hidden realms within the mountains.
This area was unexplored. If there were no hidden realms, everything would be manageable. Even if some dangers arose, the group could overcome them.
But if there were hidden realms, it would be difficult. Without powerful individuals to anchor them, they would have no choice but to abandon the hidden realms.
After all, most people's strength was around the Yellow level, and they dared not take too much risk.
But if that were the case, they would have to forget about the treasures within the hidden realms, and they would never be content!
"Then tell me, who should go scout the way?"
The burly man, having thought of many things, glanced at Ye Cangtian and tossed the problem back to him.
Everyone's strength was roughly the same. It made no difference who scouted the way, but who was willing to go?
If Ye Cangtian made this decision, he would further offend people!
Ye Cangtian himself had also considered these points.
"It's simple. Five people per group, taking turns to scout. Each group scouts for two hours. What do you think, Spirit Maiden?"
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly and made his suggestion, then turned to look at Duguling as if seeking her consent.
Heh, this coward is quite considerate!
Duguling glanced at Ye Cangtian with appreciation and nodded very seriously, "I think this method is good! In that case, everyone form your own teams, then register with me, and then scout according to the order of registration."
With her words, everyone exchanged glances. They had no reason to refuse.
They immediately began to act, forming alliances and looking for the experts they deemed worthy.
As soon as a group of five was formed, they would immediately register with Duguling.
After all, scouting was done in order. The outer areas of the mountains would definitely be less dangerous, and the deeper they went, the more dangerous it would become.
After over half an hour of team formation, a total of twenty-one groups were formed. The remaining three were Ye Cangtian, Cang Lang, and Duguling.
As for Ye Cangtian and Duguling, everyone considered them absolute experts.
As for Cang Lang, some people had actually approached him to form a team, but he had coldly refused. Later, when everyone else had found a team, he was left behind like this.
Thus, the group finally began their exploration of the mountain forest.
For the first few hours, everything was peaceful. There were no significant dangers, not even a single wild beast.
Only the surrounding miasma obscured their vision.
However, during the seventh hour of their exploration, screams erupted from the five-person scouting team ahead.
Everyone immediately stopped, becoming extremely vigilant.
"What are you dawdling for? Follow this Maiden to save them!"
Duguling's expression turned exceptionally grim. With her teammates' lives uncertain, these people were only concerned about themselves, and no one went to their rescue. This lack of unity was truly infuriating.
Yet, even so, the surrounding large group remained highly cautious, moving at a snail's pace. No one paid any attention to Duguling.
In the face of danger and life itself, what was Duguling?
In their eyes, she was just an inexperienced rookie. Who would truly entrust their lives to her?
To put it another way, even if they wanted to curry favor with the power behind Duguling, they first had to stay alive!
"You! You all..."
Duguling was on the verge of tears. Who knew leading a mission was so difficult!
These people weren't cooperating with her at all. If it continued like this, how could the mission proceed? It would be better to just declare the mission a failure and return.
It was only then that she truly understood human selfishness.
"Hmph! You all better think carefully!"
"Scouting is done in turns, and the deeper we go, the more dangerous it becomes. For your own lives, it's better for you to be united!"
Just then, Ye Cangtian let out a cold snort. Though his voice wasn't loud, it was enough to carry everywhere, ensuring everyone could hear.
With his words, everyone was moved. They then drew their weapons and charged forward.
Although they were unwilling to take risks, everyone was worried about facing a similar situation themselves. Therefore, this was also for their own safety.
"Coward, you're quite clever!"
Seeing everyone charge forward, Duguling came up to Ye Cangtian and praised him.
Twice in a row, Ye Cangtian had helped her out of a difficult situation, and she was naturally grateful.
Furthermore, he could get to the point with just a few words and make these selfish people obey, which was something she couldn't achieve.
"Heh, if you want to command them, you need to understand what they are thinking," Ye Cangtian said with a smile.
"This Maiden knows!"
Duguling rolled her eyes at Ye Cangtian, displeased with his lecturing tone, and then quickened her pace.
Seeing Duguling's attitude, Ye Cangtian muttered to himself. He was kindly offering advice, but she didn't appreciate it. She was truly difficult to serve.
Thinking this, he glanced at Cang Lang beside him, "Everyone has gone ahead, why aren't you moving?"
To be honest, Ye Cangtian remained vigilant of him at all times.
The fact that Cang Lang was the first to join Duguling's team, seemingly to support her, but remained silent when Duguling was previously cornered, made Ye Cangtian harbor suspicions.
"Mind your own business!"
Cang Lang's expression remained cold. He then stopped paying attention and followed, though his pace was not fast. It seemed as if he completely disregarded the lives of those people.
Heh, it's best if I don't discover your intentions.
Looking at Cang Lang's retreating figure, Ye Cangtian muttered to himself and quickened his pace.
The distance of over a hundred meters was covered in an instant.
By the time Ye Cangtian arrived, tragedy had already struck. Two members of the five-person scouting team had been pierced like sieves by a tree demon, dying tragically before their eyes.
The remaining three were joining forces with the arriving main group, fending off the tree demon while simultaneously dealing with over a dozen giant lizards.
These giant lizards were enormous.
Each was over ten meters long. Merely their posture raised them two to three meters high. Their limbs were strong and powerful, and their scales were as hard as steel.
Even with a team of over a hundred people, they were helpless against them.
Ordinary weapons could at best scratch their scales, and with their low strength, the damage inflicted was truly meager.
Under the assistance of the tree demon, a single swipe from these giant lizards could severely injure a person.
Within a few minutes, over a dozen people had fallen to the ground, moaning in agony.