Free Web NovelChapter 222: Chapter 215: Conflict Intensifies
The camp suddenly fell silent.
There was only the sound of the wind and the people’s heavy, ragged breathing.
Six Corrupted Earth-Burrowing Beast corpses lay on the ground. Their black blood formed small pools that slowly seeped into the sand.
Ian walked over, pulled his Iron Sword from the last Corrupted Earth-Burrowing Beast’s corpse, and flicked the blood off the blade.
Then he turned to face the crowd.
Everyone was looking at him.
Their eyes held the relief of having survived, the shock of disbelief, and... a strange sense of awe.
This young man had single-handedly killed six Corrupted Earth-Burrowing Beasts.
And from the looks of it... he hadn’t even used his full strength.
Chen Scarface pushed away the subordinate supporting him and walked over, his expression grim.
He glanced at the corpses on the ground, then at Ian. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
Ian ignored him and walked to Li Yao’s side, patting the young boy’s shoulder.
"Good work."
Li Yao’s face flushed red. He lowered his head and said quietly, "I just... hit it once."
"Once was enough," Ian said.
He looked up at the short Guard who had been splashed with corrupted blood.
The man was still standing in the same spot, his face ashen, his eyes unfocused, and his body trembling slightly.
No one nearby noticed anything was wrong, assuming he was just shaken by the attack.
Ian’s gaze was profound, but he said nothing.
Just then, his status panel automatically opened.
[Name: Li Xing (Ian)]
[Age: 21]
[Realm: Awakening Late Stage (77%)]
[Bloodline: Star Attractor (Faintly Awakened)]
[Status: Minor Injuries (Fractured left shoulder healing, excessive Starlight Energy consumption)]
[Skills:
Starlight Perception (Bloodline Technique) - Skilled (78%)
Star Step (Bloodline Technique) - Beginner (49%)
Basic Swordsmanship (Rune Combat Technique) - Skilled (83%)]
His Realm had increased by three percentage points.
His Skill Levels had also risen significantly.
Especially his [Basic Swordsmanship], which was not far from the "Mastery" level.
Ian closed the panel and looked at Chen Scarface.
"Clean up the bodies, check the wounded, and then find a new place to make camp."
His tone was calm, but it carried an authority that could not be questioned.
"The stench of blood here is too strong. It’ll attract other monsters soon."
Chen Scarface’s expression shifted, but he finally gritted his teeth and waved his hand.
"Do as he says!"
The Guards began to move, but their actions were stiff, and their eyes kept darting toward Ian.
Everyone had seen the previous battle clearly.
This young man, Li Xing, was far stronger than Chen Scarface.
Moreover, he seemed to have a better idea of how to survive in this godforsaken place.
Chen Scarface sensed this subtle shift.
He stared at Ian’s back, his gaze so dark it could curdle milk.
His hand slowly tightened around the hilt of his blade.
「Just before dawn.」
The gray clouds hung even lower, like a filthy rag draped over their heads.
The camp had been moved two hundred meters away, to the base of a leeward slope.
The people huddled behind crude shelters, their faces etched with exhaustion and lingering fear.
Four people had died the previous night, and over a dozen were injured.
The smell of blood seemed to cling to their nostrils, refusing to fade.
Ian leaned against a large Stone, his eyes closed, slowly circulating his energy through the Meditation of the Star-Attracting Chapter.
The Starfall Core in his chest radiated a gentle warmth, mending his exhaustion from overexertion.
Li Yao squatted beside him, meticulously sharpening the tip of a wooden stick with a small knife.
"Brother, do you think... the monsters will come back?"
"They will." Ian didn’t open his eyes, continuing his Meditation.
"As long as we’re in this Wilderness, they’ll keep coming."
Li Yao’s hand trembled, the blade nearly slicing his finger.
"Then... can we make it to Blue Cave Mountain alive?"
Ian opened his eyes and looked at the boy.
"As long as I’m here, we definitely will."
Li Yao nodded forcefully, tightening his grip on the wooden stick. He could feel his brother’s immense confidence.
The camp gradually quieted down. The sky was not yet light, and after cleaning up the battlefield, everyone rested where they were, though no one dared to sleep again.
「In the middle of the night.」
A commotion suddenly erupted from the other side of the camp.
"Let me go! I’m fine!"
It was the short Guard’s voice—hoarse and unnaturally shrill.
Ian stood up and walked over.
The startled crowd formed a small circle around the short man at the center.
He was pinned to the ground, with two Guards holding his arms down tightly.
On his face, the areas splashed by corrupted blood yesterday had turned a sickly bluish-black, covered in a fine, web-like pattern of dark spots.
The spots were still spreading slowly.
His eyes were bloodshot and his pupils dilated as he screamed incoherently.
"I’m not crazy... I’m not crazy... Let me go..."
Chen Scarface stood before him, his face ashen, a blade in his hand.
"Li Si has been infected by the corrupted blood."
Someone whispered from the side, their voice filled with fear.
"Look at those dark spots... He’s a goner."
"Brother Chen is about to do it..."
Chen Scarface raised his blade, its edge glinting coldly in the dim, reddish light of the sky.
"I’m sorry, brother."
His voice was heavy. "You’ve been contaminated. Sooner or later, you’ll turn into a monster. For everyone’s sake, you have to die."
Li Si struggled frantically. "I’m not crazy! Chen Scarface, I’ve followed you for three years, and this is how you treat me?!"
Chen Scarface’s eyes turned cold, and his blade was about to fall.
"Wait."
Ian’s voice cut in.
The crowd parted, and he walked into the circle.
Chen Scarface froze and turned to him, his eyes hostile. "What do you think you’re doing?"
"He hasn’t fully mutated yet," Ian began, offering his "kind" advice.
"He wasn’t in direct contact with the source of the corruption. He hasn’t fully mutated. Isn’t it too hasty to kill him now?"
"Hasty?" Chen Scarface sneered. "Should we wait for him to get us all killed?"
"I told you, he hasn’t fully mutated."
Ian walked over to Li Si and squatted down.
Li Si looked up, Ian’s face reflected in his unfocused pupils.
"Save... save me..." he stammered.
Ian said nothing, simply reaching out and placing his hand on Li Si’s chest.
A faint silver light glowed from his palm.
He had summoned a trace of pure Energy from his Starfall Core, condensing it into "Purification Starlight."
It was very faint, but it seemed to be working.
As the silver light seeped into his skin, the spread of the black spots on Li Si’s body seemed to slow.
The bluish-black color on his face also faded slightly.
"See?" Ian looked up at Chen Scarface. "He can still be saved."
Chen Scarface’s expression grew even uglier.
He stared at Ian’s hand on Li Si’s chest, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
The surrounding crowd fell silent, their breathing quickening as they watched the scene unfold.
Ian could actually counter the infection from a Corrupted Beast’s blood with that mysterious silver light.
In this post-apocalyptic world, that was a Talent more precious than anything else.
Ian was ignoring his conflict with Chen Scarface to save one of his trusted men.
And Chen Scarface... he had just been about to kill one of his own.
A subtle sentiment began to spread through the crowd.
Several Guards exchanged complex glances.
They had been with Li Si for three years. While they weren’t particularly close, they were still brothers-in-arms who had fought side-by-side.
For Chen Scarface to kill him just like that, without even trying to see if he could be saved...
It was chilling.
Chen Scarface felt this change in the atmosphere.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.
"Li Xing, I know you’re no ordinary person, but Purifying this contamination is no small matter. If you fail and he turns into a monster and ambushes us, who will take responsibility?"
"I’m just making a suggestion. Whether you listen or not is your business."
Ian stood up and looked at Chen Scarface, his eyes calm.
"But shouldn’t you have something to say about the watch arrangements for tonight, and the panicked response to the attack just now?"
A vein throbbed on Chen Scarface’s forehead.
"Li Xing, don’t forget, I am the leader of this group!"
"Leader?"
Ian suddenly laughed, a cold smile on his face.
"And where was this ’leader’s’ command? Four dead and over a dozen injured. Is this how you lead everyone?"
Chen Scarface’s face instantly flushed red.
"You..."
"What about me?"
Ian took a step forward, unleashing the Soul Suppression of a Level One Extreme Wizard.
Although the Rules of this world were different and restricted most of its power, it was still enough to make Chen Scarface’s breath catch in his throat.
"Chen Scarface, I previously trusted your vast experience in the Wilderness. It seems I was mistaken."
He scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over every person.
"This Wilderness is fraught with peril. Corrupted Beasts, Mutants, the Fallen... and who knows where the rifts of corruption are hiding."
"We have to get to Blue Cave Mountain, a journey of over a hundred li. If we rely on your method of ’abandoning anyone who isn’t useful,’ how many of us will make it there alive?"
The crowd fell deathly silent.
No one spoke, but many people’s eyes flickered, and they lowered their heads.
They had long been aware of Chen Scarface’s way of doing things.
He would rope in those who were useful and could fight.
Those who were useless or injured, he would disdain, or even... abandon.
The boy sent to scout the rock cave yesterday would have died if Ian hadn’t shown up.
Today, Li Si would also be dead if Ian hadn’t stopped it.
Who would be next?
Chen Scarface’s hand, gripping his blade, was trembling.
He glared at Ian, his eyes screaming murder.
"Li Xing, you... you’re inciting a mutiny!"
"I’m stating the facts."
Ian didn’t back down an inch. "If you think I’m inciting a mutiny, fine."
He raised his hand and pointed outside the camp.
"Right now, let them decide for themselves. Those who want to follow you can continue with you. Those who want to follow me can stay."
The air in the camp seemed to freeze, and even the wind stopped blowing.
Chen Scarface’s hand, gripping his blade, trembled slightly. The veins on the back of his hand bulged like earthworms, running all the way up to his neck.
He stared daggers at Ian, his gaze sharp enough to flay a man alive.
"Good, very good..."
The words were squeezed through his teeth, carrying an irrepressible, murderous aura.
"Li Xing, this is my group. I’m the one who took them in. You dare challenge me directly?"
Ian didn’t even raise an eyelid. He just stared back at him coldly, his eyes as calm and deep as a bottomless pool of frigid water.
"Took them in?"
He suddenly quirked the corner of his mouth into a faint, yet ice-cold smile.
"Chen Scarface, you call that ’taking them in’? Sending a fifteen-year-old boy to scout a Corrupted Beast’s lair, you call that ’taking them in’?"
Before his voice had even faded, Ian took a step forward that seemed to land on everyone’s chest.
The surrounding crowd held their breath.
Even the few Guards still loyal to Chen Scarface turned pale. Their hands rested on their hilts, but none of them dared to actually draw their weapons.
They had all clearly seen the sword strikes with which Ian had slain the Corrupted Earth-Burrowing Beasts.
That wasn’t luck. It was solid, terrifying strength.
"You..."
Chen Scarface’s eyes turned completely red, the scar on his face twisting like a crawling centipede.
He desperately wanted to slash out and cut Ian into a thousand pieces.
But the almost tangible pressure radiating from Ian made every muscle in his body freeze solid.
