Qingchen tried his best to save people, but he couldn't save everyone.
He didn't know these people who fought alongside him, but as one by one, these vibrant lives were lost, he felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.
It was as if he should have known these people long ago, or perhaps he should have remembered them but had forgotten.
Yes, he should remember these people.
When these people saw him, their eyes held admiration, trust, and warmth—something Qingchen had never seen before he was 17.
Those gazes reminded him that there was a blank space in his life, and that blank space was his most precious experience.
At this moment, Qing Chen even hated this feeling. Why hadn't his memories returned yet? Why hadn't his legendary seal been broken? Once it was broken... would everything be different?
To be precise, he hated the seal within his body.
The waiter seemed to sense his emotions and said frankly, "You don't need to blame yourself. If you hadn't come, we would have died six hours ago. To be honest, we're quite content to have lived for another six hours and seen you one more time."
Qing Chen remained silent, only trying his best to kick the attacking beast soldier away.
At this moment, someone in the crowd laughed and said, "Indeed, living an extra six hours and watching the boss kill so many beast soldiers, it's all worth it!"
Xiao Er suddenly raised his arm and clenched his fist, only to see countless members of the parent-teacher association surrounding Qing Chen as they moved south.
Qing Chen frowned: "What are you doing?"
The waiter said, "Your memory hasn't returned, and the seal hasn't been broken. You shouldn't die here with us. Your memory will come back someday, and there are many more people who need you to live. We'll fight our way out to the south for you; you must leave!"
Qing Chen never expected that he came to save people, but in the end, it was this group of people who wanted to save him.
Just as these people eagerly awaited his return day and night, those defensive lines were also held up by these same people day and night.
...
...
The orc legion increased the frequency of their attack once again, with the orc soldiers charging forward fearlessly, seemingly afraid that Qing Chen would leave.
However, the parents' meeting, which was very orderly, split into two groups again. One group held off the orc legion's attack, while the other group continued to escort Qingchen southward.
However, the orc legion had no intention of letting Qing Chen leave. Three wounded old monsters, the Fate Masters, all came with the orc soldiers and blocked the road to the south.
They knew that Qing Chen was truly exhausted, and they had to leave him here today!
A member of the parent-teacher association shouted, "Charge! Don't look back!"
Qingchen felt as if something deep within his heart was constantly impacting the shackles, until finally a crack appeared in those shackles!
However, even with the cracks appearing, the seal remained unbreakable, no matter how hard he tried.
Qing Chen had a splitting headache and wanted to roar out in anger, but no sound came out.
This feeling is despairing.
The parents' association members tried desperately to break through the road to the south, but failed time and time again.
Just then, a rushing sound suddenly came from afar.
The sound, like war drums, grew louder as it approached, accompanied by someone shouting and a long, melodious tune that sounded like a song from a snowy region.
The parents' association members were hidden from the orc legion on the battlefield, only able to hear their voices but not see them, and felt that the voices were getting closer and faster!
The waiter shouted, "Help me up!"
Two parents would use their hands to form a bridge and lift the second child into the air.
Xiao Er was stunned. He saw thousands of enormous bison galloping towards him, their bodies covered in black totems, their horns sharp as two daggers, and their stature as that of orc warriors.
This isn't a wild buffalo; it's a sacred buffalo from the snowy mountains of Southwest China!
Strangely, each of the sacred bulls had its eyes covered with a black cloth, but Xiao Er only saw the bulls and not a single person!
The next moment, the herd of divine bulls galloped past the edge of the orc legion. They did not engage the orc legion in a direct confrontation, as they were too few in number to match the orc soldiers.
But as the herd of divine bulls brushed past the edge of the orc legion, thousands of people rolled out from one side of the bulls' bellies. Their cheeks were tanned red from the high altitude, their heads were tied in dense braids, and they wore necklaces made of finger bones around their necks, which clattered together.
These thousands of people wore Tibetan robes, revealing half of their bare shoulders, and all of them had black totems swirling on their shoulders.
Fire pit!
The long-unseen hearth had reappeared!
The waiter shouted, "Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"
"Huh?" the waiter wondered. He noticed that all the men around the fire pit were carrying an RPG as they climbed onto the backs of the oxen...
This feeling was just like when Qing Chen first met the Grand Elder, and the other person was checking the weather forecast on his wristwatch – so hardcore.
The Grand Elder raised his arm on the first divine bull, then forcefully swung it down: "Release it!"
All the men by the fire simultaneously pulled the triggers of their individual RPGs, and rockets spun and struck the flanks of the orc army.
Intense flames shot into the sky, and the shockwave alone overturned thousands of beast soldiers!
Fire pit people usually stay hidden in the snowy mountains of southwest China and don't come out, so most people's perception of them is that they are a group of... barbarians.
It's truly mind-blowing to think that barbarians are now riding sacred bulls and carrying RPGs.
But none of that matters. What matters is that someone has arrived!
It's finally here!
Although not many people came, the fact that anyone came means that they have not been forgotten here!
Just as the parents were thinking this, they saw the men from the hearth riding their sacred ox further and further away, as if they were about to leave.
"Holy crap!" the waiter exclaimed, "So that's all? Just a token gesture?"
No sooner had the words been spoken than the men around the fire drove the sacred oxen around the battlefield, turned back, and charged again with all their might!
This time, they charged straight at the orc army, forcing the orcs to send out a contingent to withstand the pressure of the charge.
Just as the herd of sacred bulls was about to encounter the orc army, all the men around the fire jumped off the backs of the sacred bulls.
They rolled on the ground once and then smoothly stood up, continuing their charge behind the herd of sacred bulls.
The charging divine bull herd knocked thousands of beastmen soldiers off their feet, but their numbers were still too few. They only managed to break a small gap in the orc army's formation before being torn to shreds by the beastmen.
At that very moment, the man by the fire pit rushed to the front of the orc legion.
"Make way!" a crisp voice rang out.
The men from the hearth suddenly parted to the sides, revealing a girl with braided hair dragging a black knife.
Qin Yiyi leaped up, dragging his sword, and cleaved Mount Hua in two with a single, powerful strike: "Open!"
The sword light that pierced through the heavens and earth cleaved a crack in the orc legion's formation. Qin Yiyi was actually A-level, and her sword aura was even greater than what the Grand Elder had shown before. It was truly astonishing!
But it's still not enough.
The First Elder roared, "Xu Linsen!"
Xu Linsen, the Ace of Spades from the Spade Organization, took the lead and arrived in front of Qin Yiyi. The divine bull dharma image appeared behind him and pushed through the orc formation with an even more ferocious posture!
This time, they finally opened a crack in the orc army!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the men from the hearth plunged into the gap and fought their way to the very center, where they met up with the parents!
Gyatso said to the parents' association members, "We'll handle this corner. You all move inwards and move the wounded to the center!"
Qin Yiyi's eyes swept across the crowd, but there were still many parents present, standing together in an endless expanse, and she did not see the person she wanted to see.
The Grand Elder said solemnly, "Be careful, now is not the time for you to look for someone!"
"Hmm," Qin Yiyi didn't say much, and swung her sword to block the beast tide that was closing in again!
One of the parents' association members asked excitedly, "What brings you all here?"
The elder said irritably, "Who do you think you are? We have a part in the Eastern Continent too. You come here to play the hero, but doesn't my Fire Pit have its own heroes?"
Everyone laughed loudly and said, "The men around the hearth are all heroes!"
The First Elder muttered, "Just don't go and try to wipe us out right after the battle!"
Someone shouted, "No, after this battle, we'll all line up neatly underground to cross the Menghe Bridge and drink the Meng Po soup. There won't be any encirclement or suppression!"
The scene fell silent for a moment, and after a couple of seconds, someone, while blocking the beast soldiers, asked, "Whose idiot is this? Can you stop spouting such discouraging things..."
Gyatso explained earnestly, “We have our own gods, and we don’t drink Meng Po soup after we die. We are not part of your system.”
The elder sighed, "What kind of time is this to be telling hellish jokes? You all don't want to live anymore, but I do!"
One parent-teacher association member asked, "Brothers, where are the other reinforcements?"
Gyatso shouted loudly, "I don't know! Only we came; we didn't see anyone else!"
The parents' hearts sank; the people around the fire pit were definitely not enough.
They were grateful that Huotang had stood up for them at this time, but in times like these, passion alone is not enough; war is war.
Gradually, the commotion caused by the fire pit subsided again, the orc legion's millstone formation became tight again, and even the newly joined fire pit was forced to retreat.
One parent-teacher association member apologized, saying, "We apologize to all the heroes and good men around the fire pit. We didn't expect you all to suffer like this."
The elder suddenly said, "Although we came on our own, I know that reinforcements are on their way."
Back when Qingzhun and Ningxiu hadn't gotten into trouble, the old man on Ginkgo Mountain wasn't as silent as he is now.
Qing Xun once led a small group of people to the fire pit. At that time, although they were clearly enemies, the head of the Qing family on Ginkgo Mountain sat in the enemy camp, chatting and laughing, drinking wine from large bowls and eating meat in large bites.
Upon arriving at the gate of Huotang Mountain, the men of Huotang surrounded Qing's dozen or so men. The Grand Elder asked Qing Xun, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Qing Xun replied with a smile, "I'm a guest who came here for drinks, why would I die?"
That was something the Grand Elder truly felt; the other party was genuinely unafraid!
As an ordinary person, Qing Xun had no army or experts by his side, only the somewhat inexperienced Qing Ji protecting him.
Such demeanor, even when merely drinking and chatting about the current situation, could inspire admiration in the Fire Pit Elder.
After that meeting, the Qing family secretly formed an alliance with Huotang, using Huotang and the forbidden land No. 8 as a barrier to restrain the Chen family's troops.
Since then, the hearth has never been truly threatened in the southwest region, and the Qing family even secretly sends many New Year's goods to it every year.
Many people don't know that after Qingxun went into seclusion on Ginkgo Mountain, the Grand Elder, having not seen him for many years, disguised himself and visited Ginkgo Mountain.
Unbeknownst to him, the elder of the hearth had come to regard Qingxun as a friend.
That day, after drinking, the Grand Elder learned why the other party had gone into seclusion. It was from that moment that he knew that Qing Xun would never give up unless he avenged his son and daughter-in-law.