Li Jun quickly analyzed the information about Dongyue and Shuyue in his mind, then cut off a branch with his sword and sharpened it. Mo Rong took the branch without hesitation and ordered, "Get a long rope."
After Li Jun pulled over a long vine, Mo Rong bent a small tree and tied the pointed tree branch to it. Li Jun only saw her twirling around in a dazzling display before clapping her hands and saying with satisfaction, "That's it."
Still not satisfied, Mo Rong set up five small traps in a row. Just as she was about to set up the sixth one, a scream was heard amidst the wind and rain.
Startled, Mo Rong immediately jumped to Li Jun's side, completely losing the composure she had displayed when setting up the traps. Li Jun immediately judged that she had never had any experience in killing, and couldn't help but smile bitterly again. A somewhat lazy descendant of the Dragon Slayer Clan, a Dong Yue with no experience in killing, plus that half-dead, brooding Confucian scholar—his team was far too inadequate.
"It's nothing, just someone died." Li Jun's words of comfort were less effective than no words at all. Mo Rong's teeth started chattering: "No...it wasn't...Brother Lei Hun...them, was it?"
Just then, the sound of branches parting came from behind, and Lei Hun's short voice rang out: "Mo Rong, Mo Rong, where are you?"
"I'm here, we're fine." Mo Rong jumped away from Li Jun's side and ran towards the direction of the voice.
Seeing Mo Rong appear in front of him, Lei Hun's tense face relaxed: "Don't leave my sight from now on."
Li Jun and Tu Longziyun, who had followed, exchanged a glance. They hadn't expected that this seemingly emotionless Confucian scholar could utter such affectionate words. However, it seemed somewhat incongruous for him to say such things to a Yue girl whose figure only reached his chest.
But the next sentence immediately made them doubt their deduction. "After you've fulfilled your promise to me, you can die however you want."
Mo Rong, who had just been moved by the emotions revealed in Lei Hun's words, immediately changed her expression. Sensing that a storm even stronger than the thunder and rain outside might be coming, Tu Long Zi Yun coughed twice and changed the subject: "Well...shouldn't we eat something? I'm starving."
Upon hearing the word "hunger," Li Jun immediately recalled the screams from the beginning. Clearly, the struggle for food had begun, and some had already become victims.
He could hear no other sounds amidst the wind and rain, but Li Jun's hair stood on end instinctively; danger was approaching.
Lei Hun closed his eyes. As a Confucian scholar-mage, he could sense killing intent. Moreover, as a special Confucian scholar-mage, he could also hear the invisible spirits in the forest issuing warnings. These warnings were transmitted in the form of strange waves, detectable only by those born with spiritual senses.
Noticing the strange expressions on Li Jun and Lei Hun's faces, Mo Rong and Tu Long Zi Yun also sensed the danger. The two looked around, and the eerie scene intensified their fear. Tu Long Zi Yun gripped his knife, and Mo Rong held the small axe on her back tightly.
A loud bang rang out, followed by the sound of weapons clashing. Moments later, two screams rang out, and then silence returned. Li Jun's expression changed. Judging from the sounds carried by the wind and rain, the approaching force was less than 150 paces away. If the enemy were to close in and launch a surprise attack, perhaps only two volleys of arrows would be enough to wipe out the four of them. But it was possible that the pursuers themselves had become prey; the initial clash had allowed Li Jun and his companions to escape. However, the screams that followed indicated that the battle was already decided, and their turn would come soon.
"Use the shield to protect Lei Hun and give him time to cast his spell." Seeing that Tu Long Zi Yun looked somewhat lost, Li Jun knew he lacked practical experience and gave the order in a low voice. Then he turned to Mo Rong and said, "You lure the enemy into the trap along the way you came, and keep your eyes peeled."
Reaching out to grab the hesitant Mo Rong, Lei Hun said coldly, "Why are you letting her go?"
She replied in almost the same icy tone: "She's small, so she's a small target, and she's the most agile."
"Why don't you go?" Tu Long Ziyun was also disgusted by Li Jun's assignment. Although he admitted that Li Jun was right, he could not accept the idea of sending a petite woman on an adventure while three men watched from the sidelines.
“I can hide and deliver a fatal blow to the enemy,” Li Jun explained coldly, but he could tell from the expressions on Lei Hun and Tu Long Zi Yun’s faces that his explanation was unacceptable, so he added, “Whoever has a better method, let them take command.”
Lei Hun and Tu Long Ziyun thought about it and had to admit that, as things stood, this was the best tactic for the four of them to coordinate, but for different reasons, neither of them wanted to support Li Jun. Mo Rong's gaze swept across the three of them, and she said calmly, "I'll go. The Great God will bless me."
“Remember, we can only survive if we trust each other.” Li Jun turned to Lei Hun, whom he was most worried about. “No matter what your reasons were for bringing us to this island, now that we’re here together, you have to trust me.”
With a disdainful sneer on his face, Lei Hun's eyes flickered with flames: "It doesn't matter. I said I only called you here to make sure there were four of us."
Avoiding his gaze, Li Jun suppressed his anger. This was not the time for infighting, so he could only say, "Fine, I'll go be the bait."
Mo Rong felt quite guilty, but it was truly difficult for her to risk her life for these barely acquaintances. After the three of them took cover as instructed by Li Jun, Li Jun bent down and walked back.
He carefully avoided the trap, silently chanting the "Stone Shield Technique." Lei Hun began drawing a symbol on his armor with his finger, and a faint blue light rose from his body. He knew it might be a defensive enhancement, but he didn't know how effective it would be, so he dared not be careless.
The thumping footsteps were about a hundred paces away, indicating that the newcomer was quite heavy and unafraid of being ambushed. This suggested either extreme confidence or arrogance. Li Jun quickly assessed the situation and decided to take the most direct approach.
"Which bastard is there?" He stood up and cursed. Since the other party was so confident, he wouldn't use a sneak attack. So, provoking the other party to anger would give his own sneak attacker an opening.
"There really are people here." The muffled voice, like thunder, made Li Jun's ears ring even in the wind and rain. "You are the fourth group. As long as you offer up food, we will spare your lives."
Li Jun was secretly surprised that at least three groups of people had already perished in less than half a day on the island. There were only twelve groups in total. Although the island was not large and it was not so easy to run into each other, everyone seemed to be crammed together, which seemed rather strange.
"If you offer up food, I'll spare your lives." After relaying the other party's words verbatim, Li Jun could already see his first opponent: a huge, bald man who, although not a Qiang, was at least as tall as a Qiang of medium height. A chill ran through Li Jun's heart; he could feel the murderous intent that was certain of his death, but this killing intent did not emanate directly from the giant man.
Instinctively, he fell backward, and a beam of red light struck the giant tree behind him, scattering in all directions. Li Jun rolled several times to dodge the arrows that followed. To his surprise, the giant man rushed in front of him at an almost impossible speed for someone his size.
"Die!" The gleaming cleaver slashed down at Li Jun, who was still rolling on the ground. By now, Li Jun knew he had been tricked. Behind the seemingly righteous giant, at least one mage and an archer were lurking. He could only rely on his companions, whom he couldn't fully trust. He dared not block the giant's cleaver head-on. He rolled a few more times, and a throwing knife flew from his sleeve. In his haste, he didn't expect the knife to hit his opponent; as long as it gave him a chance to turn and run, that would be enough.
The giant ignored the throwing knife, which emitted a dazzling arc of light when it struck Li Jun's abdomen. "Diamond Body Protection!" Li Jun hadn't expected the giant to know Buddhist protective magic. Since the throwing knife wasn't thrown with full force, it was useless. Li Jun could only use both hands to grip his sword and block the giant's lightning-fast slash.
"Clang!" The sensation from his arms made Li Jun almost feel like his arms weren't his own anymore, and a deep nick appeared in his beloved short sword. The giant raised his right foot and kicked Li Jun in the abdomen. Numb from the impact, Li Jun couldn't pull back under the pressure of the large cleaver. He could only grit his teeth and prepare to have his internal organs kicked to pieces, hoping to die together with the giant!
With a loud thud, the giant's foot struck Li Jun in the abdomen, producing a strange sound, as if it had hit not human flesh, but a dead tree.
Enduring the intense pain, Li Jun used the momentum of the kick to fly backward, twisting his body in mid-air. As soon as he landed, he sprinted forward, leaping and bounding quickly through the bushes. He had never escaped so fast in his entire life.
He clearly felt that his Stone Shield spell was shattered the moment it touched the giant's foot. The reason it didn't shatter his internal organs must be because Thunder Soul's defensive spell had taken effect. But now the green light on his body had also disappeared. The giant's abilities were far beyond what he, a mercenary, could withstand. The mage and archer who were in his party were definitely not pushovers either.
The intense sense of defeat made him recall Lei Hun's evaluation of him even as he fled with all his might. Without formal training, he was indeed useless in front of the strong. For the first time, Li Jun felt a strong urge to seek a wise master.
The giant laughed wildly as he chased after him. A soft, feminine voice warned him to be careful of ambush. The wind whistled in his ears—no, it was the sound of arrows piercing the air! Li Jun was running so hard he could barely breathe, but he still made the right judgment. He stumbled forward as if he had been tripped, and an arrow pierced his armor, leaving a bloody gash on his back before emerging from the armor.
As Li Jun lay sprawled on the ground, he heard the giant's laughter behind him. Turning around to fight back was too late. He realized that this was where Mo Rong had set a trap, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his heart.
Chapter Three: Survival on a Desert Island
Section 1
The giant revealed a ferocious smile. He knew that his blade could cleave Li Jun's spine in two. Apart from screams and splattering blood, Li Jun would be unable to react. And for the bloodthirsty giant, these two reactions would only increase his sense of accomplishment.
The massive cleaver slammed down, but at the same time, Li Jun had already grabbed the trap set by Mo Rong—the vine. The bent branch immediately sprang back, and Li Jun was dragged away from the giant's cleaver by the force of the bounce. Immediately afterwards, the sharpened branch pierced the giant's right leg.
Using the elasticity of the mechanism, the tree branch pierced through the giant's "invincible body." Although it did not cause serious damage, it was enough to slow down the giant's movements. Li Jun took a deep breath and desperately charged forward, beginning to widen the distance between himself and the giant.
The giant roared furiously. The escape of his prey had enraged him, and the pain in his leg caused his anger to overflow the dam of reason. He brandished his large machete, slashing at the surrounding tree branches, and chased after the prey relentlessly with a series of strange cries.
In just a short time, Li Jun had escaped death several times. He felt that his troops had been exhausted and had no choice but to send out a distress signal.