Chapter 169: I’m Back

Meanwhile, another senior officer did the same, taking out his cloth sack.

He then looked at his one remaining sack.

His face was also filled with shock. After all, Ye Yunyi had slain a truly staggering number of Exotic Beasts earlier.

They had collected so many in his wake!

‘I really wonder how many Exotic Beasts Ye Yunyi’s team managed to slay this time!’

‘The number is probably going to be terrifying!’

“As expected, our strength still isn’t up to par.”

The senior officer waited for a long time. Seeing no sign of the other three teams returning, he sighed.

Their team had suffered quite a few injuries, which was why they decided to return.

The danger would have multiplied had they pushed any deeper!

Still, they had completed their mission this time, advancing as far as they had.

Or so they thought.

「An hour or so later.」

「Atop the fortress wall!」

A soldier in the Guard Army stared out and froze.

Then, he shouted down below, “The two King Generals are back!”

Hm?!

The people below were stunned for a moment.

Then they threw the gates wide open!

They welcomed the two King Generals inside.

The senior officer looked at the two King Generals. Their clothes were still immaculate. ‘Looks like they didn’t run into any serious trouble,’ he thought.

Fu Huiyu, in turn, looked at the senior officer, then glanced behind him at the many blood-soaked and injured members of the Alliance Guard Army.

She narrowed her eyes. “What happened? Why are so many of you injured?”

The senior officer explained what they had encountered. As Fu Huiyu listened, she found it hard to believe they had run into a situation like that.

They even ran into a mated pair.

‘What rotten luck.’

Still, looking at the Crystal Cores they’d brought back, it was quite a bountiful harvest!

Next, Fu Huiyu and Yu Bingyan took out the Crystal Cores their teams had gathered.

They added them to the pile.

Everyone who saw it felt the corners of their mouths twitch.

Damn.

‘As expected of teams led by King Generals. Their haul is so much bigger than ours!’

Fu Huiyu and Yu Bingyan’s teams also set a portion of their Crystal Cores aside, explaining that those were from the Exotic Beasts Ye Yunyi had slain earlier.

Seeing the Crystal Cores already placed there, Fu Huiyu asked, “Has Ye Yunyi already returned?”

Among the teams, Ye Yunyi’s was unique. It had no members of the Alliance Guard Army, only a group of Patriarchs.

‘In my opinion,’ Fu Huiyu thought, ‘these Patriarchs are a far cry from the Alliance Guard Army!’

‘Setting aside their strength…’

‘…the difference in their discipline and willingness to follow orders is just massive!’

Hearing Fu Huiyu’s question, one of the senior officers quickly chimed in, “Ye Yunyi’s team hasn’t come back yet.”

Hm?!

Yu Bingyan let out a soft sound of surprise. She turned to look beyond the ramparts. ‘Where did that guy go? Why isn’t he back yet?!’

‘His team isn’t even that strong!’

‘If something happened to them…’

‘…it would be a tremendous loss!’

But then she remembered Ye Yunyi’s strength and figured he probably wouldn’t run into any major trouble.

“Let’s just wait.”

At her words, everyone nodded and began to wait for Ye Yunyi’s return.

At first, they were relatively confident in Ye Yunyi, but as time passed, they began to feel that something was wrong.

After all!

He was taking far too long!

‘Just how far did they advance?!’

It was almost noon!

They had left last night and still weren’t back!

‘Where in the world could they have gone?!’

A heavy sense of worry began to spread through the crowd.

‘Could it be…!’

Fu Huiyu nervously tapped her knee, the rhythm growing faster and faster.

Her anxiety was palpable.

“That’s it, I’m going to look for him!”

As Fu Huiyu spoke, she pushed off with her foot and leaped onto her mount.

She seized the reins!

Her mount wheeled around, ready to charge out of the fortress!

But!

In the next instant!

A sharp cry suddenly echoed from the distance!

The sound pierced the heavens!

Everyone who heard it shot to their feet!

“Is that… Are they back?!”

One of the senior officers looked up at the sentry on the wall.

The sentry shouted down, “Lord Ye is back! I see Lord Ye’s giant bird!”

In that instant, everyone grew inexplicably excited.

They hadn’t known Ye Yunyi for long, but!

…everyone who went out this time was a comrade-in-arms, and they had all pledged to return safely!

「A short while later.」

Ye Yunyi landed, dismounting from the Qingling Roc.

The dust settled!

Ye Yunyi slowly emerged from the cloud of dust.

After brushing the dust from his clothes, he grinned at the crowd.

“Were you all waiting for me? Sorry to keep you!”

Everyone stared at Ye Yunyi, stunned.

Good heavens.

‘Those clothes!’

‘They’re spotless!’

‘There’s not a single trace of a battle on him!’

‘A single glance told them he hadn’t been in any fierce fights!’

One of the senior officers looked at Ye Yunyi’s appearance and started to speculate.

‘I’m afraid…’

‘…he must have gotten lost after the teams split up and just now managed to wander back.’

But he didn’t dare ask.

「A moment later.」

Behind him, the team of Patriarchs returned as well.

The moment they entered, all eyes were on them.

And damn.

It confirmed everyone’s suspicions!

These Patriarchs were also completely immaculate!

Goddammit!

‘They definitely just got lost!’

But in the next moment…

…one of the Patriarchs saw the piles of Crystal Cores up ahead.

He understood what was going on.

“Brothers, let’s take out our Crystal Cores too!”

“Alright!”

The next moment!

One by one, the Patriarchs pulled sacks of Crystal Cores from their backs!

They walked forward and poured them out!

CLATTER CLATTER!

The sound of countless Crystal Cores clattering against each other filled the air!

The onlookers stared at the scene, their eyes wide with disbelief.

This…!

‘Just how many Crystal Cores is that?!’

Terrifying!

It was simply terrifying!

Holy crap!

Their pile of Crystal Cores was several times larger than everyone else’s combined!

What’s more, there were many Crystal Cores from Mid-Star Stage Exotic Beasts!

‘How did they do it?!’

Even Fu Huiyu and Yu Bingyan felt their mouths twitch at the sight.

This…!

They snapped their heads toward Ye Yunyi, only to see his calm and unconcerned expression.

This guy!

‘How did he do it?!’

Seeing everyone’s shocked expressions, the Patriarchs couldn’t help but smile. They recalled the hunt—it had been absolutely exhilarating!

In all their years of hunting Exotic Beasts, they had never experienced anything so thrilling!

Guided by the Qingling Roc, they hadn’t been wandering aimlessly. Instead, they flew directly from one Exotic Beast to the next!

Lord Ye, with his Battle Axe in hand, would engage the Exotic Beasts in a fierce battle!

Meanwhile, they were just responsible for cleaning up the battlefield behind him!

They harvested the Crystal Cores and any other valuable parts from the corpses.

They had pushed so far forward, they had lost track of the distance!

Finally, it was Lord Ye who had declared he was too lazy to kill any more!

Only then did they return!

Otherwise, they would probably still be out there hunting!

And their final haul would have been far, far greater than just this pile of Crystal Cores!