Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen cherished their soldiers greatly. They secretly set up a simple formation, enclosing their small camp. If anyone or any beast triggered the formation, they would be alerted immediately.
After setting up the formation, both of them fell into a deep sleep.
Yilihan, Bai Shaobai, and the others had a larger team, so they had more people on night duty, taking turns to patrol around the camp.
In the middle of the night, the entire camp suddenly became noisy with intermittent sounds from a distance. Apparently, it was coming from members of another team.
Yan Ge was enjoying his sleep, and without opening his eyes, he lazily kicked Huangfu Yuchen, who was lying beside him, and asked in a daze, “Zirui, what’s going on…”
Huangfu Yuchen looked at Yan Ge’s foot that looked fair and tender in the dim light, grabbed it, and kissed it. The foot retracted from the sensitivity, and he lightly chuckled. He bit it playfully, and then let go. “Sleep well, I’ll go check it out.”
Yan Ge waited until Huangfu Yuchen left the tent before opening his eyes. He looked at his foot and wiggled his big toe; it was even hotter than the scorching desert during the day.
“Messing around with kisses… Thankfully, I washed my feet last night…” He muttered to himself. Unable to fall back asleep, he lay on the ground lazily, his two dark eyes fixed on the tent’s entrance.
The campfire outside was still burning, and the moving figures cast shadows on the tent, swaying back and forth.
Huangfu Yuchen emerged from the tent, and found that their soldiers were already awake. Gao Feng, Gao Yun, and two other special forces soldiers surrounded his and Yan Ge’s tents from four directions. Their weapons were drawn, and they were on high alert. Yan Jin had also woken up, and was standing outside his tent, looking into the distance.
Huangfu Yuchen asked, “What’s going on?”
“Father, there are strange creatures,” Yan Jin rushed to answer.
Gao Feng added, “Reporting! Boss, those creatures came from the south. We don’t know what kind of monsters they are, but the strange thing is, they don’t seem to have aggressive intentions. They are gradually approaching us, and it might take them a while to attack us here. General Yang took two people to help.”
“What are those things?” Huangfu Yuchen estimated they were some unknown species.
Gao Feng explained, “We’re not sure for now. Those things look a lot like spiders, but even the smallest ones are as big as a nine-pound watermelon. They can also burrow into the sand. They are poisonous too; just listening to the commotion, they’ve already killed quite a number people.”
As the noise drew closer, Huangfu Yuchen quietly lifted the formation. He, Yan Ge, and Yan Jin were knowledgeable about protective formations, but if they used it now, it would raise suspicions among the others. They could just rely on their strength to protect the special soldiers anyway.
Huangfu Yuchen looked into the distance. With his excellent night vision, he saw a black creature, similar to an arrow, springing up from the ground and pounce on a soldier, covering his face. Before the soldier could react, it spat out a thick white fluid, completely covering his face. The soldier desperately tried to wipe off the fluid with his hands, but it was in vain. After a moment, whether due to poison or suffocation, he slowly fell to the ground, motionless. The creature crouched on his face, moving slightly, either eating or doing something else.
Indeed, this was an unheard-of creature. Huangfu Yuchen considered himself knowledgeable about various texts, but he couldn’t recall the name of this creature.
“Boss!” Yang Zhuo, Ah Fei, and Jun Xiang rushed over quickly.
“What’s the situation?” Huangfu Yuchen knew Yang Zhuo didn’t actually go to help.
Yang Zhuo reported, “The thick fluid of these strange spiders is poisonous, but it seems to only cause paralysis. The three of us tried to kill one; they aren’t too difficult to deal with as long as you don’t get the sticky substance on you.” That was the reason he took two people with him.
Huangfu Yuchen nodded. “In that case, send half of the men to help.” This way, the team leaders of other kingdoms wouldn’t have anything to complain about.
“Yes!”
“Also, find a way to bring a creature’s corpse here.”
Yang Zhuo set off to fulfill the order.
Not long after, a special forces soldier carried a creature’s corpse using a knife and carefully placed it on a rock to avoid its poisonous fluid from staining the sand, in case someone accidentally stepped on it.
Huangfu Yuchen then went into the tent and checked if Yan Ge was awake. As soon as he opened the tent, he was met with a pair of bright eyes.
He smiled as he entered the tent, lowered his head, and gave Yan Ge a kiss on the lips before asking, “Are you awake?”
Seeing his relaxed expression, Yan Ge knew they could handle the situation outside. “Did they bring one of the creatures?” he inquired.
“Yes,” Huangfu Yuchen replied as he gently brushed the stray hair away from Yan Ge’s face.
“In that case, let’s get up,” Yan Ge said as he sat up. Inadvertently, he glanced at his foot and remembered Huangfu Yuchen’s kiss. His toe itched for some unknown reason, and he gave Huangfu Yuchen a glare.
Huangfu Yuchen looked at him Innocently. “What’s wrong?”
“You kissed my foot and then you kissed my lips.”
Huangfu Yuchen chuckled, “I don’t mind your foot, why should you?”
Yan Ge rolled his eyes helplessly, put on his short boots, and pulled Huangfu Yuchen outside. He saw the creature’s corpse placed on a rock and was pleased.
Huangfu Yuchen knew Yan Ge well and immediately asked, “Is it full of treasures?”
“Yes!” Yan Ge said, “According to the ‘pharmacopeia,’ this creature is called Black Demon Spider. It looks like a spider but can spit a sticky fluid that causes paralysis. However, there is something inside its abdomen, similar to chicken eggs, that can be used in medicine. Quick, let those who have nothing to do dig out the things from the Black Demon Spider. It will be useful in the future.” With so many people around, he didn’t go into the details of the creature’s medicinal value.
Huangfu Yuchen gestured to Gao Yun, and the latter led a team of people over.
Although there were many Black Demon Spiders, they had many soldiers as well. After a few moments, they had killed over a hundred of them.
Except for Great Han, Mai, and Wei kingdoms, who camped to the north and suffered no losses, the other kingdoms had some casualties.
Everyone saw soldiers from Great Han slicing the backs of the Black Demon Spiders with knives to extract what looked like chicken eggs from inside, and they wore disgusted expressions.
Yan Ge could clearly see everything and thought, ‘You’ll regret this in the future.’
The special forces soldiers worked quickly. After the other teams had finished cleaning up the camp, they had also extracted all the “eggs” from the Black Demon Spiders’ bodies. These things were flesh-colored and looked like soft, unripe chicken eggs. They were slightly sticky, and somewhat disgusting to look at.
“Baby, the temperature will rise after sunrise, and these things might start to smell.” Huangfu Yuchen reminded him.
Yan Ge didn’t care and said, “That’s exactly what I want them to do.”
Huangfu Yuchen: “…”
Yan Ge glanced at him with disdain, “Once you know their value, you won’t make that expression.”
Huangfu Yuchen was piqued with curiosity, “What are they used for?”
“You’ll find out later,” Yan Ge teased, instructing Gao Feng, “Put them in bags and expose them to the sun after sunrise until the smell is gone.”
“Understood.”
Since they had no bags, a few special soldiers emptied two equipment bags and packed all the “eggs” inside, leaving the bags open.
It was almost dawn by the time they finished these tasks.
The team quickly had breakfast and continued their journey.
Soon, they saw the sparkling water from a distance, and the jungle beyond the river. They all raised their whips and drove their horses forward at full speed.
Finally, they were about to leave the desert!
Yang Zhuo occasionally observed the guide’s expression and saw that his solemn demeanor hadn’t changed at all. So the journey ahead was probably difficult.
He made eye contact with Wei Hao, and one by one, the special forces soldiers passed on the information to the last person in their teams.
After a day of exposure to the sun, the “eggs” that Yan Ge had the men dig out had become as hard as small stones, and strangely, the smell had completely disappeared.
Yilihan tentatively asked Yan Ge about the purpose of these things, but Yan Ge dismissed him with just a few words, leaving him helpless.
Soon, the team arrived at the riverside.
Even Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen couldn’t help but show surprised expressions.
This river was truly bizarre. As everyone knew, any river in the world, regardless of the terrain it intersected, had a transition zone. Even the oases in the desert had this characteristic. But this river was clearly defined, like a deliberately arranged boundary with the desert on one side and the forest on the other. Moreover, the river’s water was pure black, flowing as if it were not water but ink.
The river was about fifteen to sixteen zhang wide, which was not particularly wide.
The guide said, “This river isn’t wide or deep, but there’s something in it.” His face showed a trace of anxiety, but when asked what that “something” was, he had no clear answer.
From entering the desert until now, both Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen had the feeling that this area was like something out of this world, it was unlike anything they had seen or known.
Bai Shaobai took out a long spear tied to his horse and had a soldier test the water’s depth.
The water only reached two-thirds of the spear’s length, roughly around an adult’s waist, indicating that it wasn’t very deep.
The team leaders all stared at the water’s surface cautiously, but after observing for a while, they didn’t find anything unusual.
At this moment, it was Wei Kingdom’s turn to lead the way.
Yilihan said to Bai Shaobai, “General Bai, why don’t you send a soldier to test the path?”
Bai Shaobai wasn’t one to be bullied easily, and he responded firmly, “This is Mai Kingdom’s territory. How can I take the lead? General Yilihan should go.”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen watched the spectacle from the sidelines. They weren’t in a hurry, after all.
Yilihan was helpless. He didn’t want to sacrifice his soldiers. He recalled how the Liao Kingdom had suffered significant losses and lost several horses when they encountered the Black Demon Spiders before, so he spent some money to buy two horses and had them driven into the river.
Everyone nervously watched the two horses.
Once the horses were in the water, it reached up to their bellies, causing them to hesitate slightly. However, there seemed to be nothing amiss in their demeanor. After a moment, they quietly walked to the other side of the river. Due to the rapid flow, their progress was slow, but they showed no signs of distress. After a while, the two horses reached the other side and silently bent down to graze on the grass.
Yilihan breathed a sigh of relief. “It should be fine.”
Bai Shaobai then commanded the soldiers to drive the horses into the river.
Yan Ge faintly felt that something was wrong, but after surveying the surroundings, he didn’t find anything.
With other kingdoms’ teams leading the way, Huangfu Yuchen wasn’t too worried. He noticed Yan Ge’s subtle movements and asked with concern, “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I feel like there’s something very wrong,” Yan Ge touched his chin.
Yan Jin let out a “huh”, and asked casually, “Papa, won’t the horses drink some water?”
“That’s it!” Yan Ge clapped his hands, “This water must be problematic! Otherwise, why wouldn’t these horses drink the water after walking in the desert for two days?”
Bai Shaobai’s expression changed suddenly.
Almost as soon as Yan Ge’s voice fell, several soldiers who had already entered the water screamed in pain, lifting their legs and feet out of the water.
Upon closer inspection, their legs were covered in densely packed red bugs that wriggled incessantly, a truly disgusting sight.
“Retreat quickly!” Bai Shaobai’s face turned pale as he instinctively gave the command.
The soldiers hurriedly pulled on the reins to go back, but it was already too late. The red bugs quickly devoured the flesh on their legs and feet, leaving only gleaming white bones. Several soldiers opened their mouths but couldn’t say anything before falling off their horses into the river. Soon, their bodies were covered by the red bugs. They turned into skeletons in the blink of an eye, sinking into the riverbed.
Many soldiers couldn’t help but vomit.
Even Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen’s faces turned pale, and they felt a chill run down their spines.
Gao Feng swiftly covered Yan Jin’s eyes.
“General, we can still turn back now,” the deputy leader of Youji Kingdom whispered to their leader.
The military’s morale was already wavering.
Yilihan raised his voice, “If you’re willing to give up the treasure, no one is stopping you.”
From his tone, it was clear that he still wanted to move on. Could it be that there really was treasure in the Demon Fortress? The group began to hesitate again.
Yilihan’s sharp eyes swept toward the river, and his eyes lit up. “Look! Those horses are perfectly fine!”
