Chapter 16: The Beautiful Lamb Strategy

Please,

don’t break down!

Lu Ran sincerely cried out: “Damei~”

“Don’t—you don’t talk,” Jiang Ruyi said, flustered and annoyed, glaring at Lu Ran.

Though she stumbled slightly, she had at least come back online.

Lu Ran exhaled in relief and pushed Jiang Meiren toward the torch-lit path: “Let’s head back.”

Just then, two teammates arrived to assist.

“What happened to you two?”

“Are you alright?” Wu Lie and Deng Yu looked at Jiang-Lu’s squad with concern.

“We need to reassign teams or adjust our tactics,” Lu Ran said.

“Does the Divine Law greatly affect the squad leader?” Deng Yu examined Jiang Ruyi closely and speculated.

“Yeah,” Lu Ran sighed, “just now, your squad leader almost ate me.”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Jiang Ruyi stomped her foot, flustered and furious.

“Huh?” Wu Lie widened her eyes—she had never seen the quiet Jiang Meiren act like this.

Kinda fun~

“Let’s pair up?” Deng Yu volunteered, “You call out, I’ll add battle intent.”

Lu Ran spoke softly: “You really want to kill me.”

Deng Yu: “.”

Battle intent can dilute the effect of the Zhengban Divine Law: Sound of Compassion, driving everyone to fight and abandon pity for their foe.

The problem is, Lu Ran is casting the Sound of Despair.

This Divine Law already awakens primal lust; adding battle intent would—

make Deng Yu pick up a cleaver and become a demon on the spot!

“You’re all Mist Realm Stage One—your mental resistance is still low,” Lu Ran thought, then said, “I’ll patrol alone.”

Lu Ran knew his role clearly—he was the flexible jungler of the team.

“That doesn’t seem right,” Wu Lie whispered.

“We won’t split up. Fight normally,” Jiang Ruyi pressed her hand to her forehead, her emotions finally returning to normal.

She lifted her head, her eyes fixed on Lu Ran: “When fighting the hellhounds, seize the chance to circle behind and cast softly, alright?”

The flickering torchlight cast her beautiful face in shifting shadows.

Her brows furrowed slightly, lost in silent sorrow, bearing the fragility of mental torment.

Beautiful Ruyi was nearly broken,

and Lu Ran was utterly numb!

He felt like a total jerk.

Who could take this?

“Fine!” Lu Ran nodded decisively.

“Then let’s go.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

For the sake of ranking and rewards, the four didn’t delay—they set off swiftly.

Combat experience is earned one kill at a time!

In constant battle, Jiang Ruyi gradually adapted to the hellhounds’ speed; her fingertips flickered with electric sparks, and her Electric Shackles Talisman grew ever more accurate.

Each hellhound struck would freeze in place, helpless and at their mercy.

Wu Lie held her own, her arrows flying in rapid succession, growing ever more composed.

Deng Yu remained as fierce as ever, and with Lu Ran’s support, he grew even more confident.

And Lu Ran—

was not human!

Yes, he was a sheep.

A plump little lamb constantly luring hellhounds to hunt him.

Tragically, the lamb bleated all the way—and every single one that came was a dog.

This trick—

this trick is called the Beautiful Lamb Strategy.

In ancient times, seductive beauties bewitched kings; today, a fragrant little lamb torments slender hounds.

After three hours, Lu Ran couldn’t speak human anymore—his mouth only produced “baa,” and everyone looked like a dog.

The squad operated effectively; each member maximized their strengths and grew dramatically.

Yet two things became stumbling blocks on their path to slaughtering hounds: stamina and divine energy.

“Puff puff puff~”

A black crow descended from the sky, transforming into human form.

The squad halted, turning to look behind.

“Time’s up,” Dou Zhiqiang announced.

“Already?” Deng Yu removed his sweat-soaked red headband and shook his head left and right.

While Deng Yu was reluctant to stop, Lu Ran felt immense relief and collapsed onto the ground.

Jiang Ruyi turned to look at him, her expression slightly worried: “Are you alright?”

Throughout the journey, Lu Ran had been the tactical engine, the roaming jungler luring enemies—he was undoubtedly the hardest-working and most exhausted.

Lu Ran waved his hand, too tired to speak.

Honestly, he couldn’t tell if he was exhausted or drained.

Even though divine energy was abundant in the demon cave, Lu Ran couldn’t recover.

The Sound of Despair was a beginner-level Divine Law, but Lu Ran was a novice—his divine energy reserves and absorption speed were both low.

As they advanced deeper, encounters with hellhounds grew more frequent; in the latter half of the journey, Lu Ran’s divine energy remained completely depleted.

He’d absorb a little, then use it all up—this “energy drought” had nearly broken him!

This also caused his steps to grow increasingly unsteady.

Yet for the sake of ranking, he refused to absorb demon crystals.

Sigh.

Who isn’t a rank slave?

If only he had a divine energy bead.

Lu Ran had never craved such a stamina item so desperately as he did today.

“Team 98, return to the city with me—immediately!” The iron-faced instructor showed no mercy, offering no rest, turning on his heel and walking off.

“Lu Ran?” Jiang Ruyi stepped forward, bending down to reach for him.

Watching the instructor stride away, Lu Ran raised his hand and grasped the girl’s palm.

Soft. Tender.

Hmm. Just like his legs right now.

The return to the city was quiet—after all, they’d fought their way here.

Some hellhounds wandered nearby, but Dou Zhiqiang cleared them all, sparing the students any further combat.

After walking for what felt like forever, they finally returned to Hellhound Village.

Gazing at the towering stone city with its flickering torches, Lu Ran had no energy left to imagine epic background music.

Now, he stared, pale-faced, at the hundred-meter-high stone pillars.

He suddenly remembered—he still had to climb over thirty floors of spiral stairs to truly exit the demon cave!

“Lu Brother, hold on,” Deng Yu slung Lu Ran’s shoulder over his own, his voice still strong.

Lu Ran felt ashamed—he, a Mist Realm Stage Two believer, was weaker than a Stage One.

This was the cost of overusing his power and overextending his body.

At 2:47 PM, they finally exited the demon cave and returned to the barracks.

The sky remained overcast, drizzling lightly.

The four, battered and weary, stepped out from beneath the massive structure housing the Divine Crow, standing in the steady rain, filled with emotion.

Jiang Ruyi and Wu Lie were disheveled, filthy.

The top laner Deng Yu and jungler Lu Ran had become two “bloody men.”

Due to the squad’s unique tactics, Lu Ran and Deng Yu had killed the most hellhounds up close—their clothes soaked in blood, which now dripped steadily in the rain.

Seeing the squad appear, a nearby bus shook violently.

The waiting classmates shouted, crowding to the windows to stare.

“They’re out! Someone’s out!”

“See? I told you it was Wu Lie and Jiang Ruyi’s team!”

“How far did they go? They only came back now? It’s almost three!”

Qian Hao’s fat face turned bright red as he trembled, staring out the window as if enduring unbearable pain:

“The squad leader’s finally out! I’m about to burst—I need to pee.”

He was Lu Ran’s classmate, and on the day of worship, Qian Hao had even schemed from below the stage, urging Lu Ran to burn more paper figures.

As for why Qian Hao was squirming like this

Because beneath Wu Ya’s feet lay a military stronghold!

No one was allowed to enter or leave freely; students had to move in unison.

A single bus held 40 passengers, and before Lu Ran’s team emerged, the first nine buses had already departed.

Only this final bus remained, with four empty seats, waiting for the last team to return.

Worse still, the last group of students to emerge were all locked inside the bus, doors sealed, no movement permitted.

One could imagine how unbearable the 36 students felt.

“I want to see just how many dogs they’ve killed!”

“Look at the blood on their uniforms—enough to warrant censorship on TV. There must be a lot.”

“Didn’t they walk for a full three hours? Not a single pause?”

Qian Hao, face twisted in distress, squeezed his thighs together and muttered softly: “I need to pee.”

Thwack!

A hand landed on Qian Hao’s shoulder.

Qian Hao’s face flushed crimson; he shuddered violently and clenched his legs tighter.

He turned to curse—but when he saw who it was, he wisely swallowed the words on his tongue.

The top student of the year—Ma Tianchuan!

The boy was tall and slender, wearing rimless glasses, exuding an air of quiet refinement.

Standing in the aisle, he leaned forward, resting his hand on Qian Hao’s shoulder, peering out the window.

Just then, he saw Wu Shanshan pull a handful of magic crystals from her pocket and place them on the table beneath the small awning.

The soldier assigned to record immediately began counting; inside the bus, students erupted in chatter:

“Damn, I thought they’d have more—what a waste of emotion!”

“That’s it? Only seven or eight magic crystals?”

“That can’t be right! Jiang’s class rep has some too!”

Under the gaze of the students inside, Jiang Ruyi, beneath the awning, also pulled out nearly ten magic crystals and placed them on the table.

“That’s about twenty total? That’s a decent result.”

“Hmph, my brother Ma brought back thirty-one magic crystals.”

“They’re two girls—don’t expect too much. It’s their first time killing demons; just being willing to act is impressive, damn it!”

A gasp rose from inside the bus.

Deng Yu, drenched in blood, also pulled a handful of magic crystals from his pocket and tossed them onto the table.

“Uh.” Qian Hao felt the hand on his shoulder suddenly tighten.

Ma Tianchuan’s face was stone-cold. For the first time in two years, he felt his number-one position slipping.

And what followed next made Ma Tianchuan’s eyes widen in shock!

Because the final Xiang Xianyang devotee also pulled a handful of magic crystals from his pocket and threw them on the table!

The stone hanging in Ma Tianchuan’s chest finally dropped.

No chance left.

This wasn’t even close competition.

The other side was far, far ahead.

“No way!” After a brief silence, the bus exploded in disbelief.

“How could there still be magic crystals?”

“No wonder they’re second and third in the year—those two girls went berserk!”

“Saying not to expect too much from girls? Let me tell you—women’s hearts are the cruelest!”

“Too many magic crystals! Did this team cheat?”

Yes—how was this possible?

Ma Tianchuan found it equally unbelievable.

The mission lasted only three hours; he and his three teammates had gathered thirty-one magic crystals—an average of one demon dog every six minutes!

For new recruits, that efficiency was already terrifying.

Yet Jiang and Wu’s teams had pulled out forty magic crystals?

Was this team truly this strong?

Indeed, Wu Shanshan was a devotee of the Second-Rank Deity A Sha, and Jiang Ruyi was a devotee of the Third-Rank Deity Yu Fu.

Deng Yu, as a devotee of the Fifth-Rank Deity Hongjin, was also a capable fighter, not a liability.

But Lu Ran—

As a devotee of Xiang Xianyang, how could he not be a dead weight?

Ma Tianchuan frowned; he had heard rumors of Lu Ran’s legendary feats—driving the Third-Rank Deity Qiumo devotees into retreat.

Could this lamb really be special, unlike other Xiang Xianyang devotees?

Judging by the blood on Lu Ran’s clothes, it seemed he was.

“Brother Ma! Ma-ge?”

“What?” Ma Tianchuan still pressed his hand on Qian Hao’s shoulder, leaning out the window, not looking down.

Qian Hao was on the verge of tears, his fat face buried against the seat in front: “Stop squeezing! If you squeeze any harder—I’ll pee!”

Ma Tianchuan: ???

Thank you to Sheng Da Meng’s 100,000 reward—your generosity is immense, thank you for your support!

May your dreams come true and all go smoothly! Wula~!



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(End of Chapter)