Chapter 461: The Mysterious Pouch First Makes a Name

Long after Zhou You had become formidable, a figure slowly crawled up from the ground.

Kai Xulun held the Big Red Robe, the angry rooster's beak bound tightly shut, its eyes filled with fury.

"Aiya!"

Kai Xulun was still shaken when, out of the blue, his palm felt a sharp pain; it turned out the big rooster had scratched the back of his hand with its claws, the wound bubbling with blood and revealing white bone.

"Don't be impatient, Big Red Robe, that person is too powerful, we can't afford to provoke him."

If Zhou You had killed one or two poison bees, it would have been within a range he could accept, but the result was that the other party had killed seventeen in one go.

Facing such a terrifying figure, he subconsciously hid himself, even covering the rooster's beak for fear that its squawking would reveal his whereabouts.

This was a battlefield; the enemies were not just the Wu people, but also the slaughter-maniacs among the martial artists.

The reason Kai Xulun was so cautious was that he had encountered an instance of mutual slaughter some days ago, caused by insufficient supplies, where they had turned on each other to fight for scarce resources.

The harsher the environment, the less human nature can withstand the test.

After landing, Big Red Robe turned its head and pointed its tail at him, appearing very dissatisfied.

"Master Zhou of the Daqian Martial Arts Hall is terrifyingly strong."

Kai Xulun looked in the direction Zhou You had left and shook his head; he still wanted to save his life and dared not make contact with the other party.

Zhou You and his companion continued on their way, with Zuo Lv volunteering to scout the path ahead.

This experienced martial artist was very sensible and knew that Zhou You had many things that needed to be kept secret, especially things he should not know.

The biggest problem on the battlefield was the issue of supplies and spoils of war.

Martial artists needed to eat, drink, and take medicine to heal their wounds; they couldn't even walk two miles empty-handed, so before going into battle, they either brought large livestock to carry the load or brought many Disciples and attendants to serve as human transport.

When separated during the chaotic fighting, transport capacity became the most precious resource; not only did supplies need to be transported, but captured spoils of war also required it.

Don't look down on the Wu people as poor and barbaric; they really had many good things—killing one was like opening a treasure chest, with dog-head gold the size of a millstone, ores that were rough but contained beautiful jade, and even the corpses themselves were valuable materials.

Even the remains of poisonous insects, if collected and brought back, could fetch a handsome reward when sold to the Medicine King Sect or the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

However, the battlefield was dangerous and chaotic, and one never knew when they might encounter an enemy; to maintain flexibility and mobility, apart from essential supplies, one really couldn't carry too much.

The greatest pain was facing a large number of spoils and only being able to take one or two of them away.

Zuo Lv had originally worried about this too, but he had occasionally discovered a few things, which gave him a deeper understanding of Zhou You's unfathomable methods, making him increasingly cautious.

Every time they defeated the Wu people, Zhou You would tell him to go ahead first; once, he inadvertently took a look and discovered that even the corpses and everything else had vanished into thin air.

The Wu corpses, Wu beasts, poisonous insects, as well as the ores, treasures, weapons, and Leather Robes carried by the Wu people were all gone.

What kind of method was this? The more Zuo Lv thought about it, the more afraid he became, fearing that if he were ignorant and exposed this matter, he would bring about his own execution by Zhou You.

These little thoughts of his were clearly displayed before Zhou You through the Heart-Bewildering Blood Qi Gu.

Zhou You smiled; he hadn't avoided Zuo Lv at all. The other party had a Blood Qi Gu lurking in his body, and a single thought from Zhou You could extinguish his life, so he wasn't afraid of him leaking the secret.

The Hunger Pouch, following his massive sales in Chongguang Cheng, was no longer a secret.

He was certain that someone in this great battle was carrying a pouch, and after this battle, the Hunger Pouch would surely be revealed to the world.

To ensure his own safety, the muddier he made the water, the better.

"Huhu hu!"

Ma Yuanyang sat cross-legged on the ground, with many companions lying helter-skelter around him.

His sworn brother, Nie Shanhe, whose righteousness was as heavy as a mountain, collected the supplies carried by each person, scraping together less than a hundred catties of dried meat, half a jar of lard, and a dozen dried cakes—not even enough for him to eat alone.

"There isn't enough food left," Nie Shanhe said in a low voice to Ma Yuanyang, "Our target is too big, and we consume too many supplies; we must separate after today."

Looking at the surrounding martial artists, some were fellow students from Ma Yuanyang's martial arts hall, while others were outside martial artists who were on good terms with people in the hall, like Nie Shanhe.

Originally, everyone had been scattered everywhere, fighting until they were exhausted against the fierce Wu people.

It was only later that Ma Yuanyang emerged suddenly, scouring everywhere for companions, and gathered these people together to rest.

A neighing sound rang out nearby; their last head of livestock, a donkey with an empty back, fell to the ground and died.

This provided over a hundred catties of fresh meat, but it wasn't enough for everyone present to eat—it was just a drop in the bucket!

Ma Yuanyang opened his eyes abruptly and exhaled a long breath, as if he had made an important decision.

"Righteous brother, after this battle, I am going to defect to the Liu family."

Nie Shanhe asked in surprise, "Why?"

Ma Yuanyang did not answer immediately, taking a palm-sized leather pouch from his bosom, "Let everyone have a full meal, and then we shall each go our separate ways!"

He pulled the drawstring, and the pouch rapidly inflated with air, popping open with a sound.

Nie Shanhe's eyes widened on the spot! Shredded leather snow drifted down, and it was as if the warehouse door had been opened in mid-air, with supplies pouring down like a flowing stream.

Dry rations, meat, drinking water, light wine, clothes, shoes, socks, and so on—at least enough for a hundred people to consume.

Nie Shanhe felt as if he were in a dream, "When did you master this... skill of void transport?"

The East King Fist was quite famous in Fucheng, but he had never heard of such a spell.

"How could I?"

Ma Yuanyang shook his head with a bitter smile, "This treasure is the bargaining chip for me to sell myself to the Liu family; now it seems it was worth it."

A hundred-person supply of goods was nothing in Fucheng, but at this moment of being at the end of their rope, it was life-saving nectar.

If the martial artists present could eat their fill and cultivate Blood Qi strength, the speed of their injury recovery would all increase.

Especially in the current predicament, where they had been reduced to eating dead livestock.

Nie Shanhe was silent for a long time, then said with trepidation, "Could it be that the noble families are truly protected by gods, to have such a treasure?"

"I don't know; perhaps I will learn more inside information after I defect."

Ma Yuanyang said, "Eat as much as you can; if you can't finish it, everyone divide it up. The pouch can only be used once; once it's released, it cannot be put back."

"If you can't finish it, you can bury it on the spot; it's a wartime emergency, we can't worry about that much."

A moment later, the well-fed martial artists bowed to Ma Yuanyang one after another and dispersed.

After this rest and replenishment, although they couldn't be said to be back to full strength, they could continue to engage in battle.

The departing martial artists, carrying dry rations, meat, and other supplies, still had that miraculous scene on their minds.

Gradually, the legend of a certain Mysterious Pocket capable of transporting endless supplies began to spread across the battlefield.

Beyond buying over talent, the noble families' actions were also intended to collect data in actual combat and verify the utility of the Hunger Pouch.

It could be said that the results were very ideal.

As the various craftsmen and garrison troops successively joined the battlefield, the intensity increased, and the importance of supplies rose sharply.

A second and a third Hunger Pouch appeared one after another, and all sorts of guesses and deductions spread from every direction.

The martial artist side already held the home-field advantage, and now with the Mysterious Pocket providing supplies, the overall advantage widened visibly to the naked eye.

(End of this chapter)