Chapter 77: Valerian

The valley’s side was not steep, allowing the stone lizard warriors to climb up easily, and some, with a burst of speed, could even rush up directly.

But, they couldn’t see Ji Xinghuo’s position and had to guess the enemy’s location from the arrows’ direction.

And this cost them their lives!

Thud!

Thud!

With each arrow that flew, a stone lizard fell and rolled down the slope.

Without exception, all were shot in the eye and pierced through the head.

“%&$#……”

Some stone lizards shouted as a few with shields charged to the front, holding their shields over their heads trying to block the arrows.

Others threw spears from behind, aiming straight for Ji Xinghuo.

They had spotted Ji Xinghuo.

Ji Xinghuo had to sidestep to avoid the spears, causing a brief pause in his shooting while the shielded stone lizards took the opportunity to charge him, closing the distance to less than fifty meters. With the stone lizards’ speed, it would only take four or five seconds to reach him.

“Indeed, intelligent races are much harder to deal with than monsters.”

This thought flashed through Ji Xinghuo’s mind.

But his actions didn’t slow; he drew an explosive flame arrow and aimed at the closest stone lizard.

He didn’t shoot the lizard’s shield but its chest, where the shield couldn’t protect. There was a loud bang as high-temperature flames erupted, engulfing the nearby shield-bearing lizards as well. The blast knocked them down, and the flames that stuck to their bodies caused them to scream in agony.

Once the shield-bearers fell, the rest behind them were exposed.

Ji Xinghuo quickly fired five arrows, and five more stone lizards tumbled down the slope dead.

But more stone lizards were already charging up.

They weren’t blindly charging; two squads split off to flank from the sides. This tactic not only spread Ji Xinghuo’s arrow fire but also allowed them to throw spears from the sides to disrupt him.

“I was a bit careless.”

“Never underestimate any intelligent race. Learn from this lesson.”

Ji Xinghuo’s expression changed slightly.

With more than thirty stone lizard warriors closing in, he could at most shoot four or five more before they surrounded him. Even with his Wanxiang Star Pupils, he would likely not survive a close-quarters attack.

He immediately activated his swift wind boots preparing to retreat.

Suddenly, there was an angry roar from behind the stone lizards, and a fierce blade light slashed through, instantly cutting two or three stone lizards in half.

The super fiery madman had returned from outside the valley!

He moved quickly, his heavy broadsword swinging continuously in surprise attacks from behind, cutting down nearly ten enemies in just a few strokes. Flesh flew everywhere, throwing the stone lizards’ formation into disarray. Half continued to climb the slope, the rest turned to attack the fiery madman.

Those returning were mainly the ones tasked with throwing spears.

Without them restraining him, Ji Xinghuo’s pressure greatly decreased.

He abandoned the idea of retreating as his hands moved swiftly, each arrow taking another stone lizard’s life.

Spiritual Source Energy +1

Spiritual Source Energy +2+1+3……

Most of these stone lizards were first-tier warriors, a few were second-tier, and there were no third-tiers at all. Their average strength was rather weak, relying more on their naturally tough bodies for combat. The abilities they possessed were mediocre, providing only a little Spiritual Source Energy.

Ji Xinghuo fired several arrows, each aimed at the stone lizard closest to him.

Thud, thud, thud…

Heads pierced, blood splattered.

One by one, stone lizard warriors fell, sacrificing their lives to buy time for their comrades as they inched closer to Ji Xinghuo.

A few stone lizards threw their weapons with all their might before dying, attempting to disrupt Ji Xinghuo’s shooting.

Ji Xinghuo was deeply shocked.

Such brave and fearless fighting spirit, typical of cold-blooded creatures—cold-blooded towards both their enemies and themselves!

Yet, shocked as he was, he showed no mercy in his actions.

The Dragon Falcon Bow in his hands functioned like a precise machine, its limbs opening and closing like wings, the string vibrating continuously as it mercilessly took lives with each arrow.

Ten seconds later, only five stone lizards remained.

But they had already reached Ji Xinghuo, only a few steps away. Their eyes showed no signs of retreat, nor the joy of impending victory, only a cold intent to kill.

“Run fast!”

The fiery madman in the valley suddenly yelled in Asia-Pacific Community’s language, his accent quite poor.

He was swarmed by more adversaries, entrapped in a bitter struggle, his star energy almost depleted, covered in wounds, and despite his desire to aid Ji Xinghuo, he was powerless.

Ji Xinghuo released an arrow, knocking down a stone lizard in front of him.

The next one charged immediately, his battle blade aiming for Ji Xinghuo’s neck, a strike costing the lives of a dozen stone lizard warriors.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t have time to shoot.

But he didn’t flinch, nor did he draw the close-combat weapon at his waist. Instead, with his left hand holding the Dragon Falcon Bow, he suddenly flipped it horizontally, exposing the back of his hand to the enemy, nearly within reach.

The Green Rainbow on his wrist raised its head and opened its mouth.

A titanium-aluminum alloy arrow materialized from thin air and shot into the stone lizard’s eye, piercing through its brain.

Before dying, the stone lizard’s eyes finally showed flickers of movement, unable to comprehend where the arrow had come from.

Ji Xinghuo quickly adjusted the direction of his hand back, with Green Rainbow keeping its mouth open, sending out four arrows in just a second.

Thud, thud, thud…

The final four charging stone lizards were hit and fell, immediately losing their combat ability.

Looking at the three still struggling stone lizards, Ji noticed his cooperation with Green Rainbow was not yet fluent. Only the first hit its target in the eye; the subsequent three hit the face and neck, not fatal shots, allowing the dying lizards to continue crawling toward him.

He drew the Leichi battle knife and ensured a quick end for these three stone lizards.

“Help!”

Shouts for help came from the valley.

Turning his head, Ji saw the fiery madman in a dangerous situation, the flames on his body extinguished.

In a burning state, the fiery madman was extremely formidable, with increased strength and explosive power. But once his star energy burned out, he’d revert to his normal form.

At this moment, an unpowered fiery madman was being attacked by seven or eight stone lizards, his situation perilous.

“This guy’s not bad.”

“He could’ve escaped on his own, but he came back to help me despite his depleted star energy. It wasn’t in vain that I saved him once.”

Thinking this, Ji raised the Dragon Falcon Bow and aimed it into the valley at the fiery madman.

Whoosh!

An arrow flew out, hitting its mark precisely, piercing through the stone lizard from behind.

Several arrows later, one stone lizard after another fell, easily rescuing the fiery madman.

As the last stone lizard was shot, the fiery madman, nearly exhausted, dropped his broadsword and sat down on the ground, gasping heavily.

Ji didn’t approach him immediately but instead opened the Wanxiang Star Pupils interface to check. This battle had netted 76 points of Spiritual Source Energy. Most of these stone lizards were first-tier warriors, each providing only one point of Spiritual Source Energy, but their numbers added up to a substantial total.

Not only from his own kills, but the stone lizards slain by the fiery madman also contributed to the Spiritual Source Energy.

Ji didn’t use the Spiritual Source Energy immediately, saving it for future use.

He had now accumulated 85 points.

He jumped into the valley toward the fiery madman but stopped about thirty meters away. In the Star Realm wilderness, encountering other humans, whether friendly or hostile, one must not approach carelessly to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

At a thirty-meter distance, close combat ambushes are difficult, and it’s hard for archers to strike unexpectedly.

The fiery madman struggled to stand, leaning on his broadsword.

He was about 185 centimeters tall, with light yellow hair, black pupils, and a face full of beard, appearing to be in his forties. His light armor was heavily damaged, and he was in bad shape. However, his injuries were not severe. With the super heterogenous self-healing ability, as long as his star energy recovered, he would regain his combat strength.

“Brother!” the fiery madman exclaimed cheerily in a strangely accented Asia-Pacific Community language, “My name is Valerian. Thank you for saving me.”

“Are you from the empire?” Ji Xinghuo asked.

On Earth, there is only one empire, the New Roman Empire.

The empire’s territories span the three continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. In recent years, its diplomatic relations with the Asia-Pacific Community have gradually improved, reaching a historical high.

“Yes,” Valerian nodded, sizing up Ji Xinghuo enthusiastically, “I’m from Ivangele. When you get back to Earth, come have a drink with me. I’ll bring out the best I have to offer, my brother.”

It was clear Valerian was grateful, though Ji hadn’t intended to curry favor.

Saving him was secondary; he acted for the Spiritual Source Energy.

“I will,” Ji casually promised, curiously asking, “Are you alone? No teammates?”

Venturing into North Luo Master Clan’s territory alone was either very skilled or incredibly foolish.

“I’m a lone traveler.”

Valerian answered and, without waiting for Ji to ask more, continued, “Yesterday, I killed a patrol team from the North Luo Master Clan and got injured, so I hid in this valley to recover. I didn’t expect a stone lizard stronghold to be hidden under the nearby rift. I had checked earlier but carelessly missed it. If it weren’t for you, brother, I’d be meeting God by now.”

Ji nodded, suspecting the other party wasn’t telling the whole truth.

But he wasn’t interested in probing further.

“Farewell.”

Ji turned to leave, but Valerian shouted, “Brother, you haven’t told me your name. When I get back to Earth, I won’t know who to thank.”

Ji hesitated, then said, “My name is Ji Xinghuo.”

With that, he left the valley.

As for the corpses of the stone lizards scattered around, Ji Xinghuo didn’t examine them. Stone lizards, the only race among the four clans of North Luo Master without a racial talent, didn’t have any heterogenous abilities to harvest. The abilities possessed by stone lizards were all fused, unable to be merged a second time.

Valerian watched Ji Xinghuo disappear into the forest quickly.

He didn’t ask about Ji’s teammates, having guessed they must be hiding nearby.

“Mysterious man.”

Valerian murmured quietly, his eyes filled with surprise and worry, “He doesn’t seem very strong, at most a high-level hetero, yet his power is so formidable. The younger generation of the Asia-Pacific Community is getting stronger, and the empire is falling further behind.”