Stronger with More Jobs-Chapter 437 - 230: Enemy Attack, Maximum Alert!!

The command was not the least bit flashy, only the most direct orders and most effective coordination.

Wherever there was a gap, his blade would point directly there.

The warriors of the Fierce Tiger Company, like extensions of his arm, using flesh and blade, wove an impenetrable web of death outside the main battlefield constructed by Fang Qingyu and the five others.

Those stray, scattered Life Ghosts were firmly blocked at the mouth of the valley!

...

The battle lasted for an unknown amount of time.

When Fang Qingyu’s fist smashed the head of the last mountain spirit trying to breach the barrier into its chest cavity,

the entire Black Pine Ridge finally fell temporarily silent.

Deathly silence enveloped the area once more.

But this time, the silence was filled with smoke and bloodshed.

It was the pungent smoke created by the obliteration of Energy after Life Ghosts were shattered, their foul blood vaporizing, and corrosive liquid burning the ground.

It was the scorched and sulfurous scent left behind after Tribulation Fire burned, Thunder exploded, and Molten Rock Qi Force erupted violently.

It was the patches of frost and biting cold left after Ice Crystal Sword Qi sliced and froze.

Mixing with the intense, nauseating stench of foul blood and entrails belonging to the Life Ghosts.

Forming a grayish smoke filled with the aura of death, shrouding the ruins at the bottom of the ridge.

Fang Qingyu stood at the very forefront of the valley entrance.

Underfoot was the mangled carcass of the mountain spirit whose head he had smashed apart.

He exhaled a breath of bloody mist, his melted gold-like eyes scanning the battlefield.

In the center of the bottom, the small figure of Jiang Wei still stood atop a rock, her little face expressionless as she looked down at something.

On the left-wing ruins, Chu Kuanglan leaned on his knees, gasping heavily, his bare upper body covered in fine bloodstains and filth.

The Molten Rock Qi Force slowly retracted, yet his eyes still burned with frenzied battle intent.

At the edge of the right-wing battlefield, Lu Jiuyuan slowly sheathed his blade, his movements steady, but his grip slightly trembling, his face a bit pale, clearly exhausted.

Behind the valley entrance, Wei Banmeng slowly opened her cool eyes, the cold aura surrounding her gradually retracting, her face also somewhat pale.

Maintaining such a vast Sword Domain was also a tremendous strain on her.

Fang Qingyu’s gaze finally turned toward the internal side of the valley, the defense line held by the Fierce Tiger Company.

Zhang Tiezhu still stood there like a towering fortress, his dark face covered in a mixture of sweat and foul blood, his training uniform torn in multiple places, revealing the bronze skin beneath, marked with scars.

The Thick-Backed Mountain Knife in his hand was finally drawn, the blade stained with dark green foul blood. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Behind him, the warriors of the Fierce Tiger Company silently cleared the battlefield.

Their movements were swift, their coordination seamless.

In groups of two, one alertly watching the surroundings, one rapidly examining the remnants of Life Ghosts on the ground to ensure they were thoroughly dead, and quickly and carefully gathering the remains of fallen comrades.

The bodies on the ground were mostly those of the Life Ghosts.

The shattered fur and entrails of Shadow Dogs, the scattered stones of Rock Puppets, the massive carcasses of mountain spirits, the twisted metal debris of Iron-Eating Ghosts... layer upon layer, covering almost the entire area near the valley entrance.

The dark green and dark red foul blood mixed, forming a viscous mire, exuding a suffocating odor.

But, among them were also a few glaring patches of deep green camouflage.

That was the color of the training uniforms of the Fierce Tiger Company warriors.

Fang Qingyu’s gaze fell upon one spot.

A young warrior, his lower half almost crushed into pulp by a mountain spirit’s giant claw in its dying moment, only his upper half remained relatively intact, soaked in corrosive foul blood.

In his hands, he still held a nicked Thick-Backed Battle Saber tightly.

On his face was a frozen expression of defiance and ferocity.

The very same young warrior who had smilingly greeted him with "Good morning, Captain Fang" that morning.

Zhang Tiezhu also saw Fang Qingyu’s gaze.

He silently walked to the remains of that warrior, squatted down, and with his rough hands, extremely slowly and solemnly, gently closed the warrior’s staring eyes.

Then, he stood up, in Fang Qingyu’s direction, nodded ever so slightly, in a gesture of deep respect.

In his eyes, there was no sadness, no anger.

Only a calmness forged by witnessing life and death countless times, hardened by war like steel, and a wordless heaviness.

Fang Qingyu slowly withdrew his gaze, and likewise, nodded ever so slightly in Zhang Tiezhu’s direction.

Without words.

Everything was communicated in silence.

They had fulfilled what they had promised.

Fang Qingyu’s squad had intercepted all Tier Two and larger groups of Life Ghosts.

The Fierce Tiger Company had blocked all the stragglers, using flesh and blade to hold the final line of defense.

The cost had been minimized.

But in war, no one is spared from death.

Cruelty is the true essence of this land.

Fang Qingyu took a deep breath, the heavy scent of blood and smoke filling his lungs.

"Woo—!"

A sharp bone whistle suddenly emanated from Zhang Tiezhu’s mouth, piercing the brief silence, echoing across the smoke-filled battlefield.

All the warriors of the Fierce Tiger Company momentarily paused, then resumed their actions with even greater speed.

Gathering the fallen, clearing the battlefield, reinforcing fortifications, inspecting equipment.

On their faces, weary yet still resolute, there was not a hint of relaxation, only deeper somberness.

Zhang Tiezhu put away the bone whistle, his gaze sweeping over Fang Qingyu and the other four, his voice hoarse, tinged with urgency:

"Captain Fang, comrades! Hurry and recover! This was only the first wave!"

"Bigger...is yet to come!"