Chapter 258: Monsters and Humans

Chapter 258: Monsters and Humans

Chapter 258: Monsters and Humans

"Stop!" Xiao Jie shouted, and everyone stopped immediately.

"What's wrong?" I asked in confusion.

Xiao Jie said in a deep voice: "There is something wrong with that big tree."

The big tree blocking the middle of the road reminded him of some stories he had read in the past about ancient robbers.

In ancient times, when outlaws robbed a convoy, they would cut down a tree and place it across the middle of the road. If the escort rashly moved the tree, a fight would be triggered.

The correct way to deal with it is to make a clear statement, give your name, and then both parties negotiate a suitable "bribe". After all, escorts also want to make a living, and robbers also want to make a living. As long as the price is right, it is generally just a matter of spending some money to get along in peace.

Of course, there are also those who don't follow the rules, or if the gap in strength between the two sides is too big, then there is no point in talking, and the real test will be in the hands...

At this moment, Xiao Jie thought of the martial arts stories he had read when he was a child.

Are there bandits and robbers in Canglin Prefecture as well?
You'll know if you investigate.

Listen to the sound and identify the location!

【Listen to the sound to determine the position (magic)

Use: Make a Listen check to scan and detect nearby enemies, marking them on your minimap.

Side Effect: Blackness. You need to close your eyes to use this skill, so your screen will be black for one second when you release this skill.

Xiao Jie suddenly activated the magic he learned from bats. The screen in front of him suddenly went black, and returned to normal after a second. At the same time, many red dots suddenly appeared on the small map in the upper right corner.

There was indeed an ambush, and there were quite a few of them. If we went over rashly, we would definitely be ambushed.

Xiao Jie shouted, "Which road friend is doing business here? Why don't you mark the road?"

Then, out of the woods, a human-sized wild boar staggered out.

He was fat, with his chest exposed, a mane of black hair, a horned helmet on his head, and a big axe on his shoulder. Behind him were several wolf soldiers, each holding a sword, acting as his minions.

Xiao Jie looked at the wild boar's head.

Zhu Datian (wild boar spirit) Level 19, HP 400.

The wild boar demon laughed loudly, "Haha, brother, you are very sensible - this mountain is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to go this way - leave the little fox to me!"

Um?what's the situation?
Xiao Jie couldn't help but be stunned when he heard the words of the wild boar monster in front of him. Why did this monster act like a bandit?
Unexpectedly, they were quite disciplined. They didn't fight right after meeting each other, and they even cut each other... although it was not very strict.

This feeling is indeed a bit strange. It doesn't seem like a monster, but rather like a human being.

However, considering that the monsters in Canglinzhou are all gentle and live together with humans, it is understandable.

His mind was full of thoughts, but he asked blankly, "What little fox?"

"Hmph, don't think you can hide it from me, the old pig. I have a very sensitive nose. I have already smelled the smell of the little fox hidden in your body."

Xiao Jie was about to say a few perfunctory words when he suddenly discovered that the red dots on the small map were flanking them from both sides. He was suddenly startled. It was obvious that the wild boar demon was trying to divert attention and allow his accomplices to take action.

Without further ado, he said, "Charge forward! Brother Qianlong - start the formation!"

As Xiao Jie spoke, he instantly changed his weapon to a crescent-shaped sword.

Qianlong Wuyong swung his spear without hesitation.

General's order - the Goose Formation!
A flying goose mark appeared under everyone's feet, and the speed of the entire team suddenly increased by 10%.

"I'll lead the way!" Qianlong Wuyong shouted loudly, took the lead and rushed to the front. This kind of horse fighting was exactly what he was good at.

Xiao Jie followed closely behind, dragging his long sword directly on the ground. As he flew away, the blade left a burst of sparks on the ground.

Drag the sword and cut!
The wild boar demon waved his axe and tried to stop them.

Qianlong Wuyong rode his horse with gun in hand and rushed forward, suddenly accelerating the moment he got close.

Puff——-489 (235% speed damage bonus)!
The shot hit the wild boar demon right in the chest. As the saying goes, all beings are equal under the lance, and the shot killed the wild boar demon instantly.

During this pause, Xiao Jie instantly passed Qianlong Wuyong and rushed to the front.

Drag the sword and cut—swish!

The crescent-shaped sword, which had been accumulating power for half a day, was suddenly swung out.

With one blow, the big tree blocking the road was chopped down in an instant.

The red charging warhorse rushed forward, knocking the broken tree aside, and the people behind it followed suit.

The wolf soldiers waved their swords and guns and tried to stop them, but they were simply unable to stop them. They broke through the blocking formation in one encounter.

At this time, the monsters lying in ambush in the dense forests on both sides suddenly swarmed out.

"Hurry, don't let them get away!"

"Chase chase chase!"

"I knew this trick wouldn't work, hurry up and call me brother!"

Ouch!

A wolf howl was heard, and endless wolf howls were heard in the surrounding woods. Looking in the woods on both sides, there was no telling how many wolf demons were chasing after them.

Some of them were running wildly on all fours with ice blades in their mouths, some were running upright like humans with their hind legs spread out, and some were even riding horses.

The scene was indeed a bit outrageous, even funny, but Xiao Jie had no time to marvel at it.

There are hundreds of monsters in this group, including some elite monsters. It would be troublesome if we were caught up and surrounded by them.

Boom! Several large trees at the bend ahead were suddenly knocked aside, and a huge black bear as big as a hill suddenly jumped out and blocked the middle of the road.

Xiong Podan (Black Bear Spirit): Level 28 BOSS. HP: 2200.

"Stay here!" The black bear roared, opened his paws, and was about to launch an attack.

Ghost curse—ghost blinds the eyes!

Ye Luo raised his hand, and the black bear demon's eyes suddenly went dark.

"Oh my god, I can't see, I can't see!"

While roaring, it waved its paws around madly.

Everyone automatically moved to the sides, not daring to fight and just went around.

Looking behind him, the large group of monsters had disappeared, but there were still a dozen giant wolves and war horses carrying wolf monsters chasing them closely. Leading the team was a huge white wolf, but this white wolf did not ride on a mount like other wolves, but ran on all fours. This thing happened to be a human-shaped wolf monster, so it looked a little funny when it ran, but its speed was quite fast, and it gradually caught up.

"Speed ​​up!"

"Brother Feng, save me!"

However, Hao Ye Xingkong was gradually left behind. His riding skills were only at the entry level, and the horse he rode was just an ordinary travel horse. It was useless even if he activated the formation.

"Use the magic talisman quickly!" Qianlong Wuyong reminded hurriedly.

"Ah - found it!" With a flash of white light, he suddenly sped up again.
Xiao Jie thought that this flat-headed brother had really made sufficient preparations for his younger brother.

However, the distance between the two sides continued to shorten.

Xiao Jie opened his backpack and wondered who this little fox was. He might as well just leave it alone.

At this moment, an angry shout suddenly came from the front.

"Monster - how dare you be so presumptuous! Don't worry, brother, reinforcements are here!"

I saw a row of more than 20 elite cavalrymen rushing down the hillside ahead.

Xiao Jie was shocked at first, and then he was delighted—it was Lu Ming!

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this, but the pursuers behind them were thrown into disarray. Some turned around and ran, some wanted to chase again, and some were eager to try and engage the cavalry.

In the blink of an eye, the cavalry team was in front of them. The knights had bright armor and white horses like snow. They were elite. The more than ten riders in front did not say a word, bent their bows and drew their arrows. The arrows flew towards the wolf monsters like locusts. Several wolf monsters running in the front were instantly shot to the ground. The huge white wolf was also hit by several arrows. It howled unwillingly and turned to flee.

The few that escaped slowly or wanted to engage in close combat were instantly killed by the spears and were completely defeated in the blink of an eye.

This situation made Xiao Jie feel particularly familiar. Didn't he encounter such a thing on the way from the Novice Village to Luoyang Town? It was Qianlong Wuyong who led the rescue team at that time.

That team of knights killed the wolf demon, but did not pursue it too much. Instead, they surrounded Xiao Jie and others.

Now that there were no enemies, Xiao Jie could finally take a closer look at these reinforcements. These knights were all NPCs, and there was not a single player among them. They were fully covered in armor. Not only were their bodies covered with heavy armor, but even their helmets were full-coverage, with various gorgeous animal-shaped visors.

The leader of the team was wearing a ferocious tiger helmet, looking very imposing.

Linghu Ping (Canglin Xunshou Officer): Level 28, HP 1400.

Since he is a knight, the 1400 should be the total health of both the person and the horse.

"Thank you for the rescue!" Xiao Jie hurriedly thanked him.

"You're welcome. It's our duty to exorcise demons and eliminate violence. Brother, have you met my sister since you came from Qingqiu Village?"

"I'm sorry, we did come across a deserted village just now, but I didn't see any living people. There were only corpses in the village."

At this moment, the icon of Xiao Jie's backpack suddenly flashed.

He quickly opened his backpack and saw an exclamation mark above the head of the little fox in the bag.

Hey, what's going on?
Xiao Jie immediately realized that this little fox should be related to Linghu Ping in front of him.

Right click to summon.

The little white fox was summoned out immediately.

Unexpectedly, a white mist suddenly rose from the little fox's body, and it turned into a white-haired loli about twelve or thirteen years old. She looked very cute, almost the same as a human girl, except for a pair of pointed ears and a big fox tail, which showed her difference from humans.

"Cousin, woooo, I finally see you." The little girl cried and threw herself into Linghu Ping's arms.

Xiao Jie was stunned when he saw it. Damn, this is actually a fox demon girl?

That’s not right—what was shown before was clearly a fox cub?

Xiao Jie was confused, but Linghu Ping had already comforted the little girl and said, "Thank you for bringing my sister out. I will never forget your kindness. If there is anything I need, please let me know."

As he spoke, Linghu Ping took off his tiger helmet, revealing a fox face that was surprisingly quite handsome.

Other knights also took off their helmets, and surprisingly, most of them had faces of animals on them, including wolves, dogs, leopards, tigers... Everyone looked confused.

Xiao Jie was really shocked this time. He finally experienced the peculiarity of Canglin Province.

Although I had known about it before, and knew that monsters and humans lived together in Canglin Province, and it was said that monsters also had towns...but seeing it with my own eyes was a completely different feeling.

Linghu Ping didn't seem to realize the crowd's surprise. "Those monsters are causing trouble everywhere. This place is not safe. Let's go back to the city first."

Listening to Linghu Ping calling people monsters all the time, Xiao Jie thought to himself, aren't you a monster too?

But he wisely didn't ask.

He called on everyone to follow this team of strange cavalry.

However, just because he didn't ask, it didn't mean that everyone had the same expression.

Hao Ye Xing Kong asked curiously, "Aren't you all monsters too?"

"Humph!"

"Be bold!"

"That's unreasonable!"

Suddenly, a few cold snorts were heard in the team, and it was obvious that they were quite dissatisfied with such a name.

Linghu Ping's expression was slightly frowned, but he still waved his hand, telling his men to stay calm.

"Although we look a little different, we are all good people. How can we be called monsters? Monster is not a good name. I know that you are new here and probably don't know the situation in Canglinzhou. But don't talk nonsense after entering the city, otherwise - it will cause trouble and it will not be beautiful."

People? Or lovers?
Xiao Jie was even more puzzled now.

"We are indeed new here and are not very familiar with the local customs. Brother Linghu, could you explain a little bit so that we don't make mistakes again in the future?"

"Of course, but before I explain, I would like to ask you a few questions - what is a human? What is a demon?"

Xiao Jie was slightly stunned. Logically speaking, this question was easy to answer. Humans were humans, and monsters were animals that had become spirits. But since the other party asked this, there must be a different answer.

"Please enlighten me."

Linghu Ping said with emotion: "It's very simple - do good deeds, achieve good results, respect the law and discipline, and abide by morality, then you are a human being.

If one bullies the weak, kills innocent people indiscriminately, has a cruel heart and is morally corrupt, then he is a beast and a monster.

Although we are born as different races and belong to different groups, we have all read books, gone to school, studied scriptures, and know good and evil, so we naturally become human beings.

On the contrary, do you think that those humans who commit murder, arson, and all kinds of evil, who are contaminated by the power of evil, are the same kind as you?"

I Want to Become an Immortal suddenly spoke in the team channel: "I understand - NPCs are people, monsters are monsters, humanoid monsters are also monsters, and animal NPCs are also NPCs."

Xiao Jie couldn't help but laugh, the summary of "I Want to Become an Immortal" was very accurate.

But it makes sense to put it in the game.

"Ah, I've learned my lesson. I did judge people by their appearance just now. It was really rude. Please forgive me."

When Linghu Ping heard Xiao Jie say this, he also smiled, but the smile looked a little incongruous on a fox's face.

"It's good that you understand. This is not something I came up with. It's the teaching of Master Xiaoyue. Back then, Canglin Province was full of monsters. To be honest, my ancestors also lived among the wilds and did many wrong things by leading beasts to eat people.

Fortunately, an immortal came down to the mortal world later and gave three volumes of the Heavenly Book to Immortal Xiaoyue. Immortal then distributed the three volumes of the Heavenly Book to various tribes to teach all living beings. From then on, many birds and beasts knew the principles of good and evil, and most of them became humans.

Only those unruly and unruly people still call themselves fairies, and the white wolf today is one of them."

The little Loli sat in Linghu Ping's arms, listening to everyone's conversation, but her face was confused.

As they were talking, they finally walked out of the forest. In front of them appeared endless wheat fields. Some "people" with sheep's heads, cow's heads, and even pig's heads were busy harvesting in the fields.

If these 'people' didn't look so strange, they would really look like ordinary farmers.

Even compared to the scene of Fengyinzhou where monsters are everywhere and the land is barren, it feels more like a peaceful world.

In the distance beyond the endless wheat fields, a town appeared before everyone's eyes.

As we walked along, the farmers cast curious glances at us.

When he got closer to the city wall, Xiao Jie noticed that most of the soldiers on the wall were half human and half beast. They had human bodies but their faces were those of various animals, with horns, beards and other animal features.

Occasionally, one or two human faces can be seen, but I don’t know whether these humans are real people, or goblins who have achieved success in their cultivation and completely shed their animal form and transformed into human form.

Xiao Jie also noticed that these "people" also raised a lot of livestock. He even saw with his own eyes a shepherd driving a group of sheep to graze and waving a shepherd's whip. He was exactly the same as the shepherd he had seen in Ginkgo Village.

Even his title is shepherd, not goat spirit.

Xiao Jie took a look at the warhorse under Linghu Ping's crotch and vaguely guessed the rule of dividing "humans" and "beasts".

Those who stand up and walk, have a human shape, and can speak are human beings.

Anything with four legs and that can't talk is a beast. As for monsters - those bandits in the wild are monsters.

If you accept this setting, it's fine.

The key is that these "monsters" all have green names, which makes Xiao Jie feel a lot more at ease.

After taking another look at the little Loli, Xiao Jie suddenly understood why the previous animal language technique didn't work.

Maybe it’s because the system determines that the little fox is not a wild beast?
But this is convenient. Since she is a 'human', we can communicate and trade. I just happened to have saved her girl, so I can find a chance to ask her how to learn these three volumes of the heavenly book.

(End of this chapter)