With experience from the first Rock Giant Scorpion, this second one was much easier to handle. Wang Yi, relying on his powerful Crossbow Machine Carriage, led his people to capture it alive. The fight was tense but ultimately safe, and they successfully delivered it to the Beast Cage.
The Territory Guardian Beast, Gegeda, peered at the Beast Cage from the outside, its eyes filled with hunger. If the Rock Giant Scorpion weren't locked inside, Gegeda likely would have devoured it.
By evening, this Rock Giant Scorpion had been successfully tamed, adding another Combat Pet Mount to their ranks.
However, Wang Yi couldn't bring himself to be happy. Scouting the area had yielded no profit, and Gegeda, that bottomless pit, had to eat every day. He couldn't help but feel anxious.
As darkness fell, Wang Yi, Man Datou, Yang Qingniu, and the others were eating dinner around a campfire when Pang Damao returned with more intelligence.
Pang Damao had timed his return specifically to scrounge a meal.
Through brown-nosing, he had become something of a confidant to Lu Junsheng, and his meals had improved significantly. But all he got was plain white rice and flavorless pork. How could that compare to the satisfaction of roast chicken and ham?
"I asked that Chicken Feather General for a half-day's leave, so I have to go back tonight! I got a close look at that Lord Red Yan today. Tsk tsk, what a first-class woman! Way prettier than Qingxiu, and taller too…"
Pang Damao sat by the campfire, holding a sausage and speaking with a cheeky grin as he ate.
Seated by the campfire were Wang Yi, Man Datou, Yang Qingniu, Yang Wanli, Zhang Lengzi, and the others.
Among them was Yang Wanli, who, despite still being weak from his recent recovery from serious injuries, had also come to scrounge a meal and announced that he wanted to join the Civilian Militia.
Wang Yi shot Pang Damao a glare. "Get to the point!"
"Right!"
Pang Damao's expression immediately turned serious, the cheeky grin gone. He lowered his voice. "Boss, Lord Red Yan has given the order. First thing tomorrow morning, she's taking the stronghold's Big Saber Team to the General's Tomb. Said something about 'pioneering' it!"
"Mm, that's expected."
Wang Yi nodded slightly. The General's Tomb dungeon would open tomorrow, so of course Lu Hongyan would want to be the first to clear it.
Yang Wanli asked, "How many people are in the Big Saber Team?"
"Including me, exactly eighty men, all able-bodied youths!" Pang Damao said. "The old, young, and women can't join the Big Saber Team. They get assigned to the kitchens, the Wood Armor Workshop, the Blacksmith Shop, or the Bitter Worker squads. When I first joined Lu Family Stronghold, I was in a Bitter Worker squad. The foreman was a guy from Pottery Village in his fifties named Qiu Wu. A real bastard—he specifically picked on me."
"Oh, right!" Pang Damao clapped his hands. "Boss, that Lord Red Yan also seemed to mention you. She said... she said..."
"What did she say?"
"She said there's a 'King of Competition Lord' to the west, and that after she conquers the General's Tomb and uses its resources to arm her troops, she'll send an army to annihilate him. Then she'll conscript all the villagers from Stone Village and Huangni Village and put them to work! Her old man, that useless general, even said he wants to lead the troops himself!"
Hearing this, Wang Yi's expression turned cold. He said in a low voice, "In that case, we need to strike first. He who hesitates is lost. They'll have no one to blame but themselves for what comes next!"
After a brief pause, Wang Yi looked at Yang Qingniu and the others and asked grimly, "Killing people. Do you have the guts?"
Yang Qingniu nodded. "We do!"
"Good! Tomorrow is your time to shine!" Wang Yi stood up and looked toward Lu Family Stronghold. He continued, "Lengzi, Fenqiu, Mazha, Dazhuang, the four of you will go with Da Mao in a bit! Da Mao, you'll get them into Lu Family Stronghold…"
Wang Yi slowly laid out his plan, leaving Yang Qingniu, Pang Damao, and the others stunned and terrified.
That night, Pang Damao took Lengzi, Fenqiu, Mazha, and Dazhuang and got them into Lu Family Stronghold. As a confidant of Lu Junsheng, and with the stronghold in need of laborers, it wasn't difficult.
But that night, none of them—not Pang Damao, nor Zhang Lengzi, Fenqiu, Mazha, or Dazhuang—slept soundly. The thought of what they had to do the next day made them all nervous.
Meanwhile, on Wang Yi's side, Yang Qingniu set out for Lu Family Stronghold while the stars were still bright in the sky.
He was excited.
Because Wang Yi had bestowed the second Rock Giant Scorpion upon him.
After being successfully tamed, the Rock Giant Scorpion was very docile and obedient. It only took half an hour for Yang Qingniu to familiarize himself with it before he could ride it all over the place.
This giant scorpion, of course, went with Yang Qingniu, but not as a mount. Its back was laden with torches, oil cans, and five Sha River Overlord Spears.
Not long after Yang Qingniu left, Wang Yi and Man Datou set out as well.
Wang Yi, of course, was driving his Crossbow Machine Carriage, while Man Datou rode the first Rock Giant Scorpion. They were, for all intents and purposes, fully armed.
A moment later, Yang Wanli also headed east, carrying a machete.
He was all alone, the machete borrowed from Zhang Dashan.
'An old man can still be vigorous! I can't let the Boss think I'm a burden! Lu Family Stronghold? General's Tomb? This old man has to go kill someone and snatch some credit, no matter what!'
Yang Wanli thought to himself that if even his big, foolish son could become a Civilian Militia Captain, then if he pledged his loyalty to the Boss, he should at least be able to land a position higher than his son's.
Time passed slowly. Before the sky had even brightened, Wang Yi had already reached the General's Tomb. He hid on a hillside a hundred meters away, waiting quietly.
When the sun rose, the eastern sky was filled with crimson clouds, a truly beautiful sight.
Things were different in Lu Family Stronghold today. Lu Hongyan woke up early. For the first time, she gathered the stronghold's able-bodied men and gave them a speech.
After breakfast, the female Player mounted her Golden Lion Mount. Like a true general, she led Lu Junsheng and over a hundred of the stronghold's able-bodied men away from the stronghold in a great, mighty procession.
Pang Damao was also in the procession, wearing Wood Armor and equipped with a long saber, following behind Lu Junsheng.
However, Zhang Lengzi, Hu Fenqiu, and the others were left behind in the stronghold.
The vast majority of residents in Lu Family Stronghold were from Pottery Village and Gourd Village. The people from these two villages bullied newcomers. Since Zhang Lengzi and his group weren't from their villages, they were ostracized, assigned to a Bitter Worker squad, and made to stay behind to work.
Of course, this was exactly what they wanted.
Zhang Lengzi watched the large force leave the stronghold, then glanced at the old, the young, the women, and the seven or eight managers who remained. His face remained expressionless, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Hu Fenqiu sidled up to Zhang Lengzi and asked in a hushed voice, "Uncle Lengzi, when do we make our move?"
Zhang Lengzi glanced at the two tall, wooden Arrow Towers in the distance and said in a low voice, "The Lord has calculated the time. It will take the Lu Family Stronghold's main force at least an hour to reach the General's Tomb. We'll wait until then to make our move. The Captain will call out a challenge from outside at that time!"
Just then, a foreman in his fifties swaggered over, carrying a machete.
He was the foreman of the Bitter Worker squad, named Qiu Wu. With a cruel look on his face, he immediately started yelling at Zhang Lengzi's group, "What are you freeloaders doing clustered together? Get back to work! Go, go, go! Move those logs over there first, then go dig the post holes!"
After speaking, he even kicked Zhang Lengzi in the lower back and shouted, "Stop dawdling! Or do you not want to eat this afternoon?"
The kick sent Zhang Lengzi stumbling. He grunted, staggering forward two steps before catching his balance.
Hu Fenqiu, Zhang Mazha, and Yang Dazhuang were young and hot-blooded. Seeing Zhang Lengzi get bullied, they clenched their fists and looked ready to charge forward like three angry calves.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to rebel?"
Qiu Wu pointed his machete at Hu Fenqiu and the others, his posture arrogant.
He was deliberately looking for trouble.
That bootlicker Pang Damao had become one of Lu Junsheng's Personal Guards, which had really annoyed him. Hearing that these newcomers had been brought in by Pang Damao, he decided to come and bully them a bit to vent his frustration.
Zhang Lengzi rubbed his lower back and forced an ugly smile. He quickly stepped forward to block Hu Fenqiu and the others. "Yes, yes, Foreman, please calm down! We'll go right now! Right now!"
"Uncle Lengzi…"
Hu Fenqiu frowned, wanting to say something.
Zhang Lengzi immediately shot him a glare, and Hu Fenqiu didn't dare make another sound.
Seeing this, Qiu Wu was quite pleased. The frustration he'd felt because of Pang Damao eased considerably.
From then on, the foreman did nothing else but watch Zhang Lengzi's group work, punching and kicking them whenever he felt the slightest bit displeased.
Time passed. About an hour after the main force from Lu Family Stronghold had left, a man and a scorpion slowly approached from outside the stronghold.
It was Yang Qingniu and the Rock Giant Scorpion.
Yang Qingniu stopped just outside the range of the Arrow Towers. He stared at the two wooden structures for a moment, then suddenly shouted toward the stronghold gate, "Hey! Can you hear me? The time is right! It's time to make your move!"
The shout immediately drew the attention of many people inside the stronghold. Some ran to the main gate to look, and cried out in alarm when they saw the ferocious-looking Rock Giant Scorpion.
Qiu Wu was startled by the sudden commotion and subconsciously turned to look out the stronghold gate.
And in the split second his attention was diverted, a sudden, Giant Strength gripped his right wrist!
"Now!"
Zhang Lengzi let out a low roar, the resentment he had suppressed all day erupting like a volcano!