Chapter 127: Forming the Hunting Party

Yu Yan felt a mix of amusement and frustration. These villagers were truly quick to forget the pain once they had something to eat.

Only a short while ago, they had been tossed aside by her people like sacks of sand, yet here they were, vibrant and full of life again. However, Yu Yan had no intention of resorting to force a second time; doing so too often would only paint her as a tyrant. She had no desire to walk the path of a despot who ignored the counsel of others.

"Everyone, quiet down."

Yu Yan pressed her hands downward, and the clamoring crowd fell silent. Good, it seemed they still "respected" her quite a bit. Yu Yan smiled with satisfaction. "Your ideas aren't inherently wrong, but have you considered this? Once the dungeon worlds merge, the monsters from higher-level dungeons will inevitably encroach upon the territory of the lower-level ones."

"If we just move to some random F-grade dungeon, it will be hard to find even a slightly stronger monster nearby. How are we supposed to improve our strength then?"

"If our strength doesn't improve, what happens when a high-level monster—like my seventh-rank Blue Crystal Giant Lizard—suddenly wanders into where we live? Wouldn't our entire village become nothing more than meat on a chopping block?"

"Are you willing to let that happen?"

The crowd looked at one another in dismay. What Yu Yan said was something they hadn't considered, but entering D-grade or even C-grade dungeons meant certain death for them. Between the two, death was waiting either way; why was life in these dungeon worlds so difficult?

"The reason I suggested this is because I believe taking you into a C-grade dungeon is feasible," Yu Yan said, observing their dejected expressions. "First of all, I brought back the carcasses of eight spirit beasts. Carving out a thousand pounds of meat is no problem."

"Our village has fewer than a thousand people. About three ounces of spirit beast meat is enough for one person to awaken an ability."

"This meat can allow everyone in our village to become a first-rank enhancer capable of wielding abilities."

"Of course, becoming a first-rank enhancer is easy, but the road ahead isn't so simple."

"To become a second-rank enhancer, each person needs about ten pounds of fourth-rank spirit beast meat. If it’s fifth-rank meat, it would be about three pounds. Naturally, once you are an enhancer, consuming lower-rank spirit beast meat of the same attribute can also boost your abilities."

"It’s just that the quantities will be a bit staggering; you’d need fifty pounds of third-rank spirit beast meat."

"As for second-rank, first-rank, and unranked, you can figure it out for yourselves—the numbers will surely be in the hundreds or thousands of pounds. Not to mention, if you want to become a third-rank enhancer or higher later on, the meat I have left won't be enough to sustain your growth."

"Individual strength is meager, which is why you need to form a strong team."

"We will take turns entering the dungeons to hunt monsters, in order to improve everyone’s abilities and bolster the team's survival."

"At the current rate of dungeon expansion, the two top-tier dungeons at the entrance of our village will swallow Fenghe Village in about a month. This means we need to raise a portion of the people to third-rank or higher within that time!"

"C-grade dungeons won't contain monsters above the Earth-rank, and sixth-rank monsters are extremely rare."

"There will be more fourth and fifth-rank monsters, but the vast majority will be Yellow-rank, from first to third-rank, or unranked."

"Once your abilities reach the third rank, with my seventh-rank peak Blue Crystal Giant Lizard guarding you, do you still think setting up camp in a C-grade dungeon is impossible?"

Yu Yan’s words ignited their fighting spirit. That was true—her pet giant lizard was an Earth-rank seventh-rank peak spirit beast!

Going to a C-grade dungeon where it was impossible for Earth-rank or higher creatures to appear clearly offered strong security. The reason Yu Yan wanted everyone to reach the third rank was so that after they set up camp, they wouldn't have to cower in their base every single day.

They could move in groups of three or five and have the strength to go out and hunt monsters to increase their power.

Like a ray of brilliant light piercing through a dim prison cell, the villagers, previously trapped in a dead end, found hope. A belief in survival ignited in their eyes. But they still had questions.

"If we go into the dungeon to hunt, will you be coming with us, Yan?"

"Exactly! Even if we become first-rank enhancers, we have no combat experience. We might not be able to defeat monsters that travel in packs. If you aren't with us, we won't feel secure!"

"If you're too busy, it would be fine if you just let your giant lizard accompany us."

"Dungeon monsters are bloodthirsty and brutal. Isn't it dangerous to go in and hunt them?"

Fear flashed across some faces. "My little girl, Niu-niu, only has me left as a father. If something happens to me, there will be no one to take care of her. No, no, I'd rather stay in the village. At least until the dungeon swallows us, I certainly won't get hurt."

"That's right. And if we get injured, our village doesn't have many medical facilities."

"Only Tai and his son know medicine, and they're just dentists. We'd basically be waiting to die."

The crowd, their passion just ignited, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over them, and they fell silent once more. Every eye turned to Yu Yan, hoping she could offer a perfect solution.

Yu Yan naturally had solutions for these problems. If nothing else, the Water-Light Butterfly blood crystals that Yun Duoer had refined and absorbed weren't the only ones!

It was just that there was only one high-level eighth-rank crystal, but there were plenty of fourth, fifth, and sixth-rank ones left.

Once a light-element Water-Light Butterfly blood crystal is absorbed and refined, the owner is highly likely to awaken healing skills. As long as a team has one light-element healer, most of the problems they were worried about would be solved.

However, this mentality of fearing difficulties and shying away from battle was not to be encouraged.

Yu Yan had no intention of coddling them. "I am not an all-powerful god; naturally, I cannot solve everything you've mentioned."

"This is a matter of mutual choice. I proposed this idea not to kidnap you all and force you onto my chariot."

"I want to lead a team to find a path for everyone to survive in this difficult dungeon world, but that doesn't mean I will drag a horse to water and force it to drink. Everything depends on your own willingness."

"Whether you join the hunting team or not is entirely up to you."

"However, if you want to eat the spirit beast meat I provide and become an enhancer, you must become a member of the hunting team and enter the dungeons to hunt monsters."

"That much is non-negotiable!"

Yu Yan felt a bit thirsty as she spoke. With a thought, a large pear appeared in her hand. She took two bites, finished it slowly, and continued. "When the hunting team eventually finds a suitable C-grade dungeon to migrate to, each member will be allowed to bring two relatives along."

"As for the rest, I won't be able to care if they live or die; there is no other way."

"After all, with the strength of a third-rank enhancer, if they carry too much dead weight in a C-grade dungeon, they simply won't survive. I reckon that one person supporting two is their limit."

"Having said that, are you thinking that with my Blue Crystal Giant Lizard around, it wouldn't matter if you brought five or six people?"

"Heh, you are too naive."

"Not to mention that I won't be with you forever, and Little Blue only moves with me. Even if I were willing to part with Little Blue and let it serve as the guardian beast for our Fenghe Village..."