Chapter 914: Chapter 914 - 419: Offering Myself as a Pledge

The crowd rushed madly outside, except for the Juling Gang team that had long disappeared from sight.

Among the remaining teams, the Hei Family team was the first to lead the way and rush out.

Almost instantly, the Hei Family team vanished from view, followed closely by the Zuo Family team, and finally, it was Fang Yu’s team responsible for the rear.

Though they were the last to exit, Fang Yu and the others did not dare to complain, only thankful that they didn’t encounter demon interception during the final sprint.

As they rushed out of the exit, the alternating light and dark created a visual contrast that made Fang Yu squint slightly, and what unfolded before his eyes was the familiar muddy path and the expansive forest scenery.

It felt as if they had abruptly moved from a confined, oppressive space to the freedom of the outdoors, spreading a sense of comfort from within to without.

"We escaped!"

"Finally made it through Death Forest!"

"What? The fabled Death Forest isn’t all that! Hahaha!"

Excited whispers spread among the crowd, and some exaggerated boasts were naturally ignored by others.

After the brief excitement, the crowd quickly realized one thing.

That is, the Juling Gang, responsible for leading the way for them, was nowhere to be seen.

"When we were near the exit of Death Forest, they suddenly quickened their pace, and we barely managed to keep up and almost lost direction. After we rushed out of Death Forest, we haven’t seen them since."

Hei Ao, representing the Hei Family team, explained.

But oddly, Zuo Caicai didn’t seem to pursue the matter, and simply instructed the team to set off immediately to find a suitable campsite before dark.

"Zuo Caicai did it on purpose." Ling Huxiang whispered to Fang Yu beside him.

"What?"

Fang Yu was stunned.

"Zuo Caicai let the Juling Gang lead the way, both to let them take the risk and to give them a chance."

"A dog hanging by a thread isn’t scary. A desperately retaliating wild dog is the most troublesome."

Ling Huxiang explained, "If anyone from the Juling Gang has a bit of brains, they would know what to do. After all, Death Forest is essentially their territory near Rolling Bone City, they know this place much better than us, and might even know certain routes."

"Zuo Caicai letting Juling Gang lead is telling them to honestly guide us safely through Death Forest. Once past Death Forest, the Hei Family team from the second echelon may not be so eager to chase the Juling Gang, effectively giving them some escape space, a way out."

"If they still can’t escape, then it’s their bad luck, not thinking straight, and deserved to stay behind as cannon fodder."

"And in Death Forest, the Juling Gang leading the way can’t possibly lead us to the Great Demon if they want to survive; they can only guide the team through the safest route and quickly escape Death Forest—the demons are uncontrollable, they want to survive too! The longer they stay in Death Forest, the higher the chance of trouble."

"As for annihilating us here and perishing together, first, the hatred isn’t that deep, second, there’s no profit benefit, the likelihood of Juling Gang making such irrational decisions is extremely low."

At this point, Ling Huxiang looked at Zuo Caicai in the center of the team.

"Such deep calculations, Lady Cai’s reputation precedes her, truly not a simple person."

Fang Yu:...

Fang Yu really wanted to ask, are you overthinking it a bit?

But he felt that actually asking might earn him a roll of the eyes and make him seem unrefined.

So Fang Yu coughed lightly, pretending to be deep.

"Scary!"

Ling Huxiang frowned, giving him a look that seemed to ask ’That’s all you have to say?’.

Then she shook her head slightly and followed the team onward.

Fang Yu scratched his head.

The problem is, he really didn’t think about it that much.

Just thought of Juling Gang as cannon fodder to lead the way, not considering other intricacies at all.

No wonder Ling Huxiang was already Captain, surviving many outdoor missions—she thinks things through.

Juling Gang’s departure doesn’t significantly impact the team.

Because the Hei Family team replaced Juling Gang’s position, leading the way.

Fang Yu’s team is still bringing up the rear.

However, if nothing goes wrong along the way, they will eventually return to the previous rotation mode, allowing both sides to rest and maintain combat strength.

And Juling Gang’s most important chips, [Jin Yexue] and the wooden sword artifact, are still with Zuo Caicai.

So Zuo Caicai had no intention of pursuing.

The battle in Death Forest caused serious damage to the team, almost everyone was injured.

Fang Yu was better off, having a high health bar, thick skin, and fast recovery ability, his healing speed was quick.

But Ling Huxiang and others in the team weren’t so comfortable, medicines were heavily consumed, health bars couldn’t recover, only slowly.

Fortunately, the medicine Ling Huxiang provided was effective, unlike the Bai Wuyuan used by most, which Fang Yu noticed many had.

Fang Yu had heard people mention Bai Wuyuan more than once, supposedly researched by Doctor Wu.

It’s considered an all-purpose quick-acting remedy.

Of course, not as exaggerated, but it works for most injuries, has broad applicability.

The effect isn’t as good as specialized Medicine Pills for injuries, but it wins in convenience and affordability, everyone can carry a few, prepared for anything.