With his strength stat of twenty-eight, picking up the little girl was a breeze for him.
As the saying goes, a hundred-pound brick is hard to carry, but a hundred-pound little girl or a hundred pounds of cash is easy to lift!
Zong Shen carried the little girl and tiptoed out of the domed tent.
He crossed the dozen or so meters.
He successfully rendezvoused with Luna and returned to the woods together.
The surrounding soldiers were all limbering up.
Madeline had even nimbly climbed a large tree, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Zong Shen gently set the little girl down.
"Are you Maril?"
He began to confirm the little girl's identity; it would be embarrassing if he had gotten it wrong.
The little girl nodded, the expression on her face still somewhat panicked.
She was terrified that she had just escaped the wolf's den only to fall into a tiger's mouth.
Zong Shen took a glance, and the little girl's information began to appear before his eyes.
【Citano Village Villager: Maril】
【Level: 3】
【Race: Human】
(A weak, pitiful, and helpless little girl who has received some education. Having helped manage her family's business since childhood, she is extremely sensitive to logistics management and possesses the aptitude of a Green Elite-level hero.)
Zong Shen first let out a breath, then his eyes lit up. This little girl was actually a talent.
When he was in Citano Village, he had observed the villagers once before.
This was the first time he had discovered a hero-level character.
Although she was only a Green Elite, she was still a rare talent.
"I was sent by your father to save you. Go wait for me on the other side of the woods in a moment."
"Once we finish clearing out these bandits, I will take you back to the village."
He revealed an easygoing smile.
In his heart, he had already decided to find a good opportunity to bring Maril into his fold.
However, the prerequisite was to complete the mission first, and then gradually build a relationship with Master Mars step by step.
Zong Shen subconsciously rubbed his chin.
He was thinking about how to swindle Master Mars.
Maril nodded cautiously, appearing innocent and shy.
It seemed that this little girl had always lived under her father's protection in the relatively safe Citano Village and did not yet know the dangers of the outside world.
"Thank you, big brother..."
The little girl bowed, completely unaware that she had already been added to Zong Shen's "to-swindle" list.
"Let's get down to business first."
Zong Shen decided to wipe out this group of bandits first.
"Lensa, you go to the rear tent area and stand by. In a moment, I will ride Bajie and Luna to charge the front and attract their attention, then you launch an assault from the rear tent area."
"Once we engage, Favide, Aishia, you use Small Fireballs and Holy Light Arrows throughout the fight."
"Madeline, use your longbow for precision shots; conserve your arrows."
"Luna, come with me."
Zong Shen made arrangements one by one.
Then, he took Maril and traveled several hundred meters to the other side of the woods, where everyone had previously stashed their mounts.
Luna mounted her black panther, Zong Shen mounted Bajie, and they left Maril there.
"Wait for me here. If anything unexpected happens, run toward the woods; my soldiers are all there."
Zong Shen leaned over to give one last instruction.
Seeing the little girl nod meekly, he rode Bajie along with Luna and galloped along the edge of the woods; they were going to launch a frontal assault on the camp.
The two rode their mounts at full speed and soon arrived directly in front of the camp.
The massive Blood-Tooth Boar, Bajie, looked like a red minibus, instantly attracting the attention of the bandits.
The bandits who had been dozing off or sunbathing immediately scrambled to their feet.
They raised their tattered weapons, but cowered in place.
"Activate Blood-Tooth Charge!"
Zong Shen patted Bajie on the head, conveying the order to attack with his mind.
Bajie scraped the ground with its front hooves.
Two thick, turbid breaths puffed from its nostrils as it launched its charging offensive.
In its charging state, Bajie was like a bowling ball, instantly scattering the dozen or so bandits.
Luna began leaping left and right, throwing her moon blades, while Lensa also roared as he charged out, his claws swinging left and right to begin the harvest.
Subsequently, magical attacks and the ranger's sharp arrows began to rain down.
These "combat power of five" bandit minions were no match for a single blow and were soon wiped out completely.
The commotion in the camp caught the attention of the main force of bandits besieging the lord's small courtyard.
Discovering that they had been stabbed in the rear, those bandits, led by the bald thug, began to head back toward the camp.
The lord in the small courtyard, seeing the bandits hurriedly retreat, was so excited he almost jumped up.
Behind him stood three farmers, a wolf rider, and a strong warrior holding two long axes.
This force was not enough to completely defeat the main bandit force.
The lord climbed onto the wall, wanting to see what exactly had caused these bandits to leave so suddenly.
Until he saw a figure riding a giant boar, rampaging through the camp.
He opened his mouth slightly and stood there, stunned.
...
On the other side of the camp, Zong Shen and his group were like divine soldiers descending from the heavens.
With the force of a thunderbolt, they quickly wiped out the small-fry bandits.
Zong Shen entered the domed tent, preparing to open the treasure chest.
The other soldiers were outside the tent, standing by, ready to face the second round of battle.
It was about two *li* from the besieged lord's small courtyard to the bandit camp.
These bandits had no mounts and would need at least 2 to 3 minutes to rush back.
This period was the buffer time for Zong Shen to make his final preparations for the battle!
At this moment, Zong Shen was inside the domed tent, quickly opening the treasure chest!
He first went to the bronze chest.
【Bronze Treasure Chest】
【An unknown bronze treasure chest; no one knows what might be inside】
(There is nothing wrong with the chest; you can open it with confidence.)
Zong Shen chose 【Open】.
Several rays of light representing rewards emerged.
【Successfully opened the bronze treasure chest】
【Basic Farmland Construction Blueprint ×3】
【Tier 1 City Wall Construction Blueprint ×1】
【Wolf Rider Recruitment Scroll ×2】
【Tier 1 Ground Spike Trap Technology Construction Map ×1】
【Giant Moon Blade Skill Book (Green) ×1】
Not bad! Zong Shen didn't have time to examine them carefully; he first dismantled the chest into 10 units of copper.
Next, he directly used the two recruitment scrolls.
They turned into two clusters of black dust that fell to the ground, then transformed into two hexagram arrays with peculiar runes.
A singularity that distorted space appeared in each array, gradually expanding into two clusters of black light.
Then, the two black lights began to change.
Finally, they gradually dissipated.
Two tall, sturdy wolf riders appeared before Zong Shen.
They dismounted from their wolves one after another.
They led their giant wolves to Zong Shen, knelt on one knee.
"Wolf Rider Ghost reports to you!"
"Wolf Rider Senior reports to you!"
Two gruff voices rang out one after another.
"Great Lord, may you be healthy!"