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They forgot for a moment that this was a dangerous mission and felt like they were being escorted by NPCs in an online game. They even took pictures and videos in various stinky poses.
Until—
“Ah!!!”
The scream came from far away in the silent jungle and echoes could be faintly heard.
A soldier at the very end was besieged by a few devil vines and under the bombardment, he fell from mid-air!
Li Lai heard the scream and couldn’t help gritting his teeth. He protected the braves but he couldn’t take care of these soldiers...
“Keep running, don’t stop!”
He roared through the instant messenger, the lieutenant colonel showing a very cold side.
This area was dangerous. He couldn’t drag down the entire team due to one person!
Of course, the players didn’t allow this.
The epic mission must be completed without any damage. One dead NPC would cause a deduction in the completion rate!
Under the command of Qing Yan, the two professional players closest to the soldiers rushed over.
“You guys!”
Li Lai was aware of this but could only shout briefly. He didn’t spend any more energy paying attention there.
His mission was to lead the most people to survive. Those who were deliberately looking for death weren’t within his scope of consideration.
Fortunately, the two professional players were fast enough.
They picked up the fallen warrior and returned to the team before they were out of Li Lai’s spiritual power range.
Li Lai’s expression was gloomy but he didn’t say much.
They encountered such a thrilling scene less than half an hour after the mission began. Finally, the players didn’t dare to be careless.
There were still seven days to go. Could they really accomplish this mission?
Some people had no confidence in their hearts.
They ran for two full hours in a straight line of five kilometers under the blessing of the Light Body technique.
If there wasn’t the Light Body technique and the prejudgment reminder from the command headquarters, they might not have lasted past their first minute in the jungle.
Finally, an opening appeared in the jungle in front that covered the sky. The light wasn’t very bright but it became everyone’s hope.
Just rush out and they would be safe!
Based on such a belief, everyone tried their best and finally rushed out of the territory of the devil vines.
Even Xu Sili sighed with relief from where he had been sitting in front of the monitor. Looking back, he found that he had been staring at the screen for two hours.
He alone felt exhausted just sitting and watching, let alone the soldiers and players.
The players were better off. They had the realism regulator and their bodies didn’t react too strongly except for the mental fatigue.
The NPC soldiers were miserable. After stopping, all of them were tired, panting and sweating.
Still, they didn’t relax because rushing out of the territory of the devil vines didn’t mean they were safe.
In front of them, a high mountain appeared.
This was the main peak of the Asmo Mountains. The highest peak reached over 7,000 meters above sea level. It stood upright between Imperial City and Orchid Moon City, towering into the clouds.
Of course, they weren’t going to pass over the main peak. They were going to make a detour, crossing over the lower mountains.
The danger at the foot of the mountain was high and Li Lai didn’t take it lightly. He hovered in mid-air and ordered the team to rest on the spot until the command center issued a safe instruction.
The moment they heard the order, many players directly collapsed on the ground. Their body didn’t feel much but the mental stimulation was terrible.
They didn’t know how many times they had survived those two hours. At the end, the number of devil vines increased and someone accidentally took a beating, leaving only a trace of health left.
This player was lucky. He might only have a trace of blood left but he hadn’t died. At this moment, he patted his chest as he lay on the ground and felt that his heart was the most affected.
However, he was soon picked up.
“Don’t lie down, sit up!”
“What is the meaning of lying down on the ground one by one? Can you run away when the interstellar beasts come?”
“Wind elementalists should seize this time to meditate and restore your magic power. Do you think you came here for an outing?”
The vice-captain was a strong, fierce looking man. At this moment, he wasn’t tired at all and caught the players to keep them vigilant.
The players had no choice but to sit up and restore their physical strength while the wind elementalists obediently meditated.
They were busy but Li Lai and Qing Yan were looking at the soldier who had been brought down by the devil vines in the beginning.
His injuries weren’t light and only one-third of his health was left. It was just that the thorns of the devil vines secret toxins that caused blood loss i.e. a blood loss debuff.
At this rate, he would probably only be able to live for another hour.
Such a result was actually quite good for Li Lai.
He had expected to lose at least five soldiers to the devil vine.
Perhaps it was because the number of people had doubled, distracting the attention of the devil vines. There was a decrease in the frequency of attacks suffered by one person and this allowed more soldiers to survive.
Of course, it still depended on luck.
“Captain... I embarrassed you..”
The bloody soldier lying on the ground spoke with great difficulty.
A devil vine had hit him in the abdomen and caused him serious internal injuries. Every word he spoke at this time was accompanied by blood gushing out.
—Although in the eyes of the players, the blood he shed was golden and it was a bit beautiful.
Several female players looked at each other with pity.
They could see that this soldier’s life would soon be over.
Li Lai’s expression was very ugly. There was sorrow in his eyes but he suppressed it fiercely.
He didn’t want to do something like abandoning his teammates but he had to take responsibility for the remaining 180 people.
The soldier seemed to anticipate his own end. He smiled bitterly yet calmly.
“Captain, leave me a decent end.
He didn’t want to be left in the wilderness, bleeding until he was eaten by the interstellar beasts who smelled his blood on the wind.
Li Lai’s hands trembled as he asked in a low voice, “What last words do you have?”
The soldier opened his mouth but he was interrupted by a small voice.
“Excuse me...”
More than a dozen pairs of eyes glanced over, making the already introverted and frightened Ah Caizi shrink back.
It was only with the support and encouragement of the barrage that she managed to stand up to the stern gaze of everyone, especially Li Lai, and whisper, “I...  I can use the water healing...”
The grief in Li La’s eyes froze and several watching soldiers were also stunned.
“Water.... water healing?”
Even the dying soldier who was organizing his last words couldn’t help looking at Ah Caizi in a daze.
“Are you a water healer?”
Ah Caizi’s mouth reluctantly twitched as she replied. “That... I should be counted as one...”
Ah Caizi was the only water spiritual elementalist among the 81 players and had learned the water healing technique from the instructor on the shuttle. Then that instructor had headed to Glass Sea City.
So except for the people watching the live broadcast, no one knew that Ah Caizi was a...
Healer.
Ah Caizi wanted to cry.
She wanted to fight! Why was the water system a healer?
She just felt that the water system was close to the ice system and she could become an ice queen after choosing the water system. Who knew that the first spell she learned would be returning health?
However, she also knew that this moment was related to the completion rate of the mission and that this NPC soldier absolutely couldn’t die.
She soon calmed down and crouched down to perform the water healing technique on the soldier.
Seeing was believing.
After seeing the girl’s hand glowing with a blue light and blood gradually returning to the soldier’s pale complexion, Li Lai and the others finally believed it.
Among this group of braves was an incomparably precious water healer!
How rare were water healers?
Let’s put it this way. Apart from Niya, who stayed behind in Imperial City, and the water healer at the elementalist academy, there were only five water healers in the entire empire!
Each main city had only one water healer stationed at the front lines.
Now there was actually a water healer in their team?
She might be weak but she could walk sideways in the empire as long as she mastered the water healing technique.
It was because everyone had to ensure her safety! As long as she lived, countless people could live!
In front of the monitor, Admiral Joyce saw this on the screen and couldn't help covering his heart.
The stimulation he received today was so great that he couldn’t bear it.
The 11 wind elementalists who mastered the Light Body technique were nothing. Such a precious water healer was actually… Sent to the battlefield by his own hands and faced the risk of losing her life at any time?
“Now... what are the chances of letting them go back the same way or sending someone to pick them up?” Admiral Joyce murmured.
The adjutant was speechless.
Even if it was possible, they couldn’t do it.
Sending the braves to the front lines was the order of the emperor and the marshal!
The marshal had just cleaned up the rebels and the storm of beheading the rebels on the live broadcast hadn’t passed. He didn’t want to see Admiral Joyce become the next one.
Meanwhile, Li Lai at the scene was about to cry.
He was naturally happy that his subordinate was healed but what made his heart tremble the most was the water healer in front of him.
For the first time in his life, he saw a living water healer!
Each main city had only one water healer on the front lines and their energy was limited. Naturally, they could only be responsible for the serious injuries.
It was difficult for ordinary officers and soldiers to come into contact with water healers unless they were dying.
Right now, Li Lai felt he wasn’t far from death.
If anything went wrong with this female water healer...
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Admiral Joyce’s voice rang in his ears.
“Li Lai, protect the water healer at all costs!”
Li Lai’s expression distorted but he could only endure this pressure that was like a mountain.
During the battle between the heavens and a person, the soldier’s injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The toxin of the devil vine was also decomposed by the water healing technique.
Around five minutes later, the soldier recovered completely and stood up, alive and kicking
The joy of rebirth on his face made him seem like a real person. If it wasn’t for the golden blood, the players would have forgotten that he was an NPC.
“Master water healer, thank you for saving me.” The warrior bowed repeatedly in front of Ah Caizi, making Ah Caizi feel overwhelmed.
Xu Sili looked at this scene and was slightly relieved.
It seemed that the players were still very useful!
He leaned back against the sfa and watched as Li Lai started to organize the change in positions.
The smell of blood would attract interstellar beasts and they couldn’t stay in one place for too long.
Once a safe spot was rediscovered, the lieutenant colonel stood on a raised rock.
His eyes swept over the players and he finally gritted his teeth. “Come and report your elemental affinity, if you are a spiritualist or a warrior and the skills you currently have!”
Since it was so exciting, let’s just stimulate him all at once. He could bear it!