Chapter Four: Saving a Village

Drizzle like gossamer veil gently enshrouded the tranquil mountain village. As the sky began to brighten, the villagers commenced their daily labor as usual. Men, shouldering crudely crafted weapons, strode with steady steps into the mountain forest in search of prey, while women tended to the unknown flora in their cultivated fields with skilled and gentle hands. The entire village was immersed in an atmosphere of peace and serenity.

The villagers no longer harbored suspicion toward Shen Yi, the stranger who had arrived just two days prior, and would greet him warmly whenever they crossed paths. Over these few days, most of Shen Yi's understanding of this world had come from an elderly man. According to the elder, the world consisted of the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent, and the place where Shen Yi resided was the vast, boundless forest of the Eastern Continent. Further west lay the dreaded Sea of Death; only by crossing this sea could one reach the Western Continent.

At this moment, Shen Yi felt as if he were inside a hyper-realistic game. Operating the android that went by the alias "Dragon One," he questioned the elder like a curious child about the world outside. The elder, looking at the seemingly amnesiac and dull-witted young man before him, gazed back with eyes full of kindness and patiently answered every inquiry.

One should not underestimate these villagers. Having long lived by hunting, they were agile and nimble, quite capable of dealing with magical beasts below the second rank. As for the elder, he usually appeared as an amiable and approachable village patriarch, only intervening when the village faced forces beyond their control.

It turned out that this was a world filled with fantasy, more bizarre and extraordinary than one could imagine. There were cultivation sects seeking immortality and flight on swords, magic academies studying elemental forces, monsters that had cultivated into spirits, and fierce, brutal magical beasts. There were even mysterious elven factions, vast demon clans, and hulking orcs. Humans, however, were merely one of many factions, and in this cruel world, they held a disadvantaged position. Hearing this, Shen Yi felt his worldview suffer an unprecedented shock, and he could not help but sigh, "What kind of bizarre continent have I actually arrived at?"

Shen Yi later learned that the boundless forest remained relatively peaceful because it lacked truly powerful demon beasts or magical beasts, which was why that red dragon had been able to reign supreme there. The great battle Shen Yi had witnessed days ago was, in this vast world, nothing more than a trivial squabble. Initially thinking he was already invincible, Shen Yi quickly regained his senses and decided to stay grounded and focus on development. After all, the world was filled with formidable experts; if he were to accidentally offend some powerful being, he would likely be wiped out in an instant.

Just as Shen Yi was lost in thought, a fourth-rank black panther was quietly plotting a bloody massacre. Possessing noble bloodlines, the black panther was born the king of this forest. However, a red dragon had appeared from parts unknown some time ago; knowing he was no match, the panther had endured in silence, hoping for the dragon's early departure so he could return to his carefree life. Who could have known the red dragon would be so ostentatious, attracting the pursuit of human experts and meeting its end? "Red dragon, oh red dragon," the panther thought, "now that you are gone, you shall never return." In high spirits, the panther decided to raze the human village to the ground to celebrate his return to the throne.

In this world of survival of the fittest, humans preyed on beasts, and beasts lusted after human flesh; whoever possessed the greater strength stood at the top of the food chain. The black panther gazed at the quiet village before him, then turned to look at the dozen or so accomplices he had summoned, deep in thought. He knew the village housed a powerful old man; he had clashed with him before, and their strength was evenly matched. "I will deal with that old man. As for the rest of you, eat as much as you can!" As a fourth-rank magical beast, the panther had just evolved the ability to speak. At his command, the five wind wolves, two earth bears, and three black tigers—all third-rank magical beasts—fixed their greedy eyes on the village, waiting for their leader to lure the powerful human away before launching their attack.

The black panther moved with light and agile steps, approaching the village like a phantom. The elder keenly sensed the panther's arrival. He stood slowly from the stool in front of his door, watching the approaching beast with a grave expression, and shouted sternly, "Vile creature, you dare return? With me here, you shall not succeed. Do you truly think I cannot kill you?"

The black panther sneered with disdain, "Old fool, once you are dead, these people will be mine to slaughter. How long can you protect them? Their deaths are but a matter of time." Before the words had even faded, the panther opened his blood-red maw, and a fireball the size of a basin shot toward the elder like an arrow from a bowstring.

The elder, having prepared in advance, waved his hand nonchalantly. A shield emitting a soft glow instantly appeared before him. The fireball slammed into the shield with a thunderous "boom," bursting into scorching waves of heat that swept through the surroundings, yet the shield remained completely unscathed.

"With only this bit of skill, you dare act rampant before me? Today, I shall rid the world of a scourge!" The elder roared. In an instant, a gale arose, and sand and stones flew. The elder chanted, his hands rapidly forming seals, and ten razor-sharp wind blades condensed before him. Accompanied by a howling wind, they flew toward the black panther like a swarm of death-dealing blades.

The black panther felt the immense energy contained within the wind blades, and his black fur bristled. He hurriedly cast a wind-element spell, channeling mana into his legs, and with a flick of his massive black rear, he fled toward the forest like a streak of black lightning. Avoiding the blades with desperate effort, he relied on his keen senses to weave through the trees as if he had eyes in the back of his head. The wind blades whistled past, each one blasting a deep crater into the ground. Through sheer agility, the panther successfully dodged seven or eight blades, but ultimately, he failed to evade the tenth. With a miserable howl, the panther was struck squarely in the rump by the wind blade. His massive body was sent flying like a cannonball, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily into the jungle. The black panther never imagined that his first experience of flight would be in such an undignified manner.

The elder channeled his wind magic, transforming into a breeze as he pursued the fleeing panther, chanting, "Today I shall surely eliminate you, you wretched beast; I will not let you harm the world again."

As the elder flew into the distance, the black panther's subordinates, hidden in the jungle, could no longer restrain themselves. Like starving wolves, they charged toward the village, their eyes filled with malice and greed. Their mission was simple: kill the village while the old mage was away.

The villagers were terrified at the sight. Facing the tide of magical beasts, they did not retreat an inch; instead, they picked up their farm tools, ready to fight to the death. Just at this critical moment, "Rat-tat-tat..." a crisp, rhythmic sound of gunfire erupted from another direction. Bullets, like a sudden downpour, sped toward the beasts, instantly halting their charge.

Nineteen machine gunners stood in a neat line, their weapons spewing fire, the sound of "rat-tat-tat" echoing through the valley. The villagers looked toward the soldiers, their eyes filled with surprise and confusion, whispering, "What is this? Is someone helping us in the shadows?"

For the thick-skinned third-rank magical beasts, this level of attack was not lethal, but the immense kinetic energy of the bullets and the sharp pain they inflicted forced them to stop and retreat repeatedly. The beasts were shocked and enraged. They hurriedly cast defensive spells, and in a moment, halos of various colors enveloped them, forming sturdy shields. Although the shields temporarily blocked the fire, they grew dimmer under the continuous impact. Bullets ricocheted everywhere with a metallic clatter, creating a perilous scene.

The nineteen machine gunners moved steadily forward, firing as they emerged from the forest. Though the beasts did not know what these figures wielding strange weapons were, they understood they had to destroy these "steel monsters" that caused them such pain. They opened their mouths, preparing to unleash more powerful magic.

In an instant, wind blades howled like razors, fireballs streaked across the sky, and earth spikes erupted like bamboo shoots from the ground. A torrential downpour of magic surged toward the gunners. As third-rank beasts, their spells were devastatingly powerful; five gunners were instantly engulfed, their bodies shattered and the androids within completely destroyed.

Just as the gunners seemed to be in a desperate plight, the "rat-tat-tat" of gunfire erupted from another part of the jungle. Twenty more machine gunners filed out, their weapons spitting tongues of fire and their muzzles flashing with blinding white light. Dense bullets swept toward the beasts like rain.

Caught in a crossfire, the beasts' already crumbling shields shattered instantly. "Bang, bang, bang," bullets struck their bodies, driving them back. However, the constitution of these third-rank beasts was incredibly robust, and ordinary bullets could not inflict fatal wounds.

Shen Yi, sitting in the command center, witnessed everything through the perspective of the gunners. He made an immediate decision and issued a quick order: "Aim for their heads!"

The beasts, in their haste, were unable to cast defensive shields again. The two massive earth bears, despite their thick hides, found their four large eyes becoming perfect targets. "Puff, puff, puff," the bullets precisely pierced the bears' eyes and entered their brains. With two dull thuds, the five-meter-tall earth bears collapsed and perished.

The remaining beasts were terrified and tried to open their mouths to cast spells in retaliation. But the moment they did, bullets followed suit, entering their maws. Watching from the gunners' perspective, even Shen Yi felt a phantom pain. While bullets in the mouth were not lethal to such formidable beasts, the piercing agony made it impossible for them to focus and cast magic.

Finally, another black tiger beast had the misfortune of being struck in the eye by a bullet, collapsing to the ground with a miserable shriek. The beasts, no longer daring to fight, fled into the depths of the jungle and vanished without a trace.

Seeing the beasts flee, the machine gunners ceased fire. Shen Yi let out a long sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "It's a good thing I sent another twenty gunners; otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to handle these creatures."

Shen Yi had felt earlier that the number of gunners might not be enough to deal with an expert like the elder, which was why he had dispatched reinforcements. Unexpectedly, they became the key to protecting the village. In this strange world of survival of the fittest, only with equal power could one converse on equal terms—a truth Shen Yi understood deeply.

The villagers rejoiced that the crisis had passed, yet they looked at these silent "lumps of iron" not knowing how to express their gratitude. The scene was somewhat awkward, and everyone stared at each other in bewilderment.

At that moment, the elder who had been chasing the panther returned. From afar, he saw the scattered carcasses of the magical beasts on the ground and felt a jolt of shock, quickening his flight. Upon returning to the village and learning what had transpired, he could not help but break into a cold sweat. Having lived in the village for so long, he had developed deep bonds with these simple and kind-hearted people and certainly did not want them to suffer any harm.

The elder gazed at the thirty-four steel puppets standing quietly beside the village, marveling in his heart, "What kind of master alchemist could craft such exquisite steel puppets? This is truly a work of divine craftsmanship!"

At this moment, Shen Yi, far away in the command center, operated Dragon One and walked slowly toward the elder.