Astral Cockroach

The Chonglou caravan left that very night, as they needed to speed up their journey. Due to his injuries, Luo Shi couldn't travel long distances and would likely stay in the well-protected Chijian County or Xue Tao County to recuperate for a year, healing his wounds through molting and growth.

For some reason, Chonglou and Yuzhu had gotten mixed up together, and their relationship seemed quite harmonious, which was not what Banbu wanted to see.

What troubled Banbu the most was that the trade route to Lizhu Peak was too remote. He was about to be promoted to Mountain Lord, but still only two caravans came seeking trade.

The news of the black wolf pack attacking caravans would spread, damaging the reputation of the Jinping Mountains, and likely deterring even more caravans from coming.

He couldn't just trade with two caravans, could he?

With few caravans, it would be difficult to raise the prices of goods for sale, and the channels for purchasing materials and collecting information would also be blocked, hindering the development of the territory.

Damn black wolves!

… …

The night after the caravan left, Youcha returned to Lizhu Peak and hurried up the mountain.

"Banbu, that pack of black wolves has entered the Jinping Mountains again, and in even greater numbers! They attacked the caravan."

"I know, the caravan came and left." Banbu was curious and asked, "How did you notice so quickly?"

"I smelled their scent." Youcha said, "I only discovered it last night and have been tracking them ever since."

Banbu asked, "Where are they now?"

Youcha said, "After attacking the caravan, they wandered around near Lizhu Peak and then moved southeast, seemingly with no intention of leaving."

Youcha added, "Now they have two Mountain Lord-level warriors and 22 Advanced-level warriors. They might attack Lizhu Peak."

Banbu asked, "Youcha, can you still track their location?"

Youcha replied affirmatively, "Yes, as long as they haven't run too far."

Banbu said, "Rest first, and we'll set off tomorrow."

… …

Banbu informed Mountain Lord Huangwen and Rat King that he needed to leave for a period of time, possibly a long time.

The next morning, he set off with Daxiong and Youcha.

They went straight to the swamp.

The residual energy from the metal core and the unowned mental power continued to dissipate. The area covered by the harmonic force field had shrunk by half and would probably be difficult to maintain for more than 10 years.

He would make the most of it before it disappeared.

Banbu taught Youcha the "Soul Absorption Secret Technique" and led Youcha and Daxiong to absorb it together, strengthening their souls.

Youcha was currently only an L3 Advanced warrior, and reached saturation in just two days. Banbu ordered it to go track the black wolf warriors.

Five days later, Banbu and Daxiong successively reached saturation.

Daxiong returned to Lizhu Peak alone.

Banbu waited for Youcha to return and together they plunged into the jungle.

… …

Banbu had ways to deal with beast warriors below the Mountain Lord level, but he had been too lazy to use them.

Firstly, Lizhu Peak had too many busy matters, wasting time. Secondly, Chijian Lian Wang and Youli County Lord valued Banbu very much. If the threats within the Jinping Mountains were not eliminated, the stationed defense warriors they sent would not be withdrawn. Currently, these stationed defense warriors were helping to protect tens of millions of ordinary small cockroaches, which could greatly increase the probability of Lizhu Peak giving birth to small warriors. This was beneficial to the development of Lizhu Peak's insect population.

Banbu had hoped that this ideal state could be maintained for another two years.

But now, this group of black wolf warriors had to be eliminated!

… …

Night.

An ordinary paper mulberry forest, with also a few tall cyclobalanopsis trees and Chinese toon trees in full bloom.

His luck wasn't great, and a drizzle began to fall from the sky.

"Banbu, they stopped here two days ago."

"Yeah, I can see that." Banbu shook his antennae, unable to capture any residual scent. He scanned with his mental power, observing the surrounding environment, and found the remains of two elks.

That group of dire wolf warriors had hunted and eaten here.

Banbu checked around, shook his antennae, and said, "Youcha, I can't tell which direction they went in."

"That way." Youcha hated the rain and hid under the tallest and densest cyclobalanopsis tree, waving its tail and pointing in a direction.

That was the direction of the Shui Rong Mountains.

Banbu said, "Wolves also hate the rain, they will stop to avoid it. Youcha, let's catch up."

Youcha buried its head and led the way.

Silently sneaking through the jungle.

They headed east, all the way to the end of the Jinping Mountains, crossed the mountains, passed through a forest of red banyan trees, and crossed a large river.

The opposite bank of the river was still a plain forest, but it had already entered the territory of the Shui Rong Mountains.

The rain had stopped.

The ground of the woodland was covered with puddles, and the midday sun shone, causing mist to rise.

"Banbu, they forded the river last night, the scent is gone, I'll go look for it." Youcha said, and trotted away.

Youcha's tracking ability mainly relied on its innate talent.

Banbu was helpless against the tracks of the black wolf warriors, so he simply ignored it, slowly crossed the banyan tree forest, plunged into a mountain forest, hunted a wild boar, silently ate, and waited for Youcha's news.

This wait lasted half a day and a whole night.

At dawn, Youcha appeared with a small black ringed snake in its mouth.

"Found them?" Banbu asked.

"Found them." Youcha jumped onto a bluestone, lazily lay down, slowly ate, and explained to Banbu with mental power:

"That group of black wolves are very cunning. They failed to attack the caravan, dared not attack Lizhu Peak, and dared not attack the Cliff Cypress Mountains across the Jinjiang River, so they entered the Shui Rong Mountains to find other targets to attack."

"Banbu, they are scouting the terrain and familiarizing themselves with the environment."

"If we hadn't tracked them, the Shui Rong Mountains would probably suffer this summer, or at the latest this autumn." Banbu said coldly, "They must not be let go."

Youcha silently ate, and after eating its fill, exaggeratedly stretched out its limbs, belly up, enjoying the sunshine.

It clearly preferred life in the wild.

Banbu also found a sunny place to lie down and quietly enjoyed the spring sunshine.

Until dusk, when the setting sun went down.

Youcha and Banbu got up at the same time, telepathically, without the need for communication, and plunged directly into the mountain forest.

… …

When a large group of dire wolves passed by, they would not only leave a scent, but also traces of activity.

Youcha mainly used scent, combined with various factors to track, which was very accurate. Walking through the jungle would inevitably leave traces, and once discovered, they could be followed all the way down.

"Banbu, look, they just foraged here today and even stopped."

In front of a naturally formed small pond, there was a skeleton of a Rainbow Boa that had been gnawed clean.

"They ate very cleanly, this group of wolves is very frugal." Banbu commented.

The traces were still very fresh, the target was not far away.

Without Banbu's instructions, Youcha accelerated its run.

They sneaked eastward, all the way until late at night.

Youcha suddenly stopped, gently wagged its tail, pointed to the hill ahead, and said, "Banbu, the distance is not far, they may be resting under the hill tonight."

"I'll go take a look first." Youcha said, and slowly trotted off.

Banbu stopped in place and waited.

Soon, Youcha returned.

"Banbu, after crossing the hill, they are resting in the woods under the hill. They hunted two large wild boars and a group of small wild boars tonight, and ate their fill."

In the jungle, whether chasing or running away, eating too much is not a good thing.

"Alright, Youcha, you follow behind, just watch… Pay attention, don't let them get rid of the tracking."

Banbu instructed, and set off stealthily.

PS: I'm home, I stayed up all night last night, and then traveled today, I feel a little uncomfortable, so I took a nap before getting up to update.