Protect Our Patriarch

The Outer Region!

Since ancient times, it has been an area that humans both yearn for and hold in great awe, a place that countless people praise and talk about with great enthusiasm.

Here.

Even an ordinary loose cultivator could possibly strike it rich overnight, gaining a fortune that they could not spend in their entire lifetime.

Here.

Even a celestial realm powerhouse could possibly fall unluckily, leaving no trace behind.

In the Outer Region, there is no absolute safety.

Therefore, as soon as he stepped into the Outer Region, Wang Shouzhe ordered everyone to be vigilant and put on armor made of third-order crocodile dragon leather.

This kind of armor is hard to cut through with ordinary swords and is not very heavy, making it a cost-effective choice for combat.

This is the vanguard.

The role of the vanguard is to clear the way and detect any potential threats such as fierce beasts in advance. Once they spot any danger, they will not engage in combat, but will fire different warning arrows depending on the situation and immediately retreat.

This gives the main force in the middle ample time to prepare and react.

In addition, there are three weaker guards acting as rear guards, scattered behind the main force to prevent any beasts or enemies from attacking from the rear.

They are usually very vigilant, keeping a wide field of vision.

If there are enough people, side guards can also be arranged.

However, the Wang's Clan is short of hands and the team is relatively small, so everything is simplified.

In the main team, there are a total of ten carriages.

These carriages are all pulled by heavy-duty horses from the North, which are very strong and well-trained, and will not panic when encountering fierce beasts.

In the carriages, apart from the Ancestor.

The rest are loaded with various supplies.

Such as spare weapons and equipment, arrows, fishing nets, tents, ropes, blankets, clothes, water, ordinary food, white jade spirit rice, fuel, pots and pans, and even a lot of various elixirs, and even a lot of smokeless charcoal, etc.

The entire autumn and winter hunting usually lasts for about fifteen days to a month, and the consumption of food and other necessities is a huge number. The weather will gradually cool down during this period, and various cold-resistant supplies are inevitable.

This made Wang Shouzhe couldn't help but sigh. In his previous life, when he read fantasy novels, people would go out to fight monsters lightly and freely.

But when it came to him, going out to fight in the wild was like moving house, even bringing several baskets of pots and pans.

As for storage bracelets and the like, they do exist in this world.

However, the lowest-level storage space bracelet, which is only one cubic meter, is also a spiritual-level item!

The Wang's Clan, being a small family, can't afford such high-end goods.

Moreover, one or two storage bracelets are not very useful in team combat.

The younger generation, represented by Wang Luoqiu and Wang Luoqing, and girls like Wang Lici, are participating in the autumn and winter hunting activities for the first time.

They are extremely excited, as if they feel that once they step into the Outer Region, there will be monsters everywhere for them to fight, and they are already eager to make a big kill.

Unfortunately!

They thought too much.

The Outer Region is so vast, if it were full of fierce beasts, could humans still survive?

Not to mention fierce beasts, in fact, even ordinary carnivorous beasts occupy a large territory. And this place is the outermost part of the Outer Region, which has been swept by humans countless times, and it's not easy to find a pack of earth wolves.

But even so, the team still proceeded with great caution.

As the saying goes, anything can happen in the Outer Region.

Perhaps while walking, a fourth-order, or even a fifth-order fierce beast suddenly appears. Of course, the probability of this happening is extremely low.

"Shouzhe!" Wang Shouxin, who was also fully armed, rode over. He was already in his forties and had been to the Outer Region many times, so he was quite experienced.

He showed Wang Shouzhe a map and said, "According to the plan we made before departure, we need to reach the Tuopo campsite before the beginning of the Shen hour. The current speed of the team is a bit slow."

The Shen hour is approximately from three to five in the afternoon, and Wang Shouxin's meaning is that they need to reach the campsite before three o'clock.

And the team needs to settle down while it's still light. Otherwise, if it gets dark and the campsite is not set up, it will not only be dangerous, but also cause morale to drop, etc.

Yes, although humans do not inhabit the Outer Region.

But the ancestors naturally opened up simple base camps based on the terrain. After generations of management and reinforcement, these bases have some defensive capabilities.

And any family going to the Outer Region would never run around like a headless fly. The route of action, battle plan, and the supplies needed to be carried all need to be calculated accurately and discussed repeatedly.

"Give the order, the whole team speeds up." Wang Shouzhe ordered to speed up.

The speed of the entire team's progress slightly increased. However, the road ahead will become more and more difficult.

The roads that were originally walked on will be overgrown with weeds due to the passage of time, or a bunch of plants will sprout up, or the simple routes will be destroyed after floods.

When encountering some obstacles such as rocks and plants, they have to clear them by hand.

Why come to the Outer Region at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter? This naturally contains the accumulated experience of generations of ancestors. From spring to early summer, there is a high chance of continuous rain, which could easily lead to flash floods and various dangers.

Even if there is no flash flood, the mountain roads are winding and the dirt roads are muddy. Once there is too much rain, it's hard to even walk on the road.

And summer is too hot, both beasts and fierce beasts don't like to move. Humans traveling and hunting in such temperature and environment are also very unsuitable.

As for winter, not only is food scarce and prey hibernating, but there is also a high chance of heavy snow blocking the mountains.

After autumn, the climate is dry and vine plants wither. Some wild fruit plants and seed plants have already borne fruit.The ripening of a large amount of food attracts many animals to eat and store fat, even hoarding food for hibernation. Some wild beasts and ferocious beasts also enter an active hunting phase, accumulating energy to survive the winter.

Therefore, this season is the most suitable for hunting in the outer regions.

They traveled without stopping, the journey was bumpy, difficult, and even boring.

Occasionally, someone's horse would get injured and they would have to switch to a spare one. Fortunately, Wang Shouzhe was there, quietly treating the horse's injury to avoid running out of horses later on.

After several hours of continuous travel, the road became increasingly difficult.

There was even a time when a seven or eight-ton boulder blocked the road, and they had to work together to pry it away.

Wang Luoqiu and Wang Luoqing, who were originally eager to fight ferocious beasts, began to lose their spirits.

They had been promised by their fourth brother that they would go to the outer regions to hunt ferocious beasts and have meat to eat.

But what was the result?

They had been walking for half a day and hadn't seen a single fierce beast. They only saw some small animals and birds, which ran away as soon as they saw people, reacting even faster than Wang Luoqiu, and their speed was incredibly fast.

"Luoqiu, the road to becoming an empress starts from the ground up," Wang Shouzhe comforted, "Maybe as we walk, a blind fifth-order ferocious beast will die at the foot of the mountain?"

"Fourth brother, save those words to coax Luo Miao when we get back," Wang Luoqiu rolled her eyes and shouted at Wang Lici, "Niece, aren't you particularly good at finding delicious food? Why have you been silent for so long?"

"Wang Luoqiu, I am the eldest sister. You need to have some patience!" Wang Lici's strength was rapidly increasing, and with the help of Ancestor Long Yan, she was quickly advancing to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

However, Wang Luoqiu was not easy to provoke either. She was passionate about any work that could increase her merit value and did a very good job. With the addition of resources, her cultivation level was also rapidly rising, from the initial stage of the second level of Qi Refining, she was almost at the high stage of the second level in less than half a year.

Just as the two girls were full of energy and ready to fight, Wang Shouzhe snapped his fingers and gave each of them a stern warning: "Both of you be quiet, or I'll deduct your contribution points and rations."

This threat immediately made the two of them behave.

People all have weaknesses, and it was easy for Wang Shouzhe to handle them.

The journey continued to be peaceful. The team arrived at the planned hillside base at the beginning of the hour.

It was a very rudimentary base, with rows of large wooden stakes forming a simple fence. But the base was at a good height, with no obstructions around, a wide view, and a clear stream not far away to replenish water.

Some of the older clan members, Wang Shouxin, Wang Shouyi, and even the elders Wang Dinghai, Wang Dingzu, began to skillfully clean up the camp with their family generals.

And Wang Shouzhe, Wang Shuonuo, Wang Zongwei, Shou Yong, Shou Lian, and other young people also joined in the labor, learning how to set up a camp from their elders and brothers. After Wang Luotong also joined the construction team, several little girls also began to participate, learning about the camp.

Weeds were cleared, the site was cleaned and leveled, firewood was collected nearby, the broken fence was reinforced, tents were erected and reinforced, clean water was collected, and each task was carried out in an orderly manner.

Even the location of the tents and who's tent was set up where was carefully arranged.

These tasks and traditions were passed down from generation to generation, and even Wang Shouzhe was learning. In the outer regions, you need to have survival skills for the outer regions.

As the sky gradually darkened, a large bonfire and several small bonfires were lit, and the atmosphere became a bit more cheerful as they began to cook.

Then, it was time for the night shift.

The night passed without a word, until the sky began to lighten.

At this time, they began to dismantle the camp, tidy up the tents, and pack up all the living supplies. It wasn't until the early morning that they finished cleaning up the camp.

Then they started to move at a leisurely pace, according to the plan and the map, to the next base.

After three days of this, they finally reached the edge of the real outer regions, where some ferocious wild beasts began to appear.

In the past, the Wang's Clan would basically stop here and not go any deeper into the outer regions. They would set up camp at the base and start hunting some large wild beasts nearby, or a few fierce beasts, and then start to return home.

There was no way around it, if they went any deeper, without the protection of the Ancestor, they would likely encounter a powerful ferocious beast, which could cause casualties to the team.

The next day.

In a tent that looked unremarkable, a group of people dressed as coachmen gathered. However, any one of these people could scare someone to death with their terrifying presence.

And Wang Shouzhe was sitting leisurely among them.

One of the men, thin and wrapped in a worn sheepskin jacket, wearing a felt hat, and huddled up like a destitute old man, complained slightly, "Shouzhe, could your information be wrong? I think the Liu and Zhao Clans have been scared by you, they wouldn't dare to attack, would they?"

Wang Shouzhe just smiled confidently and said, "Ancestor Mingsheng, please be patient. Although I'm not 100% sure, I'm 90% sure. I've been staying at home for a long time, and I've already provoked their anger to the extreme. Now that I've finally found an opportunity, they will definitely take action."

"Shouzhe is right, it's inevitable that they will take action. If they miss this opportunity, the Liu and Zhao Clans will never have the power to turn the tide," another strong coachman said, "If they don't show up, isn't it even better? In this way, Ancestor Mingsheng, you can make a round trip and earn a thousand Top Gold, isn't it wonderful?"

"Gongsun Man, my grandson is not looking at the money. He is the direct bloodline of my Lu Clan's legitimate daughter, Lu Mengxue," Ancestor Mingsheng retorted.

He emphasized the words "direct bloodline" very heavily, as if to stress something.

Gongsun Man just chuckled and said, "Even so, Shouzhe is now the legitimate son of my granddaughter Gongsun Hui, and also my direct great-grandson."In fact, there was no real conflict between the Lu Clan and the Gongsun Clan, but on the matter of Wang Shouzhe, the two ancestors seemed to have some emotional friction. Recently, neither of them would concede to the other.

If anyone was to blame, it was because Wang Shouzhe was too outstanding, and both ancestors couldn't help but vie for the title of his great-grandfather.

Wang Shouzhe broke out in a cold sweat, blaming himself for his lack of foresight. He shouldn't have put Ancestor Lu and Ancestor Ming together, but who could have predicted that they would be jealous over him?

"Lu Mingsheng, Gongsun Lu, both of you calm down." Another elder, who was even more "dedicated" in his appearance, said, "Don't disturb my meditation."

At his words, both of them quieted down.

They had no choice. This Ancestor Ru Hong was not only the oldest, but also a peak figure in the mid-stage of the Spirit Platform realm. Naturally, they respected him.

At this moment, another elder weakly said, "Little brother Shouzhe, my agility is not bad, how about I go and scout for information?"

This was, of course, Elder Zhong Xingwang.

After selling his elixir, he had hurried back. Hearing that the Wang's Clan was going for the autumn and winter hunt, he refused to leave and had been lingering until today.

Just as Wang Shouzhe was about to reply.

Suddenly!

Ancestor Ru Hong opened his eyes and said indifferently, "They're here, Shouzhe, you go and fight. All the external support is on us."

Almost at the same time.

Not far from the camp, a somewhat crazed laughter rang out, "Wang Shouzhe, you are surrounded, come out and meet your death!"

It was the voice of Liu Shengye, how could he not be furious?

The great situation and future of the Liu and Zhao Clans were all ruined by Wang Shouzhe.

"Uh... Ancestors, please rest for a while." Wang Shouzhe said with a light laugh, "I'll go out and 'meet my death' first."

...