The flock of goats were bleating as they swarmed about panicking.
A flock of several hundred goats with greenish-gray fleece had appeared. The bone white horns of these goats were like two sharp curved swords.
These goats had been leisurely eating the grass, however two members of the exploration team suddenly appeared and drove them away.
These two held scimitars but didn't use them. They only just shouted loudly to easily drive away these panicking goats.
Zhen Jin, Zi Di, and Cang Xu were standing on a nearby hill, watching the scene from above.
The flock of goats tried to change directions but there were already men lying in wait, and at the crucial time, they suddenly appeared to obstruct the goats' path forward. These goats were redirected again and again, and eventually swarmed into a deep depression in the ground.
The exploration team began to encircle them as many members appeared from all directions.
There was a person on every side. When the goats discovered that there was no way out, they couldn't help but spin in circles trying to grasp the situation.
The exploration team lifted their swords and swung them down repeatedly and began harvesting the lives of the goats.
Like Cang Xu said, these goats were incomparably cowardly. When they were confronted with the butcher's blade, they did not resist at all. They cried out in fright as they crowded into the center in an attempt to escape death.
But there were always a bunch of unlucky goats that fell into the outskirts and were easily slaughtered by the humans.
Cang Xu looked at this scene and spoke softly: "Many nobles in the middle of the empire have started raising sheep in many large scale enclosures. They tend to those sheep."
"I have had the opportunity to visit a few of those renowned sheep rearing farms in the empire. Their scale was truly shocking."
"In my opinion, sheep as a species do not have the ability to live alone, the only reason why they can survive is because they rely on others to tend to them and rescue them."
"Sheep do not have the slightest capability to defend themselves. Male sheep were more timid than female sheep, even the tiniest peculiar sound could make them cower, they only lived in groups to relieve their fears."
"Not only are they cowardly, but they are also stupid. They do not know what is dangerous nor do they feel danger approaching. It was as if no matter what happened, they would still stay where they are. Even when they need to migrate away from a storm, they must have a bellwether guiding them. In truth, even the bellwether would stay still unless it's driven away by a shepherd or a sheepdog."
"Sheep are very frail. They cannot walk for long periods of time since they easily collapse from exhaustion. When they run, their heart beats too quickly that they would have trouble breathing properly. Extreme heat or cold could kill flocks of sheep. They are also easily liable to illness, and even something as simple as obesity could lead to their deaths."
"Compared to sheep, goats were far more lively, healthy, and a bit more courageous. But overall, they are mostly the same."
"The habits and traits of these two species are not very different."
"Goats cling to humans and like to rub on them, thus humans can easily get along with goats. They are very easy to raise and all kinds of fodder can be turned into goat food."
"However, sheep were more popular. This is because sheep have wool that can be spun into textile materials. In recent years, sheep have become even more popular in the empire with the huge innovations of textile technology and machinery."
"The Sha Ta clan was also very keen on developing the sheep business, so they sent me to the middle of the empire on an investigative trip. Unfortunately, the great nobles of the empire had intended to monopolise the textile machinery. At the same time, good soil was sparse in the desert, the environment was of poor quality, and the difference of temperature between night and day was massive, making it impossible to create large scale farms for sheep."
During their conversation, most of the goats had been slaughtered.
Among the team members, Huang Zao became the most conspicuous.
He held a halberd and with each attack, he ran through three or four goats.
He had bronze level strength and although he couldn't activate his battle qi, he no doubt revealed that he had a body exceeding that of an ordinary person.
The first task Zhen Jin had given to him was to encircle and slaughter the goats. With his goal of wanting to redeem himself through his deeds, and knowing that his every move was being observed, Huang Zao showed off his best performance."
But in the next moment, his unmatched halberd was blocked for the first time.
It turned out that the bellwether had finally gotten anxious and started to fight back.
The physique of the goat bellwether was twice that of the other goats, with its size almost reaching that of a colt, and its body was brimming with a bronze level aura.
The bellwether started approaching Huang Zao, then it lowered its head to reveal its sword-like horns and began to sprint.
Clack clack clack clack!
The goat's hooves clicked as it sprinted on the mountain, making a series of ringing cries..
The bellwether that was moving sluggishly suddenly exploded with an astonishing speed!
Huang Zao clenched his teeth, readied his halberd next to his chest, and stood his ground.
Lan Zao was standing behind Zhen Jin when he saw his younger brother's intention. He immediately shouted in anger: "You idiot, get out the way quickly, you can't use battle qi!"
Huang Zao's ears twitched, and the first thing he heard was his older brother's warning. However, he motionlessly clenched his teeth.
"If I flee from battle again, what kind of image will I leave on my master? Older brother, you are the one that's the fool!"
"This time, I will wash away my shame——!"
With a cry in his heart, Huang Zao opened his eyes wide and suddenly thrusted his halberd.
The tip of the halberd collided with the white goat horns.
Then, Huang Zao's look violently changed as the tip shattered and the entire halberd snapped to the side.
The bellwether collided into Huang Zao and at the moment of impact, Huang Zao could barely extend his halberd past his stomach.
Thump.
With a dull echo, Huang Zao was hit and got thrown away.
He flew through the air in an arc and fell onto the rocky grounds covered with grass. His eyes went black and he nearly lost consciousness on the spot.
"This guy…... " Seeing his brother ignore his advice and nearly getting impaled by the goat horns made Lan Zao clench his fists. He said with an intense will to fight, "Master, please let me go and sort out this bellwether!"
Zhen Jin however, only watched the scene with an apathetic gaze: "Go down and tell Huang Zao to restrain it, I want to capture this bellwether alive."
Lan Zao's complexion immediately changed, he wanted to say something but Cang Xu held out his hand to stop him.
Cang Xu said with a smile "To earn Lord Zhen Jin's trust, Huang Zao used this chance as an opportunity to redeem himself from his past shameful deeds. He knew that he couldn't activate his battle qi and that his strength was no match for the bellwether, yet he chose to endanger his life. Now that he has been stuck down, he should know that he needs to change his mentality."
When he heard this, Lan Zao suddenly quivered as he understood something and he knelt on the ground with one knee: "Master is benevolent and magnanimous you knew from early on that Huang Zao had an unbalanced mentality, you repeatedly gave him opportunities to adjust his attitude and distinguish himself! This silly person asks master to punish him for his crime."
Zhen Jin smiled and glanced at Lan Zao: "There is no crime in caring deeply for your brother. Watch from the side, after all Huang Zao is still weak. If he fails to capture it alive, you will do it for him." .
Lan Zao was instantly moved to tears as both his knees knelt to the ground, hit his forehead against the ground making a dull sound, and hurriedly rushed down the hill.
Within the depression in the ground, Huang Zao had already picked up a new halberd as he prepared to attack again.
Upon seeing Lan Zao coming over, he immediately felt anxious. "Older brother, why are you coming over here? Does master want you to replace me?"
Lan Zao coldy snorted: "Master told you to restrain and capture this bellwether alive. He has given you a chance to continue, only when you are defeated will I take over for you."
Huang Zao exuberantly shouted: "Good!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Zao was so angry that he nearly slapped Huang Zao across the face. But nothing could be done, he could only stand by on the side.
All of the ordinary goats were already slaughtered, only the showdown between the bellwether and Huang Zao remained on the field.
Under the bellwether's constant charges, Huang Zao was in a dilemma.
Huang Zao had some level of confidence in killing the bellwether with his halberd. However, Zhen Jin ordered the bellwether to be captured alive, which made Huang Zao helpless.
Both Huang Zao and the bellwether were bronze level lifeforms, however, Huang Zao couldn't activate his battle qi. He was cautious and fearful when using his halberd, as a result, the bellwether gained the upper hand.
Still, Huang Zao wanted to show off his resolve and showed no signs of faltering.
After a small period of deadlock, both man and goat were soaked in blood.
The bellwether's entire body was covered in slashes and cuts caused by the halberd. Huang Zao, on the other hand, had burns and bandages of his own, with most of his blood oozing out due to strenuous physical activities.
Lan Zao was inwardly anxious, he had tried to step in multiple times, but seeing that his younger brother was still able to resist, he could only suppress his urges.
The bellwether began to charge once again. Huang Zao's strength was sliding into a critical state, and although he barely dodged it this time, he was powerless to retaliate.
The bellwether, however, did not turn around to fight against Huang Zao this time. Instead, it rushed out of the encirclement.
The encirclement was made up of exploration team members that only possessed ordinary battle strength, they got out of the way with continuous cries of alarm, they did not dare to use their bodies to stop the wild bellwether from escaping.
Lan Zao was just about to step in when he suddenly heard Zhen Jin's voice: " Enough, all of you withdraw. I will do it myself."
"Master, I…...can still fight." Huang Zao cried out unwillingly.
"You idiot, don't delay and withdraw! Don't spoil our master's mood." Lan Zao reprimanded angrily.
Everyone focused their eyes on Zhen Jin.
Ever since Zhen Jin became the exploration team's leader, almost everyone was secretly speculating Lord Zhen Jin's strength.
Was it at the silver level or the gold level?
This island prohibited the usage of low level magic and battle qi, so was Lord Zhen Jin still able to activate his battle qi? (Cang Xu's speculations were too horrifying, thus they were only known to the exploration team's higher ups and the rest of the team didn't know.)
As the goat charged over, Zhen Jin remained calm and collected.
Seeing that the horns were about to pierce him, Zhen Jin reached out and grabbed both of the horns with extreme accuracy in a short moment.
Then, Zhen Jin forcefully pressed with his hand.
The bellwether's charge came to an abrupt stop as its entire head was pinned to the ground by Zhen Jin. The goat's powerful legs kicked about frantically and threw dirt into the air, but from start to finish, Zhen Jin's hands were as steady as a mountain. His entire body seemed like it was cast iron as it didn't shake even in the slightest.
It gave an impression that the bellwether was as weak as a feeble chicken in front of Zhen Jin!
Startled gasps came from everyone's mouths, which soon turned into shouting and cheering.
Huang Zao could not help but stare with his eyes wide open.
Zhen JIn didn't activate battle qi, and had only relied on his own strength to suppress this bellwether.
Such strength convinced Huang Zao.
Cang Xu was also quietly moved by the scene.
He was fully aware: The composition and physique of humans and animals were different. If humans could not activate battle qi and only relied on their basic qualities, it was actually really hard for them to be considered equal to creatures of the same level.
Humans were not born to run faster than a horse, or to be able to climb nimbly like a monkey, or to fly like a bird in the sky, or to breathe and dive underwater like a fish.
Compared to numerous beasts, a human's greatest advantage was their intelligence. A human's strength, speed, stamina, etc were not considered sufficient when compared with wild beasts.
Therefore, if one possessed silver level battle qi but didn't use it, and instead leaned on their own strength, it was most likely they would lose to just a bronze level magic beast.
"Such bodily strength..."
With the scene before Cang Xu's eyes, his heart couldn't help but raise doubts: "Don't tell me Lord Zhen Jin really possesses gold level cultivation?"