Listening to Mike recruiting his people right in front of him, Geoff felt a pang of bitterness. He didn't say anything, knowing that after this experience, Qiqi definitely wouldn't stay. Following Mike might be a good choice for her.
The journey ahead was much more peaceful. There was only one wolf demon, and when they passed by the shredded herd of cows, everyone felt a wave of fear. If not for Mike, they would have been in danger.
The situation had been extremely urgent at the time. The scouts in the team weren't as fast as the wolf demon, and even if they sacrificed Qiqi, the convoy might not have escaped unscathed. Wolf demons are vicious creatures; after killing Qiqi, they would have turned on the team.
The result could have been the team abandoning the convoy to attract the wolf demon's attention, leading to a failed mission and heavy losses. Alternatively, the wolf demon might have ignored the convoy altogether, targeting the people directly. In that case, only the fastest, Geoff, might have survived, or perhaps no one would.
Thus, everyone had mixed feelings towards Mike. They felt gratitude and awe but also embarrassment and discomfort at Mike's open disdain. From his humorous and playful conversation with Qiqi, it was clear that Mike was not an oblivious person who disregarded the feelings of others. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to make Qiqi laugh so easily and get along with her so well.
So Mike must have known his attitude would make the others feel awkward, but he didn't care. Geoff recognized this as pride. This young man possessed the boldness and pride that Geoff lacked. He looked down on them and didn't bother with pretenses.
Thus, everyone wisely left Mike and Qiqi alone.
The journey of over a hundred kilometers would take two days and nights. After the wolf demon incident, the rest of the trip was much smoother. Besides two encounters with passing magical beasts, which were not particularly dangerous and were easily driven away, nothing happened.
During this time, to help Qiqi recover faster, Mike gave her a bottle of "found" healing potion. From Martina, he learned that this potion was quite expensive, a mid-level potion costing 120 gold coins—several times more than a low-level healing potion that costs only 20 to 30 gold coins. Most people couldn't afford it.
Mike couldn't help but mutter that it was no wonder his wounds healed so quickly after drinking it. It was far more effective than the inferior healing potions sold in the village and tasted better too, like oranges.
However, when Mike offered the potion to Qiqi, she repeatedly declined, saying she had just saved enough money to buy a new short sword and didn't have that much money left. But Mike, too lazy to argue, simply stuffed the potion into her hands, saying, "Drink it quickly, or I'll have to keep carrying you, which will hinder our progress."
Hearing this, the little cat girl obediently drank the potion, and her wounds healed quickly. She blushed frequently, possibly due to the potion's effects.
At night, the convoy stopped to rest. The three carts were arranged in a triangle, and they lit a campfire in the middle. Everyone chewed on dry rations but their eyes kept drifting to Mike. The boy had gone hunting earlier and returned with two wild boars. Now they were roasting, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
Seeing the fragrant roast boar in front of Mike and the dry, choking jerky in their own hands, everyone couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
Poking the sizzling roast boar with a small knife, Mike nodded in satisfaction and tore off a pig leg. He had deliberately chosen a medium-sized wild boar with the best meat quality, not worrying about wastage.
"Here." He handed the pig leg to Qiqi. Drooling, the little cat girl, clearly a foodie, accepted it eagerly.
"Thank you, meow~," Qiqi said, her ears twitching slightly as she flashed Mike a sweet smile.
Mike couldn't help but ruffle her hair, and she didn't resist, even rubbing her head affectionately against his hand.
Mike smiled and then tore off another pig leg for himself, biting into it heartily. With a large appetite, he quickly devoured the entire roast pig, and Qiqi ate until she was full, burping contentedly.
As for the others, tempted but too embarrassed to ask Mike for some roast pork, they could only swallow their saliva and try hard to ignore their cravings.
Mike watched this scene with a slight smile. He had let them be for long enough. Stretching lazily, he looked over at Geoff and asked, "Are you full with just those dry rations?"
"Uh... it's okay," Geoff replied, surprised that Mike was willing to talk to them. He had thought this prideful guy wouldn't say a word to them for the entire journey.
In truth, Mike did look down on their actions of abandoning a teammate, but despite his displeasure, he knew how to handle the situation and how to get what he needed from these people. For example, information.
The awkward silence of the day had made Geoff and the others eager to break the tension, and Mike initiating conversation seemed like a relief.
So, Geoff was more than happy to chat with Mike.
"I hunted an extra wild boar. It's in the carriage. If you want to eat, you can handle it yourselves," Mike said, leaning against the cart, speaking nonchalantly.
The group exchanged looks of disbelief.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Mike raised an eyebrow, looking mischievous despite his honest face.
"Yes!" They almost shouted in unison before rushing to fetch the wild boar and prepare it. Soon enough, they were also enjoying the delicious roasted pork. Although their cooking skills didn't match Mike's, the roasted boar wasn't as good in appearance or taste as Mike's, but it was still satisfying.
"So that thing was called a wolf demon?" Mike asked, seeing them eating happily and knowing the timing was right.
With roasted pork and Mike's willingness to communicate, the group relaxed, and the atmosphere became much more amiable. So, when Mike asked his question, they were eager to respond.
"Yeah, the wolf demon is a creature from the Bloodlands. Recently, some distant lands have been eroded by the Bloodlands, turning into blood-soaked ground," Geoff explained.
"Monsters have crawled out of the blood-soaked ground, and the wolf demon is one of them."
"What are the Bloodlands?" Mike asked, as he had never heard of them.
"It's another world, a very terrifying one. The power from that world can seep into other worlds through certain mediums, corrupting the land and turning it into blood-soaked ground that spawns horrific monsters. In severe cases, it can even create blood rifts that connect to the Bloodlands, possibly leading to a blood wave, which is similar to a beast tide but much more dreadful."
"So, what's the level of a wolf demon among the monsters from the Bloodlands?" Mike asked again.
"I've only seen three types of monsters from the Bloodlands: blood fish, blood eyes, and wolf demons. Blood fish win by numbers and individual combat power isn't strong, but their numbers can be terrifying. Fortunately, they can't stray far from the blood-soaked ground.
Blood eyes look like giant red octopuses with a huge single eye and have significantly stronger combat power than blood fish, and they can affect people's vision, making them very troublesome. Wolf demons are the most frightening among these three monsters. They are solitary, have immense combat power, and are said to grow stronger through slaughter. Once they target you, they won't stop until one of you is dead!"
"According to the Mage's Guild, even a newly born wolf demon is hard to deal with without at least a five-star gold rank…" Geoff said, looking at Mike with a complex expression.
This guy said he was a five-star silver rank…
Luckily, someone voiced Geoff's confusion.
"Big guy, are you a five-star silver rank?" Qiqi asked, full of curiosity.
Mike smiled and said, "Of course. Look."
With that, he activated his blood energy, and five visible blood energy marks appeared around him, swirling like a vortex, shimmering with a silver light.
Geoff and the others were stunned. He wasn't lying!
"He is a five-star silver rank…" Qiqi murmured, then couldn't help but ask, "Why is a five-star silver rank like you so strong and have such great strength?"
Mike scratched his head. He couldn't exactly say it was because he was a giant and his strength grew dozens of times faster than that of ordinary people, could he?
The benefit of his giant physique was tremendous strength and a powerful body, though he still had to determine if this giant physique had magical potential.
After some thought, Mike said, "Because I was born strong!"
He flexed his arm, showcasing a bicep as large as a small hill. When he flexed, his muscles bulged, making his arm circumference thicker than Qiqi's waist.
"Oh my whiskers…" Qiqi couldn't resist touching Mike's bicep, her eyes shining with an inexplicable light.
Geoff and the others were taken aback, then chuckled and nodded.
Indeed, some people were just naturally gifted. Some had magical talents, while others had physical prowess. In a world where talent abounded, Mike was clearly one of the gifted. With such physical attributes, he was destined to become a powerful warrior.
Well… if Mike only wanted to be a warrior.