The squad members understood this, too. Not only did those with ranged abilities attack with all their might, but the melee warriors also charged directly into the Hive Nest, hacking at the bases of the roots.

Now that all the roots were occupied countering the mountain shadow, they had no time to deal with the intruders.

And so, Ye Zhongming used his ability to keep the roots occupied while the squad members and his shadows harvested the Huo Grass.

Though the shadows hid his face, He, who had used a holy sigil to attack a few times before stopping, noticed the growing pool of blood beneath his feet.

She knew Ye Zhongming was in great pain.

She gritted her teeth, suppressing the urge to join the fight.

She was the squad’s last line of defense. The sounds of battle might attract other lifeforms. She needed to conserve her strength to ensure she had enough energy to deploy the Water Chain.

In He’s mind, everyone else in the squad could die—except Ye Zhongming. She had to be capable of covering his escape.

The First Squad members fought with wild abandon, reveling in the thrill.

There was nothing quite like striking down mutated plants beyond Level Nine when they could not fight back.

Ye Zhongming’s body slumped lower as the strain increased. The pool of blood beneath him grew.

Everyone urged themselves silently: Faster, faster! One warrior’s weapon, unsuitable for hacking, shattered after repeated blows. Enraged, he cast it aside and used his bare fists. Soon, his knuckles were raw, but he did not stop.

In such moments, offensive warriors like Oliga, with Furelai ratings exceeding fifty thousand, showed their true value. With his immense strength, his massive weapon could sever a Huo Grass root at its base with a single swing. Even the thickest ones took only two strikes.

And his stamina was exceptional. His rhythm did not waver; if anything, he seemed to swing faster as the battle wore on, his battle cries growing more urgent.

Fortunately, the Hive Nest was not particularly large relative to the entire plain. Unfortunately, the squad was too small.

When Ye Zhongming could no longer maintain his transformed state and collapsed, at least one-fifth of the Hive Nest remained untouched. Under He’s signal, the squad members retreated quickly.

Perhaps because it had been severely damaged, the remaining Huo Grass did not retract their roots. Instead, they thrashed wildly in the air. But as mutated plants, they could not move freely and had no way to attack the retreating squad.

This gave the ranged warriors an opportunity. Summoning their remaining strength, they continued attacking the Huo Grass roots. Though slower than before, if this continued, the battle would not take much longer to finish.

Ye Zhongming was in terrible condition. After He treated him, he improved somewhat. He assessed the situation, summoned Mountain Rage, and sent the Raini-grade mechanical war beast into the fray.

He had not deployed it earlier for fear of it being destroyed. As a melee unit, any accident would have been costly.

With fresh reinforcements, the battle accelerated. When only a few dozen Huo Grass remained, they finally seemed to understand fear and withdrew underground, not reappearing.

Even so, Mountain Rage had sustained considerable damage in that short time.

With the Huo Grass no longer a threat, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The battle was over.

He distributed fatigue-recovery medicine to everyone. After a few minutes of rest, they began cleaning the battlefield.

Collecting the roots did not take long, as they were mostly exposed. But harvesting the Huo Grass Leaves and “Kaihui Pouches” would be more time-consuming.

During this time, some lifeforms drawn by the noise appeared. Fortunately, none were particularly strong. Under the combined efforts of the still-capable warriors and Mountain Rage, they were either driven off or killed.

Not only were mutated lifeforms drawn to the scene, but two squads from the First Regiment also arrived. When they saw the scene, they were utterly stunned.

They could not believe that a squad of thirty people had accomplished this.

However, both squads had Star-Eye Clan members—one from the Bronze Camp, one from the Silver Camp. Seeing Ye Zhongming, they found nothing surprising about what had happened.

The Star-Eye Clan had come to recognize Ye Zhongming as one thing: a miracle worker.

With the arrival of the two squads, security improved, and cleaning the battlefield became faster. With fresh reinforcements, the remaining Huo Grass, though hidden underground, was soon finished off.

Ye Zhongming did not hold back with the two squads. He gave each of their members a piece of Ke Steel-grade equipment, leaving them grinning from ear to ear.

But when he began handing out Red Condensation-grade gear, they were utterly dumbfounded.

What was happening? A battle like this, and they got Red Condensation-grade equipment? Such good fortune? It was like manna from heaven! True, the gear looked a bit rough—perhaps the work of novice Taloss Red Dwarf smiths—but it was still Red Condensation-grade!

And that was not all. After the Red Condensation-grade gear, there were four-turn medicines!

Good heavens! They were all members of the coalition. Some of them were even from the same clans as the First Squad members. Why was the treatment so different?

The two squads’ members turned to look at Ye Zhongming with expressions more passionate than those of lovers. If they had not seen how exhausted the Bronze Order Leader was, they would have already rushed over to curry favor.

The First Squad members, holding their Red Condensation-grade equipment and four-turn medicines, were naturally overjoyed—but also felt a bit guilty.

They felt they had not done much. Even Oliga, with his straightforward nature, openly remarked that in that situation, any fool could have done the same.

Indeed, they had simply harvested lifeforms without facing any real danger. If there was any price paid, it was exhaustion.

After all, they had killed as many Huo Grass as possible in the shortest time. By the end, everyone was nearly drained.

Their guilt showed on their faces. Unlike the other two squads, their expressions toward Ye Zhongming were apologetic yet eager. The eagerness came from their desire for him to give them their next task immediately, so they could go all out for him.

After Ye Zhongming recovered somewhat, the leaders of the other two squads approached.

“Boss, can we join your next operation? We’re your men too. Our overall strength is no worse than the First Squad’s. Anything they can do, we can do—and what they can’t, we can too.”

This remark immediately drew objections from the First Squad. Oliga loudly challenged them to a contest.

Ye Zhongming was exhausted, but upon seeing the enthusiasm, he knew they were ready to fight. He smiled and asked the members of the two later squads, “Do you really want to fight alongside me?”

“Absolutely!” the two squad leaders said, pounding their chests in assurance. “And Commander, we admit we’re envious of the equipment and medicine. But we also understand nothing comes for free. We want the rewards, but we’ll fight with our lives to earn them!”

Ye Zhongming nodded approvingly. He was not afraid of his subordinates having desires. What he feared were those who shirked responsibility.

“Good. Since you’ve given your word, you’ll follow me from now on. But first, you must obey commands. If anyone disobeys me, I will not be lenient.”

The two squads immediately pledged to follow Ye Zhongming’s orders.

“Very well. Now that we have nearly a hundred people, there’s much more we can do. Next, we go… fishing.”