A Good Harvest

"Crash!" The mini-boss fell to the ground with an incredulous expression, crashing heavily.

Jake furrowed his brow, enduring the pain as he pulled the long spear out of his body and then threw it on the ground. Without resting, he immediately moved on to attack the other demonic realm beings.

With Jake joining the fight, Brenton and the others felt a significant reduction in pressure. The opponent's morale was affected by the death of their leader, and they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.

However, these demonic realm beings were truly ferocious. Despite knowing that the situation was unfavorable, they were determined to fight to the death. Their faces showed no signs of panic, and they continued to attack Jake and his group relentlessly, as if they were not human but ruthless killing machines.

Their willingness to fight to the death and refusal to retreat, even when Brenton and the others had the upper hand, sent shivers down their spines. When the last demonic realm being fell to the ground, the small battlefield slowly returned to calm.

"Phew, they really are like monsters," Brenton spat on the ground, looking at the corpses with lingering fear.

The others had similar expressions, and even though they had emerged victorious, they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

This was their first time fighting against demonic realm beings. Previously, they had only heard that these beings and creatures from the demonic realm were exceptionally fierce and bloodthirsty. Today, they had finally experienced it firsthand.

These beings were indeed terrifying, with strong power, formidable defense, and no fear of death. They were especially excited when they saw blood. If it hadn't been for Jake on their side, they might have been completely wiped out.

Jake was equally amazed by the combat prowess of these demonic realm soldiers. These were just ordinary soldiers. If it were the elite forces from the demonic realm, it would likely be even more terrifying.

Previously, Jake thought he had decent equipment and could easily handle monsters ten levels above him. However, after witnessing these demonic realm beings, he realized that his strength was far from sufficient. As the leader of a team of around ten people, he had fought evenly with a formidable opponent. If someone of higher caliber came, he would be defeated.

A chill ran down Jake's spine as he realized that he had a long way to go and plenty of room for improvement. He was far from being complacent.

Jake applied some Golden Wound Medicine to his wounds and then handed the remaining medicine to Adrian, instructing him to administer it to the team members.

The entire Fourth Squad, except for Adrian, was injured. Even Jake hadn't been spared. Adrian, thanks to his agility and avoidance tactics, remained unharmed. Among the team members, three were seriously injured, with two of them still unconscious.

It could be said that in this battle, Jake and his team had won, but the victory had come at a steep cost. However, the fact that no one had been killed was a fortunate outcome amidst the adversity.

The team members went to treat their injuries, while Jake began to clean up the battlefield. His first priority was to inspect the body of the mini-boss, and it didn't disappoint him.

"Summoning Token (Bronze Rank): Can summon five demonic realm warriors to fight for oneself, each summon lasting five minutes with a cooldown of two hours."

"Demon Blood Spear (Silver Rank): Attack +40, Agility +5, Strength +15."

The mini-boss had left Jake with two valuable treasures. The properties of the Demon Blood Spear were even higher than Jake's black stone longsword. However, Jake's sword came with a lifesteal ability, which he valued more. With this skill, Jake's sustained combat ability would be stronger. As for the Summoning Token, when used strategically, it could prove very effective in critical moments.

Of course, the rewards from this battle didn't stop there. Other demonic realm team members had left behind several weapons for Jake and his team. Although they were common-grade equipment that Jake wasn't interested in, they would be highly sought after if sold. Previously, there hadn't been many weapons in Skylark Camp, so these items would definitely have many takers.

Apart from weapons, the most significant gain was the mounts. Mounts were valuable, whether for personal use or resale. Unfortunately, a few mounts had been killed in the previous battle.

Seeing these mounts, Jake thought of the mount token in his backpack. When the others weren't looking in his direction, he secretly collected the corpse of one of the dead mounts and stashed it in his backpack. Then, he used his mount token to recreate the appearance of the mount he had just collected.

After finishing this task, Jake said to the others, "This place is not safe, and the enemy could catch up with us at any moment. We need to leave here as soon as possible, and the seriously injured members need to return to the city for treatment."

Golden Wound Medicine could only treat external injuries. Jake's current skills were not sufficient to heal the three severely injured members. They had to be taken back to the city for proper medical treatment. The team members had no objections to this.

"Place the seriously injured members on the carriage, and the rest of you can choose your mounts," Jake instructed the team. Then, he pointed to the mount he had transformed earlier and said, "This mount is mine; the rest of you can choose freely."

Upon hearing Jake's words, Brenton and the others were delighted. Mounts were a privilege reserved for high-ranking leaders in Skylark Camp. Now, they could pick one freely.

After everything was arranged, the team continued on their way. Ben rode ahead on his mount, acting as the navigator, while Adrian officially took on the role of the team's scout, checking the safety of the surroundings. As for Jake, he continued to play the role of the groom for his mount. The obedient behavior of the transformed mount impressed Brenton and the others.

Jake found that the mount he had transformed not only could change its appearance at will but also had a telepathic connection with him. It could understand his thoughts, remain loyal, and execute his commands faithfully. Jake was highly satisfied with the mount token.

After this battle, Jake's team exuded an aura of professionalism, not because of their equipment, but because of their demeanor. At a glance, they didn't appear to be a motley crew.

Due to the presence of injured members in the carriage, Jake didn't dare to push the mounts too hard to avoid worsening the injuries of the three severely wounded. Consequently, the team's marching speed slowed down once again.