CHAPTER 110 (1): COMPLETE ACCIDENT

All of the surrounding leaves had already been completely incinerated, but everyone was still on high alert.

"There's no need to be overly anxious, everyone," Fang Che reassured. "Now that we know there are Fire Thread Insects around, they pose much less of a threat. This entire forest has already been destroyed anyway, so let's just burn our way through here to ensure our safety. Fire Thread Insects require their owner's blood to breed, so even the people from the Church of the Self-Righteous wouldn't have too many of them."

Everyone instantly felt much more reassured.

Right at this moment, several streaks of light abruptly shot out of the charred forest, hurtling directly toward Yuan Jingjiang and several King tier warriors.

They immediately drew their weapons to defend themselves, while Fang Che yelled, "Look out, everyone! This is only a distraction!"

Everyone immediately adopted defensive stances, and sure enough, right as Yuan Jingjiang and the others were defending themselves, another streak of light shot out of the forest, this one racing directly toward Fang Che.

In response, Fang Che lashed out with his saber, and a resounding clang rang out as he was sent flying back by a flying dagger, while a second one was already on its way.

Zuo Guanglie and another first-rank administrator raised their sabers in unison to parry the flying dagger away, but they were also knocked off their feet.

A disgruntled harrumph rang out from within the dark shadows of the forest.

Yuan Jingjiang immediately charged into the forest with his sword held aloft, raising a cloud of black dust in his wake.

However, no sounds of battle followed, and it was clear that the enemy had already gotten away.

***

Fang Che picked himself up from the ground as a line of blood trickled down from the corner of his lips, and his right hand was numb from the earlier impact.

It was just a tiny flying dagger, yet it had truly packed a punch.

Everyone was very much spooked at this point.

"Don't worry," Fang Che consoled. "The enemy is strong, but not as strong as Hall Master Yuan. Otherwise, they would've come out to openly confront us. As long as Hall Master Yuan is with us, we're safe for now. Just make sure to always be on your guard."

Before long, Yuan Jingjiang returned with a furious expression.

What was supposed to have been a period of rest and respite had turned into a fight for survival, and they had suffered a casualty in the process!

"Hall Master Yuan," Fang Che called out.

Yuan Jingjiang immediately gave Fang Che his full attention.

He had discovered that Fang Che seemed to be even more experienced than he was, and if he hadn't been present, the single casualty could've easily ballooned to dozens by now.

"I think it's necessary for you and the King tier seniors to conjure up a spirit qi barrier in which everyone can rest and have something to eat and drink. If there are Fire Thread Insects present, then that means people from the main church's poison hall must've been deployed. If we eat and drink now without a protective barrier in place, they'll most likely have other ways through which they can poison us."

Yuan Jingjiang immediately did as Fang Che suggested, conjuring up a protective barrier with the help of the Kings in the group, and only then was everyone finally able to rest.

***

"While we're moving, we're traveling too fast for these tiny insects to keep up with us, so they pose no threat. However, once we stop, that's when we become susceptible to them," Fang Che said while quickly wolfing down food and water. "Hence, you may think that we're in the most danger on the move, but in reality, we're actually in the most danger while we're resting, which is also when we'll be most complacent.

“Let's all eat quickly. Protective barriers like this one take too much spirit power to maintain."

The interior of the protective barrier instantly began teeming with the fragrant aroma of different food items.

Jing Xiuyun and the other female administrators wanted to share some of their food with Fang Che, but they were discouraged from doing so after noticing that he was eating better than everyone!

Thus, they immediately lowered their heads and began eating in silence.

***

It was at times like this that Fang Che desperately yearned for a spatial ring.

With a spatial ring, every outing was made incredibly easy. He could summon anything that he wanted with a wave of his hand, and he didn't have to worry about food going bad. As long as there was sufficient internal storage space, he could even bring a year's worth of food!

The thought of the spatial ring confiscated by Ye Yun immediately had him gritting his teeth in frustration.

He knew that Ye Yun was right, and that the Li Clan would be able to easily track him down through that spatial ring, thereby placing him in great danger, but it was still a spatial ring! Fang Che was really tempted to say that it was worth the risk!

With that in mind, Fang Che couldn't help but heave a forlorn sigh.

At the moment, Yuan Jingjiang was paying extra close attention to Fang Che, and he immediately tensed up at the sound of Fang Che's sigh.

"What's wrong, Administrator Fang? Is there something we should be wary of?"

Everyone immediately also turned to him with anxious expressions.

"No, no, don't panic, everyone," Fang Che hurriedly said. "I was just thinking about how great it would be if one of us had a spatial ring."

A wry smile appeared on Yuan Jingjiang's face as he said, "Spatial rings are great things, but they're too flashy. At my cultivation base, I wouldn't dare to wear a spatial ring even if someone gave one to me. Even in the Hall of Protectionists, I would run the risk of getting robbed!"

Everyone erupted into laughter upon hearing this, but it was indeed true that for warriors of insufficient cultivation base, things like spatial rings were more of a curse than a blessing.

The only way to avoid being implicated by one's spatial rings would be to hide it and never use it, but in that case, what would even be the point of possessing one?

***

After everyone was done eating, the protective barrier was kept up for a few more minutes to allow everyone to rest.

Yuan Jingjiang was just about to remove the protective barrier when Fang Che intervened.

"What are your instructions, Administrator Fang?" Yuan Jingjiang immediately asked with a serious expression.

Everyone: "......"

Fang Che was also rather bemused.

"I'm just an administrator. At the very most, anything I say can only count as advice, certainly not instructions."

"Go ahead, we'll do as you say," Yuan Jingjiang insisted, displaying a complete willingness to follow Fang Che's lead.

Fang Che could only shake his head with a wry smile, then said, "The smell of food is too strong in here, so we can't just remove the barrier like this. Instead, I advise you and the other seniors to envelop the aroma in spirit qi, then cast it outside of the barrier."

This was much more difficult to accomplish than simply maintaining the barrier, but Yuan Jingjiang still did exactly as he was told without any objections.

Everyone used their spirit qi to cleanse their own bodies of the aroma of food, following which all of the aromas came together, enveloped by spirit qi, before being cast out of the barrier as an invisible ball of air.

Everyone watched as the aroma began to spread, and a bunch of tiny black dots suddenly began to appear in the same area. The black dots were tiny, but there were too many of them to be ignored.

Before long, the ground in that area was completely riddled with the tiny creatures, and everyone's skin began to crawl as they looked on in alarm and disgust.

"Are those lice?" Yuan Jingjiang asked in a trembling voice.

"No, they're a type of poisonous insect that specifically targets food," Fang Che explained. "When these things are spread out, they're barely visible at all individually, and we could easily swallow one without noticing, but that would be a lethal mistake. The personnel from our Hall of Protectionists rarely go out into the front lines, so it's no surprise that you don't know about these things.

“The Guardians that are fighting on the front lines constantly have to deal with strange things like this, and that's why you may have heard stories about Guardians only eating under spirit qi barriers, or even only eating while on the move to ensure that no undesirable things can catch up to them. The environment that they're accustomed to is something that we can't even imagine in the Hall of Protectionists."

"Man, the Guardians really do have it tough," Yuan Jingjiang mused. "Thank heavens you're here with us, Administrator Fang. How do you know all of this?"

"There are some seniors in my clan who regularly tell me stories about their battlefield experiences," Fang Che lied.

An enlightened look appeared on Yuan Jingjiang's face.

Given that there were seniors in his clan who were current or past Guardians, it was no wonder that even the hall master had no authority over him.

All those rumors about him coming from a ninth-tier clan were clearly all nonsense!

***

Finally, the spirit qi barrier was removed, and right as everyone was about to set off, Yuan Jingjiang said, "You lead the way from here, Administrator Fang. All of us will follow your lead from now on."

Having stayed his entire life in the Hall of Protectionists, Yuan Jingjiang had far too little practical experience in the real world. Even if he had been imparted some nuggets of wisdom by his battle-hardened seniors, he would've forgotten them long ago.

Hence, Fang Che was clearly far more fit to lead than he was, and he had already won over everyone with his displays of competence.

If it weren't for him, they would've suffered at least several dozen casualties by now!

Fang Che didn't want to take the spotlight, but he could see that Yuan Jingjiang was truly out of his depth here.

Thus, after some contemplation, he asked, "What does everyone else think?"

Everyone immediately expressed unanimous support of Yuan Jingjiang's decision.

They weren't afraid of blades and weapons, but they were truly terrified of these tiny insects and invisible threats.

"Alright, in that case, I'll be taking the lead from now on," Fang Che declared. "First things first, I want all of the female administrators to step forward."

There were over thirty female administrators, and they all stepped forward as instructed.

***

"Hall Master Yuan, I'll have to trouble you and the other King tier seniors to cleanse their bodies of any special fragrance, including perfume and makeup. Everyone else wearing any special fragrances must also do the same," Fang Che ordered.

The female administrators began to wash off their makeup in an embarrassed fashion, while the King tier warriors began using their spirit qi to cleanse them of special fragrances.

Many of the male administrators were watching intently, and someone murmured, "Damn... It turns out I've just been looking at a bunch of powder for all these years..."

"What the hell are you mumbling about over there?" Jing Xiuyun snapped, her face red with embarrassment.

All of the male administrators burst into laughter.

"All of you are much better to look at now!"

The female administrators were all furious and embarrassed, but that quickly turned to sorrow and dismay as Fang Che issued his next order: "Throw away all of the makeup, scented pouches, and other scented items that you're carrying with you!"

They knew it had to be done, but it was still only with extreme reluctance and sadness that they parted with these precious companions.

Unfortunately, these fragrances were simply too dangerous to keep around in a hellscape like this, and this was why the Guardians were extremely stringent in their intake of female members.

It was also why many Guardian teams had a zero-tolerance policy for any female members.

It wasn't a case of misogyny or discrimination, it was simply the case that many habits that women took for granted came with lethal consequences on the battlefield.

***

Once all of the preparations were complete, Fang Che continued issuing instructions to everyone.

"Hall Master Yuan, from here onward, you and two Kings will lead the way in a triangular formation, while the remaining Kings protect everyone from the front, the rear, and the two flanks. All of the Warlords will be within the Kings, while the Lords will be within the Warlords, and the Generals will be at the very center. I'll be in the first group leading the way. If I issue any orders along the way, I expect them to be carried out right away!"

"That's not a problem, but is it really a good idea for you to be leading from the front? What if we run into danger?" Yuan Jingjiang asked in a concerned manner.

"You'll be ahead of me, and I'll have several Kings by my side, so I won't be in any danger," Fang Che reassured. "From now on, no one is allowed to eat or drink until I say so. If you encounter any bodies, burn them right away.

“If you encounter any survivors, do not approach them. Stay back and await further instructions. If we encounter any smoke, immediately hold your breath and shut off all of your pores. Sustain yourselves using your internal respiratory systems. Let's go!"

Yuan Jingjiang's trio immediately flew ahead in a triangular formation as instructed, while everyone else set off behind them.