"The cart’s overturned, the cart’s overturned." Zhang Xiaoman looked at the battle scene before him and couldn’t help but sigh.
He sensed the remaining Dark Energy points, which were down to 10. The Burst Spirit Skill was definitely out of the question now.
At this moment, cheers about Ye Fei being rescued came from the crowd not far away. Zhang Xiaoman glanced at the two Star Guards who were hugging the monster’s legs in an embrace and thought to himself that he had to come up with a solution to end the fight quickly, otherwise, it would be too embarrassing to be seen .
"Now I have only 10 points of Dark Energy left. If I use the Soul Absorption Technique to absorb some energy, I could summon the Star Guards again, but I just used both skills not long ago, and neither can be used for the time being... I can’t just stand here and wait, can I?"
Zhang Xiaoman’s mind was quickly coming up with strategies for what to do next. If the next two Star Guards he summoned still couldn’t take down the monster...
The scene of four burly men hugging the monster’s legs together flashed before his eyes.
"That’s just painful to look at."
Zhang Xiaoman hurriedly shook his head to cast that image out of his mind.
"I can’t possibly go up there and use One Flash on it, right? I’m afraid I’d break my fingers before even scratching it..." He looked helplessly at the scattered fragments of Long Spears around and thought unconsciously, "It’s a shame. Those Star Guards’ weapons look impressive, but they’re not durable. If I could repair them with Dark Energy... In the end, it all comes down to too little energy. With my current 10 points, I can’t do anything besides use two Sword Arrays..."
Just as he thought this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Wait a second, Sword Array?"
"That’s it, I still have the Sword Array! How could I have been so silly to forget it."
Zhang Xiaoman slapped his forehead, took two steps forward, and then without hesitation activated two Level 1 Sword Formation Skills with an energy cost of 5 points each—Harmonizing Yin and Yang and Soaring Beyond the Void, which could respectively increase movement and attack speed by five percent.
Two Mountain and River Swords suddenly unsheathed and positioned themselves to the left and right of the two Star Guards.
Of course, Zhang Xiaoman did this not to buff the Star Guards, but to provide them with weapons!
Upon receiving the new order, the two Star Guards immediately abandoned the earthworm-like monster, pulled the treasure swords from the ground, and swung two horizontal slices in return.
Two intense sounds of sword hums overpowered the noise of sharp blades cutting through objects. The Star Guards wielded the Mountain and River Swords even more terrifyingly than when Zhang Xiaoman used them.
Another round of synchronized sweeps, the Star Guards were so fast. It wasn’t obvious when they were using Long Spears, but now with the lightweight Mountain and River Swords, their attack speed skyrocketed.
With four flashes of cold light, the previously impervious monster was now divided into five sections, and the yellow liquid only started to ooze out slowly after a second or two.
The battle ended in an instant!
Zhang Xiaoman looked at the scene before him and instantly became excited. Indeed, his idea was correct, it seemed that despite the monster’s toughness, it was no match for the Sea God Steel!
He felt he had discovered a new way to utilize the Star Guard, and Zhang Xiaoman even believed that if he faced the Horror Demon from last time again, he would have the confidence to fight it.
This scene was just witnessed by Ye Cang, who had been about to come over. He swallowed nervously and continued to Zhang Xiaoman’s side, saying, "I thank you for your lifesaving grace! Xiao Fei’s injuries have stabilized, and now he just needs to recuperate. The herb you provided just now is truly Immortal Herbs!"
Zhang Xiaoman turned around, his gaze meeting Ye Cang as he said, "As long as the person is okay, that’s what matters. Elder Ye is now a member of the Star Alliance, and though the Spirit Grass is precious, how can it compare to a human life? There’s no need for excessive thanks."
Upon hearing this, Ye Cang’s face showed even greater gratitude. He bowed and said, "I, Ye Cang, will never forget Lord Jixing’s kindness today. If there’s anything you ask of me in the future, I shall give it my all. The affairs of the Star Alliance are my affairs, the affairs of the Ye Family!"
Zhang Xiaoman didn’t expect the other party to say such things and was a bit surprised for a moment, but still calmly said, "Mr. Ye, I feel your sincerity, but your grandson was severely injured just now. That Spirit Grass could only save his life; immediate treatment is still necessary."
Ye Cang looked apologetic, "Indeed, I was actually coming to take my leave from you, Lord. I need to go and look after Xiao Fei. After I have settled things with him, I will come back to attend to you."
Zhang Xiaoman waved his hand and said, "No worries, you go. I’ll take care of things here. Oh right, have those disciples return with you as well. I want to search the area for any hidden monsters that may still be lurking, they could be vulnerable to surprise attacks here."
Ye Cang left, taking a large group of Dragon Sleep Mountain disciples with him, leaving only Zhang Xiaoman, and his two Star Guards, behind in the mine.
As he had just mentioned, though Ye Fei’s injuries had been stabilized and his life was out of danger, he was still far from truly recovered. Not to mention bandaging and stitching, just dealing with inflammation would keep them busy for a while.
As for whether the severed arm can be reattached—there’s no need to even think about it. The moment the monster bit off his arm, it had been turned into pieces by the spiral-shaped jaws, which acted like a blender with suction, making escape nearly impossible. This was why Zhang Xiaoman had been hesitant to go forward and chop with his sword; he, too, feared an accidental mishap.
"The effect of the Four-leaf Flower is 40 points, it seems a bit low, although it’s easy to consume, it can’t just bring someone back to full status on the spot like a Baozi..."
Zhang Xiaoman had a rough understanding of the constitution of ordinary people by now. If converted into hit points, it would be around 100, with individual differences potentially leading to variation, but not by much.
With no one else around, Zhang Xiaoman used the Spirit Detection Technique to scan the vicinity one more time, and after confirming there were no suspicious creatures nearby, he finally approached the bodies of the monsters, ready to collect the spoils of war.
Looking at the three large earthworm-like creatures, Zhang Xiaoman slowly crouched down and brought his right palm close to them.
"Ding, absorbed Mineral Essence from the monster, points increased by 6."
"Ding, absorbed Mineral Essence from the monster, points increased by 7."
After absorbing two monster bodies, Zhang Xiaoman was quite surprised, finding it unexpected that these creatures, impervious to blades and spears and too formidable for his two Star Guards to defeat, could only provide so few points.