168: Chapter 168 Training Troops Through War

This scene of encirclement suddenly brought the entire situation to a fever pitch.

Tianlu's control effect was strong, but for every rank higher, the control duration was halved.

This was the rule of the skill Lumeng, and it was not subject to anyone's will.

Tianlu was currently Black Iron Low-Grade, so against a Black Iron Mid-grade Earth Lizard, the control duration was reduced from ten seconds to five seconds.

Against a bronze low-grade, it would be reduced to one second.

And when facing a mid-grade bronze, it would only cause a momentary delay.

Among the Earth Lizards swarming to surround them now, there were at least a dozen at the Bronze Rank, and several were mid-grade bronze.

How many could Tianlu control? And for how long?

Would the control time be enough to focus fire and instantly kill one Bronze Rank Earth Lizard?

Not enough!

Unless everyone could focus their attacks on the same one.

But right now, Earth Lizards were surging in from all directions.

If they focused their attacks on just one, the Earth Lizards surging from other directions would be enough to completely scatter the team.

The only outcome left for Qin Ce would be total annihilation.

What was even more troublesome was that those Bronze Rank Earth Lizards were not stupid.

Once they saw the effect of Tianlu's Lumeng and saw how the controlled Earth Lizards died, they wouldn't just stand there waiting to be controlled.

They would dodge as much as possible, searching for the blind spots in Tianlu's field of vision.

Thus, the situation deteriorated in an instant.

Even his own people in the team began to panic again.

The new recruits crowded toward the center with their Pet Beasts, while the veterans gritted their teeth and stood on the perimeter, though their bodies were also trembling.

A team that had not been baptized by battle was inherently a mob.

They could fight a winning battle, but as soon as they encountered adversity, they would easily fall apart.

This was the biggest problem with the Wuji Army itself.

And the reason why Qin Ce did not use the Qingluan and insisted on using Tianlu was, in fact, for this very purpose.

He was never trying to complete the mission; he was refining the team.

At this moment.

No one was optimistic about Qin Ce.

The scouts on the hillside had already started a new round of discussion.

"Over a hundred Earth Lizards, a whole bunch of Bronze Rank ones, how many can that little lion of his control?"

"Even if he can control them, he can't kill them all, and if he can't control them, it's death."

"That young master is still standing at the very front; he'll probably be the first to die."

No one felt that Qin Ce could win.

Not even the people in his own team felt so.

The members of the Seventh Squad showed true despair on their faces.

If it hadn't been for Qin Ce just commanding them to easily take down three Red-Scaled Earth Lizards, establishing a shred of military spirit, they would likely have scattered long ago.

This was also the most common situation in the Wuji Army—fight if they could win, run if they couldn't, and surrender if they couldn't run.

No one felt ashamed, because staying alive was more important than anything else.

In their eyes was that glimmer—the kind of light that only people who had repeatedly hovered on the edge of life and death would have; it wasn't bravery, it wasn't strength, it was resignation.

It was the resignation of "anyway we can't win, might as well think about how to run."

But now, in this team, there was a glimmer different from the rest of the Wuji Army.

At this moment, no one scattered; instead, their gazes were all fixed on Qin Ce.

Those former refugees, filled with despair, fear, and feet itching to flee, were all looking at him.

Waiting for him to give orders.

Waiting for him to tell them what to do.

This trust was not strong; perhaps a single absurd order from Qin Ce could bury this fragile trust.

But at least it was there!

The beginning of everything is the hardest.

A brief smile appeared on the corner of Qin Ce's mouth.

Then, he issued orders again immediately.

His voice was as calm and steady as always; he stood at the very front of the team, facing the hundreds of surging Earth Lizards like a stake driven into the ground.

He did not turn back, offered no comfort, and shouted no slogans.

He simply spoke; his voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

"Continue advancing, charge toward those three corpses."

Everyone was stunned.

Not breaking out?

Not retreating?

Going into the center of the encirclement?

Those three Earth Lizard corpses were in the center of the encirclement; walking there, wasn't that throwing themselves into the net?

But the next moment, Qin Ce moved directly.

The inertia of following orders from just before made their bodies faster than their brains.

While everyone's brains were still asking why and their hearts were still questioning, their bodies followed without hesitation.

Subconsciously, they seemed to have a thought: follow this person's words, and they could survive.

The team moved.

The movement was very fast. Qin Ce walked at the very front, the footsteps of the twenty-four people behind him falling in unison. Tianlu followed at his feet, its little paws stepping on the gravel, making a faint rustling sound.

Earth Lizards surged in from all directions; the closest were already less than fifty meters away. Their roars, footsteps, and the sound of scales rubbing against the ground mixed together like a moving wall, pressing in on them.

But Qin Ce did not stop, and the team did not scatter.

Twenty meters of distance was but a breath away.

The group rushed to the vicinity of the three Earth Lizard corpses.

The corpses were huge, each one five times larger than a crocodile; the three lay side by side like three low walls.

And as they moved toward the corpses, the encirclement of the Red-Scaled Earth Lizard pack became tighter.

They surged from all directions; the closest were already less than thirty meters away, and Qin Ce could even clearly see the patterns on their scales, the bloodshot veins in their eyes, and the mucus dripping from their mouths.

At this moment, Qin Ce gave a light jump and leaped directly onto the corpses.

Standing high, one could see far.

The entire battlefield was laid out before him—to the East, there were the most Earth Lizards, a dense black mass of at least forty or fifty;

To the West, there were the fewest Earth Lizards, but they were the largest in size with the darkest scale colors; the elites were all over there;

To the South was the direction they came from; the Earth Lizards had already sealed off their retreat;

To the North was the direction of the small hill, where that Silver Rank leader was lying, watching this side coldly.

Qin Ce scanned the area and then ordered: "Back against the corpses, new recruits on the inside, veterans on the outside. Sun Lie, Feng Bao, you two stay on the perimeter and maintain vigilance, waiting for my orders at all times."

Sun Lie, Ice-Armored Blazing Rhino, Silver Low-grade. Feng Bao, Chi Tiger Beast, Silver Low-grade.

Two Silver Rank Beast Tamers were treasures Qin Ce had dug out from among the refugees—one was injured, one was down on his luck, and both had been healed and nurtured by him.

At this moment, they stood on the two wings of the team like two doors, protecting the team in the center.