Chapter 43: The Reason for Staying

Lin Huang, seated in the last row of the conference room, suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to turn their heads and look at him.

“Lin Huang, don’t make trouble. If you stay, you’ll only be throwing your life away—you won’t be able to help at all!” Yi Yeyu immediately rebuked him. She had always thought Lin Huang was a promising talent, and the more she interacted with him, the more virtues she discovered in this young man. The last thing she wanted now was for Lin Huang to remain and ruin his future.

“Examiner, please hear me out first,” Lin Huang replied, meeting Yi Yeyu’s gaze with unwavering determination.

Yi Yeyu stood her ground, and the atmosphere in the room quickly became tense.

Just then, the conference room door swung open. A young man in white robes entered, hands thrust casually in his pockets, his demeanor somewhat languid.

“Yeyu, just listen to what the kid has to say,” he called out to Yi Yeyu from a distance, his tone intimate.

Yi Yeyu was taken aback by his arrival. “Brother, why are you here?”

“I was on a mission nearby. Heard you were acting as examiner here, so once I finished up, I dropped by. Before I even got here, I saw the Seventh District’s official website in an uproar—a transcendent had fallen here, and they even posted the video,” the white-robed young man said with a smile.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Yi Yeyu’s face clouded.

“If I didn’t come, with your temperament, you’d definitely end up dying here in the next two days,” the young man replied, well aware of his sister’s nature.

Yi Yeyu fell silent.

The young man turned to Lin Huang in the back row. “Young man, my name is Yi Zheng. I’m Yeyu’s brother. I overheard you outside saying you had an idea—let’s hear it.”

Upon hearing the name, many present exchanged uneasy glances, especially Bai Yan, whose gaze toward Yi Zheng was tinged with reverence. He knew well that this name ranked eleventh on the Seventh District’s Golden Hunter Leaderboard—a strength so terrifying it was legendary.

Lin Huang, unaware of this, nodded slightly and began to share his thoughts.

“My thinking is this: there are over two hundred thousand people at this stronghold. Escape is impossible; our only chance for survival is to fight with our backs to the wall. Though our human transcendent forces will take two days to arrive, that monster transcendent was also severely wounded, so it’s unlikely it will act again soon. So what we really need to guard against is the beast tide.”

“To deal with such a vast beast tide, the current number of hunters here is certainly insufficient. But we can call for reinforcements. If the Hunter Association issues an emergency task with a substantial reward, plenty of people will flock here. At that point, Miss Yi, you just need to use your artifact to make a few trips to Stronghold 7C87, and you can bring back over a thousand powerful professional hunters. Of course, that’s just the first step.”

“The area around Snow Mountain Town is mostly primary and secondary wild zones, with only a handful of tertiary ones. If we have enough hunters, we can strike first—before the beast tide rises, we take action. A Silver Hunter can clear out a secondary wild zone in a matter of minutes.”

“Moreover, we have a geographical advantage. The stronghold backs onto the mountain range. If we clear out the monsters on the mountains, the majority of desert monsters on the far side won’t be able to cross over for the next two days. I’ve climbed those mountains myself—even for humans, without tools, a Blackiron Third Rank reserve hunter would need at least two days to get over them. All we need is to hold out for two days, until the transcendent forces arrive and kill the monster.”

“As for the canyon east of Snow Mountain Town, there aren’t many monsters there. We can organize people to clear it out and block the mouth with boulders, leaving only a small entrance. Everyone stations at that entrance, intercepting any monsters that break through—we can greatly reduce the numerical advantage of the beast tide!”

“The only thing we can’t defend against is the flocks of birds from above. So we’ll need a dedicated aerial attack squad as well.” Lin Huang’s words left everyone stunned.

Yi Yeyu was dumbfounded; she hadn’t expected so many strategies from Lin Huang.

Even Yi Zheng paused for a moment, then applauded with a smile. “Excellent! Your thinking is clear, and your plan is highly feasible.”

“I’ll notify the association higher-ups now and have them publish the task. Yeyu, you can pick up the reinforcements later. Once everyone’s assembled, we’ll discuss the details ourselves.” Yi Zheng finished, his gaze sweeping over the gathered youths. “You kids don’t need to participate in this. When Yeyu returns to the mid-sized stronghold, leave with her. As for the assessment, I’ll have Yeyu report to the higher-ups and pass all of you.”

After Yi Zheng’s instructions, he contacted the Hunter Association. It wasn’t long before the association approved.

“It’s settled. They’ll publish the task soon. Take these kids with you,” Yi Zheng nodded to Yi Yeyu.

“Alright, everyone come over. I’ll take you back to the mid-sized stronghold,” Yi Yeyu summoned the Greenwood Gate and beckoned to the group.

Lin Huang, however, remained seated in the back row.

“Lin Huang, hurry up!” Yi Yeyu called out to him.

“I told you, I’m not leaving,” Lin Huang replied firmly.

“You won’t be able to help by staying. The plan was yours—if we manage to defend the stronghold, half the credit is yours. You won’t be overlooked,” Yi Zheng thought Lin Huang was worried about losing recognition, so he explained.

“I’ll stay, regardless of credit,” Lin Huang persisted.

“Lin Huang, what exactly do you want?!” Yi Yeyu’s tone grew angry.

“I want to witness all two hundred thousand survive before I leave!” Lin Huang’s gaze locked with Yi Yeyu’s once more. At his words, Yi Yeyu, who had been glaring at him, quickly averted her eyes and fell silent.

Even Yi Zheng’s expression became awkward; he had assumed Lin Huang was staying for some personal gain.

The other youths also fell silent, many faces showing shame.

“I want to stay too!” a voice rang out from the crowd.

“So do I!”

“I want to stay and slay monsters!”

…

With one person leading, the other youths stepped forward one after another.

Bai Yan, however, remained huddled in the crowd, muttering barely audibly, “A bunch of fools marching to their deaths…”

“That’s enough. Stop trying to play heroes—this isn’t child’s play,” Yi Yeyu’s eyes were tinged red as she stopped the group of passionate youths. “Lin Huang can stay, and any Blackiron Third Rank who wants to can stay too. The rest of you can’t even handle Blackiron monsters—what use is staying?! Get back to the mid-sized stronghold and train properly!”

~~~~~~

[Congratulations to “Brother Hao ing” for becoming the book’s first sect master. Although his title was earned through activity in the old book group, I’ll add an extra chapter tonight.]