One of them explained to the people around him, "These monsters aren't domesticated by humans; it's more of an equal relationship, one where cooperation is possible."

Is that true?

The people nodded, but they didn't believe it.

Another Adventurer, also from Feng City, patted his companion who was about to explain further on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Why bother explaining? No matter how much you say, it's not as good as seeing it for yourself."

"I was also one hundred percent skeptical back then, until I saw with my own eyes a Flame-tailed Fox working with me to kill a demon hiding in the dark alleys of Feng City."

Recalling this, his face beamed with joy. That battle alongside the monster made him realize that besides humans, there really were monsters from the Otherworld capable of cooperation.

Blue Star was not fighting alone against the evil forces of the Otherworld.

Everyone knew that the invasion from the Otherworld was becoming increasingly intense, and the demon attacks encountered within Feng City were getting fiercer each time. Even the most ordinary Civilian could barely see a future for Blue Star.

It could be said that the arrival of this Animal Squad had greatly boosted the morale of the Adventurers in Feng City.

However, people outside of Feng City were not very clear about these things.

Gao Tianfeng, the Deputy Commander from Run City, had his mouth wide open in disbelief. He had heard rumors about the Animal Squad of Feng City, but this was his first time seeing them.

After reporting his work to He Zhan, Liao Yunqi turned around and said to everyone,

"Everyone, please respect them. They are like us and are capable of thought."

"Thought?" One of the Adventurers walked curiously up to a Horned Bunny and examined it. "No matter how I look at it, it's just a mutated giant rabbit."

He curiously reached out his hand, wanting to grab the Horned Bunny's ears to play with them.

With a nimble movement, the Horned Bunny dodged him and suddenly opened its mouth to say,

"Are all you humans like this? Always touching and grabbing; haven't you ever seen a rabbit before?"

Possessing the Communication Skill, all of Qi Ye's Animal Followers could communicate with each other, and naturally, this was no exception when it came to humans.

"Holy crap! It can actually talk!"

The Adventurer was startled, but his face was joyful. A monster that could communicate fluently with humans looked more and more like a person.

Looking again, all the animals in the entire Animal Squad could talk.

Under the gaze of everyone, Chocolate walked forward gracefully and whispered a few words to He Zhan, after which He Zhan's face showed an expression of skepticism.

What Chocolate told him was to trust Dahuang; just one dog like it would be enough to handle the Purgatory Dragon. As for the rest of the animals, they should be distributed to the other squads to gain some experience.

As for itself, it needed to stay by Dahuang's side to prevent Dahuang from getting confused. As for the humans, they just needed to quickly take it to the location of the Purgatory Dragon.

Although He Zhan had witnessed Dahuang's strength before and knew that it had killed the demonized Han Wenrui, He Zhan still had doubts about it taking on a Purgatory Dragon—which possessed Dragon Clan bloodline—all by itself.

However, upon hearing Chocolate mention that this was the judgment of the Lord of Spirits, He Zhan's doubts were dispelled.

He shouted to the crowd, "Our mission objective this time is to assist one of the members of this Animal Squad and do everything in our power to help it attack the Purgatory Dragon."

The one to face the Purgatory Dragon wasn't any of the ten squads, but this newly arrived Animal Squad, or even just one of its members?

Gao Tianfeng looked surprised. He didn't understand why He Zhan, who was always mature and steady and viewed monsters as mortal enemies, would make such a decision, actually pinning all their hopes on an Animal Squad he had never seen before.

At a rough glance, most of these animals were only at the Fourth-Tier; only that pale-colored big wolf had a bit of strength.

It must be the animal Chief He mentioned that would be fighting the Purgatory Dragon later. Looking closely, its strength was probably only around the Sixth-Tier, not even comparable to the mid-level Adventurers in the squad.

With this level of strength, it could fight the Purgatory Dragon? It would probably be swallowed in one bite by the Purgatory Dragon the moment they met.

Gao Tianfeng shouted, "Chief He, please reconsider. How can such an important mission be handed over to a group of low-level animals?"

Including Gao Tianfeng, others soon voiced their disagreement, "Chief He, I will follow your judgment, but please at least let us humans lead this operation!"

"Yeah! That's right!"

"I can't do it if I have to work with a monster!"

The dozens of Adventurers from Feng City around them felt the corners of their mouths curl up slightly; they completely trusted He Zhan's judgment.

He Zhan said sternly, "No need to argue anymore. This is the most appropriate decision I have made!"

No matter how he explained it now, they wouldn't believe him.

He forcibly stopped the argument and handed Gao Tianfeng a ring.

This was a ruby ring. Once shattered, it could be used to call for help from He Zhan, and He Zhan would immediately teleport to the scene.

After receiving the ruby ring and knowing that He Zhan could arrive to provide support at any time, the anxious Gao Tianfeng felt a little more at ease.

Subsequently, He Zhan made detailed arrangements for the follow-up work. Following Chocolate's advice, he split up the nine animals other than Dahuang and inserted them into the second through tenth squads, one for each squad.

Their strength was only Fourth-Tier, but having been accustomed to struggling in the Corrupt Forest, their sense of smell and perception for monsters were extremely keen, which could also play a significant role in the human squads' battles.

Besides that, this was also to maximize the absorption of Follower experience; not a single drop could be missed.

As for Chocolate, it stayed with Dahuang and entered the first squad, advancing toward the center of the protected area under the cover of the first squad's humans.

The ten squads formed a V-formation, with the first squad in the lead, four squads on the left and right wings respectively, and one squad bringing up the rear to prevent sneak attacks, with each squad fifty meters apart.

Under the command of a Lord-level monster, the monsters in the protected area would also use various tactics. Even a Seventh-Tier powerhouse could lose their life if they were careless and subjected to repeated sneak attacks from a swarm of lower-tier monsters.

With the tactics arranged, everything was ready.

Under He Zhan's watchful gaze, over three hundred Adventurers and ten squads marched majestically along the breach in the city wall toward the protected area.

...

Sacred Lake.

Qi Ye estimated the time; by now, the Animal Squad should have already set off.

Soon, he sensed the call from Chocolate.

As long as Qi Ye was willing, he could share Chocolate's five senses at any time to observe the situation in the protected area.

He only needed to use the additional function of the God-level Blessing Technique, consuming a tiny bit of Mental Energy, to experience what the other Animal Followers were going through without leaving his home. It had to be said, it was quite satisfying.

It was just that, barring any accidents, this operation wouldn't require his personal intervention, nor would he need to cast the God-level Blessing Technique.

Dahuang's strength was genuinely at the Eighth-Tier Lord level; as long as it could find the Purgatory Dragon, it would definitely be able to kill it.

But Qi Ye still wanted to watch; it was like watching TV or going on a tour. After all, Dahuang and the other animals were all raised by him, and seeing them cut through enemies like slicing vegetables gave him quite a sense of accomplishment.

While thinking this, Qi Ye suddenly sensed a call from He Chenyang.

Did something happen over there?

Qi Ye thought about it and felt it was strange, so he first accepted He Chenyang's call and transferred his consciousness to him.