Chapter 50 - Hunting Travel

At the meeting point where the three groups gathered, there were about 250 people involved in the operation. There were also a few other people watching the movement, but only because they knew the reason for the meeting and wanted to see them depart.

Among this crowd of people, twenty-five were part of the Fist Guy Group and made up their superior squads, such as the five fingers, plus twenty trusted members. Another twenty-five were members of Bullseye, selected by Qin Xuan to assist, with Yang Manli leading this group of archers. Meanwhile, the other two hundred were from Elysium, encompassing various individuals who were there for logistics tasks, minor hunters, and wild survival experience. It was very diverse, with people from different tiers.

”It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I hope this hunt is just one of the many that will come." Han Sen greeted all the members of the higher ranks, and even Yang Manli was smiling, even though she always seemed grumpy.

"I can say that, just like the boss, we are all impressed with your rise here. If you keep this up, you might leave us in the dust." Thumb, who was one of the members of Fist Guy group, commented as they exchanged greetings. Everyone was indeed very curious and impressed with his rapid rise, but no one dared to dig deeper.

”Well, just put a dose of luck into it and you'll do well in the Sanctuary. Good luck. Like, a lot of it!” Han Sen removed all the merit from himself and threw it onto the Luck Goddess who guided him. After all, he knew that there was something pulling the strings in most major events in his life. So, should he be thankful to this being?

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yang Manli. Qin Xuan speaks highly of you, but I can see that you indeed appear more impressive in person.” She didn't intend for her words to sound strange, but she was sincerely incredulous. After all, her best friend occasionally talked about this newcomer who caught her attention. But seeing Han Sen up close, he actually seemed like a very experienced hunter.

"I try not to seem impressive, but I fail miserably in each of my attempts." Han Sen tried to be humble. He tried.

After the exchange of greetings, they started organizing the situation. Lin Beifeng arrived shortly after, bringing some metal carts, and there were some primitive mounts pulling them. In the carts, several metal boxes were guarding something that no one knew what it was.

"Boss, we brought what you asked for. I'm sure the hunt will be a success now!" Lin Beifeng approached him, smiling from ear to ear. When he saw the contents of the boxes, his heart almost jumped out of his mouth. It was something that would definitely boost Han Sen's fame even more.

"Very well. Make sure to organize our personnel, we still have a lot to go." Han Sen smiled when he saw those boxes, recognizing the beautiful UpWar logo on each one of them. Even the carts had the logo on them, indicating where they were from.

After that, several bags and tools were delivered to all the staff responsible for logistics, about seventy-five people who were mostly members of Delta Squadron. The cooking staff, about twenty-five people, were also equipped with bags and utensils for this purpose, as the journey would be long and no one could stand to go hungry until then. And last but not least, the people who would be responsible only for hunting beasts, both on the journey and those who would help in the Great Hunt. This group had one hundred people, all ranging from Gamma Squadron to Beta Squadron.

For now, there was no one in Alpha Squadron because no one had met Han Sen's combat level requirements. Although some members of Beta Squadron were already accumulating Sacred-Blood gene points, they did not know how to fight at an acceptable level that corresponded to their strength. But that was something that would be sorted out with time.

By the way, the current division of Elysium is 5,000 members of Delta Squadron, 4,316 members of Gamma Squadron, and 684 members of Beta Squadron. As mentioned before, it's not only a matter of strength to move up between the squadrons, but also a corresponding level of skill. And no one complained about it because whoever wanted to forcibly move up their rank would be treated with great care and kindness by their superiors. The weakest member of Beta Squadron was more skilled and stronger than the best of Gamma Squadron, and the same applied to the Squadron below.

With everything ready and organized, everyone was prepared to march towards the beast when suddenly, some creatures resembling enormous mammoths appeared out of nowhere among them, along with a huge black panther standing in front of their leader. All the people were shocked, except for Han Sen and Lin Beifeng, who had already anticipated something like this. As the comments started circulating about what this meant, Han Sen climbed onto the huge black panther and began to speak.

"As I am a wonderful, kind, magnanimous, and splendid leader, I have decided to grace you all with this kind act from my part." Han Sen's humble comment caused a wave of laughter and eye rolls among those people, as well as those who were also watching the group depart. He then continued, with a sincere smile, "Feel free to divide yourselves as you wish, there is enough space for everyone. We will stop every two days to have a big meal, so don't worry about starving. Let's go!”

"Elysium!"

Everyone started celebrating in different ways, as they could tell from his sincere tone and smile that this would not be a hellish journey to just feed their leader. Everyone would benefit from this, regardless of who they were.

As there were ten mammoths, three mutants, and seven primitives, all two hundred fifty people fit very well on them due to their large size. Especially on the mutants, as each one could carry 50 people before getting crowded. By dividing correctly, everyone would be able to travel comfortably. Qin Xuan, Fist Guy, and Han Sen were on top of Bastet, guiding the crowd.

"How did you manage to get so many mounts?" Qin Xuan asked, a little incredulous. She had seen this type of creature before, but it was hard to imagine someone killing so many of them to obtain this quantity of Beast Souls.

"I stumbled upon a giant herd and nearly died. But in return, I managed to fight my way to the leader and killed it after battling for three days. Fascinating story, isn't it?" He blatantly lied, as he couldn't reveal that his two pet dragons had feasted on the herd.

"Did you manage to get the Beast Soul from the leader? Is it at the Sacred-Blood level?" Fist Guy overheard the conversation and immediately became interested. He enjoyed mounts and secretly had a passion for ancient beasts like the Mammoth. If there was one at the Sacred-Blood level, he would definitely want to get his hands on it.

"I'll trade it for another Sacred-Blood Beast Soul. A bow, preferably." Han Sen smiled at him, having obtained information that Fist Guy recently acquired one of that kind. It wasn't a super secret either, which made it easier for him to know.

"You're quite clever..." Squinting his eyes, Fist Guy was taken by intense indecision. On one hand, there was his secret passion, and on the other, there was a valuable tool. Even though he only had an average skill level with bows, it was still something that could save him.

Seeing the negotiation between the two men next to her, Qin Xuan simply decided to remain silent. Sometimes, she would look at Han Sen and see how he had the right spirit of a leader.

‘Even though he hasn't joined the Special Squadron yet, it would be great to have him as the leader...’ Lost in her thoughts, the whole group started heading towards the winged beast.

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During the ten-day journey, the group moved at a steady pace and everyone was determined to make the most of it. Han Sen was also certain about keeping everyone's spirits high so that when they arrived, they would be at their peak and eager to kill the beast. This kind of Great Hunt served a purpose beyond just feeding the elites with gene points. Everyone was benefiting from it.

Traveling long distances, a large number of ordinary, primitive, and even some mutant beasts were hunted, their meat distributed among everyone fortunate enough to earn points. With strong leadership, they did not need to deviate at any moment, and every beast was killed, no matter how strong. Unfortunately, there were no Sacred-Blood beasts that dared to appear. Thanks to this, some people from Elysium who were only a few points away from completion were very satisfied when they completed their ordinary or primitive genes.

In addition to improving gene points, Han Sen also gave martial arts tips to anyone who asked, demonstrating proper fighting techniques multiple times. He practiced various sparring sessions during camping nights, even with Qin Xuan and Fist Guy when their respective groups requested. And that's how everyone understood that it wasn't just luck that Han Sen had. His skills were good enough that no matter how hard they tried, he would easily defeat each one of them.

With such a phenomenal and worthwhile group growth, on the tenth day they arrived at the location where the winged beast had been sighted. Their scouts had also confirmed that the beast was still there, making it a safe target to attack.

But before they set off for the attack, Han Sen needed to do a little something first. Ordering his people to take the boxes out of the carriages, everyone gathered around to see what was inside. They all knew it was weapons, but they had never heard of this UpWar before, so it could be something different.

"Let's take these babies for a little test drive..." Han Sen smiled as all the boxes were opened, revealing what was inside.