Chapter 195. Demons and Monsters (19) Mercenary Prototype

     Time gradually passed.

     The monkey demons became slightly less playful and noisy, and it wasn’t as if they noticed nothing at all. Just as the monkey demons began to sense something was wrong, Ye Mo’s large-scale space confinement array had already been successfully deployed.

     The space confinement array, as its name suggests, disrupts the five elements of spiritual energy in the air within a limited range, rendering space abilities unusable and trapping those within in place.

     The simplest way to break a space confinement array is to quickly leave the area.

     However, since awakening their space talent, the monkey demons had never considered that they would completely lose it before they died. The entire monkey demon clan was dumbfounded.

     Many monkey demons couldn’t live without space teleportation, just like eating and drinking. It had become a physiological reaction. When teleportation failed, more than half of the monkey demons were so stunned that they even forgot their speed abilities, making it very easy to defeat them.

     The next step is

     -one-sided harvest.

     In order to save time, Ye Mo removed her camouflage, held the Mozi Sword, and took the lead in occupying the area, reaping one or two with a single strike, and three to five with two strikes.

     After receiving the signal, the half-demon base also went all out and joined in. Aside from the heavily injured silver wolf clan, they had suffered the most attacks earlier, and it was time for revenge.

     Only two hundred silver wolves, like the monkey demons, couldn’t react. The deprivation of their talents was equally unbelievable and fantastical for them.

     “How was that done?”

     “This is truly unimaginable.”

     “Divine punishment.”

     “No, the savior…”

     Reverence was even more profound. Even the half-demons, who had some vague understanding of the principles, regarded Ye Mo with deep reverence, let alone the intellectually simpler Silver Wolf Clan.  

     After snapping out of their daze, their attitudes became even more complicated. There was no need for Pushkin’s usual banter to lighten the mood—convincing the remaining hundred or so wolves to temporarily seek refuge in the half-demon base became much easier.  

     In less than two hours, the first rescue mission came to a perfect close.  

     Ye Mo asked,  “Any new updates?”  

     Pushkin, after exchanging information, replied, “They got separated while fleeing. Another hundred or so of our kin fled north.”  

     Some of the silver wolf demons escorted the severely injured back to recuperate near the half-demon base, while Ye Mo led the half-demon reinforcements and the majority of the Silver Wolf Clan toward the next destination.

     The rescue mission went surprisingly smoothly, taking much less time than planned.  

     The first, second, and third search-and-rescue batches were completed in less than three days. The fourth batch practically found their way to them on their own, while the pursuers from the fifth and sixth batches had completely vanished.  

     Ye Mo asked a question only the survivors would know: “Are we still short?”  

     Pushkin, the temporary leader of the Silver Wolf Clan, gave an OK gesture. “We’ve already surpassed a thousand.”  

     The silver wolves now regarded Ye Mo—a non-clan half-demon leader—with genuine awe, gratitude, fear, or anticipation. This also elevated Pushkin, who had helped secure the clan’s survival and seemed to have a good rapport with Ye Mo, to the position of their new chieftain—at least for the time being. 

     The deal with the demon clan was thus successfully completed.  

     Led by Pushkin, the Silver Wolf Clan followed Ye Mo and the others back to the base. Now, it was time for the wolves to fulfill their end of the bargain.  

     As for the clan’s reconstruction—well, that was their own problem to worry about.  

     If the half-demon base could be of any assistance, they could directly approach the diplomatic teams to discuss cooperation details—such as the battle armor they were so reluctant to take off.

     …

     Back at the Half-Demon Base, the Half-Demon cubs came bouncing and fluttering over in a crowd. Ye Mo was told that the number of half-demons joining the base had been steadily increasing in the days she was away.

     The previous daily intake of tens or hundreds was nothing compared to now.

     Yesterday, a small group that had traveled together from a distant place arrived. Combined with the gradually increasing flow of demons, 731 half-demons entered the base in 24 hours, setting a new historical record.

     Oh, right, this doesn’t even include those rescued by the base itself and those brought by the silver wolf clan.

     Ye Mo was pleasantly surprised: “Traveling together?”

     “Yeah! Some half-demons are even learning from you and forming teams. Their teams are so weak, not as good as the half-demon base,” the little stone monster rolled back and forth, flattering her. As the first demon to know Ye Mo, she had already reached the pinnacle of status within the base solely by boasting about how she met Ye Mo.

     “Temporary teams definitely need time to integrate. Welcoming them to the half-demon base is a good thing, it means that half-demons outside the base are also developing the concept of having fellow kind,” Ye Mo glanced at the little stone monster.

     The little red merman jumped onto a branch of a treant bearing purple fruit, raising their hand high. “The hourglass of time shows it’s currently 5 o’clock in the afternoon. As of ten minutes ago, the base has received over 400 half-demons today as well.”

     If they hadn’t witnessed it themselves, they would have found it hard to believe that there were so many fellow half-demons struggling to survive in the corners of the boundless forest.

     The phrase “fellow kind” was etched into the hearts of the young ones.

     Hearing this news, the corners of Ye Mo’s lips curved upward, and the five-colored ears on her head quietly relaxed. Everyone in the half-demon base knew that their leader had a benevolent heart to save all the half-demons in the world.

     “Main Quest 2.”

     System: 【Main Quest 2: Rescue your Fellow Kind (3451/10000). 】

     More than half the time has passed, and we’ve completed just over a third of the mission—but sharpening the axe won’t delay the chopping. And 90% of that progress was made in the last week alone.

     An osprey demon asked, “Leader, are you heading out again soon?” 

     “Not for now.” Ye Mo shook her head. After gently guiding the youngsters to their educational games, she gathered a few selected minor leaders from the half-demon base for a brief meeting.  

     At the meeting, she started by asking, “It seems the base’s reputation is doing well these days?”

     The vine rat demon puffed up proudly. “Those space-teleporting monkey demons might not be the strongest in this forest, but their numbers are unmatched. After you rescued so many wolves from them and even cracked their space ability, the half-demon base’s name spread like wildfire.”

     “More and more half-demons are flocking here—some with unique talents or decent combat skills. The sixth and seventh reinforcement squads are already in training, and we’ve even found a few who show promise in formations. You might want to take a look at them later, Leader,” the winged tiger demon added a few more sentences at the end.

     Ye Mo nodded. “Let’s put these aside for now and talk about them later. Right now, we need to do a few things. First, spread the word about the key points along the way – the weapons, hidden devices, space confinement arrays, and so on. We can exaggerate and embellish a little.”

     “Exaggerate?”

     Ye Mo had to give an example from Earth to illustrate: The same core story, told plainly, exaggerated, boastfully, or as an outright lie, could leave completely different impressions.

     “Second, spread the core ideology of the base’s establishment and the concept of rescuing half-demons.”

     “Regarding the second point, we can use the first as an example. The silver wolf clan used their limited resources, most importantly helping to find half-demons. In exchange, the half-demon base and the silver wolf clan jointly resisted the space monkey demons’ genocidal pursuit. Within the limits of the base’s strength and without violating the core ideology of the base’s construction, this is a fair mutual aid.”

     The demons looked a little confused. “?”

     “For the future of the half-demons,” Ye Mo said, her words carrying deeper meaning. “You can reflect on your own reasons, or propose better suggestions for the future of the half-demon base.”

     She paused, then continued, “It’s getting late. Let’s have a barbecue tonight and let the first partner of the half-demon base taste your specialties.”

     The barbecue feast had already become a major feature of the half-demon base. The plant-based spices used by the base chefs now might even be unknown to Ye Mo, and their skills had surpassed hers.

     They were quite creative.

     If only they showed the same ingenuity in formation mechanism, Ye Mo mused, she wouldn’t have to set up so many herself—exhausting both mind and body.

     But no matter. Soon, sizzling plates of grilled ribs, lamb legs, and more were served—tender, crispy, and richly spiced.

     Food is the most important thing for people.

     Back then, barbecue was able to conquer the taste buds of the half-demons, so naturally, it could also amaze the silver wolf clan.

     Including Pushkin, who almost cried from eating the grilled skewers: “I miss the taste of cooked food so much. The flavor is incredible.”

     It’s common knowledge that barbecue is very fragrant.

     The ones suffering the most were naturally the other demon races hiding in the forest. They could only smell it but not eat it, and they constantly felt hungry, yet they couldn’t seem to satisfy their hunger no matter what.

     Some fire-type demon beasts also tried to grill meat themselves using fire, ignoring the source of the ingredients. The result wasn’t so delicious, the difference was huge, and it was even better to eat it raw.

     …

     Ye Mo enjoyed a rare day of peaceful rest, sitting back and letting others help complete the tasks.

     In this the Demons and Monsters dungeon world, aside from the endless battles over resources, clan annihilations, and the depletion of spiritual sources, there was hardly any major news.

     This made the Half-Demon Base stand out all the more, fresh and eye-catching. Rumors and exaggerated tales about the base spread like wildfire among the myriad demon clans.  

     The day after the barbecue feast, the half-demons re-engaged with other demon races, starting with the smaller ones. They were no longer as hostile and indifferent as before, gradually showing signs of softening, even towards two or three medium-sized demon races.

     Soon, the second collaborator came to their door, and this one could be considered a true client.

     For this, they had to thank the troublemaking space-monkey demons—their antics had earned them plenty of enemies. The second collaborator placed a series of commercial orders, primarily targeting ways to counter the space-monkeys’ abilities.  

     Ye Mo couldn’t hand over a large-scale confinement array for them to take away, but she did have smaller, portable traps that could keep the monkeys at bay.  

     The long-range weapons the other half-demons were learning to wield? Those could also be marketed.  

      As one of the first five partners, Ye Mo granted them a “preferred client” status.  

     This second client truly broke the dam. After that, small demon clans began streaming into the half-demon base without any prompting.  

     The variety of proposed collaborations gave the base a headache—along with exposing plenty of flaws. A mission hall had to be set up outside the illusion arrays to handle pricing, adjustments, and how to reject unreasonable requests beyond their scope.  

     But Ye Mo couldn’t possibly handle all the tasks alone—that would defeat the entire purpose of her efforts.  

     She introduced a mercenary system to the half-demon base, inspired by the Irish dungeon. Half-demons could now take on different missions based on their strength, knowledge, and skills.  

     Of course, it was still just a rough framework.  

     When even the first mid-sized faction that had been observing from the sidelines finally came knocking, Ye Mo knew the time was ripe to seek out Watson. The half-demon base needed an alchemist.