38: Li Zezhong was confused. There was something wrong with this panda!

Li Zezhong stumbled over, clutching his bleeding right arm.

He looked at the innocent-faced panda cub in Mo Yan's arms, currently burping, then at the enormous corpse of the leader on the ground, and his throat bobbed.

"Brother Mo Yan... This... What exactly is going on?"

Mo Yan held Gun Gun, his expression calm, as if he were simply stating a trivial matter.

"Oh, it's nothing," he explained calmly. "Gun Gun crawled inside and gnawed through its energy core from the inside."

Hearing Mo Yan talk about him, Gun Gun puffed out his fluffy little chest, tilted his head back, his eyes full of pride.

"Gulu, Gun Gun is amazing!" he added in a childish voice, patting his round belly.

"Gnawed... gnawed through it?"

Li Zezhong's tongue was practically tied. He had fought battles his entire life and seen countless gruesome scenes, but this one completely defied his understanding.

He and the few remaining old Soldiers by his side exchanged glances, their eyes filled with a bewildered 'Who am I, where am I, what just happened?' expression.

He felt his worldview collapsing.

Just like that, the leader was... gnawed to death?

That sounded even more preposterous than a fairy tale!

A seemingly harmless panda cub crawled into the belly of a leader-level mutated beast and ate it?

Mo Yan shrugged, looking at their stunned expressions.

"Standard procedure, no need to be too surprised."

He added, "You've seen Gun Gun's previous actions; they're hard to explain with common sense."

For example, smashing a sandworm's head with one blow, gnawing on Ore, and just now, gnawing on the crystal core...

This little guy simply couldn't be viewed with ordinary eyes.

Li Zezhong: "......"

Soldiers: "......"

Li Zezhong's mouth twitched, his mind in turmoil.

This young man... was even more unpredictable than he had imagined!

Just now, he had actually thought throwing the panda into the leader's mouth was a bit dishonorable...

Now it seemed, this was a... new fighting style?

He looked at the panda in Mo Yan's arms, still seeking praise, then at the strangely deceased leader on the ground, feeling like his decades of experience had been for naught.

Both the human and the bear were not quite right.

This world was truly becoming crazier and crazier.

Was he really getting old?

After a brief silence.

Li Zezhong suddenly burst into laughter, looking up at the sky: "Haha... Hahahahaha!" His laughter carried relief, and a hint of madness.

He abruptly turned and roared hoarsely at all the Soldiers still struggling on the battlefield: "The leader is dead! The sandworm leader has been taken down by Brother Mo Yan and the panda!"

The sound, like a clap of thunder, instantly spread across the chaotic battlefield.

The Soldiers, fighting desperately, whether under Mo Yan or Li Zezhong, all paused.

They instinctively looked at the mountain-like corpse of the leader, then at Mo Yan and the small panda standing beside the corpse.

The leader... was really dead?

"Brothers!" Li Zezhong roared again, his voice even hoarser from excitement, yet carrying unparalleled penetrative power.

"The leader is dead, the swarm is in disarray! Take advantage of this moment to completely slaughter these scoundrels and avenge our fallen brothers!"

Initially, some Soldiers thought Li Zezhong might be delirious from excessive blood loss.

But when they saw that the enormous leader's corpse was indeed motionless, and then saw Mo Yan calmly nod in confirmation, and the clearly chaotic attack rhythm of the ordinary sandworms.

An indescribable surge of euphoria instantly reignited their nearly extinguished fighting spirit!

The leader was dead, their greatest threat had vanished!

They... were saved!

"Kill! Kill these bugs!"

"Avenge our fallen brothers!"

"Charge!"

The long-suppressed morale erupted like a volcano!

All the surviving Soldiers, their eyes once again blazing with Battle Intent, unleashed their last ounce of courage.

They no longer defended passively but launched a counterattack!

Shields slammed forward, pushing aside the sluggish sandworms, and spears, carrying the fire of vengeance, repeatedly pierced their bodies!

Wang Wu's precise sniping also became more frequent, harvesting the leaderless and disorganized sandworms.

The tide of the battle instantly turned!

Mo Yan watched Li Zezhong, still roaring orders to his Soldiers despite his severely wounded arm, even personally wielding a saber and charging towards the ordinary sandworms, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart: admiration and gratitude.

It was truly his luck to be matched with a Lord like Li Zezhong in this joint defense—a man of responsibility, who considered the bigger picture, who didn't shrink back in critical moments, and was even willing to sacrifice himself to cover his ally.

If he had been matched with a selfish or cowardly fellow, their two territories would probably have been completely overwhelmed by the sandworms by now.

He would remember this favor.

With a thought, Mo Yan quickly opened the Lord's Mall interface.

He swiftly spent 1000 gold coins to buy a bottle of Advanced Healing Potion.

This potion wasn't top-tier, but for external injuries and blood loss like Li Zezhong's, its effects were immediate.

He held Gun Gun and quickly walked to Li Zezhong, who was currently hacking at an ordinary sandworm.

Mo Yan called out in a deep voice, "Brother Li!"

After the shared life-and-death experience, especially after Li Zezhong's self-sacrificing cover, the relationship between the two had transcended that of ordinary temporary allies.

Li Zezhong heard the call, turned to see Mo Yan, and grinned, revealing teeth stained with blood.

The wound on his right arm was still oozing blood, and he gasped, "Brother Mo Yan, what's wrong?"

Mo Yan didn't waste words; he directly handed over the healing potion.

"Brother Li, this is a healing potion. Use it quickly; your injury can't wait any longer."

Li Zezhong was stunned when he saw the potion bottle emitting a soft glow.

He, of course, knew this was something from the Lord's Mall, and it was not cheap.

He instinctively started to refuse: "This is too valuable, I can't..."

"Take it!" Mo Yan's firm tone interrupted him.

"Brother Li, if it weren't for you and your brothers holding back that beast just now, we would probably all be dead by now!"

"We are brothers who have faced life and death together; talking like this is being too formal!"

Li Zezhong grinned, revealing his bloody teeth: "Brother, I recognize this stuff; it's very expensive in the mall!

"This small injury of mine is nothing; it's common on the battlefield, and I won't die. You keep it for critical moments; it's better than giving it to my old bones."

Mo Yan looked into Li Zezhong's eyes and said earnestly, "Your life is far more important than this bottle of potion. We still need you; the battle isn't over yet!"

Li Zezhong looked at Mo Yan's sincere eyes, then at his own profusely bleeding right arm, and then at the Soldiers still fighting desperately around them.

He was silent for a moment, the stubbornness of a Soldier in his heart washed away by a warm current.

This young man, not only terrifyingly strong in a strange way, also saw things clearly and acted decisively.

He was someone you could trust.

"Alright, alright!" Li Zezhong clapped Mo Yan's shoulder with his still-movable left hand, not lightly. "Don't say such polite words. We've gone through life and death together; that's a bond stronger than anything!"

"I accept your 'Brother Li'; from now on, you are my brother, Li Zezhong's brother."

He paused, then said solemnly, "Good brother, I'll remember this favor!"

He took the potion, twisted off the cap, and gulped down the liquid in a few big swallows.

A cool, warm current instantly spread throughout his body, and a tingling itch came from the wound on his right arm.

Visibly, the deep wound, where bone could be seen, began to heal rapidly, and the bleeding quickly stopped.

The dizziness and weakness caused by blood loss also faded, and strength was rapidly returning.

"Good stuff!" Li Zezhong exclaimed, feeling the changes in his body, his eyes brightening a few shades.

He flexed his right arm, which was as good as new, tightened his saber, and felt like he could fight another three hundred rounds!