After the battle, the Stone Forest fell into a brief silence, broken only by the crackling of dying flames and the suppressed gasps of the wounded.

"Count the loot first." Zhao Hu wiped the blood and grime from his face, his voice hoarse but steady. "Uncle Wu, continue treating the injuries. The rest of you, follow me."

Tie Dun propped himself up, Jian Yan stowed his longbow, and Shadow Snake finished wiping her daggers. The four of them walked toward the corpse of the nearest ordinary Fire Lizard.

Zhao Hu used the tip of his blade to pry open the scales, cutting with practiced skill. First were the scales; each Fire Lizard yielded about twenty intact scales.

These dark red scales were hard and possessed a degree of fire resistance, making them excellent material for crafting armor.

"This one dropped three core scales." Zhao Hu removed three scales from the side of the Fire Lizard's neck that were noticeably larger and darker in color. "These will fetch a good price."

Shadow Snake was responsible for processing the claws and teeth. The Fire Lizard's claws were sharp as scimitars, and its teeth contained trace amounts of fire energy—both were decent auxiliary materials for forging.

With her skillful technique, she quickly removed all six claws and the mouthful of sharp teeth intact.

Tie Dun clumsily but earnestly dissected the Fire Lizard's abdomen; he was after the "fire-storage sac."

It was a translucent, fist-sized organ still containing some dark red, viscous liquid.

This was the most valuable part of a Fire Lizard, used to craft fire-attribute items or potions.

"This fire-storage sac is seventy percent intact." Tie Dun carefully placed it into a specially made leather bag. "It should be worth half a gray energy crystal."

After finishing the first one, they moved to the second. The process was largely the same, and the harvest was similar: scales, claws, teeth, and a fire-storage sac.

While processing the second one, Jian Yan suddenly let out a surprised "Eh?"

Inside the Fire Lizard's dissected chest cavity, besides the usual materials, there was actually a pigeon-egg-sized, shimmering gray crystal—an energy crystal!

"We struck gold!" Tie Dun's eyes lit up.

Zhao Hu took the crystal and weighed it in his palm. "The quality is decent."

energy crystals in the Nightmare World are divided into five grades: gray, white, green, blue, and purple. Gray is the most basic, but still precious. Monsters level 6 and above have a small chance of dropping them, making them a hard currency.

"Our luck is pretty good today." Shadow Snake allowed a rare trace of a smile to show.

With the two ordinary Fire Lizards processed, the harvest was as follows:

32 intact scales, 6 core scales

20 claws and teeth

2 fire-storage sacs (integrity ranging from 70% to 80%)

1 gray energy crystal

This was already a significant amount of wealth, enough for the team to live comfortably in the camp for half a month.

But the true highlight was still on that dark-gold Fire Lizard leader.

The four gathered around it. The leader's body was nearly half again as large as an ordinary Fire Lizard, its scales thicker, its claws and teeth sharper, and its fire-storage sac was visibly much larger.

Zhao Hu took a deep breath and began the dissection.

First were the scales. The texture of the dark-gold scales far surpassed those of ordinary Fire Lizards; each one shimmered with a metallic luster, and their edges were as sharp as knives.

"These scales... could at least make a green-quality breastplate," Jian Yan judged.

Zhao Hu nodded, cautiously removing twenty-four intact scales, including five "dorsal scales" located along the spine. These dorsal scales were diamond-shaped with natural flame patterns on their surface, holding the highest value.

Next were the claws and teeth. The leader's claws were half a foot long, their tips tinged dark red as if dipped in lava. The teeth were thicker and sharper, with two canines even emitting faint energy fluctuations.

"These two fire teeth can be socketed into weapons to add fire damage," Shadow Snake evaluated.

The most crucial part was the fire-storage sac—when Tie Dun pulled this organ from the abdominal cavity, everyone held their breath.

It was the size of a fist, a translucent dark gold, with magma-like liquid flowing slowly inside. Even after being removed, it still radiated warmth.

"Integrity... ninety-five percent!" Tie Dun's voice trembled with excitement. "This thing is worth at least two gray energy crystals!"

However, just as Tie Dun was about to stow the fire-storage sac, the tip of Zhao Hu's knife touched a hard object deep within the leader's chest cavity.

"Wait." He frowned slightly, his blade carefully pushing aside bone and fascia.

A faint green light shone through from the depths of the mangled flesh.

Everyone's breathing stopped.

Zhao Hu's movements became even gentler. He cleared away the surrounding tissue bit by bit until finally, a dark red spear about two meters long slowly revealed itself before everyone's eyes.

The shaft was forged from an unknown dark red metal, its surface covered in natural flame-like patterns.

The spearhead was a triangular pyramid shape, gleaming with a cold, sharp light, with a faint green halo flowing around the edges.

The tassel was made of an unknown dark-gold beast mane; even though it was covered in blood, its extraordinary nature was still apparent.

The moment the long spear was fully removed, a wave of warmth spread out, dispelling the chill in the Stone Forest.

"This... this is..." Tie Dun's mouth hung open.

Jian Yan sucked in a breath of cold air. "Green-quality equipment?! The Fire Lizard leader actually dropped equipment?!"

Shock also flashed through Shadow Snake's eyes.

Equipment drop rates in the Nightmare World were extremely low, especially for green quality and above. The probability of ordinary monsters dropping gray equipment was less than 20%, white less than 15%, and green was less than 5%.

But the spear before them was undeniably green-quality; the halo didn't lie.

Zhao Hu gripped the shaft and pulled the spear out completely. The handle felt warm to the touch and the weight was moderate; it made the sound of breaking wind when swung.

He looked closely and saw two ancient characters carved near the tassel:

【Prairie Fire】

"Wildfire Spear..." Zhao Hu murmured.

He tried injecting a sliver of energy into the shaft—Hum! The spearhead suddenly lit up with a dark red glow, and the surrounding air temperature rose noticeably!

Zhao Hu nodded and looked at Lin Feng. "Lin Feng, come here."

Lin Feng stood up and walked over.

"Take it." Zhao Hu handed him the Wildfire Spear.

Lin Feng was stunned. "Brother Zhao, this..."

"You deserve the primary credit for today's battle," Zhao Hu said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Without your tactics and your rescue at the critical moment, at least two of us would have died. You are worthy of this spear."

Tie Dun nodded vigorously. "Brother Lin Feng, if you don't take it, I'll be the first one to object!"

Jian Yan smiled. "Your fighting style is better suited for polearms. This spear will reach its maximum °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° potential in your hands."

Shadow Snake didn't speak, but the recognition in her eyes said everything.

Lin Feng took a deep breath and reached out to take the Wildfire Spear.

The moment it touched his hand, a warm power spread from his arm throughout his body. A translucent attribute panel appeared before his eyes:

【Wildfire Spear (Green)】

【Attack Power: +25】

【Durability: 120/120】

【Special Effect: Attacks have a 10% chance to trigger 'Prairie Fire', dealing 15 points of fire splash damage to enemies within three meters of the target】

【Equipment Requirement: Strength > 7】

【Description: A spear forged with the spinal core of a Fire Lizard leader and supplemented with red iron ore. The shaft is inscribed with flame patterns, possessing the momentum of a prairie fire when swung.】

Attack power +25!

This was more than double the white long saber (Attack Power 12) he was currently using!

Combined with his 7.5 Strength attribute (Base Attack Power 37.5), his total attack power now reached a staggering 62.5!

Lin Feng's heart pounded wildly.

More importantly, the equipment requirement: Strength > 7.

And because of Lin Feng's General class bonus, his 7.5 Strength was just enough to meet the criteria.

"Try the feel of it," Zhao Hu said.

Lin Feng gripped the handle, stepped back a few paces, and began to swing it in the clearing.

The Wildfire Spear felt like an extension of his arm; every thrust, sweep, and parry was smooth and natural.

The instinctive memories of the General class were activated, and basic spear techniques surfaced in his mind: block, take, thrust, collapse, point, pierce, cleave...

The spearhead cut through the air with a sharp whistle. The dark red flame patterns seemed to truly ignite as he swung, leaving trails of afterimages.

With a straight thrust, the spearhead pierced into a nearby stone pillar, sinking half a foot deep as if cutting through tofu!

"Good spear!" Lin Feng finished his stance, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

With this Wildfire Spear in hand, his combat strength had increased by at least thirty percent! He would be more confident facing level 8 monsters and could even try challenging level 9!

"It seems the spear suits you well." Zhao Hu nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, let's continue the inventory."

The remaining harvest from the Fire Lizard leader was also bountiful:

24 dark-gold scales (including 5 dorsal scales)

12 fire claws and fire teeth (including two very high-quality fire teeth)

1 fire-storage sac (95% integrity)

And another gray energy crystal.

"Including the previous one, that's two gray crystals in total." Jian Yan finished the count. "We are truly possessed by the Emperor of Luck today."

"More than just the Emperor of Luck," Tie Dun grinned. "This drop rate... no one would believe it if we told them. Getting one crystal from two ordinary Fire Lizards is already lucky, but the leader didn't just drop a crystal, it even dropped green equipment..."

"Alright, stop the chatter." Zhao Hu sorted and packed the loot. "Uncle Wu, how are the injuries coming along?"

Uncle Wu had finished re-bandaging everyone. "Tie Dun's burns need three days of rest. The others have only superficial wounds, nothing serious."

"Rest for an hour," he decided. "Eat something simple, tend to your wounds, and then we continue moving."

We must reach the outskirts of the Qingshi County ruins today and at least complete a preliminary scout."

Everyone sat around a relatively flat clearing and took out dry rations from their packs.

Rock-hard jerky, blackened coarse grain cakes, and a few edible wild greens Uncle Wu had gathered along the way.

Tie Dun pulled a waterskin from his chest, containing some low-quality ale he'd filled before setting out. "With such a big harvest today, we have to celebrate!"

Alcohol was a luxury in the Nightmare World; this one skin of ale would cost at least five intact beast skins to trade for.

Tie Dun usually couldn't bear to drink it, but today he shared it generously.

The waterskin was passed around, and everyone took a small sip.

The pungent liquid burned down their throats, dispelling the chill of the Stone Forest and the exhaustion of battle.

Shadow Snake spoke up rarely, "Lin Feng's footwork has traces of military combat arts."

Zhao Hu glanced at him. "Lin Feng, the spear technique you used just now—does it have a name?"

Lin Feng shook his head. "It's just the basic spear arts taught at school, plus some of my own understanding."

"It's already very good," Zhao Hu said. "When this mission is over and we return to camp, I can teach you a few practical spear moves."

When I was a guard captain in the territory, there was a spear expert in the team. I learned a few tricks from him."

"Thank you, Brother Zhao."

The rest period passed quickly. Uncle Wu checked everyone's injuries and reapplied medicine and bandages.

Jian Yan wiped his arrows and replenished his quiver; Shadow Snake sharpened her daggers; Tie Dun clumsily tried to repair his nearly ruined shield.

Lin Feng sat to one side, gently wiping the Wildfire Spear.

The dark red shaft became more lustrous under his cleaning, and the flame patterns seemed to truly flow slowly.

He tried injecting slivers of energy into the shaft, feeling the warm feedback of power.

This spear would be his primary reliance for establishing himself in the Nightmare World from now on.

An hour later, Zhao Hu stood up. "Move out."

The team geared up again. Lin Feng slung the Wildfire Spear across his back; the shaft had a specialized strap that allowed it to be carried securely without hindering movement.

Uncle Wu had already marked their current position on the map, as well as the distribution area of the Fire Lizard pack.

This information would be extremely valuable to subsequent teams.

Assuming, of course, they could make it back alive.

"Follow this main path west," Zhao Hu pointed at the map. "According to Old Wu and Jian Yan, the ruins should be about twenty li deep into the Stone Forest. We'll move slowly and stay alert."

The team set off once more.