Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

The scene that came into view was a large number of adventurers gathered at the entrance of the camp.

"What's going on?"

Seeing that the place where he woke up was completely different from what he remembered, Bell scratched his head. That's the downside of being asleep; as long as he doesn't sense danger, Bell is completely unaware of what's happening in the outside world.

According to Edu, Bale's slumber lasted for more than a day, which was much longer than Bale himself had expected.

Having exhausted his magic and reached his physical limits, Edu had now recovered most of his strength, much better than many adventurers who, after a night's rest following a battle, would fall into a state of exhaustion.

Moreover, this battle also raised Edu's level, and he regained more magic power after exhausting it, which was especially evident in the data panel.

【Edu Wine】(Weakness)

Type: Hybrid Demi-human (bloodline deterioration)

grade:

Health:

Mental strength:

magic:

Skill: [Beast Language]

Edu is currently in the recovery period after fatigue. Once he has completed his supercompensation, he will be able to directly feel his body becoming stronger.

But now, Edu's attention is focused on the camp, and he is not working on himself.

"Mr. Bell, the Long River Adventure Team is back."

"So fast?! That shouldn't be happening..."

Looking past the crowd gathered at the camp entrance, Bell noticed a large number of adventurers who had appeared at the camp entrance. They were divided into two groups, each with a different expression.

There were more than a hundred people in each of the two groups, which looked like a huge, swarming crowd.

Overall, however, the group of people wearing the Long River Adventurer's emblem all had an inescapable air of melancholy on their faces.

The other group, however, was quite uniform in both appearance and weaponry, with each person bearing a blood-glove emblem that signified their identity as the Bloodhand Mercenary Group.

"Something's not right. How could a battle between two large forces, each with a thousand members, end so quickly?!"

It has been less than a week since the main force of the Long River Adventure Team left the Bamboo Forest.

Recalling the information he knew about the two adventurer groups, Bell couldn't understand how an adventurer group of this size could end a battle in such a short time.

unless……

The two adventure groups never actually fought. The Long River Adventure Group's counterattack, after breaking out of the bamboo forest, ended in a kind of collapse at an astonishing speed.

"Quiet!"

Amid Bell's confusion, one of the Bloodhand mercenaries at the camp entrance stepped forward and silenced the entire camp with a loud shout.

He glanced around arrogantly. The members of the Long River Adventure Team who had come with him remained silent.

“Now, all of the Long River Adventure Team’s operations in the Bamboo Forest are being transferred to us, and the ownership of this place is also being transferred to us. You now have five hours to evacuate the Bamboo Forest.”

The announcement from the Bloodhand Mercenary Group felt like a verdict.

After those words were spoken, the uneasy atmosphere in the camp dissipated considerably, replaced by a dejected silence, as if it had always been there.

The fighting spirit I had been holding onto dissipated.

After a brief pause, the silence was broken by a sneer coming from within the Bloodhand Mercenary Group.

But no one in the camp said anything more. The skilled adventurers from the Long River Adventurer Group who had arrived at the camp had already exhausted their anger on the way, and the ordinary adventurers left behind in the camp were even more at a loss.

Regardless of the situation inside the camp, the Bloodhand Mercenary Group's spokesperson and his men rested on the spot, adding as a final note:

"We hope you will complete the evacuation as soon as possible; you will be responsible for the consequences if you are late."

To be fair, the spokesperson for the Bloodhand Mercenary Group didn't have much of the江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air about him.

But in his official statement, everyone in the camp sensed a disdain, a disdain stemming from a lack of real strength.

This is very uncomfortable, but there's nothing we can do about it.

"Little one, pack your things, let's go."

Among the adventurers who returned to the camp was Jasmine. Like the other adventurers who came here, she had to help the adventurers who stayed behind in the camp evacuate and try her best not to leave any supplies for the Bloodhand Mercenary Group.

However, judging from the mining situation, the Long River Adventurer Group's early mining work completely benefited the Blood Hand Mercenary Group.

"Sister Jasmine, what's wrong?"

Seeing Jasmine's perpetually pale face, Edu wanted to comfort her but didn't know how to begin. He couldn't understand why the experts of the Long River Adventure Team, who had charged out so aggressively earlier, had turned into a defeated mess in such a short time.

It should be noted that the Long River Adventurer Group has as many as four hundred advanced professionals.

Even if these four hundred people were replaced with four hundred pigs, their journey to the Bloodhand Mercenary Group would still disrupt the group for quite some time.

"We lost. We lost before the game even started."

In response to Edu's questions, Jasmine bluntly recounted the course of the battle.

That's always been her personality—straightforward and not fond of hiding anything.

"The Bloodhand Mercenary Group is much stronger than we expected, and they have been planning this for a long time."

According to Jasmine, after they led their team out of the bamboo forest, the vice-leader of the Blood Hand Mercenary Group was waiting for them on the trade route.

Jasmine thought a fight would break out at that point, and she was prepared to get hurt.

But at this moment, the leader of the Long River Adventurer Group stepped forward and negotiated with the Blood Hand Mercenary Group.

After completing the negotiations, the furious main force of the Long River Adventurer Group, together with the Blood Hand Mercenary Group, headed to the Long River Adventurer Group's base.

Right in the heart of the Long River Adventurers' stronghold, the leader of the Blood Hand Mercenary Group had been waiting for a long time.

This place houses the main force of the Blood Hand Mercenary Group, as well as the headquarters of the Long River Adventurer Group, which has been completely taken over.

"The Bloodhand Mercenary Group raided our base, but failed to kill any of our members. Our base was abruptly taken over from within, and we didn't even have a chance to put up a strong resistance."

According to Jasmine, a rather remarkable assassin has suddenly emerged from the younger generation of the Blood Hand Mercenary Group.

Taking advantage of being unfamiliar faces, they directly entered the Long River Adventurer Group's base and took control of most of the high-ranking members.

This allowed the Bloodhand Mercenary Group to advance unimpeded and quickly take over our base.

"The Blood Hand Mercenary Group proposed that we transfer our business in the Bamboo Sea to the Blood Hand Mercenary Group in exchange for the lives of our members in the base."

Having heard Jasmine's words, Edu understood why the two adventure groups had appeared in front of the camp at the same time and were maintaining restraint towards each other.

Chapter 54 Preparing to Leave the Bamboo Forest

"Are we just going to give up on the bamboo forest like this? So many people have died for it..."

Edu muttered something under his breath, and Jasmine wanted to reply, but didn't know how to start.

As a high-level adventurer, she had a higher perspective than Edu, allowing her to view the event from more angles.

Admittedly, when the Blood Hand Mercenary Group suddenly launched an attack and trapped the Long River Adventurer Group in the bamboo forest, a bloody conflict broke out, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many low-level adventurers on the outskirts of the bamboo forest.

Even when guarding the mine camp, many adventurers died at the hands of monsters.

However, all of these deaths occurred during missions, in dangerous places like bamboo forests, and the victims were all low-level adventurers.

Regardless of the method used—whether through compensation or other means—the deaths of these low-level adventurers are something a large adventure team can handle.

Unless the number of low-level adventurers reaches an extremely large scale, they cannot affect the core of a large adventure group.

However, the severity of the situation, such as the enemy occupying the base, is completely different from the death of adventurers on the brink of conflict.

Within the Long River Adventurer Group's base, there are blacksmith shops for forging and repairing weapons, as well as facilities such as clinics and shops, and a large number of relatives of the group's main members.

When the base was completely taken over, especially after the people inside were taken hostage, the Blood Hand Mercenary Group could be said to have crushed the Long River Adventurer Group.

The Long River Adventurer Group provides excellent benefits to its core members, and their families enjoy extremely comfortable living conditions and other amenities within the base.

This was originally one of the recruitment criteria used by the Long River Adventurer Group to attract skilled members, and other adventurer groups did the same.

Attracting people to a settlement is always a good idea. If there are enough people, the settlement will gradually develop into a town, and eventually into a small city.

"Now, any adventurer whose entire family has been detained will prevent the captain from issuing the order to go to war with the Bloodhand Mercenary Group."

If the Bloodhand Mercenary Group slaughters a group of people within their base, and the enraged Long River Adventurer Group launches a fierce counterattack, the Bloodhand Mercenary Group may not necessarily come out on top.

However, in this sensitive area, the Blood Hand Mercenary Group acted with extreme restraint.

It maintains a constant tension, like a taunting retort urging you to "come and hit me," yet forcing you to restrain yourself and back down.

Jasmine recalled the extremely unpleasant expression on her leader's face when they met with the higher-ups of the Blood Hand Mercenary Group in front of the base.

Not to mention the families of other members, even the leader's own family members are being detained at the base.

"Putting aside the disparity in strength between us and the enemy, even if the enemy were weaker than us, we wouldn't have a chance of winning this battle. How can a team with absolutely no will to fight possibly win a battle..."

Shaking her head, Jasmine decided to stop thinking about this battle, which had already ended in defeat before it even began.

She was not yet thirty, and this female warrior, who had not yet started a family or established a career, did not have as many ties as those of middle-aged adventurers.

After this incident, she is already considering changing her environment.

Jasmine hadn't felt her body continue to improve for a long time, but she wasn't going to stop at this stage and stagnate.