Chapter 768 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 35

Mo Lan had no need for sleep. If it wouldn’t risk exposing her abnormality, she would have gladly taken on the entire night watch by herself.

As it was, she could only sit in the dark tent reading, while keeping an ear on the sounds outside.

Several times she heard the sounds of combat and wanted to go out and help directly, but after a moment’s thought, she restrained herself each time.

Everyone had agreed: if mirror beasts attacked at night and the person on watch could handle it alone, they absolutely would not disturb the others’ rest. The emergency whistle would only be blown when the situation became unmanageable.

This ensured that the team’s core members preserved their stamina to the greatest extent, ready to face the long marches and more dangerous hunts during the day.

Time flowed slowly between reading and vigilance.

Finally, someone lightly tapped the tent flap twice, and Zhao Wuchen’s somewhat low voice came from outside:

“Mo Lan, it’s your group’s turn.”

The words had barely landed before Mo Lan had already closed her book. In a flash, she grabbed her wrought-iron long saber, lifted the curtain, and stepped out.

Her eyes were clear and calm, without the slightest trace of grogginess from being roused from sleep — as if she had been in peak condition the entire time.

“Didn’t sleep?” Zhao Wuchen asked in surprise.

“Just woke up,” Mo Lan lied through her teeth with a straight face, not forgetting to play dumb and change the subject. “Any situation to report?”

Zhao Wuchen replied with some fatigue, “This past hour or so was alright. Just some carrion beetles — they finished eating and left. It seems quieter now, but don’t let your guard down. A lot of mirror beasts like to come out right before dawn breaks.”

Mo Lan nodded. “Go get some rest. I’ll wake the others. Leave the rest to us.”

Zhao Wuchen said nothing more, only gave a slight nod before dragging his visibly weary steps silently back into his own tent.

Mo Lan walked over to two adjacent tents and lightly tapped the waterproof flaps. “Ren Miao, Bai Wei, it’s our turn for the night watch.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but in the silent night it carried clearly enough.

Inside the tents there was a moment of silence, followed by the rustling of fabric and a soft, drowsy, muddled response: “…Mm? Oh… okay, okay, right away…” It was Bai Wei’s voice, still clearly half-asleep.

Right after came Ren Miao’s slightly more alert answer, her voice still hoarse from just being woken: “Heard you, Mo Lan. We’re getting up now.”

Mo Lan heard the faint sounds of the two fumbling to get dressed and organize their gear inside, so she went ahead to check the perimeter of the camp.

Before long, Ren Miao and Bai Wei emerged from their tents one after another. Both had quickly donned their combat gear and had their weapons equipped, though their eyes still held traces of sleepiness. Bai Wei couldn’t help letting out a tiny yawn, hurriedly covering her mouth with her hand.

They saw Mo Lan already standing atop the wooden lookout post beside the campfire like a green pine, her sharp gaze sweeping across the surrounding darkness. Her aura was steady and alert, as though she had never slept at all. They couldn’t help but secretly marvel, and quickly jogged over.

“Sorry, Mo Lan, we overslept a bit,” Ren Miao said with some embarrassment.

“It’s fine.” Mo Lan’s gaze returned from the distance and settled on them. “Go splash some cold water on your faces. Wake up as quickly as you can.”

“Yes!” the two answered hastily, pulling out a small bucket and scooping up icy water to pat on their faces.

The biting chill instantly dispelled the last remnants of drowsiness, sharpening their spirits.

“Nothing stirring for now. Go add some wood to the fire.”

Mo Lan remained on the lookout post, gazing into the distance.

After Ren Miao and Bai Wei had tended the fire, they also made two patrol rounds on either side of the camp. Finding nothing unusual, they sat down by the fire.

“Mo Lan, why don’t you come down and sit for a while too? You should conserve your energy even during the watch!” Bai Wei said.

“No need. I’m already well-rested,” Mo Lan declined. Her mental state was excellent right now — all she needed was a few mirror beasts to come along so she could stretch her limbs.

About ten minutes passed. Suddenly, Mo Lan’s gaze — which had been as calm and still as a lake’s surface — sharpened abruptly. Her eyes narrowed slightly, locking onto the distant horizon.

In the deep sky, tinged with an eerie nocturnal hue, several tiny black dots had appeared from the far distance and were closing in on the camp at an alarming speed.

Their trajectories were not straight lines — they circled at times, dove at others, carrying an unmistakable predatory intent.

Mo Lan had already identified them early on with her dark vision, but she waited until they were roughly a hundred meters from the camp before alerting her two teammates below:

“Airborne units approaching from the northeast. Stay alert! Most likely night-shriek bats. Not too many. Focus on evasion, put on your ear guards, and prioritize protecting yourselves. Leave the fighting to me.”

Bai Wei and Ren Miao were startled yet also relieved.

The two of them had the weakest combat abilities in the class, but being grouped with Mo Lan gave them an overwhelming sense of security.

They immediately found their specialized sonic-attack ear guards and put them on, while gripping their weapons tightly and taking cover behind barriers.

Ten night-shriek bats closed in on the camp and launched their attack immediately.

Mo Lan, who had been standing motionless on the lookout post, moved!

She didn’t choose to leap down from the high platform. Instead, with a flick of her wrist, a spare, plain-looking refined steel dagger appeared in her hand.

Her arm whipped forward in a motion both fluid and explosive!

Whoosh!

The dagger became a nearly invisible silver thread, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek, and with pinpoint precision intercepted the fastest-diving night-shriek bat by the narrowest of margins!

Squelch!

With a muffled impact, the dagger punched clean through the night-shriek bat’s relatively fragile skull without the slightest resistance!

The tremendous kinetic force sent the carcass tumbling backward through the air before it finally smacked to the ground with a thud, twitched twice, and went still.

One strike, one kill!

This sudden, precision kill caused the other diving night-shriek bats to instinctively hesitate in their approach, their sonic attacks stuttering mid-release.

But Mo Lan’s assault didn’t stop!

The instant the first dagger left her hand, her left and right hands had somehow each already gripped another dagger.

Her eyes instantly locked onto two more night-shriek bats flanking from the sides, attempting to attack Bai Wei and Ren Miao as they organized their defense.

Both hands struck at once!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two silver streaks shot out almost simultaneously! Their trajectories differed slightly, but both were equally lethal!

One night-shriek bat had the dagger pierce clean through its neck from the side. The other was pinned precisely through the heart!

The two night-shriek bats didn’t even have time to cry out before they tumbled from the sky like kites with severed strings.

In a flash, three night-shriek bats had been instantly annihilated!

Mo Lan didn’t pause for even a heartbeat. She drew three more daggers and hurled them in rapid succession, each one finding its mark with unerring precision.

In the blink of an eye, six of the ten night-shriek bats had been struck down mid-air by Mo Lan’s impeccable flying dagger technique!

The remaining four had clearly been scared witless by this terrifying ranged barrage. They let out a chorus of panicked squeaks, pulled sharply upward, and fled in a frenzy toward the distant darkness, not daring to look back.