The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

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"Our Panshi settlement has about 300 people, which can only be considered a medium-sized settlement."

"More than ten kilometers to the west, there is a gathering area of ​​Iron Tigers. There are more people than us, about five or six hundred. The leader is a tough guy who used to be a soldier, called 'Flying Dragon'. There are also several armored vehicles in his gathering area that somehow drove up here. The defense is very tight."

"To the north, near Yansai Lake, there is a lake-viewing area with several hundred people. It's quite chaotic there. I heard it's controlled by a small group called Poison Scorpion, which often swallows up smaller gathering points."

"And... there's also, in the northeast, near the ridge, there's a 'Highland Outpost.' There aren't many people there, but they all seem to be made up of elite awakened individuals, and they have some unclear connections with the military. By the way, I heard that Iron Wall and Highland Outpost have been fighting fiercely recently over something called a resource."

"We came out this time to investigate what they are fighting over."

"Resources?" Han Ning's eyes flickered slightly.

"Yes... Blackie mentioned it briefly, saying that he had inquired about it before, and that the resource wasn't a plant, but a creature that looked a lot like a fish-man."

Jiang Lin clearly didn't know much about it.

"Fishman... could it be the kind of fishman we met at the Forestry University?" Han Ning thought of the feather fruit the fishman had given him.

That group of fishmen appears to be a low-intelligence race, more intelligent than the black serpent monsters, and may have even developed some kind of civilization.

"What about the military?" Vice President Zhao, unaware of Han Ning's thoughts, steered the conversation back to the core issue, "Have you met them? Where are they operating?"

When the military was mentioned, a deeper sense of apprehension flashed in Jiang Lin's eyes:

“I saw it once, about seven days ago, at the mountain pass in the southwest, not too far from our settlement.”

"I don't know the specifics, but I know that they were split into several groups. The soldiers were like they were in a movie. They had small drones that could fly and dozens of all-terrain armored vehicles. They seemed to be looking for something. It was a big operation."

“Our people stayed far away and didn’t dare to get close. Later we heard that they went in the direction of ‘Sword of Judgment’, which is also an awakened organization that separated from the military, and all its members are soldiers.”

"Where would an awakened individual like you be considered in the survivor settlements you know, including the military? Would you be a leader, a regular member, or a mid-level officer?"

"In addition, tell me everything you know about this mountain range," Vice President Zhao continued.

“For a small community like yours composed of elites, ordinary communities don’t need to worry about them threatening you at all, but there are two situations that you have to guard against.”

Jiang Lin answered honestly.

"First, beware of the poisonous scorpions in the lake; second, beware of the monsters in the water."

"As I just mentioned, the leader of the Lake Scorpions is said to be a master of the Great Black Stone level."

"The Great Black Stone level?" Vice President Zhao frowned.

"Well, I don't know where this ranking system came from, but we thought it was quite descriptive, so we adopted this strength ranking system."

Jiang Lin nodded and explained.

"For example, a monster that has just begun to grow energy crystals in its body will experience a significant boost in the abilities of the awakened one, which we call the Black Stone level."

"Above the Black Stone level is the Black Iron level, characterized by a secondary enhancement of abilities. Currently, experts who have reached the Black Iron level are extremely rare. I have never seen one. It is said that they can only appear in the military or in larger settlements."

"Someone like you should already be close to the Great Black Stone level."

"Continue," Vice President Zhao said, his interest piqued.

"I'm a bit stronger than Blackrock-level, generally positioned between the middle and upper levels, and below the leader."

"As for the monsters... do you know why the climate here suddenly changed and the water level rose so suddenly a while ago?"

Before Vice President Zhao could answer, Jiang Lin directly answered his own question.

"That's because the military alerted the water ghouls."

Chapter 177 Water Corpse Ghost

"Water corpse ghosts?" Vice President Zhao and the others looked puzzled.

“Yes.” Jiang Lin nodded.

"This is a race with high intelligence. They can use some mysterious means to control monsters other than themselves, such as the large number of black snakes outside."

"While the military was still stationed in the ruins of Bailu City, a fierce conflict broke out with the water ghouls in the western wilderness."

"Our modern tanks and artillery have caused considerable damage to the water ghouls and even wounded the Black Serpent royal family, who were the vanguard."

"Ultimately, the military attracted the attention of the higher ghouls, who used some method unknown to us to alter the weather in a certain area, causing a sharp drop in temperature."

“The water corpses are very cunning. They have their own social structure, divided into different classes…” Jiang Lin’s eyes revealed deep apprehension.

Han Ning's eyes narrowed.

The Black Serpent Royal Family.

Sun Wuyan had initially tried to use the Black Serpent King's blood to lure the Black Serpent army and frame them.

Putting these two pieces of information together, he could be fairly certain that what Jiang Lin said was true.

Furthermore, the description of the "water corpse ghost" mentioned by Jiang Lin almost perfectly matches the "water monkey" he encountered earlier.

Those humanoid monsters that appeared and disappeared mysteriously in the flood, possessing immense strength and sharp claws and teeth.

"Then, how do we distinguish their levels?" Vice President Zhao asked.

"Look at their fingers!"

Jiang Lin raised his scarred hand to gesture.

"The lowest of the low are the three-fingered water zombies, who are just cannon fodder, while the most powerful ones can only become minor leaders."

"There are four fingers above the three fingers, and there may even be five fingers... I have only ever seen four fingers from afar, surrounded by hundreds of three-fingered soldiers."

"And their clothing and appearance, the three-fingered water ghost is naked, at most wrapped in some tattered waterweed."

"Those with four fingers are more particular; they wear clothes woven from water plants and also adorn themselves with bone ornaments."

Jiang Lin took a breath and recalled,

"Their physiques are different too. Four Fingers can reach 1.78 meters tall, and their skin is a kind of blue mixed with brown... They also seem to be smarter and stronger. I don't know exactly how strong they are."

"It can be basically confirmed that the 4-Finger Water Ghoul is at least at the Great Black Stone level or above, and its combat power is very strong."

"Moreover, their greatest tactic is to control monsters of different races, or even to manipulate monsters of similar strength but low intelligence."

"In this way, they can use a large number of cannon fodder to wear us down first."

Han Ning recalled the water monkeys they had killed before, which all seemed to have three fingers.

He knew in his heart that those guys were probably just the lowest-ranking water zombie soldiers in their previous lives.

"They seem to be divided into different tribes, each doing different jobs."

Jiang Lin struggled to organize his thoughts.

"There are two types of large tribes. One type is called 'amphibious water ghosts' by the military. They like to live in shallow water or on the shore near the sea. Their skin is bluish-green. They can't stay in the water for long and have to go back into the water to catch their breath every now and then."

"The other type is called 'deep-sea ghouls,' which are better at fighting in deep water. They are smaller in size and have bluish skin. Seventy percent of the main force fighting us are these deep-sea ghouls."

"Their social structure and military units are similar. At the bottom are the water ghoul soldiers. A squad leader is in charge of five to twenty soldiers. A commander who can lead hundreds of soldiers and several squad leaders is a small commander, which we call a 'squad'."

"The team also includes some rare unit types, such as spellcasters or exceptionally skilled warriors... Unlike our human units, which are divided into such specialized units, a single warrior from these units might do everything, serving as a scout, assassin, meat shield, and archer..."

“There are different kinds of spellcasters, but unfortunately we are too ignorant to distinguish them.”

When the habits of water ghouls were mentioned, Jiang Lin's tone became heavy:

“They eat almost anything, and we humans, especially superhumans like us, are an absolute delicacy to them.”

He subconsciously glanced at Han Ning and the powerful figures beside him.

"Of course, they also eat ordinary people who are rich in blood and flesh energy without hesitation. Our blood and flesh may be the nutrients for them to become stronger and evolve... just like we become stronger by absorbing the energy crystals in their bodies."

"On land, the deep-sea ghouls don't have a very good sense of smell or eyesight, but they are extremely sensitive to air currents. Even the slightest breeze caused by a person walking around can startle them."

"What are their weaknesses?" Han Ning asked.

"As for weaknesses..." Jiang Lin frowned in thought.

"They cannot stay away from saline water for long periods of time; if their bodies become too dry, their strength will decrease."

"We can disrupt them with airflow, or find a way to drain the water from their bodies..."

"What level of civilization have they reached?" Han Ning continued to ask.

"The level of civilization... is roughly between the Stone Age and the Iron Age in our ancient times. They are smarter than wild animals, but much less intelligent than us humans."

Jiang Lin licked the blood from his lips and dropped a bombshell:

"Finally, there's the territory... The area extending outwards from the waters southwest of the mountains is almost entirely occupied by water zombies, and further in... I wonder if there are even more terrifying things guarding it."

"I heard that the Sword of Judgment sent several skilled individuals to infiltrate the habitat of the water ghouls, but only one of them, who possessed special abilities, returned alive."

"That's all I know. Gentlemen, we're all on our own, so please don't kill me. You can ask me for more information, and I'll tell you everything I know."

After Jiang Lin finished speaking, he quickly gave Han Ning and the others a fawning smile.

After hearing this, everyone fell silent, digesting the information.

Sea monsters... amphibious water monsters... Han Ning pictured those green-skinned, fanged water monkeys that swam through the floodwaters as if on flat ground.

"Boss, is there anything else you want to ask?" Vice President Zhao walked up to Han Ning and asked in a low voice.

“Ask him again about the power distribution among the leaders of the settlements; what he said earlier was too general,” Han Ning said after thinking for a moment.

"it is good."

Vice President Zhao tapped his rough fingers on the table, then asked, "In this mountain area, what is the strength of the leaders of gathering points like your Panshi, Tiehu, Wanghu, and Gaodi Outpost? What level are they at? Are they the most powerful gathering areas?"

Jiang Lin licked his dry, bleeding lips, not daring to hide anything:

"In response to the boss, in this region, apart from the military, there are probably only five human forces that can be considered top-tier."

"We also refer to them as the five major clusters."

“The Rock, where I am, is not among the five major gathering areas. Its overall strength is at least two levels weaker than theirs, and its leader’s strength is about one level weaker.”

Chapter 178 Five Major Gathering Areas

Vice President Zhao crossed his arms: "Tell me specifically, which five? What's the boss's level?"

"The northwesternmost part is the territory of 'Blue Lake'."

Jiang Lin tried hard to recall,

"They are a small group, but they control the largest clean water area in the northwest of the mountains and several resource production sites."