The Mountain Ape Tribe's Wrath
Upon seeing Chen Fan emerge, the guards all knelt down, their expressions a mixture of excitement and barely concealed fear stemming from the earlier killing of the envoy.
Chen Fan didn't put on any airs of tribal kingship. He strode over and stopped in front of a young sentry with a childlike face.
The young soldier was only fourteen or fifteen years old. His helmet was askew to one side, and he trembled with fear, not daring to raise his head.
Chen Fan smiled and raised his hand to straighten the bone helmet for him, then patted him on the sturdy shoulder.
"Standing up straight, but a tilted helmet won't stop a falling rock."
The young sentry was stunned for a moment, his cheeks flushed red instantly, and he stammered a reply.
"Yes... Thank you, Your Highness!"
Chen Fan then walked over to the two old hunters sitting by the stone stack.
The two elderly people had sprained their ankles during a previous patrol and were now gritting their teeth and enduring the pain.
Chen Fan squatted down and placed his hands on the two people's swollen ankles, gently channeling a warm and soothing flow of Qi and Blood into them.
The blood stasis dissipated instantly, and the stinging pain vanished abruptly.
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible!"
The two veteran hunters were so frightened that they hurriedly tried to pull their legs back, but Chen Fan held them down.
"Why not? When war breaks out, you'll be the ones drawing the bows for our tribe. How can you manage if you're not good with your legs?"
Chen Fan stood up, looked around at the tense-looking clansmen, and spoke in a calm tone that conveyed a sense of reassurance.
"Let's all focus on our duties. The sky won't fall, and even if it does, I'll be there to hold it up."
The gentle words drifted on the wind, and the suffocation and fear that had filled the air above the Fire Crow Tribe quietly dissipated.
Meanwhile, fifty miles away.
Inside the magnificent fortress hall of the Mountain Ape Tribe, built from thousands of giant stones.
"What did you say?!"
A deafening roar echoed throughout the hall.
The Mountain Ape Tribe leader, Yuan Ba Tyrant, suddenly stood up. He was over two meters tall, and his black fur stood up like iron needles. In his rage, he slammed his fist hard on the obsidian throne beside him.
Boom!
The solid stone throne, which had withstood centuries of wind and rain, was smashed into pieces by this one punch, with countless fragments flying and embedding themselves deep into the giant wooden pillars inside the palace.
In the very center of the main hall, the survivor who had stumbled and crawled back from the Fire Crow Tribe was trembling like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. His forehead was pressed against the cold ground, and he dared not wipe the blood that was streaming down his face.
"Reporting to... reporting to the chief! Yuan Lie Fierce had just finished reading your decree when that ten-year-old brat... he only drew his sword once! A flash of gray light, and Yuan Lie, along with his saber-toothed tiger war beast, instantly... exploded into a bloody mist!"
The survivor's voice was shrill, filled with lingering fear.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"
Yuan Ba's eyes widened in fury, his chest heaving violently.
The Mountain Ape Tribe ruled this mountain forest for over a hundred years; which tribe within a radius of hundreds of miles didn't bow down and submit to them?
Now, a small, desolate tribe that hasn't even acquired a full set of bronze weapons not only refused to submit but also killed the Sixth Stage Peak envoy he sent on the spot!
This is practically slapping him in the face in public!
If the Fire Crow Tribe isn't completely wiped out of the mountains, which of the other subordinate tribes will still fear the Mountain Ape's might?
"Chief, there is no need to be angry."
From the dark side of the main hall, a hoarse and unpleasant voice echoed softly.
An old man, clad entirely in white bone armor, slowly emerged. He was gaunt, with sunken cheeks, and held in his right hand a witch's staff wrapped with rough animal hide and pale bone fragments.
High Priest Shi Tu, one of the three Seventh Rank totem powerhouses of the Mountain Ape Tribe.
Among the various tribes in the mountains and forests, Shi Tu was known for his cruel and bloodthirsty methods. Countless weak tribes had perished under his witch's staff.
"To kill Sixth Stage Peak cultivator with a single strike, that brat must possess some kind of precious Fire Seed left behind by a previous generation."
A pale, scaly smile cracked at the corners of Shi Tu's mouth, and a greedy glint gleamed in his murky eyes.
"If that's the case, it would be excellent nourishment to feed my Great Earth Totem."
Yuan Ba took a deep breath, his rage turning into chilling killing intent. He stared at Shi Tu and spoke in a deep voice.
"High Priest Shi Tu, you shall lead three thousand elite warriors to the front lines. I will leave not a blade of grass in the Fire Crow Tribe! As for that brat, break every bone in his body and bring him back to be burned as a sky lantern!"
"Yes, sir."
Shi Tu chuckled twice, then turned and strode out of the main hall.
Half a day later.
Rumble!
A sudden, thunderous, muffled sound echoed through the mountains surrounding the Fire Crow Tribe.
The earth trembled, and thousands of birds that had been roosting in the mountains and forests were startled into taking flight, crying out mournfully.
As the horizon stretched out before us, a vast expanse of yellow sand and billowing dust swept in like a tsunami, obscuring the sky.
Three thousand burly Mountain Ape warriors, clad in heavy bronze armor, trampled through the bushes and rocks along their path, wielding spears and axes, exuding a murderous aura.
At the very front of the army, Ground-Walking Giant Lizard covered in dark blue scales was stomping wildly on the ground.
Atop the giant lizard's head, Shi Tu stood against the wind, his white bone staff radiating a savage, earthy-yellow aura.
A violent aura mixed with billowing malevolent energy stirred up a gale in the valley, causing the newly built wooden walls of the Fire Crow Tribe to creak and rattle.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The alarm bells of the Fire Crow Tribe were rang wildly, their sharp, piercing sound instantly shattering the tranquility of the camp.
The women, children, and elderly in the tribe, guided by the warriors, quickly retreated into the rear cellars, while all the men who could wield weapons gripped their Battle Axes and short spears, gritting their teeth as they charged toward the village walls.
But as they watched the sandstorm sweeping across the sky and the massive army of the Mountain Ape Tribe, cold sweat seeped from everyone's palms.
Even though they had just experienced a great victory, the instinctive despair still spread in their hearts in the face of such a full-scale mobilization by an established hegemonic power.
Call!
Just as the morale of the troops wavered, a slender and agile figure rose from the direction of the stone house, lightly touched the wooden stakes of the stockade wall with his toes, and landed gracefully on the highest beam of the stockade gate.
Chen Fan carried the ancient bone knife left by his father, his coarse linen clothes fluttering in the fierce wind.
His expression was calm, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked down at the thousands of enemy soldiers rushing towards him, and at the imposing Ground-Walking Giant Lizard.
"King!"
The Fire Crow warriors below, seeing that slender yet steady figure, unconsciously began to breathe heavily, and their grip on their weapons tightened.
Dozens of feet away, the Ground-Walking Giant Lizard suddenly stopped, its huge claws tearing deep furrows in the ground.
Standing atop the giant lizard's head, Shi Tu's murky, sinister gaze locked onto Chen Fan high above the village gate, seemingly across the Void.
"So you're that arrogant little brat?"
Shi Tu's cold laughter, driven by his Qi and Blood, exploded on the earth like rolling thunder, causing the forests on both sides to buzz.
A cruel glint flashed in his eyes as he suddenly raised the white bone staff high in his hand. The broken bones wrapped around the staff tip emitted a dazzling reddish-yellow light, causing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of several miles to boil violently!
"You killed my Mountain Ape Envoy, slaughtered my vassal tribes! Today, I will bury your entire Fire Crow clan beneath this earth!"
Before he could finish speaking, Shi Tu's face contorted in a ferocious grimace, and with immense force, he slammed his white bone staff into the earth!
Boom!
The entire earth let out a painful cry.
A terrifying fissure several meters wide, accompanied by surging mud and rocks and violent earth energy, swept straight toward the gate of the Fire Crow Tribe with a ferocious momentum that seemed to tear everything apart!