Layers of Ambushes

Hmph!!!

Mo Cheng watched Yan Qingshan leave with a gloomy gaze. Though a Dou Ling could dart through the air at high speed, it was not true flight. The wary Yan Qingshan had not given him any chance to get close. Once Yan Qingshan flew away, he could not catch him. "A mere Dou Zhe dares to warn this old man? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Mo Cheng's fury erupted. His eyes reddened as his gaze swept over several people who had fled halfway before stopping when they saw Mo Cheng gain the upper hand, falling behind the group. Killing intent flashed in his eyes. A fierce gust rose, his figure blurred, and when he appeared again, screams and the stench of blood followed.

"Anyone who tries to run again will end up like this. All of you, keep moving! That brat is only a Dou Zhe. He cannot possibly maintain a Flying Dou Skill for long. I will capture both him and that Snake-Person Girl and show them this old man's methods..."

Mo Cheng leaped back onto his camel beast, tossed away the head in his hand, and shook off the blood. Endless rage seeped from his icy voice as he immediately ordered everyone to continue the pursuit.

Robb and the others knew that the powder smoke the man had thrown earlier was anything but ordinary. Though none of them had shown signs of poisoning, they still did not dare let down their guard. They had no desire to continue the chase, but seeing Mo Cheng brimming with killing intent, no one dared provoke him. One after another, they nervously urged their camel beasts onward.

Robb's heart was filled with bitterness and regret. Though he did not know the other party's origins, the fact that he had accurately called Mo Cheng Executioner Mo meant he clearly knew Mo Cheng's strength. Yet he had still dared to provoke him under such circumstances. He must have had something to fall back on.

Though Robb did not understand what a Flying Dou Skill was, Mo Cheng's earlier attitude made it clear that it was no ordinary thing. That person might be a descendant of some great faction. Mo Cheng, a Dou Ling with the Misty Cloud Sect behind him, had nothing to fear from being dragged into this conflict. But the tiny Sand Mercenary Group might very well be finished.

Robb regretted everything, but Mo Cheng was right beside him, urging them onward. He had no way to refuse, because he understood even more clearly that if he did not pursue them now, he, Robb, would be finished on the spot.

One shrill summons after another rang out. Every member of the Sand Mercenary Group dispatched this time was gathered together. Under their leader Robb's command, a large force charged into this golden sea of sand.

"Everyone, be careful! Report anything unusual immediately!"

Robb did not dare be careless. He shouted himself hoarse, telling his men to stay alert. He himself had raised his vigilance to its peak, ready to deal with any sudden danger.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Sure enough, not long after entering this stretch of desert, they came under attack. The camel beasts scouting ahead cried out and shrieked one after another as human-head-sized figures burst from the sand and lunged at them.

"Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions? Why are there so many Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions?!"

As veteran mercenaries who had spent years in the desert, the Sand Mercenary Group quickly recognized these Magical Beasts unique to the Tagore Desert.

Though Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions were not even first-order Magical Beasts, there were more than a hundred before their eyes. Even more disturbances came from farther away. This was no small formation.

The last time Yan Qingshan had joined forces with the Rock Snake pack to kill the first-order scorpions and the Second-order Magical Beast scorpion king among the Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions, he had not exterminated the numerous ordinary scorpions.

Later, using the Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpion King's venom, he had deduced and concocted a new poison. It was similar to an insect pheromone and could draw Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions within a certain range into gathering and attacking. The powder he had thrown earlier contained this special scorpion venom.

"What are you panicking for? A bunch of Magical Beasts that are not even first-order has scared you like this? How are you supposed to be mercenaries?"

Robb's face darkened as he watched the frightened flock before him, anger rising for no reason. Though he was unwilling to keep moving forward, he was even more furious that his men were humiliating him so thoroughly. These were elite mercenaries, all at least Dou Zhes, yet they had been frightened by two or three hundred unranked Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions. It was a complete disgrace.

"Shaluo, Moxing, take some men and wipe out these beasts!"

Robb called out to his two strongest subordinates. Both Shaluo and Moxing were among Robb's most capable men. With Dou Master-level strength, they were considered formidable figures even in Stone Desert City.

Shaluo and Moxing immediately led a group of mercenaries into action. Dou Qi gauze wrapped around the bodies of the two Dou Masters, rendering the Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions' venom completely useless.

Streams of Dou Qi shot forth. Yellow radiance filled the sky and stirred up countless clouds of sand. Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions were slaughtered one after another, most of them left without even intact corpses. This stretch of desert was soon drenched in blood once more.

A breeze swept through, spreading the heavy scent of blood. After killing and seeing blood, the mercenaries' savage ferocity seemed to awaken. One after another, they raised their blades and chased down the remaining Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions, no longer displaying their earlier timidness.

Mo Cheng led more than a dozen Dou Masters and Da Dou Shis from the Mo Clan behind the mercenaries. From time to time, he ordered Robb to lead his men in a rough direction and search onward.

The many riders pushed deeper into this desert region. Though scattered Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions still came to attack along the way, facing the fierce mercenaries, they were merely throwing away their lives. Even the complete Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpion swarm from that day would have been doomed against so many elite mercenaries, much less these scorpions without a leader.

"Grand Elder Mo Cheng, once we cross this sand slope, there will be a flat stretch of desert. If they really are nearby, they will not be able to hide for much longer."

Robb came to Mo Cheng's side and spoke. As a mercenary who had spent many years in Stone Desert City, how could he not be familiar with these sands so close to the city? There were basically no highlands or mountain ranges here, only endless yellow sand and, at most, a few dunes. There was nowhere to hide.

Mo Cheng said coldly, "Then pick up the pace. I must capture that brat and the snake girl!"

Under Mo Cheng's orders, everyone gathered and crossed the sand slope. But just as they reached the top, an accident occurred. With a thunderous boom, the entire dune collapsed into the ground. The collapse spread in a chain reaction, even completely catching Mo Cheng and those bringing up the rear. Every camel beast sank into the sand pits, while screams rose one after another.

"Ah! Ah! Damn it, these are Black Sand Fire Ants! Save me! Save me!"

"Run! A black sandstorm is coming!"

"Help! Don't leave me behind!"

Amid the continuous screams, black currents emerged from the sand pits where the people had fallen, spreading rapidly like a black sandstorm. Wherever they swept over, covered mercenaries screamed miserably, then soon fell silent.

Black Sand Fire Ants were unranked Fire Attribute Magical Beasts. Their bodies were black, their tails blood-red. Ordinary worker ants were the size of a finger joint, while the queen was as large as a lamb. They were a social Magical Beast species of the desert. Only the queen was a ranked Magical Beast, but most mercenaries would never willingly provoke this type of colony Magical Beast.

Ordinary Black Sand Fire Ants were merely beasts with some Fire Attribute magic power. They could release fire poison capable of burning flesh to rot. Even somewhat stronger beasts and ordinary humans could easily destroy these unranked Magical Beasts if they were careful. But their terrifying aspect was that they always moved in groups.

Whenever Black Sand Fire Ants moved as a colony, they traveled in groups of tens of thousands, a vast black mass like dark clouds. They were known as the black sandstorms of the desert. Living creatures in their path were often reduced to piles of white bones. Not only mercenaries, even ordinary first- and second-order Magical Beasts dared not provoke them.

This swarm of Black Sand Fire Ants and the sudden sinkhole were naturally Yan Qingshan's handiwork. The Black Sand Fire Ant colony had not originally been in this area, but near the woodland where Yan Qingshan had previously rested and cultivated in seclusion. Since such creatures needed to forage in large numbers, they naturally tended to live near water sources.

When Yan Qingshan had discovered them, he had used some methods to drive them away and keep them from approaching the area where he lived. As someone trained as a physician, and after studying, practicing, and deducing the knowledge within the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, Yan Qingshan had also collected and researched the toxins of nearby Magical Beasts, animals, and plants, including Black Sand Fire Ants and Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions. Naturally, he had gained some understanding.

Though Black Sand Fire Ants were terrifying, their biting power was not exceptional. They could not penetrate a Dou Master's Dou Qi gauze, much less the Rock Snake's body, which was as hard as metal and stone. To prepare this trap, Yan Qingshan had the Rock Snake move the Black Sand Fire Ant nest here first. Then he used information-based poison to temporarily trap the fire ants before having the Rock Snake destroy the underground structure beneath this area. Once too many people arrived, it would cause a collapse.

Though this group was strong enough and vigilant enough, they had never imagined that Yan Qingshan's second trap would have such a trigger condition. Everyone, including Mo Cheng, fell for it and was trapped in the sand pit as countless Black Sand Fire Ants surged at them from every direction.

"Bastard! Once I catch that little bastard, I will make sure he dies horribly!"

Mo Cheng was enraged as well. With a wave of his hand, Dou Qi burst out like a pillar and carved open a clear space. After personally rescuing the Mo Clan members, he found the queen ant and easily killed it. Yet his actions only enraged the ant swarm further, and even more Black Sand Fire Ants rushed toward the mercenaries.

"Mo Cheng, how does my double-layered scheme taste? Do not rush. I will test every one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems on you one by one. The fun has only just begun!"

A figure suddenly flashed across the sky above the sand pit. With Yan Qingshan's shout, countless long snake forms shot out and launched a fierce assault on the people who had barely managed to raise their Dou Qi defenses.

"Why are there so many snakes here?!"

"Yellow Sand Horned Vipers, Desert Rock Serpents, Black-bellied Rattlers, Horned Abdomen Demonic Serpents..."

"My gods, so many snake-type Magical Beasts! There are even second- and third-order ones! Did we stumble into a snake den?!"

The many pursuers fell into panic. After encountering so many Magical Beast ambushes in succession, even the dullest among them would have sensed something was wrong, much less them, with death hanging over their heads.

The sand pit Yan Qingshan had prepared for them was over ten meters deep. At the bottom were thousands upon thousands of Black Sand Fire Ants crazed with fury, while countless fierce and powerful snake-type Magical Beasts waited around its edges. Among them were many highly venomous serpents. This trap was like a Heavenly Net, and there was supposedly something called the Thirty-Six Stratagems still to come. How could they not be terrified?