The Plague Beast Qizhong Revealed the Might of Witch Runes

The Plague Beast Qizhong Revealed the Might of Witch Runes

Inside the ancestral temple.

Shen Can sorted through his Plague Dispelling Runes, preparing to hand them over to the tribespeople on the front line.

Whether something was good or not, actual combat was the most direct test.

According to the scouts, the Possessing Plague Worms were less than half a day away from the tribal grounds.

"A-Can, stay in the ancestral temple. Give me the runes you drew."

Huo Xian carried a bamboo basket on his back and prepared to leave the ancestral temple. Since Shen Can had drawn the runes, he could not dampen Shen Can's confidence. He would take them along for the tribespeople.

The medicinal scent emitted by the runes was useful too. At the very least, carrying them was much more convenient than his medicinal pellets.

The only problem was that there were too few of them.

"Alright."

Shen Can nodded, raising his hand and tossing out a hemp rope that looped around Huo Xian.

Then, with another lift of his hand, he stuffed a piece of hemp cloth into Huo Xian's mouth.

"Master, you're getting old. You should rest in the ancestral temple. I'll go."

"Mmph! Mmph!"

As Huo Xian blew his beard and glared, Shen Can tied him up inside the cave.

"Rest assured, Master. I'll record everything for you when I return."

There were brushes and ink in the bamboo basket. Huo Xian's purpose was obvious: he wanted to observe the Possessing Plague Worms carefully, then record them for future generations.

Shen Can carried the basket and followed the small path down the tribal mountain to the east. From far away, he saw the great trenches below the mountain.

There were three in total, blocking off the northeastern side of the tribal grounds.

The trenches were spaced thirty yards apart, with wooden planks laid over them as bridges.

Piles of firewood filled the trenches and covered the flat ground, with prepared witch medicine placed on top. They only needed to ignite them once the Possessing Plague Worms attacked.

Many tall racks stood inside the trenches, each holding jars upon jars of Beast Oil.

Once there were too many Plague Worms, they could smash the jars and pour the Beast Oil into the trenches.

Martial artists had strong resistance, but that was only if they were bitten by Plague Worms.

Thus, all the tribespeople stationed here were martial artists. They had taken every possible precaution, and each one reeked of medicinal broth. There were even cauldrons of boiled medicine beside them, ready for them to jump in and wash themselves at any time.

As for weapons, they mainly had throwing spears, bows, crossbows, fire arrows, and Beast Oil.

The three wide trenches had been dug to create enough distance from the Possessing Plague Worms before launching fire attacks from afar.

"Uncle Jiang, Uncle Mu..."

Shen Can came down from the mountain and greeted the people.

"A-Can, give me the things. Go back and look after the elderly and children in the tribe."

"We'll hold them here. We definitely won't let the Plague Worms get through."

As Shen Can greeted them, he took the medicinal pellets from the bamboo basket and handed them to the gathered tribespeople.

"Eat them as medicine. Crushing them and rubbing them on your bodies works too."

"A-Can, come back. Don't go any farther ahead."

Seeing Shen Can head toward the outermost line, someone hurriedly shouted.

Huo Shan and the other Mountain Opener realm martial artists guarding the very front also called out.

"A-Can, don't come over."

"Uncle Shan, take these witch runes."

Shen Can crossed two trenches and arrived at the flat ground behind the third trench, pulling out three witch runes and handing them to Huo Shan.

"Witch runes?"

Huo Shan froze as he looked at the winding runes, cut to roughly equal sizes and carrying the scent of medicine and bloody Killing Intent.

"Since when did our tribe have witch runes?"

At that moment, several other Mountain Opener realm martial artists guarding the front line also crowded over.

"Go, go, go! Don't get so close to A-Can."

Huo Shan immediately widened his eyes and drove away the people crowding over, snatching the witch runes and stuffing them into his clothes.

"I understand. Hurry back."

Shen Can distributed the remaining witch runes and taught them how to use them.

"When you use them, tear them open hard and throw them out."

"Alright, alright, we understand. Hurry back. The Plague Worms will be here soon. Your body is weak—you won't withstand the Plague Worm infestation."

Whoosh!

A fire arrow streaked through the sky in the distance.

The Possessing Plague Worms had arrived.

Huo Hou bounced over from afar.

"They're here, they're here! Get ready!"

"A-Can, hurry and leave."

Seeing this, Huo Shan hurriedly pushed Shen Can backward.

Shen Can did not linger and headed to the rear.

Inside and outside the tribal mountain, bonfires were lit one after another, and thick smoke from witch medicine billowed upward.

The medicinal scent surged through the wilderness.

After returning behind the trenches, Shen Can turned and looked into the distance.

A scattered group of zombie-like figures emerged from gaps between the mountains.

There were roughly three hundred of them.

Though the bodies of these people possessed by Plague Worms looked stiff and rigid, they could still roll, climb, and leap. Some even carried weapons in their hands.

They had actually run all the way through the endless mountains to the Blazing Flame Tribe.

Shen Can had a feeling that these Plague Worms were controlling humans specifically to target the Blazing Flame Tribe.

That astonished him. Could the Plague Worms possess such high intelligence that they had accessed the memories of the Fu Shan Tribe's people?

"Buzz, buzz!"

When they were less than three hundred yards from the first line of defense, the possessed humans in front collapsed, like torn sacks. Bean-sized Plague Worms crawled out and rustled toward Huo Shan and the others.

At a distance of ninety yards, upon entering the area filled with the fragrance of burning witch medicine, the charging Plague Worms suddenly began wandering in circles.

As their numbers increased, some broke free of their wandering and continued crawling forward, swiftly rushing into the excavated trenches.

Inside the trenches, the piled witch medicine was ignited, and tribespeople prepared to smash the oil jars above them.

"The witch medicine is working very well right now. Don't pour the oil yet. Wait until there are more Plague Worms."

The Plague Worms that entered the trenches spun around in confusion from the smoke of the burning witch medicine and could not climb out at all.

After checking, Huo Shan immediately stopped the tribespeople who were about to pour out the Beast Oil.

"Douse them!"

Huo Shan pointed at the possessed humans rushing over.

Ladles tied to long wooden poles scooped up Beast Oil and splashed it across the trenches at the approaching possessed humans.

Fire arrows followed from behind.

For possessed humans moving too quickly, they directly threw burning wooden spears, pinning them in place.

Then they splashed over a ladleful of Beast Oil.

Enhanced by the fire attack, the possessed humans were set ablaze before they could even reach the trenches.

The Plague Worms crawling out scurried about like ants on a hot pan, losing their ability to charge.

Clusters of flames ignited outside the trenches, accompanied by a ceaseless series of crackling sounds like firecrackers.

Once the possessed humans were ignited, dense swarms of Plague Worms crawled out and rushed toward Huo Shan.

As soon as they entered the trenches, just like the Plague Worms before them, they were smoked senseless by the burning witch medicine.

Let alone getting close enough to bite anyone.

Without the Plague Worms' harassment, the battle was one-sided from the very beginning.

Even when the possessed humans leaped up, wooden spears would stab them down from midair.

The tribespeople throwing spears were as skilled as if they were hunting, every throw striking true.

At this rate, they would not even breach the first line of defense, let alone all three.

Seeing this, Shen Can let out a breath. They were not living people in the end. Though they appeared agile, they did not seem to have the minds they possessed in life.

It seemed the Possessing Plague Worms were not all that formidable.

The tribal records had been scaring their own people for nothing.

"Chirp!"

At that moment, one of the figures behind the possessed humans opened its mouth and released a piercing cry.

Everyone who heard it felt their eardrums swell. One after another, they covered their ears with both hands and crouched down in pain.

"Chirp!"

Shen Can's head went fuzzy, and he felt as if he had suffered a mental attack.

"Not good!"

Huo Tang, who had been overseeing the entire situation, rushed toward the front.

"Huo Shan, retreat to the second trench!"

The possessed humans outside the trench spread their arms like great birds spreading their wings and leaped into the air.

Huo Shan reacted first. He grabbed the wooden spear in his hand and hurled it at the wooden racks in the trench while shouting.

"Pour the oil, now!"

"Fire the fire arrows!"

Since the Plague Worms had been unable to get across before, he had not ordered the flames inside the trenches lit.

At the time, whether they lit them or not made little difference. The Plague Worms could not get through the witch medicine smoke anyway.

But now, the people of the Fu Shan Tribe were fucking human too. How could they fly once possessed by Plague Worms?

This was utterly un-witchlike.

Huo Tang, who had rushed to the front, repeatedly struck away the possessed humans leaping over.

But there were too many of them. In the blink of an eye, dozens of possessed humans had crossed the first trench and burst apart.

Crack! Crackle!

The Plague Worms fell like hailstones, splattering everywhere and striking the tribespeople.

A large portion of them leaped straight toward Huo Tang.

At the same time, the back of the possessed person making bird cries split open, and a strange bird flew out.

The bird had the shape of an owl's head, one leg, and a pig's tail.

It whipped its tail as it flew toward Huo Tang, its pale white eyes gleaming with ghostly white light.

The Plague Worms raining from the sky threw the tribal martial artists into chaos, and they instinctively began slapping at the worms on their bodies.

From the mountaintop, Shen Can watched the situation suddenly descend into chaos.

Seeing Huo Tang surrounded by Plague Worms and the strange bird preparing a sneak attack, Shen Can shouted.

"Quick, use the witch runes to hit that bird!"

Huo Shan was the first among the tribespeople to react. He too had been about to help Huo Tang when he heard the shout from the mountaintop.

Instinctively, he pulled out the medicinal pellets from his clothes, along with the witch runes.

"Tear them open and throw them! Tear them open and throw them!"

Huo Shan, who had just been about to throw them, immediately pulled back his hand. With a ripping sound, he tore open the three pieces of beast hide and threw them toward Huo Tang.

"Buzz!"

In an instant, after the three witch runes split open, streams of blood-colored liquid surged forth.

They condensed in midair into overlapping, winding runes and fiercely charged at the one-legged strange bird.

"Chirp!"

The moment the witch runes activated, terror flashed through the strange bird's pale white eyes.

The blood runes swept across its wings. They sizzled and gave off white smoke.

The strange bird screamed miserably.

"Real witch runes!"

Huo Shan, who had thrown the witch runes and kept charging forward, stared blankly, instinctively slamming on the brakes.

However, his two legs did not receive the order. With a smack, his whole body pitched forward.

"A-Can, these are real witch runes!"

Huo Shan, who had fallen face-first into the dirt, sprang up with a whoosh and roared.

"Quick, quick! Tear open the witch runes and smash that stinking bird!"

"A-Can is the real deal!"

Still not satisfied with shouting, he rushed to nearby tribespeople, snatched someone else's witch rune, and hurled it at the strange bird.

"Ha... witch runes. This is satisfying."

P.S.: Image from the internet, will remove if requested.

Qizhong: It resembled an owl, had one claw and a pig's tail. Its appearance brought plague.

Wonder if that pig's tail tasted good.