The flames burned ever fiercer, the firewood in the trench crackling and popping as the wall of fire rose to nearly twenty feet high.
The Sand Giant Scorpions trapped within huddled together. Some used their tongs to strike the fire wall, only to recoil from the heat. Others spun in place, letting out anxious hisses.
"It looks like this method really works!" General Li stood atop the earthen slope, nodding repeatedly. "These beasts truly fear fire."
Lin Taichu did not relax. He kept his eyes fixed on the giant scorpions within the fire wall.
Though they crashed about wildly, their hard shells merely blackened on the surface when licked by the flames. Not a single one had truly fallen. He frowned. "Something's wrong. They haven't slowed down much."
No sooner had he spoken than an especially large giant scorpion suddenly stopped and sprayed a mass of sand at the fire wall.
The sand fell onto the flames, smothering a patch of sparks, and a gap actually appeared in the fire wall. Immediately afterward, the other giant scorpions seemed to receive a signal and began spraying sand at the gap as well, widening it further and further.
"This is bad! They're breaking through the fire wall!" Daoist Master Wang shouted. With a swing of his Peachwood Sword, he sent a bolt of lightning crashing toward the leading giant scorpion.
The lightning struck its back and erupted in a shower of sparks, yet it left only a shallow mark. The giant scorpion hissed in pain and turned its head, its pair of compound eyes glimmering eerily in the darkness as it stared straight at the people on the slope.
Lin Taichu's heart sank. They weren't afraid of fire at all. They were pretending just now!
The gap in the fire wall had