Brothers and Betrayal

The warning born of instinct made Wu Tie's scalp prickle.

This was an instinct, almost a premonition, forged through countless years of evolution and mutation—what living creatures felt when facing an apex predator they could not possibly defeat.

Wu Tie opened his mouth and screamed with all his strength, venting the fear in his heart through mad howls. At the same time, he desperately leaped between falling boulders, narrowly avoiding the four giant spiders dropping from above.

Terrifying monsters—their bodies were monstrously huge.

Their limbs were nearly a hundred meters long, while their central bodies measured more than twenty meters across. When the four giant spiders fell from atop the stone pillars, they were like four heavy black clouds crashing down.

With several sharp hisses, the giant spiders' bloated abdomens writhed violently. Milky-white fluid as thick as thighs sprayed out, swiftly turning into vast webs that blanketed the ground for hundreds of meters around.

The two giant beasts, intent only on madly hunting Wu Tie down, were covered by the webs. The sticky strands were unbelievably tough. The two beasts struggled and roared furiously, yet the webs bound them tightly and securely.

Wu Tie flew beneath one giant spider's limb. He was so tiny that the spider did not even notice him.

His body slammed heavily into a collapsing stalagmite, but Wu Tie did not look back as he fled outward.

The four giant spiders sprayed webs wildly, layer upon layer wrapping around the two beasts. The beasts struggled with all their strength, but they could never break free from the webs' restraint.

Wu Tie charged out of the continuously collapsing forest of stone pillars and fled with all his might.

The larger beast suddenly raised its head. It let out a hysterical roar, and great sheets of azure-blue flame erupted from its mouth, swiftly covering an area hundreds of meters wide.

The milky-white webs instantly became wisps of blue smoke and vanished. The two beasts ignored the fleeing Wu Tie and roared as they pounced upon the four giant spiders.

Dozens of enormous stone pillars collapsed in an instant. The beasts and giant spiders tangled together, six massive monsters roaring and rolling as the beasts' blood and the spiders' multicolored bodily fluids sprayed in every direction like torrential rain.

Wu Tie had barely escaped three or five li when the smaller beast was suddenly pierced through by three slender, sharp limbs. Two giant spiders shrieked toward the sky, lifting the beast dozens of meters into the air on their limbs.

Vast amounts of scorching blood poured from the beast's body like flames. The ground for hundreds of meters around was covered in blood, and a raging fire blazed up, illuminating the nearby forest of stone pillars.

The other beast spewed out a pillar of fire. The blazing column punched through a giant spider's bloated abdomen. Just as it was about to kill the spider completely, it suddenly saw its mate slain by the enemy and cried mournfully toward the heavens.

The dying giant spider and another companion spread all their limbs at once, wildly driving them through the beast's body.

Wu Tie heard the mournful cries and roars of those terrible beasts. Panting, he stopped and looked back. He saw the larger beast's body abruptly swell, a dazzling halo rapidly expanding inside it.

That light was several times brighter than the Void Sun above the Wu Family's stone fortress.

The next instant, blazing light and terrifying flames swept in all directions. The beast self-destructed. Fire and searing heat covered the ground for two or three li around, shattering more than a hundred huge stone pillars in an instant. The powerful shockwave became rings of red heatwaves that spread rapidly outward.

"Aah~~~!"

Wu Tie screamed instinctively. The shockwave swept over him, sending him flying like a fallen leaf in the wind. He was hurled hundreds of meters backward before crashing heavily into a tall, lush fern grove.

Heatwaves rolled through the air. In an extremely short time, the fern grove's branches and leaves dried up and yellowed. Then, the ferns for several li around suddenly burst into flames.

Wu Tie was engulfed in fire. The blaze scorched his body, faint light flowing across his pale close-fitting armor as the temperature inside it began rising in a straight line.

Panting, Wu Tie endured the agonizing pain in his chest and staggered to his feet. He waded step by step through the sea of flames, doing his utmost to flee away from the forest of stone pillars.

"Old Tie, you never said some of those big fellows would explode like that..." Wu Tie panted. After much difficulty, he escaped the burning fern grove. His faceplate slid open silently. Wu Tie drew a breath and spat out a mouthful of blackened clotted blood.

The ground shook violently. Wu Tie instinctively looked back and saw the vast forest of stone pillars suddenly cave in.

The earth trembled fiercely as pillar after pillar sank into the ground. In only a few breaths, the entire forest of stone pillars stretching dozens of li collapsed, leaving behind nothing but a depression billowing hot vapor and dense smoke.

With rushing gusts, biting cold wind continuously blew out of the depression. Swept up by the cold wind, the flames and thick smoke became dozens of thick fire tornadoes, rolling and raging above the pit.

Wu Tie stared blankly at the pit, which resembled a hell of flames, and shivered instinctively.

Fortunately, he had run fast enough.

Faint, piercing cries of giant spiders came from deep within the pit, but they soon went silent. Before long, not the slightest sound came from within.

The cold wind howled, and the fire tornadoes quickly vanished as well. Only the vines and moss clinging to the stone pillars, ignited by the high heat, still sent out thick smoke that spread in all directions on the cold wind.

Wu Tie wiped his face, which was covered in blood, sweat, and foul-smelling egg fluid. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Luolin," then angrily turned around and followed the traces left by the beasts, racing back along the path he had come.

Along the way, he hunted several prey animals to replenish his strength. He also practiced the Foundation Establishment Form once, restoring his body to peak condition. After running more than two hundred li along the way back, Wu Tie heard shrill howls in the distance.

That voice was familiar. It seemed to belong to the young man with the longbow at Luolin's side.

Wu Tie gritted his teeth and laughed a few times. Gripping his spear, he bounded forward several times and sprinted toward the source of the screams.

He repeatedly leaped into the air and glided forward. After running for a short while, Wu Tie saw several familiar figures in a depression ahead.

Shi Lingqing stood in the center, surrounded by two Ox Tribe warriors and three Human Race guards. She watched Luolin, who was shouting furiously dozens of meters away, with an ambiguous smile.

Only Old Wu and Ding remained beside Luolin. Old Wu's left arm had been cut off at the shoulder, and Ding was wrapping the wound with a piece of rough cloth. Blood flowed down Ding's arm like a small stream.

Between Shi Lingqing and the three men stood Qiao, holding a chain blade. His skin was fair and his features soft, but his face was expressionless as he looked at Luolin. The young man with the longbow had both legs severed at the knees. Qiao had one foot planted on his head, his chain blade pressed tightly against his neck.

Wu Tie landed without a sound, lay prone upon the ground, and carefully crawled closer beneath the cover of several ferns.

From dozens of meters away, Wu Tie could see that Qiao's chain blade had already cut open the young man's neck. A fine thread of blood kept trickling down his neck.

"Boss, Third Brother, and Ding... don't move." Qiao's voice was cold, hard, and firm. "You know I'm timid. If I get scared and twitch, Feng Yu's life will be gone."

The young man with the longbow was named Feng Yu?

Luolin was still shouting furiously, but aside from enraged curses, there was nothing of value in his roars.

Old Wu gritted his teeth. Once Ding had finished bandaging his wound, he raised the earth-yellow stone pillar in his right hand and smashed it heavily against the ground. "Qiao... so the other three brothers were killed by you?"

Wu Tie swiftly recalled the wounds on the young man who had died outside Shi Lingqing's wooden shed.

He had not paid attention before, but now Wu Tie remembered. That young man's wound had indeed been on his back—a savage gash that had nearly split his entire back open.

The chain blade in Qiao's hand seemed perfectly capable of inflicting such a wound.

"It was me." Qiao let out a breath and looked calmly at Old Wu. "Sorry... I killed those three brothers... And Old Wu, your arm, Feng Yu's legs—there's no need to say more about that. You saw it yourselves. I cut them off."

Grinning, Qiao shook his head at Luolin. "Quiet down, Third Brother. Look, Ding is far calmer than you. You and Ding were both poisoned by me. The dose was light, but the more you shout, the faster the poison takes effect. You might even die."

Luolin's body suddenly shuddered, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood.

His body swayed slightly. He pointed his straight saber at Qiao and seemed about to say something, but Old Wu spoke from the side. "Third Brother, shut up... Let Qiao speak. I want to hear why he did this."

Although his arm had been cut off by his own brother, and although his companions had suffered grievous casualties, Old Wu's tone remained calm. "Qiao, we grew up together. We faced life and death together. We were no different from blood brothers..."

Qiao smiled coldly. "What meaning is there in saying that now?"

Old Wu immediately changed the subject. "Aren't you afraid of Fog Blade's revenge?"

Qiao smiled and shook his head at Old Wu. "Fog Blade is terrifying, I admit that. But here, who would know I killed you? Who would know I betrayed Fog Blade's rules?"

Old Wu opened his mouth. He fell silent for a while, then finally forced out two words with great difficulty. "The reason?"

Qiao smiled and instinctively glanced back.

In that very instant when he turned his head, the earth-yellow stone pillar in Old Wu's hand burst with a brilliant light. He abruptly raised the pillar and smashed it viciously into the ground. With a deafening boom, a stone spear as thick as an arm and more than three meters long rose up before him.

The stone spear tore through the earth with a howl, shooting toward Luolin like an arrow.

Shi Dian, standing beside Shi Lingqing, gave a strange laugh. He flicked the wooden staff in his hand, and a violent wind rose from the flat ground. Moving several times faster than the stone spear, the gale flew before Qiao and swiftly condensed into a circular wind shield roughly a meter wide.

The stone spear struck the wind shield. The shield spun rapidly like a whirlpool, countless thumb-sized wind blades grinding furiously within it.

The stone spear shattered segment by segment, while the wind shield wore away bit by bit.

Under the wind shield's cover, Qiao had already grabbed Feng Yu by the neck and retreated several steps to Shi Lingqing's side. He handed Feng Yu over to an Ox Tribe warrior whose face bore a slashed wound.

The Ox Tribe warrior gave a strange laugh. After taking Feng Yu, he bluntly grabbed Feng Yu's arm and snapped it with two cracks. Feng Yu cried out in pain, his body convulsing violently as blood continued dripping from the wounds at his knees.

The stone spear and wind shield perished together. Qiao stood beside Shi Lingqing with a smile.

Shi Lingqing chuckled and nodded at the suddenly enlightened Old Wu. "What other reason could there be? A man's betrayal is very simple. Power, prospects, wealth, and... a beauty."

"A woman." Old Wu shook his head with a bitter smile. "Qiao, you betrayed us for her?"

Qiao said nothing, merely nodding.

"When?" Old Wu also spat out a mouthful of black blood. Releasing the stone pillar planted in the ground, he wiped the black blood from his chin and said softly, "I was poisoned too? It seems those three brothers were killed so easily because they had all been poisoned as well?"

Qiao was silent for a while before speaking in a low voice. "Two days ago, remember? I went to scout out a way to lure away that troublesome kid... I went out alone, and I stayed outside for more than a day before returning."

Shi Lingqing moved closer to Qiao, naturally wrapping both hands around one of his arms.

Her smile was radiant. "I like clever people, because clever people do not cling stubbornly to dead rules. Clever people can communicate better with one another. Qiao is a clever person. He knows what benefits him most."

Old Wu drew a breath. He gave Shi Lingqing and Qiao a deep look, then sneered. "You slept with him?"

Unable to suppress the pride in his heart, Qiao laughed from the bottom of his heart. "She is mine now. Old Wu, you cannot imagine what I enjoyed that day."

Shi Lingqing's fair little face flushed crimson.

Lying beneath several broad-leaved ferns, Wu Tie stared blankly at the scene of brothers turning against one another.

Then he stared even more blankly at Shi Lingqing.

The perfect image he had held of her shattered with a crash. An indescribable, sour ache welled up from the depths of his heart, like countless little knives slowly flowing through his veins into his organs, stabbing him until his heart and liver throbbed with pain.

Without warning, Luolin let out a shrill howl. Waving his straight saber, he turned into three afterimages. The three shadows moved like snakes, carrying a vile wind as they lunged fiercely at Qiao. "Qiao... I'll kill you!"

Shi Dian raised his wooden staff, while an Ox Tribe warrior and two Human Race guards raised their weapons at the same time.

Just as they were about to clash with the charging Luolin, Qiao suddenly shouted, "Move... they're trying to escape!"

Before his words had faded, Luolin flung out three thumb-sized black pellets with his left hand. The small pills hit the ground, and amid soft pops, great clouds of black smoke rose. Luolin suddenly sprang backward in retreat.

A thread-thin flash of cold light flew from Luolin's hand.

With all their attention fixed on Luolin, Shi Lingqing and the others completely overlooked that cold flash, which was not aimed at them.

Luolin, Old Wu, and Ding fled at full speed, while the Ox Tribe warrior holding Feng Yu suddenly let out a strange cry.

Feng Yu, covered in blood, wore an eerie smile. A throwing knife was buried deep in his throat.

Wu Tie's entire body trembled as he shivered uncontrollably.

Luolin and the others had retreated. Before retreating, Luolin had charged out as though he meant to fight for his life, only to use that throwing knife to kill Feng Yu.

Wu Tie could not understand such behavior.

Gritting his teeth, he abruptly leaped into the air and swiftly chased after Luolin and the others.

Shi Lingqing suddenly saw a white figure rise from the fern grove. She immediately cried out in alarm and sharply furrowed her brows.

It was National Day. Wishing everyone a happy National Day. Brothers and sisters traveling outside, have fun and eat well!

The important thing was to eat well!

Mm, may your National Day be plump and nourishing!