Slaughter

The sun had set, and the light in the mountain forest dimmed, making it seem deep and sinister. Pairs of eyes watched from the darkness. The scent of blood wafted out, drawing several fierce beasts, though fortunately this was the outer region, without any especially terrifying fiends. "Awoo..."

A Spotted Tiger-Worm sprang out. Its patterned body resembled a giant dyed silkworm, five or six meters long, with a tiger's head that looked savage and ferocious. This great worm had caught the scent of ancient true blood and wanted to take a bite from the Suanni's precious body.

Pfft!

Little Dot hurled his iron spear, driving it straight into its skull. With a shriek, blood splashed out. The Spotted Tiger-Worm rolled wildly across the ground, then soon breathed its last.

Without a sound, a Flying Python as thick as a water barrel pounced down from a stone cliff. It spread its wings, its foul stench rushing toward them, and as it neared, it opened its blood-filled maw to bite.

Clang!

Facing this ferocious great snake, Little Dot did not dare be careless. He immediately summoned Silver Moon. It streaked through the air like a rainbow, slicing past and cutting the python into two. A rain of blood sprayed out.

In only this short time, Shi Hao had already slain six or seven monsters. He did not leave the Azure-Scaled Eagle's side for even a step, guarding it closely. But if this continued, it would surely draw fiends from deeper within the mountains.

"The people from Bei Village are coming. Could it be that Grandpa Chief didn't hear the eagle's cries?" Little Dot worried. He could escape, but he could not bear to abandon the Azure-Scaled Eagle.

Wild birds scattered in alarm. Little Dot suddenly raised his head. At that instant, a sheet of icy iron arrows poured down like a torrential downpour, all converging on his body.

Killing intent filled the air, shredding even the forest leaves. The iron arrows were so dense that even a massive Dragon-Horned Elephant standing in their path would have been shot into a sieve.

Little Dot exhaled sharply, spraying a stream of essence from his mouth and nose. His entire body glowed as symbols interwove. Silver Moon became like a blade before him, ringing with clanging sounds.

Iron arrows continued to fall, but every arrowhead snapped. In the blink of an eye, they had piled up on the ground, their metallic sheen cold and chilling.

"People of Bei Village, don't force me!" Little Dot's eyes reddened, because several iron arrows had struck the Azure-Scaled Eagle's wounds.

The storm of iron arrows stopped. From all directions, more than a hundred people appeared, surrounding him from afar. They stared at the Suanni and its crimson precious horn, their breathing rapid.

Even though they had never seen one before, anyone living in the Great Wilderness knew how precious the true blood contained within an ancient descendant was—worth a fortune beyond measure.

"Little one, this Suanni's remains are a supreme treasure. You cannot protect them. If you listen, leave obediently, and we will not make things difficult for you," an old man said kindly.

Little Dot was furious. He and the Azure-Scaled Eagle had only obtained the Suanni's precious body after narrowly escaping death time and again. They were just about to transport it back to Stone Village, yet these people had intercepted them halfway to seize the ancient descendant. How could he possibly accept that?

He clenched his fair little fists tightly. "You've gone too far!"

"Child, life is like this. We all struggle in this Great Wilderness. If you are not a little ruthless toward others, then life will be ruthless toward you." Bei Village's old chief sighed and urged, "You should leave quickly."

Little Dot glared at him without saying a word. He was waiting for the people of Stone Village to arrive.

"Mm, this truly is astonishing. It is actually a genuine Azure-Scaled Eagle. At first, I thought it was a Spotted-Scale Bird. Who would have imagined that such an overlord of the skies would submit to Stone Village? Astonishing!" Bei Village's old chief was not merely saying empty words; his surprise came from the heart. "What a pity. Its poisoning runs too deep. It is about to die."

Hearing this, tears welled in Shi Hao's eyes. He too could see that the Azure-Scaled Eagle was in a terrible state.

Seeing his expression, Bei Village's chief narrowed his eyes and said, "What a shame. Otherwise, it could have stood shoulder to shoulder with a sacrificial spirit. How about we send it on its way, so it need not suffer?"

"You dare?!" Little Dot's brows rose. He clenched his little fists and stood in front of the Azure-Scaled Eagle.

"Heh heh..." Bei Village's chief, Bei Liqing, smiled. "It seems you truly are a good child, kind-hearted and unable to let go of this fierce bird." As he spoke, his gaze turned cold. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Shoot! Kill that Azure-Scaled Eagle first!"

The people of Bei Village were startled, but they did not hesitate. Obeying the command, they loosed arrows like rain, whistling endlessly toward several of the Azure-Scaled Eagle's wounds.

Little Dot's eyes turned red. He did everything he could to block them, summoning that silver moon and sweeping aside iron arrows in every direction, protecting the descendant of an ancient demonic bird.

However, the Azure-Scaled Eagle was simply too large, with wounds in several places. It was impossible to defend against everything. Little Dot darted back and forth, driving Silver Moon to block the attacks until sweat streamed down his face.

By now, the people of Bei Village all understood. Chief Bei Liqing was using this fierce bird to bind Stone Village's child in place. Sooner or later, he would exhaust himself, and then they could easily shoot him dead.

"Chief, didn't you just say you would let this child go?"

"I was only saying that because I feared he would flee. Once we know what he cares about, we can strike where it hurts. A child with such great potential—if he grows up, who could withstand him? Naturally, we must kill him with all our strength."

The iron arrows came thick and fast, cold light flashing as they whistled through the air. Every one of them was thick and immensely powerful, snapping eight or nine great trees near the Azure-Scaled Eagle.

Little Dot struggled to cope. Gritting his teeth, he summoned two moons at once, but still found it difficult to protect the Azure-Scaled Eagle.

Pfft!

An iron arrow plunged into one of its wounds, bringing up a great spray of blood. The descendant of the ancient demonic bird convulsed slightly in agony, its eyes filled with both fury and sorrow. It could barely move now; otherwise, how would these people ordinarily dare approach it?

Clang, clang...

The rain of arrows was dense. Little Dot fought with all his strength to block them, but it was still useless. The Azure-Scaled Eagle had already been struck by more than twenty arrows, all buried deep in its body, blood gushing like a spring.

"Auntie Azure-Scaled Eagle!" Little Dot cried out in grief and fury, his voice choked with sobs, his eyes brimming with tears as he blocked with all he had.

Pfft!

An iron arrow slipped silently through the branches, nearly piercing Little Dot's heart. His reaction was incredibly swift, and he twisted aside, but it still tore through the flesh of his small forearm, spraying blood.

"Ow!" Little Dot cried out in pain. This was the first time since his birth that he had suffered such a serious arrow wound.

Not far away, Bei Shan, the leader of Bei Village's hunting party, sneered. It was he who had shot through Little Dot's arm. His face was pale; not long ago, Silver Moon had split open his abdomen. He drew his bow again, hiding among the bushes as he began another round of assassination. Ignoring the Azure-Scaled Eagle, he aimed only at Little Dot's heart or throat.

Little Dot's small face was pale from pain. He tore off a strip of his clothes and wrapped it around the wound. Symbols also flowed over his body, stopping the bleeding.

In that instant, the Azure-Scaled Eagle was struck by another dozen or so arrows. Its wounds were nearly shot to pieces. Little Dot wept. He could not protect it, and cried, "I'll fight you to the death!"

He rushed forward at once, summoning two Silver Moons. Throwing caution to the winds, he wanted to kill those people who kept shooting iron arrows.

Living in the Great Wilderness, the people of Bei Village possessed astonishing archery. More than a hundred people aimed at the same spot and fired at once, all their arrows converging and flying together. It was like a gigantic iron hammer slamming into Little Dot's body. Though Silver Moon blocked the front, he still spat blood and was sent flying.

"Shoot him!"

Bei Village's chief, Bei Liqing, looked icy. His smile had long vanished as he ordered everyone to fire rapidly and kill Little Dot while he was in midair.

"Ah!"

Little Dot screamed. Two Silver Moons spun around his body with ringing clangs, cutting apart swathes of arrows. Broken arrowheads piled across the ground, glinting with cold light.

Yet one of his small legs was struck by another arrow. Blood dyed his little trouser leg red. He cried out in his childish voice as he struggled on. After falling to the ground, he looked back at the Azure-Scaled Eagle, then staggered toward the people of Bei Village.

Silver Moon was like a blade, dazzling and brilliant. Two moons flew out at once, blood spraying everywhere. He slaughtered wildly, and seventeen or eighteen people from Bei Village fell into pools of blood on the spot, throwing them into terrified chaos.

"Keep shooting that Azure-Scaled Eagle. This time, show no mercy—nail it to death!" Chief Bei Liqing ordered coldly.

"Wooo..."

Strange cries shook the air as swathes of iron arrows flew toward the Azure-Scaled Eagle. The situation had reached the brink of catastrophe.

Little Dot's big eyes were bloodshot, tears already streaming down his little face. A wave of helplessness washed over him. If he did not go back to rescue it, the Azure-Scaled Eagle would most likely die. But if he turned back, he would again be trapped. Sooner or later, he would either collapse from exhaustion or be shot dead.

"You... you are all evil people!" It was the sorrowful cry of a child.

"Bei Liqing, you shameless dog! You would even scheme against a child like this—are you still human?!" A furious roar rang out.

At the same time, arrows swept over like locusts crossing the land, and flying spears fell like meteors. Dense attacks rained down, and waves of screams rose from Bei Village.

The people of Stone Village had arrived. Leading them was Old Chief Shi Yunfeng, along with Shi Linhu, Shi Feijiao, and the others. All of them were so enraged their hair seemed to stand on end, firing and killing without pause.

"Chirp chirp..."

Roc, Little Green, and Purple Cloud flapped their wings and charged over, their feet pounding the ground. Though they could not yet truly fly, they were still incredibly fast. They rushed toward the Azure-Scaled Eagle, all crying mournfully.

The three young birds each threw themselves over one wound, using their own bodies to block the iron arrows. They wailed without end, rubbing their heads against their mother's body, each cry like blood weeping.

Iron arrows from Bei Village struck their scales with ringing clangs. But they were still young, and their scales were not yet so hard. Traces of blood appeared.

"You bastards from Bei Village, all of you can go to hell!" Shi Linhu roared.

"Counterattack, but do not kill those three young birds. Capture them alive and bring them back to the village. In the future, they will be extraordinary birds comparable to sacrificial spirits!" Bei Village's chief's eyes burned as he stared at the three young birds, wishing he could seize them at once.

The melee began. Iron spears whirled, broadswords cleaved, and the people from both sides rushed together in a savage battle.

"Grandpa Chief!" Little Dot shouted.

When the adults saw that the little fellow's arm and leg had both been pierced by iron arrows, blood flowing nonstop, their hearts ached. Roaring in fury, they charged forward.

"Don't be afraid, child!"

"I'm fine. Grandpa Chief, save Auntie Azure-Scaled Eagle quickly." Little Dot wiped away his tears, then gave a cry and charged toward the people of Bei Village. Silver Moon rose, and a long spray of blood immediately burst forth. Seven or eight people screamed as severed arms flew through the air. It was an extremely bloody sight.

"Bei Liqing, you wolf-like creature! Are you trying to break the rules of the Great Wilderness? Survival is hard for us all. Neighboring villages have never gone to war. What are you trying to do?" Chief Shi Yunfeng shouted furiously.

Of course, though he demanded this aloud, he had already given the order: this time, there would be no mercy. Kill without pardon. Fight to the bitter end.

"You cannot blame me. The Suanni's precious body and the Li-Fire Bull Demon's horn are both supreme treasures. Who would not be tempted? Besides, our village's sacrificial spirit is about to break through and urgently needs a great quantity of true blood."

"What? The sacrificial spirit is about to break through?" Shi Yunfeng was startled. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the mountain forest, symbols faintly appearing along one arm. His hands moved quickly as he took out a jade jar, poured out medicinal powder, and treated the Azure-Scaled Eagle's poison.

Little Dot's eyes had completely gone blood-red. At this point, no people from Bei Village remained around him. Severed arms carpeted the ground; more than twenty people had been struck by Silver Moon.

Suddenly, a brilliant scatter of light emerged from a thicket, rushing over at incredible speed and enveloping Little Dot's area. Puffs sounded out as six or seven people from Stone Village were pierced through on the spot. They fell into pools of blood, rolling around in agony.

Clang!

Though Little Dot had Silver Moon blocking the attack, his shoulder was still grazed, leaving a terrifying gash from which blood streamed.

"A treasure artifact!" someone cried out.

A pale-faced youth, lurking among the grass and trees like a wolf, had launched a surprise attack on Little Dot at the critical moment. One of those motes of light had nearly pierced his throat.

It was Bei Feng, the genius youth whom Shi Hao had defeated not long ago, and whose bones had been broken by the people of Stone Village. His injuries had not yet fully healed, yet he remained calm, his expression cold and sinister.

"It is not only you who has a treasure artifact. I have one too." Bei Feng did not spare a glance for those people from Stone Village rolling in pools of blood, listening to their howls with composure and indifference.

That rain of light flew back and circled his wrist, becoming a string of beast fangs. Every fang was snow-white and crystalline, exceedingly beautiful.

How could someone who did not understand Bone Script use a treasure artifact? Many people were astonished.

"Uncles!" Little Dot cried anxiously, hurrying to help the middle-aged men pierced by the motes of light. Their injuries were extremely severe; their internal organs had been torn open, and they could die at any moment.

Whoosh!

Bei Feng flicked his wrist, and another rain of light flew out, streaking across the sky like a shower of meteors—dazzling and beautiful, yet unimaginably lethal.

"I hate that I was too kind. I let you go last time, but this time, I will never forgive you!" Little Dot's childish face was full of determination and resolve.