In the blink of an eye, the three Grand Shamans had already erupted into a furious clash, their battlefield rapidly ascending until it vanished above the cloud layer, beyond all sight.
Boom, boom, boom...
Three hundred warriors from the Rage Flame Tribe and the Wild Wind Tribe charged in simultaneously. Where their iron hooves trod, the stone fortress's defenses crumbled into chaos. Agile sharpshooters scrambled up onto the stone walls, drawing their bows and loosing arrows—the shrill whistles of shafts splitting the air never ceased, toppling Bone-Eating Tribe warriors one after another.
A coordinated assault from within and without had caught the Bone-Eating Tribe completely off guard. These clan members, barely roused from their satiated feasts and sleep, could not even muster half their usual fighting prowess. Dozens fell dead or wounded in an instant.
But after a brief moment of stunned shock, the bloodthirsty and savage Bone-Eating Tribe finally rallied. Nearly twenty Shamans scattered throughout their ranks began chanting incantations, bestowing all manner of shamanic buffs upon their kinsmen.
Two batches of barbarian tribes, each numbering in the hundreds, collided head-on. One side charged fearlessly under the cover of their own archers, while the other, driven to frenzy by the scent of blood, roared and howled as they slammed together.
The earth itself seemed to wail.
The battlefield instantly became a colossal meat grinder—blood spraying, flesh tearing, barbarian warriors falling one after another.
Yang Kai withdrew his gaze from the skies above the clouds and glanced down at the chaotic, brutal battle below. His brows furrowed slightly, and with a flicker of his figure, he materialized above the gathered Bone-Eating Tribe clansmen.
The Hundred Million Sword hummed as a streak of sword-light lashed out from its tip.
Without any warning, without a sound, the flash of that radiance carved a long, empty swathe through the clustered Bone-Eating Tribe members. Every one who had stood in its path was reduced to fine powder and vanished without a trace.
The clamorous battlefield fell silent for a single heartbeat. Every pair of eyes turned upward.
The Bone-Eating Tribe clansmen's gazes were filled with terror, while the Rage Flame and Wild Wind warriors stared in delighted disbelief. No one had imagined that this seemingly frail-looking fellow could unleash such devastating power with a single strike.
*Whoosh!* A beam of blood-light shot upward from below, coiling into a blood serpent that lunged at Yang Kai with its maw wide open.
This was a shamanic art of the Bone-Eating Tribe—mysterious and difficult to guard against. When the serpent's jaws gaped, a putrid, nauseating stench wafted forth, clearly laden with deadly poison. If it managed to bite, the outcome would be anything but pleasant.
Yet Yang Kai didn't even spare it a glance. Under the horrified stares of the Rage Flame and Wild Wind clansmen, he casually raised one hand, grasped at empty air, and caught the blood serpent in his palm. He clenched hard, and with a wet splatter, the serpent burst apart into a puddle of thick gore that rained down from the sky.
Simultaneously, a Shaman among the Bone-Eating Tribe let out a muffled grunt as threads of blood trickled from his seven orifices.
That blood serpent had been his killing trump card—his ultimate hidden weapon, nurtured from his own vital essence blood. With it destroyed by Yang Kai, he suffered a significant backlash.
His combat experience was clearly considerable. Seeing his blood serpent dismantled so effortlessly, he knew he was no match for this man. With a flicker of his body, he tried to melt into the crowd.
But Yang Kai had already hurled the Hundred Million Sword in a backhand throw. The blade transformed into a streak of flowing light, sweeping through the crowd in a circle before piercing straight through the Bone-Eating Shaman's chest from the front and out through his back. It spun once and returned to Yang Kai's hand.
With a clatter, over a dozen Bone-Eating Tribe members collapsed.
The targeted Shaman fared no better—his Shaman-grade sorcery shield had been as flimsy as paper before the Hundred Million Sword, offering absolutely no defensive value whatsoever.
The remaining Bone-Eating Tribe clansmen were truly terrified now. Horror filled their eyes as they stumbled back several paces.
Even their own Shaman had been killed in an instant. Who among them could possibly stop this man's advance? Only Lord You might have stood a chance—but Lord You had been dragged away to the clouds above by the enemy and was utterly unable to break free.
"ROAR!"
The Rage Flame warriors bellowed in triumph. Seizing the moment as the Bone-Eating tribesmen shrank back in fear, they surged forward in a fierce charge. Upon contact, the Bone-Eating forces—numerous but thoroughly cowed—were forced to retreat step by step.
Yang Kai gave Ya a nod from within the crowd, then shifted his steps and departed the battlefield.
Though his two sword strikes had given the Rage Flame and Wild Wind forces an enormous advantage, crushing the Bone-Eating Tribe's courage and morale, his allies still numbered only half as many. Prolonged fighting might not sustain the upper hand.
He had a far more important task to attend to.
He soon arrived at the stone fortress he had scouted earlier. The enemy raid had drawn every last Bone-Eating tribesman outside, so when he charged into the fortress, no one stood in his way. Then again, even if someone had, they could never have blocked his path.
His divine sense swept outward in a circle, and Yang Kai quickly located an entrance leading underground in one corner of the fortress. He pushed open the stone door and descended.
A pungent, foul smell clung to the air. Somewhere deep below, a faint glow of firelight flickered.
He soon entered what resembled a dungeon. His footsteps alarmed the Bone-Eating clansman guarding the cells. A muffled voice called out from ahead: "What's happening up top?"
Yang Kai did not answer and continued forward.
"I asked you what's happening up top!" The man's temper was clearly short, and he couldn't help but roar.
What answered him was a glint of cold light in the darkness.
Yang Kai brushed past him. The man's head leapt from his shoulders. His burly body swayed twice before toppling face-up, blood spurting from his severed neck with a hiss, staining the ground a deep crimson.
This sudden turn of events threw the other Bone-Eating guards at the dungeon into utter panic. But before any of them could so much as move, the Hundred Million Sword was already airborne, reaping their lives as if harvesting straw.
Recalling the sword, Yang Kai swept his gaze left and right. The underground prison was divided into over a dozen cells, each packed to capacity. Pairs of eyes—startled yet brimming with desperate hope—stared up at him.
"Ah Niu?"