"Have they entered yet?" Jiang Chen was lounging idly on the Peacock Sacred Mountain, waiting for news. After receiving intelligence from the Gold-Munching Mouse clan, he'd learned that Ancestor Bitter Bamboo and the leaders of the other three major tribes had all entered the Ancient Nuo King's tent.
"Chen Shao, absolutely confirmed." The Gold-Munching Mouse King's tone was firm.
Jiang Chen rose leisurely to his feet and laughed heartily, his spirits soaring. "As they say, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Forcing their surrender without a single battle — now that is the true kingly way."
Truthfully, having assembled such a vast military force, Jiang Chen wasn't afraid of waging war against the Barbarian Race. But he genuinely didn't want to fight them.
The Barbarians' combat strength was terrifying. Even clashing with them within the borders of the Glazed King City would result in both sides suffering devastating losses. And even if he won, it would be nothing more than a pyrrhic victory.
That was not the outcome Jiang Chen wanted.
Especially considering how many of his subordinates — living, breathing people with families and feelings — had been by his side through thick and thin. In a great battle of this scale, countless numbers of them could be separated from their loved ones forever, torn between life and death. Just the thought of it made Jiang Chen's heart recoil.
"The timing should be just about right," he said lightly. He summoned the eight brothers of the Giant Stone Clan. "All of you, come along with this Young Master to liven things up!"
"Everyone else — prepare yourselves and assemble on standby. Await my command."
…
Inside the Ancient Nuo King's tent, the divine beast beside Ancestor Bitter Bamboo had suddenly grown agitated and restless, letting out low, incessant growls, its pupils filled with a nameless anxiety.
"Divine beast, battle is imminent — what madness has seized you?" Ancestor Bitter Bamboo scolded.
The divine beast merely continued to snarl in agitation. The bristle-like fur at the corners of its mouth had stood up one by one, emitting a savage roar.
"What's going on?" Ancestor Bitter Bamboo communed with the beast.
A moment later, the old ancestor's expression shifted subtly. He drew upon his sea of qi — and discovered a strange, inexplicable weakness in it.
Compared to his usual state of overflowing vitality, the difference was like heaven and earth.
How could this be?
Astonished, Ancestor Bitter Bamboo raised both hands like blades, thrusting them upward. They transformed into two invisible edges of sharpness, cleaving the tent cleanly in two.
The tent collapsed to both sides with a resounding crash, and everyone was once again exposed to the open sky.
Inside this tent had gathered nearly all the upper echelon of the four great Barbarian tribes. Every last one of them was staring at Ancestor Bitter Bamboo with mouths agape.
They were clearly bewildered, utterly at a loss as they looked toward the old ancestor.
"Old Ancestor, what's happened?" someone asked, confusion plain on his face.
Ancestor Bitter Bamboo's fierce gaze shot toward the Ancient Nuo King. "What have you done to this tent?"
The Ancient Nuo King had already drifted several dozen zhang away. His expression was cold and sinister, a faint, contemptuous smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "Old Ancestor, what could I have done? You suddenly flew into a rage — whatever for?"
Ancestor Bitter Bamboo was nearly mad with fury. He bellowed, "You lot, with your thick skulls — have you not yet realized you've been poisoned?"
The people of the other three tribes all blanched at his words and hurriedly checked their bodies. The moment they did, every face turned ashen white in an instant.
Evidently, nearly everyone discovered at almost the same time that their purple mansions and seas of qi were completely hollow — utterly drained of energy, with not a scrap of power to be mustered.
"This… what is this?" The Yuan Qiang King was completely stunned, his voice trembling with a nameless terror. This sudden catastrophe had thrown him into utter shock.
The Bei King wore a furious expression, glaring at the Ancient Nuo King. "It must be your doing! You came all the way from the Moon God Sect's territory to the Heavenly Dragon Sect's territory, crossing all those perilous regions, sweeping through the Heavenly Dragon School and the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect. By all rights, you should have been the last to arrive! But when I got here, your tent was already set up! And then you conveniently invited everyone inside — there was definitely a scheme!"
The Ancient Nuo King retorted sharply, "You can eat the wrong food, but you'd better not spout the wrong words. Bei King, I may have had some friction with you before, but there's no need to slander me with such reckless accusations, is there?"
Ancestor Bitter Bamboo stared coldly at the Ancient Nuo King. "If you had nothing to hide, why did you retreat so far? And every one of us has been poisoned, our movements restricted — yet you were able to shoot dozens of zhang away in a single instant. Even now, do you still intend to deny it?"
Seeing that Ancestor Bitter Bamboo had seen through everything completely, the Ancient Nuo King decided to drop the act altogether.
"That's right, I did it," he declared loudly. "Every one of you has been hit with a potent poison. This poison will leave your entire body weak and limp, stripping you of all strength and robbing you of your combat ability. Is that direct enough?"
With this confession, the scene fell deathly silent. Every face was etched with pain, disbelief, and despair.
The Bei King let out a bitter laugh. "I knew it — I knew you had treachery written on the back of your skull! Old Ancestor, while we still have some fight left in us, we must cut this bastard down! Seize the antidote from him!"
The Ancient Nuo King threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Antidote? You think I have an antidote on hand? When I was first struck with this same poison, I had exactly the same idea — seize the antidote. But the cruel irony is, the harder you struggle, the worse it acts up. Ha ha ha ha!"
At that moment, the forces of the other three tribes also came rushing in from every direction.
Ancestor Bitter Bamboo shouted, "Halt! Don't approach this area — the poison hasn't fully dissipated yet!"
The warriors of the three great tribes, cut off mid-advance by the old ancestor's commanding roar, froze in their tracks.
"Surround this place! Don't let a single one of those Ancient Nuo Clan bastards escape!" the Bei King bellowed.