Chapter Forty-Five: The Elders Take Action

Nearly a hundred thousand savage beasts surged toward the Yi tribe, a settlement of only a few thousand souls. Standing atop the stone walls, every warrior could feel the trembling beneath their feet, as though the very ramparts might collapse at any moment.

This assault was even more terrifying than before, for among the horde were several hundred fierce monsters. The cry went up—“Kill!”—and in that instant, every tribesman fought with desperate resolve. Ignoring their exhaustion, they unleashed every last ounce of strength, sending volley after volley of arrows skyward. With each rain of arrows, scores of beasts fell dead.

Suddenly, three hundred paces before Yi Tian, a blood python charged out—a thirty-zhang-long monstrosity, its entire body a deep crimson, shrouded in a red mist. This was a dreadful beast that devoured blood; the vapor it emitted was lethal, poisoning the blood of any who inhaled it, killing them instantly.

Yi Tian abandoned his Blood-marked Bow and drew forth the Dragon’s Roar. Nocking a Piercing Arrow, he narrowed his eyes, and a surge of pure Yang energy erupted from within him.

The Ninth Wave of the Stacked Surge Technique!

Thunder crashed as if the heavens themselves split open. Yi Tian loosed a breathtaking arrow, a blaze of fire trailing a long arc of light, which struck the charging python square in the head. With a deafening explosion, the serpent’s skull shattered, blood and flesh splattering in all directions; more than half its head was obliterated, and the remainder charred black—dead beyond doubt. Even so, its massive body writhed upon the earth for some time before finally lying still.

Having slain the blood python, Yi Tian continued to loose Piercing Arrows, each one streaking through the air to strike down the monsters tens and hundreds of paces ahead, piercing their vitals and felling them in turn.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Li, Yi Kuang, and Yi Hong erupted as well. As seventh-tier warriors, they slew the monsters with all their might, each shot a killing blow—if not outright fatal, then grievously wounding their targets.

The Grand Chief Yi Ke, Vice Chief Yi Zhen, and other senior warriors of the tribe all joined the fray with their full strength. Thunderous crashes rang out unceasingly, each one heralding a mighty arrow brimming with true energy, claiming the life of another beast.

There were at least six or seven hundred fierce monsters, yet only the tribe’s elite warriors—no more than a few dozen—could bring them down. Each of these champions faced ten or more monsters apiece. Even so, within the range of their attacks, a seventh-tier warrior could slay but one or two monsters before the rest broke through.

Bereft of the elites’ suppression, the ordinary warriors—already exhausted—could barely hold their ground. Thousands of savage beasts surged closer, reaching the base of the stone walls, battering them, sending shards of rock flying. Some monsters crashed directly against the walls, their terrifying blows causing the ramparts to tremble, ready to collapse at any moment. Beasts unleashed fire, frost, and poisonous mist upon the defenders, and casualties began to mount atop the walls. The tribe’s defenses teetered on the brink of disaster.

Only those places held by Yi Tian’s Reincarnation Squad, the Grand Chief, the Vice Chief, and a handful of other champions remained steadfast. Any beast that approached was immediately slain; those attacking the walls were swiftly dispatched, posing little threat.

Yi Tian and his companions saw the situation and grew deeply anxious. The tribe’s defenses were being battered relentlessly. In many places, monsters had broken through, and warriors were locked in brutal close-quarters combat; the casualties began to climb, the scene growing ever more tragic.

Yi Tian could only fight with all his might, shooting down every beast that reached the walls. Even from a thousand paces, his arrows could wound or kill, forestalling the collapse of their defenses and making him the most dazzling figure on the battlefield—even the Grand Chief Yi Ke could not match him.

“How can this boy Yi Tian be so formidable? I’m not even a tenth as capable!” thought the Grand Chief, stunned as he slaughtered more monsters. He also noticed his son, Yi Hong, performing with astonishing prowess, felling monsters with a mere arrow or two, no less skilled than the other seventh-tier warriors. This filled Yi Ke with both shock and joy.

Yet as the numbers of monsters increased, even Yi Tian could not slay them as quickly as they arrived at the walls. The pressure mounted; countless beasts crowded against the ramparts. Some clambered over the bodies of their fallen kin, leaping atop the walls and erupting into fierce battles with the defenders. The fall of the tribe seemed imminent.

At that critical moment, thunderous roars echoed from the mountaintop. In the next instant, several figures radiating overwhelming power charged down from above. Each wielded a mighty longbow, shooting arrows like lightning, piercing the skulls of monsters hundreds of paces away, felling them with a single shot.

Yi Tian and Yi Feng recognized the newcomers—at last, the elders of the tribe had joined the fight.

With the intervention of the six elders, the monsters assaulting the tribe suffered devastating losses; within a dozen breaths, those attacking the walls were utterly wiped out.

A cheer rose from the weary defenders, washing away their despair in an instant. The elders unleashed their true power, torrents of true energy swirling around them like gods of war. Every arrow they fired could pierce a thousand paces, slaying monsters with effortless ease. Together, the six elders cleansed the defenses of every threatening beast, easing the pressure on the front lines and stabilizing the crisis.

Yi Tian breathed a sigh of relief at their appearance. Had the tribe been overrun by this monstrous horde, he had no confidence he could lead his mother, Little Dragon, and Little Ting safely through the calamity.

At the same time, he was astonished by the elders’ strength. Each had reached the ninth tier, and the power they displayed far surpassed that of ordinary ninth-tier warriors. Their true energy was extraordinarily refined, its strength nearly matching his own pure Yang energy. His pure Yang energy, cultivated through a supreme earth-grade technique, was far denser than that of most ninth-tier warriors. Yet in both refinement and capacity, the elders’ true energy was not far behind. Their decades of experience and skill in battle made their combat ability even more fearsome than Yi Tian’s.

With the elders’ intervention, the tide of battle turned. The warriors, given a precious respite, threw themselves into the slaughter with renewed vigor. With the six elders and Yi Tian’s team of warriors—each stronger than the average ninth-tier champion—even advanced monsters were no match for their might, falling in droves.

Meanwhile, the rest of the tribe formed an unbreakable line, blocking the charge of thousands of beasts. The roar of battle shook the heavens.

Then, from the distant mountains, a monstrous beast of several hundred zhang erupted forth, its entire body wreathed in flame. It swept across the land like a living inferno, hills and earth turning instantly to molten lava, half the sky ablaze with crimson.

As they beheld this fire god-like behemoth, every soul in the tribe was struck with terror. If such a creature had attacked their settlement, they would have been annihilated without resistance.

Fortunately, the monster spared no heed to their little tribe and soon vanished into the distance.

Only after it disappeared did the people feel as though they had narrowly escaped death’s gate. Their battle with the beasts and monsters raged on, the carnage growing ever more intense.