The battle was over in three minutes.
Lin Xun’s body was riddled with wounds; the most serious amongst them from a strike to his shoulder. However, after nearly half a year of training in Kill Blood Camp, such wounds were nothing to Lin Xun.
His clothes were drenched in blood but most of it belonged to his enemies. The blood paired with his cold face made him give off an invisible heart-palpitating aura.
Blood dripped from his blade. The enemies had all been killed and the ground was littered with corpses and bloody patches.
However, even all this failed to quench the burning hatred in Lin Xun’s heart.
Man-eaters!
They’re lower than animals!
The inhumane acts these brutes had committed against the empire’s soldiers had eternally damned them as beasts in Lin Xun’s heart!
A wave of cheers suddenly erupted, breaking the austere atmosphere.
The imprisoned empire soldiers had recovered from their shock and could not help but cheer emotionally.Everyone’s faces were filled with various emotions such as gratitude and excitement.
They knew that they were finally saved from this nightmare-like encounter!
However, this sight did not make Lin Xun the least bit happy.
Demon Cloud Ridge was humongous and had been a war zone between the empire and the brute race for many years. It was impossible for similar incidents to have only happened a handful of times.
In fact, it was likely that the same thing was occurring at this very moment in every war zone between the empire and the brute race!
Lin Xun understood that this was the reality of war. What he needed to do was to get used to it and deal with it the best he could.
……
Under Lin Xun’s arrangement, the twenty or so empire soldiers that had been captured managed to leave the camp supporting each other.
Lin Xun stayed behind.
As a temporary camp set up by the brute race, there were quite a number of goods here such as ores and herbs. There were also weapons like bows and swords.
Lin Xun began to move. He first cut off the brute totem runes from the twenty-three dead brute experts before picking out any weapons and herbs he could use.
In the end, Lin Xun hung the brute experts' corpses on sharp wooden stakes like scarecrows exposed to the elements.
Although it was very cruel, it was a form of intimidation and warning.
Eh?
When Lin Xun hung the last ninth-level Brute Slave’s corpse on a wooden stake, a bead had dropped from its mouth.
The bead was the size of a pigeon egg. It had a crystalline appearance and gave off a bewitching blue glow. Sea-like qi seemed to heave inside of it as if it contained an entire ocean, making anyone who looked at it feel an aura of mysterious vastness.
Lin Xun picked it up and immediately felt a bone-chilling cold burrow into his body. He shivered uncontrollably, feeling as if his qi had been frozen to slush.
What a strange bead!
Lin Xun’s eyes narrowed. This toy was likely some treasure, but he was unable to decipher its abilities for the time being.
He looked at the ninth-level Brute Slave corpse again and faintly recalled that it belonged to a leader-like figure in the camp.
A treasure found on such a person was likely no ordinary article.
After some contemplation, Lin Xun kept the mysterious blue bead in his storage ring. He planned to properly study it when he had time in the future.
Having done all this, Lin Xun packed up and stealthily left the camp.
……
The seven ninth-level Brute Slave expert returned less than fifteen minutes after Lin Xun left, accompanied by an additional member: a brute race elder in strange clothes.
The elder was tanned and thin and carried a bone staff made from the fang of a savage beast. If anyone familiar with the brute race was present, they would be able to recognize that the elder was dressed in the garb of a totem shaman, which represented his superior status and identity.
When the group returned to the camp, they were furious and alarmed to discover the corpses of their comrades hanging from stakes, causing them to curse out loud.
A brute expert returned from his investigation of the camp and reported with an enraged expression, “Shaman Ye Ling, they’re all dead…it must have been the handiwork of those human experts.”
“You bunch of useless fools!” The thin tanned elder called Shaman Ye Ling angrily cursed, “What are you guys still standing around for? Go and find Ba Tong!”
Ba Tong?
The brute experts were stunned before their expressions rapidly changed as if realizing something. They immediately set off and swiftly identified the corpse which belonged to the middle-aged leader of the camp.
One of the brute experts pried open Ba Tong’s mouth and carefully inspected it before crying out, “No! My clan’s Heavenly Water Sacred Bead is missing!”
Shaman Ye Ling’s entire body shook as his eyes gleamed an intimidating night-blue. He quickly walked towards the corpse and ruthlessly stabbed his bone staff into its heart.
Squelch!
Night-blue light pulsed along the staff and surged into the corpse as if searching for something.
A long time later, Shaman Ye Ling’s body jerked and he withdrew his staff. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead and his tanned, gaunt face was slightly pale.
“Useless! All of you are useless!”
Shaman Ye Ling roared, “Do you know how dearly our Water Tribe paid to take this treasure back from the humans? After painstakingly succeeding, everything ends up falling apart in your hands, you guys…have committed an unpardonable crime!”
The seven Brute Slave experts repeatedly kowtowed in terror.
They likewise never expected such a sudden turn of events despite the high secrecy of this matter. To safely transport this treasure back, they had not even dared to dispatch any powerful experts and had chosen to go through the complex terrain of Demon Cloud Ridge to avoid drawing the human experts’ attention.
Who could have imagined that the thing that they didn't want to see the most would happen?!
What do they do now?
The brute experts felt terrified at the thought of their sacred treasure being stolen back by the humans due to their negligence.
If the tribe were to mete out punishment, none of them would live to see another day!
One of the brute experts took a deep breath and said, “Shaman Ye Ling, according to my findings, the battle occurred not too long ago. Moreover, from the traces left behind, the culprit is likely a single individual. We might be able to save this if we act quickly!”
Shaman Ye Ling aggressively waved his bone staff and roared, “Then hurry up and go!”
The seven brute experts immediately moved out, not daring to delay a moment longer as they spread out and searched in different directions.
Shaman Ye Ling scolded again, “What a bunch of useless trash!”
No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t think of a better plan. He could only wait and hope that they would find a trial as soon as possible.
The Heavenly Water Sacred Bead was the Water Tribe’s sacred treasure, which had been lost to humans several hundred years ago. How could they lose it again after managing to get it back?
It was absolutely not allowed!
……
A spear-wielding brute expert flew towards a hill behind the camp. Just as he was about to reach the summit, a bloody smell suddenly entered his nostrils, causing his eyes to narrow as he jerked his head to the side.
The smell of blood was drifting out from some rocks there.
An ominous light flashed in the brute expert’s eyes as he carefully approached. However, he was surprised to find only a single bloody arm behind the rocks.
Shit!
It’s a trap!
The brute expert’s reaction was undeniably quick, instantly realizing that something was wrong. Just as he began to dodge to the side, he suddenly felt a chill up his back as a blade was thrust into his heart.
“Urgh…mhm…” The brute expert’s eyes bulged from their sockets as he tried to yell. However, only a weak sound was emitted from his throat as he silently crumpled to the ground.
Lin Xun appeared behind like a phantom, extracted the blade, and cut off the brute totem rune from the other party’s chest.
Lin Xun looked down before his figure leaped into the air and headed in another direction.
Shaman Ye Ling was pacing up and down in the camp, feeling inexplicably irritable as if something bad was about to happen.
However, he did not dare to leave. Although a Totem Shaman had high status, they were not adept at combat.
He did not notice the figure stealthily approaching from the shadow of the valley near the camp.
Twang!
The whistle of an arrow broke the silence in the camp, causing Shaman Ye Ling’s heart to jump. He instinctively threw himself to the side and a sharp arrow brushed past his scalp. It viciously struck the ground, releasing a spray of dirt and rocks.
Shaman Ye Ling crashed into the ground and quickly touched his head. The blood he found on his fingertips made his heart turn cold. If he had reacted just a split second slower…
“The culprit is here!” He howled in fear as he flipped to his feet and dashed away.
Lin Xun frowned in the shadow of the valley nearby, knowing that the opportunity was gone. He kept the bow without hesitation and turned around to leave.
The six brute experts, who had scattered to search, soon returned. Their expressions changed when they saw Shaman Ye Ling’s disheveled appearance.
“Quick give chase! That damned human trash fled in that direction!” Shaman Ye Ling pointed in a certain direction, his gaunt face filled with resentment.
A sinister-looking man whose face was covered in scars instructed, “Shui Zheng, you three stay with Shaman Ye Ling to protect him. The three of us will pursue that human expert.”
Someone could not help but say, “Big Bro Lie Ke, Mu Zhen isn’t back yet.”
“I believe he won’t be coming back.” The scar-face man called Lie Ke’s eyes flickered in thought, his expression filled with hatred, “Our enemy is very crafty and is likely a young expert from Ziyao Empire’s Blood Kill Camp. Only those youngsters are capable of such feats in Demon Cloud Ridge. Everyone must be more careful!”
After leaving this warning, he led two experts to give chase.
“No matter how great the price, we must seize back our sacred treasure!” Shaman Ye Ling loudly roared behind them. Blood dripped down his scalp, creating an exceptionally eerie sight.