Volcanic Age

Chapter 191: The Qinghua Allied Forces (2)

Meanwhile, as the Allied Forces held their strategy meeting, the Major Tribes also prepared for the bloodshed that was sure to come.

The forces that had subdued the Southern Jungles through force alone gathered together for the first time in years to hold a long-awaited meeting of the tribes.

At a round marble table sat three people, each with their own unique individuality.

The most striking among them wore a mask made of buffalo bones. His imposing stature was intimidating and he was nearly nine chi tall, making him look inhuman.[1]

He was the leader and Great Warrior of the Beast Tribe, Black Buffalo.

"We're going to be acting separately anyway, was it really necessary for us to gather like this?" Black Buffalo asked, breaking the silence.

"I agree."

A nod came from the other side. He was the chief of the Poison Insect Tribe.

Unlike the norm in the Southern Jungles, his skin was as pale as a corpse. He also looked quite young for a chief.

However, none of that mattered. What really caught one's eye were the bugs crawling on his skin.

The sight of not just one or two but dozens of bugs was repulsive.

"This woman also agrees."

It was a cold, dignified voice. The owner of the voice was a beautiful woman who could be mistaken for a fairy.

Her hair, which barely reached her collarbone, was so red that it seemed as though it would burst into flames, and her skin was healthy and tanned.

Her figure was undeniably striking, her voluptuous body stirring lust within the other two. However, they had to hold themselves back when considering her status.

Because she was the matriarch of the Au Co Tribe.

"Good. Then everyone do what you will."

Black Buffalo let out a satisfied laugh and got up from his seat. The other two chieftains also took their leave.

****

Boom, boom, boom.

A drummer struck his drum, its majestic sound echoing far and wide.

The ground trembled, almost as if an earthquake had struck, as three thousand troops moved in perfect unison. The strange leaves, vines, and jungle detritus were helpless in front of them, easily cut down and discarded.

After marching wildly, the Allied Forces stopped in front of the temple.

"Look!"

Ye Li raised his voice.

"A group of barbarians who call themselves the Major Tribes and committed all kinds of atrocities have come here in fear!"

The temple, which had been the territory of the Cannibal Tribe until just recently, was now occupied by those of the Major Tribes.

"Growl!"

Agile beasts with muscular bodies roared fiercely, their fangs visible in their jaws as they watched their enemy appear.

"Listen, proud soldiers of Qinghua!"

Ye Li pulled out his decorative sword and raised it above his head.

"Do we not already know the heinous actions of the barbarians? Think carefully!"

The eyes of the Allied Forces soldiers turned bloodshot. Some of them couldn't hold back their anger as they cursed with hatred.

"They brutally raped our wives, the partners we promised our lives to, and brutally murdered our children, the apples of our eyes! Not only that, but our old and sick parents were taken away, never to return. Our wealth was plundered, leaving us to starve!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each of Ye Li's words, the sound of the drums echoed. The sound ignited the hearts of the Allied Forces.

Hatred and anger spread like wildfire, raising the morale of the three thousand soldiers.

"Don't hold back any longer, warriors! Let us show those who have abandoned humanity and morality and have become worse than beasts, an example!"

ROAR!

"Let's go!"

"Let's gooooo!"

Ye Li was their leader and commander.

The momentum of the Allied Forces, influenced by his shouts, was truly overwhelming. It was almost electrifying.

The three thousand troops stormed the temple.

"It's the enemy!"

Howl!!!

A wolf the size of a man howled loudly.

The Beast Tribesmen echoed the beastly howl and kicked off the ground. A thousand warriors rushed in.

Usually, in a normal war, it was common to begin the battle with bows before engaging in close combat. However, the Southern Jungles were an exception.

Since the leaves, vines, and trees were so densely packed, it was difficult to hit one's enemies unless one was a skilled archer. Thus, it wasn't used that often.

That was why wars in the Southern Jungles were specialized in close combat and why the first clash was so fierce.

"Ugh!"

"Agh!"

"My arm!!"

The chaotic battle was fierce, and the sheer number of combatants was overwhelming. From above, there were so many people fighting that it seemed grotesque.

While the Cannibal Tribe's temple wasn't small, it wasn't large enough to contain three or even four thousand people.

The situation was bound to escalate into an all-out melee. Fortunately, there was a temple in the center, allowing for the battle to spill over there. With no room to stand, warriors ended up getting pushed up the stairs of the temple or up the hill.

"Die!"

The Allied Forces soldiers fought systematically. Perhaps due to their military training, they were quite skilled at fighting in a group.

Their main weapons were Jungle Blades and spears.

A Jungle Blade was essential for survival in the Southern Jungles. Naturally, their weaponry skills and Jungle Blade mastery had to be well-developed.

While they weren't as good with them as the Cannibal Tribe, they were still quite skilled.

The Beast Tribe warriors who rushed at them with their curved sabers or wolves dropped to the ground, blood splattering from their wounds.

As for their spears, the Allied Forces used short spears, not long ones.

Even if they had long spears, it would be too difficult to use them because they would get caught in the thickly growing trees.

In fact, blades and knives were better than spears here. These short spears were only developed because they were used to stab enemies hiding in the bushes.

The soldiers fought against the barbarians, recalling their memories of training back to back.

"Howl!!"

In comparison, the Beast Tribe moved haphazardly. They fought more like animals than humans.

However, that didn't mean that they were easy to deal with.

As if to prove that they weren't one of the Major Tribes of the Southern Jungles for nothing, their strength was horrifying.

The harmony between humans and beasts was scarier than one might have imagined. The screams of those bitten were brutal.

"Hmph."

The leader of the Beast Tribe, Black Buffalo, snorted.

"Is this all they amount to?"

Numbers were meaningless in front of Black Buffalo.

While the difference in numbers was more than half, that didn't matter. After all, wasn't the difference between their individual strengths and his just as wide?

"Still, I commend you for using your wits and leading all of your forces to fight together."

No one could have imagined that the Qinghua Allied Forces wouldn't split up and would attack directly with the three thousand troops.

It was because of their bold attack that the entire Beast Tribe was fighting like this. However, this was more to Black Buffalo's style.

After all, the Allied Forces were just a bunch of fools with their superior numbers. Or, at least, that was what he thought.

The battlefield was extremely fierce. A melee where it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand just by looking down at it from above.

However, there were some who stood out even in the midst of the screams. Some unfamiliar-looking martial artists.

"That bitch is mine!"

A Beast Tribe warrior, his body covered in hair, opened his eyes wide as he caught sight of the Poison Phoenix, Tang Hui.

The Beast Tribe were closer to beasts than humans. They often allowed themselves to succumb to their primal desires, like their sexual desires.

Even in the midst of the battle, this warrior was filled with so much lust that he groped at his groin and laughed viciously.

"You dare! That's mine!"

"How 'bout you let me rape you?!"

Their laughter and crude comments were incredibly vulgar. No less than six warriors of the Beast Tribe rushed at Tang Hui while riding their wolves.

"Huh?"

The moment the first warrior charged forward while raising a cloud of dust, his wolf, with its mouth wide open, blinked and fell forward. The momentum threw the warrior off the wolf's back and he tumbled forward, rolling across the ground.

His neck snapped on impact, and he died instantly, his face frozen in confusion.

"Saying such nonsense to the Miss…"

Tang Hui's guard, Yuan Dashi, stepped forward protectively.

"Poison?"

The remaining nine warriors shuddered and stopped abruptly. Their instincts screamed in their heads, warning them.

"Don't forgive them!"

"We've received your order!"

With Yuan Dashi in the lead, the warriors of the Tang Family followed closely behind. Tang Lian threw poison alongside them, his beard swaying with his every movement.

"Ugh!"

"Agh!"

Half of the attackers clutched their stomachs as the poison spread through their bodies, collapsing onto the ground. The other half hurriedly took out antidotes from their bags and tried to consume them. However, they never got the chance to do so.

Duan Hecheng's sword slashed through their necks as if condemning them.

"Growl!"

While the warriors of the Beast Tribe had all died, the wolves riding below them remained. They were all still alive.

The massive beasts howled, either in mourning for their masters or in rage, and charged at Duan Hecheng. As they were much larger than normal, their strength was intimidating.

Moreover, it was the combined force of four of them.

"Move."

However, before they could even attempt to get revenge, they were suddenly thrown through the air by an unseen force. Their bodies slammed to the ground with incredible force, their howls replaced by pitiful whimpers.

Zhou Xuchuan stepped past Duan Hecheng, grabbing an Allied Forces soldier by the back of the neck and pulling him away from a wolf's snapping jaws.

"Agh!"

The soldier gasped as he stumbled backward, the wolf's teeth snapping shut right where he had just stood.

"You dare?!"

Zhou Xuchuan clenched his right hand into a fist and swung it roughly.

Bang!

The fist landed like a hammer on the wolf's head. The sound of cracking bone echoed as its skull shattered completely.

"Huh?"

His sharp senses detected something unusual, prompting him to pause and shift his gaze to the side.

Swish!

The air seemed to tear as something flew toward him, drawing an arc through the air like a meteor.

"An arrow?"

His surprised words slipped out naturally as his hand moved reflexively, catching the arrow mere inches from his neck.

Archery was a dead art in the Southern Jungles. No one ever used it. However, an arrow had come flying toward him, which was surprising.

He turned toward the direction the arrow had come from, trying to find its source. All he could see was the densely packed forest.

He poured his qi into his eyes, hoping to see something. Once his eyesight temporarily improved, he could finally see beyond the leaves.

An archer?

There was an archer sitting on a thick tree branch, firing arrows with his bow. He had a mask that reminded Zhou Xuchuan of a hawk.

"Does he know how to use the power of a bird or something?" Zhou Xuchuan muttered in mock admiration.

Did he notice me? The man in the hawk mask was also surprised. However, he quickly dismissed the thought.

The distance between them was considerable. Even within his tribe, there was no one capable of seeing this far.

Thinking that his target had only noticed the direction in which the arrow had come from, he moved over to the tree to his side.

Squeak.

He nocked another arrow on his bow and pulled it with all his might.

Thinking that his target had only blocked his attack by coincidence, he squinted his eyes. Suddenly, his breath got caught in his hawk mask.

What filled his vision wasn't his target, Zhou Xuchuan, it was a dagger, flying in a straight line toward him.

Squelch!

He didn't even have time to let out a single scream. The man in the hawk mask fell backward from the tree with a dagger stuck in his forehead.

The expression revealed as his mask fell off was one of disbelief and shock at the attack.

1. Mans is ten feet tall. ☜