The three Mist Blade Commanders stood in mid-air, emitting a sinister and bone-chilling laughter.
Wu Tie hid behind a clump of ferns, using a large mushroom to shield himself as he stared in confusion at the three Commanders.
Given the strength of the Mist Blade Commanders, they could easily deal with Elder Gu, Elder Lan, and Granny Chi. However, they chose to hide one of their own and sent three Family Heads to face Granny Chi instead.
Once the strength of the three Family Heads and Granny Chi were depleted, the hidden Commander would make his move.
Granny Chi was gravely injured and decided to self-destruct without any hesitation. The three Family Heads were blown to smithereens, while the three Commanders laughed triumphantly...
Finally, Wu Tie managed to decipher the truth after much effort.
This was all a setup. Not only were the two Elders and Granny Chi from the Longevity Sect manipulated, but the three Family Heads were also mere pawns. The true beneficiaries were the three Mist Blade Commanders.
In the stronghold of the Longevity Sect, all the slaves had given up resistance and knelt on the ground.
Over a thousand people were killed or beheaded, and two to three thousand Stunted Dwarves and Rock Gnomes became the spoils of war for the Mist Blade. Hundreds of servant warriors from the Longevity Sect also dropped their weapons and were enslaved, wearing shackles and chains.
The most bewildered and helpless were the warriors from the three families. Their Family Heads had perished, and for some unknown reason, the core figures in the battle had all suffered severe injuries or death.
Without leadership, the eight Commanders of the Mist Blade only needed to intimidate the warriors of the three families a few times to turn them into the Mist Blade's subordinates.
Elder Gu and Elder Lan managed to escape, but their ferries did not have time to flee.
On the three wooden boats, nearly a hundred young men and women were left stranded in this otherworldly place.
Faced with the threat from the three Commanders, these young men and women obediently surrendered.
In a short time, the Mist Blade assassins took control of the situation. The stronghold that the Longevity Sect had poured great effort into building, the slaves they had laboriously transported here, the artificial sun on the dome, the painstakingly developed farms—all became the spoils of war for the Mist Blade.
For the next half month, Wu Tie observed as the Mist Blade employed tactics similar to those of the Longevity Sect, continuously sneaking in a large number of reinforcements through stealthy boats from the outside.
Those who were brought over by the Longevity Sect were all strong slaves and warriors.
The Mist Blade, on the other hand, brought people of all ages and both genders. Wu Tie happened to approach the huts in the stronghold twice and heard the crying of the elderly, weak, and women. To his astonishment, the Mist Blade was bringing over all the members of the three families.
The treacherous Underworld River, hidden deep within the rock, had caused heavy casualties to people from the three families along the way.
So these days, cries for fathers and mothers echoed by the riverside. Countless people worked under the scolding of Mist Blade assassins, cultivating crops, constructing huts, and raising livestock.
A gloomy cloud hung over the stronghold, but as more people were brought in, the stronghold began to operate in an orderly manner.
Another month passed, and over two thousand members of the three families, along with nearly thirty thousand slaves and family warriors, had all been brought to the stronghold. The scale of the stronghold had increased significantly, and the unfamiliar crops, which Wu Tie did not recognize, were growing luxuriantly in the cultivated fields, their tender shoots more than a foot tall.
It became increasingly difficult for Wu Tie to approach the stronghold.
The Mist Blade truly lived up to its reputation as an assassin organization. They set up an extremely professional early warning system near the stronghold, using various treacherous traps that made it almost impossible for Wu Tie to approach. In addition, there were some magical warning devices that rendered Wu Tie powerless.
These warning devices were densely scattered within an area of dozens of miles, complemented by an astonishingly sensitive rat-like creature brought by the Mist Blade, as well as well-trained elite patrol teams. Wu Tie could only stand on a hill and gaze in the direction of the stronghold, no longer able to spy on it recklessly as he had done before.
Wu Tie noticed that the city walls of the stronghold had been repaired and raised, with tall towers built on top, housing large weapons.
It was clear that the Mist Blade was building a strong defensive system, wanting to completely occupy this stronghold and this realm.
Every few days, the three Commanders brought stealthy boat squads through the waterfall, constantly bringing in various reinforcements.
Inside the Ancient Divine Weapons Camp, Wu Tie was eating roasted meat while recounting his observations to Lao Tie during these days.
"They want to occupy this place for a long time," Wu Tie furrowed his brow and absentmindedly gnawed on a piece of meat.
There was a big bone in the meat, but Wu Tie didn't even spare it a glance. He bit off the thick bone in three or four bites, chewed it into a paste, and swallowed it along with the meat and bone fragments.
The Basic Foundation Art he practiced had reached the 719th style, and he had been at this stage for several months.
His elemental energy was abundant to the extreme. Nourished by the elemental energy, Wu Tie's bones were abnormally strong, and his two rows of large teeth were as white and glossy as if they were shining. Not to mention ordinary animal bones, he could even bite through iron plates.
Lao Tie stood on the ground with two metal spiders in front of him, crimson eyes spewing red light. The screen displayed real-time images from inside the stronghold.
Wu Tie couldn't get close to the stronghold; these small meter-sized elemental puppets were nimble and agile, evading all the Mist Blade's early warning measures. They not only infiltrated the stronghold but also reported back everything they saw.
"This place is not their territory," Lao Tie's eyes flickered with blood light, and his tone carried a deep sense of instigation.
"Xiao Tie, this is my territory... It's your territory too... Our own territory has been occupied... Such a thing is unbearable!" Lao Tie turned his head to look at Wu Tie. "Can you bear it? Well, I can't!"
Wu Tie agreed with Lao Tie's words and looked at him seriously. "I can't bear it... these days, their people are wandering all over the place, surveying the surroundings everywhere. They even registered those giant Hippos, Water Pythons, and Lizards...
With a punch, he slammed the hard floor, and a few drops of grease splashed onto the smooth white metal floor.
The massive iron next to him hurriedly made a few "gu gu" sounds, and ripples of electric waves spread out on the ground. A metal spider quickly emerged from the grease and messed around, quickly making the floor clean and spotless without leaving any trace of dirt.
"They registered all these big beasts... How can I go hunting?" He looked back at the alchemical apparatus manufacturing medicine, where twelve bottles of Foundation Establishment Pills were neatly arranged. This was all the inventory Wu Tie had left.
"All these prey are mine... not theirs."
Wu Tie looked at Lao Tie in anger and said, "What gives them the right to register these prey as their belongings?"
"Beat them!" Lao Tie instigated excitedly. "Therefore, we must beat them."
Wu Tie opened his mouth and suddenly made a weak and feeble hum.
Not to mention the three Commanders, he was not their match anymore.
As for the other Mist Blade assassins, there were now over three thousand inside and outside the stronghold. They were all well-trained elite assassins. Wu Tie didn't think he could handle three thousand skilled warriors.
Not to mention the tens of thousands of people inside the stronghold. Although most of them were Rock Gnomes without combat effectiveness, there were also some crippled Dwarves, Bull Tribe warriors, and Wolf Tribe warriors...
Forget it, let's just consider the tens of thousands of Rock Gnomes.
Tens of thousands of dwarves, each a meter tall, charged forward while brandishing their mining shovels and hoes, calling out in a loud voice. Just thinking about that scene made Wu Tie feel dizzy.
"Breakthrough!" Lao Tie patted the ground and earnestly said to Wu Tie, "Breakthrough! It's time for you to break through the third stage of the Foundation Establishment cultivation base, Condensing Elemental Protector. You can break through."
"Beat them, we must beat them," Lao Tie shouted loudly. "Although I don't have much combat power now and can't help you... I can give you suggestions and cheer you on..."
"Breakthrough, and then beat them!" Lao Tie's eyes burned with fervor, making Wu Tie feel a burning sensation on his face.
With a "chi," Lao Tie's eyes became too intense, shooting two beams of red light that directly hit Wu Tie's face. Wu Tie's face instantly evaporated, leaving two small holes burned by Lao Tie's gaze.
"Lao Tie!" Wu Tie threw away the roasted meat in his hand, gripping his symmetrical cheeks and roaring in pain.
"Power of the Soil..." Lao Tie lowered his head, dryly laughing, "I got too excited, too excited... Hey, there's nothing I can do. Although I'm already old, my blood is still boiling with youthful passion... I got too excited for a moment, heh."
A metal spider swiftly moved to the row of Foundation Establishment Pills, picked up one bottle, and handed it to Wu Tie.
Lao Tie looked up, and the blood light in his eyes dimmed significantly. He shouted loudly, "Alright, boy, open your eyes and watch closely... It's time for our first lesson: the vital points of humans or humanoid beings... In other words, how to kill enemies most efficiently!"
At this point, Lao Tie's tone became extremely strange.
He stared straight at Wu Tie for a long time before muttering, "You're still an underage child... It's really unjust for me... But when it comes to war... Women, step aside... As a man, even if you're just a boy, you have no right to back down when war arrives... Listen carefully, remember, kid, you won't learn these things outside."
Practicing Foundation Establishment Arts, secretly hunting, manufacturing Foundation Establishment Pills, learning how to become an elite warrior from Lao Tie...
Days like this continued for half a month.
On this day, numerous dart-shaped stealth boats surged out from the waterfall, and six hundred-meter-long black wooden boats rushed out of it.
The main force of the Longevity Sect launched a grand assault. The roars of Elder Gu and Elder Lan could be heard loud and clear from afar.
(End of Chapter 38)