It is said that the Shi family has the bloodline of giants.
Wu Tie believed it.
On the road ahead, a towering man stood proudly with a height close to three meters, hands behind his back, disdainfully looking down at Wu Tie and his group.
The man was unusually robust, his clothes tightly fitted, showcasing his muscular contours.
His aura was terrifyingly hard and heavy, like a towering mountain, giving people a sense of indestructibility.
Behind the man stood two stone giants, each with a height of ten meters and a gray-white complexion.
The stone giants wore battle skirts made of armor segments around their waists, thick leg guards wrapped around their legs, and heavy metal boots on their feet. Like Wu Tie, they only wore chest protectors on their bare upper bodies.
They held tower shields in their left hands, almost as tall as their bodies, and carried heavy single-handed battle axes in their right hands, exuding the same hardened and heavy aura as the man.
Compared to the stone giants Wu Tie had seen before, which were nurtured by the Mist Blade, the wildness emanating from these two stone giants was even stronger, and their strength seemed to surpass the previous ones by a large margin.
Especially when they blinked, the shiny gray-white eyes emitted a terrifyingly heavy pressure. These two giants should have activated their bloodline powers like Iron Eighty-eight, or perhaps, they possessed a cultivation inheritance like Black Skin.
Shi Quan cautiously approached the man. With his plump figure standing at only about 1.78 meters, he looked like a weak child in front of the man.
With a smile on his face, he reluctantly bowed to the man and said, "Sir Liu, this is Second Master..."
The man slapped Shi Quan's head with a palm, gently flicking his fingers. Shi Quan spun like a ball. A tremendous force wrapped around Shi Quan's body, causing him to rotate uncontrollably.
Shi Quan exclaimed as the rapid rotation made his mouth open wide, and his tongue stuck out, about an inch long. He even sprayed a mouthful of saliva out of his tongue tip.
"The people brought in by Er Ge... are just like you, Shi Quan, all useless." The man taunted Shi Quan while chuckling. "But useless people always have some use... Hmmm, my Shi family's food and grain is not so easily accessible."
The man grinned, then kicked Shi Quan's belly.
Shi Quan screamed in pain, rolling down the paved street made of giant stones as if he were a ball. He finally stopped when he hit the base of a small building several dozen meters away.
Wu Tie and the others remained silent.
They had no personal relationship with Shi Quan, and this seemed to be an internal struggle within the Shi family.
They had just arrived, and no one would dare to offend the Shi family for someone they had no connection with.
The man leisurely walked to Wu Tie's carriage, and the few Shi family members responsible for driving the carriage lowered their heads and quietly stepped aside.
"I am Shi Meng, the sixth-ranking member of the Shi family in this generation," Shi Meng extended his thumb and pointed it at his own nose. "Second brother Shi Fei... Hehe, I always suggested that he change his name to Shi Fei, because he really is quite fat."
"Remember, I am the sixth young master of the Shi family, Shi Meng. Shi Fei is in charge of running errands outside, in other words, he's just a lackey," Shi Meng confidently crossed his arms, taking advantage of his height to look down at Wu Tie and the others. "Especially the giant tribes that have formed an alliance with the aristocratic families, they only recognize me."
"Why, you may ask? It's because in our generation, I'm the only one in the Shi family who has awakened the bloodline of our ancestors' giants." Shi Meng said nonchalantly, "So, the giant troops of the Shi family only listen to my command."
The two stone giants behind Shi Meng chuckled and bared their teeth at Wu Tie and the others, then simultaneously let out a loud roar.
The lung capacity of the stone giants was enormous, and their roar created a gust of wind, making the long fur on Black Skin and Cyclops shake wildly.
"Now that you've been recruited, you can be considered a bit of strength... Listen to me in the future, and there will be benefits for you." Shi Meng extended his hand and pointed at the noses of Wu Tie and the others one by one, moving his fingers lightly, as if he wanted to firmly remember their appearances in this way.
"Remember, in the future, listen to me... You cannot obey anyone's orders except mine." Shi Meng grinned, "Listening to me has benefits, like... today, I'll reward you with a satisfying feast and good wine..."
"You bunch of pitiful wretches from the wilderness, you've never had good food or drink in your lives, have you?"
Shi Quan struggled to stand up from the ground. His forehead had a big lump, and blood was also flowing down from the cut in his eyebrow, staining his face. He looked at them with anger but hesitated to approach.
Wu Tie and the others remained silent. Shi Meng had brought in a group of people, who arranged for Wu Tie and the others to stay in the Great Stone City.
Black Skin and the others all had their own subordinates, their clanspeople, and they were each assigned a large courtyard to live in.
Wu Tie was alone, so he was given a small courtyard with its own entrance, and several stone dwarves were assigned to serve him.
Shi Meng fulfilled his promise. After Wu Tie and the others settled down, they were indeed sent an extremely sumptuous wine feast. There were roasted meat, dried meat, smoked mushrooms, and assorted vegetable salads.
What surprised them was that Shi Meng actually had someone bring them cheese and butter!
Only Wu Tie, with the knowledge passed down from Old Iron's inheritance in his shallow memories, recognized the cheese and butter.
As for Black Skin, Iron Eighty-eight, and even Cyclops, who was the oldest and had the broadest knowledge, they had never seen such things before.
In addition to that, Shi Meng also sent them strong alcohol.
In the fields outside the Great Stone City, Wu Tie saw corn and several other crops.
The Shi family had enough land to grow crops, so they surely had an abundant supply of food for brewing.
Unlike the poor-quality liquor brewed by the Wu family using starch-containing roots and tubers, the Shi family's grain liquor was sweet, mellow, and had no unpleasant odor.
Wu Tie inexplicably fell in love with this kind of magical liquid, especially the tipsy feeling after drinking it. This temporary relief from pain made him inexplicably fond of "alcohol"!
"Not bad." Wu Tie raised a small jug weighing two catties, shook it vigorously, and poured the last few drops of fine wine into his mouth.
A white shadow darted in, and just as Wu Tie and the others had been recruited, the Ratman chieftain, Elder Bai, sneaked into Wu Tie's courtyard.
"Old Bai?" Wu Tie put down the jug, picked up the last piece of dried meat, and hurriedly stuffed it into his mouth.
The Ratmen had a bad reputation.
Wu Tie still remembered that when he was young, a group of wandering Ratmen passed through the Wu family fortress, and mysteriously, half of the grain in the Wu family's storeroom had vanished.
Chewing on the dried meat, he stared at Elder Bai.
Elder Bai sniffed, his mouth watering as he glanced at Wu Tie's squirming mouth, then he extended his tongue and forcefully pushed it into the mouth of the jug, eagerly licking the wine stains on the jug's opening.
After a long effort, Elder Bai cleaned the area around the jug's mouth, then put down the jug, and sat smiling in front of Wu Tie.
"Well, there's some news..." Elder Bai smiled at Wu Tie.
"I'm poor too... Where would I have something to entertain you?" Wu Tie mumbled.
"Alright, alright, you have a point." Elder Bai walked up to Wu Tie, picked up the empty wine jug, stuck out his tongue, and forcefully inserted it into the jug's opening, vigorously licking the wine stains.
After a long while, Elder Bai cleaned the area around the jug's mouth and put down the jug, smiling.
"So... you owe me a favor, alright?" Elder Bai smiled, looking at Wu Tie.
"Being new to the Great Stone City, what kind of news could you have?" Wu Tie tilted his head, looking at Elder Bai.
"The Ratmen are all connected, right... The Shi family also raised a group of Ratman scouts themselves. I just met their leader, so we are considered relatives... " Elder Bai smiled brightly.
Wu Tie couldn't say anything.
The breeding speed of the Ratmen was extremely frightening. As long as there was enough food, they could reproduce in quantities that increased geometrically.
Moreover, they naturally roamed everywhere, breeding offspring everywhere.
In a sense... "All Ratmen in the world are one family" did make some sense. As long as they were willing to get close, they would always find some rare blood relationship. It wasn't wrong to say they were relatives.
"What did he tell you?" Wu Tie looked at Elder Bai.
It had to be acknowledged, Ratmen were extremely sensitive to news. They possessed a magical talent that allowed them to collect and disseminate information at the fastest speed and efficiency.
Whether it was the Ratmen nurtured by large and small powers or the wanderers in the wild, they always had countless channels to exchange information.
It was almost like their innate awakened bloodline ability.
Elder Bai smiled at Wu Tie, rapidly twiddling his fingers.
"I... owe you a favor," Wu Tie helplessly looked at Elder Bai, "Or when I earn some money, I'm willing to pay a reasonable fee... Second Master Shi said that we have salaries."
"Second Master Shi's words don't carry much weight now, Sixth Master Shi... has a higher position in the Shi family," Elder Bai quickly corrected Wu Tie's words, "Besides, we have no connection with Second Master Shi, right? Whoever gives money gets our loyalty, isn't that right?"
Elder Bai stared at Wu Tie, a shameless guy with no bottom line.
After hesitating for a while, Wu Tie nodded.
After all, he had joined the Shi family for the resources they could provide for cultivation. As for other matters... Elder Bai's words were shameless, but they were indeed true. Wu Tie really didn't have much of a relationship with Second Master Shi.
"Do you know why the Shi family suddenly recruited a large number of people? They even took in those wild Stone Dwarves?" Elder Bai squinted at Wu Tie, "Longevity Sect has entered the Azure Flame Domain on a large scale. Mist Blade was the first to suffer... Although the specific process is not clear yet, it is certain that the Sect Master of Mist Blade fled, and the high-level members suffered heavy casualties. The First Martial Brother of Mist Blade and a group of high-level members have already pledged allegiance to Longevity Sect..."
After hesitating for a while, Elder Bai said in a deep voice, "My relative said that, in fact, the First Martial Brother of Mist Blade, he had become a member of Longevity Sect many years ago... That's why Mist Blade suffered such a major defeat this time."
"The lackeys from Mist Blade, they were the most powerful group of lackeys in the Azure Flame Domain."
"They have pledged allegiance to Longevity Sect, and they are the overlords of the Azure Flame Domain. Whatever good things there are in the Azure Flame Domain, whatever treasures there are, they all know... Doesn't Mist Blade have some of my relatives too? Their information is quite sensitive, right?"
Wu Tie grinned... Mist Blade had its own intelligence system, and most likely, it was made up of Ratmen...
"Ratmen of the world are one family"... This way of putting it, why did Wu Tie have the urge to laugh?
"Longevity Sect didn't come to leave this time." Elder Bai sighed heavily, "According to my relative, Vice Sect Master Jia Zhengfeng has already made demands with the three major families..."
"Longevity Sect wants half of the eight caves in Azure Flame Domain."
"And the Lu, Yan, and Shi families have to hand over half of their annual income to Longevity Sect."
"The warriors of the three major families must also select half of their elites to serve Longevity Sect."
"Most importantly, Longevity Sect said that all the young members of the three major families must join the sect."
Wu Tie widened his eyes, looking incredulously at Elder Bai. "They are too greedy, aren't they?"
Elder Bai clapped his hands, nodding heavily. "Indeed! They are too greedy... If it was like Mist Blade, taking some advantages from the three major families each year, wouldn't it be better for everyone to live in harmony?"
"But Longevity Sect is different, they want to swallow half of Azure Flame Domain in one gulp."
"Especially, the young members of the three major families, they all have to join Longevity Sect... not to mention the already bad reputation of Longevity Sect's female disciples, all of them look enticing..."
Elder Bai spoke with a somewhat subtle smile. "It's possible that they enter as young ladies and come out carrying children... Who would be willing?"
"The little girls don't want to, and those boys... if they all become loyal disciples of Longevity Sect, will there be any three major families in the future?"
Wu Tie looked at Elder Bai and earnestly asked, "So, this means they're preparing for war, right?"
Elder Bai looked at Wu Tie for a long time before heavily sighing, "Yes, preparing for war... The three major families will definitely not directly use their elite forces for war. We are... the hired cannon fodder."
Shaking his head, Elder Bai looked at Wu Tie and said with a smile, "I am old, but still have some insight... Brother Tie Di, you are not simple... so please take care of me, take care of me... You owe me a favor, remember that?"
Wu Tie scratched his head and nodded thoughtfully.
"The three major families are going to war with Longevity Sect..."
"Well then, Elder Bai... Don't worry, as long as I can take care of it, I will take care of you."
Wu Tie smiled brilliantly. "The Ratmen of the world are one family, and I have many things to trouble you with in the future."
(This chapter is complete)