Outside the Great Stone City, the fire in the fields was extinguishing. All the burnable crops had been completely charred, leaving behind only blackened fields.
On the side of the city wall near the Great Stone City, numerous fist-sized ice bombs covered the ground in a thick layer. Below the pale blue ice bombs, tens of thousands of Flame-Eating Gold Ants were frozen stiff, their bodies once emitting high temperatures now covered in cracks, and their blood plasma frozen into ice.
Wu Tie stood on the city wall, his chest wrapped in a white light from the Heart-Protecting Mirror.
Next to him, a basket of molten lava grass and dozens of higher-grade elemental grasses had already been swallowed clean by him. The excessively strong energy circulated throughout his body, and every pore emitted a strand of flickering flames.
At first glance, he didn't look much different from those Flame-Eating Gold Ants outside the city.
Even his exceptionally strong body couldn't withstand the violent energy. Fortunately, this white egg in his chest continuously absorbed the excessive energy in his body, always maintaining a coolness in his heart and barely preventing his body from completely collapsing.
At the same time, the life energy and souls of tens of thousands of Flame-Eating Gold Ants had all been completely devoured by this egg, causing the surface of the white egg to radiate with flowing lights, forming countless complex symbols that spun rapidly within the eggshell.
And tens of thousands of Flame-Eating Gold Ants stood dumbly in the distance, even when an old man in a black robe blew on a bone flute desperately, these Flame-Eating Gold Ants refused to take another step forward.
Several icy tornadoes continued to rage.
The blue and white tornado gradually expanded to hundreds of meters in height. The wind was not strong, but the cold air within was astonishing. Countless hexagonal ice crystals, each the size of a palm, continuously spewed out from the ice tornado. The dense ice crystals collided with each other, producing crisp sounds as if they were a torrential rain hitting the ground.
An area several miles long and more than three miles wide outside the city walls had been completely frozen.
After half an incense stick's time, after countless calls from the bone flute, a Flame-Eating Gold Ant, with a body length of nearly ten meters, slowly raised the upper half of its body. It tilted its head back and emitted a shrill scream of sorrow and anger, then slowly turned around and began retreating step by step in the same direction it came from.
The speed at which this giant Flame-Eating Gold Ant ran faster and faster, gradually transforming into a flickering flame, it then whizzed past the ground close to it, leaving behind a trail of molten lava that was several meters wide and several meters deep.
Groups of Flame-Eating Gold Ants turned their bodies around slowly and followed suit, all retreating in the opposite direction.
Hundreds of warriors from the Yan Family shouted in unison. The old man in the black robe continuously coughed up blood, repeatedly blowing the bone flute with a strange shape in his hands.
Gradually, blood spurted out of every hole in the bone flute.
But no matter how he urged them, the Flame-Eating Gold Ant swarm refused to approach the Great Stone City again. They were like the tide crashing against the reef, disorderly retreating.
The old man shouted hysterically, pointing angrily at the giant Flame-Eating Gold Ant that was rapidly retreating while passing by him.
When he passed by this old man, it suddenly stopped in its tracks, turned its head around, and spewed out a white flame from its mouth.
The man in the black robe tried to dodge with a howling sound, but this attack by the giant Flame-Eating Gold Ant was too sudden. The flames splattered and covered an area of several hundred meters, and the man in the black robe had just consumed too much of his energy and didn't even have time to dodge.
The white flames burned fiercely on the ground, turning the soil in the fields into molten lava.
The old man's body burned like a torch. After about a dozen breaths, his flesh burned clean and his dry, skeletal framework collapsed with a 'crack,' splashing a large number of sparks, and everything returned to dust.
Hundreds of warriors from the Yan Family stared blankly at the frozen city wall of the Great Stone City.
This time, the Yan Family had paid a great price to finally lure this group of Flame-Eating Gold Ants to the Great Stone City.
And the result?
They wanted to slaughter the entire Great Stone City and show those stubborn members of the Shi Family some color.
And the result?
Nearly half of the Flame-Eating Gold Ant swarm was lost, and the Flame-Eating Gold Ant 'king' turned his back directly, leading the ant swarm to retreat. Moreover, regardless of their previous relationship, they tore off the facade and killed the Yan Family elder in charge of the matter.
"You damn animals without integrity!" an angry Yan Family warrior roared, and large flames suddenly spewed out of his body. He brandished a heavy fire bronze forged curved blade and rushed toward the Flame-Eating Gold Ant 'king.'
In an instant, the Flame-Eating Gold Ant 'king' shot out a long, snake-like forelimb with lightning speed.
With a loud bang, this Yan Family warrior, who was over two meters tall and had a strong build, was sent flying back. His armor was shattered, and the fragments turned bright red, then rapidly melted.
This Yan Family warrior who emitted fire from his body suddenly spewed white flames from his body. He flew several hundred meters away and crashed into a blackened field. His body exploded, and a small white flame burned fiercely on the scorched dry earth, quickly completely incinerating him.
Wu Tie extended his ten fingers, and faint hexagonal ice crystal patterns appeared on his dark blue nails.
Gradually, his nail color returned to normal, and the golden flames burning in his brow began to dim, dispersing the high temperature throughout his body.
"So sleepy... so tired... my body... hurts..." Wu Tie rolled his eyes and mumbled incoherently.
His spiritual power was completely exhausted, and an endless darkness surged before his eyes.
Intolerable pain spread throughout his body. It felt like a lobster that had just been taken out of the steamer and thrown into ice water.
Unbearable heat and bone-chilling cold struck simultaneously. It felt as if his body was being ground piece by piece like a lobster in ice water. Boundless pain caused Wu Tie to groan twice before losing consciousness completely.
"Quick, take Brother Tie back to rest!" Shi Meng loudly yelled.
Ignoring his own severe injuries, he beckoned a few of his most reliable subordinates to rush over and ordered them to personally escort Wu Tie back to his residence. He mobilized a hundred elite guards to protect Wu Tie. Today, the entire Great Stone City was saved by Wu Tie.
Without Wu Tie, Shi Meng could have escaped with his own elite subordinates. With his strength, this would not have been difficult to achieve.
But everyone else within the Great Stone City would have become food for the Flame-Eating Gold Ants.
Not to mention that losing this battle meant losing everything for him, Shi Meng.
Wu Tie saved the entire Great Stone City and also saved him, Shi Meng.
"Lao Bai, Lao Bai..." Shi Meng shouted again as he sent Wu Tie away. "Tell your group of rats to start moving, go and search through all those pits... Where did that old immortal go? And those unreliable guys..."
"They all died where? They said they'd come at the first call... I almost got killed... Those who said they would be there at the first call, where are they?"
Shi Meng picked up a semi-melted big axe from the ground, wildly swinging it towards the corpse of the two Flame-Eating Gold Ants in front of him.
He suddenly pointed towards the several hundred Yan Family warriors who were in a mess: "Brothers, go after them! Surround them and catch them alive!"
No need to open the city gate.
No way to open the city gate.
Led by Wu Tie, Shi Ba Ba, Hei Pi, and Du Yan Zi, the warriors from the Great Stone City forcefully roared while stepping on the Flame-Eating Gold Ant corpses that were as tall as the city wall, charging out of the city.
Tens of miles away, hundreds of Yan Family warriors simultaneously roared. They didn't flee but instead raised their weapons and rushed back towards the Great Stone City, even though they were outnumbered ten to one.
Warriors from the Yan Family were straightforward in this way.
They only attacked and never ran away.
Soon, the warriors from the Great Stone City surrounded several hundred Yan Family warriors. Shi Meng took the lead, his body swelling to over twice its size. He bellowed loudly, exposing his body, brandishing his fists that glowed with a faint light, and fiercely broke into the formation of Yan Family warriors.
With a swing of his arms, more than a dozen Yan Family warriors were sent flying by heavy punches.
Shi Meng roared, breaking the formation of Yan Family warriors.
Dozens of powerful and robust Iron Dwarves followed closely behind Shi Meng, wielding large hammers. The hammers clashed heavily against the heavy armor. Yan Family warriors roared just as fiercely, wielding their weapons with all their might, fighting with everything they had.
Figures darted all over the ground, amidst the chattering curses, Lao Bai's children rushed out carrying various bows and crossbows. Arrows, poisoned with various toxins, whizzed through the air, covering the elite formation of the Yan Family. The brave and fearless Yan Family warriors instantly collapsed.
Not long after, a cry of frustration resounded outside the Great Stone City, "Someone, come quick, bring the antidote, quickly bring the antidote... Lao Bai, you damn animal... what kind of poison did you put on these arrows? How many different poisons? You bastard..."
Shi Meng's angry howl resounded, carried away by the roaring wind and brought it to a tall mine entrance.
The howls reverberated within the winding mine for a while, then came to a large cavern after dozens of miles.
This huge cave was nearly a hundred meters high and covered more than ten miles in diameter. It was dotted with large stone tables, stone beds, and other objects. The stone tables were in disarray, covered in pieces of roasted large game.
The roasted meat that covered the stone table was scattered everywhere, along with fragments of bones. Hundreds of wine jars were scattered as the large stone bowls were knocked over, and the spilled wine flowed all over the ground, filling the cavern with an acrid smell of liquor.
Thirty or so giant rock men lay horizontally in disarray on the ground. Each of them had a rosy complexion, and their pores were wide open, continuously emitting strong alcoholic breath. Occasionally, they would grunt, and their bodies would twitch.
The black-skinned Stone Treasure leaned against a huge stone pillar, shaking his legs powerlessly.
He was also flushed, with his body emitting strong alcoholic breath from the open pores. His eyes were blurry, and his eyeballs were spinning. He occasionally attempted to raise his hands, but they eventually fell weakly to his sides.
"Yan... Yan a-Tou..." the Stone Treasure murmured weakly, "Good... good... I've seen you grow up... But you... play this trick on me..."
About three to four miles away from Stone Treasure, a woman of no small age but still maintaining her youthfulness, with distinct crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and wrinkles on her forehead, clearly showing the signs of aging, her hands being covered in liver spots, giving away her age, stood quietly, vigilantly watching the Stone Treasure.
A nearly twenty-meter long triangle dragon slithered beside the old woman, swinging its thick and powerful tail, the tip of which had a bone hammer the size of a water tank. As the tail swung, the large bone hammer would emit a 'hoo hoo' sound, cutting through the air.
The Stone Treasure gasped for air, and after a long time, the old woman finally spoke.
She sighed lightly, both hands in her sleeves, gently and calmly saying, "Old Master Stone Treasure... we're not the same..."
"You," she smiled slightly and her wrinkles became even more apparent, "when you have plenty to eat and drink and see your descendants flourish, you're happy with that... You're basically brainless, eat and drink your fill, snore loudly when you sleep... When you're unhappy, you fight each other, but with a bowl of wine, you can forget all your worries..."
"Why do I call you idiots? In fact, that simplicity, we're quite envious of it..."
"But we can't live such a simple life..."
The old woman sighed, "Yours can eat and drink, see your descendants flourish, and you're happy... Basically, you're brainless. When you're full and have enough to drink, all troubles can be forgotten... But some children, they only know about their own little benefits... They don't consider us old people at all..."
She sighed heavily, her voice soft and gentle, "For the sake of benefits, they even dared to move against their own elders..."
"This time, it was Shi Hui, who will it be next time?"
"So, we have to make sure Shi Meng dies... Those brothers from the Shi Family, they were too soft-hearted... It's been so many days, what have they done to Shi Meng?"
"They haven't done anything, so we came."
"Now that we've taken action, there will always be a price to pay."
"The Great Stone City will belong to our Yan Family now... These disrespectful youngsters within the Great Stone City will always have to shed some blood."
The old woman looked softly at Stone Treasure, softly saying, "As for you, Old Master Stone Treasure... and your descendants, we don't want to take action against you..."
"So just lay there quietly for a while."
"Wait for you to wake up, and everything will be over. The dust will settle, and everything will go according to our plans. Isn't that good?"
Stone Treasure took a deep breath, and suddenly, the sound of boiling magma came from within his body.
A large burst of blood sprayed out of his pores, with liquor and a pungent stench mixed in. With a low roar, Stone Treasure straightened his body and took big strides toward the old woman.
(End of this chapter)