Chapter 126: Arrow Bamboo Grove, Rat King, New Camp
Chi …………
「 Helongxiangqian ， Batamenjixuwangbeibiangan ！」
Xiahongyijingsharushuqunmoduan ， Querenqianfangshuqunzhengzaihouche ， Yidaojiangyanqianyitoushitutaopaodenieshuzhanchengliangduan ， Taliantoudoumeihui ， Zhijiekaikouxialing 。
Fenlidongxiliangcedeliangboren ， Benjiuzaizhujianwangnankaolong ， Tingdaoxiahongdezhiling ， Likejianhuanleshejiansudu ， Jiakuaikaolong 。
Dongceshanbishangfang ， Zhaolongsanxiongdidaizhuzhongren ， Zhijieyanzhushibixiepowangxiahua ， Shandinglidisuiyoubaiyumi ， Keduifamujinghaizaobuchengshenmeshanghai 。
Luodihoutamenyibianshejian ， Yibianxunsuxiangxiahongweizhikaolong 。
Xicehongmulingzhebian ， Xiachuanluoyuanyedaizhuren ， Yibianchixushejianbituinieshuqun ， Yibianjiasuwangxiahongdeshenbiankao 。
Buguoyihuier ， Liangborenjiuhelongdaoleyiqi 。
Lizuiqiantoudexiahong ， Yezhishengxiashiduomi 。
Xiahongchongdetaikuai ， Ganggangweizaitashenbiandeshiyutounieshu ， Yijingbeitazhanleyiban ， Buzhishichongdeyijingwangwole ， Haishiyoudianbumanzu ， Tajinghaizaijixuwangqianzhui 。
「 Zhaolongnimensanrenjixudaidui ， Buyaokaojin ， Luoyuan 、 Yuanchenggenwoshangqu ， Bangtouling ！」
Kandaoxiahongyijingzhuishanglezuihoumiandenieshuqun ， Renzhijiechonglejinqu ， Xiachuanzhongyushizhanbuzhule ， Duizhuzhaolongsanrendahanleyishenghou ， Lashangshenbiandeluoyuanheyuanchengliangren ， Likechongguoqubangmang 。
Xiahongyijinggenshuqunmoduanhunzaileyiqi ， Houfangderen ， Zishibunengzaiwangtanagefangweishejian 。
Zhejiuyiweizhu ， Xiahongyijingmeilegongjianyanhuzhiyuan 。
Tamensanren ， Dangranyaochongshangqubangmang 。
Sanrendouzichiyoujuedijingshili ， Bingweijiangzhongdudenieshu ， Fangzaiyanli ， Kedangzhenzhengjinrunieshuqunzhongjian ， Sanrencaiyishidao ， Zijiyouduotianzhen 。
Diyigechongjinqudexiachuan ， Zhengyukaodaoxiahongshenbian ， Houbeituranhanmaodaoshu ， Yizhenqiangliedeweijiganfushangxintou ， Bujiasisuozhijiejiujichuleheidao ， Dangzainaohou 。
Xiu …………
Liangdaocunxuhongmangzhouranxilai ， Yuheidaomengliepengzhuang 。
Heidaosuidangzhulehongmang ， Danxiachuanwodaodeshoubijuliechandou ， Shentiyewanghoudaofeichuquliangsanmi ， Ruobushibeijishikaoguolaidexiahongfuleyiba ， Pashihuizhijiedaodi 。
「 Xiaoxinyidian ， Zhehongmangchuantouxingjiqiang ， Danjulihenduan ， Dingduoyejiuyiliangmi ， Yongsixianganraotamen ， Rangyuanchengheluoyuanpeihe ， Nimensangelianshou ， Shatamenbingbunan ！」
「 Mingbaile ， Touling ！」
Luoyuanheyuanchengzheshiyekaoleguolai ， Liangrenliansedoulvexianlangbei ， Yuanchengdeshoubishenzhihaichuxianleshangkou ， Xianranchilenieshuhongmangbuxiaodekui 。
Zhiqiangedetaiyuan ， Jiashangyoushiwanshang ， Sanrengenbenmeikandao ， Haiyiweizhongletengjiaoduwudenieshu ， Yanjingshifangbuchuhongmang 。
Ciketamencaiyishidaole ， Diyigechongjinshuqundexiahong ， Kanzhugenkanguaqiecaishidetulunieshu ， Danshijishangmianduideyali ， Yuanbitamenxiangxiangdedahenduo 。
「 Toulingshilibenjiuhenqiang ， Zaijiashangshouzhongnabayidao ， Gongjifanweiyoukuanyouzhang ， Yonglaiduifunieshugangganghao ， Womensangeshilichaledian ， Haishiyaolaolaoshishilianshou ， Woganrao ， Nimenzhugong 。」
「 Hao ！」
Xiachuansixianfanfei ， Chanzhuzuijindeyitounieshu ， Luoyuanyuanchengliangrenshouchidadaolikegenshang ， Youlexianqianchikuidejingli ， Nieshudehongmangzaisanrenshoushangyetaobudaoshenmehaochu ， Zhengruxiahongsuoyan ， Sanrenlianshou ， Jishanieshu ， Dequebunan 。
Zhebianliuxiadenieshubenlaijiubuduole ， Dabufenhaidoubeixiahongzhuizhusha ， Sanrenlianshouyaoduifude ， Zonggongyejiusiwutou 。
Erganggangxiahongyusanrenjiaoliudetongshi ， Shoushangdedongzuoyemeiting ， Jiuzhemeyihuiershijian ， Sansitounieshu ， Yijingzaitadeyidaozhixiashenshouyichu 。
Shawanzuijindezhebo ， Kandaoshuqunmoduandenajitou ， Yijingpaochuershimikaiwai ， Xiahongshenseshaoshan ， Meiyouzaiwangqianzhuigan ， Zhuanerqingliqilefujinqitapaodemandenieshu 。
Houfang ， Zhaolongzhuantoukanleyiyanzijibeihoudejianhu ， Suihouyoukanlekanpangbianzhaohuhezhaobaoliangrende ， Faxiansanrendouzhishengliuqizhijian ， Dunshimeitoushaoning ， Jierdashengxunwenzhongrendao ：
「 Douhaishengduoshaozhijian ， Baobaoshu ！」
「 Qizhi 。」
「 Wohaishengliuzhi 。」
「 Wozhishengliangzhile 。」
「 Qizhi 。」
「 Wuzhi 。」
「 Liuzhi ！」
…………
Buchusuoliao ！
Tingdaozhongrenluluxuxudeshengyin ， Zhaolongmiansedunshiningzhongjifen 。
Duizhongrenshengxiaduoshaozhijian ， Taxinlidagaishiyoushude 。
Jinyelaidejibendoushifamujing ， Shilixiangjin ， Lianlianxigongshedeshizhangyejibenchabuduo ， Jianshushuipingbenjiuxiangchabuda 。
Xiahonggeitamensanxiongdipeilewushizhijian ， Ertamendeshesubiqitarenyaokuaishangyibei ， Tamenzhishengxialiuqizhi ， Paichuyibufenjianshushaoqiangde ， Qitarenshengxiade ， Jibenyeshiliuqizhi 。
「 Keyitingyitingle ， Nieshuqunyijingzaihoutuile ， Genwoyiqiwangqianzaizhuiyihuier ， Suishizhunbeijixushe 。」
Buyuanchudexiahong ， Zaizhaolongwenchunajuhuahou ， Jiubazhuyilijizhongdaozhebianlaile ， Tingdaozhongrendehuida ， Likejiukaikouxialexindemingling 。
Liuqizhijian ， Zuiduohainengzuzhiyidaolianglunxiangyangdegongshi 。
Nieshuqunyijingkaishitui ， Jiranbucunzaijiangtamenquandouliuzaizhelidekenengxing ， Najiumeibiyaobajianquanbushewan ， Liuyibufenzuobushizhixu ， Caizuiwentuo 。
Houfangzhongrenwensheng ， Likejiutingzhilesheji ， Suihouzaizhaolongsanrendailingxia ， Henkuaijiuzhuishanglekeyifangmansududexiahong 。
Jianyusuiting ， Dannieshuqunyijiuzaixixisusudewangbeibiantaocuan 。
Xiahongdaizhuzhongrenzhuichuqujiangjinlianggongli ， Zhidaoyuanyuankandaoyipianshuangbaisezhulin ， Caishenseshaozhen ， Huilehuishou ， Jietinglezhongren 。
「 Nashi ， Jianzhulinba ？」
Xiachuanqingwenleyiju ， Luomingliuxialaideditu ， Xiahongyijinggeitakanguo ， Suoyiyiyanjiurenlechulai 。
Xiahongdianlediantou ， Muguangzhuanxiangzhulinzuoce ， Kandaoyitiaosansimikuandeshanjingxiaolu ， Mouguangweiweishanleyixia 。
Anluominglinzouqianshuode ， Zouzhetiaoxiaolu ， Chuanguojianzhulin ， Houmianjiushipingxiyuan ， Pingxiyuanshangyougemingweifengchaodejuxingyingdi 。
Yaoshishunli ， Luomingxianzai ， Yinggaijiuzainali 。
「 Nanguailuomingyaodengjingguochengshuqiguoqu ， Zhejianzhulingenhongmulingjihushilianzaiyiqide ， Limianpanjudehanshouyinggaiyebushao 。」
Dangchuluomingshuoguo ， Meinianbingshuoshujieguodeshihou ， Yousandaowutianshijian ， Hanshoudouhuizuandaojianzhulinlimian ， Zhegeshiqi ， Yunqizhiyaobushitaihuai ， Maoxiantongguowentibuda 。
Nengyinlaidapihanshoujuji ， Nazhejianzhulin ， Kendingyebujiandan 。
Limianzhenyoushenmexiongxian ， Bazhequnnieshuganjinqu ， Ganghaoheshi 。
「 Jixushejian ， Batamenganjinqu ！」
Yanjiannieshuqunkaojinjianzhulinzhiji ， Suduturanmanlexialai ， Xiahonglikegeizhongrenxialing 。
Buxiangjinyedejin ！
Dongcedeshanbisuiwurenzudang ， Danpashangshanbiyexuyaoshijian ， Yijingbeigongjianshedejinghuangshicuodenieshuqun ， Zishibuganzaiwangdongcegaoshanshangpaode 。
Tengjiaodusuyingxianghaizai ， Tamendadongdexiaolvyetaiman 。
Yibaiduohaorentongshifashe ， Youyibojianyuxilai 。
Nieshuqun ， Yibiewuxuanze ， Zhinengjinjianzhulin 。
「 Zhaolong ， Bagonggeiwoyixia ！」
Jiannieshuqundezuiqianfang ， Jitounieshuhaizhuzubuqian ， Xiahongzhuantoujiangzhaolongdegongnaleguolai 。
Zhaolongshundaigeileyizhitiejian 。
Xiahongjieguotiejian ， Dazaitietaigongshang ， Yaokanzuiqianfangdenajitounieshu ， Yanjingweimi ， Shuangshouzhouranfali ， Jianggonglazhimanyuehaibugou ， Youjialejifenlidao ， Jihuranggongshenfashenglexingbian 。
Beng …………
Xiahongyoushousongkai ， Gongxianbengchuyidaojuxiang ， Tiejianyijiqikongbudesududanshefeichu ， Jiangyantuzhouzaodekongqidougeiladong 。
Baiyumijuli ， Jinhushunxijizhi 。
Puchi …………
Lijianjingzhicharuzuiqianmianyitounieshudetoulu ， Qiangdadelidaozhijiejiangnatounieshudaidewangqianfeilesansimi 。
Jiantoucongluhoutouchu ， Jiangnatounieshuzhijiedingzailedimian 。
Nanieshubieshuocanjiao ， Jiushiqutibennengdezhengzha ， Doumeifachuyixia ， Beidingzaidishanghou ， Yidongbudong ， Zhijiebiming 。
Bianshangsuoyouhaizaishejianderen ， Kanzhuzuiqianfangdexiahong ， Yanshenzhongwuyibushiliuluchuchongjingyukuangrezhise 。
Zhemeyuan ， Yijianbiming 。
Jiushizhaolongsanren ， Kongpadouzuobudao 。
Ertouling ， Quexiangshichifanheshuinamejiandan ！
「 Zailai ！」
Xiahongyijianbiminghou ， Haibumanzu 。
Zhaolongwensheng ， Likeyoudileyizhi 。
Beng …… Beng …… Beng …… Beng …………
Xiahongyilianshechusizhi ， Quandoumingzhongleshuqunzuiqianfangdemubiao ， Lidaosuiburudiyizhi ， Weinengzuodaoyijianbiming ， Queyerangzuiqianfangdenayiqunnieshusaodongbuzhi ， Mingxianhuangluanleqilai 。
Cishikebuzhixiahongyirenshejian ， Qitarenyemeiting 。
「 Zhizhizhi …………」
Zuiqianfangyizhinieshu ， Buzhishibushishoujingguodu ， Fachuyizhenqilidejiaoshengguohou ， Jingzhichaozhujianzhulinchongleguoqu 。
Ertazheyidong ， Likejiuqileliansuofanying ， Houfangwuyangyangliangbaiduozhinieshu ， Dougenzhudongleqilai ， Quanchaozhubeicefengkuangtaocuan 。
Xiahongzuihoubushedewujian ， Jingwuyijianchengleyakualuotuodezuihouyigendaocao 。
Nieshuqun ， Fengyongzhuchaojianzhulintaoqu 。
「 Hu …………」
Daolezheyike ， Xiahongcaizhenzhengfangxialexin ， Mengshuyikouqi ， Jiangshouzhongzhanggong ， Haigeilezhaolong 。
「 Paole ， Nieshuqunpaole 。」
「 Hahahaha ， Nahaiyongshuo ， Gezhemeyuan ， Haizhongledu ， Tamenliuzaizhelijiushihuobazi ， Zhinengtao 。」
「 Wogangsheleershiqijian ， Yinggaizhilouleyijian ， Heihei ！」
「 Nideseshenme ， Woershibajian ， Quanbumingzhong 。」
“You two aren’t enough—I fired twenty-five arrows, seven hit the Nieshu ’s eyes, but I don’t know if those Nieshu are dead.”
“Stop comparing—I just checked, the three of you, Zhao Long, killed at least a dozen together. Your level isn’t even worth mentioning.”
“Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yuan Cheng were also strong—they teamed up and killed six or seven just now.”
“The leader’s even better—I didn’t see him on the cliff, but when he came down, he killed over a dozen by himself with that long blade. Tonight, he probably killed the most.”
“Of course—he charged straight into the mouse horde. Who could match that?”
“That long blade in the leader’s hand—the Nieshu can’t dodge it at all. So strong!”
“It’s called a Yidao—I heard the leader say it himself.”
………………
As the Nieshu swarm vanished into the bamboo grove, everyone’s tension eased considerably; many even began discussing the battle, boasting about how many Nieshu they’d hit.
Faced with such a sweeping victory, Xia Hong couldn’t help but relax his spirits.
After all, this was nearly four hundred low-grade cold beasts.
Under normal circumstances, not even the hundred-plus here today, nor the entire Xia Army camp combined, could hope to defeat this swarm by sheer numbers.
Ninety-nine bows. Over three thousand iron arrows.
And they’d actually eliminated this dire threat!
Xia Hong’s heart surged. He turned to look at the others, raised his hand slightly, and was about to order them to collect the kills.
But before he could speak, a faint tremor came from beneath his feet.
“Everyone, be quiet!”
Xia Hong instinctively assumed the vibration came from the crowd’s excitement and called out for silence.
But the moment he spoke, he realized something was wrong.
The ground in the Binghe World was too hard for a group of Fa Mu cultivators to cause such a tremor.
“Get out of the way!”
Xia Hong shouted at the others, then flung himself sideways, rolling away—he felt it clearly: the disturbance was right under his feet.
The confused crowd startled, but instinct took over; they scattered instantly.
In the blink of an eye, Xia Hong dove down, the crowd scattered—before their movements even finished, a red glow, an inch wide, erupted from the ground where Xia Hong had just stood.
The red glow pierced the earth and arrived almost instantly.
Before Xia Hong could twist his body aside, it had already pierced through the sole of his foot and shot straight toward his skull.
“I’m done!”
Panic flashed across Xia Hong’s face; his pupils flooded with blood. Though he twisted his head, the red glow was too fast—he had no chance to fully evade it.
A pierced skull meant certain death—or if he somehow survived, he’d lose at least half his life.
“Leader!”
At the last moment, Xia Hong didn’t know who shouted—he only felt a sudden impact against his body, then a wet *plop* as the red glow pierced through something.
Xia Hong paid no attention to his pierced foot. He spun around and saw that the one who’d shoved him away was Luo Yuan.
Luo Yuan had been flung over ten meters away; a blood hole the size of a baby’s fist gaped in his shoulder. He lay motionless on the ground, dead or alive, unknown.
Worse—the red glow, after piercing Luo Yuan’s shoulder, kept flying another ten meters, piercing through seven or eight more bodies. Two unlucky ones had their skulls pierced—they were dead for sure.
“Something’s underground! Everyone scatter! Xia Chuan, save Luo Yuan!”
Xia Hong roared at the others, dragging his wounded leg. He turned back to the ground where he’d stood—a hole the size of a baby’s fist now yawned there. His pupils contracted sharply.
This red glow—its size, speed, and lethality—was nothing like the Nieshu ’s earlier attacks.
And it had erupted directly from underground!
Judging from the distance he’d sensed the tremor, the glow’s origin was at least five to six meters below the surface. That meant this underground Nieshu ’s attack range far exceeded the others’.
“It’s a leader mouse—definitely a leader mouse. These cold beasts really have a commander!”
Whether from the high intelligence typical of cold beasts or his earlier encounter with the Frost Wolves during migration, Xia Hong had sensed this possibility—but since he’d never seen one, he hadn’t dared confirm it.
Now, he could confirm it.
But he confirmed it too late.
Xia Hong glanced at his pierced foot. Sweat poured down his forehead from the pain, but he ignored it. He pulled out a jar of Golden Wound Powder, smeared it haphazardly on the wound, then immediately turned to organize the others.
“Everyone, stay where you are. Don’t move. Don’t make a sound!”
Since it was hiding underground to ambush, this rat king—no matter its realm—must be extremely cautious. If it didn’t surface, it could only judge positions by sound.
In the Binghe World’s freezing temperatures, even above ground, biological signatures barely traveled. How much less could this rat king, buried underground, detect them by scent?
It could only rely on hearing.
The moment Xia Hong finished speaking, everyone froze. Even Xia Chuan, carrying Luo Yuan, stood rigid.
=9+ Shu _ Ba
The previously noisy environment fell utterly silent.
As expected, the underground movement ceased instantly. No further red glows shot out.
Only Xia Hong moved.
He didn’t want to—he’d just shouted, revealing his position.
Xia Hong clearly felt the rat king burrowing frantically beneath his feet, clinging to him, clearly preparing to fire a second red glow.
“This beast moves fast even underground—this is bad!”
The Nieshu were already fast. This was the rat king, underground, unaffected by Tengjiao toxin. No matter how he ran, the rat king followed. Xia Hong felt despair rising.
Given the penetration and speed of the first red glow, his injured foot meant he couldn’t dodge the next.
If the second red glow fired—he was dead.
“Big brother, I’ll help you!”
“Leader, I’ll aid you!”
…………
As Xia Hong despaired, four voices suddenly rang out.
It was Xia Chuan and the three Zhao Long brothers.
Xia Chuan had laid the unconscious Luo Yuan on the ground and now charged toward Xia Hong, shouting as he ran. The Zhao Long brothers did the same—each fired arrows wildly into the ground behind Xia Hong as they sprinted.
Seeing their actions, Xia Hong’s eyes flickered with emotion.
Shouting and shooting into the ground was useless—they all knew that.
The four were deliberately drawing the rat king’s attention away from him—he knew that too.
“Don’t come! I have a plan!”
Xia Hong’s gaze swept to a nearby large tree. A sudden idea struck him. He shouted to the four, then bit his Yidao between his teeth, gritted his teeth against the agony in his foot, and scrambled up the tree.
“Since I can’t dodge it, I’ll lure you out. Let’s see how strong this beast really is!”
The red glow of ordinary Nieshu had a range of only one or two meters—extremely limited.
The rat king was stronger, but from the first glow, its range was at most twenty meters.
On the ground, he couldn’t escape it.
But up a tree? That changed everything.
Xia Hong gritted his teeth and climbed to over twenty meters high. Then he pressed his ear against the trunk, listening intently.
Seeing his move, Xia Chuan and the others instantly understood. Though they froze in place, their eyes remained fixed on Xia Hong, filled with worry.
Creak…………
Silence returned. Xia Hong, crouched on the tree, heard a faint but rapid *click-click-click*—the rat king was tunneling upward along the tree’s base. His pupils snapped tight.
“I was hoping you’d come!”
In truth, he didn’t need to listen—he’d already felt the tree trembling when the rat king dug no more than five meters up.
This rat king made more noise tunneling than ordinary Nieshu .
Xia Hong joked inwardly, but his hands gripping the Yidao bulged with veins; the cold light in his pupils reached its peak.
The rat king seemed certain of its kill—it kept drilling straight up. In four or five breaths, it passed the midpoint, leaving less than ten meters between them.
Xia Hong gripped the Yidao, eyes locked on the trunk below. He didn’t move a muscle as the rat king climbed.
Until, at the final five or six meters, the rat king suddenly stopped.
Xia Hong moved.
He aimed precisely, leapt from the treetop, kicked off a sturdy branch with his uninjured foot, used the recoil to turn the Yidao into a spear, and drove it with all his strength into the exact spot where the rat king had paused.
Xia Hong’s base strength had already been 21,000. For nearly a month, while obsessively crafting bows, he’d never stopped eating Nieshu and Tengjiao meat, always pushing to his limit.
He hadn’t tested it precisely, but he estimated his base strength now at least 23,000 to 24,000. Not just tree bark—even a pile of cold beast bones would have been pierced cleanly by this strike.
Plop…………
The tree’s surface split without resistance. The force was so great the Yidao’s one-and-a-half-meter blade sank almost entirely into the trunk, leaving only the hilt gripped in Xia Hong’s hand exposed.
Zhi…………
A furious rat shriek echoed from within the tree. Xia Hong didn’t flinch—he grinned with excitement, then released his grip. As he fell, he shouted to the Zhao Long brothers.
“Watch my blade’s position!”
Shhh… Shhh… Shhh…………
Years of shared hunting had forged perfect Moqi . He didn’t even need to finish speaking.
As soon as he opened his mouth, the Zhao Long brothers’ custom iron arrows sliced through the air and buried themselves precisely around the Yidao.
After the first volley of three, two more followed—nine custom arrows in total, all driven deep into the tree, their tails barely visible, testament to their immense force.
“Zhi-zhi-zhi…………”
Inside the great tree, the Rat King let out a cry more furious than before, tinged with a shrill wail, though no one knew where it had been hit.
Crack…
A massive tail, seven or eight meters long, suddenly lashed out, splitting the tree cleanly in two. A giant rodent, over four meters in length, was wedged head-down in the center of the trunk.
The tree toppled, and the giant rodent tumbled to the ground.
Unlike the silver fur of ordinary rodents, parts of the Rat King’s coat had turned golden.
Its tiny, blood-red eyes locked onto Xia Hong, filled with hatred and venom. Its enormous incisors glinted with chilling radiance. Behind it, the seven- to eight-meter-long, fleshy tail, studded with barbs, swayed left and right—terrifying to behold.
Its size was four times that of an ordinary rodent.
No wonder, no wonder its movements inside the tree had been so loud.
While others focused elsewhere, Xia Hong immediately noticed a long gash under its armpit and four or five bloodied holes on its back.
Clearly, his ceremonial knife and the arrows from Zhao Long and the others had wounded the Rat King—minor injuries, but wounds nonetheless.
Moreover, the instant the Rat King emerged from the tree, though subtle, a fleeting dazed expression had crossed its face—and Xia Hong caught it. Coupled with the Rat King’s earlier refusal to show itself and its choice to strike from underground, Xia Hong easily deduced the truth.
The venomous mist of its natural predator, Tengjiao, affected even the Rat King.
“Everyone, close ranks, draw your bows, aim at it—but don’t shoot!”
The scattered group, already moving closer as the rodent burst from the tree, instantly hastened to gather. All drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the Rat King in unison.
Watching the Rat King’s gaunt, twisted face still brimming with malice, its body utterly still, Xia Hong frowned slightly and raised his hand behind him.
“It worked!”
In that instant, the Rat King’s fleeting flicker of caution—though minute—was caught by Xia Hong. His heart leapt with triumph.
“Don’t release the arrows. Just hold them like this. See if it dares to move!”
To be honest, though he hadn’t faced the Rat King directly, from the fact that his own blade had only grazed its armpit and Zhao Long’s arrows had left only minor wounds…
It was highly likely they couldn’t defeat the Rat King in full strength.
Though now forced out and poisoned by Tengjiao’s venom, they still didn’t know how severely its power had been diminished. A hasty attack could cost them dearly.
Even more drastically, total annihilation wasn’t out of the question.
His own leg was severely wounded—he couldn’t fight at full strength either. Judging by the Rat King’s size and the red beams it had fired, it was almost certainly a mid-tier cold beast he’d never encountered before.
Who knew what other abilities it possessed beyond those red beams?
Besides, the rodent swarm had already been driven back. They had no need to fight the Rat King to the death. The best outcome was to safely drive it off.
Kill the Rat King?
Xia Hong immediately dismissed the idea. Of all of them, only six were Foundation Establishment—now one of them, Luo Yuan, was unconscious.
Zhao Long and his brothers had emptied their quivers. The arrows fired by the rest of the Woodcutting Establishment couldn’t possibly wound the Rat King—that was pure fantasy.
The problem was, the Rat King didn’t know that.
Earlier, even as the rodent swarm was slaughtered, the Rat King refused to emerge. Even after the swarm retreated, it could barely hold back—yet still hid underground to ambush Xia Hong and the others. And now, after being forced out by Xia Hong’s trick, it still didn’t strike immediately.
These three facts revealed the Rat King’s nature.
Polite term: cautious. Crude term: cowardly.
Cowardly—and clever? Then things were simple.
As Xia Hong suspected, the Rat King, faced with over a hundred bows aimed at it, still wore a ferocious expression—but its feet remained rooted. As its eyes grew increasingly glazed, even its tail stopped swaying.
It had abandoned attack. It was preparing to flee.
Even without speaking, everyone else understood Xia Hong’s intent. All held their bows, glaring at the rodent, poised to release their arrows at any moment—none dared move.
“Squeak-squeak-squeak…”
“Squeak… squeak…”
“Squeak-squeak-squeak-squeak…”
…………
Then, suddenly, a loud chorus of squeaks erupted from the north, casting an instant shadow over Xia Hong’s heart—and a flicker of despair in his eyes.
Not just him—over ninety others, including Xia Chuan, shared the same reaction.
The two hundred-plus rodents that had fled into the arrow bamboo forest had just emerged again, rustling out from within.
Though scattered, some were heading straight toward them.
How could these rodents come back out?!
At this moment, while the hundred-plus of the Great Xia camp stood frozen, the Rat King’s face twisted into a sinister, cruel, and utterly triumphant sneer.
It seemed to already see the fate of this group—and was laughing.
But the Rat King’s cruel expression lasted only seconds.
The rodent swarm emerging from the north moved in clear panic—just as they had when Xia Hong and the others had driven them into the forest.
Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
Dozens of iron arrows shot from behind the rodent swarm, piercing through the arrow bamboo forest.
These rodents weren’t coming of their own accord—they were being driven out.
Someone was in the arrow bamboo forest?
Everyone in the Great Xia camp, including Xia Hong, froze in surprise. Then, hearing voices from within the bamboo grove, their faces lit up with wild joy.
“Who the hell drove these stinking rats into the forest? That’s cruel!”
“They’re still stuck with plenty of iron arrows—must be from another camp.”
“The only camp nearby should be Beehive, right? Is there another?”
“Beehive’s on Pingxi Plain, north of the bamboo forest. This must be someone else.”
………………
From within the arrow bamboo forest, a dozen figures slowly emerged.
Each held powerful bows, advancing while continuously shooting at the panicked rodents. Unlike the Great Xia camp, these dozen men fired arrows of immense power—each shot killed instantly, just like Zhao Long and his brothers.
“Squeak-squeak-squeak…”
The moment the dozen figures appeared, the Rat King lifted its head and let out several calls.
The previously chaotic rodent swarm instantly converged toward the east, then the Rat King shot forward like a silver flash, diving straight into the center of the group.
The remaining two hundred-plus rodents quickly became a silver tidal wave, rustling as they surged eastward into the depths of the high mountains.
The Rat King had simply and cleanly fled…
At last, Xia Hong’s spirit settled. He turned to the group emerging from the arrow bamboo forest. First, gratitude crossed his face; then, he took two slow steps forward, preparing to thank them.
“There really are people here? Old Lu said this area only had one medium-sized camp, Luo Ge, and a few small ones.”
“So many bows? This isn’t like a small or medium camp at all!”
The group emerging from the bamboo forest had clearly noticed the Great Xia camp.
The remarks from the two leading men revealed information that made Xia Hong’s expression shift. He was about to introduce himself—when another voice spoke up.
“Was it you lot who drove the rat swarm into the bamboo forest?”
Hearing the clear accusation and blame in their tone, Xia Hong realized this was another group hard to deal with. His expression darkened slightly. He steadied his stance and shifted his injured right leg backward.
Then he realized something else. He gave a glance to Xia Chuan beside him and whispered two words.
“Torch!”
Xia Chuan understood instantly. He pulled out a torch and lit it immediately.
(End of Chapter)
End of Chapter
