Chapter 1005

Like a construction site that had just been demolished.

The remaining ratfolk wouldn't come out, all hiding inside the burrows.

Only the thirty-plus around Gu Qing wailed and thrashed within the silk threads.

The female elves on the ground quickly climbed the trees — up in the branches was where they fought best.

Zhao Chi's female soldiers didn't need to dodge at all; they could simply stand their ground, since they all wore iron armor and could fight head-on.

They weren't afraid of the ratfolk ambushing them — they were afraid the ratfolk wouldn't come fight.

"Quiet!" Zhao Chi ordered.

Everyone immediately stopped moving and listened carefully for sounds around them.

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak…"

"Squeak squeak!"

The ratfolk around Gu Qing were still shrieking.

"Gu Qing." Zhao Chi looked at those ratfolk.

Gu Qing nodded and pointed.

Silk threads shot out, sealing all the ratfolk's mouths.

The surroundings were finally quiet.

Zhuang Ya ignored the mud mixed with rat blood, lying on the ground and listening carefully for movement.

"My lord, they're all below."

Zhuang Ya pointed downward.

But the ratfolk no longer dared come out.

The ambush had failed, and their casualties were heavy.

The ratfolk had never been brave to begin with, and now they were simply terrified.

Su Qin said: "Zhao Chi, I'll send someone back for shovels, but it might not work well."

Zhuang Ya grinned: "My lord, let me try?"

She spread her hands, and her pale palms flushed faintly red.

Zhao Chi naturally knew what she wanted to do.

A great fire couldn't spread freely inside the burrows, so all its force concentrated even more and could burn farther than on the surface.

It was indeed a good method.

Zhao Chi nodded: "Good, everyone stay away from the burrow openings, don't get burned."

The female soldiers stood a bit farther back.

Zhuang Ya gave a soft laugh, and the flames in her hands surged.

She had been holding it in for a long time, and now she could finally release it.

She was seen squatting on the ground, pressing her arms deep into the burrow.

Whoosh!

A fierce blaze gushed forth.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Flames poured out of more than a dozen burrow openings nearby.

Grey smoke billowed.

A sharp, stinging smell of burning rat fur.

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak!"

"Squeak! Squeak!"

"Squeak squeak—!"

More than a dozen ratfolk burst from the burrows wreathed in flames, leaping a full two meters high.

They looked around wildly in midair, searching for an opening without fire, ready to plunge back in.

The female soldiers immediately sprang into action; Qi Yue's Moonblade was already glowing.

But unexpectedly, over a hundred arrows were already flying toward them.

Swish swish swish swish swish!

Thud thud thud thud thud!

The ratfolk became targets in midair — every single one was hit by several arrows.

They died before they even hit the ground.

It was those Tier-3 elven longbowmen.

This was their specialty.

Zhao Chi nodded: "Not bad, Zhuang Ya, keep going."

Zhuang Ya laughed: "Alright, watch me burn them all!"

The ratfolk dug tunnels underground, and many of them were connected.

One Sea of Fire from Zhuang Ya could cover several of those tunnels.

Another nearly a hundred ratfolk were burned out, becoming aerial targets for the elves.

The remaining ratfolk must have realized someone outside was setting fires, so instead of hiding quietly, they began digging rapidly.

The once-quiet battlefield grew extremely noisy.

The sound of digging was everywhere.

Those ratfolk were all burrowing deeper.

This is going to be tricky.

The flames won't reach easily.

Gu Qing walked over to Zhuang Ya's side: "I'll add some wind for you."

Zhuang Ya's eyes lit up: "Wind? Not bad!"

Gu Qing crouched down and likewise thrust her arm into the earthen hole: "Begin!"

"Got it! Sea of Flames!"

Two fair, slender arms pressed together, exerting force at the same time.

Flames blasted out.

A gust of wind swept in.

Wind carrying fire surged and spread rapidly underground.

Flames licked out from dozens of surrounding holes.

Smoke and dust burst forth, scattering across the sky.

Another dozen-plus ratfolk were flushed out, becoming experience and targets for the elves.

"Next hole!"

Gu Qing pointed into the distance.

"Good, let's go!"

The ratfolk were flushed out by fire in batches.

But their numbers grew fewer and fewer.

Moreover, Zhuang Ya's spiritual power was limited—she couldn't keep burning forever.

Quite a few ratfolk had also dug their holes too deep, making them very hard to reach with fire.

By estimate, there should still be several dozen ratfolk underground.

What to do about this?

Gu Qing patted the dirt off her arm: "My lord, how about letting me try using water?"

The Gu Qing Society had a Water-Congealing Technique.

If they flooded the area in large amounts, it would indeed be very effective.

Even if it didn't drown them, it could still suffocate them.

However, the Water-Congealing Technique was only a beginner-grade water-system spiritual technique, and its effect was very limited.

If it were just having Gu Qing condense water for her own drinking, or even bathing, that would be more than enough.

But if they wanted to flood this entire stretch of earthen holes, that would be nowhere near sufficient.

Su Qin pointed at the ratfolk beside Gu Qing: "How about trying to persuade them to surrender?"