Chapter 230

Several middle-aged men retreated hastily, stepping back while muttering incantations, with light flashing on their hands.

A small squad of seventy or eighty Shibao warriors quickly surrounded them, including a few ox-tribe members, about ten werewolves, and mostly dwarves and lizardfolk; though their armor was crude, they still had a fierce air.

Alarm bells rang throughout Shibao, as several Chonglou Realm cultivators leapt into the air and flew out from the fortress.

Furthermore, a unit of two or three hundred soldiers rushed out in quick steps, shouting and yelling from afar, vigorously waving their weapons and emitting a dull, tearing-through-the-air sound.

Outside Shibao, in the big and small huts, groups of gnome and grey-dwarf slaves ran out carrying crude weapons.

Under the urging of several middle-aged men, three or four thousand slaves formed a loose, disordered formation and slowly moved to surround Wu Tie and the others.

Wu Tie heard clearly as several middle-aged men loudly promised the slaves a reward: if they could strike Wu Tie and his companions once, they would receive a piece of dried meat.

Many slaves' eyes lit up; obviously, the reward of a piece of dried meat was very important, very important to them.

Several Chonglou Realm cultivators, Wu Tie didn't care.

Three or four hundred low-grade warriors with no cultivation traces, relying solely on brute strength, Wu Tie didn't care.

But faced with those several thousand emaciated, wobbling slaves walking up, Wu Tie felt a bit unsteady.

He coughed once and instinctively stepped back a few steps.

Just as he retreated, a flying dagger whistled toward him, a blade over three feet long heavily chopping toward his forehead.

Wu Tie did not dodge, letting the flying dagger strike his forehead...... The dagger's light was impure and uneven, its flight path wavering, its glow flickering, clearly showing the dagger's poor quality.

'Ding!'

The flying dagger shattered on Wu Tie's forehead, leaving only a tiny, insignificant white mark on his skin.

Setting aside Wu Tie's fully mutated bones, his cultivation at the twelfth level of the Chonglou Realm granted him mastery of the Earthly Evil Seventy-Two Transformations Divine Ability; aside from the Great Strength Divine Ability, he naturally also possessed profound secret arts such as the Copper Head Iron Forehead and Steel Tendons Iron Bones.

Not to mention his increasingly formidable bones, Wu Tie's entire flesh and body are now extremely solid; not even divine weapons can injure him.

Wiping away the fine iron debris from his forehead, Wu Tie loudly rebuked the middle-aged man who had attacked him: 'We have no grudge, why strike at me? Could it be that we have offended you in some way?'

The middle-aged man who had struck, along with his companions nearby, stared wide-eyed, each looking at Wu Tie as if seeing a ghost.

That flying dagger just now, although not an ancient treasure divine weapon, was a fine metal weapon crafted by master artisans; infused with Chonglou Realm mana, it could easily pierce a three-inch-thick steel plate.

Such a fine weapon, yet it couldn't even break through a layer of Wu Tie's oily skin!

Gritting his teeth, the middle-aged man who had just struck roared: 'An order from the Dahu City Garrison General's Office: capture you all, and there will be a great reward.'

An order from the Dahu City Garrison General's Office?

Capture Wu Tie and his group?

Wu Tie and his companions simultaneously looked at the disguised Demon Chapter King, wondering if he had leaked his whereabouts, discovered by the Twelve Executive Families of the present Sanlian City-state.

The Demon Chapter King looked blankly at his companions; he hadn't set foot in the territories surrounding the Sanlian Realm for many years, and had just returned today—how could he have leaked his trail?

'It can't be related to me, right? If it were related to me…… it's impossible for this bunch of salted fish to come capture me; it would have to be the elite private armies of those twelve families.' The Demon Chapter King spread his hands, looking pitifully at Wu Tie.

'They're coming for us.' Wu Tie's face grew grim.

'The Dark Guild? Do they really have that…… divine power?' Lao Tie grunted angrily, grinding his teeth: 'This…… slaughtering women and children and such, I can't do that……'

When Lao Tie looked at those few cultivators hovering off the ground, Chonglou Realm experts, and those warriors, his eyes flashed with ferocity.

But when he looked at the vast number of slaves drawing ever closer, Lao Tie's two hind legs twitched simultaneously.

Wu Tie merely stepped back two or three steps, while Lao Tie instinctively retreated ten or more steps, then bared his teeth and roared: 'Hey, you…… aren't you afraid of a mad dog that's gone crazy and even bites itself?'

Those slaves continued approaching with blank expressions; if Lao Tie stayed silent it would be fine, but the moment he shouted, hundreds of slaves simultaneously fixed their gaze on him.

In the slaves' dull, lifeless eyes, a blazing inferno instantly ignited…… it was a powerful flame called 'Appetite', intangible, scorching Lao Tie to the point his hair stood on end.

'The momentum is wrong!' Lao Tie muttered under his breath.

Wu Tie was also forced to retreat step by step; looking at those slaves, he said in a low voice: 'This matter has nothing to do with you…… you……'

After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Wu Tie gave his nearby companions a low, extremely stern order: 'These slaves…… do not harm them.'

Shi Fei, Yan Hanlu, and Lu Ji were all eager and ready to strike.

They came from the three great families of the Cangyan Realm; the three great families have countless slaves, and although Shi Fei and his ilk are considered the better sort among those families, in their hearts these slaves are utterly insignificant.

They could kill any slave who dared to offend them without changing expression.

With their current cultivation, three or four thousand weak slaves are nothing but ants that could be wiped out with a single sweep of the hand.

But because of Wu Tie's order, they suppressed the urge to strike.

Several middle-aged men hovering in the air shouted in unison; they saw Wu Tie's hesitation, and the astonishing scene of the flying dagger shattering on his forehead gave them a jolt, which was quickly overtaken by an inexplicable delight.

In their urging, a large crowd of slaves mustered all their strength, shouting as they charged at Wu Tie and the others.

Three or four thousand naked slaves charged in unison; for a moment it was like a low tide surging over them, and Wu Tie and Lao Tie instantly fell into disarray.

'How about…… a strategic retreat?' Lao Tie shouted loudly: 'Wait until night, then sneak back and finish off this bunch of scoundrels.'

As Lao Tie was shouting, the shamaness perched on his back cried 'ya ya', and lightly shook her Wind and Cloud Banner in her hand.

A vicious wind rose from the flat ground, howling as it surged forward; the three or four thousand weak slaves lost their footing, being blown across the ground in chaotic rolls.

Thousands of slaves rolled repeatedly on the ground, the strong wind swiftly blowing them backward over a thousand meters. The gale twisted their bodies, causing bone-deep aches, their viscera churning, each retching and unable to rise again.

'Father?' the shamaness blinked stupidly, raising her head and staring blankly at Wu Tie.

She seemed to be asking Wu Tie, why such an easily resolved matter would frighten Wu Tie and Lao Tie into such a sorry state.

Wu Tie's face twitched.

Lao Tie's face twitched.

"Hey, we... aren't even as good as a little girl." Lao Bai gripped a big bunch of poison needles in his left hand, and in his right hand he carried two poisoned small daggers, giving a dry, hollow laugh.

Wu Tie's face flushed red, he angrily shouted: "What are you standing there for? For no reason, out of the blue, ambushing us... seize them, we need them alive."

Tie Dajian gave a cold snort, hefting the heavy, huge greatsword as big as a small door panel, he strode forward with big steps.

Shan Dun gave a loud "houhou" laugh, he narrowed his eyes, gave an unfriendly glance at the distant Shibao, then suddenly swung his heavy fist, slamming it hard into the ground.

Over ten metal obelisks, entirely crimson red and emitting intense heat, wreathed in blazing flames, shot up from the ground with a howl.

These huge obelisks thrust up from beneath Shibao's outer wall, accompanied by continual booming; Shibao's wall was blown to pieces, several watchtowers collapsed outright, and the lizard‑folk on watch screamed as they jumped down, dropping their weapons and fleeing in disarray into the distance.

From within Shibao came the hissing cries of several people, and the faces of the few middle-aged men hovering in the air suddenly changed.

"Wait…… we……" the middle-aged man who had just slashed a flying knife at Wu Tie bellowed.

Tie Da Jian had already rushed up to them, the grim-faced Tie Da Jian leapt up without a word, flipped the heavy sword in his hand, and slammed the hilt hard into the middle-aged man's belly, sending him flying over two hundred meters with a light blow.

After all, he was a cultivator of the Chonglou Realm; the middle-aged man, struck by Tie Da Jian's blow, spat blood seven or eight meters away, fell to the ground and rolled several tens of meters, yet still full of vigor he let out continual wails, quickly got to his feet, and staggered off toward Shibao at not a slow pace.

Before he had gone two steps, Lao Bai suddenly sprang from the middle-aged man's shadow, fiercely slamming a handful of steel needles coated with a potent anesthetic onto the man's buttocks.

With a wail, the middle-aged man staggered forward ten-odd steps, then collapsed face-down and could not get up again.

Yan Han Lu brandished two sabers wreathed in black flames and charged forward; the blades swept up a sky-full of black blade light, cleanly slicing through the flying knives and swords that several middle-aged men had launched with all their might.

The flying knives and swords melted into droplets of iron in the black flames; Yan Han Lu sped past several middle-aged men, whose clothing instantly ignited, and their body hair burned away into a wisp of blue smoke.

Several naked middle-aged men yelled as they fell back to the ground, curling up in terror, staring at Yan Han Lu with utter dread, and completely abandoned any thought of resistance.

Hundreds of warriors who had gathered around stared blankly at Wu Tie and his companions.

These warriors were obviously not very bright; it was clear their master had suffered a crushing defeat, yet about half of them still clamored to seize Wu Tie and the others.

Wu Tie looked at these obviously over-muscled warriors, fell silent for a moment, hoisted the White Tiger Split onto his back, and stepped forward with steady strides to stand before them.

A few of the lead Ox Clan warriors exchanged glances, picked up their great axes and wolf-tooth clubs, and aimed a fierce blow at Wu Tie's head.

Amid the dull thuds, three great axes, four wolf-tooth clubs, and a peculiarly shaped iron hammer shattered against Wu Tie's head. The Ox Clan warriors who had struck out tore their tiger mouths, blood spraying all over their hands.

Wu Tie stood motionless where he was, saying nothing, merely staring at the dumbfounded warriors.

After a while, the warriors simultaneously dropped their weapons, knelt down cleanly and swiftly, and pressed their foreheads firmly to the ground.

After a moment, inside the Shibao hall whose great cracks had been shaken loose by the Mountain Shield obelisk, Wu Tie sat upright on the seat originally belonging to the clan head, coldly eyeing the several middle-aged men kneeling before him.

"Still the same question: we have no grudge against you, so why do you harbor such strong hostility toward us?" Wu Tie asked, puzzled.

"Hostility aside, you bunch of idiots, blind as bats—do you think we old-timers are something you can provoke?" Lao Tie opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and laughed loudly: "Just a few misshapen melons and rotten dates—who gave you the guts to attack us?"

The middle-aged man who had first attacked Wu Tie spat out a mouthful of bloody spittle.

He gave a dry laugh, shook his head, and muttered: "The Guardian General's Mansion set us up…… they only said they wanted to capture you alive, but didn't say you'd be this strong……"

Wu Tie said coldly: "Did the Guardian General's Mansion tell you how to identify us? How do you know the ones you're supposed to capture are us?"

The middle-aged man lifted his eyelids, glanced at Lao Tie, then at the Wu Maiden sitting on Wu Tie's leg, and with a wry smile sighed: "A black dog…… and a little girl holding a long banner…… those are the clearest marks."

The middle-aged man murmured: "Anyway, that's exactly what the bounty order said: a group of people, a black dog, and a little girl."

With a bitter laugh, the middle-aged man said hoarsely: "I never expected you to be this formidable."

"We've been set up."

Several middle-aged men sighed in unison, their eyes filled with extreme panic and unease.

Wu Tie could understand their feelings; the furnishings of this hall were not bad—at least far more splendid than the Wu family's Shibao setup back then.

This little Shibao boasted five or six cultivators of the Chonglou Realm, hundreds of elite warriors, and outside the fortress alone there were thousands of slaves; the total number of slaves held by Shibao likely reached tens of thousands.

Such a life could be lived with great relish.

As a result, lured by the reward on the bounty order, they all lost everything in an instant.

Wu Tie shook his head and said coldly: "Greed is a sin, but I'm curious—what benefits did that so‑called Guardian General's Mansion give you, making you so eager that you didn't even bother to scout our strength before launching a direct attack?"

The middle-aged man exhaled heavily after a moment of silence: "If we could capture you and send you to the Guardian General's Mansion, then… our clan would become a vassal of the You Tan Family, receiving their direct protection."

"Greater lands, superior cultivation methods, more resources, higher cultivation, more wealth, more beauties, not to mention unimaginable delicacies, fine wines, and luxurious garments and equipment…" the middle-aged man's eyes flashed with a strange light as he countered Wu Tie: "Aren't these conditions enough?"

Wu Tie instantly laughed: "But you've failed."

The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly: "But we also succeeded. Even if we failed to capture you, as long as we could leak word to the Guardian General's Mansion, we would still earn a reward."

The middle-aged man grinned at Wu Tie: "Even if they're dead, they ought to have arrived by now, right?"