Chapter 92: Chapter Ninety: Turning the Tables

Outside Big Stone City.

The fires in the fields are dying out.

All combustible crops have been burned to a crisp, leaving only a charred expanse of field.

Near the city wall of Big Stone City, countless fist‑sized ice pellets lay piled thickly on the ground.

Beneath the azure ice pellets, twenty‑ to thirty‑thousand Flame‑Devouring Ants are frozen stiff inside; their once‑hot shells are cracked, and the scorching plasma within has turned to ice.

Wu Tie stands on the city wall, the white egg wrapped in his chest‑protecting mirror flickering with a faint light.

Beside him, a basket of lava grass and dozens of higher‑grade prime grass have been completely devoured by him; the overwhelming energy courses through his body, and a trickle of firelight sputters from each of his pores.

At a glance, he looks no different from the Flame‑Devouring Ants outside the city.

Even his body, pushed to the extreme, cannot bear such violent energy.

Fortunately, the white egg at his chest incessantly devours the excess violent energy within him, keeping a patch of coolness at his heart and barely preventing his body from collapsing completely.

At the same time, the white egg completely consumes the life force and souls of the twenty‑ to thirty‑thousand Flame‑Devouring Ants; its surface shimmers with myriad intricate symbols that turn into wisps of cloud‑smoke, swirling and rushing inside the shell.

Moreover, tens of thousands of Flame‑Devouring Ants stand dazed in the distance, unmoved despite the desperate flute‑blowing of a black‑robed old man several li away; they simply refuse to advance another step.

Dozens of Ice Wind Dragon Tornadoes still rage.

The blue‑white tornadoes gradually swell to several hundred meters high; the wind itself is not strong, but the cold qi within is astonishing.

Countless palm‑sized hexagonal ice crystals continually spray from the tornadoes, striking each other and emitting a crisp sound, like rain hammering the ground.

Outside the city walls, a vast area seven or eight li long and over three li wide is completely sealed in ice.

After a full half‑quarter hour, amid countless flute urgings, a Flame‑Devouring Ant nearly ten meters long, its body spewing white fire, slowly raises its front half.

It lets out a shrill cry mingling sorrow and anger, then slowly turns and steps back the way it came.

This giant Flame‑Devouring Ant runs faster and faster, gradually turning into a flowing mass of flame that hugs the ground and howls away.

Terrifying white flames continually jet from the giant Flame‑Devouring Ant's body, scorching a trench several meters wide and about a meter deep into the ground behind it.

Vast swarms of Flame‑Devouring Ants slowly turn their bodies, letting out low roars as they stride back the way they came.

Hundreds of Flame Family warriors shout in unison; the black‑robed old man's mouth keeps spurting blood as he incessantly blows his oddly shaped bone flute.

Gradually, every hole in the old man's bone flute spurts blood.

Yet no matter how he urges them, the Flame‑Devouring Ant swarm refuses to draw nearer to Big Stone City; they retreat in disarray, like waves crashing against a reef.

The old man hollers hysterically, pointing at the swiftly retreating giant Flame‑Devouring Ant and cursing furiously.

The giant Flame‑Devouring Ant runs silently, at full speed.

As it passes the old man, it suddenly halts, turns its head, and spews a stream of white flame from its mouth.

The black‑robed old man shrieks, trying to dodge, but the giant Flame‑Devouring Ant's attack comes too suddenly; flames spray outward for hundreds of meters, and the old man, having already expended too much vital energy, cannot evade in time.

White flames blaze across the ground, turning the field's soil into molten lava.

The old man's body stands like a human torch, burning there; after roughly a dozen breaths, his flesh is burnt away, his withered skeleton snaps with a 'pa' and collapses, scattering sparks, and then all returns to dust.

Hundreds of Flame Family warriors stare blankly at the ice‑sealed walls of Big Stone City.

This time, the Flame Family paid a huge price, barely managing to lure this swarm of Flame‑Devouring Ants to Big Stone City.

What was the result?

They intended to slaughter the whole of Big Stone City, to give those stubborn Shi Family members a taste of their own medicine.

What was the result?

The Flame‑Devouring Ant swarm lost nearly half its numbers; the Ant King turned on them, leading the swarm in retreat, and even disregarding their former alliance, tore apart the pretense and slew the Yan Family Elder in charge of this affair.

"You bunch of faithless beasts!" a Flame Family warrior roared, suddenly erupting in flames across his body as he swung his fire‑forged heavy sabre and charged at the Ant King.

The massive Ant King's long limb shot out like lightning.

With a tremendous bang, the two‑meter‑tall, sturdy Flame Family warrior was flung backward; his armor shattered into red‑hot fragments that began to melt rapidly.

This flame‑spewing Flame Family warrior suddenly vomited white fire from within his body.

He flew several hundred meters away, slamming hard into a blackened field; his body exploded, a small patch of white fire blazed on the scorched dry earth, and soon consumed him entirely.

Wu Tie extended his ten fingers; faint hexagonal ice‑crystal patterns flickered on his azure nails.

Gradually, his nail colour returned to normal, the golden flames blazing at his brow dimmed, and the heat around him swiftly dissipated.

"Drowsy… so tired… my whole body… hurts…" Wu Tie rolled his eyes, muttering indistinctly.

His mental strength was utterly exhausted, and a boundless darkness surged before his eyes.

Unendurable pain shot through his body, like a fresh lobster taken from a steamer and plunged into ice water.

Unbearable heat and piercing cold struck together; his whole body felt as if being ground bit by bit by a saw, the endless agony made Wu Tie groan twice before he passed out completely.

"Quick, take Little Iron Steward back to rest!" Shi Meng shouted loudly.

He ignored his own serious wounds, summoned his most trusted aides to bring people over, ordering them to personally escort Wu Tie back to his residence, and dispatched his personal elite hundred‑strong guard to protect Wu Tie closely.

Today's battle, Big Stone City was saved by Wu Tie.

Without Wu Tie, Shi Meng could flee with his trusted elite; given his strength, that would not be difficult.

But everyone else inside Big Stone City would become food for the Flame‑Devouring Ants.

Moreover, if he lost this battle, Shi Meng would lose everything.

Wu Tie saved all of Big Stone City, and thus saved Shi Meng himself.

"Old Bai, Old Bai…" After having Wu Tie escorted away, Shi Meng raised his voice again.

"Get your pack of rat‑brats moving, old man—go search, go dig, go into every hole… that old immortal, what's he doing? Him and that unreliable lot…" Shi Meng trembled with rage.

"Where have they all died? And you said they'd come when called… I almost got killed… you promised they'd come when called—where are they?"

Shi Meng picked up a half‑melted great axe from the ground and furiously hacked at the two Flame‑Devouring Ant corpses before him.

He pointed wildly at the hundreds of disarrayed Flame Family warriors outside the city: "Brothers, chase them! Surround them and take them alive!"

No need to open the city gate.

They also couldn't open the city gate.

Led by the external stewards Tie 88, Hei Pi, and Du Yan'er, the warriors inside Great Stone City roared furiously, trampling mightily on the corpses of blazing gold-eating ants as tall as the city walls as they charged out of the city.

More than ten li away, hundreds of Yan Family warriors let out a simultaneous roar.

They did not flee, but instead raised their weapons and boldly charged against the Great Stone City warriors, who were several dozen times more numerous.

The Yan Family warriors are just like that—upright.

They only know how to attack; they never flee.

Soon, the Great Stone City warriors surrounded the hundreds of Yan Family warriors. Shi Meng took the lead, his body swelling to more than double its size as he roared loudly, bared his flesh, swung his fists, his whole body glowing with a faint light, and fiercely broke into the Yan Family warriors' ranks.

With a swing of his arms, over a dozen Yan Family warriors screamed as they were blown away by his heavy punches.

Shi Meng roared, smashing the Yan Family warriors' formation into utter chaos.

Several dozen stout and powerful iron dwarves swung their great hammers, following closely behind Shi Meng as they charged forward; the heavy hammers swung, striking heavily against the heavy armor.

The Yan Family warriors likewise let out low roars, brandishing their weapons unwilling to yield, fighting with all their might.

Figures darted to and fro across the ground amidst the 'chitter-chatter' of shouts; Lao Bai's children rushed forward bearing various bows and crossbows. Assorted poison-coated arrows whistled down, covering this elite Yan Family unit; the brave, fearless Yan Family warriors who fought to the death immediately collapsed.

Not long after, Shi Meng's furious howl echoed from outside Great Stone City: 'Come on, hurry, detox, quick detox…… Lao Bai, you beast…… What poison did you coat the arrowheads with? How many kinds of poison? Damn it……'

Shi Meng's howl was very loud; the howling wind swept it up and carried it into a tall mine entrance.

The howl bounced back and forth within the winding mine tunnel; as the tunnel extended dozens of li inward, it led into a vast stone cavern.

The stone cavern, nearly a hundred meters high and spanning over ten li, held stacked oversized stone tables and beds, etc.; the stone tables were in disarray, piled with several roasted large beasts.

The roasted beast meat had been torn to shreds, the stone tables littered with rotting meat and broken bones.

Hundreds of wine jars were tossed haphazardly on the ground; dozens of huge stone bowls on the tables were overturned, spilling wine that soaked the floor, filling the cavern with a pungent wine odor.

Several dozen rock giants lay sprawled on the ground, their faces flushed, pores open, strong wine vapors continually escaping from their pores; they occasionally grunted and twitched.

Shibao, his skin pitch-black, leaned weakly against a massive stone pillar, his legs feebly swaying.

He likewise had a flushed face, pores open, strong wine vapors continually escaping from his pores; his eyes were hazy, his eyeballs slightly rolling, his hands occasionally trying to lift but ultimately falling limp at his sides.

"Yan… Yan Yatou…" Shibao weakly hummed: "Good, good…… I watched you grow up…… You've played this trick on me……"

Three or four li away from Shibao stood an elderly woman who was well maintained, her lips red and teeth white, but with obvious crow's-feet at the corners of her eyes, her forehead full of wrinkles, age spots faintly visible on the backs of her hands; clearly not young, she wore a black fur robe, standing silently there, warily watching Shibao.

A nearly twenty-meter-long triangle dragon lay curled beside the elderly woman, its thick, powerful tail occasionally swaying; at the tip of its tail, thick bone had condensed into a barrel-sized bone hammer, which, as the tail swung, occasionally produced a 'whoosh' of wind.

Shibao panted; after a long while, the elderly woman finally spoke.

She sighed slowly, hands tucked into her sleeves, and spoke gently: "Shibao, old sir…… we are different……"

"You lot, you have food and drink; seeing your descendants thrive makes you happy…… You basically have no brains—eat your fill, drink your fill, sleep with thunderous snores…… When you're unhappy, you just brawl, down a bowl of wine, and all worries can be tossed behind your heads……"

"Calling you stupid? Actually, this simplicity, we also envy it……"

"But we can't live so simply……" the elderly woman smiled, squinting, making the wrinkles at her eyes and forehead even more pronounced: "If I don't speak of others, just me—I love to stay forever beautiful, forever young…… Which woman would like to become a haggard old crone, reeking of odd odors, ending up as an ugly corpse?"

"So, what's wrong with the Changsheng Sect?"

"But there are always some brats who only know their own petty immediate gains…… They never consider us old folks……"

She heaved a deep sigh, then said calmly: "For profit, they even dare to lay hands on their own elders."

"This time it's Shixi; next, who will it be?"

"So, this brat Shi Meng, we are determined to kill him…… Those old brothers of the Shi Family, they too are soft‑hearted; after all this time, what could they possibly do to Shi Meng?"

"They couldn't, so we came."

"Since we've taken action, we must certainly exact a price."

"Great Stone City will henceforth be the Yan Family's territory…… Those little rascals inside Great Stone City who disrespect the elders will surely have to shed blood."

The elderly woman gazed gently at Shibao and said softly: "You there, and your juniors as well—we don't want to fight you…… So please, just lie still here for a while."

"When you wake up, everything will be over. Dust settled, all will proceed according to our plan—isn't that wonderful?"

Shibao drew a deep breath; suddenly, the sound of rolling magma, like a 'whoosh', came from within his body.

Vast Blood Light erupted from his pores, the Blood Light reeking of wine and a strong foul odor.

With a low roar, Shibao straightened his body and then strode boldly toward the elderly woman.