Chapter 99

Ga Lu's roar shook the magma-stone milk river, causing its waves to churn wildly.

Dozens of fire crocodile people soaked in the magma-stone milk, their stomachs growling from hunger, their bodies scorched red, twitched slightly, then each lifted their heads and let out impatient cheers.

Like a band of burning hungry ghosts rushing onto the riverbank, they plunged into the fields planted with elemental grass, grabbing handfuls and stuffing them into their mouths.

Moreover, some fire crocodile people, while swallowing elemental grass, hastily donned crude armor and heavy weapons, glaring ferociously at Wu Tie and his party who had invaded the elemental cave, issuing threatening roars.

The girl standing beneath a small tree gripped a curved blade, furrowed her brows as she watched Wu Tie and the large troop behind him.

Her gaze swiftly swept over the warriors under Hei Pi, One-Eyed Child, and Tie Bashi, and it seemed she paid no heed to these wolf- and ox-tribe warriors.

Her gaze also passed over the gray dwarf warriors.

The stout, tall iron dwarfs, a head taller than the gray dwarfs, received only a glance from her, and she shook her head in contempt.

But when she saw the five stone giants, and the faint yellow patterns flickering beneath their grayish-white skin, the girl's face tightened instantly.

These stone giants were not mere brutes relying solely on bodily strength; they were cultivated beings possessing formidable power and a family legacy.

Given their size and their innate terrifying strength, the combat power of these stone giants is extremely fearsome.

The girl let out a soft hum, and two middle-aged men in python-skin soft armor, with stern faces, silently appeared behind her. They looked solemnly at Wu Tie's group, and one whispered, 'Miss, shall we fight?'

The girl fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised her curved blade: 'Fight… the descendants of the Yan family have no cowards who retreat without battle. Especially this elemental cave, it must not fall. These three Blazing Tribulation Fruits must not fall into enemy hands.'

She gritted her teeth, staring at the five stone giants, and muttered in confusion and anger: 'Why are they Shi Family warriors? Why? Our relations with the Shi Family have always been good—why have their warriors suddenly appeared here?'

Ga Lu had already eaten his fill of elemental grass; the massive medicinal power churned and boiled within him, his scales emitting a faint red glow, and with each breath he exhaled two long flames from his nostrils.

With a low growl, Ga Lu rose to his feet, spread his arms, and his long tail whipped violently behind him. His body gradually rose, soon swelling to about three meters tall.

He reached his hand backward.

A muffled whoosh came from behind; several dozen meters away, a fire crocodile warrior hurled a massive long-handled wheel axe over.

Ga Lu's huge palm firmly grasped the thick haft of the axe, as thick as a sea bowl; he twisted his body, swinging the axe with both hands, leaving a piercing circular cold light in the air.

'I am Ga Lu! Which family's warriors are you? You have invaded the elemental cave I guard…'

Ga Lu opened his maw and roared at Wu Tie, sparks continually spraying from his mouth.

Wu Tie extended his left hand; a point of golden light flashed at his brow, forming an invisible force field that slammed heavily into Ga Lu's chest.

With a tremendous boom, Ga Lu's chest scales shattered, his ribs emitting a piercing crack, his massive body erupting in flames as it flew backward; the tremendous impact hurled him over a hundred meters, where he slammed into several fire crocodiles behind him.

A group of fire crocodiles tumbled to the ground in disarray, rolling about wildly.

Ga Lu's great axe fell to the ground, sinking deep into a field.

A group of fire crocodiles stared blankly, then roared in unison, brandishing their weapons without any formation, and ferociously charged at Wu Tie and his companions.

The five stone giants let out low roars, leading a group of iron dwarfs and gray dwarfs forward in a charge.

A dim yellow light emanated from within the stone giants, and looming mountain phantoms appeared behind them; with each step they took, the ground rippled like water.

The fire crocodiles' legs floated as they ran; the undulating tremors of the ground made their footing unsteady, causing them to sway continuously, and some kept planting their heads into the earth.

The iron and gray dwarfs, however, seemed pumped up, a faint yellow halo surrounding them; as they ran, they struck the ground like heavy boulders, each step solid and resonant, without a hint of wobble.

The two forces quickly came into contact.

Both sides swung their heavy weapons, madly howling as they smashed at each other.

With a thunderous 'Boom—', the five stone giants were unstoppable; a casual swipe sent twenty-odd fire crocodiles spitting blood as they flew backward.

The iron and gray dwarfs, meanwhile, were like striking iron; their weapons clashed violently with those of the fire crocodiles, sending out showers of sparks and occasionally sending weapon fragments flying.

These fragments all came from the weapons wielded by the fire crocodile warriors.

Their brute strength was too great; ordinary refined steel weapons could not withstand their might, constantly shedding tiny fragments that whistled through the air as they struck all around.

Amid the clashing impacts, dozens of iron and gray dwarfs had their armor burst, blood spilling from their mouths and bodies as they toppled backward.

These stout fellows, each with a sturdy, square build, fell to the ground and rolled backward; their prone height was nearly the same as when they stood. They tumbled like meatballs, gurgling as they rolled, each constantly gritting their teeth and cursing.

In this violent clash, aside from the fire crocodiles that suffered losses and injuries against the five stone giants, the other fire crocodiles actually gained an absolute advantage over the iron and gray dwarfs.

Height, build, absolute strength, and especially bodily defense…

The fire crocodiles' armor was of extremely poor quality—mere ordinary iron wires and plates lashed together into a crude half-body cuirass. Under the blows of the iron and gray dwarfs' war hammers and great axes, these armors shattered at a single strike.

Yet the fire crocodiles' innate thick hide and scales were over an inch thick; years of soaking in magma-stone milk had transformed their scales, granting them a defense comparable to the rare alloy-forged 'Elemental Arms'.

A war hammer's blow merely made them stagger back a few steps.

An axe's chop merely cracked their scales, barely damaging the flesh beneath the hide.

The fire crocodiles' immense strength meant their weapon blows sent the iron and gray dwarfs tumbling and crawling in disarray.

However, this time the Stone Cat ordered a surprise assault on this elemental cave, and he had invested heavily.

The dwarven warriors' armor was entirely 'Elemental Arms'.

The fire crocodiles' weapons were also crude; when they struck the dwarven warriors, they shattered and snapped, while the fine 'Elemental Arms' armor merely bore a few inconspicuous nicks.

After rolling backward a considerable distance, the dwarf warriors roared to their feet, brandished their weapons, and surged forward again.

The fire crocodile warriors' weapons broke apart, and their armor was completely shattered.

Bare-chested, they swung their fists, howling as they rushed toward the fully armed dwarf warriors.

A piercing whistle rang out; the lizardfolk warriors behind Wu Tie drew their longbows, and volley after volley of expertly forged armor-piercing arrows screamed in.

The specially made armor-piercing arrows bore three-inch triple-edged heads that flickered with a ghostly light, and the special armor-piercing runes shimmered faintly. All these arrows came from the Lu family of the three great clans; at close range, a volley could easily pierce half a foot of steel plate.

The lizardfolk archers' skill was impressive; not a single one of the hundred long arrows missed, and the dozen or so fire crocodile warriors at the forefront shuddered violently as varying numbers of arrows lodged in their vital chest spots.

The mutated scales an inch thick were remarkably tough; even the specially made armor-piercing arrows could only barely pierce them.

Such wounds were nothing to the stout, powerful fire crocodiles.

The deadly part was that the arrows were coated with 'Rotten Bone Marrow'!

Old Bai's ancestral secret formula, the lethal poison Rotten Bone Marrow!

Although the arrows merely nicked the fire crocodiles' flesh, the potent toxin spread rapidly through their blood, causing a dozen or so fire crocodiles to scream in agony as they frantically yanked out the embedded arrows, black poisonous fluid continually spurting from the wounds.

The lizardfolk archers flicked out their long tongues, and a second wave of arrows came.

Then came the third wave, the fourth wave, the fifth wave…

Dense arrows whistled; the lizardmen archers had ample accuracy, but insufficient physical strength. After firing ten successive volleys, they all stuck out their long tongues, lowered the specially made strong bows they held, drew the soft swords at their waists, retreated a few steps, and formed a neat square formation.

Nearly a hundred fire crocodile warriors were already covered in wounds.

Arrows laced with rotting bone marrow caused them excruciating pain; large chunks of flesh rotted rapidly, and their strength waned swiftly.

If not for their long-term soaking in magma stone milk, their bodies filled with domineering fire power, which slightly restrained the rampant spread of the rotting bone marrow, these fire crocodile warriors would have already succumbed to lethal poison.

Even so, their weakened bodies were frenziedly beaten by a group of dwarf warriors; heavy hammers and great axes kept falling, nearly a hundred fire crocodiles were knocked rolling all over the ground, and not one could rise to resist.

Facing these trained elite warriors of Stone City, though the fire crocodile group held some advantages in strength, stature, and scale armor, they ultimately lost completely.

Garulu, sent flying by Wu Tie's heavy blow, staggered to his feet.

He stared blankly at his utterly disadvantaged clansmen, desperately shaking his head.

In just those few breaths, the time it took him to crawl up from underground—how… how did he lose so quickly?

The thick scales and tough hide on his chest shattered; within the blurred flesh could be seen fine bone fragments, at least ten ribs broken by Wu Tie's recent long-range strike.

Garulu endured the searing chest pain, let out a low roar, drew his great axe with both hands, and staggered toward Wu Tie.

"This is Garulu's territory… enemies, get out!"

Beside Wu Tie, a stone giant produced the Juling Lamp!

The day Shixi fell in battle, the Juling Lamp was reclaimed by Shibao; since this assault on the Yuan Cave is of great importance, Shi Meng had the stone giant bring along this secret treasure of the giant clan's bloodline inheritance.

The stone giant grinned widely and blew a hard breath onto the Juling Lamp.

The Juling Lamp's flames blazed; great sheets of green smoke wrapped countless sparks that sputtered out, each thumb‑sized spark whistling as it flew and struck Garulu heavily.

Each spark exploded violently; the power of every spark was dozens of times greater than the mountain‑splitting thunder used by the miners of Wu Tie's family back then.

Blossoms of fire exploded; Garulu was blasted, flesh and blood flying, letting out a low cry as he hurled backward several hundred meters.

Sparks fell on the fire crocodiles, blasting them into scale‑covered wounds, their scales bursting outward.

The Juling Lamp's might is immense, especially when wielded by a pure‑blood giant, unleashing power several times greater than when Shixi held it.

One by one the fire crocodiles collapsed, unable to rise, letting out low cries as their bodies convulsed violently, black blood continually seeping from their wounds.

Wu Tie looked at these brave fire crocodiles and said in a deep voice: "Old Bai, detoxify them… tie them up; they are fine warriors."

Old Bai poked his head out from the rear passage, tiptoed, peered from under the armpit of the lizardmen archers, saw that the fire crocodile warriors had indeed lost their fighting ability, and then waved his hand proudly.

Two or three hundred rat‑man warriors cheered as they surged forward, grabbing ropes twisted from beast sinew, swiftly darting to the fire crocodiles and binding them in a few moves.

"You are warriors of the Shi Family." A clear, cold voice came from afar.

A girl stood beneath a tree, holding a saber, escorted by two stern‑looking middle‑aged men, already over two hundred meters away.

Wu Tie turned, looking at the girl who was not strikingly beautiful but whose whole bearing was pure and clean, exuding a clear, spiritual freshness that felt very comfortable, even giving a sense of inner coolness.

"The Yan family attacked Stone City with blazing gold‑devouring ants… so we must retaliate." Wu Tie looked at the girl: "That's only natural, isn't it?"

"You cut me once, I must cut you back… this is the survival law acknowledged by all families of the Cangyan Realm." Wu Tie regarded the girl solemnly.

The girl nodded, speaking seriously: "Exactly, that's the principle… but only the strong have the right to retaliate. Compared to my Yan family's warriors, you Shi Family are not strong."

Five stone giants let out a simultaneous low roar, bending their left arms to show off their overdeveloped muscles and tendons.

The girl's face twitched…

Five stone giants, one of them holding the giant clan's inheritance treasure, the Juling Lamp—she truly could not defeat them.

Clenching her teeth, forcing calm, the girl said in a low voice: "I give you a chance… a chance to avoid an all‑out war between our houses… a chance for your Shi Family not to be wiped out…"

"Leave this place, and I will pretend nothing happened." The girl calmly looked at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie smiled, looking at the girl and said with a smile: "What an interesting idea; right now we hold absolute advantage here… uh, may I ask your esteemed name?"

The girl furrowed her brows, speaking coldly: "Yan Hanlu. The current head of the Yan family, Yan Mo, is my father."

Wu Tie raised his eyebrows… what a big fish!