Chapter 36: The Might of Earth Elementals: The Scorpion Bandits Annihilated

Earth elementals are beings that live in the Earth Elemental Plane.

Except when summoned, they rarely leave their homeland.

Their appearance resembles that of humans, their bodies formed from the stone slabs inside the hall.

Their faces are cold and expressionless; two polished, round stones serve as their eyes at this moment.

Turus saw this and cried out: “I clearly summoned a Super Large Earth Elemental—why did a group of Large Earth Elementals appear?”

“Could it be that those Earth Elementals were too greedy and dissatisfied with my tribute?”

“Impossible! Earth Elementals are simple, kind beings—how could they do this!”

Turus felt even more pained.

Summoning extraplanar beings is not simple; without powerful magic to bind them, there’s no guarantee they’ll obey.

They might even turn and attack the summoner.

Turus was not a mage and naturally had no magic power.

Summoning Earth Elementals relied on a Summoning Ring.

He had attempted summoning several times before, reaching agreements with the Earth Elemental tribe on the other side.

To get Earth Elementals to act, one must offer them Earth Elemental Crystals.

The number of crystals determines how many Earth Elementals are dispatched.

Turus had once treated these agreements as jokes.

After all, dragons are greedy creatures—how could one expect them to give up their treasure?

But now, facing a life-or-death crisis, the dragon’s instinct immediately cast aside all such thoughts.

He urgently needed to summon an Earth Elemental to save the situation.

The result: instead of one First-Rank Super Large Earth Elemental, four Unranked Large Earth Elementals appeared.

This was the source of Turus’s pain—Unranked ones could not compare to First-Rank ones.

Even four of them could not make up for the difference in rank.

But it was too late now; Turus had no choice but to accept it and ordered the four Earth Elementals to advance and attack.

He was still stingy, unwilling to summon again.

Moreover, the Summoning Ring could only be used once per day—even with crystals, it was useless.

The four Earth Elementals were enormous, standing five meters tall and terrifying just by their presence.

The Scorpion Bandits grew panicked again—they usually killed humans.

They had no idea what Earth Elementals were capable of.

Merely seeing their height was enough to make them want to retreat.

Kill a dragon? What dragon?

Get home quickly! The dream of wealth was forgotten—his own life mattered more.

“Don’t panic! These Earth Elementals are merely large in size—they move slowly.”

“Look closely: their movement speed is less than half of yours.”

“As long as you dodge carefully, you can circle past the Earth Elementals and attack the young dragon.”

“That young dragon has no real power—treat it like a cow and kill it.”

Fang Shi’s cold voice echoed again among them.

Pa De and the others looked—and indeed, Fang Shi was right.

The Earth Elementals, under Turus’s command, were charging full force—but still moving sluggishly.

They could easily slip past them.

Especially Harris, after hearing Fang Shi’s words.

He rushed forward to one Earth Elemental and began playing with it.

In Harris’s eyes, the Earth Elemental was painfully slow; each punch slammed down hard, leaving a crater in the ground.

But the speed of its punches was far too sluggish—relying mostly on gravity for acceleration.

Harris could easily dodge all of them.

It reminded him of childhood, teasing the old dog of a wealthy household.

That dog was ancient, trembling with age, yet fiercely aggressive.

It would bark and lunge at people, drawing groups of children to mock it.

Harris was one of those children—and it was because of this that he became a wanderer.

Seeing Harris toy with the Earth Elemental,

the others regained their courage.

They began mimicking him, circling around the Earth Elementals.

Some even dared to dart back and forth beneath the Earth Elementals’ legs.

Making the Earth Elementals turn their heads repeatedly.

The Scorpion Bandits had never seen an elemental lifeform before.

For this strange, supernatural creature, everything seemed astonishing.

“Crack!”

One bandit, catching the Earth Elemental off guard, slashed at it with his knife.

The result: only a one-centimeter-deep scratch remained on the Earth Elemental’s body.

On a human, that would have peeled skin and drawn blood.

But the Earth Elemental’s entire body, inside and out, was rock—except for its energy core.

Combined with its towering size, this wound wasn’t even skin-deep.

“Bad! My knife can’t cut through!”

“Mine neither!”

“What do we do? This monster can’t be killed!”

Pa De could no longer bear it—he felt ashamed: “Stop playing! Rush past and kill that young dragon!”

“Everyone was told to go around—why are you attacking these monsters?”

Saying this, he led the charge, circling the Earth Elementals and sprinting toward Turus.

Seeing their leader move, the other bandits hurried after him.

Turus still stood at the center of the platform, facing the charging bandits—utterly calm.

It sneered: “You really think elemental lifeforms are that simple?”

“If they were merely shields, why would I have sent them forward?”

No sooner had Turus spoken than the four Earth Elementals suddenly accelerated—like bulldozers, they slammed into the bandits.

Their speed was so great, a complete contrast to their earlier sluggishness.

“Crash! Crash! Crash!”

Bandits who had not moved far enough were instantly flung into the air by the rampaging Earth Elementals.

They didn’t even have time to scream—likely dead from internal ruptures.

The survivors were stunned by the sudden turn. A few nearby were splattered with blood and flesh.

Even Pa De lost his composure—this dragon hunt had seen too many twists.

First, Fang Shi’s aura crushed them; then, the dragon’s roar stunned them; then, the Earth Elementals appeared.

Each twist was worse than the last—and all were unbeatable.

Pa De no longer believed Fang Shi’s lies.

He finally understood: nobles were nobles—they cared nothing for their lives.

He was nothing but cannon fodder.

All his hopes had been wishful thinking.

Either way, he would die—better to flee.

But someone ran faster than Pa De: Harris.

He was the only one who had been cautious throughout.

Though Harris always led the way, dismantling traps and rushing ahead—even just now, he was the first to charge the Earth Elemental—

In truth, it was all an act.

While others rushed forward, Harris had already slipped back slightly.

Having earned his “letter of recommendation,” he did not immediately follow to pursue the dragon.

Thus, when the Earth Elementals unleashed their charge, Harris was already able to retreat.

It was then that he decided to flee.

Harris refused to believe that, at this point, the Earth Elementals were distracted by the bandits.

Would Fang Shi really pass up this perfect chance to kill the dragon—and come after him instead?

“Shhh!”

A flash of swordlight passed—Harris’s pupils shrank. He tried to dodge aside.

But the swordlight was too fast, and Harris, sprinting at full speed, had too much momentum—he couldn’t dodge in time.

“Shhh!”

As he plunged into eternal darkness, Harris saw his own feet and shoes—and a sea of crimson.

"Slashing attack initiated."

"You dealt 31.5 damage to the target."

"Target received fatal damage."

"Target died."

"Absorbing target's soul energy, you gain 210 experience points, 21 survival points."

Fang Shi calmly stepped aside, avoiding the geyser of blood, and cast a glance at Pa De.

Pa De felt a chill run through his body and froze mid-run.

"Go back. If you behave, you'll survive in the end."

Pa De gritted his teeth: "No, no, you've been lying to me all along, haven't you? I..."

Before he finished speaking, Pa De drew his blade and slashed at Fang Shi.

He had just seen Fang Shi's previous strike—stronger than his own, but not to the level of a First-Rank warrior.

Was Fang Shi not really a First-Rank warrior?

Had a First-Rank warrior killed the dog-men and left?

Fang Shi had simply been there at the right moment, pretending to be one and scaring them off.

The thought flashed through Pa De's mind, but he had no energy left to verify it.

Pa De's full attention was on the blade swinging toward Fang Shi.

Under the pressure of life and death, this strike unleashed his utmost strength.

It was the most perfect strike of his life.

Timing, angle, force—all perfectly aligned.

Pa De believed that with surprise, he could land a hit on Fang Shi.

Perhaps he could even escape.

Or worse, kill Fang Shi and wash away his shame.

As the blade's wind neared, Fang Shi smiled coldly.

"[Multiple Force - Double Force Hand (Incomplete)]"

"[Multiple Force - Double Force Leg (Incomplete)]"

Vast power erupted from Fang Shi's hands and feet.

Facing Pa De's attack, he effortlessly sidestepped.

Then he thrust his sword straight through Pa De's chest and twisted it violently, shattering it inside.

"Piercing attack initiated."

"You dealt 31.5 damage to the target."

"Slashing attack initiated."

"You dealt 31.5 damage to the target."

"Target received fatal damage."

"Target died."

"Absorbing target's soul energy, you gain 210 experience points, 21 survival points."

Life is fleeting—morning flowers wither by evening, summer grass lies dormant in winter, fragile and monotonous, yet stubbornly resisting, yet ultimately one must die.

Fang Shi withdrew his sword; Pa De collapsed with a thud.

Crimson blood seeped into the dark brown stone slabs beneath.

He turned coldly to face the bandits who had broken through the earth element barrier and said calmly: "Are you ready to meet death?"

The bandits dared not answer; they scattered in all directions.

When facing a dragon, I can't outrun the dragon—can't I outrun my companions?

But today, Fang Shi would let not one of them escape.

"Crack!"

Cracks split the blue stone floor as Fang Shi instantly appeared at the tunnel exit.

He blocked the only passage.

The bandits saw his action and despair flooded their hearts.

Wolves ahead, tigers behind.

Once the earth elements finished slaughtering and caught up, they would have no chance to flee.

They had to choose one path.

"You devil!"

"Shhh!"

A head shot into the air, severed.

"You'll burn in hell!"

"Shhh!"

Another head rolled to the ground, eyes wide open in death.

"Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!"

Fang Shi fought while retreating, killing the bandits who charged at him, falling back steadily—blocking the tunnel while avoiding being surrounded.

In moments, every single bandit from the Giant Scorpion Gang who tried to flee lay dead at Fang Shi's feet.

As for their threats and curses, Fang Shi didn't give a damn.

If curses were that easy to fulfill, why bother leveling up? Just curse monsters to death every day.

"Experience: 4512"

Fang Shi gazed at Shi Long on the platform, and the earth elements rampaging below.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Now, it was his time to slay the dragon.