Chapter 267: Using Fire

Baoxi saw the flames had turned blue and could not sit still any longer; he immediately stood up to watch the bonfire closely, though he dared not ask what this signified yet. In any case, whenever Wangzuo performed a sacrifice, such situations often occurred, and the implications were usually good. He just did not know what the spirits wanted to say this time and could only wait for Wangzuo to finish before asking; he feared disturbing the spirits if he asked now.

Wangzuo knew the people nearby had seen it clearly, yet they still stayed far from the bonfire, not for any other reason than to avoid the foul odor produced by the burning Fire Essence. That smell made people dizzy and nauseated, which was something Wangzuo had discovered through long-term observation, so he also tried his best to hold his breath.

After the blue flames gradually vanished, Wangzuo ended this part of the sacrifice, feigned great exhaustion, and said to Baoxi: "The spirits have spoken; we should use fire!"

Baoxi believed this implicitly, so he hurriedly had people go to investigate how they should set the fire. Setting a fire was a technical job; how to set it to maximize power without harming themselves was key.

What Baoxi feared most was that a great fire would burn everything belonging to the Qiexin Tribe; if that happened, their attack this time would be meaningless, and they would gain nothing but a pile of useless ash.

However, since the spirits had spoken, there would surely be a good result.

Seeing that Wangzuo was very fatigued, Baoxi was considerate of his subordinate and let him go to a nearby Tent to rest; as for the matter of setting the fire, he did not need to worry about it.

Wangzuo was not at all polite; he ducked into the Tent and even had people select a few beautiful Slaves to be sent in with him, to which Baoxi had no objections.

But this time, a few Soldiers stood too close to the bonfire and smelled that strange odor; however, fearing they would anger the spirits, they dared not show any abnormality, and by now, they all felt somewhat dizzy and nauseated.

After a while, someone could not hold on and collapsed. Because the collapse was inexplicable, everyone was somewhat panicked, thinking the people of the Qiexin Tribe had used a Spell to curse their Soldiers.

Seeing the morale wavering, Baoxi hurriedly called out Wangzuo, who was currently enjoying himself, to let him see what the situation was. As soon as Wangzuo saw the state of the collapsed Soldiers and combined it with the fact that they had just been next to the bonfire, he immediately knew the reason.

He gave a relaxed chuckle: "Everyone, do not be afraid. This is not some Spell of the Qiexin Tribe; it is just because they were too close to the spirits during the sacrifice, and their bodies could not withstand the descent of the spirits. You must know, not everyone is like me and able to communicate with the spirits."

With Baifeng explaining it this way, everyone was no longer afraid, but looking at the Soldiers lying on the ground and those about to collapse, they were at a loss.

Based on his experience, Wangzuo had them first pull these people to an open area where they would not be affected by the smoke and fire, then splashed some cold water on their faces and let them recover. As for whether they could recover, that was none of Wangzuo's business; he did not seem to have thrown much water either.

In any case, Wangzuo did not feel bad about it. It was good that such an incident happened; this way, no one would stand next to him during future sacrifices, the chance of him being exposed would be much smaller, and it would be safer.

After handling it, Wangzuo went back to enjoy himself, and Baoxi, seeing that everyone's emotions had stabilized, continued to study how to set the fire.

In the afternoon, the people sent out to scout returned. Combining the situation of the surrounding trees, the current wind direction, and the terrain, they arrived at what they considered the most suitable way to set the fire.

Subsequently, Baoxi had everyone on the front line withdraw and began to set the fire.

What they wanted to utilize was the smoke and the fear the fire brought to the enemy, not to actually burn the entire Qiexin Tribe to the ground.

Everything was decided, and Baoxi had people go to light the fire. By the time the fire truly grew large, it would be night, and the fire at that time would strike the greatest fear into people.

Over at the Qiexin Tribe, after several resistances, he discovered that the Suiren Tribe had begun to retreat. He knew that since the Suiren Tribe had mobilized such a large formation, it was impossible for them to withdraw so simply; there must be other attacks coming.

However, he did not care what the Suiren Tribe's plan was for now. At least the current withdrawal gave them some time to prepare properly. Their resistance had been too hasty, and he estimated many people were still hiding and had not come; now was the time for a reckoning.

Qiexin put on his clothes while being served by his concubines; although his clothes also left his chest exposed, this was considered a symbol of a man to them.

He had everyone hurry to prepare food and eat something. Since last night, they had not eaten a single thing and were all very fatigued.

Mealtime was also the easiest time to take a headcount. All the small Leaders counted the population under their jurisdiction—how many Soldiers, how many women, children, and elderly, how many were injured, how many were dead, and how many had not come—all had to have a rough figure.

Of course, the people from the few places that were attacked at the very beginning could no longer be seen at all.

Finally, after a rough count, it was estimated that over a thousand Soldiers had already died, and another thousand Soldiers had lost their combat effectiveness. Those with minor injuries were fine and still had a chance to recover; of course, whether they could live depended on whether the spirits would protect them. Some injuries healed in a few days, while some people's wounds would rot in a few days, and they would die just like that.

As for those with severe injuries—missing arms or legs, or having their stomachs or thighs slashed open—they could only be thrown aside to wait for death. Everyone knew very well that such Soldiers could not survive.

The loss of over two thousand people filled Qiexin with terror. This was only one day; if such attacks came a few more times, their Qiexin Tribe truly could not withstand it. But now, they had no choice but to resist. He was also unwilling to abandon such a large tribe to become a wandering savage, so he could only fight with all his might.

Just as Qiexin was arranging the next battle for the Soldiers, everyone discovered that smoke seemed to be drifting over, and it was not the smoke of their tribe.

They hurriedly ran to high ground to look, and to their surprise, the fire on the distant mountain was already very large, with thick smoke rolling in, and the wind was still blowing in their direction.

Qiexin suddenly squatted on the ground. They had a possibility of resisting people, but fire? They had no way to deal with it at all. This time, no one had any intention of resisting; in their hearts, they only thought about how to save their lives.