Chapter 1117: Hazelake

The sixth-level platform of Sarta, its height second only to the highest tier where the Sunfire Temple stands.

The entire floor houses the ruling class of the Sunfire Tribe, the residence of most high-ranking holy warriors and priests, with the chieftain's hall in the middle and the Sunfire Edge barracks.

The chieftain's horn sounded.

A moment later, fifteen thousand holy warriors gathered on the barracks' arena, the open ground almost completely filled.

At the front of the formation stood the chieftain's guard, led by Zan Jin.

Ke Er Sa Luo, who had been chieftain for nearly two months, purged his guard once, replacing almost half the members, then recruited followers of the Lord of Radiance from the tribe as reinforcements, and additionally slipped three hundred Thundercast Divine Soldiers into the ranks.

The chieftain's guard totaled one thousand, all close confidants of Ke Er Sa Luo.

For this expedition, the chieftain's guard served as the vanguard.

Of course, Ke Er Sa Luo said so and the guard believed it, but in reality the true main force comprised three hundred Thundercast Divine Soldiers.

The Sunfire Edge's march would follow later, tasked with cleaning up after the battle and suppressing the Headhunter Tribe.

A beam of light fell on the platform, revealing Ke Er Sa Luo's figure.

"Chieftain!"

Zan Jin led the half‑kneel, and the chieftain's guard performed the salute in unison.

All holy warriors on the arena knelt on one knee in unison, each troll bowing its head to show respect to the chieftain.

Although Ke Er Sa Luo had been in power for less than two months, his swift, thunderous methods exerted immense pressure on the tribe's holy warriors, far exceeding that of the new chieftain Zula Zabu. Any dissent could only be swallowed, and most of them felt even greater loyalty to the chieftain.

Loyalty, respect, and fear.

"Rise."

Ke Er Sa Luo's voice reached the holy warriors' ears; they rose, looked toward the chieftain on the platform, and saw him speak solemnly: "People of the tribe, remember this day. The glory of the Sunfire Tribe and the renown of the Sunfire trolls shall be continued today, echoed anew upon the lands of the Zula Man Empire, within this ancient forest!"

The trolls' emotions surged, their expressions growing increasingly excited.

He paused, then continued: "For centuries the Headhunter Tribe has been our greatest threat; they steal our prey, encroach on our lands, slaughter our kin, and this blood‑deep hatred cannot be forgiven even after ten thousand years."

"Now the god has awakened, and the Sunfire Tribe's vengeance begins with the Headhunter Tribe."

"Radiance above!"

"May Saint Jiles protect us," Ke Er Sa Luo said, his voice growing louder until it turned into an angry, fervent roar.

The holy warriors answered in unison: "We shall not betray Saint Jiles' blood!"

Boom! Boom! Boom… war drums beside the arena were beaten, their thunderous sound echoing through the city; on the plaza before the Sunfire Temple, temple priests led by Tu Su Er, with a great mass of devout followers, prayed loudly to the Sunfire, chanting the teachings of the Lord of Radiance.

Boom!

The sky trembled as a sphere of light brighter than the sun manifested over Sarta, a sacred, majestic aura enveloping everything, countless Divine Techniques showered upon the holy warriors, granting them blessings.

The Lord of Radiance performed another miracle.

Every holy warrior was wildly excited, bowing and worshipping the divine apex in the heavens.

Some trolls had initially voiced reservations about the chieftain's decision, even deeming it a death sentence for their kin, but after witnessing the Lord of Radiance's blessing, those thoughts vanished; clearly the deity endorsed the chieftain's choice.

Ke Er Sa Luo shouted: "Advance!"

He leapt onto a massive terrorhorn dragon clad in golden armor, nearly ten meters from head to tail; it had once been Zula Zabu's mount, now belonging to the new chieftain.

The holy warriors of the chieftain's guard also scrambled onto mounts, all of them heavy‑armored terrorhorn dragons; aside from Zan Jin and the senior holy warriors, the remaining warriors shared rides two per dragon, rotating control, totaling five hundred terrorhorn dragons.

Bang bang bang…

Ke Er Sa Luo led the charge, and the holy warriors immediately followed.

Heavy, dense footfalls rang through Sarta as they raced along the city's wide streets, the sides crowded with trolls seeing off their families; as the holy warriors passed, they shouted the Lord of Radiance's teachings, praying for their kin.

Amid a cloud of dust, the chieftain's guard quickly burst through the city gates into the forest.

After they departed, the Sunfire Edge's main force only then began marching; due to its size, its response was slower than the thousand‑strong chieftain's guard, and lacking full terrorhorn dragon mounts, most holy warriors had to march on foot.

Nevertheless, the Sunfire Edge was out of Sarta within a quarter‑hour, trailing far behind the guard, marching toward the destination.

Ten li ahead.

Ke Er Sa Luo led the chieftain's guard sprinting through the forest toward the Headhunter Tribe's largest city, Ha Zi Lai Ke.

The Headhunter Tribe has three cities, each built and controlled by one of the three strongest tribes.

Ha Zi Lai Ke is ruled by the Blood Spear Tribe.

Besides the Blood Spear Tribe, there are two smaller troll tribes; though smaller relative to the Blood Spear Tribe, each actually has a population comparable to the Sunfire Tribe—over one hundred thousand. Combined with the Blood Spear Tribe, the trolls of Ha Zi Lai Ke number nearly four hundred thousand!

Ha Zi Lai Ke, along with the other two cities, Tan Zha Er and Ka Zu Lu A, lie at roughly equal distances, forming a triangular formation.

Ke Er Sa Luo's choice to attack Ha Zi Lai Ke had no special reason.

It is the closest to Sarta!

From Sarta eastward, about three hundred li away, Ha Zi Lai Ke can be seen; normally holy warriors patrol and hunt no farther than one hundred fifty li, and beyond that they would inevitably encounter Ha Zi Lai Ke's trolls, leading to a relentless blood‑shed.

The three hundred li between Sarta and Ha Zi Lai Ke have, over centuries, been carved into a forest passage by trolls of both sides.

Every adult troll knows this road well.

Along the way, besides the usual night scouts, Ke Er Sa Luo had already dispatched scouts days earlier when he discovered an ancient holy altar.

At the time of the expedition, these Thundercast Celestial Soldier scouts acted early, eliminating Ha Zi Lai Ke's scouts.

Two hours later.

Ke Er Sa Luo, leading the chieftain's guard, had already covered over a hundred li, yet encountered no enemies along the way, which greatly surprised the holy warriors.

After a brief rest they set out again, traveling another hundred li without meeting any foes.

The holy warriors finally sensed something amiss.

"Chieftain."

Zan Jin, riding a terrorhorn dragon, approached and whispered: "We've entered Ha Zi Lai Ke's territory, yet no enemies appear; this is abnormal—should we scout further?" He feared the Blood Spear Tribe had already noticed.

"No need to worry; we just need to charge straight to Ha Zi Lai Ke in one go," Ke Er Sa Luo waved, adding: "The Blood Spear Tribe shows no movement for now."

Zan Jin remained skeptical.

The surrounding Holy Warriors also exchanged wary glances; most of them were experienced, having repeatedly followed Zula Zabu in battles against the Blood Spear Tribe.

In the past, every time before reaching Hazlek, they would encounter wave after wave of enemies.

Today, however, the weather was calm and the sea smooth.

The Blood Spear Tribe excelled at taming beasts; almost every troll was a hunter. When patrolling or hunting, they released their trained hunting hawks into the sky as scouts. These jungle hawks flew very high and could spot targets a dozen miles away. The Blazing Sun Tribe was always at a tactical disadvantage because of the enemy's hawks, forced into a passive stance with no remedy.

But along the way, the Holy Warriors saw no hawk in the sky; it seemed they had all vanished.

The second rest period ended.

The Chief's Guard set out again, and as they drew nearer to Hazlek, the Holy Warriors grew increasingly vigilant, gripping their weapons and bracing for any sudden attack.

However, even when they finally saw Hazlek perched atop a low hill from afar, not a single battle broke out.

"Above the Radiance!"

The Holy Warriors could hardly believe they had marched so easily to within twenty li of Hazlek; in the past several hundred years, the Blazing Sun Tribe had only a handful of occasions when they surged that close to an enemy city, each time at a tremendous cost.

Korsaro raised his right hand and ordered, "Hold position and rest; prepare for battle."

The Holy Warriors wore solemn expressions.

This was the final rest before battle; after that, they would charge straight to the foot of Hazlek's city gate and break through the enemy's gate.

A thousand trolls made not a sound; the forest was utterly silent.

The enemy's hunting hawks could see far, almost right under their eyelids; a few more li forward and they would be spotted. This made many Holy Warriors uneasy during the rest, yet, miraculously, for a full two quarters of an hour they remained completely unharmed.

"Radiant Protection," the Holy Warriors whispered in prayer.

Korsaro waved his hand.

Five hundred Horned Terror Dragons took off again, but this time they were spotted by the enemy almost immediately; such a commotion could not possibly be concealed.

Urgent war drums sounded within Hazlek City.

In the sky, dozens of jungle hawks swooped down, shrieking in alarm, but sounding the alarm at that moment was already too late.

The Horned Terror Dragons did not charge immediately, continuing at a moderate trot. The Holy Warriors saw a swarm of dark silhouettes lift off from the enemy city, rushing toward them; soon they discerned them as hundreds of massive pterosaurs.

Perched on each pterosaur's back was a troll—they were pterosaur hunters!

The Holy Warriors were well acquainted with the pterosaur hunters.

These were the Blood Spear Tribe's elite troops, but because pterosaurs are rare and hard to tame, Hazlek as a whole had fewer than three hundred pterosaur hunters.

The pterosaurs flew swiftly, while the Horned Terror Dragons ran, the two sides closing in on each other.

A few minutes later.

Over a hundred pterosaur hunters had already taken to the sky; the Holy Warriors looked up to see their long, razor‑sharp beaks, broad wings, and massive talons beneath, forming a formation that dove toward them.

The hunters on the pterosaurs had already grasped sharp spears etched with red runes, ready to hurl them using the pterosaurs' diving momentum.

Once the spear struck a target or the ground, it would explode.

Many Holy Warriors had witnessed the pterosaur hunters' devastating lethality, but against aerial assaults they lacked effective countermeasures, usually only able to dodge or brace for the spear throws.

"Do not slow down, keep charging!"

The chief's command rang out, firm and calm, easing the Holy Warriors' unease.

Meanwhile.

The Holy Warriors saw many of their kin rise; atop the running Horned Terror Dragons they walked as if on level ground. They were newly recruited members of the Chief's Guard, usually silent and fiercely loyal to the chief, rarely interacting with other tribesmen.

At that moment, they also held black spears taken from the side pouches of the dragons' saddles, apparently prepared in advance.

These spears were forged from ironwood; though wooden, they were thick, straight, and heavy.

They raised the wooden spears, aiming at the sky.

A few seconds later, with a soft hissing, over a hundred silent Holy Warriors threw their spears almost simultaneously. No radiant light surged from them; they relied purely on strength. The wooden spears vanished instantly, causing the dragons beneath them to stagger from the impact.

Then, the Holy Warriors saw a sight they would never forget.

Lines of black shadows slipped through the tree shade, crossing a kilometer in a blink and striking the pterosaurs' heads with pinpoint accuracy.

Pa‑pa‑pa…

All the pterosaurs' heads exploded instantly, flesh and blood spraying everywhere, like over a hundred blossoms blooming in midair, without a single scream.

In a single breath, the pterosaurs in the sky became headless corpses, plummeting toward the ground.

The troll hunters on the pterosaurs shrieked in terror but were helpless, flailing in midair as their spears slipped away, instantly rendering them combat‑ineffective.

While the Holy Warriors stared in amazement, the Horned Terror Dragons kept running. The sound of bodies hitting the ground and cries reached their ears; though the forest muffled them, it was clear that the fate of those over a hundred troll hunters was sealed— even if they didn't turn into mush, death was near.

The first wave of crisis was averted.

When the Holy Warriors regained their senses, they found they had run far again, now less than ten li from Hazlek. Some with keen eyesight could already see the city atop the mountain, where countless trolls were gathering, running, or hiding—a scene of chaos.

Clearly, the loss of the pterosaur hunters made the Blood Spear Tribe reluctant to launch another attack.

A moment later.

The Chief's Guard burst out of the forest and saw the city's full layout.

The mountain on which Hazlek sat was neither high nor large; trolls had erected a wall at the foot, encircling the entire hill.

All the trees outside the wall had been felled, leaving an open, unobstructed plain.

Emerging from the forest onto the wall, the plain stretched a kilometer wide; a towering city gate stood shut. The Holy Warriors could now see the enemies on the wall—thousands of troll warriors and hunters perched atop, wielding bows, spears, and battle‑axes, arrayed in strict formation. Every few dozen meters a massive crossbow was positioned, and the hunters were flanked by assorted beasts, their eyes flashing with blood‑thirsty light.

Within the city, more troll armies were gathering.

But the Chief's Guard numbered only a thousand; the enemy's forces were dozens, even hundreds of times larger.

Korsaro showed no sign of halting; instead he whipped the Horned Terror Dragon beneath him and roared, "Charge! Charge! Full‑speed charge!"

(End of Chapter)