Chapter 220: A Punch to Explode
Chapter 220: A Punch to Explode
Ji Xinghuo certainly wouldn't dare provoke a tribe of several hundred thousand people.
According to the traditions of the Highlanders, the leader of a tribe would at least be a legendary powerhouse. The larger the tribe, the stronger the individuals, and the more legends among them.
Within the tribe, he spotted flying mounts—a species of dragon with a pale gray hide and a wingspan of fifteen meters. At first glance, they resembled the dragons of the True Dragon Empire, but they lacked the sturdy build and scales of true dragons, and instead of forelegs, they had only a pair of feet beneath their bellies. Nonetheless, they were incredibly powerful super-class monsters.
Frost Dragons!
As super-class monsters, these dragons were far more powerful than the Evil Vultures.
These dragons, immune to the cold, mostly nested on the peaks behind the tribe. Some soared in the air, carrying Highlander knights on their backs.
Ji Xinghuo estimated there were at least three hundred of them.
It was clear that the Highlanders had mastered the art of taming Frost Dragons, turning them into an elite aerial force.
In addition to the dragons, the Highlanders possessed various other flying mounts, while their land mounts were mostly six-legged antlered horses, forming a massive force of heavy cavalry.
As night fell, numerous bonfires were lit within the tribe.
The Highlanders gathered around these towering bonfires, drinking, feasting on meat, and entertaining themselves with bloody battles. The sight of blood only excited them further.
If someone died during these fights, it would ignite a frenzied chorus of shouts and cheers.
Wild, bloodthirsty, and fearless! Ji Xinghuo sensed the essence of the Highlander tribe from a distance. Without lingering further, he quietly withdrew and left the vicinity of the tribe.
He deliberately detoured around the tribe and continued westward.
However, he soon discovered that the Highlanders were everywhere on the Bloody Plateau, and their numbers seemed infinite. They did not engage in production or agriculture, instead relying solely on hunting for their livelihood. As Ji Xinghuo searched for the Speedstorm Beast, he encountered Highlander hunting parties several times a day, and each time, he could only do his best to avoid them.
This undoubtedly slowed down his progress, but he had no other choice.
Until the third day.
Ji Xinghuo had traveled several hundred kilometers away from the tribe, and the number of Highlander hunting parties had drastically reduced. It had been a long time since he last came across one.
This was somewhat strange.
However, he soon understood why.
His electromagnetic sensing picked up three towering figures, and Ji Xinghuo quickly hid Qinghong in the forest. A moment later, these individuals appeared in his line of sight.
"The Ferocious Tribe!"
Ji Xinghuo realized that he had inadvertently ventured close to the territory of the Ferocious Tiger Tribe.
The Beast Tribe resembled upright feline beasts with backward-jointed legs. Adults stood at a height of two and a half meters or more, their bodies smooth and hairless, revealing tough, muscular skin. Their eyes were large and round, granting them exceptional dynamic vision, while their broad noses and sensitive sense of smell added to their formidable physique. Their mouths were lined with two rows of sharp teeth, and a pair of massive curved horns adorned their heads, with a long, flexible tail extending from their backs.
The term "Biao Tribe" was a general term, much like the various branches of the Star Humans. They were an intelligent race, taller and stronger than humans.
The different subspecies of the Beast Tribe could usually be distinguished by their skin color.
These three individuals had red skin, wearing armor only around their waists, shoulders, or wrists. Their chests were thick and broad like walls, their muscles knotted and well-defined.
Their eyes, too, were blood-red, exuding a bloodthirsty aura.
"The Blood-eyed Ferocious Tribe," Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself.
The Biao Tribe had a slightly lower level of civilization than the Highlanders, and their population was smaller. However, their individual strength was greater, which allowed them to stand on equal footing with the Highlanders on the Bloody Plateau.
The three members of the fierce tribe split up, with one in front and two behind, walking with an air of arrogance.
Ji Xinghuo had no intention of provoking them.
However, when they passed by the forest, the leading male Beast Tribe member paused, his nostrils flaring as he turned towards the forest.
His eyes lit up with a bloodthirsty gleam, and he muttered something to the two tribe members behind him.
The other two immediately split up, moving to flank the forest on both sides.
Armed and ready, the three of them formed a pincer formation as they approached the forest.
"We've been discovered," Ji Xinghuo realized.
He knew that his scent must have given him away.
He always carried a de-scenting spray, but its effect only lasted for a couple of hours, after which his scent would gradually spread again. Sometimes he would reapply it promptly, but other times, when there didn't seem to be any danger and his scent was faint, he wouldn't bother using the spray right away.
Now, he had accidentally stumbled upon these individuals, and their sense of smell was even more acute than he had anticipated, allowing them to detect him from such a distance.
Nonetheless, Ji Xinghuo remained calm.
The leading member of the trio was a Fourth Stage powerhouse, equivalent to a Superhuman on Earth. The other two were Third Stage.
Even if they were stronger than the average superhuman, they posed no threat to him.
He stepped out of the forest.
The three brutish Tribe members fixed their eyes on Ji Xinghuo, their round eyes widening in surprise, causing them to freeze momentarily. The leader of the group uttered something in a deep, unintelligible voice.
"I'm just passing through," Ji Xinghuo said in the language of the True Dragons, spreading his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.
The fierce Tribe member facing him narrowed his eyes.
He spoke again, this time in the language of the True Dragons, but his pronunciation was terrible. Ji Xinghuo could only make out words like "True Dragon" and "human," mixed with a string of unintelligible syllables that were likely the Ferocious Tribe's language.
Ji Xinghuo's face betrayed his frustration at the communication barrier, which was the most troublesome issue at hand. "I don't want to fight you. Farewell."
With that, he turned to retreat back into the forest and leave from another direction.
"$%!…"
A furious roar echoed through the air.
Ji Xinghuo was baffled.
He had clearly shown no hostility and, although communication had been ineffective, he had not offended them in any way. Why, then, had they suddenly attacked?
Could it be that he hadn't demonstrated enough strength, leading them to perceive him as weak and killable?
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Ji Xinghuo's reaction was swift.
He sidestepped to the side.
The spear grazed his shoulder, the blood flame attached to it spewing out intense heat. His ceramic steel armor withstood the brunt of the attack, and the holy scale armor beneath remained untouched, leaving him unscathed.
The Invisible Thorn was already in his hand, bow drawn.
Qinghong leaped out of his pocket, revealing its true form, and pounced on the Biao tribesman charging from the right. With Gravity Mutation, its weight was reduced to a fifth of its original, while its strength remained unaffected, and its speed increased dramatically, becoming as swift as lightning. It opened its mouth and unleashed a Thunderbolt Hand.
Boom!
The Biao tribesman was struck by lightning and let out a painful roar as it tumbled on the ground.
Qinghong lunged forward and swiped with its claws, tearing the tribesman to shreds.
On the other side, Ji Xinghuo aimed his arrow at the charging Biao tribesman on the left and released the arrow. The tribesman saw the bow and arrow and tried to dodge frantically, but in Ji Xinghuo's eyes, it was all in vain.
No matter how the Biao tribesman dodged, the invisible arrow accurately pierced his eye and penetrated through the back of his head.
In the blink of an eye, two of the Biao tribesmen were dead.
The Fourth Stage Biao tribesman who had thrown the spear was also charging with all his might, but when he was only halfway there and realized he was alone, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes. Nonetheless, he continued his charge fearlessly, letting out a low growl as his entire body ignited with fiery red flames, his speed increasing even further.
In the time it took to breathe, the Biao tribesman had reached a distance of just seven or eight meters from Ji Xinghuo, close enough to launch an attack.
He leaped into the air, unleashing his full power.
His hands transformed into a pair of massive, sharp claws. The Biao tribe was adept at using their own bodies as weapons, especially with their innate ability, "Claws of Fury," which could tear through steel and rock.
However, Ji Xinghuo did not shoot another arrow.
He stood his ground, a gleam flashing in his eyes, and in an instant, a spherical force field expanded outward.
Boom!
Amid the sound of thunder, a thick bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the leaping Biao tribesman, the immense power instantly knocking him to the ground.
Yet, he did not lose his ability to fight back. Spitting out fresh blood, he vanished from sight.
The next moment, he reappeared behind Ji Xinghuo.
His claws descended.
Ji Xinghuo took a step forward without turning his head, executing a flash step. However, he did not move far, only a single step, remaining within arm's reach of the Fourth Stage Biao tribesman. His left hand still held the bow, while his right hand was empty. As he performed the flash step, he turned to face the tribesman, his right hand forming a fist and delivering a punch.
The Biao tribesman had no time to dodge and, instead of panicking, he showed a hint of contempt.
He was just an archer; how much damage could a fist do?
Moreover, his defense was formidable.
Even among his own tribe, his defensive abilities were top-notch. Over the years, he had withstood countless attacks from enemies, emerging unscathed each time.
Before he could finish this thought, he was struck in the waist.
Bang!
The Biao tribesman's eyes bulged out. In that instant, he felt as though his waist had been kicked by a giant, his internal organs displaced, his bones shattered, and his entire body transformed into a sack riddled with holes as scorching blood splattered from within.
Electric currents ravaged his body, leaving his mind blank and robbing him of his ability to think.
Fortunately, his pain was short-lived.
It all ended in an instant.
The tall figure of the Biao tribesman exploded, turning into a pile of minced meat that splattered across the ground in a radius of over ten meters, resembling a blooming red peony.
Ji Xinghuo took a quick step back to avoid the enemy's blood from splashing onto him.
He loosened his fist.
Looking at the pool of bloody mess on the ground, Ji Xinghuo nodded in satisfaction.
After merging with the electrostatic field, the power of the Electric Light Spiral Force had increased significantly. With the advancement of his Golden Scale Iron Spine into the Holy Scale Armor, his strength had risen once more. With his full power, a single punch was enough to blast apart not just the flesh and blood of a Fourth Stage Biao tribesman but even a solid boulder.
"Foolish," Ji Xinghuo snorted.
He had made it clear that he meant no harm, yet they had come seeking death.
He briefly inspected the bodies of his enemies and found that they were poor, their weapons primitive and worthless.
This fight had been utterly baffling.
However, it wasn't without gains. Ji Xinghuo opened the interface of the Myriad Star Pupils and took a look. The three Biao tribesmen, one Fourth Stage and two Third Stage, had provided him with 250 points of spiritual source energy! This was three to four times more than what he would get from monsters or mutants of the same stage.
He couldn't help but remember something. Back when he was with Ren Jie and the others, slaughtering the Patrol Forest Tribe, they had speculated that the followers of the Star God would provide more spiritual source energy, far beyond the norm.
Today's events had proven this theory.
The Biao tribe and those from the Patrol Forest Tribe were all followers of the Red Emperor. And on the Bloody Plateau, followers of the Red Emperor were everywhere, too numerous to kill. On top of that, they would even engage in internecine struggles!
At this thought, Ji Xinghuo's heart skipped a beat.
(End of Chapter)
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