Chapter 252: A Vow for Revenge
Chapter 252: A Vow for Revenge
"Hmm?"
Ji Xinghuo's gaze turned dangerous, filling the room with a menacing aura.
The two Antlerfolk trembled, feeling as if the Highlander before them was a wild dragon from the plateau, about to breathe fire and burn them to ashes.
"Please don't misunderstand," Baimang explained, his hair standing on end. "I will tell you where the Gale Beast was last seen, and you can go there yourself to look for it."
Ji Xinghuo's furrowed brows smoothed out.
However, the Gale Beast was incredibly fast and had no fixed lair. Even knowing its previous location, it would be challenging to find it.
Since someone had already seen it, it would be better to have them guide him directly.
"Take me there," he said in a low voice.
"It won't make a difference if I go," Baimang quickly shook his head. "That Gale Beast has appeared several times, and many of us in the tribe have tried to hunt it down, but we couldn't keep up. Its last appearance was at the end of last month, twelve days ago. Even if I go, I won't be able to find it."
Ji Xinghuo considered this; what he said made sense.
It would be more efficient to search alone without anyone slowing him down.
"How much?" he asked.
"I don't want your money," Baimang said, his eyes fixed on Ji Xinghuo, his face a mix of emotions. "My parents and sister were killed by Blood Maniacs. I once swore to the Elk Prophet that I would kill a thousand Blood Maniacs in this lifetime to avenge my family."
His tone was light, but his words carried a seething hatred.
However, Ji Xinghuo remained expressionless.
"If it weren't for the Prophet's order, I would never have let you into our tribe, let alone tell you about the Gale Beast's location."
"I hope you don't find it."
Baimang threw down a crude map and turned to leave the room.
"Guest, please understand, Baimang isn't targeting you..." Uncle Gen whispered an apology to Ji Xinghuo, only to realize that Ji was studying the map and hadn't heard a word he'd said. It was clear that he didn't take the matter to heart at all.
This wasn't magnanimity but indifference.
What did it mean to apologize to a Highlander Red Emperor believer, a Blood Maniac who only understood slaughter?
Uncle Gen gave a self-deprecating smile, swallowed the words he wanted to say, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
What he didn't know was that Ji Xinghuo, on the other side of the door, had glanced over, perceiving his expression and the movements of everyone in the inn as clearly as if they were imprinted on his palm.
The next day.
After a comfortable night's sleep, Ji Xinghuo got up, ate a hearty breakfast prepared by Uncle Gen, and immediately left the inn. Guided by Baimang, he departed from the Azure Leaf Tribe.
Along the way, Baimang remained silent.
Ji Xinghuo also kept quiet.
Baimang escorted him to the outer wall and immediately turned back as if he had just sent away a calamity. On the wall, a squad of Antlerfolk guards watched Ji Xinghuo with caution and hostility.
"Hmph," Ji Xinghuo's lips curled slightly as he carried his battle axe and walked away to the west.
As his figure disappeared into the cold wind, the Antlerfolk of the Azure Leaf Tribe finally breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, their entire squad had taken turns standing guard around the inn last night, prepared for the Blood Maniac to suddenly go berserk and cause casualties among their tribe.
Ji Xinghuo was well aware of this, but he didn't care.
The only thing that piqued his curiosity was the Antlerfolk Prophet who had ordered his entry into the tribe but hadn't shown himself since.
However, since the other party didn't want to appear, Ji Xinghuo couldn't be bothered to ask and create unnecessary trouble.
According to the map provided by Baimang, the last place the Gale Beast had appeared was over 200 kilometers west of the Azure Leaf Tribe, located between several snowy peaks. Given the Gale Beast's speed and habits, it could be anywhere within the thousands of square kilometers encompassing those peaks.
Such a vast area would take several days to search with electromagnetic induction.
When the Azure Leaf Tribe was out of sight, Ji Xinghuo summoned Qinghong and rode off swiftly.
Around noon, the cold wind that had been blowing for days suddenly stopped, and several towering peaks appeared on the horizon, forming a massive white mountain range that reached into the clouds.
"Ice Finger Mountains."
Ji Xinghuo gazed at the bright white snow-capped peaks. The mountain range was named thus because its five tallest peaks were roughly in a line, creating an extremely steep terrain that resembled outstretched fingers.
The map provided by Han Qiu also marked this place and included a brief introduction.
The Ice Finger Mountains are dangerous.
A type of insect-like monster called the "Thousand-Legged Ice Centipede" lives here, and there are quite a few of them. The entire Ice Finger Mountains are their territory.
However, Ji Xinghuo wasn't too concerned. It was a good thing to have monsters around, as he could harvest exotic beasts and spiritual source energy.
If the monsters were too strong, he could also detect them in advance and flee.
Just as he was about to enter the Ice Finger Mountains, he suddenly sensed something and stopped in his tracks. A faint voice echoed in his mind: "Please return to the Azure Leaf Tribe."
"Hmm?"
Ji Xinghuo's brows furrowed.
This method of transmitting messages across space resembled the work of a psychic hacker, with a strong suggestion attached to the voice, yet it also seemed like a plea.
The voice was somewhat familiar, and he immediately recognized it as belonging to the Antlerfolk Prophet from the previous night.
"What's going on?"
Ji Xinghuo thought for a moment and decided to ignore it.
However, a few minutes later, the Antlerfolk Prophet's voice sounded again, becoming more urgent, as if he wanted to explain but was limited by his ability to convey his reason clearly.
"Take a look back, and if there's danger, retreat," Ji Xinghuo changed his mind. The Azure Leaf Tribe had left a good impression on him, and these Antlerfolk didn't seem to bear any ill will. In the harsh world of the Bloody Plateau, the Azure Leaf Tribe was a rare oasis of peace.
Ji Xinghuo sensed that something was amiss in the tribe and was about to approach when his electromagnetic induction detected a group of six people who had left the tribe not long ago and were heading in his direction. In just a few minutes, they would cross paths.
"Over there."
Ji Xinghuo pointed to a mountain valley, and Qinghong sprinted towards it at full speed. Once inside the valley, he shrank in size, activated his Stealth Ring, and hid within a crevice in the icy rocks, remaining completely still.
Before long, the group of six arrived.
They passed about two kilometers ahead of Ji Xinghuo, a distance from which it would be difficult for others to discover him, but his electromagnetic induction clearly revealed their situation.
All six riders were mounted on warhorses, and the one in front was a familiar face—Baimang.
He was likely their guide.
However, Baimang did not seem to be there willingly.
Even without seeing his expression, the changes in his magnetic field betrayed the pain on his face, and he had sustained multiple injuries, with even his antlers cut short.
Ji Xinghuo's attention shifted to the other five individuals. They were not Antlerfolk.
Two Dan humans, two Highlanders, and a Winged being.
"Legends!"
"And two of them, at that."
Ji Xinghuo's heart skipped a beat. Among the five foreigners, two were Legends, one of them a Dan human whose magnetic field exhibited a unique, wave-like characteristic, indicating the possession of spiritual energy—a Legend-level Spiritual Stringer! The other Legend was a Highlander, towering over 2.2 meters tall, his body resembling metal with a strongly ferromagnetic field.
"Ironclad Warrior?"
Ji Xinghuo made a guess.
Ever since implanting the Star Nucleus, he had become more sensitive to magnetic fields, and this iron-like magnetism was not uncommon among the Skyfall Cliffs; every Ironclad Warrior possessed it, including Mysha.
The remaining three were also fourth-stage evolvers, formidable in their own right.
Ji Xinghuo did not act rashly. Only after this group had left the range of his electromagnetic induction did he emerge from his hiding spot in the valley and set off towards the Azure Leaf Tribe. Even before reaching the tribe, his electromagnetic induction swept through the area, and his face darkened.
The Azure Leaf Tribe was in a dire state.
Half of the once exquisite houses had collapsed, and at least a thousand people lay amidst the rubble. In the center of the tribe, the open ground was littered with countless bodies that had been cut to pieces and then frozen.
Wails of grief arose from all directions, the peaceful tranquility of yesterday utterly shattered.
"Where's the Prophet?"
Ji Xinghuo had gained insight into the tribe's situation the previous night, and among these Antlerfolk, there had been only one Legend—the Prophet.
He quickly located her, frozen within a block of solid ice, devoid of any signs of life.
The inn had also been destroyed.
Uncle Gen's corpse lay in a pool of blood, lifeless.
"They really went all out," Ji Xinghuo sighed. There was no need to ask; he knew that these five individuals were responsible.
He felt regret and heaviness in his heart.
Such was the nature of the Bloody Plateau—everything depended on strength. Without it, everything was ephemeral, easily crushed into nothingness.
Earlier, the Prophet's call had been a plea for help.
"That's not right..."
Ji Xinghuo thought carefully.
Over an hour ago, those five people should not have reached the Azure Leaf Tribe yet, but the Prophet had already sent him a message. As a Star God with prophetic abilities, the "Elk Prophet" might have bestowed similar, albeit less clear, abilities upon her followers.
So, the Prophet might have had a premonition the night before and thus agreed to let him enter the tribe.
But why didn't she ask him to stop this from happening?
Did she not foresee it?
Ji Xinghuo was a bit confused. These prophetic and mental abilities always seemed vague and incomprehensible.
However, he understood one thing.
The Antlerfolk Prophet's call had not been a plea for help but a request for him to avenge the Azure Leaf Tribe.
"I never agreed to that."
"But if the opportunity arises, I might as well take action."
Ji Xinghuo was not particularly angry, nor did he feel a strong urge for revenge.
If they couldn't secure their own strength, this wouldn't be the first time, nor the last. Revenge would be meaningless. The Antlerfolk had large tribes as well, and they should relocate and join one of those, ensuring their survival.
He did not enter the Azure Leaf Tribe but turned around and left.
Half an hour later.
Relying on Qinghong's sense of smell, Ji Xinghuo caught up with the group ahead, but he did not rashly approach them, nor did he let them enter the range of his electromagnetic induction. Instead, he trailed them from a distance of over ten kilometers.
"Are they also heading to the Ice Finger Mountains?"
The direction this group was heading in was the same as his original destination.
Ji Xinghuo was perplexed. Were they also after the Gale Beast's heart, which was why they forced Baimang to guide them? But was a mere Gale Beast worth the effort of two Legends?
Ji Xinghuo wasn't sure.
Soon after, this group indeed entered the Ice Finger Mountains, and he followed suit without hesitation.
(End of Chapter)
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