DOGE Note to those interested in becoming patrons: pay in USD!
Patreon recently started to allow several currencies but our system gets confused sometimes. So upon checkout, just select ‘US Dollars’ as your currency and all will be well. (nothing has changed)
Everyone on the Flaming Horn plantations were busy and anxious, but the other side of the Flaming River was not affected at all.
Even though people at the Flaming River couldn’t see what was going on at the Flaming Horn plantations, they could see what was happening in the sky. The flock of birds were indeed too eye-catching.
Some of the people who came to see the Giant Bridge were arguing with the soldiers that were guarding at the bridge post. They came here all the way to walk on the bridge, but the Flaming Horns weren’t letting them get close at all. If they weren’t even allowed to get on the bridge, what was the point in coming all the way here?
Wei had clearly instructed the team of Flaming Horn warriors there. No matter what they said or did. They already made a firm decision. No one other than the Flaming Horns were allowed to take a single step on or towards the bridge!
Even though they were not participating in the harvest at the headquarters, they knew that no one was allowed to go over there and cause a disturbance. These people said they were coming to look at the bridge. How could they be sure that they wouldn’t head over to the headquarters right away? Their chief had already passed an order earlier. No one besides the Flaming Horns were allowed to pass!
More people from foreign tribes were crowding here. The person who was leading the expedition team to come join the excitement looked over again at the Flaming Horns who were guarding at the bridge post. Their numbers exceeded those of the guards. Why not just barge in?
Once in a while people in the crowd murmured, intensifying the already tense atmosphere.
“You think you can stop us?! Just because you’re not letting me see it, I want to see it even more!”
The crowd pushed forward and forced the people in front to move two steps forward. The Flaming Horn guards who were guarding there immediately took out their swords and spears and aimed at them. Most of these expedition team members were not nice people. They were already growing impatient because the Flaming Horns refused to let them go on the bridge. They did not believe in such exaggerated rumours. Besides coming here to confirm the rumours, they were also testing the Flaming Horn’s patience.
There was just one more step, and everything would be complete. The push from the crowd behind them was the trigger of the outbreak.
They were almost about to witness an outbreak, but they suddenly heard noises coming from the sky above the headquarters. When they looked up, they saw bloody explosions in the sky.
The bloody scene extinguished all the fury in their hearts and they immediately stopped whatever they were doing. Even the guards on the bridge turned their heads to look. They didn’t know what happened, but judging by the looks, it was probably good news. After all, the creatures that exploded into a bloody mist were the flock of birds that came to steal the grains.
“What was that?!” someone asked with a trembling voice.
“Not sure. I heard that’s the Flaming Horn’s territory?”
“Something happened in the Flaming Horn tribe again?”
“Somehow I feel like something terrifying is over there.”
The person who spoke even shuddered.
It wasn’t just him though. Everyone else felt the same way. After all, if they had the ability to join the expedition team and come all the way here, none of them were that weak.
The crowd no longer complained about not being able to walk on the bridge. It seemed extremely dangerous on the other side. It was better to wait and observe the situation first.
The guards at the bridge looked at their headquarters with worried glances. They could only see the mountain at the headquarters from here and all the forest around it. They couldn’t see what was happening down at the plantation, but they couldn’t walk away from their post, so they could only pray in their hearts and hope that everything was going well there.
Behind the crowd, a few individuals looked at each other. Seeing how they were all thinking the same thing, they all changed their plans suddenly. They were similar to the Chang Le’s and came from the other side of the sea. They were just not as fast as the Chang Le’s. Initially they wanted to follow this curious crowd and barge into the Flaming Horn tribe, but it didn’t seem too safe over there.
“I heard that the Chang Le’s already sent someone here,” someone said in a low voice.
The others exchanged glances. Everyone knew what was going on. The Chang Le’s were known for their interest in adventure and causing trouble. They loved to take advantage of people in their hardest moments.
With the Chang Le’s here, the Flaming Horns wouldn’t be able to have peace. It was better for them to stay and wait here while observing the situation there. They did not wish to meet any of the Chang Le’s.
On the other side of the bridge, Ta was personally guarding at the post. If the people on the other side couldn’t hold the crowd back, at least he was still here to stop them. They must not let those people come over. More people came these days because of the Giant Bridge of the Flaming River, and they were daring too. They even had the courage to test the Flaming Horn’s patience. This was a problem.
Their mission here was crucial. Ta was also worried about the situation over at the plantation. Maybe the others didn’t know enough about it, but he was one of the two hunt leaders in the Flaming Horn tribe. He also knew about the king bat. That was why he was worried.
Around this time, the bloody mist was already fading. Everywhere, exploded parts of birds including feathers and bones fell from the sky. Some of these birds were shot down, some were slaughtered brutally, and others even had the juices sucked out of their bodies before they were thrown down to the ground.
The Flaming Horns were busy watching the birds that were stealing the grains, while the bat king killed the flocks in the sky. While all this was happening, two figures were heading towards the Flaming Horn plantation. They were going for the thousand-grain gold.
“Watch out!”
“Be careful!”
The people who were shooting at the birds shouted as they noticed the trespassers.
The Flaming Horns shot arrows in their direction, but the figures that flew over spun giant black oblong shields and blocked their attacks.
The Chang Le’s usually made their shields with rubber. Compared to metal and stone, this was a lighter material. Usually they would separate their shield into parts and only assemble it before they needed to use it.
The people behind the shields transformed. Totemic lines appeared on their arms and faces. Their arms were more obvious. Their muscles flexed and green veins surged to the surface of their skin, marking distinct lines on their arms as they held onto the two shields tightly.
The person with the shield had an inexpressible excitement in his heart. They felt this way on every mission. This feeling of anxiety and intensity. It made them so excited that they wanted to roar.
Clang Clang Clang!
Arrows that were shot at the two people were all blocked by the black shields. The arrowheads stuck into the shields but didn’t go through. It was just stuck there.
For the sake of saving arrowheads, the Flaming Horns usually only used wooden arrowheads. They only used stone arrowheads against larger birds. They would only use metal arrowheads against birds of the fearsome beast category.
The Chang Le people came too suddenly. The archers were not even prepared to change their arrowheads. The first set of arrows were all wooden, so they were all stuck in the two giant rubber shields.
Some of them were using stone arrowheads, those that were specifically designed to kill larger birds. They also shot at the Chang Les at that instant, but even these arrows couldn’t break through the strange black shields. They were also stuck in the shield. None of them were deflected or succeeded in piercing through the shields.
It was just a single encounter, but the two figures successfully avoided all of the arrows the Flaming Horns shot at then. In an instant, their shields looked like porcupines, but the people and the birds behind the shields were not at all harmed by the attacks.
Ao also wanted to make a move, but he saw another figure coming in from another direction farther away. The bat king was sucking the blood of a flying fearsome bird. If he made a single move, not only would he miss his target, he might even accidentally hit the king bat. If he provoked the king bat, it might turn around and attack the people on his side.
However, because he hesitated, Ao lost the opportunity to shoot at his target. It was too challenging for him to shoot them now. Opportunities were often like this, easily missed.
Just as the two figures behind the giant black shields celebrated their success in dodging the previous attack, a long green spear suddenly shot through the air at one of the figures.
As the green spearhead came into contact with the shield, it’s sharp blade pierced through the shield. The impact caused the crack to widen as the entire shield cracked into two parts. Besides the arrowheads that were still stuck in the shield, the body and tail of the arrows exploded into shreds. They all fell to the ground after the impact.
Even after it pierced through the shield, the spear did not stop advancing. Its powerful momentum drove it forward even more, breaking through the shield’s body.
At that instant, the person behind the shield felt as if time had frozen. His pupils shrunk suddenly from fright. He could even hear the screeching sounds made by the frictional impact between the spear and his shield body. The shield looked as if it had been scorched. If the shield was of a different colour, they might even be able to see a burn mark around where the shield was pierced. He even smelled a burnt smell coming from his shield.
The person behind the shield looked as the sharp green spearhead slowly pierced through his shield. It was getting closer to him, and he couldn’t do anything in time to dodge it.
It’s too late!
I never thought…
Luckily, the spearhead only cut through from above his forehead.
At this instant, both of his hands that were initially holding onto his black shield felt as they were attacked by a beast’s sharp claws. It tore away the skin on his hands, and this cut extended up to his arms from his wrists. Fresh blood spurted from his wounds as he fell backward to the ground, off the long-winged bird’s back.
His hands also let go of the two round shields. The long-winged bird also lost its balance and tumbled backwards. After stumbling, it left frantically in escape. It didn’t even stop after its butt suffered a shot from an arrow.
At the next instant, the person who fell from the bird’s back was immediately caught by his companion who carried him onto the back of the bird he was riding.
The person who was saved looked shockingly at his arm, and then looked again at the spear that fell along with his shields. He couldn’t help gulping down his saliva. His arms almost broke away from the impact when he held on against the force of the spear.
What terrifying strength!
Just because he wanted to save his companion, the person who had planned to distract the Flaming Horns also came out earlier than expected.
“There’s another person here!”
“They’re part of the same gang!”
However, as everyone shifted their attention to the two newly appeared individuals, two other figures dashed into the plantation. They didn’t go into the centre of the field right away, but stayed near the boundary. They passed by the guards there swiftly.
As they flew by, the hands of the person riding on the long-winged bird trembled. His normal sized arms shrunk in an instant and became as small as a child’s. The wind blew across his sleeves, revealing the outline of his arms.
He shook both of his arms gently. As the long-winged bird flew by rapidly, his five fingers transformed into the shape of a long hook and extended downwards. With a twist of his hand, his arms hooked away a bag full of thousand gold grains from one of the Flaming Horn warriors. The part of the bag the Warrior was holding on was also cut off and only a piece of the bag was left in his hands. The entire bag was stolen.
After they got what they wanted, the extended hand pulled upwards, and the warrior didn’t even have the time to react. He could only watch as the figure flew away with an open bag of golden grains. Some grains were still falling from the opening of the bag.
Something else happened on the other side of the plantation. The trespasser also took away another bag full of thousand grain gold. This bag was full and was already tied up. They just didn’t move it into the warehouse in time. Now it was stolen.
The two individuals smirked after they got what they wanted. If the Flaming Horns’ defenses were weaker, they could steal even more, but they didn’t have any more chances, so they could only leave for now.
“Let’s go!”
“Coo——-“
A bird’s cry rang through the sky, warning all of these figures to escape. As they left, they were still screeching loudly like wild beasts celebrating a victory.
All of these happened in between a few breaths.
Ao’s expression changed after all this happened. He still looked fierce even after it ended.
He could tell these people had great teamwork and utilised each of their skills and covered each others’ weaknesses. They were moving smoothly, and if it were not for the fact that they were still on the Flaming Horn grounds, they would’ve parted ways and flew in different directions.
Once they left the Flaming Horn’s territory, even if Shao Xuan was to chase after them with Cha Cha, he wouldn’t be able to catch up. After all, there were seven of them! Seven birds too!
Seeing how Ao wanted to chase after them, Shao Xuan shouted, “You stay here! I’ll go after them!”
Between Ao and Shao Xuan, one of them had to stay behind. After all, the harvest was not yet complete, and some factors were still undetermined, so someone had to stay behind to ensure everything goes right.
Hearing what Shao Xuan said, Ao could only stop and stay unwillingly. After all, he couldn’t do anything even if he went. At least Shao Xuan has Cha Cha with him.
After he said this Shao Xuan chased after the figures that flew away.
Wu He looked at the two bags they attained. His face was full of pride.
“How intense! Haha! Did you see the Flaming Horn’s faces?”
“I didn’t see it, but they probably wouldn’t look that well. Hahaha!”
“I almost lost my arms, but at least we got what we wanted. I didn’t see their faces, but I think their expressions wouldn’t be much different if bird poop landed on their faces. Hehehe…”
“Gosh, don’t get so excited just yet. Someone’s chasing us from below,” someone beside Wu He interrupted their laughter.
Wu He looked down. There weren’t many trees here, so he could still see the person who was passing through the forest. Seeing how he was running so fast in the forest and how he was getting closer to them, Wu He looked surprised, but his smile had not faded. He continued to speak with a sudden interest, “That’s the Grand Elder of the Flaming Horn tribe.”
“ What? That’s the brat? Isn’t the Grand Elder an old guy?” someone asked in confusion. All the elders they had seen before were all middle aged or elderly people.
“Just ignore him. The brat can’t even fly,” Wu He said carelessly.
