Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When the armies of the four races had arrived at Dwarf Mountain, the other armies outside had also mobilized. However, no one dared to come too close to the mountain. They remained one hundred kilometers away from Dwarf Mountain, waiting for an opportunity to act. The scouts from every race also surrounded the entire Dwarf Mountain. If there were any movements, they would be the first to know and would be able to respond immediately.
Jiang Yi immediately detected that the four armies had arrived; the scouts in the underground river had all been deployed. He, however, did not make any reckless moves. He waited till the second day before he followed the underground river forward, disguised as a member of the Phantom Race.
On the way, Jiang Yi frequently encountered scouts from other races. However, after everyone detected each other’s presence, they all kept their distance and took detours.
Bang!
A hundred and fifty kilometers away from Dwarf Mountain, he followed a passageway and resurfaced, all while continuing his advance stealthily. He had observed the mannerisms of the Phantom Race before and managed to mimic them very well. He floated like members of the Phantom Race, occasionally finding spots to hide himself, and also buried himself into the snow at times.
As he got closer to Dwarf Mountain, the number of scouts increased. People were hiding everywhere. If he forced his way forward, he estimated that even after walking dozens of kilometers, he would still be able to step on a scout hiding in the snow.
“The Tiger Subdue Sect army!”
At noontime, Jiang Yi detected the Tiger Subdue Sect army quite a distance away. His divine senses scanned once, and he immediately retreated. He fell back for twenty-five kilometers before finding a small valley and hid underneath a rock. He even used snow to bury himself.
He entered into the State of the Union of Heaven and Man and sent his divine senses out. He found out that more than ten scouts were hiding nearby as well, and he was pleased; these scouts could act as cover for him. Even if a Demigod scanned the area, he would not find anything amiss.
“Divine Perception!”
He released his Divine Perception and expanded the range of his divine senses. Like a gush of wind, his senses headed towards the Tiger Subdue Sect’s encampment. Every time he scanned, he immediately retracted his Divine Perception. At this moment, numerous scans were targeting Tiger Subdue Sect; no one would mind. Every half an hour, he would scan once, using the rest of his time to replenish his energy—ready to fight at any moment.
“There’s movement!”
After dark, troops of warriors swiftly emerged from the Tiger Subdue Sect’s encampment. They gathered outside the camp, with the entire three-hundred-thousand-strong army forming up in fifteen minutes. Cao Duantian gave a signal, growled a single word ‘Advance’, and the entire army started to rush towards Dwarf Mountain at once.
At almost the same instant, the Mantis Blade Sect, the Fire Chi Race, and the Mammoth Race also activated their armies. The four armies were like four sharp knives heading straight for Dwarf Mountain; they seemed determined to tear Dwarf Mountain apart.
“Wow!”
Once the armies started moving, all the scouts became excited. They rapidly relayed the information to the other great races’ armies camped outside at once. These armies also started rushing towards Dwarf Mountain, preparing to wait for the four races to eliminate the Dwarf Race before they fought to claim Dwarf Mountain.
Jiang Yi also started moving. However, he was not too anxious and did not rush towards Dwarf Mountain. Instead, he took his time; he estimated that by the time he reached the vicinity of Dwarf Mountain, the battle would have well gotten way.
The speed of the four races was extremely fast this time. They were only fifty kilometers from Dwarf Mountain, hence reaching the base of the mountain within half an hour. The other three races didn’t take action immediately, and neither did Cao Duantian. He rode a Fei Lian Beast and emerged from the crowd. He stood alone in front of Dwarf Mountain and said, “Clan Head Qiu Han, come out and meet me!”
Dwarf Mountain was similar to Heaven Devil Mountain; it was split into different layers. However, the Dwarf Race had made modifications to these layers, with the eighteen layers becoming thirty-six layers. The Dwarf Race was generally small, and there was no need to stay in caves that were too high. Furthermore, as the Dwarf Race had a huge population, the modifications were made to cater to this as well.
At this moment, the outer corridors of the bottom eighteen layers were filled with troops from the dwarf army. They were too many to take in. Those that appeared outside were also all troops from the army. There was no sign of the old and the frail or the pregnant and the young. It was not known if they had been moved into hiding or were on the summit of the Dwarf Mountain.
Swish!
The Grand Elder Qiu Zhe of the Dwarf Race flew out from the ranks of the dwarf army and landed at the base of the mountain. Holding two huge awls and with his face grown dark, he said to Cao Duantian, “Young Master Duantian, why have you guys led your armies to surround Dwarf Mountain? What do you intend to do? We, the Dwarf Race, have no quarrel with the Tiger Subdue Sect. The last time during Sect Patriarch Cao’s birthday celebration, we had even sent our young clan head to pay our respects. After that, our young clan head ended up dead on the way back.
“Tens of thousands of years ago, the thousand races in the Snow Region had vowed at the base of Saint Mountain. We were not to battle internally without cause, or all the other races would exterminate the troublemaker. Today, are the Tiger Subdue Sect, Mantis Blade Sect, Fire Chi Race, and Mammoth Race going to go against that vow? Are you guys prepared to face the thousand races of the Snow Region and Heaven Hidden Sect?”
Qiu Zhe’s initial words were for Cao Duantian to hear; the second half of his words was amplified using essence force. It was obvious he wanted all four races to hear what he was saying. The other three races were currently surrounding Dwarf Mountain from other directions. Using his essence force here would mean that they would be able to hear him from where they were at.
There were no replies from anyone from the other three sides. They were obviously waiting for Cao Duantian to speak. Cao Duantian naturally took it upon himself and said, “Elder Qiu Zhe, I think you have been mistaken. We are not here to start a battle. We are here to ask you to hand someone over. There is a formidable martial expert in the Dwarf Race that is killing rampantly in the Snow Region; the four races have suffered heavy losses over this period of time. If you guys hand over this murderer, we would immediately retreat. What say you?”
“Hand him over!”
Qiu Zhe laughed coldly. Even they could not find this person, and even if they did, they would never hand him over. He smiled mockingly and said, “Young Clan Head Duantian, I think you guys are mistaken. How is it possible that we, the Dwarf Race, have such a strong martial expert? Our Clan Head had personally gone out to search for this person for half a month and was unable to find him. This is something that you all know as well.
“Besides that person’s height and his awls that resembles someone from the Dwarf Race, how else is he similar to us? Has he ever released a snow dragon or caused the earth to tremor? No, right? The person you are looking for is not here. Leave immediately, and do not harm the peace! I—Qiu Zhe—swear to the Gods that if I find such a person, I will immediately capture him and hand him over to you guys. How is that?”
“Why should we take your word for it?”
Cao Duantian had become a little impatient. He brazenly waved his hand and said, “I will give you two choices. Either hand over the person or allow us to search the mountain. If we cannot find him, we will immediately retreat.”
“Search the mountain?”
Qiu Zhe’s face changed. If a million troops were to head up the mountain and suddenly started killing—even without the need for the dwarf army to fight, the Dwarf Race would be eliminated. Since the four races had come, they were definitely up to no good. The awls in Qiu Zhe’s hands were raised high. He growled, “There is no one to hand over to you. If you guys want a battle, we—the Dwarf Race—will give you one. The Dwarf Race will only fight to the death; we will not be humiliated.”
“Fight, fight, fight!”
Countless voices roared forth from Dwarf Mountain. Their cries shook the earth, with their fearsome aura enveloping a five-kilometer radius. Even scouts far away felt a chill down their spines.
“Since that is the case, we can only head up the mountain ourselves to find the killer! Kill!”
Cao Duantian gave a signal as three hundred thousand men started rushing forward. All the glabella of the Tiger Subdue Sect members present started shining. Streaks of black light flashed forth as they released their soul spirit attacks.
“Kill!”
Seeing that the fighting had begun here, the armies at the other three sides of the mountain also raced up Dwarf Mountain. The elder of the Mantis Blade Sect led the way, the battle saber-like horn on his head flashing lightning that tore through the night sky.
Tsk! Tsk!
The three-hundred-thousand-strong Mantis Blade Sect army started to move. The hundred-thousand men leading the way shot out their battle saber-like horns at once. At that moment, the entire night sky was illuminated. The icy cold killing aura enveloped the entire area, striking cold fear into the hearts of the scouts observing the battle.
“Kill!”
Qiu Zhe roared as he led the vanguard forward. Countless dwarfs from the Dwarf Mountain also flew down without fear of death.
The Great Battle had begun.
