Chapter 475: Widow Village
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After Yang Ling made a decision, he didn’t hesitate any longer, and he took out some rations from his Spatial Ring that he handed over to Elder Klive. “Elder, this batch of rations is enough for the soldiers to survive for ten days. But, you must store most rations in the Spatial Ring, and start slaughtering warhorse to allay their hunger in two days. You should give the enemies a false impression that we don’t have any rations to fill our stomachs due to the groundhogs’ disaster, and you should launch a last fake attack, before pretending that we are withdrawing troops.”
He must keep the act to the end and do everything thoroughly!
Yang Ling decided to give the enemies a false impression that they don’t have any rations to fill their stomachs so that he could conquer Saint Peter Castle in one attack, and he must deceive the crafty and wary enemies. He had made thorough preparations for the next plan because even if he found and tamed the Groundhog King, the enemies only must loosen their guard so that they could dig tunnels and launch a ferocious attack without a hitch.
“Yang Ling, what do you mean by this?” Elder Klive’s eyes widened and looked in confusion at Yang Ling. This was also the case for Ashnamov that was next to him.
“Hehe, did you see these? Those innumerable groundhogs would become our main force for capturing Saint Peter Castle, and they would become the Church’s nightmare.” Yang Ling smiled and informed the two people of his plan. They both became excited after they understood his intentions, and they got to see a glimmer of hope of capturing the castle.
If it was said that someone in the continent was able to control the Ural Mountains’ innumerable groundhogs, then it was none other than the powerful Ancient Summoner Yang Ling, and the two people couldn’t think of anyone else who could achieve such a feat.
The Darkness’ Three Major Heads were powerful, and it was easy for them to slaughter a large amount of groundhogs, but they still couldn’t control them, and such a task was more difficult for them than destroying the whole Ural Mountain Range.
The great army must retreat with great fanfare to deceive the crafty enemies, and they must deliberately allow them to observe everything. But, Yang Ling had still built a Teleportation Formation Spell quietly in a remote region in the vicinity so that they could quickly come back at a good occasion, and he had still set up a Restriction Spell to protect it so that it wouldn’t be discovered by the enemy or destroyed by the innumerable groundhogs.
After Yang Ling made appropriate preparation, he left behind a part of his Magical Beasts to confuse the enemy and collected the powerful Magical Beasts such as the Giant Ape King, Dark Dragon King, and the others into his Wizard Pagoda.
Afterward, he used the hazy moonlight to leave nimbly and quietly, and he ventured into the depths of the Ural Mountains to look for the Groundhog King.
The groundhogs he met in the way were like locusts, and they were innumerable and stuck together. There were present on the ground, rocks, and the underbrush, while even trees were filled by groundhogs that were as tall as chopsticks. Those groundhogs tried to eat anything they could swallow down, no matter if it was a tree bark or a fruit, and they swallowed everything in one gulp. Even some Magical Beasts were assaulted by the groundhogs, and as cracking sounds echoed for a moment, just bloodstains were left behind on the ground.
Those creatures had sharp and firm teeth and tongues, and they could cut even stones, let alone Magical Beasts’ bones. All creatures in the forest descended into chaos due to the tide of groundhogs, and even powerful Magical Beasts had to avoid them.
After Yang Ling tamed some big groundhogs, he ventured onward according to their memory and looked for their king. He must use the Groundhog King to control such innumerable creatures, as if he tamed them one by one, he wouldn’t manage to even tame a thousandth of them through using his whole blood.
Ural Mountain Range had a tropical rain forest on it with tall trees that reached the clouds, and grass and vines that grew everywhere. It was difficult to travel here, and since this had just gone through a heavy downpour, if one wasn’t careful, one would end up falling into deep swamps that reached one’s waist. It was difficult for ordinary people to venture here, but it was an easy feat for Yang Ling.
After he trained with the Body Honing Wizard Mantra, his body was strengthened repeatedly, and his speed rose higher. He could depend upon his great Wizard Power and Tree Eyes Gift to jump among the trees like a bird, and sometimes, he would even step upon groundhogs’ little heads to advance onward. He was as quick as lightning, and he would usually disappear among the forest before the agile groundhogs detected anything.
As Yang Ling ventured deeper, he ran into groundhogs at higher levels. Some of those groundhogs had iron-like teeth, and their power was on a par with a Fourth Level Magical Beast. Magical Beasts’ Essence Crystals were like chocolate to these groundhogs, and they could easily crush it and swallow it down.
While some of them were as quick as lightning, and they could easily dig out a Violent Earth Bear’s Essence Crystal with a single attack. They possessed at least an Eight Level Magical Beast’s power.
Ordinary groundhogs’ power was just at the level of First Level Magical Beasts, and they were unremarkable in this forest where Magical Beasts ran amok. But, they were still endowed by an ability that other low-level Magical Beasts didn’t have, and it was their ability to eat.
They couldn’t just eat similar species’ Essence Crystals, and they could even devour other Magical Beasts’ Essence Crystals and fuse with it slowly. If they got lucky, they would start evolving and advancing into higher levels, step by step.
However, the number of groundhogs that could evolve into a High-Level Magical Beast was quite low, and not even one in ten thousand was lucky enough to achieve such a feat. But, the number of high-level groundhogs was still high because of the large number of groundhogs.
If Yang Ling ran across a lucky groundhog that evolved into a high-level Magical Beast, he would attack it and tame it without the least bit of hesitation. If ordinary people saw such a large number of groundhogs, they would run away for their lives, while Yang Ling only rejoiced.
As he continued venturing farther, the power of groundhogs he met became higher, and he felt like his plan was readily feasible. If he could tame 1,000 or 10,000 high-level groundhogs, he wouldn’t just be able to dig tunnels to mount a sneak-attack, he would be even able to capture Saint Peter Castle head-on. Such a large number of groundhogs were enough to flood the enemy.
The main reason why Magical Beasts found groundhogs thorny wasn’t their gluttony, but their shocking reproduction ability. In general, a female groundhog would get pregnant seven or eight times every year, and the number of little groundhogs it would bear with every pregnancy would range from five to fifteen. The birth of those creatures was a disaster in itself!
A single pair of male and female could give birth to 350 descendants a year.
The groundhogs’ great reproduction ability allowed them to become Ural Mountain Range’s greatest overlord. But, it was fortunate that unevolved groundhogs’ lifespan was just several years, while a plague would spread among the groundhogs every few years, and it would leave disastrous casualties that would suppress the increase of the groundhogs’ populations. If such factors didn’t exist, the groundhogs wouldn’t be contained in the Ural Mountains, and the whole Tailun Continent would be ruled by those creatures.
There was a tall mountain called Gheria in Ural Mountain Range, and according to high-level groundhogs’ memory, the mountain’s peak was the Groundhog King’s home, and that groundhog was the ultimate ruler that commanded all groundhogs. It lived in a mountain’s peak unreachable by ordinary groundhogs.
Yang Ling drew help from those little creatures’ memory, while he depended upon his high speed to close on in the tall Gheria Mountain’s peak that would be seen from several hundred miles. As he made his way to the mountain, the number of high-level groundhogs in the Wizard Pagoda became higher.
Yang Ling made a surprising discovery in a region far away from his target mountain by 200 miles, and he discovered tens of houses in a certain valley.
This valley wasn’t like the other regions, and there weren’t any groundhogs in the vicinity, while this valley was still filled with fruits and vegetables, and he even got to see several decent agricultural lands here. Hares roamed the grove near the valley, while goats jumped around near a clear stream. This was a hidden land of peace and prosperity that wasn’t disturbed by the groundhogs!
Could it be that the groundhogs didn’t dare to approach the valley because a peerless expert resided in it?
Yang Ling was confused, and he proceeded carefully. The starved groundhogs didn’t let off even tree bark, and they wouldn’t ignore those delicious fruits and food. The only explanation for this situation was that the groundhogs didn’t dare to approach something that existed in the valley.
According to the Dark Great Elder’s sayings, some peerless experts weren’t interested in the mundane world’s power, and they usually lived in seclusion in remote regions. This was probably the reason why such a hidden valley of peace and prosperity appeared here.
“Huh? Who are you, and how did you get here?”
“Oh! By the way, the outside is filled everywhere with groundhogs. So, how is it possible for someone to come here?”
After Yang Ling entered the valley, he didn’t get to see any peerless experts, and he didn’t detect any intense energy ripples, while he was surrounded by women that got wind of his arrival. Some of them were old women that had one fat in the grave, while some were still charming young married women, while there were also some pretty and youthful 16 years old girls. He didn’t get to see even a single man, and he didn’t even see a little boy, let alone a sturdy man.
Could it be that he arrived in Women Country or Widows Village by mistake?
As Yang Ling observed the women around him, he shook his head out of confusion. He couldn’t detect any Magic or Battle Energy Ripples emanating from these people, and it could be discerned through their gestures that they were a group of ordinary women.
Yang Ling used his great Divine Consciousness to sweep the whole mysterious valley repeatedly, but he still couldn’t find trails of any peerless experts. The sole explanation for this was that either that peerless expert in his imagination didn’t exist, or that said expert’s power was greater than him by much and couldn’t be detected by his Divine Consciousness.
“Young man, may I ask who are you?” A white-haired old woman supported by a young lady leaned on a walking stick as she came over, while all people in the way made way for her. It seemed like she was either a woman of virtue and prestige or the valley’s chief.
“I’m Yuri, and I’m a small merchant that sells medicinal ingredients.” Yang Ling had deceived people repeatedly, and he was already quite skilled in this. He shook his head and spoke, “Several days ago, I came here with several guards in charge of protecting me to gather some rare medicinal ingredients in the Ural Mountains, and I didn’t expect that such great rainstorm will occur that was followed by a large number of terrifying groundhogs. I have managed to rush out, but the guards that accompanied me had all died.”
“Huh? It turns out that it’s like so.” The white-haired old woman shook her head. It was unknown whether she had seen through Yang Ling’s lies or that she felt sad due to his story, but after she quieted for a moment, she said, “Since you have arrived in our Valley, you can stay here for now. Please follow me!”
As the old woman spoke, she turned around and walked back with her walking stick. She seemed doddering, but Yang Ling still had a weird feeling about her, and he just couldn’t pinpoint what was fishy for a short while. He hesitated for a moment before he took large strides in front of the crowd’s gazes, while he still used secretly Physical Protection Wizard Power, and made plans for the worst outcome possible. Even now, he was still interested in the reason why the valley wasn’t devastated by the groundhogs because getting to know more about groundhogs’ traits would be helpful to him in taming the Groundhog King.
