Chapter 1099: The Great Horn Army"s Dream
Meng Chao"s heart skipped a beat.
It sounded like this Ancient Dream Saintess was the Great Horn Army"s spiritual leader.
However, he could not find this name in the memory fragments of his previous life.
It seemed like she had died on the battlefield during the suppression of the Great Horn Rebellion.
If that was the case, this incarnation of the Big-horned Rat G.o.d in Picturesque Orchid Lake might be the key to changing the future.
Meng Chao drew a heavy stroke on the name "Ancient Dream Saintess" in his heart.
The rat people were very excited, and they pestered Round Bone Club, asking about the Ancient Dream Saintess and other psychics.
Round Bone Club was just an ordinary soldier, and he did not know much about the psychics or even the Saintess.
He braced himself and rambled on for a while, scaring the inexperienced rat people until they were all stunned.
Just like that, they kept cheering on. After walking for dozens of miles, not a single rat person fell behind. It was a miracle that was neither too big nor too small. It helped strengthen everyone"s faith in the Big-horned Rat G.o.d.
Not only that, they also gathered many stragglers along the way.
At that moment, from Black-corner City to the border of the Blood Hoofs" territory, there were hundreds of troops who were fleeing for their lives.
In order to let more people survive, it was impossible to take care of everyone.
Those who were weak or seriously injured could only rest on the spot and wait for the teams behind them to catch up.
The hundred-man team that Meng Chao and Ice Storm were in was at the back of the whole group.
Old Bearskin was good at identifying the traces left behind by people and animals whenever he pa.s.sed by them. He almost stepped on the footprints of the hundred-man team in front of him and naturally b.u.mped into the stragglers.
Some stragglers had recovered their strength after a period of rest, so they could keep up with the team"s footsteps.
There were also some stragglers whose injuries were too severe, or whose physical strength was too exhausted. Due to cramps in their legs, their flesh and blood were all "tangled" together, and they could not walk at all.
They could only continue to stay by the roadside and wait for the hundred-man team behind them to gather up.
Otherwise, they could wait for the pursuers from the Blood Hoof Clan.
From their dull eyes, even they knew very well that what awaited them would be an extremely cruel ending.
However, as rat people who had been bullied and were unarmed, they had already done their utmost to charge out of Black-corner City and escape to this place.
Whether it was Meng Chao or Round Bone Club, none of them could save every rat person in front of them. Perhaps, they could not even save themselves.
Their only mercy was to spare some food and secret medicine so that the stragglers, who could not walk, could eat and drink to their heart"s content.
They also gave the stragglers a few sharp swords and sabers.
As for how to use the swords and sabers, it was up to the stragglers to decide whether to kill themselves or fight to the death.
After leaving the stragglers behind, the hundred-man team continued on their journey. The atmosphere became a little gloomy.
Fortunately, when the sky gradually darkened, they arrived at the first camp in time.
The Great Horn Army officer was not lying.
In order to receive the rat people who had escaped Black-corner City, the Great Horn Army had deployed nearly ten camps on their way to escape.
For the sake of concealment, each camp looked as unremarkable as a small mound from a distance.
However, when they got closer, they found that the trenches were crisscrossed, with horses, bunkers, sinkholes, and underground fortifications all in place. There was a warm bonfire in the camps, which were built from natural underground caves. It was filled with fragrant mandrake fruits, and the most delicate mandrake leaves were woven into a soft bed. The exhausted fugitives could have a good sleep as a result.
With the help of a new batch of Great Horn Army soldiers and the witch doctor, all the fugitives enjoyed soaking their feet in warm water, removing the blood bubbles, and ma.s.saging their legs.
The fugitives who had allowed themselves to completely relax were very comfortable.
Many of them did not even wipe their feet clean before they collapsed on the soft couch and started snoring loudly.
Meng Chao and Ice Storm were naturally not included.
The two of them curiously looked at the arrangement of the camp, as well as the surrounding Great Horn soldiers.
They had a strange feeling that the Great Horn Army"s method of setting up camp seemed to be more meticulous and professional than the Blood Hoof Army"s.
As for their soldiers, although they were not like the Blood Hoof warriors, whose bodies were filled with totem power, they all had strong backs and strong waists. Their faces were ferocious, and their killing intent soared to the sky.
In spite of that, their orders and actions were forbidden. They were well-trained, and they even looked like a regular army.
"Could it be that the Great Horn Army"s commander and that Ancient Dream Saintess really received enlightenment from the Big-horned Rat G.o.d? Only then were they able to learn the ancient Turan people"s ability to march and fight in their sleep?"
Even if Meng Chao absolutely did not believe in the Big-horned Rat G.o.d"s existence...
He still could not help but have an absurd thought. "Otherwise, how can we explain an insurgent army from the gra.s.sroots, which should be messy and disorganized, being more similar to a regular army in the modern sense than an iron-blooded army formed by the clan warriors?"
It was impossible to get an answer to that question.
Fortunately, as long as they followed the fugitives, they would always be able to find the main force of the Great Horn Army. They would see the Ancient Dream Saintess, who had been praised by Round Bone Club so much for being able to easily invite the Rat G.o.d to possess her.
After a series of plans and fierce battles, Meng Chao and Ice Storm were also exhausted. Every cell in their bodies was exhausted to the point that they were almost dried up.
The two of them agreed to keep an eye on each other. When one of them entered a deep sleep state, the other person would sleep lightly and pay attention to any abnormal movements in their surroundings at all times.
Just like that, they fell asleep in a daze until the latter half of the night. Then, several hundred-man teams arrived at the camp one after another.
The surrounding snoring was like a tidal wave, and the rat people were lying on the ground in a disorderly fashion.
Even the cooking fire of the mandrake, which had been boiling all day, was much dimmer than it was during the day.
It was Meng Chao"s turn to be on guard.
He was in a state of shallow sleep.
Although more than 70% of the s.p.a.ce in his brain had fallen into a deep sleep...
His five senses were still 90% as sharp as they would be in their normal state.
He did not let any movement within a few hundred meters just pa.s.s him by.
Suddenly, Meng Chao felt the world before him distort.
A blurry picture unfolded in his field of vision.
Then, between the incomparably vast heaven and earth, there was a boundless field.
On the field, there was an army formed by hundreds of thousands of people. It had a majestic aura, strict discipline, and a murderous aura.
The millions of warriors were like hundreds of statues made of copper and iron. The swords and axes in their hands reflected the dazzling sunlight, creating an invincible sharpness.
At the center of each square formation, there was a flagpole that was dozens of arms high. Atop the flagpole was a Great Horn war flag that covered the sky.
On the war flag, a rat skull that was covered in blood and flames looked angry, as though it was alive when the strong wind blew.
The battle flag fluttered and sounded like a rat skull that was screaming at the top of its lungs.
Towering over the hundreds of battle flags that were fluttering in the wind, a giant that was more than a hundred arms tall and wearing a shining golden totem armor was stepping on the air. Step by step, he landed on the vast land of Picturesque Orchid Lake.
He wore a gold mouse skull mask on his face.
Dozens of sharp horns poked out of his head.
He had six arms, which were thicker than the thighs of a barbarian elephant warrior. He also held sharp sabers, heavy war hammers, a spiked mace full of fangs, a giant ax wider than a door, and an iron whip like a python. There was also a long spear that looked like it had been formed from lightning and could pierce a hole in the sky.
His intense killing intent turned into surging waves that pushed away the red mist in the sky, forming layers upon layers of clouds and mountains. It further accentuated his supreme destructive power.
Under his gaze, the million-strong army that looked like it was made of copper and iron let out a uniform, heart-wrenching, and earth-shattering roar.
"Big-horned Rat G.o.d!
"Big-horned Rat G.o.d!
"Big-horned Rat G.o.d!"
Meng Chao woke up, and he was wide awake now.
In his strange dream, the Big-horned Rat G.o.d had descended from the sky. The image of being invincible was still deeply imprinted on his cerebral cortex.
It was not an ordinary dream.
Meng Chao instantly became alert.
As a spirit attack and defense expert, he had already encountered countless unpredictable spirit attacks on Monster Mountain Range.
For example, the super large-scale illusion, Peach Blossom Town, had managed to lure in many Dragon City experts, including himself and Lu Siya, and they were unable to extricate themselves from it.
Naturally, he instantly saw through the petty tricks in front of him.
"Someone"s using a spirit attack and trying to plant a message in the depths of my brain?
"No, it"s not specifically aimed at me, but a large-scale group attack..."
Meng Chao noticed that the eyes of many snoring rat people were moving rapidly under their closed eyelids.
They were even muttering the name, "Big- horned Rat G.o.d" over and over again.
That was not normal.
Usually, if they were exhausted and they fell into a deep slumber, they would usually sleep very soundly. They would not dream a lot, much less talk in their sleep.
The high-speed rotation of their eyeb.a.l.l.s was clearly a sign that parts of the brain were still highly active, stimulating the brain nerves and causing them to fall into a dream.
It would be fine if it only involved one or two of them, but all the rat people were the same. Meng Chao could not help but frown deeply.
He closed his eyes again.
He quietly released his brain waves, forming circles of faint ripples that spread in all directions, looking for the source of the psychological attack.
Soon, through the feedback of his brain waves, he found another brain that was abnormally active.
It belonged to a witch doctor in the camp.
During the day, he treated everyone"s wounds and taught them how to ma.s.sage the muscles of their legs and the acupoints on their feet.
He was very trusted and welcomed by the fugitives.
Right then, he was sitting cross-legged at the center of the camp, pretending to be in deep sleep. His eyeb.a.l.l.s were rotating rapidly at a very high frequency, and he was chanting the Rat G.o.d"s name repeatedly.
Under the lens of Meng Chao"s spirit energy scan, his brain appeared to be reminiscent of a lighthouse, shooting out demonic rays in all directions.