Chapter 1101: The Road to Life and Death
With such high morale, the Great Horn officer did not miss the chance to distribute new swords, golden fruits, as well as a pill sealed with wax and engraved with mysterious runes, to all the rat people.
"This is the divine medicine given to us by the Rat G.o.d!"
The Great Horn officer roared, "As long as our faith in the Rat G.o.d is strong enough and the situation is critical enough, we can bite into this divine medicine and pour the Rat G.o.d"s supreme divine power into our bodies. The rat warriors will then be able to fight the clan warriors!
"Remember, from this moment on, you will no longer be pigs and sheep at the mercy of others. You will be the Big-horned Rat G.o.d"s bravest, most loyal, and most glorious warriors. Raise your sabers high and unleash your fury to the fullest. Let all our enemies see how terrifying the insignificant rat soldiers of the past are when they gather into a storm!"
There were wild cheers inside and outside the entire camp.
Amid the cheers, Meng Chao narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the "divine medicine" that had been distributed to him.
He plucked an extremely soft and fine hair from his arm.
Then, he poured his spirit energy into the hair and made it as hard and straight as a steel needle.
Then, he carefully poked a small hole that was almost invisible to the naked eye on the medicine container"s wax seal.
He brought the small hole under his nose and sniffed the medicine carefully for a moment. Meng Chao detected a familiar smell.
After a moment of silence, he raised his eyebrows.
Several of the raw materials contained in the "divine medicine" were similar to Dragon City"s Deification Capsule.
They were all extremely stimulating and could instantly magnify the secretion of dopamine, enkephalin, adrenaline, and other hormones in the human body by dozens of times, activating the cells" potential. They were strong medication that could crazily increase the transformation efficiency of the mitochondria"s quality and energy.
In Dragon City, the Deification Capsule allowed bandits, who were ordinary people, to have the ability to temporarily fight against low-level superhumans.
Plus, this so-called "divine medicine given by the Rat G.o.d" seemed to be more stimulating than the Deification Capsule, and its medicinal effect should also be better.
Of course, there was a price to pay for activating such potential.
In Dragon City, bandits who took the Deification Capsule often died or got injured after an intense battle. In the best case, they would collapse on the ground from exhaustion and would need to recuperate for ten days to half a month before they could slightly recover their strength.
In the worst case, they would spontaneously combust on the spot or be burned alive into a dried corpse because all the moisture in their bodies would evaporate.
Once could only a.s.sume that the price to pay for taking the "divine medicine given by the Rat G.o.d" would only be more tragic.
However, that was the only way for the fugitives to contend with their pursuers.
The hundred-man team that received the weapons, food, and divine medicine immediately set off.
The condition of the rapid march today was even worse than yesterday.
On one hand, they knew that their pursuers were behind them and they could take advantage of the galloping horses to go around them from the side.
No matter how high their morale was, the rat people were still uneasy.
Whether it was fear or excitement, their bodies stiffened and their movements changed shape in response. Besides, slowing down would also waste a lot of energy.
On the other hand, a short night of rest and recuperation could not, in the slightest, make up for the exhaustion of their physical strength and health during their escape from Black-corner City.
If their tensed nerves suddenly relaxed, it would not be so easy to reconnect them again.
No matter how the experienced Old Bearskin or energetic Round Bone Club issued their commands, they could not make the hundred-man team maintain the most basic marching formation.
Many of the rat people widened their eyes, and their arms were propped up, with thick veins protruding. If there was the slightest movement in the wind or the gra.s.s, even if startled birds in the forest flew up, they would draw their swords and sabers. It was as if they were facing a great enemy.
There were literally sounds of the wind and the crane, as though the gra.s.s and trees had alarms.
They marched that way until noon. Only then did they walk another twenty to thirty miles and find a lake formed by the convergence of spring water.
The lake was not big. The several dozen thousand fugitives used the a place to draw water. The water in the lake had almost dried up, and there were messy footprints all around.
Farther forward from the lake, the field was divided into two distinct parts by the meandering branches of the Turan River.
There was a boundless gra.s.sland on the left, where the dense gra.s.s grew waist-high, even reaching the rat people"s chest and head.
Due to the effects of the underground spirit meridians, countless mandrake trees that were dozens of meters tall grew around the area. At that moment, they were full of colorful flowers.
The mandrake trees had been genetically modified, and their roots were extremely well-developed.
In many places where the crystal ore veins were extremely deep, its roots could even grow to dozens of times the size of the tree"s crown, absorbing every bit of spirit energy deep underground into its body.
With that advantage, almost no other plant could compete with it.
With the exception of a few accompanying plants that were beneficial to its growth, it was impossible for weeds to grow beside the mandrake tree.
Moreover, high-level orcs liked to build towns beside the mandala forest.
Not only was it convenient for them to harvest food at any time, but the tree trunks, branches, and leaves were also essential raw materials for building towns and daily life.
Therefore, in the not-so-dense mandala forest, there were a few roads that were obviously artificially repaired.
One of the straight roads even pa.s.sed through a mandala tree that more than a dozen strong men could not hug together. It was called the "King of Trees", as if a tunnel had been opened up on the tree trunks. It was a wonderful sight.
Although the path on the right side was obviously easier to walk on than the one on the left.
However, the old bear skin and the round bone club still chose to turn left without hesitation.
Judging from the footprints on the ground, all the fugitives in front of them had made the same choice.
Of course.
The right side seemed to be a smooth path, but to the pursuers, it was also a main path.
Because the mandala tree"s roots were too developed, the forest was not too lush. It had also been artificially cut down, and there were crisscrossing roads. To the Centaur warriors, it was not an obstacle at all.
In front of them were the towns of the b.l.o.o.d.y Hoof clan. Even if the defending troops were old, weak, and disabled, it was more than enough to stop these hastily formed troops.
The gra.s.sland on the left seemed flat.
However, the gra.s.s that was half the height of a person was the best cover for the fugitives.
Moreover, there were many rodents that were good at digging holes on the gra.s.sland. The seemingly flat gra.s.sland might be filled with pits. If the pursuers dared to let go of their speed, they might lose their footing at any time.
The fugitives wanted to go to the border between the b.l.o.o.d.y Hoof clan"s territory and the golden clan"s territory from here. Although they would have to go through more trouble, the probability of escaping was greatly increased.
However, Meng Chao stayed beside the messy footprints for a long time.
While most of the rat people were drinking from the lake, he stretched out his finger and quickly wiped the mud, sending it under his nose to sniff carefully.
Then, as if he had found something, his eyes emitted a sharp light, scanning the surroundings, especially the mandala forest.
"What did you discover?"
Ice Storm asked.
"Do you know where these two roads lead to?"Meng Chao pointed to the left and right sides of the lake.
On the right side was a straight and flat road paved with rocks.
On the lush gra.s.sland on the left side, there was originally no road, but now that it had been trampled by hundreds of thousands of fugitives, it had formed dozens of crisscrossed, intertwined, and messy paths.
"On the left is the sky-sinking gra.s.sland. It"s hundreds of miles to the north. After a few more mountains, we"ll arrive at the sky-sinking rift valley. That"s the lowest and most complicated place in the entire Lan Ze. It"s as dangerous as the Eternal Night Abyss in the north, and it"s also the dividing line between the territory of the Blood Hoof clan and the Gold clan. It"s not surprising that the main force of the Great Horn Army is stationed in the sky-sinking Rift Valley."
Although ice storm had stayed in black-corner city for two years, she had always been thinking about her father who was in Crimson Gold City. Naturally, she had asked many merchants about the journey from black-corner city to Crimson Gold City and the terrain along the way.
She knew it like it was her family"s treasure, "As for the right side, it"s the war drum forest. It"s said that it"s blessed by the sacred ancestral spirit. The mandala trees here bear huge and full fruits. Every time they mature and gather, they can"t be picked at all. They can only let them fall to the ground with "Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang". It"s like a war drum that keeps on beating. It"s considered one of the important food producing areas of the Blood Hoof clan.
"In order to transport a large number of mandala fruits, so many wide and flat roads have been opened in the forest. Moreover, a town of 100,000 people has been built in the depths of the forest -- war drum city. There are several wealthy clans with thousands of years of history living in the city, and a large number of elite warriors are stationed there. Their duty is to protect the granary, to prevent the Gold clan from having any brainless people come to the war drum forest to take advantage of them."
Meng Chao was deep in thought. "In other words, if the fugitives choose to leave through the Forest of war drums, they will easily fall into a desperate situation where there are pursuers behind them and obstacles in front of them?"
"Of course."
Ice storm said, "Any fugitives who come here will look at the hollow prairie. If they choose to leave through the Forest of war drums, they will definitely die!"
"That"s interesting."
Meng Chao took a few steps to the right and squatted on the ground, carefully observing the traces left on the ground.
After a while, he picked up an insignificant thing from the mud with his thumb and Pinky Finger.
"This is..."ice storm raised his eyebrows slightly.
"A hair,"Meng Chao said.
"A hair?"Ice Storm didn"t understand what he meant.
In the past day and night, at least a hundred thousand or even more fugitives had pa.s.sed by this place.
What kind of problem was it when a few strands of hair fell off one after another?
"This is not an ordinary hair."
Meng Chao said unhurriedly, "Judging from its l.u.s.ter, elasticity, and toughness, this is a strand of hair that fell off from an elite warrior who was full of vitality, strong spiritual energy, and surging totem power in his body.
"The hair is the head of the spiritual energy. For people who have been malnourished for a long time, the hair will certainly wither and split apart.
"The hair has fallen for at least half a night, but it is still oily and l.u.s.trous. It is not hard to imagine that its owner must be very powerful