Chapter 1115: Busting Out
As the Grim Reaper drew closer and closer, Sparks" charred heart almost exploded.
However, paralyzed in the flames, he could do nothing.
He could only watch as a blurry figure and the chain blade surrounded by endless killing intent continuously magnify in his field of vision.
Just when he thought that he was going to die for sure, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the bushes not far away.
Following that was the rustling of weeds and the sound of someone running wildly.
It sounded like there was another centaur warrior hiding nearby and holding his breath like Spark, trying to escape the demon"s blade.
However, he seemed to be more rash than Spark.
He thought that the demon"s killing intent was coming straight for him.
He was so scared that he took the initiative to expose himself and fled into the distance in a panic.
The two demons uttered "huh" at the same time.
Sparkle immediately sensed the pressure he was facing reduce greatly.
The tide of death was gradually receding.
Barely opening his eyes from the flames, he saw two bolts of lightning, one red and one white, dragging a winding afterimage and shooting into the distance at an extremely fast speed.
The grim reaper temporarily removed the huge scythe from Spark"s neck.
The young centaur warrior could not help but moan and almost burst into tears of joy.
Judging from his appearance, he was still almost pierced through the heart by the spear and nailed to the ground.
Moreover, his body was still wrapped in raging flames. Every part of his body that was not covered by the totem armor was burned to the point that his flesh was split open. Even the white bones inside were burned into black charcoal.
No wonder his two enemies thought that he would die for sure and gave up on attacking him.
Spark was not willing to wait for his death.
The advanced orc"s unparalleled vitality played an important role in that critical moment of life and death.
His totem armor also stimulated his endocrine system and released more adrenaline.
More importantly, the centaur had two sets of heart and lung systems.
Even though his heart in the upper part of his body had nearly been pierced through by a javelin, the heart and lung system in the lower half of his body could still pump blood to every corner of his being.
Most importantly, the centaur warrior named Spark was born with a strong affinity for fire.
Just as Ice Storm could not be frostbitten by the frost she condensed.
Spark"s resistance to burning flames was also ten times that of an ordinary person.
Under his charred skin and flesh, his cell activity continued to be above the expected level.
In addition to his strong desire to survive, it helped him clench his teeth and pull out the spear that had been deeply embedded in his chest and the earth inch by inch.
"Phew..."
When the last inch of the spear had completely left his chest, Spark let out a sigh of relief.
It was not that there were no benefits to being burned by fire.
At the very least, his wounds were charred, and his blood vessels were barely sealed. He would not faint and die from bleeding.
The centaur warrior struggled to get up from the ground. He tried his best to lower his upper body and look around.
The vast and boundless gra.s.sland was like an unfathomable ocean.
The ma.s.sacre that happened a moment ago was like a small wave that had disappeared into the depths of the ocean without a trace.
He did not see any more of his compatriots or the two enemies who were filled with murderous intent, as though they were G.o.ds and demons who had descended on their world.
He felt as if he was the only person in the vast world.
That was good.
Spark did not dare to stay for too long.
He determined his bearings through the rolling clouds in the sky and escaped toward the outer area of the sky-sinking gra.s.sland.
On the positive side, he now had a reason to escape openly. No, he had a reason to retreat.
There was no need for him to choose between the honor of a warrior and his precious life.
"I must tell the patriarch and the priest about the conversation between those two enemy attackers!"
Spark thought, "It sounds like the two of them are not stingy with the lives of the rat people. They are deliberately provoking us, hoping that we will continue to fight the rat people in the sky-trapping gra.s.sland. They are using the lives of countless rat people to delay us.
"That"s right. Those two enemy warriors are so powerful. They must be clan warriors who have received harsh training since childhood.
"How can n.o.ble warriors be together with the lowly rat subjects sincerely?
"They and the lord they are talking about must be using the rat subjects to achieve some unspeakable purpose!"
Spark"s eyes glimmered.
He felt that he had benefited from a disaster and accidentally exposed a big secret.
He was definitely not afraid of death.
He was filled with a sacred sense of duty. He had to bring the big secret back to a warm, calm, and safe place!
When the young centaur warrior limped out of the battlefield like a stray dog whose leg had been broken, two heads silently popped out from the bushes behind him.
"Why didn"t you tell this kid that the temple thieves were in War Drum Forest just now?"
"Why didn"t you tell him?" Ice Storm asked. "Could these two ambiguous conversations really divert the attention of the Blood Hoof warriors from the sky-sinking gra.s.sland to the right direction?"
"If the words "War Drum Forest" are mentioned, it will seem too deliberate. It will arouse the suspicion of the other party instead. It might even backfire.
"It"s not a coincidence," Meng Chao said. "In any case, there are only two paths from the Blood Hoof Clan"s territory to the north: the sky-sinking gra.s.sland and War Drum Forest. It"s either one or the other.
"As long as this kid can relay our conversation to the higher-ups of the Blood Hoof Clan intact, and as long as there are a few strong people who are not so simple-minded among the powerhouses who control the Blood Hoof Clan, it won"t be difficult for them to come to the correct conclusion after a brief consideration.
"After all, we are not lying. The temple thieves indeed escaped through War Drum Forest. The large number of fugitives on the sky-sinking gra.s.sland are just bait. It"s impossible to carry out such a strategy without leaving traces.
"As long as the higher-ups of the Blood Hoof Clan can realize this in time, there should still be time to bring some trouble to the temple thieves.
"As you said, the pressure on the sky-sinking gra.s.sland will be greatly reduced. We and most of the fugitives will have a chance to break out of the encirclement."
Ice Storm could not help but laugh. "As for the temple thieves who thought that they were invisible, I"m afraid that they still don"t know that from this moment on, they are the shining bait.
"The Rat G.o.d will bless them. Even if he can"t help them defeat the furious pursuers, he can at least help the souls of those who died bravely. He can help them grow shining wings, fly to the Holy Mountain, and enjoy the supreme glory so that they can get what they want!"
Meng Chao laughed and rubbed his hands impatiently. "Come on, let"s count how many good things we have captured in this battle!"
...
When the two of them turned back to look for Old Bearskin, Round Bone Club, and the others, the survivors were still confused.
Meng Chao and Ice Storm took a long time to convince them of the fact that their pursuers had fled in a panic.
Of course, the two of them did not reveal their ident.i.ties.
Instead, they pushed all the credit to the mysterious Rat G.o.d"s emissary.
The fugitives firmly believed this.
After all, other than the Rat G.o.d, how could a fully armed totem warrior help them wipe out a heavily armored battle team?
The rat people were ecstatic once again. They rushed to face the sky and worshipped the non-existent Rat G.o.d.
Of course, the rat people also revered Meng Chao, who had suggested that everyone set up camp in the same place and fight their pursuers to the death. It was as if he was a psychic.
Every suggestion put forward by Meng Chao was implemented without any discount.
Meng allowed Old Bearskin and Round Bone Club to lead the still-moving fugitives, collecting the weapons, armor and military supplies scattered around the centaur warriors.
As far as the spoils of war, Meng Chao and Ice Storm had plundered them long ago.
After cleaning up the battlefield as fast as they could, they took a short rest and headed north again.
Though many of the fugitives were scarred and exhausted, the fact that they defeated a team of armored cavalry with the "Rat G.o.d"s blessing" still made them each a cl.u.s.ter of nerve endings. They were all excited to the extreme, and despite their fatigue and pain, they all flew a hundred and eight thousand miles.
They did not know if it was too heavy a blow to the head, or...
That young centaur warrior had really pa.s.sed Meng Chao"s carefully woven message to the ears of the Blood Hoof clan elders, causing the latter to turn their attention to War Drum Forest.
In short, the fugitives did not encounter any large-scale pursuers for the next few days.
On the contrary, they had gathered many of their compatriots who had fallen behind.
Of course, many of them were separated during the long journey.
However, they had spread news of the Big-horned Rat G.o.d"s arrival and how he had led the fugitives to defeat the centaur warriors on the gra.s.sland. It had caused countless rat people to absorb a brand-new power in a moment of despair.
Meng Chao and Ice Storm also left without saying goodbye to Old Bearskin and Bone Club in the dark of night.
The main reason was that this team had experienced a battle where all the pursuers were annihilated, and their battle results were too brilliant.
When they met up with the main forces of the Great Horn Army, they would definitely enter the eyes of the higher-ups and even the masterminds behind the scenes.
Before the secrets about the Rat G.o.d and the Great Horn Army were completely cracked, Meng Chao and Ice Storm did not want to reveal their existence.
They still disguised themselves as different rat people and mingled with more than ten groups of fugitives, gathering stragglers and escorting these groups.
Although they did not encounter large-scale heavily armored pursuers again, the light cavalry group made up of seven or eight centaur warriors could still be encountered occasionally.
After deeply adapting to their brand new totem armor, the centaur warriors, who numbered less than double digits, were completely unable to pose a threat to Meng Chao and Ice Storm.
The two of them attacked and annihilated a team of light cavalry.
After cutting the throat of the last centaur warrior, they interrogated and obtained valuable information.
As expected, the centaur warriors" main forces had already withdrawn from the sky-sinking gra.s.sland two days ago.
Now, there were only a few rookies who had yet to undergo the coming of age ceremony, as well as the white-haired, old, weak, and disabled who were covered in injuries, still roaming on the gra.s.sland.
The order given to them was not to "hunt" but to "expel" them.
It seemed that they only needed to exile the fleeing rat people out of the Blood Hoof Clan"s territory.