Chapter 115: Heading South

Seven days after the siege began, the situation in Cold Creek Valley took a sudden and drastic turn.

Twelve colossal beasts, each nearly a hundred feet tall and made entirely of black granite, joined the attacking forces. These giants bore a glaring red mark on their foreheads, clearly indicating they were enslaved creatures under someone’s control.

“Ah~roar~!”

Amidst savage roars, one of the giants slammed both hands onto the ground. A small mountain, nearly a hundred feet tall, suddenly crumbled in his grasp, condensing into a stone sphere about ten feet in diameter. With a fierce swing of his right arm, the giant sent the sphere hurtling forward at a speed even Ji Hao could scarcely track. It struck the protective wall with brutal force.

A deafening explosion shook the wall violently.

The impact of the giant’s thrown stone sphere was ferocious. Intricate curse-breaking runes shimmered across its surface, exerting tremendous destructive power against the runic array reinforcing the wall. Just one strike drained a significant portion of the protective array’s energy.

The enslaved miners rushed back and forth, continuously feeding vast quantities of precious jade and fiery agate into the magical formation. Countless runes flared to life, entwining the piles of jade and agate, swiftly converting them into immense energy to bolster the wall’s defenses.

Yet, everyone could see clearly that the giant’s heavy blow had left a dent about the size of a human head on the wall. Although the damage was not severe, it proved that the enemy now had the confidence to breach Cold Creek Valley.

“The Blackwater Mystic Serpent Tribe doesn’t have the strength to control such giants!” Ji Yao clenched his teeth as he stared at the twelve towering creatures swaggering outside the city, and then at the cloaked figure surrounded by faint black mist who commanded them. “We know the Blackwater Mystic Serpent Tribe well… they don’t have the power to tame or raise such monsters.”

Before Ji Yao finished his explanation, all twelve giants struck simultaneously. They ripped up massive amounts of sand and stone from the ground, forming stone spheres and hurling them fiercely at the protective wall.

The dull sounds of shattering air were unending; sparks flew from the wall as it trembled violently, fragments of various sizes breaking off.

At this rate of assault, even with a steady supply of jade and agate to replenish the defenses, the wall could hold for no more than a month before being utterly smashed by the giants’ relentless attacks.

Old Shi and his summoned stone creature comrades roared deeply, pounding their chests wildly as they issued provocative challenges toward the black giants outside. Ancient runes glowed faintly on their bodies, and thick mud constantly churned up from the ground, layering heavily over the protective wall.

Once this mud covered the wall, it immediately solidified into a hard rock layer. Although this layer was clearly less durable than the wall itself, the giants’ stone spheres would shatter sections of rock dozens of feet in length upon impact.

However, Old Shi and his companions kept summoning fresh mud and building new rock layers without pause. The giants attacked furiously, and the rock layers thickened in response. This tit-for-tat struggle barely maintained a precarious balance.

Ji Yao and Ji Xia both smiled slightly. With Old Shi’s assistance, the threat posed by the giants to Cold Creek Valley remained immense, but at least it was no longer an immediate crisis. Judging by the current situation, it would take the giants at least three months to break through Cold Creek Valley.

“Hao, come with me!” Ji Yao tugged at Ji Hao’s sleeve, leading him and Ji Xia deeper into the valley.

Outside Cold Creek Valley, deafening battle cries echoed. Tens of thousands of the Three Tribes allied army shouted loudly as they surged toward the protective wall.

Flames erupted from the wall, and any enemy daring to approach was met with the special flame magic of the Fire Crow Tribe. The air around thickened unnaturally, making it nearly impossible for even peak-level minor sorcerer warriors to climb the wall. Those who attempted to scale it often fell before reaching the top, felled by the Fire Crow warriors’ relentless attacks from above.

However, with the giants’ reinforcement this time, Fire Crow warriors had to dodge the stone spheres flying at them during combat. A single unlucky warrior struck by one of these spheres could be shattered to pieces, allowing the enemy to swarm over that segment of the wall.

The siege of Cold Creek Valley had undeniably become far more perilous.

Deep within Cold Creek Valley, Ji Yao looked sternly at Ji Hao and said coldly, “It’s been seven days, and there’s been no word from Golden Crow Ridge. That means Grandfather has lost contact with them.”

Ji Xia added quietly, “We sent several warriors sneaking out, hoping to slip back to Golden Crow Ridge to deliver a message. Grandfather left tracking magic on them, but they were killed near Golden Crow Ridge.”

Ji Yao said calmly, “Someone wants us dead here. That old mud eel from Blackwater Loach was right.”

Ji Xia shook her head and spoke lowly, “There’s no news from Golden Crow Ridge, but Ji Shu sent word through the Fire Crow Tribe — he’s demanding a large amount of jade and fiery agate, saying they need these resources for their battle with the Blackwater Mystic Serpent Tribe.”

Ji Hao’s anger surged to his head. “Without jade and fiery agate, can Cold Creek Valley still hold out?”

Isolation from Golden Crow Ridge while Ji Shu could still send orders demanding resources—what did that imply? Even as the Fire Crow Tribe’s warrior leader, Ji Shu could not wield absolute power.

Clearly, the shadow of the Bifang Tribe was involved.

“If we break through and retreat?” Ji Hao barely finished speaking before slapping himself lightly.

Breakthrough? Retreat? With the enemy’s overwhelming grand sorcerer-level forces, any attempt at escape or withdrawal would be a death trap. Cold Creek Valley’s defenses were well-fortified, and if even those could not hold back the attack, abandoning the valley would be suicide.

“And your father must not retreat!” Ji Yao looked at Ji Hao seriously. “Your father has never failed in all these years. If he abandons Cold Creek Valley and flees with the people, and if Ji Shu has already sent orders demanding resources, then if the Fire Crow Tribe falls, all the blame will fall on your father.”

“Are we to rely solely on the limited strength we have to face an ever-growing enemy?” Ji Hao frowned deeply. “Today they added twelve giants. What more will they bring in a few days?”

“That’s why, Hao, our only hope lies with you,” Ji Yao said coldly. “You and Manman have a good relationship. Go to her and borrow a troop. The divine army of the God Kingdom of Zhu Rong—if you have thousands of soldiers—will crush the Blackwater Mystic Serpent Tribe.”

A gleam of determination sparked in Ji Hao’s eyes as he silently nodded.

Ji Yao produced a map made of beasthide, pointing to it as he explained slowly:

“The Fire Crow Tribe is located at the northern frontier of the Southern Wilderness, extremely far from the territory of the God Kingdom of Zhu Rong. To reach the God Kingdom quickly, you must travel through a sorcery array.”

“The Bifang Tribe has a direct array to the God Kingdom, but you cannot go to the Bifang Tribe.”

“The other tribes are unreliable. Fortunately, Grandfather knows of another sorcery array.”

A quarter of an hour later, Ji Hao crossed the mountain behind Cold Creek Valley, racing southward at full speed.

***

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