Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Counterattack

Ji Hao’s mind was in turmoil. He could still make sense of the armor worn by the Jia warriors using knowledge from both his previous and present lives. But these three exquisitely crafted metal spiders—swift as the wind, agile and perceptive—were utterly beyond his comprehension.

“Heh, savages will always be savages. Never seen such a marvelous creation, have you?” The Jia warrior, wielding a heavy shield and a cavalry sword, detected Ji Hao’s shock and confusion. He boasted proudly as he pointed at the three metal spiders, “Hey, kid, these are Sword-Edge Spiders, combat puppets meticulously forged by the master artisans of the Xiu clan. Fast, well-armored, with devastating wide-area attacks—they’re perfect for moving through the tangled terrain of the Southern Wilderness.”

“Tuo Ba, you talk too much.” From the split abdomen of one of the metal spiders, a cold and sinister voice drifted out.

Accompanied by the faint scrape of metal, a narrow gangway slid out from within. A tall, slender young man, swathed tightly in a long robe, stepped out leisurely onto the ramp.

Ji Hao stared at the young man in horror.

Compared to the two Jia warriors, the youth was only shorter by about two fists, yet his figure was so tall and thin that, at first glance, his waist seemed slimmer than the warriors’ arms. His skin was pale—almost translucent, like the finest mutton-fat jade. His features bore a peculiar, enchanting beauty, sculpted with such precision that he looked more like an exquisite statue than a living man. His robe was extraordinarily lavish; Ji Hao immediately recognized the fabric as the highest quality silk, woven with intricate techniques, and embroidered with a complex pattern of a hundred blossoms in multicolored threads across a pale violet background.

In the Southern Wilderness, where most clothing was made from animal hides and even simple linen was a treasure, such a robe was so luxurious that Ji Hao felt a momentary sense of temporal dislocation.

But what truly made Ji Hao’s hair stand on end was the third eye set in the youth’s forehead—an eye even larger than his other two, vertical and lively, rolling restlessly in its socket, faint rings of azure wind flickering within the pupil.

“Three... three eyes?” Ji Hao stared in astonishment.

“What’s so strange about that?” The young man narrowed all three eyes at once, looking Ji Hao over with a cold, sharp gaze. “As my spoil of war, little one, you ought to show more respect. For instance, if you kneel now, I might let you suffer a little less.”

With a frown, the youth pointed at Ji Hao in displeasure. “And what’s that look supposed to mean? You think I’m a monster? Honestly, to me, you’re the real freak here—a backward savage, an ignorant, filthy primitive, an ugly, stinking jungle ape!”

Curling his lips in disgust, the youth waved his hand. “Tuo Ba, Tuo Ao, what are you standing around for? Tie him up. We can use him to threaten his father... Unlike those two newly promoted Grand Shamans, I doubt you’d want to face a seasoned Grand Shaman fighting at full strength, would you?”

The three Sword-Edge Spiders moved with astonishing speed. They burst from the dense forest and, in just a few breaths, had invaded Cold Creek Valley. By the time the three-eyed youth stood before Ji Hao, a squad of over two hundred had emerged from the trees behind.

This force was entirely made up of burly, fierce men—all over two meters tall, their skin dark as black iron. Each carried a shield in the left hand and gripped heavy swords, axes, and various metal weapons in the right, clad in simple but sturdy metal armor.

Their movements were nimble and disciplined, advancing in groups of three, each covering the other with the practiced efficiency of elite soldiers. They charged into the valley right behind the Sword-Edge Spiders, shouting orders, pulling out vine-woven ropes to tie up the wounded warriors of the Fire Crow tribe who had fallen to the ground.

Hearing the commotion behind, the three-eyed youth instinctively turned and raised his voice to command, “Kill all the old, weak, sick, and infirm—wasting food is a shame. Tie up all the able-bodied; we’ll fetch a fine price for them.”

In those brief moments, Tuo Ba and Tuo Ao’s attention was drawn to their own men. Ji Ying and Ji Lang were gravely wounded, and Ji Hao was just a young child of the Shaman realm. However cautious the two Jia warriors might usually be, they inevitably relaxed their guard at that instant.

Ji Hao let go of the blood-spitting Ji Ying and Ji Lang. With a swift gesture, he formed a hand seal and uttered a true word of power. Instantly, the ground beneath Tuo Ba and Tuo Ao turned to thick mud. Caught off guard, the two cried out and vanished beneath the mire in an instant.

The three-eyed youth heard the ‘glug’ as the warriors sank and whipped his head around, staring at Ji Hao as if he’d seen a ghost.

The three Sword-Edge Spiders’ ruby compound eyes flashed with a fierce red glow. With a leap, their long limbs shrieked through the air, stabbing at Ji Hao’s heart. Their attack was blindingly fast—so fast Ji Hao couldn’t even track their movements.

But he had no need to defend himself. Lord Crow’s body suddenly swelled, returning to its full, massive size in the blink of an eye. Blazing fire erupted from every feather, and with a mighty beat of its wings, the three spiders were sent flying with a terrible crunch.

Flames roared. The spiders, struck by Lord Crow’s wings, were scorched red-hot in an instant, and soon nothing remained but pools of molten metal scattered across the sky.

Lord Crow soared upward, its great talons slashing down toward the three-eyed youth’s head.

The youth looked up in panic. Within the vertical eye on his brow, a streak of blue-green wind flashed. With a thunderous roar, a stream of azure wind, thick as a thumb, shot from his third eye, swelling in an instant to the thickness of several men. Countless wind blades spun within the tempest, slicing and shredding.

The gale wrapped around Lord Crow, lifting him miles into the sky. Wind blades slashed at Lord Crow’s body, striking sparks from feathers tougher than fine steel.

Suddenly, scalding blood rained down from above—Lord Crow had actually been wounded by the wind unleashed from the youth’s third eye.

From the mire behind came furious, maddened roars. Tuo Ba and Tuo Ao floundered desperately, but in the viscous mud, they found no purchase; for the moment, they could not escape the deep pit in which they were trapped!

Ji Hao had discovered the Jia warriors’ greatest weakness—they possessed overwhelming physical strength, but seemed to know nothing of spells or supernatural arts. From one extreme to the other: overwhelming brute force for the Jia, but what of the three-eyed youth before him?

“Kill!” Ji Hao growled, and his body exploded into countless sparks, shooting toward the youth. In the next instant, he reappeared behind him, forming a seal with both hands and striking the youth’s back with all his might.

All three of the young man’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets as he spewed a torrent of blood dozens of paces ahead, his internal organs nearly shaken from his body by Ji Hao’s blow.

“Bastard!”

With a roar of rage, Tuo Ba and Tuo Ao finally found solid ground beneath the mud. They stomped hard and launched themselves out of the pit, landing heavily on the firm ground at its edge.

Three chapters done!

Didn’t rest at all for the National Day holiday or even Saturday, it’s been exhausting! Where are the recommendation votes? Brothers and sisters off traveling, don’t forget to vote!