Free Web NovelChapter 220: Chapter 219: Slaughter
Second Uncle was the West Ice Tribe warrior who had reported the situation at Ice and Snow Ridge to the Chosen One [Gold]. After receiving the High Priest’s reward, he had already achieved considerable strength, reaching the Iron Flesh Realm.
At this moment, he was drinking in an Ice Cave Tavern within the tribe. The wine was brewed from a fruit that grew in the ice and snow. It was delicious. Swallowing it felt like drinking from an icy spring, freezing his entire body for a moment before a wave of heat surged through him.
The West Ice Tribe was currently the most prosperous tribe of the Northern Boundary Human Clan, much more so than the North Snow Tribe, which had not been completely destroyed. That they had enough surplus grain for brewing wine was proof enough.
Furthermore, most of the houses here were carved from icebergs—spacious, windproof, and well-insulated. There was no shortage of meltwater from the ice and snow, and patches of special fruit groves grew in many of the valleys.
Unlike the North Snow Tribe, people here could fill their stomachs without having to rely solely on hunting. Some Warriors had even stockpiled plenty of Little Ice Fruits to trade for goods; they wouldn’t starve even if they stopped hunting for a time.
This was also why Second Uncle had been willing to take on the mission of guarding the eastern side of Ice and Snow Ridge back then. Even if he didn’t hunt, the Leader [War] would reward him with two or three Little Ice Fruits for his duty.
Compared to the North Snow Tribe’s model of distributing rewards based on the hunt, the West Ice Tribe’s Little Ice Fruit system was much more stable and did a better job of encouraging the tribespeople’s productivity.
Now, having accumulated a small fortune, Second Uncle could even afford to treat people to drinks.
CLINK. An ice bowl struck another, splashing azure wine onto the ice table. A big, burly Warrior drained his bowl in one go, his face flushed red as fire. Through bleary, drunken eyes, he roared, "Dammit! That North Snow Tribe deserves to be wiped out! They targeted our West Ice Tribe time and time again, and now they’ve gone and pissed off the Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff! They deserve to die!"
As the alcohol went to their heads, everyone spoke freely. Another Warrior laughed and cursed, "That trip to the North Sea cost our tribe over two hundred strong Warriors, and my brother was one of them! The North Snow Tribe are a bunch of animals!"
Everyone was roaring drunk, so they inevitably started gossiping. "But that Celestial Chosen Demon [Wind] from Cold Heaven Cliff is seriously powerful. The Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff has already leveled the North Snow Tribe’s camp. So many houses are destroyed that our people are having a hard time scavenging.
"I just don’t know how long the Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff will be trapped. If they break out of the North Snow Tribe’s Elder Witch Priest’s seal, I wonder if they’ll run into our scouting parties..."
Everyone knew about the situation with the North Snow Tribe. The High Priest had even dispatched a team of strong Warriors to investigate their camp, specifically to check if any North Snow tribespeople had escaped. If so, they could hunt some of them down.
Unexpectedly, they had recently received news that the people of the North Snow Tribe had scattered and fled. One group was particularly fierce, and they hadn’t been able to catch them. So, while the Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff was sealed, everyone had started exploring the North Snow Tribe’s camp.
Right now, those Warriors had probably scavenged a lot of good stuff. Even just some iron tools would be an excellent find...
As these thoughts filled his mind, Second Uncle and the others couldn’t help but envy those Warriors. But before they could think any more on it, a violent RUMBLE came from outside the Ice Cave Tavern, followed by a dense clamor of panicked voices.
"Help! Help! Someone’s attacking!"
"It’s the Chosen One from the North Snow Tribe! It’s the Chosen One from the North Snow Tribe!"
"Ah—"
Bloodcurdling screams rang out. Just moments later, a second RUMBLE echoed from outside, this one even closer.
Second Uncle sobered up in an instant. Shaking off his stupor, he grabbed the Cold Iron Spear from the side of the table and strode outside. As he emerged into the street between the icebergs, he heard another deafening RUMBLE, like Thunder piercing through an ice fortress!
The sound was much clearer than it had been inside the Ice Cave Tavern—sharper, more domineering, and incredibly swift.
A single glance revealed a chaotic scene a kilometer away, near the tribe’s outer perimeter. Hordes of tribespeople were fleeing from their ice houses and ice caves, dragging their families along as they ran in this direction—or more accurately, toward the depths of the West Ice Tribe, toward West Ice Valley.
Second Uncle had never seen such a scene, but he instantly spotted the one responsible for the chaos—[Hill].
The young man strolled in from the eastern entrance of the West Ice Tribe, a Northern Snow Lance in his hand. His gaze was cold and merciless, like a frozen pool of water.
SWOOSH! The Northern Snow Lance shot from his hand, faintly summoning the phantom of an ice dragon. It crashed into an ice house blocking the path, shattering it instantly. Debris flew everywhere. A whole row of ice caves carved into the base of an iceberg crumbled, and the entire mountain of ice trembled.
Then, with a casual gesture, the Northern Snow Lance that had just laid waste to a path hundreds of meters long flew back to his hand, poised to demolish another cluster of ice houses.
Again and again, countless buildings were destroyed. Bits of cloth and chunks of flesh occasionally clung to the fragmented remains of the ice houses, and bloody gore sprayed through the air. Any Warrior who tried to rush forward and stop him was merely grazed by the edge of the Northern Snow Lance, and their head would tumble to the ground. They were completely powerless to resist.
"This... this..."
Second Uncle’s eyes bulged like bull’s testicles. His legs had begun to tremble, and the Cold Iron Spear in his hand was shaking too.
He had seen [Hill] once before. It was four years ago. The boy had wielded a Northern Snow Lance, charging in and out of a siege to rescue a tribesman surrounded by the Demon Race of Cold Heaven Cliff.
But how could the [Hill] from back then have been this powerful?!
The difference was like heaven and earth! He was even more terrifying than [Gold], the most promising talent in the history of the West Ice Tribe!
The Northern Snow Lance could actually summon the phantom of an ice dragon, and it even flew back after being thrown! Such an ability was simply divine!
Gasping for breath, Second Uncle took two steps back, then began to sprint, swinging his arms wildly. The freezing wind whistled between his teeth. ’I have to escape to West Ice Valley and wait for the High Priest to act!’
’I’m not even on patrol duty. I was just out for a drink and happened to run into an enemy invasion. Running back to get reinforcements while I’m still a bit drunk... it doesn’t count as desertion or dereliction of duty.’
’Besides, with the way [Hill] is annihilating everything, could someone like me at the mere Iron Flesh Realm possibly stop him?’
’Even a Steel Bone Realm expert wouldn’t be able to dodge that all-destroying Northern Snow Lance!’
Just as the thought crossed his mind, SWOOSH! A flash of cold light streaked past his ear. He took two more stumbling steps before his body, now separated from his head, collapsed onto the ice. Blood gushed like a fountain. A few other drunks who had just stumbled out of the Ice Cave Tavern were also blasted to bits, buried beneath the collapsed iceberg.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Jiang Qiu walked step by step over the field of corpses, casually catching the Northern Snow Lance as it returned to him once more. Without a word, without a backward glance, he continued toward the deeper parts of the tribe.
