Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 58 Under the Beast's Hooves

Zhang Nanfeng sped along the southwest direction, the wind and snow gradually subsided, and the stench grew stronger.

It was as if the sewage from a slaughterhouse had all mixed together, and the stench could make people's brains throb from miles away.

He slowed his pace, using the jagged rocks around the valley to conceal himself, and twitched his nose, carefully trying to discern the source of the scent.

The strongest stench was found behind that low-lying ridge ahead.

The mountain ridge is not high, but it is steep and covered with thick snow and ice, making it difficult for ordinary animals to climb.

Zhang Nanfeng circled around to the shady side, finding a dead corner with a vertical ice wall that even monkeys couldn't cross. His blood palace on his back trembled slightly, and wind breath surged out from his tailbone, supporting his four feet. His body, like a snowflake floating against the current, lightly soared upwards.

Upon reaching the summit, he lowered his white body, revealing only his dark eyes, and looked down below.

Deep in the mountain valley, the ground was covered with a dense mass of heads. A rough count would probably reveal no more than one hundred and twenty or thirty.

Those figures were either tall or short, strong or thin, but none of them had a human appearance.

Some have long tails trailing behind them, some have wings on their shoulders, some are covered in fur, and some simply tread the ground on all four hooves.

The hundred or so people were all different in appearance, but the only thing they had in common was that inhuman ferocity that seeped from their very bones.

At the pass, two groups of people stood facing each other, but had not yet drawn their weapons.

The remaining forty or fifty men of Wanyan's forces huddled behind the wooden palisade of the camp, swords and spears raised, their expressions filled with fear.

Amidst the orc army, one figure stood out particularly.

The man had a burly upper body, but from the waist down he had a pair of horse legs covered in black mane, and a jet-black horse tail whipped wildly in the cold wind.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his horse's head slightly lowered, talking to someone in front of the fence, his posture arrogant, like a king looking down at a wild dog begging for food.

The man confronting the horseman was a middle-aged man with his back ramrod straight.

Zhang Nanfeng held his breath and focused his gaze, searching every inch of the camp beyond the crowd.

No.

He did not see Wanyan Yue in the crowd behind the fence.

The camp tents were low, and shadowy figures filled the area, but that short-haired, unruly figure was conspicuously absent.

Zhang Nanfeng's mind was filled with suspicion.

Wanyan Yue is just a destitute orphan girl. Why should she gather more than a hundred orcs and surround this desolate and dangerous place as if facing a great enemy?

What exactly is hidden in this mountain valley?

He suppressed his agitation and became increasingly calm, taking in the situation below.

But... is Wanyan Yue actually in the camp?

Zhang Nanfeng secretly made his plans.

If she weren't there, my rash actions would only be shielding a group of Wanyan's remnants from a group of complete strangers, needlessly exposing myself and getting into all this trouble.

not worth.

Zhang Nanfeng made up his mind and decided to refrain from taking any rash actions for the time being and observe the situation.

From this vantage point, with a commanding view, even if he couldn't kill all of the hundred or so people, he could easily immobilize the centaur leader for three breaths and ensure her escape.

With this in mind, he pricked up his ears like blades, taking in every sound below. At the same time, he focused his mind inward, sinking into his Blood Palace, trying to put his vague premonition from his journey into practice.

……

In front of the campsite in the mountain valley, Wanyan Gu gripped the hilt of his knife tightly.

He looked up at the centaur leader, who was high above him, the white breath coming out of the horse's nostrils almost hitting his face.

"Is the woman of your former Wanyan tribe leader in the camp right now?" the centaur asked, his voice thick with nasal resonance.

Wanyan Gu's Adam's apple bobbed as he desperately suppressed the disgust and contempt in his eyes, and asked in return:

"If you hand over the person you want, could we... come under the command of the Toqto'a tribe?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the centaur leader suddenly laughed.

Immediately afterwards, the hundred or so animals behind him burst into laughter. The fox-man shrieked, the pig-man grumbled, the bear-man growled, and the snake-man hissed. All sorts of inhuman laughter mingled together and carried far in the north wind, startling the snow on both sides of the mountain valley into sliding down.

Wanyan Gu's expression changed slightly, thinking that the other party considered his remaining troops too weak and unworthy of their attention. He immediately puffed out his chest, his face resolute, and said:

"I, Wanyan Gu, am a warrior of the Bone Forging Realm! My young and strong men are all skilled warriors of the Skin Refining Realm! With such combat strength, I am more than qualified to join the Tuotuo Tribe!"

His voice was booming and resounding.

But the laughter didn't stop; instead, it became even more rampant.

The animals swayed back and forth, their claws and teeth striking their chests and bellies with muffled, drum-like sounds, as if they had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

The centaur leader waved his hand, his smile fading, and looked down at Wanyan Gu again, saying calmly:

"Answer me first. Is Zheng Shi in your camp?"

Seeing that the other party was persistent on this question, Wanyan Gu, though suspicious, dared not beat around the bush any longer and honestly confessed:

"That's right. Not only is Zheng Shi here, but Wanyan Yue... has also returned. Now both mother and daughter are tied up in the camp."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers behind him immediately stirred up a commotion.

The beasts' eyes gleamed, and their hooves scratched impatiently at the snow, as if they were about to break through the fence at any moment.

Some had even drawn their weapons, the grating sound of metal scraping against metal was deafening.

Upon hearing this, the centaur leader's ears perked up, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Wanyan Yue?" He repeated, seemingly in disbelief, then suddenly raised his hand and pressed down lightly.

He subdued the unruly samurai army behind him with a single hand; though still restless, none of them dared to make any further moves.

The centaur leader leaned forward, his horse's nose almost touching the top of Wanyan's forehead, and spoke slowly and deliberately:

Are you sure?

Wanyan Gu felt his face tighten under the pressure of that aura, but he forced himself to nod:

"Confirmed! As long as the Tuotuo tribe is willing to take us in and give us a way to survive, Wanyan Gu is willing to offer up the mother and daughter..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

The horseman leader raised his hoof.

That hoof was so fast that it left only a black shadow.

Before Wanyan Gu could even blink, he felt a tremendous force strike his chest and abdomen, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily onto a tent in the camp.

His eyes were wide open, his pupils were dilated, and large amounts of bloody foam, mixed with pieces of internal organs, gushed from his mouth.

He never understood what he had said or done wrong until his death. His eyes were fixed on the sky, reflecting the gray-white sunlight, gradually condensing into a pair of murky glass.

Do not look down.

The remnants of Wanyan's forces behind the fence were initially silent, but then erupted into chaos.

Some were so frightened that they turned pale and fled into the depths of the felt tent; others roared, gripped their scimitars tightly, and glared at the outside of the fence with bloodshot eyes, showing a resolute determination to fight to the death.

The centaur leader slowly retracted his forelegs, stamping them on the snow and kicking up a cloud of dust. He looked down at the bloodstains on his hooves, then at the lifeless Wanyan Gu, and suddenly sighed:

"As expected of someone at the Bone Forging Realm."

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed, blackened teeth, and his tone surprisingly carried a hint of genuine admiration:

"Those bones are fucking hard. They've made my hooves go numb."

After speaking, he raised his head, and his half-human, half-horse face was no longer playful, but filled with naked killing intent.

With a wave of his hand.

"kill."

"Kill everyone except the women. Leave no one alive."