Chapter 652: Cooked
Shao Xuan stayed on the battlefield.
It wasn’t because he was nosy. He really had just planned to give some time to the Gu tribe people to catch their breaths. Among all the Flaming Horn tribe members, he was probably the one that was least affected by the fire seed of the tribe, that was why he could venture so deep into the battlefield.
As he saw the tribe people getting ready to fight again, Shao Xuan started to move out of the way until he heard a voice.
“Wait!”
There was no one beside him. The voice wasn’t loud but it was clear as if someone was talking beside him.
It was the shaman. He was using a special technique to tell Shao Xuan and the rest to stay and help them.
Maybe because the shaman saw that Shao Xuan wasn’t affected by the fire seed or maybe he saw the effectiveness of the two spears, the shaman knew that only the Flaming Horn tribespeople would be able to do any damage to the beast.
The shaman knew that the tribe would be indebted to the Flaming Horn tribe after this but now wasn’t the time to discuss how they would repay them.
Shao Xuan agreed.
He would listen to the shaman’s orders for now.
“Front claw!”
Shao Xuan crouched as he ran, then slid towards the beast’s front claw.
The beast was looking in another direction so Shao Xuan used this opportunity to cut its claw.
Shing!
The deafening sound of metals colliding rung in everyone’s ears. The shiny scales that covered the beast’s claw flew everywhere.
Shao Xuan felt a numbness from his wrist to his shoulder on his sword-wielding hand.
Tough!
That was Shao Xuan’s first thought.
He didn’t feel the reaction force when he threw the spear but now he was feeling the full effect of it. No matter how strong or how sharp a sword was, it would be nothing compared to the scales on that beast.
With such strong defences, even if two hundred Flaming Horn warriors attacked it at once, it would take some time to wear it down.
This beast…
Shao Xuan suddenly thought of something.
He felt that this beast was different from the beasts they encountered. Even the large beast they showed off in the banquet was small compared to it.
This reminded Shao Xuan of the Bat King he saw many years ago. It was so quick that the warriors couldn’t catch it. The beast before him wasn’t built for speed nor was it agile. It couldn’t even fly so on paper it was nothing compared to the beasts he faced before. However, this was much stronger and tougher to fight than anything he hunted before.
This was nearly as powerful as the Bat King he faced a few years back and that was scary enough.
Its defence was way too strong!
Usually, long necks are the weak points of beasts but this beast had its neck covered in those impenetrable scales.
No wonder it could live for a thousand years.
The shaman didn’t know what Shao Xuan was thinking about. He was fully focused on adding on the nets on the beast. He spared a glance to see the damage Shao Xuan had done on the beast.
What a sharp weapon!
What material was that? How did they get it? The two spears and the sword he was holding was much different from stone weapons.
That was impressive!
However, it was a pity that the Flaming Horn tribe wouldn’t be able to take down the beast. The Gu tribe still had to rely on themselves, the Flaming Horn tribe was the only backup.
The skin on the beast’s claw was very thick, much thicker than the skin on its face. Even with such a strike from Shao Xuan, no blood was seen at its claw. It probably didn’t feel much pain from the cut too.
However, it was still enough to distract it.
After the slash, Shao Xuan immediately moved away from the beast to avoid its retaliation. The stomp from the beast crushed all the stones nearby into dust, cracking open the ground once again, sending large gaps to the ground everywhere.
The place the Gu tribe once called home was now unrecognisable.
Outside the battlefield, Ah Guang held a bow as tall as herself ready to shoot at the beast. She was being extra careful as the other archers as they soon realised that the Gu tribe members were everywhere so it was very easy to accidentally shoot them.
“The Grand Elder told us to not attack for now, just help out any wounded warriors you see.” Ku Tu looked worriedly at the battlefield. He didn’t care for the Gu tribe, he was worried about Shao Xuan.
“Brother Xuan isn’t someone impulsive, he knows what he is doing. We should stay at the side so that he can call us over whenever he needs us.” Ah Guang let her bow down but she didn’t place the arrow back into the quiver.
In the battlefield, Shoa Xuan went straight for a strike at the beast’s hind legs. He left a mark and this time it bled a little but it was nothing impactful.
Shao Xuan wanted to slash a few more times at the same spot to thoroughly cut through its skin but there was no opportunity to do so. The beast seemed to be aware of every cut it got too. It would purposely hide it away to let it heal. Shao Xuan’s wish to cut at the same spot was also much harder because he had to cooperate with the Gu tribe too, he couldn’t do whatever he wanted.
Giving up on that thought, Shao Xuan observed the Gu tribe members while waiting for his next order.
Anyone that didn’t have an understanding of how nets or traps worked would have no idea what they were doing.
Hundreds of figures surrounded the beast with ropes streaming around like odd coloured snakes. The ropes criss-crossed and were tied to each other, then tightly coiled over the beast. The warriors worked very quickly to repair all the nets.
The originally damaged net was soon returning to its original form. Then, it was once again lit on fire, causing a new round of burn marks to appear on the beast.
Why did Shao Xuan risk his life to help them?
Well, he definitely had his own reasons.
This was his first time being able to see such a complex net being built up close. Hearing stories and seeing the completed thing was one thing and seeing the process was another.
Random ropes became a net and the net was connected into a larger one that was used to repair the huge one.
Although their bronze weapons were able to cut through the skin, they wouldn’t be able to bring such damage to the beast in such a short time. The net was the thing that was able to hold the beast back. It wrapped around it forming a seal of sorts which made it hard for the beast to move.
Shao Xuan didn’t see how the beast came ashore but he could guess that it was much more quick and agile than now. The fire seemed to have made its muscles more tense and rigid.
Everywhere the fire nets touched was now charred black. The scales that were so hard to poke through with sharp tools were succumbing under the flames.
This was still a rather damaged net, one could only imagine how powerful a full net would be.
A long time ago, Shao Xuan had learned about some trap making from Old Ke. Old Ke had taught him some tips that were very effective during hunting leading him to think he knew everything there was to know but now he realised how wrong he was.
This was what he lacked, this more detailed, complicated and stronger power move!
But he needed a net this large to actually do it!
The beast stood on its hind legs and used its claws to grab at the nets around its neck while letting out a frustrated roar.
The warriors holding that part of the net were sent flying off with their arms bleeding.
As the broken pieces of the net fell, it still carried flames on it.
A small piece flew towards Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan grabbed rope, which was still glowing red from heat and sizzling.
Shao Xuan accidentally burnt his hand from grabbing the piece. He felt pain from the fire and the repulsion from the other tribe’s fire seed immediately but they soon subdued. The rope continued to glow.
However, the burning sensation stopped just like the repulsion.
Within his sea of consciousness, Shao Xuan’s totemic flames had become very active since he touched the rope. It was a natural reaction due to repulsion against foreign totemic power. Then, the outer shell in his mind’s totemic fire glowed. Both the Flaming Horn fire seed within Shao Xuan and the Gu fire seed’s powers in the rope seemed to gradually quieten down.
Shao Xuan observed the rope in his arms that was still glowing from the fire. The redness was much duller now, the flame much weaker too.
The red on the rope was blood.
Blood and fire came from the same source. The blood was the bait and the rope was the medium. They were using their fire seed to fight against the beast!