Chapter Seventy-One: Suppression

“Madness… utter madness!” Blackwater Dark Jiao stood rigid, staring at the nearly one hundred giant fire crows diving from the sky. With great effort, he forced a few words from his stone-stiffened throat.

Within the towering blue mulberry trees atop Golden Crow Ridge, over a thousand giant crows made their home—a force that allowed the Fire Crow Tribe to dominate their territory unchallenged.

These fire crows were direct descendants of the ancient three-legged golden crows. Though countless generations had diluted their blood, they still retained a trace of their ancestor’s mystical power. Each adult fire crow possessed the might of a Grand Shaman, but by virtue of their thin golden crow bloodline, they could easily contend with five to eight human Grand Shamans of equal rank. Worse still, while human Grand Shamans could not fly, these giant crows soared at will, attacking and retreating as they pleased. Even dozens of ordinary Grand Shamans working together might not bring down a single giant crow.

The Blackwater Dark Serpent Tribe, sworn enemies of the Fire Crow Tribe, had been relentlessly suppressed due to this formidable murder of crows. Their own war beasts, the One-horned Dark Serpents, were indeed powerful—once grown, they too reached the strength of Grand Shamans, easily besting their human counterparts. Yet, grounded as they were, they stood no chance against the crows that ruled the skies.

Because of their strength, the fire crows had remained stationed at Golden Crow Ridge for generations, rarely venturing more than a thousand miles from their sacred home. But the Fire Leopard Tribe’s stronghold lay nearly twenty thousand miles from the ridge—a distance so vast that not even Blackwater Dark Jiao and Jiang Yao had factored these fearsome crows into their plans. At most, they anticipated the old fox Ji Zhuo might intervene personally, never suspecting that nearly a hundred giant crows would suddenly descend upon the battlefield.

“Utter madness? Perhaps so!” Ji Hao gave a sharp whistle. Lord Crow screeched as he swooped down, bearing Ji Hao aloft as they soared into the sky.

“In that case, let’s be even more ruthless! No one who came here today shall leave alive!” Ji Hao cried, his voice ringing out harshly. The eight-foot spear in his hand spat blinding flames, shooting again and again at the coalition’s warriors fleeing in disarray below.

At the tip of his spear, the phantom of a three-legged crow chirped gleefully. Each fist-thick beam of flame struck the earth and spread instantly, erupting into towering walls of fire that scorched everything within hundreds of yards.

Wave after wave of coalition warriors were engulfed by the spear’s fire—shrill screams echoed as those in the Shaman realm were reduced to ash in an instant. Even those of the Lesser Shaman rank rolled and writhed in the flames, but after only a few breaths, they too were charred to blackened lumps.

Only the Grand Shamans could withstand the fire, leaping madly to attack the swooping giant crows. Yet, their efforts were futile.

The giant crows let out thunderous cries—over a hundred ravens gathered, their cacophony roaring like a tsunami, making the earth tremble beneath. They beat their wings wildly, scattering countless feathers wreathed in fire down upon the battlefield. Each feather pierced through warriors’ bodies with precision, setting them ablaze in shrieking agony.

The Grand Shamans of the coalition leapt with all their might, their jumps carrying them several miles high, yet they were clumsy in the air, unable to maneuver. Rising and falling in straight lines, they swung their weapons desperately, but the crows twisted nimbly, cawing with pride as they easily dodged these reckless attacks.

“Kill them all!” Ji Hao shouted. “Bring their heads and souls back as offerings to our ancestors!”

The crows shrieked in excitement, swooping down to within a hundred yards of the ground and opening their beaks to unleash golden-red flames.

The fire from Ji Hao’s spear could sweep a hundred yards, but the fire columns from the crows crashed to the ground with a roar, exploding into pillars of flame that soared sky-high, easily engulfing everything within miles.

Whole divisions of coalition warriors were reduced to ashes in the blaze. Especially those of the Fierce Ghost and Nether Phantom Tribes—the golden crow flames carried pure yang energy, devastatingly effective against such malevolent beings. With a single pass, the crows nearly annihilated every warrior from those tribes. Only a dozen or so Grand Shamans managed to escape, howling in misery as they fled, wreathed in flames.

But everywhere they ran, fire raged, black smoke billowed, and the earth melted into rivers of magma. The crows beat their wings furiously, stirring scalding whirlwinds that sent boiling magma surging. Waves of molten rock rose a hundred yards high, sweeping across the land and leaving nothing but fire in their wake.

Even the two ancient tree monsters summoned by the old tree demon, each over ten thousand years old, staggered back in terror, fleeing the devastation as fast as they could. With nearly a hundred Grand Shaman-level crows rampaging, any creature with sense would avoid provoking these frenzied behemoths.

High above, the tribal chieftains on their flying beasts wailed in despair. A gaunt old man, clutching a banner of ancestral spirits, shrieked at Ji Hao, “Great ones of the Fire Crow Tribe! Have mercy on our warriors! They cannot resist your wrath—please, spare them!”

Lord Crow swooped by, and Ji Hao, spear in hand, drove it ruthlessly through the old man’s chest.

Another rush of Grand Shaman blood essence flowed into his grasp. Raising his spear like a vengeful spirit, Ji Hao roared, “When you laid your ambush here, surrounding our Fire Crow warriors, did you ever consider showing mercy to us?”

“Those who bring disaster upon themselves deserve no pity!” Ji Hao sneered through gritted teeth. “If you want my mercy, cast down your weapons and kneel!”

A dozen coalition Grand Shamans who had leapt into the air were struck by the fire crows’ flames, plummeting in burning agony and rolling across the ground with miserable cries.

The surviving coalition warriors, scattered and broken, gazed up in despair at the circling crows. No one knew who started it, but suddenly weapons clattered to the ground as swathes of warriors raised their hands high and knelt heavily.

“Kneel! Kneel!” The black-furred giant ape, wielding his great club, stood proudly atop the stone giant’s shoulder, roaring at the surrounding Grand Shamans. “Still planning to run? All of you, kneel! Kneel!”

The giant ape began counting on his fingers, muttering, “Catch one Grand Shaman, that’s ten jars of wine… Here’s one, two… hey? One is ten jars, two is twenty, three… how much is three?”

Ten giant crows circled above Blackwater Dark Jiao’s head.

Blackwater Dark Jiao let out a despairing howl, threw down his curved blade, and dropped heavily to his knees.

***

Imagining this scene myself, it’s truly terrifying!

Vast flocks of giant birds swooping through the sky—it’s like watching strategic bombers unleashing a map-wide barrage!

Please, vote for recommendations! Caw, caw!