Chapter 152 - 153: Banyan Bee Hive
With Qin Yang leading the way,
Zhu Minglang and Nan Lingsha no longer needed to walk aimlessly.
He had previously been somewhat worried about not being able to find that trashy group from the Royal Young Gang.
Each power had three spots, and the vast majority of people from the same power would walk together, even forming alliances with other powers they had good relations with.
The competition rules inherently had many loopholes, the wider one’s connections and the stronger one’s power, the greater the advantage they would ultimately have.
Of course, smaller powers could also band together, but their trust in one another might not be as strong, and they could very well tear each other’s faces over the interests of a city-state!
Qin Yang told Zhu Minglang that Zhu Gate also had some allied forces and suggested that if they wanted to make a move on the Royal Young Gang, it would be best to join them.
But both Zhu Minglang and Nan Lingsha felt that would be too time-consuming.
Moreover, the resources they acquired would have to be split with them.
Zhu Minglang was somewhat reluctant.
Zhu Heavenly Officer also informed Zhu Minglang that the competition rules didn’t progress as they had initially hoped.
There was no longer a repayment in full or a fifty-fifty split of spoils.
Everyone was to rely on their own abilities.
After all, more than half of the resources were scattered throughout this city of mechanisms, left for the descendants of the various powers to search and fight over, and they wouldn’t share their gains with anyone else.
“Since the young master and miss are both confident in their own strength, then there’s no need for me to contact those forces from Zhu Gate,” Qin Yang nodded and said.
“Are there any Monarch Level experts?” Zhu Minglang thought for a moment before asking.
Qin Yang shook his head, his expression a bit strange when looking at Zhu Minglang.
If there were Monarch Level Powerhouses, they probably wouldn’t need to ally with them.
The young master’s starting point is a bit too high, under normal circumstances a Monarch Level expert could uphold a small power on their own.
Within the Four Major Sect Clans and the Six Great Clans, the number of disciples with Monarch Level Strength could probably be counted on one’s fingers.
After passing through several dilapidated streets where orioles sang and grass grew long,
vines and dense plants covered the houses, the ground was littered with broken tiles, bricks were everywhere, and even some eaves were overgrown with wild grass.
Before them lay desolate and ruined cityscapes, as if abandoned for decades, trees taller than the houses, dense vegetation, birds and beasts nesting.
“They are searching for the deeds to the Young Dragon Valley, but within this Wasteland Grass City, there is a group of Plundering Dragons raised by the Ancient Dragon Palace. They are highly sensitive to the scent of living things, especially to human Divine and Mortal beings, Dragon Trainers, and other Dragon Beasts; we must be careful,” Qin Yang said.
The Plundering Dragons are group hunters among the Ancient Dragons.
In the wild, if you encounter a ferocious Violent Dragon, there might still be a chance of survival, as scattering and fleeing would mean the Violent Dragon could only prey on one of the group.
But Plundering Dragons are different.
They move as if they were well-trained and elite warriors, and even the masters of the jungle would take a detour at the sight of a group of Plundering Dragons. Most of the time, they are not greatly interested in weaker creatures, preferring to challenge stronger beings.
In the aspect of hunting.
Their intelligence is even more terrifying than that of humans.
And because of the high intelligence of these Plundering Dragons, it’s not an easy task for a huge force like the Ancient Dragon Palace to tame them.
“Someone has already perished,” Nan Lingsha pointed to a broken-walled house, indicating the bloodstains there.
Zhu Minglang went over to take a look.
Indeed, inside lay a skeleton, its flesh gnawed off, hardly leaving a few pieces, and it was barely possible to determine from the clothes that it was a lone traveler.
Although the Ancient Bronze Battlefield selection process had weeded out those with lesser abilities in two rounds, there still would be some who lacked enough experience to enter here. Their random blundering indeed made it very easy for them to lose their lives.
From the Maze Wall City Tower, Hao Yong had already seen someone approaching Wasteland Grass City from afar.
His expression changing unpredictably, his gaze involuntarily fell on Nie Chong, the protector of the Purple Sect Clan.
Nie Chong had also witnessed this scene. Seated between two maids waving palm-leaf fans, he calmly said, “Don’t worry, as long as your son, Hao Shaocong, does not move out of my disciple’s sight, no one will be able to harm him.”
“But that person is Zhu Minglang,” Hao Yong still said uneasily.
“Didn’t he lose his Sword Cultivator abilities? If he still had his Sword Cultivator strength, I couldn’t stop him myself even if I went down there. Now that he is a Dragon Trainer, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Nie Chong replied.
“Master Hao Yong, Xu Mao is a standout among the Purple Sect Clan and the most proud disciple of our protector Nie Chong. To my eyes, Zhu Minglang seeking revenge at this time is equivalent to handing over the ruling rights of the Li Chuan Continent on a platter. Besides, isn’t my son Zhao Xi also there…” Madam Zhao Qin said with a smiling assurance.
Upon hearing these words of comfort, Hao Yong finally felt somewhat invigorated.
Zhao Xi was very strong, and there was the demonically talented Xu Mao as well.
Xu Mao was one of the most outstanding disciples of the Purple Sect Clan.
“Just watch, Zhu Gate still has to consider the face of our Purple Sect Clan. If Zhu Minglang knows to retreat in the face of difficulty, that will be for the best,” Nie Chong said.
Wasteland Grass City was not far from the Mysterious Wall, so many people had already seen Zhu Minglang and the others approaching Hao Shaocong’s group.
This was one of the main events of the competition, and most people were aware that Hao Shaocong had brutally killed Zhu Gate’s disciple, Zhu Tong, during the competition.
The purpose of Zhu Minglang’s participation in this competition was to avenge his younger brother Zhu Tong, and he had stated on the spirit hall that he would personally take Hao Shaocong’s life…
At this moment, Hao Shaocong, Nie Chong, and Zhao Xi, who were in the city of mechanisms, were obviously still unaware that Zhu Minglang and the others were closing in on them, while the onlookers on the Mysterious Wall and the city towers couldn’t help but turn their gazes here involuntarily.
“Roar! Roar!!!”
A few heart-palpitating low roars came from behind the houses.
Zhu Minglang, Nan Lingsha, and Qin Yang had bypassed the troublesome Plundering Dragons and arrived within Wasteland Grass City.
In a cluster of dilapidated wooden houses overgrown with vines, there stood a towering banyan tree. This banyan tree had stood there since ancient times, presumably even before the city of mechanisms had been established. Its branches were laden with aerial roots, and these roots, like newly sprouted banyan trees, had taken root in the soil. The surrounding area was strewn with derelict wooden houses that had merged with these aerial roots.
Under the ancient banyan tree, four or five people were discussing something.
As it turned out, this banyan tree was not as simple as it looked on the outside. Its lush canopy was like a small world, with banyan bee hives hanging from it, each one as big as wooden houses.
The Banyan Bee Demons were slumbering in the summer heat, clinging like green leaves around the hives and on the branches and aerial roots. What was more terrifying was that within each dilapidated wooden house, there seemed to be a large swarm of banyan bees. Once one of them was disturbed, tens of thousands of banyan bees would awaken at once!
They now wore troubled expressions, trying to figure out how to avoid disturbing the banyan bees and to take the brocade box from the tree.
When Zhu Minglang, Nan Lingsha, and Qin Yang arrived, they had already spotted the concealed hives within the desolate wooden houses. These banyan bees had been breeding here for many generations, with the number of hives totaling over a thousand.
After entering this place, they instinctively slowed their pace and reined in their murderous auras, lest they disturb the afternoon rest of this small army of demon monsters.
Unlike the Plundering Dragons,
These Banyan Demon Bees would not attack any creature on their own accord, unless they perceived ill intentions from the visitors!
“This is not a good place to fight,” Zhu Minglang said in a hushed voice, for fear of waking the Banyan Demon Bees nearby.
“They must be waiting for more helpers,” Qin Yang was equally uncertain.
If they made a move, the banyan bees would surely wake up, which would give Hao Shaocong, Zhao Xi, and the others a chance to escape amidst the chaos.
But if they didn’t strike now, more members of the Royal Young Gang would gather, and if that many people interfered, it would be much more troublesome for Zhu Minglang to deal with Hao Shaocong.
“That’s easy,” Nan Lingsha looked up at the sky-obscuring banyan tree and inexplicably produced a scroll that had already been drawn.
She tossed the scroll into the air, and from within it emerged a Fire Kirin Dragon, inked on the parchment.
The Fire Kirin Dragon could tread upon the air, and although its entire body was composed of ink, it did not diminish its majestic appearance in the slightest.
The Fire Kirin Dragon charged straight towards the banyan tree, colliding precisely with the largest banyan bee hive right above the heads of Hao Shaocong, Zhao Xi, and the others.
The impact was tremendously powerful and instantly awakened all the banyan bees in that area. The bees’ wings almost synchronized their vibrations, and following that, a piercing tremor erupted in the eerily quiet Wasteland Grass City, as if a fierce and mighty storm had swept through somewhere!
Under the banyan tree, Hao Shaocong, Zhao Xi, Xu Mao, and the others were still discussing their plan, unaware of the ink-dragon that had startled the bees in the tree…
Although banyan bees did not usually attack creatures rashly, once enraged, they would consider any living being in sight as their enemy.
What caused the faces of these people to drastically change was that, after the ink-dragon collided with the hive, it turned into a puddle of ink, disappearing at the base of the banyan tree trunk. And the banyan bees, having just woken up and opened their eyes, saw only the sneaky humans beneath the tree — there was no Fire Kirin Dragon to be seen!
“What are you waiting for, run!!”
“Which bastard set us up!!”
These individuals were terrified out of their wits and no longer dared to linger under the tree. They each displayed their profound expertise in escaping, vanishing without a trace before the banyan bees had fully taken to the sky.
“Brilliant!” Zhu Minglang gave Nan Lingsha a thumbs-up.
“Let’s chase after them,” Qin Yang pinpointed the direction Hao Shaocong fled and said.
“No need, you two just wait here and see if there’s a chance to get the brocade box from the tree,” Zhu Minglang told Nan Lingsha and Qin Yang.
After all, the task of killing was better done by himself.
Mainly because Zhu Minglang was also keen on the title deed of Young Dragon Valley which was a resource coveted by all major forces. The buzzing swarm of bees had already scattered, and chasing after the few from Royal Young Gang was the perfect opportunity to quietly take the item.
“Just be careful on your own,” Nan Lingsha nodded in response.
In this Great Clan Competition, standing out didn’t just rely on eliminating all opponents, but on which faction secured the most resources.
So any resource that could be seized must not be missed, or else the stewardship rights of the Li Chuan Continent would no longer belong to them.
“You need to be more careful. There are many more monster hives above,” Zhu Minglang warned.