Soon, people could make out the figures in the sky.
They were a group of giant dark red bats with wingspans of over a dozen meters, each with three thick support bones in the red membranes of their wings, and the tips were equipped with enormous claws. Their hefty hind limbs also ended in claws, and their heads resembled that of a horned, malevolent hound, with blood-red eyes that looked extremely ferocious and terrifying.
These flying mounts were "Blood Demon Bats," with incredibly potent combat strength, surpassing flying dragons in might.
More than twenty Blood Demon Bats flew overhead, slowing down as they descended.
The leading Blood Demon Bat was even larger, with a wingspan exceeding twenty meters. It had two pairs of large horns on its head, and when it landed, it whipped up a violent wind, lifting sand and stones into the air.
It landed on the ground, folded its wings, and stood erect on its hind limbs, a harrowing presence spreading out, showcasing the might of this Catastrophe creature.
"Bright Level Blood Demon Bat."
Ji Xinghuo observed the monster from a distance, making his judgment.
However, what captured his attention more was the figure on the back of the Blood Demon Bat.
It was a highlander, much like all powerful highlanders, tall and muscular, covered in blood-colored tattoos. His hair was shaved around the sides, leaving a long tuft on top that was tied into a thick braid hanging down the back of his head. He carried a common-looking but huge long spear on his back, looking both efficient and ferocious.
He Yan quickly stepped forward, half-kneeling in front of the formidable highlander to bow in greeting.
"What’s going on? Why are there so few of your men left?" Duo Tai did not dismount from the Blood Demon Bat, his gaze sweeping over the highlander army and mercenaries as he asked sternly.
He Yan recounted the encounter with the Fog Trapping Dragon.
Duo Tai waved his hand dismissively.
A flash of blood-colored light, like a giant palm, struck from the air, knocking He Yan into the ground and into a hole several meters in diameter.
He Yan did not dare to resist at all and crawled out of the hole to continue kneeling before the Blood Demon Bat.
"Take your men and keep moving; we must reach the tribe today." Duo Tai did not look at He Yan again and scoured the sky with a grim gaze, as if searching for traces of the Fog Hidden Dragon, saying, "If that Dragon Lord dares to come again, I’ll offer his blood as a sacrifice to the Red Emperor."
"Yes, General." He Yan responded loudly.
Amidst the howling winds, the Blood Demon Bat took to the skies.
The dozen or so Blood Demon Bats hovering in mid-air scattered, some circling overhead, others flying off to survey the surroundings.
It wasn’t until General Duo Tai ascended that He Yan dared to stand up and began to urge his troops to hasten their advance.
Ji Xinghuo watched the entire process from afar.
Even at a distance, the blood-stained general made one’s heart tremble. Duo Tai was an undoubted Sixth Rank Evolver, a Heavenly King on Earth.
Although most highlanders, due to racial talents and faith, followed the path of strength evolution and were not adept at or even rejected the flashy Abilities, always preferring head-on confrontations, they had progressed far on this path.
Every Blood Fury General wielded the advanced Blood-Drinking Fury Flame, each one having emerged from a mountain of corpses, their combat strength immensely terrifying.
Typical Heavenly Kings could hardly be their match.
Ji Xinghuo estimated that if Duo Tai were a Mutant on Earth, he would rank among the top twenty Heavenly Kings!
With such a strong protector and the Blood Demon Bats scouting for danger, it was natural that the Fog Hidden Dragon would not appear again.
He Yan kept urging the troops to accelerate, running wildly.
By evening, they had finally reached the territory of the Blood Fury Tribe, but they didn’t stop, traveling through the night. Passing several Blood Fury Tribe settlements, watchtowers, and fortresses, they reached the most important place of the Blood Fury Tribe—Blood Fury Castle—just as it approached Star Night.
It was a massive fortress built in a valley, surrounded by ten-thousand-meter peaks on three sides, with only the south side open for passage.
A hundred-meter tall stone wall blocked the only exit of the valley, stretching five or six kilometers in length.
In the middle of the stone wall at the bottom was a city gate.
Ji Xinghuo and his companions, along with the group of mercenaries, passed through the gate, and what met their eyes were countless stone houses built along the mountainside, sprawling up on both sides, gradually ascending to the snow line near the peak.
Straight ahead, to the north, was the end of the valley, where a massive fortress sat a dozen kilometers away.
That was Blood Fury Castle.
However, highlanders habitually referred to the entire valley as Blood Fury Castle, which was home to a quarter of the tribal population, nearly one million people!
Ji Xinghuo had excellent vision; while marching forward with the main force of mercenaries on the streets, he was observing the terrain of the valley.
It had to be said that the highlanders had a keen eye for defense; the valley was easy to defend but hard to attack, and the stone walls they had built only increased the level of difficulty for any assault. In the valley, a river formed by the melting waters of a glacier ensured there was no shortage of water. With enough food stored, they could hold out for a very long time relying on the stone walls.
Of course, the strongest fortresses were always breached from within.
If the enemy could fly, the stone walls would be useless.
But the Blood Fury Tribe also had flying divisions.
Ji Xinghuo didn’t need to look up; electromagnetic induction allowed him to detect that even at night, various flying patrol teams regularly passed overhead. The most numerous were the Blood Demon Bats, along with two or three types of flying dragons, albeit in smaller numbers, with nests built on the peaks surrounding the valley.
There were even more troops on the ground, with a military camp situated every kilometer or so from the stone walls to the depths of the valley at Blood Fury Castle.
All of these military camps were filled with highlander warriors of at least the Second Rank.
Almost every single one was equipped with a six-legged horned horse, totaling over a hundred thousand men, forming a massive heavy cavalry army!
No matter the race or civilization, the strength of their armies far surpassed that of the civilians.
Ji Xinghuo observed the inhabitants of the valley, more than half of whom had evolved at least once, meaning they were First Rank. Even the highlanders who had not evolved were much stronger than the people of Earth, and most of them were underaged highlanders who would have opportunities to advance in the future.
Old people were almost non-existent in the Blood Fury Tribe.
It was rare for highlanders of weak strength to live to old age; they either died at the hands of enemies or were sacrificed to the Red Emperor by their own kind.
Throughout the valley, the emblem of the Red Emperor was visible everywhere, with blood-colored skulls painted on the doors and walls of every household. Some highlanders who had not yet gone to sleep looked askance at the foreign mercenaries, their faces unfriendly and their gazes bloodthirsty, seemingly pondering how to dismember these members of an Alien Race.
Ji Xinghuo felt as though he had entered Evil Valley.
He Yan led the army into a military camp, arranging accommodations for the mercenaries.
The camp housed mostly highlanders, but there was also a group of mercenaries who had been recruited by the Blood Fury Tribe from other places and seemed to have arrived a few days earlier.
Ji Xinghuo’s party of three merged with a team of five, all of whom were Dan People and Deserted People, squeezing into the same tent.
The night passed without incident.
As dawn broke, Ji Xinghuo rose and stepped out of the tent.
Last night, He Yan had ordered that the mercenaries were strictly forbidden from leaving the camp; everything they needed for daily life was provided within the camp, including five meals a day comprised entirely of various roasted meats. Highlanders preferred their meat undercooked, even barely cooked, accompanied by strong alcoholic beverages.
Ji Xinghuo ate something perfunctorily and, having informed Xia Qingyu, headed to the camp’s foundry.
He had noticed it the evening before.
Such foundries acted as blacksmiths, where one could get simple repairs on swords, have horse armor patched, replace horseshoes, and also purchase some ordinary-quality weapons.
Highlanders were quite adept at forging and could even create superpower equipment.
But this foundry was not up to the task.
Ji Xinghuo had no intention of finding anything substantial there; upon entering, he saw several bare-armed highlander men busily engaged in crafting weapons and repairing armor, clanging away early in the morning, creating a lively atmosphere.
The highlanders glanced at him but no one came forward to assist.
Ji Xinghuo’s gaze swept across the wall.
Displayed there were various weapons that had already been forged, of fairly good quality, mostly those favored by highlanders, such as axes, war blades, long spears, and more, including the spears he was looking for!
A few black metal spears leaned against the wall corner, about two meters long with sharp points at both ends, differing diameters, thick and thin, sorted into different specifications based on weight.
Ji Xinghuo stepped forward and picked up the heaviest spear, which felt like it weighed 20 kilograms.
He weighed the spear in his hand.
With his current strength, he could swing weapons weighing a ton, but considering that it was a spear intended to be thrown, 20 kilograms was actually quite heavy.
Warriors below the Fourth Rank or not at the Fourth Rank could hardly throw such a heavy spear very far.
"It should be about right for my use, though."
"A common spear in my hands becomes an Electromagnetic Spear!"
Ji Xinghuo, holding the spear, turned back to a highlander blacksmith and said in True Dragon Language, "I’ll take twenty of these spears."