Chapter 205: Chapter 204: Follow Me to Slay the Demons
The West Ice Tribe’s warriors who came to the North Sea had been completely slaughtered. The North Snow Tribe’s Leader, Hunt, was about to tell Jiang Qiu about North Snow’s plight when the other man spoke first. "Leader, how is North Snow doing now?"
He was slightly surprised and answered truthfully, "The last time we sent a warrior back was half a year ago. No one has come to deliver a message since."
In the Northern Boundary, information was mainly transmitted by word of mouth. Only the Demon Race, or a few Chosen Ones with unique Bloodline Talents, could communicate with the likes of Demon Beasts. They were able to tame those difficult-to-control beasts to carry messages.
Leader Hunt also didn’t know North Snow’s current situation, but he feared the worst.
"Half a year ago?" Jiang Qiu’s brow twitched. He took the Northern Snow Lance that the Leader offered with both hands. "How long has it been since the Ancestral Ruins opened?"
Having been constantly submerged in the Water of Origin, his sense of time had dulled. With no sun or moon to mark the days, he had no idea how much time had truly passed.
Even though he’d long heard that spending a few months in the Ancestral Ruins was normal, and that a year or more wouldn’t be strange, it was still hard to adjust when experiencing it firsthand.
But now, Jiang Qiu felt a heavy unease in his chest, as if someone were pressing a chisel against his heart.
"At least a year. The Contest of the Chosen is probably less than three years away now," Hunt said, his thick brows furrowed. He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and his gaze burned like fire doused in wine. "Just half a month after the Ancestral Ruins opened, someone from the tribe came to inform me that the Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff had attacked us!
That group that came half a year ago... there were eight of them. Seven starved to death on the way.
The only warrior who made it here alive said that most of the homes in the tribe had been destroyed, and a large number of our people were trapped near the North Snow Tower!"
As he finished speaking, Hunt clenched his jaw so hard that the veins on his arms bulged.
In just half a year, the North Snow Tribe had been pushed to such a dire state by the Cold Heaven Cliff’s Demon Race. It was clear the tide had turned against them.
Moreover, the West Ice Tribe, which lay between Cold Heaven Cliff and the North Snow Tribe, had no intention of helping. They didn’t even drive away the Demon Race occupying Ice and Snow Ridge!
The Demon Race of Cold Heaven Cliff were not cattle that didn’t need to eat meat. To fly from Cold Heaven Cliff to the North Snow Tribe, they needed a base of operations to station their warriors.
And this base was located on the eastern side of Ice and Snow Ridge—the very place the North Snow Tribe used to frequent for their hunts.
The abundant Demon Beast resources provided food for the Cold Heaven Cliff’s Demon Race. The convenient distance forced the North Snow warriors to stay inside the tribe, too afraid to risk launching a major offensive. Meanwhile, the Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff could cross the vast, icy expanse with a single flap of their wings to attack North Snow!
And this was the very same land that the West Ice Tribe had spent over a decade slowly encroaching upon, trying to seize it for themselves. They had even constantly dispatched warriors to patrol the area, preventing the North Snow Hunting Teams from hunting there.
Now that the land was occupied by the Cold Heaven Cliff’s Demon Race, the people of the West Ice Tribe had completely withdrawn!
They were letting the Demon Race from Cold Heaven Cliff establish a foothold on the eastern side of Ice and Snow Ridge, allowing them to build up their base and besiege the entire North Snow Tribe!
They had abandoned the struggle between humans and demons, all for the sake of targeting North Snow!
When Hunt learned this news, he had been on the verge of charging over to fight War and the others from the West Ice Tribe to the death.
But unfortunately, North Snow only had a little over a hundred warriors at the time, while the other tribe had over two hundred, plus many smaller tribes that followed them. It would have been difficult to gain any advantage. In fact, being the first to strike would have put them at a disadvantage and could have affected Qiu, who was still receiving his inheritance. So, he forced himself to endure it.
But ever since then, the atmosphere in the North Sea Palace had grown tense. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Now, another half a year had passed, and he had no idea what had become of the North Snow Tribe!
After hearing everything Hunt knew about the North Snow Tribe’s situation, Jiang Qiu’s fists tightened. His cold, sharp gaze was like a sword as he stared toward the southern horizon.
’I had long suspected the Demon Race would make a move. The conflict between humans and demons has been obvious ever since they started hunting the warriors of the North Snow Tribe. Every Contest of the Chosen is always the most chaotic time in the Northern Boundary. It’s perfectly normal for humans and demons to attack each other, and historically, at similar junctures, it’s always the Demon Race that invades the Human Race. I’m not surprised that Cold Heaven Cliff is targeting the North Snow Tribe now, but I truly hadn’t expected the West Ice Tribe to turn a blind eye to it. By not driving out the Demon Race that has penetrated deep into human territory, they’re aiding a tyrant in his evil deeds. If the North Snow Tribe really falls to the Demon Race of Cold Heaven Cliff, the West Ice Tribe will be doomed to perish as well! At that point, the other restless Demon Race clans will follow in Cold Heaven Cliff’s footsteps and invade the major Human Main Vein Tribes, and the Northern Boundary Human Clan will descend into utter chaos.’
Realizing this, Jiang Qiu brandished the Northern Snow Lance. His murderous gaze swept across all the warriors present as he roared, "I, Qiu, the Chosen One of the North Snow Tribe, will win the Contest of the Chosen and restore peace to the Northern Boundary!
After that, North Snow will rise to prosperity, and those of you who once stood with the North Snow Tribe will also flourish!
The Human Race is one body! You are all leaders and elites of your tribes, so you naturally understand the terror of the Demon Race. The North Snow Tribe is in peril now. Who among you is willing to follow me to slay demons?"
His resonant voice struck a chord in everyone’s hearts. Their powerful frames trembled, and after exchanging glances, they raised their fists. "The South Mountain Tribe is willing!"
The first to speak was the leader of the South Mountain Tribe. He seemed to have seen from Wall’s attitude that this Chosen One from the North Snow Tribe was extraordinary—not just in strength, but also in his way of thinking.
In the past, there had been no shortage of such powerful, solitary Chosen Ones. They too would shout slogans, uniting all the tribes before the Contest of the Chosen.
Fearing their power, everyone would form a temporary alliance to fight the Demon Race together.
The difference was, those Chosen Ones didn’t care about the lives of the tribe warriors. Their only concern was whether their own Contest of the Chosen would go smoothly. They knew they would encounter many large, entrenched Demon Race tribes on the way to the Northern Boundary Peak. A Chosen One alone would eventually be exhausted, and only then would they summon everyone for help.
But now, Jiang Qiu was gathering everyone because the North Snow Tribe had been attacked. His first concern was the survival of the North Snow Tribe, not rambling about the difficulties of heading to the Northern Boundary Peak three years from now.
Furthermore, Jiang Qiu hadn’t even killed Wall, who was also a Chosen One. And Wall himself was willing to lower his proud head and call out his name in support. That was the biggest difference!
One by one, more tribes realized this. They raised their fists one after another, gathering together under the astonished gaze of the North Snow Tribe’s Leader, Hunt, and pledging their allegiance to Qiu, who was still clad in his Ice Armor.
Even though some of the smaller tribes were truly unable to support North Snow, Qiu did not blame them for their refusal. He permitted them to travel back with the main group or to depart on their own.
Following behind the North Snow Tribe were a total of over three hundred warriors.
More than forty in the Steel Bone Realm, and two Chosen Ones!
Two hundred in the Iron Flesh Realm!
The rest were all elites of the Copper Skin Realm!
