Chapter 104: Su on the Brink of Collapse!

“Whoosh—boom!”

Yet a third sonic blast tore through the air, and this time it shook like thunder. Even far up in the sky, it still made the little creatures on the ground tremble.

In Wang Chen’s eyes, a blinding flare suddenly burst from the summit of the towering peak, followed by a deafening report.

The Windchasing tribesmen waiting before the cliff immediately yanked hard on the ropes together after the blast. Once they had confirmed the lines were secure, they gave a signal to Gang and began climbing upward.

Gang lowered his head and told Wang Chen, “We can climb up along the ropes now. No need to stop and set anchors anymore. At most forty minutes and we’ll be at the top.”

Wang Chen’s mind was already full of disbelief. What kind of monstrous feat was this? They had actually shot a rope hundreds of meters into the air with an arrow, and even managed to hit the intended spot.

This was no longer merely a question of strength. Were the eyes of the Windchasing tribe not a little too formidable as well?

Filled with endless emotion, Wang Chen climbed up together with Gang.

This ascent no longer required pausing to set anchors and rest. If his grip gave out, he could simply wrap the rope around his feet and brace himself, resting in place. It truly was much faster.

What was more, the rope had been woven to suit the Windchasing tribesmen’s size. To Wang Chen, it was like a thick cable, and he could slip his palms into the gaps between the strands and grip far more securely.

Thus, before forty minutes had passed, roughly half an hour later, the group reached the summit.

Wang Chen studied the giant arrow.

He found that the arrow had struck a point some dozen-odd centimeters below the cliff edge, embedding itself into the precipice before piercing out again from the ground at the lip of the ridge.

The entire shaft was buried in the cliff face. No wonder it could bind the rope so firmly.

His curiosity only deepened. What sort of structure did the Windchasing tribesmen’s eyes have, that they could fix on a target from hundreds of meters away by sight alone and drive an arrow so precisely into the cliff?

But there were more urgent matters at hand, and he could only set aside his hunger for knowledge for the moment.

Led by Wang Chen, the group hurried toward the place where they had earlier confronted the Dragon-Devouring Vajra Eagle.

When they arrived, they saw only the Vajra Eagle lying not far away, but no sign of Su.

The giants worked together to drag the Vajra Eagle aside, confirming that Su was not beneath it either.

“Gang, this great wind beast is dead. We opened its stomach and still found no trace of Su. At the very least, we can be certain he wasn’t eaten by it.”

A Windchasing tribesman reported this to Gang.

Hearing that, Wang Chen stepped over to the Vajra Eagle. Its chest had already been split open by the Windchasing tribesmen.

Wang Chen borrowed one of their small knives and used it like a spear to pry open the eagle’s breast and examine it.

“Looks like after this thing went berserk and its combat power doubled, it ended up overcontracting its muscles and driving the Frostbright arrowhead into its heart, killing itself.”

Wang Chen sighed inwardly. “If it hadn’t carried me high into the sky and overused its chest muscles, perhaps it might not have ended up like this… Ah, fate is truly impossible to foresee.”

Gang walked over to Wang Chen and asked, “We couldn’t find Su. Do you have any idea where he might be?”

Wang Chen thought for a moment, then led the others to the place where he had bound Dago with the Hand of Stone.

There they saw a large hole gouged through the stone giant hand, and Dago had broken free of his restraints and collapsed beneath the stone palm.

Wang Chen checked him over and found a small knife lodged in his chest. He was already dead.

He frowned. Wang Chen had originally wanted to interrogate Dago. What a pity.

And Su was right nearby, beneath a mound of rock, crouched with both hands clutching his head, his face buried deep between his knees. Beside him lay the corpse of the Dragon-Devouring Vajra Eagle chick.

Gang was overjoyed and hurried forward.

He must have intended to ask after Su’s condition, but after his throat bobbed a few times, what came out of his mouth was only a cold, hard rebuke.

“You little brat, do you even know what kind of disaster you’ve caused by acting on your own and hunting the Windbeast this time!”

“You can die for all I care, but what about the tribesmen who died for you? They did not die honorably on the battlefield; they died because of your childishness!”

Gang was cursing furiously, but Su remained unmoved, still burying his head between his knees.

Seeing this, Gang grew even angrier. He strode up and, grabbing the back of Su’s collar, lifted him to his feet.

“You brat, have you gone mute—”

Just as Gang was preparing to give Su a proper thrashing, he suddenly froze.

Because Su, whom he had lifted up, had red-rimmed eyes and tear stains all over his cheeks.

Gang was at a loss. He set Su back on the ground and hesitated. “You… you’re a dignified Windchasing tribesman. Why are you crying like this?”

But Su ignored him and crouched back down again.

Wang Chen and the other Windchasing tribesmen watched the drama unfold from the side, rolling their eyes at Gang’s words. This hulking man probably had some kind of emotional communication disorder.

He stepped out from the crowd and moved to the two of them, casting Gang a disgusted look. With a wave of his hand, he told him to get lost and cool off somewhere else.

Wang Chen himself then lowered his body and crouched beside Su.

“Hey, Windbeast Messenger, what’s wrong with you? Crying like this isn’t very cool anymore,” Wang Chen teased.

At the sound of Wang Chen’s voice, Su suddenly lifted his head. “Brother Wang Chen! You’re all right? That’s wonderful!”

Moments earlier, Wang Chen had been blocked from view by the enormous Windchasing tribesmen, and Su, eyes blurred with tears and unwilling to speak, had not noticed him.

Now that he saw Wang Chen here again, and that he had returned so quickly, he must not have died and been reset to the resurrection point. Otherwise there was no way he could have come back so soon.

Wang Chen smiled. “Didn’t I tell you? This secret realm has a resurrection point. As long as you don’t die for real, everything else is irrelevant.”

Su murmured, “Even if you can be revived, you still have to feel the pain of dying first… I really don’t want anyone else to suffer because of me…”

His voice was hoarse; it seemed he had cried himself raw.

Wang Chen frowned. He realized that during the time he had been away from the summit, Su must have gone through some tremendous upheaval.

After seeing Dago’s corpse and Su’s strange behavior, he had vaguely sensed something, but he had not expected it to be this serious.

It was as if Su had been struck by a massive shock to the soul.

Wang Chen gently comforted him and asked what had happened.

Seeing Wang Chen safe and sound, Su’s collapsing emotions had already calmed somewhat, and he slowly began to explain.

...

After Wang Chen fell from the high peak, Su was horrified beyond measure. Already in complete disarray, he followed Wang Chen’s instructions and ran toward Dago.

The Dragon-Devouring Vajra Eagle pursued him closely from behind. Su was wounded in many places, but fortunately he still managed to reach Dago’s side.

It was also at that moment that, amid the rising and contracting of the chest muscles, the Frostbright arrowhead finally drove into the heart. The Dragon-Devouring Vajra Eagle plunged from the sky and died as its heart muscle shattered.

Seeing that the Dragon-Devouring Vajra Eagle had lost all signs of life, Su sighed in relief at having survived a desperate situation, and then began to think about what to do next.

The other matters were straightforward enough: descend the mountain as quickly as possible, collect the remains of the tribesmen, return to the tribe to accept punishment, and leave Wang Chen a message so he could go directly to the tribe and find him.

What made Su hesitate was how to deal with Dago.