Chapter 357 - 268: A Step Too Late?

Chapter 357: Chapter 268: A Step Too Late?

After half a day of chaos, most of the people in and around Black Mountain Camp were either dead or captured. Very few managed to escape.

Under the shimmering moonlight, the camp lay in ruins—walls toppled, houses collapsed, desolately silent.

On a wooden house near the cliff, two distorted shadows were cast, wavering up and down like phantoms.

They were the shadows of Tang Wen and the White Tiger, cast from high above.

Hu Qi stretched lazily. "Are you sure you want me to handle this? There might be nothing left of this place when I’m done."

Tang Wen, sitting on the tiger’s back, replied, "Who knows how many innocent souls are buried in Black Mountain Camp. There are bound to be countless traps in the bunkers below. I wouldn’t be able to live here with any peace of mind."

’Black Mountain Camp is easy to defend and hard to attack, but I don’t feel it’s a waste to tear it down. Who knows how many secret passages lead out of this place. There are too many hidden dangers. It’s better to demolish it and rebuild from scratch.’

’There are plenty of drifters and refugees near the camp who would be willing to work for a hot meal.’

’The Guards don’t train all day, so they can help with the construction too.’

The moment Tang Wen finished speaking.

A sudden crosswind whipped through the air.

He looked toward the source of the wind. Under the moonlight, a small tornado had appeared on the mountain ridge.

’This tornado is so tiny. If I’d seen this in my past life, forget running away—I probably would’ve taken a picture to remember it!’

"Ah Qi, isn’t this tornado a little on the small side?" Tang Wen pinched his thumb and forefinger together, gesturing to its tiny height.

"ROOOOAR—"

The White Tiger threw its head back and let out a long roar, sending birds scattering from the trees and striking terror into the hearts of every beast in the forest.

The miniature tornado suddenly exploded in size. It grew from the width of a water cistern to that of a house, then a building, and finally, it was as wide as a public square!

It completed its growth in three explosive stages.

The tornado swept up everything in its path.

Trees the thickness of a bowl were torn out by their roots. Man-sized boulders were lifted by the wind and sent skittering across the ground like pebbles kicked by a child...

In the tornado’s wake, the mountain ridge was swept clean.

Only a lone, ancient pine at the very edge of the cliff, spared by its distance, remained. Its branches and leaves were all snapped off and swept away, leaving only a gnarled, bare trunk standing.

The camp that the Black Mountain King had operated for so many years proved just as fragile.

Wooden huts and watchtowers were obliterated as if they were made of rotten wood, their fragments sucked into the sky.

The colossal vortex drew in a mass of dark clouds, completely eclipsing the bright moon.

The funnel cloud, having sucked up countless trees and stones, turned completely black with debris.

Above the bunkers, the wooden buildings that served as camouflage were crushed into splinters like children’s blocks.

The raging wind coiled and tightened, ripping the bunkers below from the earth as if plucking long nails from a board!

It left gaping pits in the ground where they had been.

Down below, General Zhao of Flame Camp watched the battle, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"This is the power of a Fifth Grade?"

"Are they really that strong?"

"One person can destroy an entire camp! We were so ignorant before."

"..."

On the roof of the Royal Palace in Flame Camp, the Queen, who had been secretly drinking while keeping an eye on three Sixth-Grade prisoners, suddenly set down her wine flask. She stood up and gazed into the distance.

’That’s a huge commotion over there! Did a Fifth Grade make a move?’

’A Fifth Grade, huh.’ She lost interest and put down her gourd flask, plugging the stopper back in.

She folded her long, slender legs, as flawless as jade pillars, closed her eyes, and began to Meditate.

In a state of Meditation, her injuries and overall condition would recover much faster.

「In the sky above Black Mountain Camp.」

Tang Wen had long since concealed himself.

A black mist swirled within the deep pits left by the bunkers.

From within the black mist, a figure observed its surroundings.

’As a veteran Sixth Grade, the Black Mountain King’s abilities were considerable, and his experience was vast.’

’I don’t know where Flame Camp found such a powerful Fifth Grade, one who can conjure a cyclone that terrifies me just by looking at it!’

’This one is far more powerful than any Fifth Grade I’ve ever seen before.’

’But this must be their limit, right?’

The colossal tornado, stretching from the earth to the heavens, moved slowly.

The Black Mountain King’s heart was bleeding.

’The bunkers held a lifetime’s worth of accumulated gold, silver, and treasure. That was the only reason I haven’t fled yet.’

’I can’t take it with me. It all happened too fast. There’s no way to get it out!’

’My son is a disappointment, and my promising grandson was killed long ago.’

’All I want now is to live out my next few decades in style.’

’But now, I can’t even hold onto my money. How am I supposed to live in style?’

’Forget it!’

’Where there’s life, there’s hope.’

’While this Fifth Grade is focused on their attack, now is the perfect time to escape.’

’The Flame Lady, however, is nowhere to be seen. She’s probably lying in ambush somewhere.’

’If I don’t escape now, I’m a dead man once that Fifth Grade finishes tearing up the bunkers and comes for me!’

The tornado blotted out the moon and stars.

The sky was pitch-black. The Black Mountain King shrouded himself in darkness and dove into a deep tunnel.

He sprinted madly down a secret passage he’d prepared long ago.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the entrance of the farthest secret passage. He froze.

’The entrance was supposed to be hidden by a giant boulder... why is there nothing here?’

’Did that terrifying cyclone blow it away, or has someone found it?’

’Is the Flame Lady waiting for me nearby?’

’I can’t risk it!’

The Black Mountain King quietly turned and retraced his steps.

He reached another exit, one that opened onto the edge of a cliff.

This one was better hidden, and the stone sealing it was still in place.

He breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the stone. A violent gust of wind blasted in, shoving the stone deep into the tunnel behind him.

Not daring to delay, the Black Mountain King became a black shadow and leaped down, scrambling down the near-vertical cliff face.

Hu Qi opened its eyes, its face a mask of mockery and contempt. "The little insect thinks it can escape my watch! This cyclone is my eye!"

"Where is he?"

"On the cliff’s edge! What an idiot. Does he think Wind Control takes a lot of effort for me? How dare he try to escape right under my nose?"

This wasn’t Hu Qi bragging; the Black Mountain King was simply that ignorant.

For a born favorite of the Wind Division like the White Tiger, controlling a tornado was an innate, effortless ability.