Martial Peak Chapter 2803

Chapter 2803 – Ruthless Extermination

Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Take care of yourself, Village Chief! Don’t run around so much when you’re so old! Why don’t you go back and rest?” Yang Kai grinned at the old man. Then, he turned around and rushed into the herd of beasts again.
The old man’s mouth twitched in response. Despite the shock he felt, he did not forget to apply another concealment technique to himself. He was the Village Chief, as well as a respected Shaman. Hence, everybody in the village was very respectful toward him. In the past, Ah Niu didn’t even have the courage to look him in the eyes, so when did he find the courage to speak so brazenly to him?
Ah Niu had never made any contribution to the village before and instead had just used up food and shelter. Therefore, the old man once considered exiling Ah Niu from the village according to the villagers’ wishes, leaving him to fend for himself.
However, a life was at stake, and Ah Niu was still one of his villagers. Besides, the Village Chief strongly believed that Ah Niu would grow up one day and play his part as one of the villagers. In reality, Ah Niu’s performance over the years had been extremely disappointing. That was up until today, when he suddenly blazed with a blinding brilliance!
“We have been blessed by the Barbarian Gods!” The Village Chief parted his lips and muttered to himself as he watched Yang Kai rush back into the herd of beasts and begin a one-sided slaughter. Yang Kai was like a sharp sword of the Barbarian Gods, an unstoppable force emerging victorious on the battlefield.
The golden light wrapped around Yang Kai was so dazzling that it could not be concealed by the thickly falling snow. It sped across the battlefield and soon ploughed through the enemy ranks, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in its wake.
The giant beasts howled in panic as they slowly retreated from the battlefield. Conversely, the villagers became emboldened. Forming a human wall with their shields and bodies, they used the simplest group tactics to fearlessly drive the wild beasts out of their home.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai swapped out his broken stone axe and stone spear for new ones multiple times until the Beast Tide finally retreated. Now, the only sound was whipping winds and falling snowflakes as corpses and blood were scattered across the ground.
The villagers chased after the beasts for several dozen kilometres before finally stopping and letting out a thunderous roar in unison. That roar sounded like the roar of a great ancient beast, making the fleeing giant beasts flee in an even greater panic.
“We won! We won!”
The villagers cheered jubilantly. They were elated to have survived another Beast Tide; thus, their expressions were filled with joy as they danced and shouted.
“Ah Niu, is that really you!?” Ah Hu appeared out of nowhere, covered in blood but not severely injured, only suffering a bite wound on his abdomen. Widening his eyes, Ah Hu stared at Yang Kai for a while before patting him heavily on the shoulder and shouting, “I thought I saw wrongly!”
But how could he have been mistaken? The only one with this body shape in the village was Ah Niu. However, Ah Hu couldn’t believe his eyes even though he had noticed Yang Kai’s existence on the battlefield. It wasn’t until he saw Yang Kai for himself that he confirmed his suspicions.
The rest of the surviving villagers were also watching Yang Kai curiously. Their eyes were filled with gratitude and admiration. If it wasn’t for Yang Kai rushing into the herd of beasts at the last moment and turning the tide of the war, the fate of the village would have been disastrous. The Ancient Barbarian Race had simple rules and values, the first and foremost of which was that the strong ruled! In truth, this rule has continued to the present day even though the Ancient Barbarian Race had faded into history.
“This is a gift from the Barbarian Gods!” The old Village Chief walked up to Yang Kai shakily with his pitch-black cane in his hands.
In response, Yang Kai thought to himself. [I did all of this on my own! It has nothing to do with these so-called Barbarian Gods!] Unfortunately, these words could never be said out loud as they would make him the enemy of the entire Ancient Barbarian Race regardless of his contributions to the village. After all, blasphemy against the Barbarian Gods was the biggest taboo among the Ancient Barbarian Race.
“Village Chief, we killed so many beasts during this attack. Why don’t we hold a celebration?” Ah Hu looked at the Village Chief enthusiastically. Similarly, the rest of the villagers had looks of expectation in their eyes too.
Food was scarce in the village; however, hundreds of beasts had been killed during the Beast Tide this time. It was enough to feed the village for quite some time. The Village Chief had been worrying about their food supply for the winter just recently. Every year, many villagers would starve to death during winter; and this year was no exception. He had not expected such fortune to fall into his lap so suddenly. With the corpses of these beasts, there was no need to worry about food again this winter.
The Village Chief smiled and was just about to speak when Yang Kai stepped forward and said, “Village Chief, don’t you think that something is strange about the Beast Tide this time around?”
The Village Chief frowned and glanced at Yang Kai, “You noticed it too.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “Village Chief, what do you know?”
The Village Chief fell silent for a moment before answering, “It’s a Barbarian Beast. Only a Barbarian Beast can command a Beast Tide.”
Upon hearing those words, many villagers’ expressions changed drastically. That was because a Barbarian Beast was a very powerful existence, one only Shamans could deal with as raw physical strength was nothing in front of a Barbarian Beast.
“I see. So, it’s called a Barbarian Beast!” Yang Kai nodded. To him, it was just a weak beast that had gained some sentience and the ability to command others to form a Beast Tide. As a result, it caused the Beast Tide this time around to be so difficult to handle.
“Winter is here, so those beasts must be looking for rations as well. We might have repelled them this time, but they will definitely make a comeback if we don’t pull them out by the roots.”
The villagers’ expressions changed again as they knew that what Yang Kai said was right. Those wild beasts were nothing without that Barbarian Beast; however, things were different with a Barbarian Beast commanding them.
If the Beast Tide attacked again one day, it would surely be a disaster for the entire village. They had lost many warriors today; hence, they might not be able to cope with the next Beast Tide.
“Village Chief, why don’t we ask the clan for help?” Ah Hu suggested.
The Village Chief shook his head in response, “If we ask for help, most of the spoils we received today have to be dedicated to the clan. Are you willing to do that?”
When the villagers heard that, they shook their heads vigorously. So many of them had died in exchange for these trophies, so nobody would agree to give them away for nothing. Food was the foundation of survival in this land!
“What do we do then?” Ah Hu furrowed his brow.
Yang Kai piped up, “I’ll go kill it!”
After saying that, he turned around and headed in the direction the Beast Tide had retreated.
Ah Hu was shocked and hurriedly grabbed Yang Kai by the hand, urgently trying to convince him, “Ah Niu, don’t be rash! The Barbarian Beast is not something you can deal with.”
Yang Kai gently removed Ah Hu’s hand with a smile and replied, “It’s nothing but a Barbarian Beast. Just wait here for the good news.”
On the other hand, Ah Hu was stunned. When Yang Kai removed his hand, he felt a strength that shocked him greatly. [Is this really the Ah Niu that I know?]
“I’ll go with you!” He moved to chase after Yang Kai; however, he was hit by a wave of dizziness and staggered after taking several steps. The backlash from the Bloodlust Spell had set in. At this point, he wouldn’t be of much help even if he accompanied Yang Kai. Rather, he would become a burden. Thus, he could only watch as Yang Kai disappeared into the swirling snow. Turning his head, he asked, “Village Chief, what happened to Ah Niu?”
The villagers were curious too. The Ah Niu they saw today was like a completely different person compared to the Ah Niu they used to know.
The Village Chief remained silent for a long while before he replied, “The Barbarian Gods have given him strength. Ah Niu has shed his former self and has been reborn.”
The villagers reacted as if they received a sudden revelation; none of them seemed to doubt the explanation nor look even the slightest bit jealous.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai walked alone with a stone axe in his hand. This was an experience unlike any he had before. He was a living, breathing person, and the battle he just fought was undoubtedly real. It was almost as if he had broken the constraints of time and gone back to the ancient era. He had become a member of the Ancient Barbarian Race and was now witnessing this way of life firsthand.
He did not know what he would gain from this experience, but he knew that his sudden appearance in this village was the key. Obtaining the villagers’ goodwill might lead to unexpected gains; hence he was travelling alone to hunt down the cunning and hateful Barbarian Beast.
The Beast Tide had left behind many traces during their retreat and the snow-covered ground was full of their footprints. Although the snow was falling heavily, it was not enough to bury these traces in such a short time. Chasing after them, Yang Kai eventually caught up to the pack without expending much effort. However, the beasts were extremely swift-footed, so he couldn’t catch up to them quickly.
It wasn’t until evening that day that Yang Kai tracked the beasts to a certain canyon. The heavy snow had stopped by then, and countless footprints were left behind in the snowy ground of the canyon, along with many bloodstains.
From the outside, the canyon looked like a bottle gourd, a small entrance with a larger region further in. Furthermore, it was surrounded by cliffs and was brightly lit despite the time. Even at night, Yang Kai’s vision extended several thousand meters. More importantly, he could see the end of the canyon; it was a dead end.
[This will be simple!] Yang Kai grinned. He had no plans to complicate matters as he was only after a mere Monster Beast with some slight sentience after all. His body was still glowing with golden light from the Bloodlust Spell, so standing at the entrance of the canyon, he stuffed the stone axe into his belt, brought up his fists, and punched the cliffs.
*Hong hong hong…*
Loud noises reverberated throughout this bottle-gourd-shaped canyon, instantly alarming the herd of beasts that had just returned to this place not long ago. Numerous roars rang out as they rushed out of their hiding places.
When they emerged from their nests, the beasts were greeted by a dazzling golden light in the distance which made them stop in their tracks and stare in horror at the only exit of the canyon that was blocked by fallen rocks. During the day, their companions had suffered countless deaths and injuries at the hands of this person that exuded golden light; as such, they couldn’t help feeling afraid and hesitant to step forward when they saw the familiar and deadly golden light at this moment.
If they could have escaped, they would have fled as far away as they could in an instant. They never wanted to face this golden man again. Unfortunately, the only exit of the canyon had been sealed; leaving them no way out.
All this while, they had been the ones to attack the village of the Ancient Barbarian Race. They never expected the Ancient Barbarian Race to come to them one day. For that reason, the beasts lacked the knowledge and experiences to respond right away and were at a loss for what to do for a while.
At that critical moment, a low growl came from the depths of the canyon and the beasts reluctantly stepped forward as if complying with an order and surrounded Yang Kai. In response, Yang Kai grinned from ear to ear, revealing a mouthful of sharp, white teeth. Taking out the stone axe he had stuck in his belt, he approached the beasts slowly.
The killing spree started again in the next moment. Everywhere the golden light touched, the herd of beasts were defeated and scattered. One by one, the giant beasts collapsed in pools of their own blood.
Yang Kai’s pace was fast and steady, killing his way into the depths of the canyon. The roars and the howls of the beasts blended into one another, and the canyon was quickly filled with a strong stench of blood, which was extremely pungent.
Meanwhile, the stone axe in Yang Kai’s hand had long been smashed to pieces. Thus, he gave up on his weapon and clenched his fists instead, every punch he threw breaking the bones of the giant beasts.