After the victorious first battle, Ian Song continued leading his soldiers on patrol along the river.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few other patrol teams, but unfortunately, they didn’t run into any more Strongarm Bull Devils sneaking across the river.
Still, Ian was already quite satisfied. On just his first day out, he’d earned nine hundred merit points—almost matching Lance Xuanyuan’s ten days of effort, which had only netted a little over a thousand.
Meanwhile, the Skull Mound Ian built on the Blood River’s bank drew plenty of attention. Many patrol teams made a point of detouring to check it out, but after seeing it, all felt a chill in their hearts.
Night fell, as dark as ink.
Aside from the roar of the Blood River, the whole world seemed to sink into silence.
Suddenly, a bull’s head broke the surface in the middle of the Blood River, then quickly sank. After a few breaths, it surfaced again, repeating this pattern as it drew closer to the shore.
This Strongarm Bull Devil was named Tagor, and he was a scout.
Earlier today, three hundred-man commanders under Lord Naya had led their men across the river to hunt humans, but by nightfall, none had returned. So, Lord Naya sent Tagor to investigate.
Tagor was extremely cautious. He lurked in the riverside waters for a full quarter hour, listening intently for any sign of ambush. Only after hearing nothing did he quietly climb ashore.
He carefully retreated back into the Blood River, then swam quickly to the other side.
The Blood River was the Strongarm Bull Devils’ natural barrier—so long as it flowed here, the Human Race’s armies couldn’t cross.
That’s why, on the far side of the river, they only posted a handful of patrol squads as a token defense.
In less than half an hour,
Tagor returned to the Devil side and rushed straight to the camp to report to thousand-man commander Naya.
Naya stood about four meters tall, his whole body radiating a savage aura. At that moment, he was drinking wine from a bone goblet fashioned from a human skull, while bloody chunks of meat sat on a plate before him.
With every sip of wine, Naya grabbed another chunk of meat and chewed it, blood dripping from his mouth—yet his face showed pure enjoyment.
"Tagor, did you find any news about Blackblade and the others?"
Seeing Tagor enter the tent, Naya rumbled out his question.
"Lord Naya, Blackblade and all of them are dead," Tagor stammered, trembling.
Bang!
Naya slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Impossible! They had over three hundred men! Even if they ran into a big human patrol, they should’ve made it back!"
Fear flickered in Tagor’s eyes. "Lord Naya, it’s all true. Those hateful humans didn’t just slaughter Blackblade and the others—they chopped off their heads and stacked them into a mound on the riverbank, daring us to retaliate!"
Hearing this, Naya roared, "Damn humans! How dare they do this! I’ll avenge Blackblade and the rest. You—go spread my orders, gather all our clansmen! Tonight we cross the river and show the humans what real strength looks like!"
The simple tents were silent. After a full day of patrol, all the soldiers had gone to sleep.
In the largest tent, Ian Huang, cross-legged in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes.
He strode out of the tent and ordered the three night guards, "Wake everyone up!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Since this wasn’t the city, even when sleeping, the soldiers kept their weapons close and wore their armor—always ready for a Devil sneak attack.
"Captain, are the Devils coming?"
A squad leader hurried over to ask.
"Not yet, but they’ll be here soon! Get the team ready and follow me!" Ian said in a low voice.
After the daytime battle, Ian had established his authority in the squad. Now, everyone followed his commands without hesitation.
The camp was set up less than five kilometers from the Skull Mound. Because no torches were lit, Tagor hadn’t noticed the camp, but Ian had been using Clairvoyant Vision to monitor the area around the mound and spotted him.
During the past ten days of training, Ian also had Fiona Li collect plenty of intel on the Strongarm Bull Devils.
The Strongarm Bull Devils were known for their immense strength, thick hides, and high defense.
But their temperament was bloodthirsty, quick to anger, and impulsive.
Ian had built the Skull Mound specifically to enrage the Bull Devils on the opposite bank. So when Tagor came to investigate, he deliberately let him go, confident that Naya’s temper would lead to a reckless night raid.
Given the Bull Devils’ nature, if they learned someone had piled their clansmen’s heads into a Skull Mound, they’d charge over without a second thought.
Soon, Ian led his ninety-nine soldiers to the Skull Mound.
Under his command, everyone quickly started digging trenches.
Night was their best cover—once they hid in the pits, the Strongarm Bull Devils would have a hard time spotting them.
Half an hour flew by.
Following Ian’s orders, they dug a total of nine trenches behind the Skull Mound.
The first eight trenches were about two meters deep and not very wide. If a Strongarm Bull Devil fell in, climbing out would be tough. Ian had the men camouflage the pits—crude work that would be obvious in daylight, but at night, poor visibility made it effective.
Digging nine trenches in half an hour left even these ninth layer of Qi‑Refining soldiers exhausted.
"Rest up quickly—the Strongarm Bull Devils will be here any minute!"
Ian reminded them.
Time crept by. Another half hour passed, and through Clairvoyant Vision, Ian finally detected Bull Devil silhouettes moving on the river’s surface.
"Nock arrows!"
Ian’s voice was low but clear, the order passing quietly through the ranks.
This Devil night raid force was more than twice the size of the daytime party—over six hundred Strongarm Bull Devils, including seven hundred-man commanders and one thousand-man commander.
If Ian could wipe them all out, his merit points would instantly surpass Lance Xuanyuan’s.
Soon, Bull Devil soldiers began landing on the human bank. They glanced around casually, spotted no human warriors, and signaled for the rest to come ashore.
Finally, all six hundred-plus Strongarm Bull Devils stood on the shore. From several hundred meters away, the humans watched those towering figures. Instead of fear, the soldiers felt excitement—their trust in their captain was absolute.
"Tagor, where’s the Skull Mound?"
Naya demanded angrily.
"It’s right up ahead!" Tagor pointed to the small hill a hundred meters away.
With a wave of his huge hand, Naya led his men forward. As he neared the Skull Mound and saw the familiar, unblinking heads of his slaughtered clansmen, Naya’s eyes instantly turned blood-red, filled with killing intent.
"Humans! I, Naya, swear—I’ll make you pay tenfold!"
"You won’t get the chance!"
A cold voice suddenly sounded in Naya’s ear. Then, a flash of purple light—Naya felt as if he were flying into the air, only to realize it was his severed head soaring skyward.
His body had already been decapitated by Ian’s strike.
The ambush was sprung, and the trap for the entire Devil night-raid force had begun.
Ian’s merit race with Lance Xuanyuan was about to enter a whole new phase.
[End of Chapter]