A few days prior to Cao Yun's return, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was still trying to convince everyone of his plan. It had now been more than five months. Despite the danger of staying where City Lord Sihe could potentially find them, they didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, some chieftains were convinced that City Lord Sihe would not attack again soon. After all, the time needed to send him any news of what had happened and for him to organize another attack was just too long. Most likely, it would take him at least an entire year. The Desolate Dune Desert was their best weapon as it made traveling in it extremely difficult for those who didn't know its secrets.
Recently, City Lord Sihe had kept more and more of the enslaved tribesmen around him. Instead of selling them immediately to the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, he seemed to be building a small force. This mere fact added credence to Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's position. It was possible that City Lord Sihe was preparing himself to subjugate all the tribesmen, or at least those with knowledge and authority. Then, the entire Desolate Dune Desert would be under the direct control of the Nalupu Kingdom. In fact, City Lord Sihe could even try to replace Lord Wanghuo.
Of course, Lord Wanghuo wouldn't let him do as he pleased. Most likely, City Lord Sihe would offer him most of the territory to avoid being crushed by his strength. Lord Wanghuo wasn't a very good politician, or a very good strategist, nor was a good ruler. However, he was simply the most powerful demon on the entire Desolate Sepulcher. First of all, Accomplished Demons was rare on this isolated continent. And he was an 8th-grade Accomplished Demon, at that. Even the High Mother of the Sisters of the Abyss was weaker than him. And in a fight, he was absolutely monstrous. Only Chieftain Sha Chai Ren had seen him fight with his own eyes, but the stories told about Lord Wanghuo were in way exaggerated.
If Lord Wanghuo really wanted to kill all the tribes of the Desolate Dune Desert, he could do it himself. After all, they had only one Accomplished Demon, the old Chieftain Sha Chai Ren himself. The only reasons why Lord Wanghuo hadn't done so were because there was nothing to gain from it and that it would take too much time, while disturbing his own Nalupu Kingdom for several years or even decades. Besides, he probably didn't want to think of the intricacies of the matter. But if City Lord Sihe took care of all the difficult parts, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was certain that Lord Wanghuo would be very pleased with the result. And he had to convey this urgency to his brothers and sisters.
With the arrival of Mo Yun, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren had found a way to form an alliance between all the tribes. If he could just unify the Crimson Ashes Basin, they could potentially gather all the tribes of the entire Desolate Dune Desert under the same banner. Then, they could be strong enough to oppose City Lord Sihe and show Lord Wanghuo another option, more profitable in a shorter span of time. At the end of the day, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren understood his ruler's personality since he had been alive longer than anyone else in the tribes. Lord Wanghuo was too strong for his own good. He had grown bored with almost everything.
In fact, he had probably thought about going to God's Land. But the Empyrean Asura Theocracy was problem. After all, Empyrean Asura was a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. Most Likely, if Lord Wanghuo was able to break through again, he would leave the Desolate Sepulcher for good. Because of this boredom, and his general lack of care for his responsibilities and his office, Lord Wanghuo appeared completely apathetic. Chieftain Sha Chai Ren knew it wasn't true, but he also knew he could use this lack of interest to his own interest, precisely.
His main concern was Patriarch Liang Lisheng. There was no doubt in his mind that he had some kind of deal with City Lord Sihe. Hopefully, he was only working with him because of seals put in him to threaten him. If that was the case, Mo Yun could probably get rid of them. Otherwise, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren would need to make sure that he was dealt with in other ways. Unfortunately, his Sun Scorpion Clan was small but full of great warriors who would be extremely helpful both in battle and to convince other tribes to join their alliance. The best outcome would be to marginalize Patriarch Liang Lisheng in their own alliance.
While the conversations were going nowhere, alarms resounded throughout the settlement. The chieftains recognized the horns. From their sound, enemies were approaching. Most of the array formations set up by Cao Yun were obsolete. Because they relied on nature to manipulate the Wandering Qi, array formations could become obsolete rather fast if they were not managed properly. Besides, Cao Yun had set them up quickly while focusing on the 'Golden Cicada Sheds Its Skin'. Before leaving, he had not restored them all as it would have taken at least a month of work. Even Chieftain Sha Chai Ren had thought it useless.
The chieftains all exited the tent to be informed of the attack. A group of soldiers and mercenaries was heading in their direction. There was no way to know their affiliation from their clothes but they were rather strong, middle to late Golden Blood Children. Those soldiers were the one mobilized by Weiji Nian. Although she was a bit insane, she wasn't completely stupid and had made sure that those soldiers would be almost impossible to associate with either the Nalupu Kingdom's army or her own family. After all, she had used the influence of her uncle to forge a letter in order to mobilize official soldiers, and had used her husband's connection with City Lord Sihe to force the deserters back into the fray.
That force wasn't as near as threatening as the previous army, but they were still a problem. They could cause serious damage and kill a lot of tribesmen. Thus, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, despite his old age, decided to confront them himself.
"Sir?! You shouldn't...!"
"General! No need to dissuade me! I will go fight! Gather your strongest men, we'll meet them out before they can get too close to our settlement."
Shot down by his lord, General Sha Lang Hu turned toward Sha Chai Gan. Like him, she was sincerely worried about her father. Her lips quivered but she didn't say anything. First of all, she knew it would be useless. But she also knew she shouldn't show any sign of weakness in front of the other chieftains. While her dad had spoken, he had sent her a telepathic message.
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"Daughter. I may not come back. If that should happen, this could help unify all the tribes. Most likely,t his threat comes from City Lord Sihe. If I die in battle because of him, this could galvanize everyone against him. Venerable Mo Yun left a few weeks ago to train in the wild, but he should be back soon. If I die, keep his secret until his return so people don't lose faith in him. They must keep believing he was in a deep sleep and simply couldn't help us. Otherwise, they could imagine he abandoned us.
"But you must also do two other things. You must marry General Sha Lang Hu and ascend to the role of chieftain yourself. Say that my last order was to name him Marshal in consideration of all his achievements. I've left instructions for you to follow in case of my death. Daughter, I do not plan on dying today. But I do fear that the danger is real... If I do not make it back, you must be strong as you will face many threats from without and within. Everything you need to know is written my letter, but I am sure that you will be a good chieftain. After all, I've seen you grow and learn all those years... I love you!"
As she was lost in her thoughts, Sha Chai Gan didn't see her father, General Sha Lang Hu, the other chieftains, and a few dozens tribesmen from various tribes leave toward the enemies.
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The enemies seemed absolutely desperate, as though they could hear and feel the whip of their master cracking the air and striking their backs. Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's men were hidden beneath the sand, ready to ambush them. Thankfully, there was no Accomplished Demon in their group and killing them would be rather easy. What Chieftain Sha Chai Ren wanted was to avoid as many deaths as possible on his side. Thus, he would lead the charge. Besides, it would be good to remind everyone of his own strength. He had probably been a bit too dramatic with his daughter. However, he still had a terrible sensation in his bones. Somehow, he felt as though there was a hidden danger.
Try as he might, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren didn't identify anything. Out of caution, he even asked Chieftain Feng Tian from the Whispering Hare Tribe to scout out their surroundings. With his handful of men, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Apart from the frenzy in the eyes of their enemies, there was nothing strange. Thus, the old chieftain finally decided to go ahead with the attack. Still, he had formed several layers of protection just in case. Besides, the settlement was a bit too close to his liking.
Without any hesitation, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren launched himself into battle. Taking out a large Guandao, he leaped toward the enemies. His weapon was a giant halberd twice as long as Ren Chao himself. On its tip, the blade was curved like a moon, but it was also full of small teeth meant to rip the flesh and bleed out his enemies. The blade itself was almost as big as a human torso. Attached to the blade, on the other side of its edge were a few heavy discs as well as some clothe. Finally, on the other end of the Guandao, there was a spiraled pike as long as Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's forearms.
In an instant, he pushed his blood to its utmost and Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was surrounded by the image of a red fur. It looked like a wolf but it was completely covered in blood and its claws were completely black and as long as its arms, both on its fore legs and hind legs. The wolf was not standing completely straight like a human, but it wasn't on its four legs either. No one could see its eyes because they were covered by its bloodied fur, but out of this fur, from its mouth, there were monstrous teeth.
'Blood Fang Through the Storm'!
Slashing horizontally with his Guandao 'King's Claws', Chieftain Sha Chai Ren immediately cut a few of them in several pieces. As the slash was directed toward their torsos, some of them also had their arms cut off by the attack. However, it didn't deter the surviving fighters. As soon as their comrades were cut apart, they assumed a strong battle formation. But instead of going after their direct enemy, they decided to forge ahead. With spears and shields, they simply ran in the direction of the village.
Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was ready to showcase his full 'Wolf King's Scarlet Dance'. However, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his chest. In an instant, following his intense flow of blood due to his martial art, the pain spread to his entire body. Looking around, he understood. In the air, some grayish smoke had risen from the corpses. By cutting them apart, he had caused their blood to fly around. And with it, a terrible poison had been unleashed. With red eyes, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren let his fury out. This was the worst taboo among demons. His very blood was now contaminated. This was like insulting his own ancestors and desecrating their very corpses.
'Sandstorm's Howling'!
Using his entire chest and all the air within his lungs, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren let out a powerful howl. As he was slashing with his 'King's Claws', the old man seemed to be dancing. His movements were beautiful but they were all filled with fury and blood thirst. By using his most powerful technique, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was simply spreading the poison faster through his body. But his goal was now to slaughter all the enemies before their bane could curse his tribesmen. Along with his dance, the air and the sand formed a gigantic storm. His howl itself shook the running enemies.
Even though they were focused on defending themselves to get to the settlement as fast as they could, they were forced to deal with him first. Several slashes penetrated their shields. As much as they tried to block them, a few of them were killed nonetheless by Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's fury. That was when the other tribesmen and the chieftains decided to intervene. The only one who stayed behind was Patriarch Liang Lisheng.
Soon, he understood what Chieftain Sha Chai Ren had sensed.
"They're using poison! Keep your distance!"
Everyone had finally realized what was going on and why their chieftain had suddenly gone all out. But it was too late for him. In fact, it was too late for most of the fighters already. Hearing Patriarch Liang's words, the enemies themselves were shaken. A sudden realization flashed in their eyes. And since they had no choice anymore, they still decided to perform their duties until their death.
Now armed with despair, the enemies charged forward to reach the settlement while the tribesmen were hesitant to fight them directly, afraid to be poisoned. The only one who truly fought with abandon was Chieftain Sha Chai Ren. Now, he was like a sandstorm covered in fur and blood. Armed with his Guandao, he slashed, pierced, tore. His 'Wolf King's Scarlet Dance' was in full display. Even Patriarch Liang was in awe.
The fight lasted many hours. But Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was simply too old and tired. He couldn't prevent the enemies from getting too close to the settlement. Still, he was able to slaughter them all by the end. Unfortunately, the poison had already spread all over the place. In horror, he died while seeing the tribesmen in the settlement in a state of panic.