The sound of flapping wings traveled through the air, causing the quiet ruins of the tribe to feel as if the wind and clouds were stirring. Su Ming's eyes sparkled, but he did not move.
The sound of flapping wings and the piercing screeches echoed in his ears but Su Ming knew the length of the tunnel. Even if the sound came first, there was still some time before the Wings of the Moon would return.
There might not be much time left, but it was the last moment he had left.
Without any hesitation, Su Ming focused his attention on the line of words on the wall where the strange skeleton was leaning against.
"Why do you weep, O Heavens?"
That was the first line of the words. The words were written in a flamboyant style and exuded an arrogant and domineering air. Su Ming's pupils shrank when he saw it.
Su Ming did not quite understand the meaning of the words but he could not make sense of it. However, the sadness and arrogance in the words left a deep impression on Su Ming.
"Why do you weep, O Heavens?" Su Ming mumbled and looked at the remaining words of the Berserker Tribe.
"My lust for Berserkers stretches to all corners of the world. My fire fuses with my blood. My thoughts burn the heavens, and my thoughts burn the heavens … If the moon of fire rises from the clouds, it will shine between the heavens and the earth … At that time, I will meditate and burn my blood. Nine is the limit, one is the law. Burn the Berserker Fire and worship the nine times, and you will understand the art of worshipping fire!
"Why do you weep, O Heavens?" The words at the bottom were clearly carved by the same person. However, they were not words of lament. Instead, they were rather complicated words.
"Worship the Berserker Fire and worship the nine times … and you will understand the art of worshipping fire …" Su Ming frowned. The words were complicated and difficult to understand. Su Ming read it again but he still could not understand it.
In his silence, the screeches and the flapping of wings coming from the entrance not too far away became louder. A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and he did not linger around. Instead, with one move, he leaped up agilely and charged towards the entrance.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the entrance of the tunnel. As he stood there, the piercing screeches became clearer. Su Ming turned around and looked at the desolate tribe before he turned around and ran into the tunnel.
As he ran, he paid attention to the intensity of the screeches. Once he was hundreds of feet away, Su Ming stopped and crawled into a crack on the wall.
The crack was not big, but Su Ming was frail to begin with. Once he crawled in, he immediately crouched down. Even his breathing became weak. With the stone wall as cover, his heart pounded against his chest. He looked outside through the crack and waited quietly.
Time passed by. Ten breaths later, all the pores on Su Ming's body stood up. He could clearly see a thick red fog charging out of the tunnel as if it had erupted. Piercing roars rang out from within the fog, and red shadows also charged out of it.
Those red shadows were Wings of the Moon!
Su Ming's heart raced as he observed the Wings of the Moon at such a close distance. Yet he did not move. Not even a hint of light shone from his narrowed eyes.
There were too many Wings of the Moon. As they charged through the tunnel, one of them even crashed into the edge of the crack. It was less than five feet away from where Su Ming crouched down.
Su Ming's right hand held onto the horn tightly. His palm had turned white from using too much strength. At that moment, he could not even feel his own heartbeat. His entire being seemed to have calmed down in the midst of the extreme change.
He stared at the Wings of the Moon that accidentally crashed into the tunnel. He looked at their hideous faces as they flapped their wings and flew out of the crack. Yet Su Ming's wariness did not lessen. Instead, it increased.
At that moment, cries of despair traveled through the air. Su Ming's gaze followed the crack and saw a few people being held by a large number of Wings of the Moon in the fog as they charged towards the tribe at the end of the tunnel.
There were nine of them …
Su Ming could not see the faces of these nine people, but at the instant he looked over, he saw a white-robed figure. He saw a beautiful face filled with despair and emptiness.
'It's her!' Su Ming's pupils shrank. With just one glance, he recognized the person in white. It was Dark Dragon Tribe's Bai Ling, whom he and Lei Chen had met in the square!
Su Ming was silent.
Time passed by slowly. Before long, the cries from the tunnel faded away. Even the fog had mostly dissipated. It was as if all the Wings of the Moon had returned to their nests. As the blood red moon in the sky disappeared, it was as if they were about to go back to sleep.
A wave of heat spread out rapidly and replaced the cold chill. In fact, even the cracked walls were rapidly heating up. At that moment, cracking sounds reverberated in the air, and Su Ming saw with his own eyes that a few more fine cracks had appeared on the mountain rock beside him.
'So this is how the cracks were formed …' Su Ming's eyes narrowed. He quickly stood up and walked out of the crack. As he stood in the tunnel, the fog around him became thinner. Waves of heat came from the tribe at the end of the tunnel and blew on Su Ming's body, causing him to sweat profusely.
The stones on the ground were also rapidly heating up. When he stepped on them, he could even feel his feet burning. Su Ming knew clearly that before long, the high temperature and heat in this place would definitely not be a place where he could survive!
To leave or not to leave?
A hint of hesitation appeared on Su Ming's face. Cries of pain traveled through the air. Those who heard them would be shaken to the core.
'It's fine. I lied to her in the square with Lei Chen. We met again today. If I leave now, I won't be able to bear it …' Su Ming was still a child. He had a simple heart. He took a deep breath of the heat and ran towards the end of the tunnel.
'If I can save her, then I will! If I can't, then I will have no regrets. ' Su Ming's eyes were filled with determination. He held onto the horn. The closer he got to the end of the tunnel, the stronger the heat became.
Fortunately, the distance was not too far. Before long, Su Ming reached the end of the tunnel. He ignored the heat on the walls of the tunnel and stuck his body close to it. He peeked inside.
With this glance, a faint light flickered in his eyes.
Su Ming saw a large number of sharp spikes protruding out of the tribe at the bottom of the basin. There were seven people struggling on those spikes, but they were still alive.
The seven people's bodies were pierced through by seven sharp spikes. Blood flowed down the spikes. They were not dead yet. They were screaming in pain as they felt their life slowly slipping away.
These seven people, without exception, were all men. Su Ming looked at them and let out a sigh of relief. He did not know these seven people. It was clear that they were not from Dark Mountain Tribe.
The other spikes around them were melting at a speed visible to the naked eye. As they melted, a large amount of dark red magma covered the ground of the tribe like a river …
When he saw this, Su Ming took a deep breath. He finally understood what those spikes were!
'This place is strange. Perhaps the awakening and departure of the Wings of the Moon has something to do with these spikes!' Su Ming could tell that these spikes would turn back into magma every once in a while for some unknown reason. However, this transformation would not last for too long. After a night, when the Wings of the Moon returned, the spikes would melt and turn back into magma.
'Judging by the number of these spikes, once they melt, they'll fill up the basin, causing the tribe to be hidden once again in the magma …' Su Ming lifted his head swiftly and looked at the center of the tribe. He saw a small red trunk that looked like a big tree poking out of the ground.
The tree trunk was showing signs of melting under the heat of the basin. It wriggled strangely. If he looked closely, he could see that there were lines circling around the tree trunk. Occasionally, a corner of the tree would be revealed. It was the Wings of the Moon!
However, the heads of the Wings of the Moon that had entered the tree trunk were no longer ferocious. Instead, their faces were filled with pain, desolation, and sorrow.
They did not continue howling but their expressions were as if they were crying silently. Some of the Wings of the Moon even made strange movements. In the midst of their pain and sorrow, they repeatedly bit their claws and smeared the blood on their eyes. However, not a single drop of blood could be seen on their bitten fingers.
'Those Wings of the Moon crawled into the tree trunk! What … are they doing..? 'Su Ming stared at the tree trunk. In his silence, he could feel the heat becoming stronger. He could not stay any longer.
'I can't find her … Oh well …' Su Ming shook his head. He had already tried his best. He was about to leave the place but just as he was about to move, he suddenly stopped.
His gaze fell on the red tree trunk at the center of the basin. Two faces appeared on the tree. He did not know one of them but the other was Bai Ling.
Bai Ling's eyes were wide open. There was no sign of life in her eyes. It was as if she had given up all hope for survival. There was a poignant beauty in her eyes.
Su Ming looked at her face and then at the magma that was slowly gathering beneath him. The magma had already formed a thick layer as the thorns melted. It rose to about half the height of the houses in the tribe.
He could only see the roofs of the stone houses within the basin. However, the roofs were also gradually turning red.
'The Wings of the Moon venturing out is related to the blood moon. But by the looks of it, it should also be related to the heat here. They seem to be afraid of heat … That's why they only flew out to look for food when the temperature dropped …
'Once they came back, they all crawled into the tree trunk. Not a single one of them was outside. This is consistent with my judgment.' Su Ming did not act rashly. He stood there, his eyes sparkling.
'I should be able to save them … But I'll have to wait a little longer …' Su Ming stared at the tree trunk and occasionally looked at the height of the magma in the basin.
After a while, the heat in the area increased once again. Su Ming was sweating profusely. His skin also showed signs of cracking. His eyes flashed and the Qi in his body started boiling. The power of the 11 blood veins surged through his entire body and he took a step forward.
He was so fast that in the blink of an eye, he landed on the roof of one of the houses in the basin. The moment his feet landed, a sizzling sound could be heard. White mist immediately appeared under his feet. Su Ming did not stop. He leapt up again and landed on the roof of another house. After a few leaps, he was already close to the strange red tree trunk.
The moment he closed in, Su Ming suddenly saw a woman he did not know standing beside Bai Ling's face let out a shrill scream of pain. Her face started rapidly withering away, and in the blink of an eye, she turned into a terrifying pile of bones!
It was as if her body had fused with the tree trunk and her flesh and life were absorbed by some strange power.
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