Chapter 0499: The Alliance Collapses

Many of the alien races once again formed a renewed impression of the human race—as cowardly and weak. A sense of disdain arose in their hearts, accompanied by a subconscious belief in their own superiority. In their eyes, humans were no more than blood food, worthy only of being prey. They believed that their strength gave them a natural right to consume the weak. It was a matter of course, a law of nature.

All eight gates of Ice City were under close watch by alien forces. No matter which gate the humans chose to leave from, the aliens would know immediately. The message would spread instantly. Their aim was to eliminate Yi Tianxing and his human army completely in the wilderness—no room for escape, no margin for error.

Inside the city, Yang Yanping and Wang Dahu were already assembled with their respective troops, neatly lined up in formation. Silent and solemn, their eyes were fixed on the man before them—Yi Tianxing.

"Brother Niu, I'll leave Ice City in your care tonight. When you come to Xuanhuang City in the future, I promise to give our barbarian brothers a proper welcome," Yi Tianxing said with a smile, turning to Niu Ben.

"Don't worry. With me, Niu Ben, here, you can rest easy. Tonight, the other races won't detect anything unusual. My barbarian brothers will patrol the city walls. In the darkness, no one will be able to tell if they are human or not," Niu Ben replied, thumping his chest loudly."I can't join you in this fight, and that weighs heavily on me—but at least I can cover your departure. If those cowardly dogs push me too far, I'll fight them myself!"

He sighed. He too longed to take part in such an exciting event. But with his tribe and kin to protect, and the alien races being far from easy foes, he couldn't afford to take risks. Instead, he'd stay behind and provide cover. The barbarians, resembling humans in appearance, could easily confuse the enemy in the darkness.

"I'll buy you a drink next time," Yi Tianxing nodded.

"Heh heh, I won't go easy on your stash then," Niu Ben grinned, licking his lips, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Since tasting human-brewed wine, he'd become obsessed with it. He felt something was missing if he didn't have a drink every day.

"Plenty of heroic blood for it!" Yi Tianxing laughed.

Swish!

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yi Tianxing made a decision. With a thought, a spatial gate opened before him.

However, the light from the spatial gate was extremely subdued. Amid the firelight, it was impossible to distinguish. From the outside, no one could see it—no aura leaked out at all.

"Dahu, take the lead. Enter in order. Once you're through, stay on guard and watch all directions. If anything moves—kill it!" Yi Tianxing ordered decisively.

"Yes, my Lord!" Wang Dahu nodded and signaled silently, stepping into the gate first.

One after another, soldiers stepped forward in formation and passed through the gate. In a blink, they vanished. Spatial travel took less than a second—just stepping over a threshold.

Having done this many times before, the troops were no longer curious. They passed through the gate with practiced ease.

The city emptied quickly.

In just moments, over twenty thousand troops had crossed.

Yi Tianxing followed, giving a final nod to Niu Ben before disappearing. The gate closed silently behind him.

"Farewell, Brother Yi. Quite the journey ahead, eh? Wind and blood for company—not bad at all," Niu Ben said, laughing heartily as he gazed at the place the gate had vanished. He was envious.

In the wilderness over a hundred li from Ice City, a spatial gate appeared.

A large number of armored soldiers emerged from it in an orderly fashion, quickly securing the perimeter.

"No sign of the enemy nearby," Yang Yanping reported as soon as Yi Tianxing and others stepped through.

"This spot's too close. If the enemy reacts, they could track us easily. We must continue jumping," said Jia Xu, sweeping his gaze over the terrain.This was no place for battle.

"Let's move. I remember a valley about 300 li from here. Flat and open—perfect for battle. Our first clash must be bloody—we must carve our name in blood," said Yi Tianxing.

"I recall that valley too," Jia Xu agreed. "A perfect battleground. Let them fall into our trap. We'll prepare a grand gift for them."

Without delay, another spatial gate opened, and the army jumped again.

After only three transfers, they arrived in the valley.

The valley wasn't too large, but it was wide and grassy, with goats, elk, and wild horses grazing peacefully. As the army descended, their killing aura, forged from countless battles, startled the animals into a frenzied flight.

"General Wang, take a unit and plant rune bombs around the valley. This is prime ambush ground."

"General Yang, take your men and set up talisman traps," Jia Xu instructed as he assessed the landscape.

Both men grinned and nodded before leading their troops to begin their preparations.

"No rush. We have one night. The aliens won't discover anything until morning. Even then, it will take time for them to track us. This is our last chance to rest. There won't be another like it," Yi Tianxing exhaled deeply.

Once battle began, it would be relentless. Bloodshed would follow every step forward. Bones would be buried. Men would be maimed. This was war—unending, until they reached Xuanhuang City or made the alien races fear them enough to retreat.

Night passed quietly.

In a moonless sky, the darkness was profound.

Finally, the first light appeared on the horizon.

"One damn night of staring—I can barely keep my eyes open. The humans didn't leave at all. Just slept peacefully. Bastards."

"They didn't leave at night? What, are they planning to escape in daylight now?"

"Damn it. Kept us up all night for nothing. When they come out, I'm eating them alive."

The aliens who had been watching all night were ready to explode with frustration.

Everyone had expected the humans to slip away under cover of darkness. But the night passed without a sound. They had watched all night—for nothing.

"Wait—something's wrong! The guards on the wall—they're not human. That's the barbarians!"

"That's right! Their aura is totally different from the humans'. There were barbarians in the city, but why would they be patrolling?"

"This is bad. Something happened. Notify the leaders immediately!"

Realization dawned as they rubbed their tired eyes. The city walls were entirely manned by barbarians. Not a single human in sight.

Alarms rang silently in their minds. Something had gone terribly wrong.

The news spread quickly through the wilderness.

Alien elites rushed over, flying through the air and peering into the city from above.

As soon as they saw, their faces turned grim.

"Damn it—no humans left. Just barbarians. The humans are gone!"

The message spread like wildfire among the alien races.

"Cunning humans—just like foxes. They left last night using some unknown method… no—spatial gates! They escaped through spatial transfer!"

"Find them! Track them down! We surrounded them with such a powerful alliance—and they just slipped away? If word gets out, we'll be the laughingstock of the realms! We must not let them return alive!"

Angry roars echoed from all sides.

"Find them before the others do. Whoever slaughters the humans gets the spoils. A heaven-sent opportunity—we can't miss this!"

Without even discussing, the already fragile alliance collapsed in an instant.

They had never been truly united. How could such an alliance last?

No one called for cooperation. Instead, each race immediately led their own troops to split off. Elite scouts and warriors spread in all directions, searching for Yi Tianxing's forces.

And their search soon bore fruit.

At the site of the first spatial transfer, they found… human footprints.