The Portal of Wonderland

“Let’s move… this place isn’t safe. We can’t stay here any longer. I’ll lead you back to the tribe,” Shi Mu spoke-up as he glanced in the direction where the Heavenly Wolf Tribe’s soldiers had escaped.

“Warrior Shi Mu… our tribe… what’s the situation there?” a young barbarian woman asked in a hesitant manner.

The women then gazed at Shi Mu as they heard this. There were traces of apprehension and expectations in their eyes.

Shi Mu hesitated for a moment. Then, he gave a brief account of their tribe’s situation. He also told them that Sha Jiao and the other youths were safe. But, he informed them about Sha Lang and the other tribesmen’s death.

The women became silent. Then, their faces revealed a relieved look.

Shi Mu was startled. But, he understood their strange behavior the next moment.

The women already knew that the Flying Raven Tribe had been annihilated. But now, they had Sha Jiao as the new Chief of their tribe. Moreover, they now had an explicit destination to go to. These factors had triggered a hope of revival in their hearts.

The barbarian people had grown-up in extremely adverse conditions. So, these women considered themselves to be lucky since they had survived the attack of the Heavenly Wolf Tribe.

The women and the children looked extremely exhausted because they had been moving since a long time. Some of them even had serious wounds. Shi Mu discarded some of the goods and materials. Then, he made arrangements for the wounded women and children to be carried on the animals. And, they eventually started to advance towards the Flying Raven Tribe…

Shi Mu, Sha Jiao and around a hundred people of the Flying Raven Tribe reached the Tu Huo Tribe situated in the quicksand wasteland after several days. Shi Mu helped the people of the tribe to settle down there. Then, he bid his farewell and departed from there.

*** ***

Everything in the vast wilderness of the wasteland looked dusky.

There were rolling hills of varying height in the distance. They were faintly visible in the shivering-cold sandstorm.

A group of a dozen or more barbarian cavalry soldiers slowly approached from the eastern direction. They were struggling through the sandstorm as they advanced towards the west.

These barbarian cavalry soldiers had small statures in comparison to the barbarian’s standards. They had some bone weapons that hung from the reins of their horses. In addition, they held various kinds of weapons made of iron.

Three barbarian people were riding abreast on the front row of this group.

Two of them were strongly built. They were walking on either sides in the front row. A young girl was walking in the center. She looked delicate and petite. However, the small group seemed to be headed by her.

The girl had simple yet delicate facial features. She seemed to be around twenty years old. She wore a striped-jacket that was made-up of a leopard’s skin. Her thick braided hair swung up and down along with the gallops of her horse. She had a dusky complexion, but her firm forehead revealed her rich experience and bubbling heroic spirit. She looked exceptionally beautiful as she rode her horse.

“Sister, according to this map… we’ll soon enter the territory of the Dagger Bull Tribe. So, do we need to make a detour?” a young man turned his head and asked; he was walking on her left. He was a tall youth with heavy facial features; he had big eyes and bushy eyebrows. He held a long silver spear in his hand.

“There’s no need for that. We’ve limited time on our hands. We’ve already wasted plenty of time while avoiding the vicious barbarians’ tribe. Besides… the Dagger Bull tribe is a peaceful Tribe. They don’t harbor any grudge against the human race. So, there shouldn’t be any problem as long as we’re cautious,” the girl shook her head and replied. Her face emitted a capable and experienced aura… which seemed quite inharmonious with her age.

The tall youth complied. He was about to turn his head when the girl’s voice resounded again, “Brother Leng, we’ve been moving constantly for the last seven to eight days. But, we haven’t come across any water source. I’m afraid that our drinking water won’t support us for a long time. You should go and look around. There might be some water source in the vicinity.”

“Hehe… Sister, just relax! According to this map… there should be a small lake ahead. It shouldn’t be far away from here. It’s one of the largest water source in the radius of one-fifty kilometers. I’ll be back soon.” The youth named Leng laughed. Then, he fiercely pressed his horse’s belly from both sides. His horse neighed loudly, and speedily galloped forward. They quickly disappeared from the girl’s line of sight. Only a floating trail of dust could be seen along the path.

A muffled voice of a male resounded in the girl’s ears after a short while.

“Princess, do you really think that the human race and the barbarian race will sign-off a peace agreement? What are the chances of our success?” a middle-aged man led his horse near the Princess, and asked in a low voice. He had robust facial features. He held a long-hilted axe in one of his hands. His entire body exuded an extremely profound aura of an overwhelming strength of a Xian Tian realm warrior.

“The vicious barbarians encourage war… while the peaceful barbarians advocate peace. So, there’s fifty-fifty chance of our success. The standpoint of the barbarian’s High priest becomes highly significant in this situation. General Zhang… don’t worry. We should wait until we arrive at the Holy Mountain. Then, we should seize the opportunity, and present our proposal to him. But, I believe that the barbarian race is also unwilling to sit back and watch the Sea Race reap profits from our losses. But, we might not get hold of the three frontier fortresses of our Da Qi Kingdom even if we succeed in forming a peace agreement with the barbarians.” The girl considered for a moment. She then replied in a non-committal tone.

General Zhang chimed in a sinking sound. He then tightened his grip on the long-hilted axe. He didn’t say anything else.

The girl pushed her horse to move forward. Her eyes flickered as she looked up at the gloomy sky. But, it was difficult to figure the thoughts that were bubbling up in her mind.

The youth surnamed Leng returned after a quarter-of-an-hour. He had returned with the exact location of the nearby lake. The group of the cavalry soldiers steered their course, and rushed towards the lake after they had received the Princess’s order.

Several patches of dark-green grasses gradually began to appear on the sandy land of the gloomy wasteland. It looked like a large piece of green carpet that had been spread out on the ground.

A small lake soon appeared in their line of sight; its surface was as smooth and flat as a surface of a mirror. It was several dozen feet wide.

These people had been on a move since several days. So, they were extremely exhausted. They hadn’t seen such a tranquil and limpid lake for a long time. Most of them were fired up. They impatiently rushed towards the lake. They pulled out the leather sacks that hung on their waists. They were brimming with excitement since they had finally got the chance to refill their water containers and clean their bodies.

The girl and the two men stayed behind. They pulled the reins of their horses, and moved at an unhurried pace. They seemed to be engaged in a discussion.

Suddenly, something strange happened.

‘Bang!’ A splash of water was heard.

The water surface in the center of the lake started to bulge. Then, it exploded. The ten feet wide stream of water shot up into the sky; it seemed as if a whale was spouting water. But, it halted after it had reached a height of sixty feet.

Then, the surface of the water started to whirl. A face covered in a hideous silver shark mask emerged on the surface of the water. Then, a masked youth with a green whip in his hand gradually appeared. He stood proudly on the surface of the water – like a sculpture. He looked at the crowd with a pair of cold eyes.

The sky was blotted with a mountainous wave as soon as he appeared. He stood firmly in the center as the mighty waves spread in all directions.

The wide lake seemed trivial under the pair of invisible gigantic hands. The entire lake caved in several meters by those giant hands in a flash. And, a shiver ran down the spines of the people present on the scene.

Suddenly, the surrounding air turned extremely viscous. A vicious killing aura pervaded the air, and engulfed almost everyone present on the spot.

The youth surnamed Leng and General Zhang’s complexion changed. The wisp of an apprehensive and terrifying feeling surged up in their hearts.

They didn’t take long to understand that such a terrorizing killing intention and imposing aura could never be achieved by any Xian Tian warrior. This masked man was extremely formidable. He ought to be an Earth-grade Warrior.

The girl’s complexion also changed. But, she quickly regained her poise. She loosened the reins of her horse, and moved a step forward. After that, she touched her chest with one hand, and bowed to the mysterious man. Then, she asked with an unperturbed face, “Respected brave warrior of the Sea Race, we’re the guarding cavalry soldiers of the Green Teeth Tribe. If you recklessly slaughter the barbarian people… won’t it ignite the war between the Barbarian Race and the Sea Race? Don’t tell me that you don’t care about this matter?”

The facial expressions of the people of the ambassador group looked relieved as they heard these words. They had almost forgotten that they were disguised as barbarian cavalrymen.

The masked man looked at the young girl in leopard jacket. A glint of astonishment flickered across his eyes. But, it instantly changed into a ridiculing expression.

He then gently raised his long green whip. The charm characters carved on the surface of the whip shone brightly, and emitted a dazzling green light.

“It’s not good! Leng Ying Jie, hurry up and escort Princess to a safe place!” General Zhang bellowed loudly.

He then sprang-up from the ground and hacked his long axe at the man’s mask with all his strength.

‘Hu! Hu!’

Suddenly, a ten feet long weapon appeared in the air. It was a gigantic axe that was condensed with Real Qi. It was blood-red in color. The tip of the axe was emitting an inexhaustible flow of imposing aura.

‘Chi! Chi’ A strange sound was heard.

Then, a dozen or more bone spears whizzed towards the masked man with air-piercing sounds.

The masked man stretched out his left hand and shot several green lights. The green lights proliferated in all directions, and formed an almost transparent layer of green light shield around his body.

‘Puff! Puff!’ A series of sounds resounded in all directions.

The overbearing bone spears turned into ashes as soon as they came in contact with the light shield. The blood-red gigantic axe also got stuck as it hit the green light shield. It trembled a few times, and then burst into a cloud of blood fog. Then, it dispersed into the air.

The girl had mounted her horse the moment General Zhang’s loud voice had resounded. So, she had already fled dozens of feet away by the time the first round of attacks had ended. The youth surnamed Leng had also accompanied her. The silver spear in his hand was glittering to shield her from an unseen attack.

“Since you all have come so far… then don’t leave right away.”

An overwhelming fear crept into everyone’s hearts as they gazed at the masked man. The long green whip of the masked man began to coil up in the air as he flicked his wrist. It quickly took the form of a green vortex; this vortex was made up of Real Qi.

An intermittent burst of hissing sounds spread from the green vortex.

Then, a gigantic snake-shaped green beast rushed out of the green vortex. It was almost fifty feet long.

The snake-beast wasn’t exactly a snake since it had a pair of wings on its back. It swooped down on the human riders who stood by the lake. It darted towards them at an unimaginable speed. The green light flashed, and appeared in front of the humans.

There was a Hou Tian primary stage warrior in this group of ambassadors. He thundered indignantly. The long blade in his hand shot out a blade light that hacked at the beast in a ferocious manner.

But, the giant green snake was extremely clever. It swiftly dodged the attack. After that, it flashed and submerged in the warrior’s chest.

A dull thumping sound was heard.

The warrior’s body swelled-up and exploded. And, his blood showered around like a rain of blood. Only his legs were left standing on the ground.

The other human warriors met the same fate. Their bodies exploded as the green snake invaded them. Then, they transformed into clouds of blood fog in midair. The air was soon filled and pervaded with a pungent smell of blood. Streams of blood could be seen all over the place.

Only the Xian Tian Warrior General Zhang’s long-hilted axe danced in the air vigorously. The red shadows of his axe could be seen around his body. He had barely managed to keep out the monstrous snake from intruding into his body.

However, the other human warriors had met their end within a breath’s time.

Meanwhile, two more giant green snakes transformed into two green shadows, and darted towards the Princess and the youth surnamed Leng; but, they hadn’t yet covered a long distance.

A startled look flashed across Leng Ying Jie’s eyes as he saw this. The last trace of hesitation also vanished from his eyes as he turned back to look at the girl.

Suddenly, the silver spear in his hand dazzled like the sun. And, the charm characters carved on the surface of the spear started to throb wildly.

‘Boom!’ a loud rumble was heard.

The silver spear exploded and turned into innumerable luminous dots; they were silver in color. Then, those luminous dots integrated into a silver light. The silver light ruptured, and transformed into a silver flame that greeted one of the giant snakes.

Leng Ying Jie’s complexion turned red as blood rushed to his face. He then thundered and pounced on the other giant snake.

‘Bang!’ an explosive sound was heard.

An invisible airwave surged-up violently – like a hurricane. Three rays of light glittered at the same time; they were blood-red, silver and green in color. A small green snake – almost half-an-inch in size – fled from the glaring rays of light and shot towards the Princess.

The youth surnamed Leng had vanished into thin air by this time. However, there was a pool of blood in the place where he had stood a moment ago.