N/A killed a few more monsters, then turned to look at Henry Lang, whose veins were bulging and who was gritting his teeth in a frenzy. Unexpectedly, N/A burst out laughing: “You go kill all these Xiangchan barbarians, and I’ll report your merits to the court and clear your status as a criminal!”

Henry Lang's hand trembled, and his knife almost fell to the ground... The little courage he had just mustered was basically gone. With disaster looming, he no longer cared about rank or status, and shook his head with a bitter smile: “Say something to boost morale instead.”

N/A threw his head back and laughed: “Fine! If you kill all the monsters, not only will you clear your criminal status, I’ll even get you promoted to a high official!”

All the blue-robed men nearby laughed, and a fat, black man with a big head and ears grinned at Henry Lang and called out, “Your humble servant greets you, my lord…”

Chapter Five: The Great Flood Fire Thunder

The barbarians had won a complete victory. Ninety percent of the blue-robed experts had already died in battle. Only at the entrance of the mine, N/A, the commander of a thousand, was still leading dozens of men, desperately resisting.

Moments later, the blue-robed men who had just gone deeper into the mine returned, each carrying a heavy wooden box on their shoulders.

As soon as Henry Lang saw those boxes, he was scared out of his wits. He had been at Kunei Mountain for four months and was all too familiar with these boxes. Inside them were all Great Flood Fire Thunders!

Several Xiangchan barbarian leaders, each wearing feathered crowns and of especially massive build, kept letting out sharp whistles, calling their clansmen—who were still chasing down the criminal slaves—to return to their side. Then they raised their sharp claws and pointed toward the entrance of the mine!

Suddenly, daylight before their eyes darkened. Countless monsters leapt up together, like a monstrous wave crashing down upon them. Henry Lang's mind went blank, and he let out strange cries, wildly swinging his knife like a madman. The blue-robed men around him couldn’t even bother with the barbarians—they hurriedly dodged away from him first...

Just as the horde of Xiangchan barbarians swooped down from midair, about to crash into the blue-robed formation, N/A suddenly drew his bow and shot, shouting, “Qingsi, ignite!”

A dazzling golden light exploded, instantly shattering the swarm of barbarian monsters!

Sticky blood rain and disgusting chunks of flesh fell from the air with a splatter. With a single arrow, over a hundred Xiangchan barbarians were blown to pieces.

For a moment, all the Xiangchan barbarians were stunned, their huge mouths agape, eye membranes sliding open, their bulging eyes filled with terror.

N/A put away his longbow with a flip of his hand, then kicked over the still-swinging Henry Lang, and quietly ordered his subordinates, “Light the fuses, we’re going down!” With that, he grabbed Henry Lang and rushed into the mine.

The Xiangchan barbarian leaders didn’t recognize the fire thunder. Seeing the enemy flee, they immediately came to their senses and furiously ordered their men to give chase...

The blue-robed men had left only short fuses—after just twenty breaths, a thunderous explosion shook the mountains. Shattered rocks and dust, mixed with barbarian flesh and blood, shot skyward. As the ground trembled, the entrance to the mine completely collapsed!

The violent explosion not only brought down the entrance, but also caused huge rocks to fall in the tunnels, mountain walls to collapse, and many of the wooden frames used to block the fierce stone veins were overturned. Muffled crashes echoed from all directions. The dozens of surviving blue-robed guards fought the Xiangchan who had chased into the cave while dodging falling boulders...

The gale from the shockwave snuffed out all the lights in the cave. Henry Lang was firmly gripped by N/A, and everything before his eyes was pitch black. He felt as if everything around him was shaking madly. The sounds of panting, screams, shouts, curses, and clashing weapons rang out endlessly...

He didn’t know how much time had passed before things gradually quieted down around him. Henry Lang listened intently for a long time, but only heard N/A's heavy breathing. He couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Commander, are you alright?”

N/A didn’t answer. He gently set Henry Lang behind him, held his longbow across his chest, listened carefully for a moment, and then finally spoke in a calm voice: “Who else is alive?”

“Your humble servant, Isaac Lowell.”

Only one voice answered N/A...

N/A waited a little longer, unwilling to give up, then finally sighed softly and struck a fire starter. Henry Lang couldn’t help but let out a long breath, thinking to himself that it was lucky the jade wall monster in the mine, who forbade lighting lamps, hadn’t caused trouble—otherwise, they’d have to ask N/A to shoot an arrow for light.

The blue-robed man named Isaac Lowell was the same fat, black man who had joked with Henry Lang earlier. He had once received great favor from Qu Qingshi and was his most trusted subordinate. Isaac Lowell was highly skilled—not only was he ruthless in combat, but he had also trained his fat body to move as lightly as the wind and land without a sound, which was how he had managed to survive the disaster by sheer luck.

Isaac Lowell took the fire starter, quickly straightened the torches and lamps on the stone walls, and lit them. Soon, the mine gradually brightened.

The once square and regular mine had been twisted and deformed by the shock. Jagged cracks ran everywhere, and the slanted ceiling looked as if it could collapse at any moment.

The ground was a scene of devastation, with huge rocks and mangled corpses everywhere. Some blue-robed men had been torn to pieces by the Xiangchan barbarians, some were crushed by boulders while grappling with the enemy, and others had fallen into gaps in the planks and encountered the fierce stone veins, leaving behind only a shriveled corpse...