Chapter 686 The Flaming Horns Are Famous Again (1/2)
This beast didn’t break anything within the Flaming Horn tribe, and it also didn’t come out to scare anyone. It only creeped out at the same time every night to peel away a single grain from the thousand-grain gold plantation. It would hang upside down from the narrow leaves above and quietly observe the guards who were guarding the traps. No one knew how the beast hung so gently and firmly from the leaf with its heavy weight. The leaf didn’t even move much when the beast hung onto it.
After the bat leader left, Ao wiped away the sweat on his forehead and questioned Shao Xuan helplessly. Even though he had already encountered the bat leader a few times, he still couldn’t stay calm. He perspired heavily after every encounter and was always anxious.
Shao Xuan could sense where the bat leader was heading. Even though Shao Xuan couldn’t confirm where the bat leader landed, he could sense that it wasn’t far away from the Flaming Horn tribe. It did not return to the mountains and forest far away.
A few more days passed. The thousand grain gold in the plantations were slowly ripening, and they weren’t as green as before. They weren’t sure which factors affected the plants, but they ripened earlier than back then when they were on the other side of the sea. Was it the weather this year or the improved fertilisation? Perhaps these plants preferred the soil here more than the other side.
Judging by the current situation, the thousand grain gold would probably ripen in around ten days.
After he heard Ao’s question, Shao Xuan thought about it and said, “As long as it doesn’t trouble us, it would not be a big problem. You probably also noticed that less pests appeared after it came here.”
A lot of grains were ripening around this season, and this was usually the time they suffered from widespread infestation. A lot of strange insects would fly in from the forests, the ground, or places farther away. These insects ate leaves and fruits, so the people who were looking after the farms had to kill many of these insects everyday. Most of the edible insects were transported to the trading point, and the people at the headquarters were already tired of eating the same grilled insects everyday. The green ducks also couldn’t eat too much, so they couldn’t finish eating all the insects. The insects that were not edible were used to make fertiliser.
However, since the bat leader appeared, almost no flying insects appeared during the night time, and it was a lot quieter than before. Many farmlands around the thousand grain gold plantation also experienced this issue, so it saved them from a lot of problems.
No one was sure whether the bat leader’s sudden appearance was a disaster or a blessing in disguise.
Of course, the bat leader didn’t come here to help the Flaming Horns scare away the insects. Shao Xuan felt like it was probably waiting for the thousand-grain gold to fully ripen.
Many beasts didn’t need anyone to teach them to know what was beneficial to them. The bat leader probably felt that the thousand-grain gold was beneficial to it.
On the Flaming Horn’s special farmland, besides the thousand-grain gold, there were also other seeds they got from Ji Ju’s place. Some of these grains were also high quality grains, but the bat leader didn’t get close to any of those plants. Its eyes were focused on the thousand-grain gold.
“Let’s see what happens when the thousand-grain gold ripens,” Shao Xuan said.
Ao nodded. “That’s the only thing we can do for now.” As long as the bat leader didn’t cause any trouble or cause the Flaming Horns to suffer a huge loss, they could afford to lose a small portion of their harvest. They considered it as payment for the bat leader’s service.
As they predicted the ripening time of the thousand-grain gold, the tribe had already begun their plan for the harvest. Back when they were on the other side of the sea, every harvest of the thousand-grain gold bustled with excitement. They planted a lot more crops here compared to their previous harvests, so they had to plan for a larger scale and consider everything carefully. Even though the harvest on the other plantations weren’t as impressive as the thousand-grain gold, they still had to plan carefully.
The problems about the harvest and the issue at the Great Bridge kept Shao Xuan so busy that he didn’t even have the time to keep studying the strange creature in the underground basement of the Flaming River Castle.
The Flaming River Trading Point didn’t get any quieter after the king stoneworm crisis. Instead, more people came and the trading point was filled with excitement.
The duration of the entire crisis didn’t even last long, or at least the time when it affected the trading point. The teams that left in a hurry didn’t even go far. Although some of them already walked far, they were merely waiting for news at a resting place.
They were all waiting for news of the Flaming River Trading Point’s destruction. Who would’ve thought that a miracle would happen on the river?
“Back then when the king beast emerged from the ground, all around, the forest turned into stone. So many people died! All of them turned into stone! The king beast was heading straight for the trading point. All of the Flaming Horn leaders were there. With their soldiers, they went right at the king beast.” Blah Blah Blah. The person continued to blabber on about how he saw everything with his own eyes.
Those who went to inquire about the situation came back and told stories with such vivid descriptions that left everyone in the team with surprised and stunned expressions.
The person who told the story stood on a giant rock. Droplets of saliva flew in the air as he spoke. A blade was attached to his side, and one of his hands pointed to the sky as he said, “I only heard the Grand Elder of the Flaming Horn tribe shout at the king beast. He said, ‘Follow me!’”
“And then? What happened next?” the others asked curiously.
“What? The king beast followed him, of course.”
The team was suddenly booed. They didn’t believe it. That was a king beast. There was no way it listened to a human’s orders and followed him. They just couldn’t believe it.
The person on the rock looked around him. Seeing how no one believed in his words, he was nervous. “If you don’t believe me, just go look for yourselves. Wherever the king beast walked, everything was turned into stone. The forest outside the Flaming River Trading Point was all turned into stone. The marks were still on the ground. You can see the stone trail left by the king beast. It extended from the forest to the Flaming River and even went across the river to the other side.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie to you? Come, let’s go! I’ll bring you guys there to look. The king beast already left anyway. There’s no threat there. I’m guessing that it was all planned by the Flaming Horns. It’s all been planned!”
When these expedition teams arrived near the Flaming River Trading Point and saw all the petrified forests and stone trails, they finally believed what the person said. Even though some parts were exaggerated, some of it was true.
Many of these expedition team members beat their chests and stomped their feet. Why didn’t they stay a little longer at the Flaming River Trading Point back then?
As members of the expedition team, especially those with lots of experience, they were very curious about many things, especially terrifying facts. Too bad they missed this opportunity.
However, even though they missed the opportunity to see the king beast, they still saw the trails the beast left behind, so they didn’t feel as regretful.
That was why many expedition teams stopped by to look at the area where the King Stoneworm passed by, whether it be where the Flaming Horns put up their signs, or the giant bridge that extended across the Flaming River.
The people who left also spread this news across the entire continent.
The Flaming Horns were famous once again! Not just famous, they were even more famous compared to the time the trading point was first built. The terms “Flaming Horn”, “Flaming River Trading Point”, and the “Giant Bridge of the Flaming River” were all spread across the continent.