| GB | Disaster Strikes | 83
While a small number of orcs began to move, the majority remained bewildered.
They stood still in place, gazing northward at the Fire God Mountain, glancing at Yu Bai, and then turning to look at the chief and the priest.
As new leaders, Yu Bai and Huo Duo'er naturally held some influence in their hearts. However, they hadn't been around for long, and the chief had led the Yuan tribe for so many years. The deeply ingrained mindset of the orcs couldn't be changed overnight.
"Chief, do we really have to retreat..."
"That's right, the tribe has been built so well this year, and there's plenty of meat. I can't bear to leave."
The chief felt the same way.
After hearing Yu Bai's words, he was somewhat shaken. But this year, the Fire God Mountain had revived, sheltering the Yuan tribe's orcs, bringing them warmth, and the plants in the fields had grown so well. The gods had returned, so how could they bring disaster?
Yet Yu Bai had never deceived them.
For the first time, the chief found himself in a dilemma and consulted the priest: "Should we leave?"
The priest glared at Yu Bai: "He's bewitched everyone! How could the Fire God punish us?"
After saying this, he sniffed the increasingly pungent air and the falling dust, his heart also filled with doubt.
But this smell was present around the Fire God Mountain, especially near the Holy Spring. How could it bring disaster?
The Fire God Mountain had never brought disaster to the orcs before.
The chief and the priest were deeply conflicted, but Huo Duo'er paid them no mind and quickly returned to the courtyard.
Yu Bai said, "Grab a few things and let's go. Don't take too much."
Huo Duo'er knew exactly what to do. He only carried a large burlap sack, stuffing it with some rice, two pieces of smoked meat, a packet of salt, some prepared herbs, two animal hides, bowls, and a water pouch.
The little wolf howled around the courtyard, its continuous cries echoed by the beasts in the valley. They ran down the mountain in groups, seeking a safe refuge.
Yu Bai looked around the lush green courtyard. Though he was reluctant, he knew he had to leave.
Huo Duo'er carried him on his back: "Let's go."
Yu Bai: "Alright."
He paused slightly: "Huo Duo'er, I have a feeling that we might not come back this time."
"Hmm." Huo Duo'er's expression remained unchanged: "You are the most important."
Yu Bai replied without hesitation: "You are the most important too."
As long as they were alive, there was hope.
—
The wind picked up, the air was dry and hot, creating a stifling and oppressive feeling. The orcs remaining in the square were panting, their foreheads covered in sweat.
At this moment, the northern sky was filled with mist, and the red light spread, illuminating half the sky.
This phenomenon was unprecedented. The chief was shocked, and his unease grew heavier.
Huo Duo'er carried Yu Bai around the square. He glanced at the hesitant orcs and, driven by a sense of responsibility, coldly commanded: "Everyone, evacuate—"
Yu Bai was sweating with anxiety: "If we don't leave now, it will be too late, Chief."
Ze, who had always been neutral and admired Huo Duo'er, had already packed up and left with the orcs from the former Heiyao tribe. Warriors like A’Sen, A’Lin, and Mao Mao, who trusted Huo Duo'er, were increasingly swayed after witnessing the strange celestial phenomena.
Huo Duo'er glanced at Mao Mao: "Assign two warriors to carry the chief and the priest away."
He added: "This is the last time I'll say this. If you don't want to die, go back now, grab a few things, and leave!"
The chief, being held up, cried out "Ah! Ah!" but Huo Duo'er's imposing presence was too overwhelming. The orcs scattered, each running back to their homes to gather their belongings.
In recent years, Huo Duo'er had led the Yuan tribe to victories over the Brown and Yao tribes, and his authority was unquestionable. The orcs who followed him gradually fled the main city. Outside the city, smaller tribes from other tribes who had received the news also began to leave.
The red light in the sky grew brighter, and bubbles floated on the surface of the river. Many wild beasts fled in all directions.
Yu Bai clung tightly to Huo Duo'er's neck, looking around. At this moment, most of the orcs had dispersed, but a few were reluctant to leave. However, he couldn't afford to worry about them. It was already difficult to persuade the majority to leave; the rest would have to fend for themselves.
Under the towering ancient trees, Man and Xiu had gathered the giant orcs to join them.
This group of fierce-looking, immensely powerful giant orcs gathered together like a landmark.
Normally, the orcs would avoid them, fearing to provoke their anger and bring trouble upon themselves. But now, these orcs who once instilled fear in them were seen as gods in their eyes!
The orcs who inherited the power of the mountain god were considered half-divine. Following them would at least protect them from most of the wild beasts' attacks!
With this thought in mind, more and more orcs followed behind Huo Duo'er and his group of giant orcs. As the crowd grew, so did the noise, with people shouting and bickering.
"Why are you walking so fast? You stepped on me!"
"Who stepped on my foot? You're looking for death!"
"Stop pushing, stop pushing!"
...
Only after they had passed through the gates of the Yuan tribe's territory did a few orcs exclaim in shock, pointing at the darkness rising in the north, and cried, "What is that?!"
The orcs squinted, never having seen such a sky before.
The darkness spread at a terrifying speed, overlapping with the red light.
An orc rubbed his eyes and said in horror, "That blackness is moving!"
Yu Bai's heart tightened: "It's..."
Huo Duo'er: "A beast tide."
In the unknown region to the north of the wilderness, the beast tide, influenced by something unknown, had gone berserk.
Huo Duo'er commanded: "Run—!"
The orcs who had been pushing and shoving immediately fell silent and ran for their lives.
The night was illuminated by the increasingly bright red light, but it was soon overshadowed by the dark surge of the beast tide, leaving no trace of light.
The fire god was about to erupt, and the beast tide was in chaos. Before the darkness could fully descend, the distant roars and uneasy cries of wild beasts could already be heard.
Huo Duo'er carried Yu Bai on his back as he ran swiftly. The dense vines and grass parted for them, and even the soil beneath their feet formed a path automatically.
Xiu suddenly shouted, as the mud path he controlled spurted out many small jets of water. The water droplets sprayed onto their legs, carrying a scorching heat.
"Why is this water so hot?"
"Don't worry about it, just run!"
Boom—
A deep rumble came from underground, like the roar of a beast, carrying an awe-inspiring force.
In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains trembled, with rocks tumbling down the slopes.
The orcs screamed, having never heard such a sound before, and clung to each other in panic.
Xiu tried to use the power of the mountain god to block the rocks, but it was futile.
Orcs who couldn't dodge in time were struck by the falling rocks, their heads bleeding profusely. But the will to survive urged them to quickly get up, fearing that any delay would mean death on the spot.
The uninjured helped the injured to keep running. All the orcs stumbled, terrified, screaming as the earth quaked, trees and rocks collapsed, and everything was destroyed. And at this moment, the darkness of the beast tide was about to engulf them.
Huo Duo'er ran at an astonishing speed, the hot wind scraping across Yu Bai's face with a stinging sensation.
He tightly shut his eyes, his body wrapped in the orc robe, drenched in a mix of cold and hot sweat, completely soaked.
"Ah—"
"A’mu—!"
Yu Bai struggled to open his eyes against the stinging pain of his eyelids. In the darkness, he could faintly see the orcs falling behind, tumbling down the collapsed hillside, plummeting straight into the bottomless abyss!
"A’mu, A’mu..."
"Don't worry about it, let's go!"
"No, I won't leave!"
The orc stopped persuading and simply lowered his head, sprinting forward with all his might.
They ran for who knows how long, the orcs already exhausted, all of them tired and panicked, their bodies and faces covered in sweat and blood. Along the way, they had been separated from their kin, some reluctant to leave, others too weary to keep running.
The orcs dared not look back. The ground they had traversed was splitting open, the mountains collapsing, the continuous groves of trees toppling. Although the beasts had not yet caught up, everyone could hear the sound of their gnawing, a noise that sent shivers down their spines!
Would those being eaten... be the tribesmen who had fallen behind?
Boom— Boom—
The pitch-black darkness was instantly illuminated, the sky filled with a red light that lit up the mountains and fields, a blood-like, heart-stopping crimson.
The heavens and the earth shook violently at that moment, forcing Huo Duo'er to stop. He held Yu Bai protectively in his arms.
Facing the blinding red light, he stared intently to the north.
He saw the surging tide of beasts covering the sky, wailing, and in an instant, they evaporated.
One after another, streams of scorching red lava erupted from the Fire God Mountain, engulfing and devouring the beast tide, covering the valleys, surging like a heavenly river pouring down from the sky, dyeing most of the horizon red.
The orcs lying on the ground wailed in sorrow, completely bewildered by what had happened.
Just that morning, they had been immersed in the joy of a bountiful harvest, the Fire God having protected them throughout the winter, and not long ago, they had gathered together to enjoy a feast of roasted meat.
Yet now, they were faced with a cataclysmic disaster and misfortune.
Why... why...
By the blood-red light, they looked back, the ground splitting open with deep fissures. They opened their eyes in terror, their bodies aching with wounds, yet they forced themselves to rise and continue running.
The slower orcs fell into the cracked ground, the earth and ground shaking, and the fissures that had just been roaring disappeared in an instant!
The tremors ceased, and Huo Duo'er, with Yu Bai, continued to run. The giants began to move as well.
The orcs who could still walk gritted their teeth and followed. With the giants leading, they could barely clear a path, but if they fell behind even a step, it meant most of them would lose their way, even be swallowed by the spreading crimson sea of fire!
The chief and the priest, being carried, had fainted several times. Mao Mao, who was carrying the chief, looked back several times, seeing that their kin were still following, and his heart steadied slightly.
He wiped his face, it was wet, perhaps with sweat, tears, and blood.
At this moment, no orc cared about the pain in their bodies. They ran forward numbly yet resolutely, knowing that only by following those giants who seemed to hold up the heavens and earth could they find a way to survive.
—
Three days later.
The Fire God Mountain had been erupting continuously for three days, the sky blood-red, with no distinction between day and night.
Huo Duo'er led the orcs far away, until their legs could no longer move, the earthquakes stopped, and the beast tide dissipated.
The surroundings were a scene of ruins and utter chaos. Looking back, the sea of trees was submerged in a flowing crimson sea of blood. They had outrun the engulfing lava, their lives spared, but at a great cost.
Less than half of the fleeing orcs remained, with many dead or injured along the way.
The wind sweeping across the wasteland carried a stench of blood and acrid smoke. The sky was dark and heavy, with volcanic ash falling everywhere.
Yu Bai had fainted twice. When he woke again, Huo Duo'er was feeding him water.
"Bai, catch your breath."
Yu Bai nodded slightly, took a sip of water, and pushed the water pouch toward Huo Duo'er's lips.
Huo Duo'er's face was covered in ash, his lips cracked, and his beastly eyes bloodshot.
They were in a pitiful state, resting where they had collapsed. Some orcs had passed out, while others lay on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
Yu Bai's heart ached, and two streaks of ash-streaked tears silently rolled down his cheeks.
Huo Duo'er wiped his dusty face and said hoarsely, "Don't cry."
Yu Bai nodded, opening his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Their tightly clasped hands trembled.
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