I Am Immortal in Great Yu

Chapter 193: Chapter 80: Mountain Collapse (Part 2)

Once they became obedient, he’d give them a ”carrot.” This world had many special methods for pleasing these animals, such as specially formulated medicines and massages stimulated with Power.

By combining these two methods, the taming process was extremely fast. This was true for both ordinary animals and Exotic Beasts like the Earth Armor Centipede.

In short, the philosophy was simple: resist, and be tortured relentlessly; don’t resist, obey, and be rewarded. Through this differential treatment, they were made to realize that resistance brought no benefits, while submission was very comfortable.

’When this way of thinking becomes ingrained, when they execute commands subconsciously without even thinking, then the job is pretty much done. It’s basically an artificially induced Stockholm Syndrome, isn’t it?!’

Once the Earth Armor Centipedes were tamed, he naturally obtained the Mountain Stone Spirit Milk.

”Huh, this Mountain Stone Spirit Milk...”

Fang Rui studied the milky-white, gelatinous, and viscous Spiritual Object. His analysis revealed that this substance was rich in energy, comparable to a Great Medicine. Moreover, its properties were gentle, allowing even ordinary people to absorb it to improve and nourish their bodies.

’Hmm, not bad. I can store this and save it for Mother, Third Sister, Ling’Er, and Nannan later.’

Although this stuff was worth more than its weight in gold, he had no intention of selling it. The longer he lived in this world, the more he realized that in an Extraordinary World like this, silver coins weren’t all that important.

Instead, strength was what mattered most. With strength, silver coins would naturally follow. Without strength, one couldn’t hold on to too many silver coins even if they had them.

Furthermore, some special resources simply couldn’t be bought with silver coins.

However, Fang Rui didn’t have the Earth Armor Centipedes excavate too much of the Mountain Stone Spirit Milk.

The reason? It took the Earth Armor Centipedes a long time to go back and forth, yet they brought back a minuscule amount each time—only a few milliliters per centipede. And even then, it was as if the effort was killing them. They were so stingy about it and were always demanding rewards.

’Forget it. The Mountain Stone Spirit Milk is secondary. The main task is what’s important.’

Using his Feng Shui Skill to survey the area, Fang Rui selected a few special locations and had the Earth Armor Centipedes begin to drill and dig into the ground.

Because the scope of the project was so massive, he didn’t stop. He continued to tame more Earth Armor Centipedes and assign them tasks, practically transforming into a construction foreman.

...

「Two days later, at dusk, the setting sun was the color of blood.」

”They’re here!”

Fang Rui gazed into the distance and suddenly let out a sigh.

On the horizon, a banner emblazoned with the character for ”Yu” unfurled as a cloud-like mass of men and horses gradually appeared. Because the Great Yu military uniforms were obsidian black, the approaching force looked like a vast, surging black tide sweeping toward them.

The man at the very front had rugged features, a thick beard, and stood two meters tall. He was burly and broad-shouldered, wielding a pair of Meteor Double Hammers. He wore fiery-red Iron Armor that reflected a blood-like light.

’With such a formidable military presence, it’s no wonder they broke through Changhuai County Town in a single day. That man in the lead must be the ruthless one who defeated Li Xuantong and butchered Changhuai City—Iron Butcher!’

A cold glint flashed in Fang Rui’s eyes. He exhaled and gave a slight wave of his hand. ”Go. Except for ’Iron Shell Lang,’ all of you hurry and find a place to hide!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the hundreds of densely packed Earth Armor Centipedes behind him, whose heads were the only things visible, let out a hissing vibration and departed.

The one that remained, nicknamed ”Iron Shell Lang,” was the largest of the Earth Armor Centipedes. At over ten meters long, it was the very same one that had attacked the Jiang Clan Trading Team a few days ago.

”In a moment, you will be the one to topple the first domino!” Fang Rui said, patting the Earth Armor Centipede’s head.

...

”SCREEE!”

A dozen or so Cyan Eagles circled high in the sky before suddenly diving down and landing among Iron Butcher’s troops.

”Sir!”

An Order Soldier came to report: ”We’ve scouted ahead. There are no troops lying in ambush in Eagle’s Beak Canyon!”

Evidently, Li Xuantong knew that the enemy would surely scout a treacherous location like Eagle’s Beak Gorge, rendering an ambush pointless. Thus, he hadn’t wasted his efforts on one.

”Understood!”

Iron Butcher spurred the Ghost Scale Horse beneath him, a beast with the bloodline of an Exotic Beast, and roared, ”Relay my order! Move out!”

”Move out! Move out! Move out!”

The great army moved out, their shouts shaking the land. Their momentum was unstoppable, their Evil Qi soared to the sky, and all insects and beasts scattered before them.

Indeed, forget ordinary insects and beasts; even an Exotic Beast like the Earth Armor Centipede was no match for such an army. If they dared to stir up trouble, they would be utterly exterminated and served as an extra meal.

...

It’s true what they say: an army of ten thousand seems boundless and endless.

It took quite some time for Iron Butcher’s army of twenty thousand, plus their logistics and supply units, to fully enter the canyon.

Fang Rui wasn’t impatient. He waited slowly, biding his time until the entire army had advanced a certain distance into Eagle’s Beak Gorge and reached his designated location. Only then did he coldly command the Earth Armor Centipede named ”Iron Shell Lang,” ”Go. It’s time to get to work.”

”HISSS!”

At his command, the Earth Armor Centipede dove headfirst into the ground, found a weak point, and drilled right through it.

As the inside was bored through, the cracks on the surface at that location widened with a loud CRACKLING sound. Eventually, a section broke away from the mountainside, becoming a cascade of crumbling rock that tumbled downward.

In truth, this small collapse was nothing on its own. The terrifying part was that it was the first domino to fall.

Wherever the crumbling, tumbling rocks passed, large swathes of fractured ground collapsed along with them, spreading left, right, and down in a seemingly endless cascade...

After a short chain reaction,

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but jagged rubble in every direction. Accelerated by gravity, the rocks rolled faster and faster, like a torrential, overwhelming flood.

At that moment, the phrase ”toppling mountains and overturning seas” was not a metaphor, but a literal description of the scene.

...

”What’s that sound?!”

Iron Butcher’s ears twitched. A sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. He abruptly remembered something, and his face changed drastically as he bellowed, ”Retreat! By my command, the entire army will retreat immediately!”

But it was already too late. The order hadn’t even spread throughout the entire army.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The sound from above grew louder and louder. There was no need to guess anymore; they could see what was happening with their own eyes.

It was... a Mountain Collapse!

An endless torrent of jagged rocks, large and small, tumbled violently down from the cliff walls, converging into a tide that swept toward them.

The scene was as if the entire mountain was disintegrating, peeling off a whole layer to crush the canyon below.

”NEIGHHHH~”

”Run!”

”Ah, the mountain is collapsing!”

...

The panicked neighs of warhorses, the shouts of soldiers, the curses of men shoving and trampling one another...

All these chaotic sounds were drowned out in an instant, leaving only the sound of colliding rock.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Under the crushing weight of the boulders, flesh and blood were ground into paste. Great blossoms of blood bloomed, only to be buried by more rubble.

”It’s over!”

This apocalyptic scene was reflected in Iron Butcher’s blood-red eyes, which were filled with nothing but stupor and despair.

...

High above, inside a safety cave that Fang Rui had specially chosen with his Feng Shui Skill’s insight over the past two days and had the Earth Armor Centipedes excavate, Fang Rui used Power to block his ears. His expression was perfectly calm as he reviewed his plan: ’Use the Feng Shui Skill to find the locations most prone to a large-scale collapse, then use the Earth Armor Centipedes to alter the terrain and link them together, creating a domino effect...’

’To accomplish what I just did, one would need at least Fourth Grade strength, the Feng Shui Skill and Beast Taming Technique at the Minor Achievement level, and the Great Success Medical Skill!’

’A Minor Success Level Feng Shui Skill is required to perceive the Earth Vein nodes—the prerequisite for creating this domino effect. Fourth Grade strength and a Minor Success Level Beast Taming Technique, combined with medicines concocted via the Great Success Medical Skill, are necessary to rapidly tame a large number of Earth Armor Centipedes, alter the terrain, and link the collapse points.’

’Of course, those are just the hard requirements. More important were the concepts: the concept of causing a Mountain Collapse, of using the Earth Armor Centipedes to excavate, of linking everything in a domino chain...’

’And then there were the external conditions: the great drought and the Earth Armor Centipedes.’

Without the external environment—the great drought across the Three States that left the cliffs cracked and unstable—and without ”tools” like the Earth Armor Centipedes, it would have been impossible for Fang Rui to create this domino effect!

It could be said that in accomplishing all this, he had merely taken advantage of the circumstances and guided them to his desired outcome.

’Time to reap the rewards.’

Fang Rui watched the Tribulation Points on his panel skyrocket, a sense of peace filling his heart.

...

The Mountain Collapse lasted for a quarter of an hour. It might not sound long, but it was a quarter of an hour of death.

When Fang Rui emerged from his carefully prepared safety cave and looked down,

under a sunset as red as blood, amidst pools of blood even more glaring than the sunset itself, lay fields of shattered rock. The rubble was piled high in staggered layers, forming what looked like a spectacular, gruesome staircase.

Seeing this scene,

Fang Rui was suddenly reminded of a line from a poem: ”Heroes die amid Earthquake and Mountain Collapse; then are Celestial Ladders and stone paths linked.”

...