Chapter 51 of 100

Chapter 51

15 min read3,742 words

Up ahead was another fork in the road. Tiejimi rode his horse to the front, patted the thin iron guard's shoulder forcefully, and whispered, "Which way do we go next?"

The thin iron guard dismounted, examined the fork for a while, then remounted and pointed in a direction, shouting quietly, "This way."

"Alright."

Without hesitation, Tiejimi turned his horse and headed in that direction.

"No."

Zhou Lu shouted in frustration from behind. He noticed that the thin iron guard, as if possessed, always chose the path that filled him with the most fear.

Hearing Zhou Lu's shout, everyone turned to look at the fat man with unfriendly gazes.

"What does this fat man want now?"

Amidst the murderous glares, Zhou Lu shrank back, stammering, "Are you sure this time that the direction you chose is correct?"

The thin iron guard, repeatedly questioned by the fat man, was furious. He drew his waist knife with a swift motion, placed it on Zhou Lu's neck, and growled through clenched teeth, "If you don't want to die, don't f**k with me."

Zhou Lu swallowed hard, pulled his neck back on the horse, and pitifully said, "I just want to make sure, just make sure. If you're right, you're right. Why are you so angry?"

"Hmph."

The thin iron guard sheathed his waist knife with a clank, waved his hand, and said, "This way." He led the group down the path, and everyone, having great confidence in the iron guard, followed closely behind. Zhou Lu, extremely unwilling, walked at the back, a few dozen feet away from the others.

Zhou Lu didn't know what was wrong, but his fear grew stronger and stronger. At first, he suspected he was being paranoid, but later, the feeling became so real, as if he could touch it.

After walking another few dozen feet down the path, a not-so-high peak stood in the distance. No one knew what lay beyond that peak.

Zhou Lu looked at the small peak with growing suspicion, feeling that something was off about it, as if it were hiding some unknown monster.

"Let's hurry."

The thin iron guard at the front waved his hand backward and whispered. At that moment, Zhou Lu's heart skipped a beat. A warning sign made the fat man almost jump off his horse. Zhou Lu suddenly shouted frantically, "See, I told you we were going the wrong way, but you didn't believe me. Danger, danger! Run, run!"

While shouting, Zhou Lu used all his strength to stop the galloping horse. The green horse neighed and reared up, and Zhou Lu desperately turned the horse's head back.

Behind, Tiejimi and the others turned in shock, looking at the fat man who had suddenly gone mad.

"What's wrong with that fat man?"

Zhou Lu no longer cared about the others. He turned the horse's head back and whipped the horse's rear hard. He bent over on the horse, becoming one with it, and they shot backward like a bolt of lightning.

In a blink, he was dozens of feet away.

"Damn it."

Tiejimi's face turned ashen with anger. How dangerous it was to delve deep into the wilderness. Without orders, he had randomly spurred his horse to run. If everyone did this, how could the team maintain order?

Tiejimi's anger boiled over, and he barked at the side, "Go, catch that fat man, tie him up, and beat him to teach him discipline..."

"Yes..."

A guard was about to spur his horse forward when suddenly, a rumbling sound came from the distance. The ground beneath their feet shook violently, and pebbles rained down from the slopes on both sides. The green horse couldn't stand still, lifting its hooves and neighing.

"What's happening?"

The guards were shocked and pulled on the reins, turning their horses to look back. They were horrified to see a red mudflow, like a geyser, erupting from behind the small peak, reaching dozens of feet high. The mudflow, like a sea of red flames, rushed out from behind the peak, and a wave of red lava spread over the mountain, boiling and vaporizing everything in its path, whether it was dead wood or rocks.

The ground trembled with a rumbling sound, and the heat waves hit them. Even from a few miles away, they felt their bodies drying up. Everyone's faces turned red, and their throats burned with the heat.

"Is that lava from the earth's core?"

These people were terrified.

The wilderness had unique terrain. When the accumulation of lava in the earth's core became too much, it would erupt from a thin spot in the crust, covering the surrounding land like a mudflow. Such phenomena were not uncommon in the wilderness. Although the lava from the earth's core was not as violent as a volcanic eruption, it was still a natural disaster for ordinary life. The guards never imagined they would be so unlucky to encounter such a disaster on their first day in the wilderness.

"Run!"

The guards, as if waking from a dream, turned their horses and fled, wishing they had more legs.

Only then did they realize that the fat man's reluctance to take this path must have been because he had some premonition.

Only then did they realize that the fat man wasn't a fool; they were.

But how did the fat man know about the danger in advance?

Behind them, the red mudflow poured down from the peak, as fast as a wild horse. The guard at the back felt his clothes catch fire without any wind, burning with a whoosh.

The guard was terrified, frantically tearing off his burning clothes.

If the lava caught up to them within a hundred feet, they would be vaporized. The guards used all their strength to spur their horses, and Tiejimi, gripping the horse tightly, had red eyes from the strain.

The thin iron guard, leading the way, was trembling uncontrollably, almost losing his grip on the reins. He was no longer as fierce as when he had threatened Zhou Lu with his knife.

"Go!"

The group no longer cared about finding the right direction, urging their horses to run as fast as they could. Looking ahead, the fat man was already out of sight, riding alone.

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