Black Angel, Episodes 6-10 (Total 20 Episodes) Author: Cheng Jia

This post was last edited by s175366 on 2015-11-24 21:15.

*Black Angel*

Author: Cheng Jia
Publisher: Novel Channel

- Cover Design -

This volume's cover art features Yulia. A centaur woman holding a silver longbow. She has long, wavy golden hair, and her upper body is fair-skinned, while her horse-like body is black and glossy like silk.

Portrait: The centaur woman wears only a coarse linen prison uniform, revealing a section of her milky-white neck and alluring cleavage. In stark contrast to her upper body is her jet-black mane, which shimmers in the sunlight like the finest silk. Her smooth golden hair falls loosely over her shoulders, and her smiling face is fair with a rosy glow.

- New Character Introduction -

Peng Pengpeng: Elder of the Ganlin Valley trolls, cunning and treacherous.

Sand Queen: A half-giant and half-troll, a giantess with incredible vitality and divine power, far more cruel and powerful than half a troll, later subdued by Xinran.

Tevan: Catherine's younger brother, known as the Rogue Prince, whose family's secret technique, "Crimson Needle," ranks tenth on the Middle-earth martial arts list.

Jutt: Nicknamed Pighead, originally a storyteller, specializing in flattery and sycophancy, he was recruited by Tevan into the army as a strategist, possessing some necromancy.

Catherine: The Scorpion Queen, one of the Seven Flowers of Middle-earth (Poppy), possessing the Arachnid mechanical armor "Predator."

—New Mechanical Armor Introduction—

Destroyer: A fire-attribute mechanical armor personally developed and manufactured by the Scorpion Queen Catherine, designed for siege warfare, equipped with an artificial intelligence system.

Assaulter: A lightning-attribute mechanical armor personally developed and manufactured by the Scorpion Queen Catherine, designed for siege warfare, equipped with an artificial intelligence system.

no. A09: Predator

Author: Alexander the Holy Grail

Pilot: Catherine the Giant Scorpion Queen

Ride Form: Exploration Submarine (Underground Only)

The ninth creation of the genius mechanical engineer Alexander, a special land-based mechanical armor suitable for both warfare and mineral exploration. Essentially a submarine on land, it excels at surprise attacks and is extremely difficult to defend against.

Due to its artificial intelligence system, it suddenly went berserk when it was nearing completion, nearly destroying the entire mechanical city. Afterwards, it fled into the desert and its whereabouts became unknown. Later, it was accidentally obtained by Catherine, a girl from the Giant Scorpion tribe, and became a tool to realize her ambitions.

Appearance: Spider body, scorpion tail, dragon head, two large pincer-like claws with four symmetrical sharp claws at the ends. When opened, it can spray molten iron.

Weapons and Equipment:

1) Steel Furnace: The Predator's belly contains a high-temperature furnace capable of melting anything it ingests.

2) Steel Flame Jet: Molten metal is ejected from the two large claws, with temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees Celsius, capable of destroying any defensive structures.

1) Giant Claw Hunt (Inspection Drill): A powerful attack from the giant claws. After transforming into a submarine, the claws close at the front to become a drill for excavating underground rock layers, allowing free movement up to 3,000 feet underground.

2) Abdominal Machine Gun x2

3) Tail Nuclear Rocket Launcher: The predator's tail is equipped with a large rocket launcher that fires nuclear warheads with long range and extremely high power. Due to the free movement of the tail and the presence of an artificial intelligence system, it can automatically aim, resulting in a very high hit rate.

Power Plant:

1) Powered by Earth Magic Crystals, a nuclear fission engine. Although slower and unable to fly, it has strong endurance and ample weaponry, making it an expert in siege warfare. Its armor is sturdy, capable of defending an entire fortress with a single machine.

2) Earth Escape: After transforming into an underground submarine, it can operate deep underground.

Special Equipment: Artificial Intelligence System (Venus)

Predators equipped with an artificial intelligence system do not require high pilot skills. Once the pilot issues combat commands, all operations are automatically completed by the AI, making them far more efficient than ordinary mechanical armor. If the pilot issues an incorrect command, the AI will issue a warning or even act autonomously, thus creating instability. When there is a serious disagreement between the pilot and the AI, it may even go berserk.

Episode 6, Chapter 1: The Siege

The noise of hammering stones woke Xinran from her sleep. Opening her eyes, she saw a few cold stars outside the window, and a crescent moon hanging in the sky, like a young girl's delicate eyebrows, stirring her emotions.

Xinran yawned and sat up. The Crimson Witch, who was sleeping in his arms, suddenly woke up, scrambled to her feet, rubbed her eyes, and said sweetly, "Oh dear~ it's time to change shifts so soon, I feel like I can sleep a little longer." Xinran slapped the Crimson Witch's bare bottom, feigning anger, and said, "I've never seen such a sleepy girl as you. You've been sleeping in the cave for 120 years and you still haven't had enough sleep." Juno pouted and muttered, "Being your servant is really unlucky, having to get up in the middle of the night to stand guard."

Xinran rolled his eyes and said, "Stop talking nonsense, I'm the same."

Yulia, who had been dozing at his feet, also quietly woke up and gently helped Xinran get dressed.

“Master, please stay a little longer with Sister Juno. It’s enough with me, Xiao Jie, and Robinson keeping watch.”

Juno quickly shook her head, grinning, “I don’t want to sleep now. Let’s hurry, don’t keep the little boys waiting.” She then transformed into a magic sword, automatically disappearing into the scabbard hanging at Xinran’s waist.

Xinran patted the scabbard and laughed, “That’s my good girl,” she said, leaning down to kiss Yulia on the cheek. “Yulia is very good too. I’ll reward you properly when we return from our night patrol.”

Yulia blushed and said shyly, “Wasn’t last night’s reward enough? Master, I really don’t understand why you always have so much energy. You exhaust people every night. If it weren’t for Sister Juno saving me last night, I would have been bullied to death by you…” Thinking of last night’s revelry, Yulia’s heart fluttered.

Juno chuckled, "Luckily, I'm not human. No matter how many times I come, I won't get tired, unlike Julia, who begs for mercy every night after being played with by her master. Speaking of which, that slut Lola is really funny. At first, she said no, no, pretending to be innocent, but later she was moaning so loudly, calling out 'dear husband, good brother, bad brother,' and so on. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were

having an incestuous affair. I'm afraid those guys guarding outside the castle could hear it all clearly." Julia smiled shyly, "It's no wonder Miss Lola lost her composure. That kind of play is just too scary. I couldn't take it either." Especially last night, my master deflowered my anus, the pleasure was mixed with a slight sting, the feeling was simply indescribable.”

Juno laughed, “You little slut who loves being fucked in the ass by men, you get the benefit and you still act innocent.”

Julia blushed with embarrassment and shouted angrily, “You are the master’s accomplice! You turn into a man’s thing and bully your own sister, aren’t you ashamed…”

Xinran pinched Julia’s high breasts and laughed and scolded, “You slutty little mare, hurry up and put on your clothes!”

Julia quickly dressed and picked up her explosive bow to chase Xinran to the outside of the castle.

Outside, the knocking sound was clearer than before. Standing on the wall and looking in the direction of the knocking sound, she saw ghostly figures in the dark night. A group of long-armed trolls were busy moving stones and mixing mud and sand, building a wall around the castle two hundred meters away.

Xinran looked at the busy trolls and couldn’t help but shake her head and smile bitterly.

Since their clash with the Rose Crusaders at the Beast Graveyard three days prior, these trolls had assumed they were also allies of the Beast Hunters, relentlessly pursuing them to the castle's gates, refusing to retreat.

Initially, the trolls planned to storm in. Fortunately, Russell had recently reinforced the walls, and the trolls, only capable of throwing stones and using simple stone clubs, were naturally unable to breach them.

After a whole day of wasted effort, Xinran and the others thought these fools would be exhausted and go home. However, the trolls' stubbornness far exceeded their expectations; they even returned to their lair, Ganlin Valley, to bring reinforcements, joining the attack on the castle. By dawn, nearly a hundred trolls had gathered outside the castle, a truly formidable sight.

Now, Xinran and the others dared not underestimate them, uniting to resist the troll army's onslaught. The castle's inhabitants, besides the three masters—Xinran, Russell, and Xiao Jie—included the newly joined Julia and Nana, and including the captured Lola, a total of six people, clearly outnumbered.

Fortunately, Xinran had many servants: the Scarlet Witch Juno and the three Royal Walking Bird sisters. The former was an immortal metal shapeshifter, while the latter were skilled in magic and healing, and they made great contributions in the castle defense.

However, what truly frightened the trolls was not these people, but the servant Xinran had acquired first: the "Lustful Beast." This monster, covered in countless tentacles, caused an immediate commotion as soon as it appeared among the trolls. The bolder trolls rushed forward and tore it to pieces, but each piece transformed into a complete Lustful Beast, possessing an endless reproductive capacity like earthworms.

Once entangled by the Lustful Beast, even the incredibly strong trolls could not escape the misfortune of "losing their virginity." Over the course of the day, countless male and female trolls' vaginas and anuses were deflowered, leaving the open ground outside the castle covered in "blood," a truly astonishing sight.

Although the trolls slowed their attack, they showed no intention of retreating. They seemed to have realized that their stone weapons could not penetrate the walls, so they used a little ingenuity and tried to climb the walls by stacking themselves on top of each other. Others doing the same would only become easy targets for the defenders, but the trolls were fearless. They were utterly unafraid of death, and their wounds healed quickly; with persistence, they would eventually climb over.

Xinran, having discovered the trolls' new tactic, took out all the "fire dragon spears" and planted them on the wall, creating a "fire fence." When the trolls finally managed to scale the wall, they were astonished to find a new wall blazing with flames before them. Trolls, naturally afraid of fire, could not overcome the "fire fence" and had to retreat in disappointment.

If one thought the trolls would give up after this crushing defeat, they would be sorely mistaken. While the troll race may not be the most intelligent, their vengefulness and stubbornness are exemplary. When a siege failed, they changed tactics and resorted to a siege.

Starting yesterday morning, the trolls ambitiously began constructing their siege fortifications. The desert is full of sand, stones, and mud; as for steel bars, branches from mechanical trees can suffice. Trolls are mediocre at other crafts, but they excel at construction—relatively speaking. Trolls can build sturdy, durable stone houses, but constructing a pavilion or any other slightly sophisticated building is absolutely impossible. It's not a lack of technology, but a complete absence of talent capable of designing complex engineering plans. What do trolls know? They can only plaster stones with mortar and build square walls.

Initially, the trolls planned to build fortifications close to the castle walls, but they were quickly thwarted by the defenders. Julia's exploding arrows and Aju's fireballs had the longest range and posed the greatest threat, while Xinran's tennis ball-shaped flying swords were also a tricky ranged attack. Unable to defend against them, the trolls were forced to retreat beyond the range and build their fortifications elsewhere.

This meant the construction site was over two hundred meters from the castle. If completed, it would create a magnificent walled city stretching from the Walking Bird Forest in the south to the Wanderers' Camp in the north.

Xinran let the trolls work, secretly sneering: "These idiots will take at least a year and a half to complete such a massive project. By then, I'll have said goodbye to this hellhole!"

Although the trolls were busy working and no longer attacking, the castle's inhabitants remained vigilant, patrolling day and night in two teams to prevent any troll attacks. Tonight, Xinran, Julia, Azhu, Xiao Jie, and Robinson were on duty, replacing Russell, Nana, and the three Walking Bird sisters who had started work at dusk. During the shift change, Xinran and Russell sat on the city wall drinking and chatting, when they unexpectedly discovered that the old mountain assassin Laura, who should have been imprisoned in Russell's room, was also patrolling outside. She seemed quite serious, as if she were the master of the castle rather than a prisoner.

Xinran nudged Russell and asked him why he had let Lola out. Wasn't he afraid she would take the opportunity to escape or assassinate him?

Russell confidently replied, "That little vixen Lola was hit by my Hidden Injury Fist. Running away would only lead to her death. As for assassination, if she really had such thoughts, she would have done it during last night's revelry."

Xinran chuckled mischievously, "It seems Lola has really been tamed by you. Otherwise, when she was giving you a blowjob that night, with just a twitch of her lips, you would have been a eunuch for the rest of your life."

Russell retorted, "She did it for you too. If she were to bite, she would bite you first—yours are bigger!" Saying this, he beckoned Lola over and asked her if she could bite.

Lola sat intimately between the two, smiling shyly, "I wouldn't dare bite you two lovable brothers! Why did you suddenly ask me such a strange question, Second Brother? Do you think my skills aren't good enough, and you're not satisfied with serving these two young masters?"

Russell stroked his old lover's small hand and laughed, "Whether it's good or not, you'll have to ask Brother Xinran. He's the expert."

Xinran thought Lola's temperament and style were very similar to the "Overbearing Flower," both speaking and acting boldly, but she was inferior in every aspect, including her skills in bed. Although Lola had much more sexual experience than the Overbearing Flower, she lacked the charming and innocent heart unique to "Zuo Jing's Good Wife," making her seem like just a charming beauty, lacking any shining points in her personality, and not worth investing too much emotion in. Xinran, of course, couldn't say these things to Russell's face, so she casually replied, "Lola is of course very good, otherwise why would my brother go to such lengths to get back together with you?"

Lola giggled, took Russell's hand, and said reproachfully, "With your words, young master, let's see if you dare to abandon me like before!"

"I won't disturb your intimacy any longer, I'll go check on Xiao Jie and my good son."

Xinran climbed the tower and found Xiao Jie and Robinson in the observation room, the two boys playing chess. Nana, who had just finished work, was still awake, washing the boys' dirty clothes, acting like a diligent little nanny.

"Moka!" Robinson was patting his forehead and sighing when Xinran entered.

"What does Moka mean?" Xinran asked casually.

Robinson noticed Xinran's arrival and quickly stood up to greet her, "Dad, why didn't you sleep a little longer? Xiao Jie and I are enough here."

Xinran patted her godson's head and smiled, "I wouldn't feel at ease with just you two little ones."

Xiao Jie, resting his chin on his hand, grinned and said, "Brother Xinran is only seventeen, why does he talk like an old man?"

Xinran blushed and said awkwardly, "I also feel something's off. It seems men go through a period of adjustment after becoming fathers."

Robinson laughed, "Dad, don't mind Uncle Xiao Jie. He lost to me in chess and is trying to sow discord between us."

Xiao Jie retorted angrily, "You little brat! You're getting arrogant so quickly! Don't forget, I'm the one who taught you chess."

Robinson said proudly, "Isn't there a saying, 'The student surpasses the master'?"

"But I clearly won this game..."

“That’s why I said Moka, because I couldn’t break the nine-game winning streak…” Robinson suddenly remembered Xinran’s question, “Dad, Moka is Giant’s language, it means bad luck, or something like that.”

Xinran looked out the window, thoughtfully asking, “Son, do trolls all speak Giant’s language?”

“Usually, because Giants' language is our mother tongue,”

Xinran said enthusiastically. “My dear son, starting tonight, you'll teach me to speak Giants' language and write Giants' script.”

Robinson nodded in agreement, but noticed something strange in Xinran's eyes; an uncontrollable ecstasy shone in his dark pupils. He didn't understand why Xinran had suddenly become interested in learning Giants' language, but he could sense that his eccentric father was indulging in another daydream.

From that night on, Xinran displayed an unusual fervor in learning a seemingly useless language. He poured all his intelligence into memorizing words and mastering pronunciation, absorbing all of Robinson's grammar knowledge like a sponge.

The other residents of the castle were very supportive of Xinran's new hobby. It wasn't that they thought Giants' language was particularly worth learning, but rather they were secretly pleased that Xinran had finally found something to kill time with. Everyone knows that Young Master Su is most intolerant of loneliness. Once he feels life is monotonous, he will find all sorts of ways to play pranks, causing great suffering to those around him. As long as he can be quiet, it doesn't matter whether he learns Giant's Language or Dragon's Language.

In just three days, Xinran made some progress in his Giant's Language studies. He couldn't wait to start the next step of his plan—to personally draw a city construction plan. Where is the city square? Where is the fountain? What is the size and area of the council hall and the mayor's office? Schools and theaters, residential areas and commercial streets... every street and every building is clearly marked.

After completing his imagined city blueprint, Xinran marked it with his newly learned Giant's Language, striving to perfectly interpret every design. After completing all this, Xinran rolled up the drawing and had Yulia shoot it at the troll construction site with a longbow.

The trolls found the scroll that had fallen from the sky, gathered around it to examine it for a while, and then whispered among themselves. What they said, however, remained unknown to Xinran, who was far away in the castle.

In short, upon obtaining the scroll, the trolls immediately changed their original intention for building the fortifications, constructing buildings and repairing streets according to Xinran's blueprints. Perhaps they believed the blueprints were a gift from heaven, guiding them on how to build the siege, unaware that the blueprints were from the enemy.

Xinran had these big, simple-minded trolls do the work of building the city of his dreams. From that day on, the trolls were no longer an army besieging the castle, but rather laborers trapped by the construction project. They went to work voluntarily, not out of exploitation by Xinran. Perhaps the trolls also hoped to build a magnificent city befitting their vitality; perhaps they were waiting for divine intervention while constructing haphazard fortifications, hoping a great engineer would be sent to help them complete tasks beyond their capabilities; perhaps the trolls themselves conceived the idea of building a city at the same time Xinran completed the city blueprints; perhaps the dreams of humans and trolls intertwined, determining the fate of a desert metropolis destined to become famous throughout the world.

Xinran named this fictional city on paper "Sun City," and the trolls adopted his name. However, they would never understand that what can confine a person for a lifetime is not visible city walls, but a grand ideal.

※※※※

Days passed, and the trolls devoted themselves entirely to the massive project of building "Sun City," neglecting the residents of the castle. Xinran and the castle's lords, in turn, did not interfere with the trolls, living their lives in contentment.

In the castle's backyard was a large orchard, planted with date palms and sunflowers suitable for the arid desert climate. The abundant date palms provided the castle with its main food source, and the many beehives on the trees provided delicious date honey. The women ground the dates into flour and baked soft, delicious bread to dip in honey.

The sunflowers of the Bird Paradise are also worth mentioning. These sunflowers are special; each stem produces many sunflower heads with plump, thick seeds that are much sweeter than ordinary sunflower seeds.

Many shrubs are planted among the trees, mainly mint, and the local specialty, sage. These two are also valuable. Sage can be used to brew wine; in the desert, where mosquitoes are rampant, the aroma of mint repels mosquitoes and has special effects in treating heatstroke and dysentery—a panacea in the desert.

Xinran, tired of playing the engineer game, spent one day catching mice in the cellar to pass the time. Finding that her stored wine was running low, she decided to brew her own.

Back in the trading city, Xinran's family had a private brewery, employing professional brewers to produce fine wines. As a child, Xinran was often bored and would go to the brewery to play pranks. He would add strange ingredients he found from who-knows-where to the brewing liquid, turning perfectly good wine into a laxative for his mischief. Over time, he also learned some basic brewing knowledge. Now, Xinran carried on his childhood pranks, building a small brewery in his garden to brew wine for amusement.

With the help of Xiao Jie and Robinson, Xinran collected a large amount of wine grass and dates, mixed them together to ferment and make lees, extracting a high-concentration liquor that was surprisingly fragrant.

He tried a small sip and found that although it was mellow, the taste was too strong, burning his throat. He had never liked strong liquor, preferring a softer, sweeter taste. So, according to his own taste, he mixed date honey and desert spring water into the lees, experimenting repeatedly to find the best ratio, brewing a fragrant and delicious wine. Xinran, with a whimsical idea, added a touch of flavoring extracted from mint leaves to the wine. This made it even more extraordinary, like the finishing touch on a masterpiece

. The taste became even more refreshing, mellow and sweet with a mysterious and indescribable coolness. To drink such a glass of wine in the arid desert would be worth dying for. That evening, Xinran held another festivities to celebrate the successful brewing of the wine. Besides Xiao Jie and Russell, the attendees included the three beauties Julia, Nana, and Lola, along with the Scarlet Witch Juno. Regardless of age or gender, everyone was captivated by Xinran's wine after the first sip. Russell, the heavy drinker, drank himself into a stupor, and the girls couldn't resist the temptation, their faces flushed with intoxication, laughing and behaving wildly.

Only Xiao Jie and Robinson drank very little. Xinran forbade it, saying that excessive drinking would damage the brains of children, and each person was only allowed one glass. The two little boys were so hungry they kept swallowing their saliva, wrinkling their noses to greedily sniff the aroma of the wine. When Xinran wasn't looking, they secretly took a small sip, squinting their eyes and sighing with pleasure. Robinson licked the last drop of wine from his glass. Seeing that Xiao Jie had drunk very sparingly, with only a small portion left, he grinned and leaned closer, saying, "Uncle, can you share some with me?"

"No way!" Xiao Jie protectively held onto his glass, refusing outright. "Who told you to be so greedy and drink so fast?"

"Dad's not fair; your glass has more than mine..."

"But I'm a year older than you, and I'm of a higher generation. Men drink according to seniority," Xiao Jie said smugly. "You're the youngest of everyone, so you should drink the least."

Robinson said sullenly, "Although I'm young, I'm much taller than you, Uncle. If outsiders saw us sitting together, they'd think I was your uncle—"

"What did you say!" Xiao Jie jumped up angrily, pointing at his nose and shouting, "You disrespectful brat! If you dare talk nonsense again, I'll teach you a lesson!" Robinson seized the opportunity to steal the glass, downed it in one gulp, and turned to run away. Enraged, Xiao Jie relentlessly pursued him. Xinran watched the two kids frolicking and laughing heartily, completely forgetting that she wasn't actually much older than Xiao Jie and Robinson. Yulia, however, saw through the charade and said to Nana with a smile, "In my opinion, Young Master Su is like a king of children."

Nana wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "And his childishness is contagious; he turns everyone around him into innocent and willful little kids too."

The two women looked around; the revelers certainly resembled a group of children having a great time.

After enjoying the fine wine and food, everyone, emboldened by the alcohol, began a wild party.

After the revelry, they sat around in the living room for a late-night snack. The men reported how many times they'd had sex that night, while the women whispered amongst themselves, boasting about how many times they'd been with each other and how many times they'd climaxed.

Laura felt her battle record wasn't ideal, so she deliberately seduced the little troll, putting on a public sex show. Robinson ejaculated a second time into the cunt of his father's killer, his pale green semen covering Laura's large buttocks. This fiery huntress had been thoroughly trained by Russell into a complete slut, fully embracing the "carnival-style" philosophy of life advocated and practiced by Xinran. Not only did she excel in the battle to defend the castle, but she was also equally adept at seeking pleasure.

In fact, Laura vaguely sensed that this strange little group centered around Xinran exuded a deadly poison that irresistibly led people to depravity. Yet this poison was incredibly sweet; she knew it contradicted the moral education she had received since childhood and was opposed to her position as a soldier of Rama, but she was powerless to resist and did not want to resist. Once they drank the sweet poison, they were lost in a blissful paradise, unable to escape its allure. Even surrounded by trolls, they felt no fear, driven by an indescribable madness that made them forget all sorrow and pain. They followed Xinran and his companions without hesitation, enjoying the thrill of battle by day and indulging in carnal pleasures at banquets by night. They lived life to the fullest, and even if they died in battle the next day, they would have no regrets.

Xinran's brewed wine was not only for the castle's inhabitants but also for the four desert giant brothers.

Like Russell and the others, the four brothers fell in love with Xinran's wine and kindly reminded him that the trolls also loved fine wine, but were too stupid to master brewing techniques and could only quench their thirst by robbing other inhabitants' wine cellars. Xinran had brewed the finest wine in the Great Han Sea, and if the trolls smelled its aroma, they would surely come in droves to plunder it.

Xinran laughed, "There's a huge swarm of trolls right outside my door. A swarm of lice won't hurt, let them do what they want." However, after returning home, he couldn't forget the giant brothers' words. He thought, since trolls don't brew wine, wouldn't his skills be a rare commodity? It would be a disgrace to the Su family not to take advantage of such a good deal.

So he picked many sunflowers and mints, squeezed out the green juice, and applied it to his hands, feet, and face. He also carved a fake nose from a pothos and stuck it on his face. Standing in front of the mirror, he looked exactly like a young monster, though unfortunately, his handsome features couldn't pass for a pure-blooded troll. Xinran found a wagon, loaded four large barrels of fine wine onto it, along with many fragrant sunflower cakes.

After everything was prepared, Xinran, accompanied by the little troll Robinson, went to Ganlin Valley to do business.
Episode 6, Chapter 2: The Merchant's Tale

On the road, Xinran instructed Robinson, "From now on, I will use the alias Husu, and my identity will be that of a demon merchant from the Land of Silk. The fine wine we sell will be called Husu Wine. And you, you will be my follower, and you must call me Master Husu, understand?"

"Husu" is a common honorific in the Atlantean language, meaning "honest and reliable" or "upright and incorruptible." Whether Xinran's alias was self-deprecation or self-encouragement is unclear.

"I understand, Dad, but… selling such good Husu Wine to trolls is such a waste… I haven't even had a few sips…" Robinson glanced at the wagon with envy.

Xinran chuckled, "Silly child, don't be so petty. Our Su family is a renowned business tycoon in the trading city. As members of the Su family, we can live without meat, but we cannot live without trade! Besides, our trip isn't about making money; our main purpose is to build a good relationship with the troll race through business, so we might need their help in the future."

The little troll suddenly understood and excitedly pulled the cart towards Ganlin Valley. Xinran sat in the cart, whistling with high spirits.

Along the way, they encountered troll workers building the city walls. Xinran tossed them a bottle of wine and a piece of bread, waving in greeting. The wine bottle bore Master Hu Su's business card. The trolls, having drunk the wine, considered it an acquaintance of this "demon merchant" who had appeared out of nowhere, and generously allowed him to travel with them. Even though some suspected he came from the castle, Xinran's appearance was definitely not human, unlike the henchmen of the "castle bully" Su Moumou, and he exuded the mint scent that trolls loved most, so they naively considered him a friend.

Xinran and Robinson arrived outside Ganlin Valley, unloaded the cart, and took out a gong and drum. "Master Husu" struck the gong, and the little troll played the drum, quickly attracting a large crowd of trolls who began to murmur amongst themselves.

"What are these two strangers up to?"

"They seem to be itinerant merchants..."

"Selling miracle pills!"

"No, they're acrobats!"

"They don't look like trolls, and they don't look like humans either."

"Because they're mixed-race! The drummer is about half and half human, while the gong-playing boy has more human blood."

It wasn't until Xinran introduced himself that the trolls' doubts were dispelled, and they asked in unison, "You call yourself a merchant from the demon realm, what good things do you have to sell us?"

Xinran smiled without answering, picked up a bottle of Husu wine, and smashed it at his feet. The bottle shattered, and the pungent aroma of the wine filled the valley, like invisible hooks pulling at the trolls' noses.

"Wow~~ It smells so good!"

"How can there be such a mellow and fragrant wine!"

"Wow, boss, you're really something! You're willing to smash such a precious wine?"

"Enough nonsense, how much is this wine?"

Xinran said arrogantly, "You country bumpkins probably don't have much money, you can't afford my Husu wine!"

The crowd was indignant, raising their fists and shouting, "Don't underestimate me!" "Name your price first!"...

Xinran smiled and said, "How about this, I don't want to make money off the poor. If you have any rare or precious items at home, or crystals, mechanical fruits, etc., if I like them, I can appraise them and exchange them for wine."

The demons cheered in unison, rushing back to the valley to retrieve their most treasured possessions to exchange for wine. Experienced treasure hunters all know one thing: the more powerful the magical beast, the more it likes to collect treasures to decorate its caves. For example, dragon lairs usually contain a lot of gold and silver treasures. Trolls were no exception; after killing their prey, they would collect the tools and jewelry found on the corpse as loot, and if they were lucky, they might even obtain magical items.

Even the bravest treasure hunters dared not venture alone into a troll's lair to search for treasure. Xinran, however, created a miracle in the industry, dealing with trolls as a merchant, exchanging cheap Husu wine for their painstakingly collected treasures, fulfilling the dreams of countless treasure hunters without shedding a drop of blood. The trolls, on the other hand, felt they had gotten a bargain by exchanging useless ornaments for delicious wine, thus greatly increasing their goodwill towards Xinran. Having gained an advantage while feigning innocence, "Lord Husu" was exceptionally generous, killing two birds with one stone.

In this way, Xinran quickly sold off four large barrels of wine, acquiring a pile of bottles and jars that seemed to have no apparent use, as well as many black metal ores.

Xinran recognized them as "fine gold" ore and couldn't help but beam with joy. Adamantite is a hard, extremely precious magical metal, and weapons and armor made from it are priceless. A cartload of wine would be incredibly profitable if it yielded just one piece of adamantite ore, yet he acquired almost a whole cartload. If those unfortunate treasure hunters who spend their entire lives searching for even a small piece of adamantite saw this, they would be green with envy.

Robinson, however, didn't find the dark, gritty stones particularly valuable, complaining, "Father, those bastards are clearly ripping us off! These worthless stones are everywhere in Sweet Rain Valley, practically worthless, and incredibly heavy. What's the point of collecting them?"

Xinran didn't point out the value of adamantite, smilingly saying, "Son, you don't understand. Our primary purpose in business isn't just making money. Seeing our goods satisfy our customers' needs, bringing them convenience and happiness, is the greatest happiness for a merchant. This is the noble business spirit of our Husu family!"

Robinson was deeply convinced, saying with shame, "Father is absolutely right. My understanding is still not high enough!"

Xinran patted her son's shoulder and said, "Your cultivation level isn't high enough, but you can improve it slowly. These stones aren't useless either; we can use them as weights for pickling vegetables when we get home."

As she spoke, a group of robust female trolls escorted a gaunt old troll leaning on a cane as they approached. Robinson whispered to Xinran that the old man was Elder Peng Pengpeng of Ganlin Valley (it's a difficult name, but that's what he's called...). Peng Pengpeng was the sole decision-maker for the entire tribe, and the women behind him were his wives and concubines, numbering over twenty. Xinran scrutinized the troll elder, surprised to find that his eyes were bright and intelligent, his brows radiating wisdom far surpassing that of the other foolish trolls. As for the group of strangely shaped female trolls behind him, Xinran glanced at them and disgustedly looked away. He admired the number of the troll elder's wives and concubines, but severely despised their quality. However, from a troll's perspective, those female trolls might all be great beauties.

The elder nodded arrogantly to Xinran and asked, "You're Lord Husu? I've never heard of such a person in the Great Han Sea."

Xinran smiled and said, "I come from the Kingdom of Silk."

The elder snorted and said, "Is the Kingdom of Silk bigger, or the Valley of Sweet Rain?"

Xinran suppressed a laugh and said, "Naturally, the Valley of Sweet Rain is bigger."

The elder smiled with satisfaction and said, "I don't think there's a tribe bigger than the Valley of Sweet Rain in the world. Here, let me have a taste of your wine."

Xinran opened a bottle of Husu wine and handed it to the arrogant troll elder. The old man took a sip, squinted his eyes, and sighed deeply, "Good wine, good wine!" He waved his hand, directing his wives and concubines to carry all the Hu Su wine from the cart back to their own cave. He untied the tattered cloth bag hanging from his cane and handed it to Xinran, saying provocatively, "This is the money for the wine, keep it safe."

Robinson's face changed drastically, and he shouted, "Elder, you've gone too far! This rubbish can't even be exchanged for a bottle of wine!"

The troll elder gave him a cold glance, then turned to Xinran and asked, "What do you say?"

Xinran smiled and accepted the cloth bag, bowed deeply to the troll elder, and said sincerely, "I will never forget the elder's generosity."

The troll elder smiled and said gently, "I will also never forget Master Hu Su's discerning eye. Please make good use of the Qiankun Bag; it will make your merchant journey much easier." After saying this, he shook hands with Xinran, bid her farewell, and left.

On his way home, Robinson examined the black and white cloth bag pieced together with a puzzled look, unable to see its value. He had no choice but to ask Xinran for advice.

Xinran turned around and smiled, "Put all the refined gold ore from the cart into this bag."

Robinson said suspiciously, "The bag is so small, it can only fit two stones at most." Even so, he obediently stuffed the ore into the bag one piece after another. Unexpectedly, this unassuming cloth bag was a bottomless pit; even after the cart was full of ore, it showed no sign of being full.

"This bag is a magical artifact from the Eastern Silk Country. No matter how much you put in it, it will never be full, and its weight will not increase. Therefore, it is called the Qiankun Bag. To exaggerate, it is a bag that can hold the entire universe," Xinran explained.

Robinson was deeply impressed, and only then did he understand why the troll elder had praised Xinran's discerning eye. As a merchant, one has no future without the ability to judge the value of goods.

From then on, the "Demon Merchant" Husu frequently visited Ganlin Valley, bringing the trolls delicious Husu wine and other daily necessities.

Xinran investigated the conditions of Ganlin Valley and discovered that the water quality was poor, and coupled with the trolls' generally unhygienic practices, they commonly suffered from oral and skin diseases. The trolls lived in caves in the valley, using stone slabs as beds and withered grass as blankets. In the summer desert, mosquitoes swarmed, causing them great suffering. The trolls were not afraid of bleeding or injury, yet they were helpless against the tiny mosquitoes, whose venom contained acidic substances, making sores that were difficult to heal.

Seeing this, Xinran hatched a wicked plan. He decided to initiate a great reform in Ganlin Valley, bringing the air of civilization to the barbaric and backward troll tribe. To this end, he would first start by changing their unhealthy lifestyle habits. Xinran, emulating the actions of a certain controversial figure, named this reform the "New Life Movement." Unlike a certain important figure, Xinran's "New Life Movement" was not just for show; it was implemented vigorously and decisively.

He first went to the exile camp and, using Husu wine as payment, hired exiles to make dental tools according to the models he provided. He then extracted oil from sunflower seeds, mixed it with mint, tartare juice, and quartz powder (quartz ore is readily available in the desert), and created Husu-brand toothpaste. The dental tools and toothpaste were, of course, sold to trolls to prevent oral diseases and avoid foul breath.

Xinran also distilled alcohol from tartare, mixed it with mint and sunflower essence, and created Husu-brand perfume. Originally intended to prevent mosquito bites, the perfume became so successful that it was snapped up by Juno, Julia, Lola, and Nana before it could even be sold to trolls. Even the three royal walker sisters were drawn by the fragrance and insisted on taking three large bottles of Husu perfume from Xinran, leaving every feather they rubbed with a wonderful aroma.

Xinran went to the troll camp to sell Husu toothpaste and Husu perfume, which were met with great success. The first trolls to try them were free from mosquito bites and toothaches, and the rest of the tribe were encouraged, rushing to buy Husu products, which quickly became in short supply. Xinran instructed the women in the castle to speed up the production of perfume and toothpaste, while also teaching the trolls to bathe in fine sand to maintain hygiene and prevent skin diseases.

Xinran visited Ganlin Valley many times, earning the respect of the trolls and further integrating into their social circle, making many friends. Among them, the troll elder Peng Pengpeng was her closest friend, and she would always seek him out for drinks and conversation whenever she visited Ganlin Valley.

One day, Xinran was drinking and playing chess with the elder under the shade of a tree when she suddenly heard a shrill roar coming from the depths of the valley. Turning around, she saw no beasts. Curious, she asked the elder what kind of monster was roaring.

The elder, knowing Xinran's extraordinary abilities, secretly thought that perhaps Master Husu could help Ganlin Valley rid itself of that scourge… So he led him to the sand pit behind the valley, pointing to the deep pit and saying, “The monster is in the pit.”

Xinran looked down and was immediately horrified, his hair standing on end. The pit was filled with writhing venomous snakes, and a colossal female troll was trapped inside, suffering from the snakes' torment, letting out painful roars that made his ears ring. The female troll also noticed Xinran, raising her head and staring at him with her monstrous, lantern-like red eyes. A swarm of thousands of venomous snakes swarmed around her head, making her look like the Gorgon from mythology.

Xinran mustered his courage and approached the edge of the pit, when the female troll suddenly extended her giant claws, seemingly to pull him off and devour him. Xinran recoiled in fright, and the female troll roared in disappointment, swinging her claws and sending sand flying from the pit walls, causing the ground to tremble.

Xinran wiped away a cold sweat and asked the elder suspiciously, "What crime has this female monster committed? Why is she imprisoned in this sand pit to be tortured by poisonous snakes?"

The elder smiled bitterly, "Her name is Sand Queen, she's the nightmare of Ganlin Valley. Everyone is so afraid of her that they had no choice but to imprison her here."

"Is she... very powerful?"

"Powerful? Absolutely insane! Even though we trolls are a cruel race, we're not like that bastard—she even eats her own kind!" The troll elder gritted his teeth in hatred.

Trolls are a rather special subhuman race; female trolls are stronger than male trolls. Sand Queen is a hybrid of troll and giant (the most greedy and ferocious of the giants, but also the simplest-minded). She is ten times stronger and fiercer than an average female troll, and has a belligerent nature, readily killing her own kind. No one in Ganlin Valley could defeat the Sand King, and even a swarm of them might not be able to subdue her. In order to get rid of this thorn in their side, the trolls had to use their least favorite tactic: they dug a large pit, buried a large number of venomous snakes in it, and pushed the Sand King into the pit while she was asleep.

Surprisingly, her vitality was incredibly strong; despite being bitten by venomous snakes day and night, she was still alive. These snakes seemed to parasitize the Sand Queen's body, feeding on her flesh and blood; for every piece they ate, she would grow a new one. The Sand Queen, in turn, fed on the snakes, forming a strange symbiotic relationship.

The troll elder, fearing the Sand Queen might one day break free and seek revenge on his people, had been struggling to kill her and turned to Xinran for help, asking him to devise a way to kill the Sand Queen.

Xinran pondered for a moment and suggested the elder burn the Sand Queen alive.

The elder shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I've thought of that too, but no one dares to light a fire."

Trolls were naturally afraid of fire, but Xinran was not. She volunteered to start a fire for them, telling everyone that cooking food over a campfire would prevent stomach aches. She emphasized the need to add firewood frequently to prevent the fire from going out, otherwise, if Xinran wasn't around, they would have to eat raw food.

The trolls, humbly accepting the lesson, followed Xinran's example, stoking the fire until it

blazed brightly. They then asked him to personally drop the first torch into the sand pit, thus beginning the battle to slaughter the Sand King. The torch landed on the Sand King's dry skin and quickly ignited. The Sand King writhed in agony, howling in agony. The trolls were overjoyed, hastily gathering firewood and throwing it into the pit to fuel the fire. The Sand King was engulfed in flames, her entire body a fiery red, and even the venomous snakes, driven mad by the heat, desperately burrowed into her body. Xinran stole a glance into the pit and saw the Sand King swaying as she stood up, straightening her back, head held high, wailing mournfully. Her thick, long arms were raised high to the sky; she was so tall that her claws, as large as palm leaves, almost touched the edge of the pit.

Xinran couldn't help but worry; with a single leap, the Sand King could easily climb out of the pit.

However, the female troll was not good at jumping. After the Sand King's hissing for a while, a crackling sound suddenly came from above his head. A viper slithered out of her ear, half of its body still inside her brain. The venomous snake flicked its fiery red tongue, trying to escape the sea of fire, but as soon as it touched the flames, its tongue indeed ignited. It screeched and coiled around the Sand King's thick neck, dying in agony. The Sand King pulled out the snake's carcass like removing an earring and threw it forcefully out of the sand pit, where it landed right at Xinran's feet. Terrified, he turned and fled from the sand pit, finding Robinson who was still selling his goods, and ran away in a flash.

Even far away from Ganlin Valley, the Sand King's shrill screams could still be heard. Xinran pressed his hand to his heart, praying that the terrifying female troll would kick the bucket quickly. This was the first time in his life he had been so frightened that he almost wet his pants.

Xinran slunk back to the castle, and for several days in a row, he dreamt of a female troll with fire serpents coming to seek revenge. Terrified, he stayed home, too afraid to go out. Russell and the others were curious about his unusual behavior, but Xinran offered no explanation, claiming he wasn't feeling well.

After several days of this seclusion, his courage, shattered by the Sand King, slowly recovered. Feeling restless, Xinran once again decided to go to Ganlin Valley. He went out to find Robinson Crusoe to buy some goods, only to find him sitting with Little Jack, loudly reciting from a book. Little Jack would recite a line, and Robinson would repeat after him. It turned out Little Jack was teaching his nephew to read.

Xinran listened for a moment and almost burst out laughing. The textbook they were using was his early work, *Su Datou's Spring Night Dream*. Such an erotic novel would be embarrassing to read alone late at night, yet it was being recited aloud with such seriousness—the "laughing effect" was predictable. Luckily, no one else was present, or they would have thought they were in a madhouse. Xinran, after a moment's thought, suddenly had a good idea. She went in and asked Xiaojie where the other copy of *The Dream of Robinson Crusoe* came from.

Xiaojie proudly told Xinran that he had copied another copy and given it to Robinson Crusoe as a textbook. "Robinson Crusoe, you should translate this book into Gigantic script so I can learn to speak Gigantic languages," Xinran said with a smile. "Bring me the Gigantic translation." Xiaojie pulled out a slightly thicker copy for Xinran. Xinran quickly flipped through it and found that Robinson Crusoe's translation was a bit verbose, and he misunderstood many words. For example, the male protagonist in the book compliments a woman's small feet, comparing them to "three-inch golden lotuses." Robinson Crusoe translated it as the woman's shoes were embroidered with "three-inch long golden lotuses," a truly amusing misunderstanding.

Xinran personally revised and corrected the translation, confident that he could perfectly reproduce the essence of the original work. Only then did he hand the translation over to Robinson Crusoe, asking him and Xiaojie to make several copies for other uses.

The two boys immediately began copying the manuscript. A novel of tens of thousands of words was no easy task; the two boys worked for three days, producing ten copies. They then complained to Xinran, saying their hands were so tired they could no longer write.

Xinran, disguised as the "demon merchant" Hu Su, along with Robinson Crusoe and a cartload of fine wine, safely crossed the troll castle and arrived at the exile camp. In return for the wine, he asked the giant brothers to find some cultured exiles to copy *The Dream Quest* for him.

The giant brothers quickly found dozens of former ascetics. These old monks were all great scholars, proficient in history, literature, and theology, and having spent long periods in the desert, they were also familiar with the Gigantic script. Using them to copy Xinran's book was truly a waste of their talents. However, these ascetics, who had never been near women, had never seen such explicit erotic descriptions. While copying, they shook their heads vigorously, praying loudly, their faces flushed with embarrassment like a flock of roosters.

Seeing how much fun the giant brothers were having copying, they picked up a manuscript and started flipping through it. Upon seeing it, they were shocked and exclaimed in unison, "How can it be in Giant's script?"

Xinran laughed, "I'm going to sell these books to the trolls, of course I need to translate them into Giant's script!"

The eldest brother, "Ren," slapped his forehead and sighed, "Why didn't you say so sooner, Young Master Su? Since it's about copying Giant's script, we brothers can help!" The four brothers were desert giants, so they were naturally fluent in their native language.

Xinran deliberately asked him, "Can you read, kid?" He had spent many days with Ren, Dao, Pu, and Neng, and their friendship had reached the point where they could joke around.

Ren spat and said angrily, "Pah, don't underestimate us! To tell you the truth, we brothers are quite well-known scholars among the desert giants!"

Xinran was amused by his words and immediately agreed to let the four brothers copy it together. Xinran spent the whole day at the wanderers' camp, chatting with the giant brothers, drinking, eating sunflower seeds, and teaching Robinson how to play chess—a very pleasant day. Before long, the sun was setting, and the group had copied nearly three hundred manuscripts, their hands aching from exhaustion. Xinran tossed away the last handful of sunflower seed shells and had Xiao Jie fetch some delicious Husu wine and sunflower cakes from the wagon to reward everyone.

"Ren" lit a campfire in the small square, and "Neng," the best hunter, went out for a stroll with his flint club and returned with a bison. The group who had participated in copying "The Dream Quest" gathered around the fire to roast meat, eat cakes, and enjoy the wine. Xinran had intended to pay them, but everyone said money was useless in this godforsaken place, so he gave each of them a bottle of wine instead. Everyone was overjoyed and said they would definitely come to them for copying work next time.

After the banquet, Xinran had Robinson load all the manuscripts onto the wagon and casually selected a few to check. It turned out the giant brothers were the best translators. It turned out the monks had used more subtlety in their erotic descriptions, making them less direct. While the giant brothers' scholarship was far inferior to the exiled monks, their lack of genitalia meant they weren't ashamed when translating sex scenes; they simply translated them directly, making them more faithful to the original.

Upon arriving outside Ganlin Valley, Xinran and Robinson jumped off the wagon, sending the Azhu sisters away first. As before, they beat drums and gongs to attract the trolls.

Now, the reputation of "Demon Merchant" Hu Su was widespread; the sound of drums and gongs drew the residents of Ganlin Valley, who, carrying their prepared ores, came with their families to exchange them.

Before Xinran could speak, a mischievous "devil" approached with a grin and asked, "Good evening, Mr. Hu Su. May I ask what goodies await us today?" He glanced at the truck and noticed that besides the much-anticipated Hu Su wine, sunflower cakes, Hu Su toothpaste, and perfume, there was also half a truckload of books, the purpose of which was unknown.

Xinran smiled slightly, picked up a book, and tossed it to him.

The troll suspiciously flipped through the pages, then his eyes widened, and he let out a series of strange exclamations: "Whoa! Wow! Wow! So strong! So cute!" The other trolls curiously gathered around to watch, and from then on, they couldn't stop, constantly swallowing their saliva, their crotches spontaneously pitching tents.

Some, unable to understand, asked their companions in confusion, "Hey, hey! What are you looking at? Can you tell me?"

The companion, engrossed in reading, said impatiently, "Don't bother me, look for yourself!"

"I can't read..." " If you

can't read, go learn—get lost!"

"Ugh... Bullying..." The unfortunate troll, mocked by his companion, walked away sadly.

There were five hundred trolls in Ganlin Valley, but only a third of them could read. However, the three hundred giant editions of "Su Datou's Spring Night Dream" that Xinran brought quickly sold out. Many illiterate trolls also bought a copy, planning to read it after they learned to read. In this way, Xinran's journey made a tremendous contribution to raising the cultural level of the troll race. Using erotic novels to popularize literacy was far more effective than using dry textbooks.

Later historians, examining the adventurous life of Paladin Su Xinran, discovered that a mysterious merchant named Hu Su frequently appeared around him, peddling "Hu Su series" goods and a certain famous erotic novel to various uncivilized peoples. This man's commercial activities directly influenced the civilizational progress of many races. Under his vigorous promotion, *Su Datou's Dream of a Spring Night* was translated into hundreds of languages, becoming a sensation throughout Middle-earth. Even goblins, lizardmen, and ogres used this book as their introductory text. Over time

, Su Xinran, the author of *The Dream of a Spring Night*, became more famous than the Paladin Su Xinran himself—whether the Paladin Su Xinran himself lamented "gaining undeserved fame with a trivial skill" remains unknown.

Episode 6, Chapter 3: The Forced Marriage

Xinran sold all his books and sat down in the shade of a tree to cool off. She took out two bottles of wine and four boxes of pastries and asked Robinson to deliver them to Elder Peng Pengpeng, the troll, asking if he had time to come over for a drink.

Robinson quickly returned and informed Xinran that Elder Xinran was not home.

Xinran got up, brushed the dust off her trousers, waved goodbye to the trolls, and headed back home with Robinson. Halfway there, a young troll caught up with them, panting, and told Xinran that Elder Xinran had just returned and begged him to return to Ganlin Valley to meet her, as there was important matter to discuss. Xinran didn't think much of it and told Robinson to go back first, while she went to see the elder alone with the young troll.

Peng Pengpeng was already waiting in front of the elder's cave, his face full of worry. Upon seeing Xinran, the elder's face lit up with joy. Without a word, he dragged him to the pit where the Sand King was imprisoned, pleading, "Master Husu, we'll have to trouble you again this time."

Xinran asked, puzzled, "What happened?"

The elder smiled bitterly, "Last time you taught us to use fire to deal with the Sand King, but we still haven't succeeded—look for yourself if you don't believe me."

Xinran turned his head and looked into the smoke-filled pit. He saw the bottom of the pit crammed with ashes and snake carcasses. The Sand King sat cross-legged at the bottom of the pit, surrounded by crimson embers. All her hair had been burned off, and her bald head was covered in ash. Her burned skin peeled off like snakeskin, revealing smooth, tender new skin, as green as willow buds. Her two large, plump breasts stood high on her chest, like ripe papayas. At her feet, several pythons that had narrowly escaped the fire writhed and slowly devoured their charred brethren.

Hearing footsteps, the female troll "Sand King" weakly raised her head, meeting Xinran's gaze. For some reason, she smiled happily, reaching out her arms and letting out a low howl, like a tamed beast cuddling its master. The

Sand King's face was scorched by the flames; the blackened dead skin hadn't yet peeled off, contrasting with the tender green new hide, making her look even more terrifying than before. Xinran dared not look any longer, pulling back to tell the elder, "The fire isn't strong enough; we need to add more firewood."

The elder hurriedly urged the troll warriors to gather firewood, and Xinran also joined in, throwing bundles of dry wood into the sand pit. The fire immediately intensified, and scorching heat surged from the pit, forcing everyone to retreat temporarily. Just then, a scream of agony came from the sand pit from the Sand King. Xinran and the elder high-fived in celebration, thinking the Sand King was surely dead. Unexpectedly, a giant hand reached out from the sand pit, grabbed the edge, and lifted half of its burning body, like a demon bursting from hell. Xinran,

seeing the Sand King emerge from the sea of fire through the black smoke, was terrified and frozen in place. The elder, also anxious, waved his staff, urging the trolls to attack the Sand King. The trolls, mustering their courage, approached the Sand King. She took a long breath, her belly swelling like a ball, then exhaled violently, causing the flames to swirl back and engulf the nearby trolls.

Several trolls trapped in the fire struggled a few steps before collapsing like withered logs, instantly burned to a crisp. Those who managed to escape the fire were also severely burned, screaming as they tumbled back into the sand pit. The Sand King, swaying her shoulders, strode out of the fire, grabbing a troll in each hand and ramming them together in mid-air, their brains splattering and killing them instantly. The burly adult troll was as fragile as an infant under the behemoth's claws.

"Master Hu Su—this is hopeless! Run for your lives!"

The elder, cane tucked under his arm, fled in a flash.

Xinran realized he was now alone, facing the Sand King who had burst from the purgatory. Mustering his courage, he channeled seventy percent of his Void Heaven Demonic Power, focusing the "Break" technique into his right fist, and leaped into the air, striking the Sand King's chest. The

"Black Hole Fist" struck the Sand King's chest, instantly creating a hole a foot in diameter. The flesh and bones within were swallowed by the black hole, vanishing into nothingness. Xinran intended to detonate the force, directly shattering the female troll's corpse. However, at the very moment of delivering the fatal blow, he unexpectedly sensed that his opponent harbored no murderous intent. Xinran forcibly contained his fist's power, tapping the Sand King's abdomen with his toes, using the force to bounce back three zhang away.

The Sand King knelt on the ground, his hands pressed against his bleeding wounds, his expression twisted and contorted in extreme pain, but he showed no further intention to attack.

"Aww...it hurts! My heart aches so much..."

the Sand King cried out in anguish, while at the same time, his wounds were miraculously healing, even his damaged internal organs were closing. For some reason, Xinran felt a sense of relief, and her hostility towards the Sand King lessened slightly.

"Black Hole Fist" absorbed the embers of the flames from the Sand King's body, revealing her true form.

This half-troll, half-giant mother beast was a true behemoth, over ten feet tall, taller than the strongest troll, and even shorter than the four Desert Giant brothers. Her shattered head gleamed with a bluish light, and her two pointed green ears trembled slightly.

Her physique was exaggerated to the extreme. Xinran could barely wrap her arms around her broad, muscular shoulders with outstretched hands. Her muscles were like cast iron, her thick arms like two green stone pillars, and her giant claws reached her knees.

Like other trolls, the Sand Queen's back was slightly hunched. A pair of incredibly large, full breasts hung heavily on her chest, swaying exaggeratedly with her breath. Her waist, inherited from the trolls, was too thin to match her strong limbs, yet it couldn't be called a wasp waist, as it was much thicker than a human's. Her thighs were round and long, with beautiful lines, but unfortunately, her feet were deformed, with only three toes, looking quite bizarre.

Most appalling of all was the rattlesnake hiding between the Sand Queen's legs, half its body inside her vulva, only its tail dangling between her legs, the corncob-like tail trembling violently and making a snapping sound. It seemed to have been unable to bear the heat in the fiery pit and had thus sought refuge between the Sand Queen's legs.

The Sand King realized Xinran was observing her, so she straightened up to let her see clearly. Then, noticing Xinran's gaze fall on her crotch, she immediately looked away, a chilling expression of disgust on her face. The Sand King lowered her head and sobbed, grabbing the snake's tail and yanking it out from between her legs. The snake's fangs tore her vagina, causing considerable bleeding, but she didn't care. She excitedly walked over, presenting the half-dead rattlesnake to Xinran with both hands.

Xinran covered her nose and shook her head, saying tremblingly, "I don't like this thing, throw it away."

The Sand King stared blankly at him, remaining motionless in his original posture.

Xinran, mustering her courage, repeated herself in Giant's tongue.

"Ho ho~~"

The Sand King let out a muffled laugh, tossing aside the venomous snake, seemingly delighted to be able to communicate with Xinran.

Xinran increasingly felt that the Sand King meant her no harm, so she asked, "Do you have anything else to say to me?"

The Sand King, whose bloodline included the notoriously intellectually deficient Giants, was even more foolish than the Trolls, unable to even speak coherently. After gesturing and stammering for a while, he thanked Xinran.

Xinran was even more confused, asking, "What are you thanking me for?" "For setting you on fire?" She didn't dare say the last part.

“Mmm, fire…fire, hot…snake…that hateful snake…burn to death…mmm, you're so kind…help me, relieve my pain…”

“Oh, I understand,” Xinran scratched the back of her head and laughed, “You were bitten by a snake in the sand pit and were in a lot of pain. I let the snake go and burned it to death, relieving your pain. So you should thank me, right?”

“Yes!” The Sand King nodded happily, giving Xinran a thumbs up and praising her, “You…smart, amazing.”

“You don’t need to thank me, just don’t bully other trolls anymore.” Xinran chuckled inwardly at how foolish there could be in the world, treating her enemy as a benefactor.

The Sand King slammed his fist on the ground, angrily saying, "You troll brat, you're despicable! Ugh... bullying me... letting snakes bite me... calling me an idiot."

Xinran gently stroked her hand, softly saying, "So you're a pushover too, sigh, so pitiful..."

The Sand King pulled her into his arms, chuckling, "You're the best... I like you... helping me burn the snakes, and even pushing firewood so I could climb up..."

Xinran twisted his neck, which ached from being pressed down, and said with a wry smile, "So all that firewood I threw down was to help you build a ladder... Damn it, I'm so stupid!"

"No, no!" The Sand King waved his hands repeatedly, exclaiming in surprise, "You're smart... the smartest!"

Xinran chuckled awkwardly, "Fine, I am smart, but do you have anything else to say? If not, I'm leaving—oh my god!"

Upon hearing that Xinran was leaving, the Sand King tightened his arms in alarm, almost breaking Xinran's ribs.

"Damn it! Let go—are you trying to kill me?!"

"Um... I'm sorry... it wasn't on purpose, Sand King... you're an idiot..." The female troll hurriedly let go, pinching her fingertips as she apologized shamefully.

Xinran rubbed her ribs, glaring at her hatefully, while preparing to escape, and asked, "What else do you want me to do?"

The Sand King buried his head deeply between his knees, and said shyly, "I like you..."

"I like you too!" Xinran said casually, "We like each other, so we shouldn't make things difficult for each other—can I go now?"

"No! I... I want to marry you..."

"..."

"Hmm..."

"What did you say?"

"I like you, I want to be with you... um, have your babies..." The Sand King's speech became much more fluent when he was shy.

"Keep dreaming! Even if I'm blind, I won't marry an ugly monster like you!" Xinran cursed and turned to run away.

The Sand King didn't even need to use his legs, he reached out and grabbed Xinran's arm, refusing to let go. No matter how Xinran threatened, insulted, begged, or tempted her, she only had one thing to say: "I like you." Aside from their wedding night,

she wouldn't be leaving tonight. If other people's romantic encounters were "peach blossom luck," Xinran had truly stumbled upon "pumpkin luck" today. Considering how successful the young master Su had been, every woman he had was a stunning beauty, and even his maids and servants were all exquisite beauties. How could he possibly submit to this beastly female demon? However, although Young Master Su had high taste, he also knew the principle of not fighting a losing battle. If he insisted on refusing, he would probably not escape the clutches of the Sand King. So he forced a smile and said, "Since you are so infatuated, I have no choice but to take you as a concubine."

"Stingy...?"

"Not stingy, a concubine—a concubine!"

"A... concubine..." The Sand King tried to clear his words and laughed happily, "Good, good! A concubine... is still a wife, I'm so happy... The Sand King is your concubine, you... who are you?"

Xinran suppressed a laugh and said, "Isn't it too late to ask your husband's name now? My name is Hu Su, and I am a merchant." After saying that, she looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, leaned up and whispered in the Sand King's ear, "My real name is not Hu Su, it's Su Xinran, and I'm not a demon merchant, I'm a paladin! I'm only telling this secret to you, my wife, don't tell any other trolls."

"Hmm! The secret of my husband's name... the secret of my identity... I won't tell anyone..." Sha Wang readily agreed, his face beaming with happiness at sharing Xinran's secret.

Xinran, suppressing her fear, kissed her cheek, her smile more like a grimace: "This is my good wife."

"Hmm, I love you, husband... I'll listen to you and be your obedient little wife..." Sha Wang, sweetly flattered, stammered sweet nothings. Xinran's heart skipped a beat, thinking that if she weren't so strikingly beautiful, she might actually fall for her. She quickly warned herself not to be moved by Sha Wang—if the young master Su, who made it his mission to pursue seven beauties, married such a monster, wouldn't he become a laughingstock among all the ladies of the world? Just

as she was lost in thought, Sha Wang leaned in and returned her kiss. The metallic taste of blood from his mouth made the fastidious Xinran wince. So she took out a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush from her storage bag and taught Sha Wang how to brush his teeth. A large bucket of well water was drawn, and a few drops of perfume were added for her to bathe in. The Sand King washed herself clean and looked much refreshed. Her skin was a tender green like a water lily, and her teeth were sparkling white, unlike the black teeth of trolls who often drank bitter water. It was probably the Sand King's first time bathing, and she became quite engrossed in it, enthusiastically drawing another bucket of water to wash herself.

Xinran helped her remove the scabs from her back and discovered that the wound left by the Black Hole Fist had completely healed, leaving no scar. Xinran stroked the Sand King's smooth back; it was smooth and warm to the touch, no less beautiful than a human girl's skin. She couldn't help but marvel, wondering why trolls possessed such extraordinary regenerative abilities.

The Sand King felt completely comfortable from his touch and turned to kiss Xinran, but her nose bumped into his face, dislocating his fake nose. Xinran quickly covered her face and turned away to straighten her nose. Looking back, the Sand King was staring blankly at her, holding an empty perfume bottle.

"Huh, you've spilled all your perfume?"

"Ugh... I drank it all..." the Sand King said, pointing to her throat.

"Was it good?" Xinran asked, suppressing a laugh.

"Good... my stomach's burning..." A blush rose on the Sand King's face; she seemed a little drunk—the perfume contained tartare extract. The Sand King was quite large, but her alcohol tolerance was terrible. Seeing this, Xinran took out a bottle of ghoul wine and induced her to drink it all in one gulp.

"My head's spinning... ah... the world's spinning..." The Sand King slumped onto Xinran's lap, completely unconscious.

Xinran forcefully pushed her away and tiptoed out. Just as she was gloating over her successful escape, she saw countless trolls surrounding her, blocking her path.

Xinran looked at them helplessly and asked, "What do you want?"

The troll elder stepped forward and said helplessly, "Lord Hu Su, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave tonight."

Xinran retorted angrily, "What do you mean by that!"

The elder chuckled, "We all heard what the Sand King said. If you leave without saying goodbye, all the residents of Ganlin Valley will face the Sand King's wrath, a disaster that could destroy the entire tribe."

Xinran sneered, "You mean, I should bear the Sand King's anger in place of your entire tribe?"

The elder quickly shook his head, arguing, "The Sand King has fallen in love with you, sir, and would never harm you. As long as you marry her, you can avoid a great calamity. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?" Xinran

sighed bitterly, "You old codger, you're cunning beyond belief for a troll."

The elder grinned wickedly, "Even the most foolish tribe has one or two wise elders. Lord Husu, as long as you marry the Sand King tonight, the Ganlin Valley troll tribe will always be your friend."

Xinran pondered and weighed the pros and cons, ultimately deciding to sacrifice himself. The troll elder immediately made a three-point agreement: to become friends with the castle's master, the "Paladin" Su Xinran, and to provide him with assistance without reservation when needed; for the entire tribe to contribute to the construction of Sun City; and to coexist peacefully with the other races of the Walking Bird Paradise. The troll elder accepted Xinran's conditions in their entirety and ordered the entire tribe to abide by them, with violators to be thrown into the Serpent's Lair.

After the conditions were agreed upon, the trolls took the drunken Sand King to the largest cave as their bridal chamber. Xinran followed him in, and the troll elder immediately closed the door.

Xinran sat quietly beside the sleeping female troll for a moment, thinking that if she remained asleep, she wouldn't have to "sacrifice" herself. But just as this thought arose, the Sand King opened her eyes and let out a long, confused sigh.

"Hmm... time to sleep..."

Xinran echoed, "Yes, it's late, my good wife, go to sleep."

The Sand King rolled over, nestled against Xinran's lap with a coquettish air, and murmured, "Husband, sleep with me... all naked... let's hug..."

Xinran sighed in despair, and had no choice but to take off her clothes and hug the Sand King tightly. Upon closer inspection, the Sand King's appearance was actually much better than that of a pureblood troll. Apart from his greenish complexion and slightly long nose, he wasn't unattractive. The Sand King buried his head in Xinran's arms, tenderly licking his chest and lower abdomen. Xinran couldn't help but feel a surge of desire, caressing the female troll's soft and smooth skin, thinking that at least her skin was no worse than that of a real beauty. If she closed her eyes and imagined her as a beautiful woman, it didn't seem too difficult to bear.

The Sand King sensed Xinran's change, and then lay back on the stone bed, spreading her thighs to the sides, her hands tightly hugging her knees, presenting his most mysterious area to him.

"Husband...love me...take me..." she gasped for breath, her face flushed, her eyes burning with desire.

It was the first time Xinran had ever seen a female troll's genitals, and he examined them curiously. He found that the outline of her vulva and labia, and her vagina, were not much different from those of a human woman, only a size larger. Moreover, the color inside and outside her vagina was the same tender green, and her bare vulva was devoid of any pubic hair—whether it was naturally bald or burned away by fire, he could

n't tell. Xinran reached out and touched her, discovering that the female troll's crotch was already overflowing with desire, and the temperature inside her vagina was scalding hot. Xinran was secretly amazed, thinking that he had never played with a woman with such a high body temperature before; it must feel incredibly good to penetrate her. So he raised his hard, iron-like penis and slowly inserted it into the female troll's tender, hot vagina.

The Sand King let out a long hiss, clinging tightly to Xinran like a wild beast, groaning incoherently, "Man...mine, so good...the Sand King is my husband's now...we'll never be apart..."

Xinran felt as if her lower body was bound by a red-hot iron band, shivering with pleasure, and gripping the Sand King's thighs, she began to thrust wildly. The female troll's body temperature was so high that he couldn't control his rhythm, only wanting to speed up and ejaculate.

Beneath him was a giant female troll, and he showed no mercy, each thrust penetrating to the hilt, each withdrawal bringing forth abundant vaginal fluid that soaked her lower abdomen. The purplish-red penis rammed and pounded in the tender green and lovely little hole, a truly pleasing sight, and Xinran had never experienced such pleasure.

After riding the Sand King for half an hour with unbridled pleasure, she finally released her pent-up ejaculation into the equally hot troll's womb.

The Sand King held Xinran tightly, reveling in the ecstatic pleasure of his orgasm. Xinran glanced up and saw her biting her lip, her face shifting rapidly between pain and pleasure. A trickle of saliva uncontrollably slid from the corner of her lips, and beads of sweat appeared on her bald head. Clearly, she was still struggling with her orgasm, her nerves taut from the intense pleasure of penetration, unable to relax, and convulsing.

Xinran smiled slightly, rising and withdrawing from the troll's seemingly ugly yet alluring body. The Sand King sighed, his body relaxing immediately, letting out a satisfied moan, like a wild beast enjoying a delicious meal. They embraced tenderly for a moment, the Sand King affectionately sucking on Xinran's fingers, then crawling at his feet, gently licking her toes.

Unaware that this was a ritual of love from the troll wife to her husband, Xinran mistook it for a courtship. His already erect penis, having just ejaculated, hardened again. He pulled the female troll's head down to his crotch and began teaching her to give him oral sex. The Sand King enthusiastically performed oral sex on his husband, his movements clumsy and rough, yet possessing a unique wild charm.

Xinran felt waves of pleasure wash over him, squeezing and kneading the Sand King's large breasts, occasionally lowering his head to kiss the bald head of the hardworking female giant. Watching the woman, strong as a mountain, ferocious as a demon, and savage as a lion, writhe beneath him in pleasure, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment. He thought to himself, "Besides me, there's no one else in the world who could make this ten-foot-tall, five-hundred-pound beast submit to me, so obedient." Growing

increasingly smug, he made the Sand King kneel on the stone bed, playing "fire from across the mountain." The massive penis plunged into the female troll's vagina from behind, violently slamming against her firm, pink buttocks. He would occasionally bend down to caress his "giant wife's" breasts and face, driving the Sand King to multiple orgasms, his moans and groans reaching the outside. As the Sand King finally tightened his buttocks and clenched his vagina, reaching the peak of sexual climax, Xinran offered his second shot, lying on the female troll's back, enjoying the lingering sensation of her vaginal spasms rubbing against his penis.

When the Sand King realized Xinran had withdrawn, she turned and threw herself into his arms, licking her beloved man's fingers with her pink tongue.

"Look at you, like a greedy little bitch," Xinran said, giving her a deep kiss on the lips, still wanting more. "Little darling, one more time, okay—"

"Uh! No… little darling, I'm going to be ruined…" The Sand King shook his head in panic, deliberately spreading his legs to show him his bruised and swollen vulva, proving he was truly "ruined." Xinran reached out and touched it, laughing, "It looks like a meat bun." She didn't force the Sand King to continue their lovemaking, turning over and resting her head on her lap, quickly falling asleep.

The Sand King couldn't bear to move Xinran off his lap, gently stroking her cheek and chest, barely daring to breathe, coaxing his lover to sleep like a baby. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes, a blissful smile on his face, and drifted into a dream.

The next morning, when he awoke, the sun was high in the sky. The troll elder, not seeing Xinran emerge, assumed he had been eaten by the Sand King. Trembling with fear, he opened the door and peeked inside. He saw a scene of eroticism: the "Demon Merchant" Hu Su was sitting on the bed yawning, while the ferocious Sand King lay prostrate beneath him like a puppy, his face pressed against Xinran's feet, his expression unusually serene and peaceful.

"Elder, you've come uninvited. Do you have a penchant for peeping?" Xinran asked lazily.

Peng Pengpeng quickly apologized, then anxiously asked Xinran, "When does Master Hu Su plan to depart for his residence?"

"Now."

"Haha! Respectfully seeing off Master and Madam."

Xinran put on her coat, whispered a few words to the Sand King, and left alone.

The Beast Elder glanced at the Sand King left in the room, puzzled, and caught up with Xinran, asking, "Master Hu Su isn't taking Madam with him?"

Xinran turned back and smiled, "The Sand King will remain in Ganlin Valley as my representative to oversee the trolls in fulfilling their previous promises."

"But...this..." The elder frowned, his expression extremely awkward. He had originally intended for Xinran to take this scourge away; the previous promises were nothing but a bluff. He hadn't expected to suffer the consequences; Xinran had subdued the Sand King, who was now riding high on the trolls' heads—truly a case of reaping what he sowed. However, intimidated by the Sand King's power, he dared not openly confront Xinran, and could only accept his misfortune, personally going to the castle to negotiate, and sending the remaining trolls in the valley to work on the construction site.

Thus, Xinran perfectly resolved the conflict with the trolls, the price being the addition of another extraordinary lover.

Xinran waited for two whole weeks, but the replacement postman still hadn't arrived, and life returned to its usual routine. He longed to leave the desert and continue his thrilling journey, but he couldn't leave. As long as the wanderers in the camp were still hoping for letters from their loved ones, he, the postman, had to continue. This was his promise to Uncle Zhong, and also the first time in his life that he had shouldered the responsibility of a man.

In the midst of this lonely wait, one day, wild walking birds from the Green Wilderness brought a warning to the A'Zhu sisters—the Giant Scorpion Legion was marching towards the Walking Bird Paradise, their banner proclaiming, "To punish the desert rebels and avenge Master Sefer!"

The so-called rebels were none other than the castle residents led by Su Xinran. The Exiles' Camp and the trolls of Ganlin Valley were also caught in the crossfire, becoming targets of the Giant Scorpion's revenge. A great battle was about to erupt, and the "Walking Bird Paradise" was once again engulfed in turmoil.

Episode 6, Chapter 4: Sun City

It was already September, and the "Great Han Sea" was still sweltering. Only the "Walking Bird Paradise" offered a touch of coolness, like a green leaf dotting the vast, boundless sand. Under the blazing sun, a diverse group of workers toiled diligently on this oasis, moving stones, applying mortar, and constructing walls around the castle.

Among them were exiled convicts in black prison garb, and ascetic believers who prayed silently as they worked. In this labor force of nearly a thousand, trolls comprised more than half. These ghastly, green-skinned, greedy, and brutal beasts coexisted peacefully with their human colleagues, voluntarily undertaking the most arduous tasks. Flocks of walking birds dragged boulders from the Valley of Sweet Rain and transported timber from the forests, delivering them continuously to the construction site. Four desert giants, each ten feet tall, wielded massive iron axes, splitting the boulders into neat, usable blocks. At dusk, the walls were completed. Hundreds of walking birds worked together to transport the largest and heaviest stone, intended for the city gate; once laid down, it would become a drawbridge.

The golden suspension cables were already installed; the final task was to erect the stone gate. The boulder was incredibly heavy; even with the combined strength of four desert giants, they could only barely lift a corner, managing to maintain it for a few seconds before collapsing from exhaustion.

At that moment, a white-clad youth riding a centaur appeared outside the city gates, followed closely by a half-troll like a bodyguard. This youth was none other than Su Xinran, the "Smiling Knight," the son of a wealthy merchant temporarily residing in the trading city of the Walking Bird Paradise. The female troll behind him was his newly acquired servant-troll mistress, the "Sand Queen."

The Sand Queen had become much more beautiful under the influence of love. She stood obsequiously beside Xinran, a charming smile playing on her beautiful oval face, her large, watery eyes innocent and affectionate. Xinran had even specially crafted a sexy coat for her from soft mithril alloy, making the Sand Queen's already voluptuous figure even more alluring.

The upper body featured a silver high-necked breastplate with a V-shaped opening at the front, revealing a deep cleavage and half of an exaggeratedly large breast. Her lower body was fully armed with knee pads, greaves, and tall leather boots, but above the knees, only a pitifully small soft alloy groin protector barely covered her private parts, making her straight and plump legs even more alluring. A snow-white rhinoceros leather belt was tied around her waist, which particularly emphasized the female troll's cute slender waist and pert, plump buttocks. Her whole body exuded a unique beauty that perfectly blended strength and enchantment, inspiring both fear and irresistible admiration. Compared to the sand demon that everyone feared before, she was a complete transformation!

Xinran summoned the desert giant leader "Ren," who was in charge of supervising the construction, and asked, "How is the project progressing?"

"Ren" wiped his sweat and opened the scroll in his hand, pointing it out to him. “Young Master Su, the city wall is almost finished, only the city gate needs to be installed.”

Xinran examined the stones, scratched his head and laughed, “Good heavens, I’ve never seen such a big stone gate before.”

“Ren” said ingratiatingly, “The city gate is the symbol of Sun City, so naturally the bigger and heavier the better.”

Xinran laughed, “Yes, when the enemy attacks the gate, it can be used as a trap to knock it down, sure to crush a lot of unlucky souls.”

“Ren” smiled bitterly, “We haven’t considered that purpose yet. Just erecting the gate is exhausting.” He then told Xinran about the difficulties they were facing and suggested building a crane to help move the city wall. Before Xinran could speak, the female troll behind him stepped forward and volunteered, "Honey... I'm the best at moving stones!"

Xinran turned and smiled, patting the troll's bare buttocks affectionately, "My little darling, why don't you give it a try?" The female troll was a head taller than the boy on horseback, with a rugged appearance, a shiny bald head, and a powerful physique like a demon god. It was quite amusing that the boy called her "my little darling."

However, the Sand King himself didn't find it funny. He was delighted by Xinran's sweet words and decided to impress his lover. He excitedly walked to the boulder, spread his long arms, hugged both sides of the boulder, roared, and suddenly exerted force—the boulder stood upright with a whoosh. The Sand King used too much force and couldn't stop in time, pushing the stone gate down with a crash, making everyone's ears ring. The newly built city wall trembled, and the mortar crumbled.

The Sand King, hands on her hips, accused the four giant brothers in embarrassment and anger: "Liar! They're not heavy at all... You embarrassed me... The Sand King is furious!" The

Sand King's physique was similar to the four brothers, and while she appeared slightly stronger, it was only marginally so. Surely she couldn't possibly be stronger than all four combined? Ren, Dao, Pu, and Neng exchanged bewildered glances, speechless with shock.

In her old temper, the Sand King would have torn the four brothers to shreds on the spot. However, having spent so much time with Xinran, her mind had become much sharper. She knew these four "yellow-haired brats" (desert giants have yellow hair) were her master's friends and shouldn't be harmed. So, she vented her anger on the stone gate. Grabbing a corner of the boulder with one hand, she easily lifted it, hoisted it onto her shoulder, strode to the city wall, and placed it securely. The onlookers cheered in unison, exclaiming, "Divine strength!"

The female troll returned to Xinran, beaming with pride and coquettishness, "Honey... my little darling is strong, ten stones!" She meant she was strong enough to lift ten identical stones.

Xinran rubbed his nose and did some calculations. The stone gate weighed about ten tons, so ten stones would be a hundred tons, or two hundred thousand jin... Good heavens, wasn't the Sand King stronger than a crane? He wondered what this female monster ate to grow up; it seemed every inch of her muscle contained nuclear energy.

Xinran rode his horse to the newly completed city gate, concentrated his Void Heaven Demon Art at his fingertips, leaped into the air, and wrote three powerful characters on the giant stone lintel—Sun City.

Amidst thunderous cheers, the residents of the Walking Bird Paradise now had their own home. On this night destined to be recorded in history, Xinran led the people of Sun City in a wild celebration. Everyone strolled across the city square opposite the castle, raising their glasses high. They scooped up the fine wine from the fountain pool, savoring the delicious Husu wine after their hard work. There was no happier moment in the world.

The construction of Sun City was initially just a prank by Su Xinran. Construction began in mid-August and by mid-September it had taken shape. The reason for such rapid progress was all thanks to a piece of bad news—an elite army from the Giant Scorpion Kingdom was marching towards "Walking Bird Paradise" with the aim of "sweeping away the rebels entrenched in the Great Han Sea, led by the Exile Camp and the Troll Clan."

Upon hearing the devastating news, Xinran immediately summoned the giant brothers and the troll elders to discuss countermeasures. At that time, the exile camp and the troll race were effectively under Xinran's control, and in this critical moment, they naturally followed his lead. At his suggestion, the exiles and trolls joined forces to build Sun City. They surrounded the entire oasis with sturdy walls, protecting the Mechanical Tree Plantation, Sweet Rain Valley, and the Walking Bird Forest. Fortifications were built along the walls, with an arrow tower erected every three hundred meters, transforming Sun City into an impregnable military fortress. The various races within the city united to resist the invasion of the Giant Scorpionmen.

Finally, the walls were completed before the Giant Scorpionmen could invade. Once the arrow towers were built, they would be able to withstand any attack from thousands of troops.

If Xinran harbored ambition, he might have been contemplating conquering the Central Continent from Sun City's footsteps. Unfortunately, he had no interest in dominating the world. Whether it was building Sun City or resisting the Giant Scorpion People, it was all driven by interest and simple likes and dislikes. Calling him willful or crazy didn't matter; Su Xinran was simply a carefree and eccentric young man who acted without reason or consequence, doing whatever he wanted and worrying later!

Meanwhile

, Xinran rode a beautiful centaur, strolling along the brand-new stone streets of Sun City, parading around the city amidst a crowd. Suddenly, he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw a half-orc woman dressed in a tight black leather outfit standing against a wall, waving at him.

Xinran dismounted and squeezed through the crowd, asking the young woman curiously, "Miss Lola, why aren't you with your brother?"

Lola replied softly, "My second brother is still drinking with the troll elders in the central square. I can't hold my liquor, and I was afraid they'd get me drunk, so I made an excuse to escape for a walk."

Xinran laughed, "Today is a joyous occasion; it's alright if you get drunk."

Lola rolled her eyes at him, then smiled shyly, "It's one thing to be teased by you, my second brother, Xiao Jie, and the young master when I'm drunk in the castle, but this is in public; I don't want to make a fool of myself."

Xinran then remembered Lola's peculiar habit of getting drunk and acting crazy. Don't let her usual... Reserved and cautious by nature, Lola becomes incredibly lewd when drunk, begging men to fuck her vagina, anus, and mouth simultaneously, her moans deafening. Xinran jokingly calls her "the all-purpose socket," implying that all three of Lola's orifices crave penetration, and she only feels satisfied when they are all filled at the same time.

This shameful secret is known only to the men and women of the castle; to expose it in public would be utterly humiliating. Therefore, Lola hasn't touched a drop of alcohol tonight. With a meaningful look, she asks Xinran, "Young Master, after all this time, I've always wanted to ask if you truly trust me, your former enemy."

Xinran looks into Lola's eyes and says to this former leader of the Rose Crusade, the cunning mountain assassin, "Lola, you don't need to ask such a silly question. We've long considered you one of our own. Don't you feel our goodwill?"

Lola sighed and said softly, "Yes, even the young master who killed my father is very kind to me. My second brother, my little brother Jie, and my sisters Julia and Nana are even kinder. Thinking about the sins I committed in the past, I feel really ashamed... I often wonder why you are all so good to me? Am I not just a prisoner, and shouldn't I be punished?" Xinran

smiled and said, "You're overthinking it. At least in my eyes, you are not a prisoner, nor an enemy. From the moment the Rose Crusade was destroyed, your identity was simply a beautiful and alluring girl. You chose to be with us, so you are our friend. I may be a bit of a rascal, but I will never doubt the sincerity of a friend."

Lola was deeply moved. After thinking for a long time, she resolutely told Xinran, "Young master, remember to send people to the oil wells near the Mechanical Tree Plantation first thing tomorrow morning to extract as much oil as possible."

Xinran asked curiously, "What are you going to do with the oil?" "

Lola smiled mysteriously, "You'll know when the Giant Scorpion Legion attacks the city."

Xinran nodded without hesitation, "I'll do whatever you say."

Lola sighed sincerely, "Young Master is the most outstanding man I've ever met. No wonder even a man like Second Brother would follow you to the death..."

Xinran scratched her head, embarrassed, and said, "I'm very happy to be praised by you, but you're completely wrong to say that Brother Russell followed me. Actually, he watched me grow up since I was a child. Although we're not related by blood, he's like a real brother to me. He was afraid that I, his reckless little brother, would cause trouble, so he had to follow and take care of me, just like my feelings for Xiao Jie and Robinson—purely familial affection, not loyalty to anyone."

Lola giggled, "That's why I admire you even more, and I also envy Second Brother. To have such a good brother like you, I'd be willing to die without an heir." "

Xinran exclaimed in surprise, "Don't talk nonsense! What if my brother really has no descendants? Wouldn't I be blamed?" Then, with a knowing smile, she said, "Actually, Miss Lola is also a very excellent woman. If you don't mind, how about I call you 'older sister' from now on? Anyway, you're destined to marry my brother."

Lola covered her mouth and laughed shyly, "Oh my, what a sweet-talking little brother! I'm so happy! -- I wonder if you had any premonition of incest when you were teasing me in bed last night?"

Xinran chuckled awkwardly, "Older sister, to tell you the truth, I didn't even think about any bullshit incest when I was hugging my own sister."

Lola sighed and said softly, "I really hope this kind of life can last forever. I'm willing to have a bunch of good babies for you, my second brother, and Xiao Jie. Who can blame me for loving you all so much? I can't bear to part with any of you, big or small husbands. Let the children call each of you men 'Dad,' and I will be your shared daughter-in-law." Xinran bit his fingertip, pondering, "

My brother and Xiao Jie are one thing, but even Robinson's son has to call me Dad. Doesn't that make me a generation younger... Damn it, what kind of absurd family is this?!"

Just then, Lola stepped forward, hugged him, and gave him a deep kiss, solemnly swearing, "Laola Kodama, the old ninja of the mountain wind, voluntarily pledges her allegiance to Your Excellency, never to abandon you, until death do us part!" "Central Ninja of the Wind" is a secret title within the "Mountain Elder" assassin group. "Wind" indicates their faction, and "Central Ninja" is Lola's assassin rank.

"Sister, what are you doing—"

Lola pressed her hand to his lips, preventing him from speaking, then retreated into the shadows of the corner and quietly left.

Xinran stared blankly in the direction Lola had disappeared. He believed Lola's vow was sincere. She had abandoned her rank as a fourth-grade bodyguard in the Kingdom of Rama, and didn't consider herself the leader of the Rose Crusade, but instead swore an oath based on her sect's title—clearly, she had put in a lot of effort.

Xinran didn't understand why Lola had specifically come to him tonight to say such heartfelt words. She seemed to be planning something, and a secret that couldn't be revealed.

Full of suspicion, Xinran went to find Russell. "Red Fox," already six-tenths drunk, listened to Xinran's words and said in a daze, "Is Lola acting strangely lately? I think she's the same as before."

"Has she said anything particularly thought-provoking to you?"

Russell pondered for a long time, chin in hand, and said, "This morning, she said two strange things."

"What two things?" Xinran pressed. "

Lola said that we might be separated for a while. I asked her where she was going, and she replied that it was nearby, but we wouldn't be able to meet; then she said that city walls can't stop elite warriors, and don't forget oil in an emergency—brother, can you help me figure out what she meant?"

Xinran thought for a moment, then laughed, "Stop drinking, hurry home, maybe you can still say goodbye to your older sister."

Russell was taken aback and asked, "Older sister? When did you get an older sister?"

Xinran gave him a push, saying irritably, "It's Lola, I just recognized her as my older sister."

Russell laughed, "Can't you recognize a few sisters? Your older brother wants to get some too!" He helped Xinran up by the shoulder, and they went back to the castle together. Unfortunately, they were too late; Lola wasn't home, and Xiao Jie and the others didn't know where she had gone.

Russell was puzzled, but Xinran confidently said, "Don't worry, we'll see each other soon."

※※※※

The next morning, all the residents of Sun City worked hard to build arrow towers. The sentries on the towers were the first to spot the enemy and immediately blew their horns.

Accompanied by Russell, Xiao Jie, Robinson, Julia, Nana, the Sand King, the Giant Brothers, the Troll Elder, and others, Xinran climbed the tower. She saw dust billowing on the horizon, and a large army, bathed in the morning light, like a black torrent, approaching the Bird Paradise. A red scorpion, surrounded by countless silver stars, was embroidered on the tall banner at the front of the column.

Russell stared at the banner and managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Damn it! I really didn't expect it to be them—"

Xinran, far less experienced than her brother, asked, "Brother, do you recognize that army?"

Russell said grimly, "Look at that red scorpion banner, surrounded by a thousand stars—that means the newcomers are the Giant Scorpion People's elite thousand-man regiment!"

Xinran said confidently, "Elite or not, at least in terms of numbers, we're evenly matched."

Russell shook his head and sighed, "Brother, you're naive. The thousand-man regiment doesn't mean a thousand people; it refers to a thousand elite Giant Scorpion warriors, plus three thousand servants and laborers. While we have nearly a thousand defenders, the vast majority haven't received formal military training, and our weapons are severely lacking. If we were to engage in a direct confrontation, we would undoubtedly be defeated.

" Ran smiled and said, "I remember a great strategist saying that only when the besieging force is more than ten times the size of the defending force can they have a chance of capturing a city. We will only defend and not attack. No matter how powerful the elite thousand-man regiment is, it will be helpless. Besides, we are in a barren desert with no water or food. There is no possibility of a long siege. When we run out of ammunition and food, the Holy Kingdom's reinforcements will arrive, and the Giant Scorpion people will have no choice but to retreat."

Russell said with some unease, "Your tactics are indeed impeccable, but I have also heard that the elite thousand-man regiment is best at siege warfare. No matter how high or steep the fortifications are, they can't stop them..."

Xinran shook her head and smiled, "That's almost mythical. They don't have wings, they can't fly up here."

As she spoke, the Giant Scorpion Legion arrived at the city gate. Sure enough, their armor was bright and their formation was orderly, incomparable to the rabble of the Rose Crusaders. When this most valiant and skilled black-armored infantry regiment of the Giant Scorpion Kingdom appeared before everyone, the air seemed to be frozen by the surging killing intent, and the temperature dropped sharply.

The main fighting force at the forefront of the giant scorpion army, the "Elite Warriors," were all clad in jet-black leather armor. Above the waist, they were human warriors in black armor, their exposed skin smooth, tight, and light gray. Their eyes, like most of the peoples of Middle-earth, were black. Below the waist were enormous scorpion bodies, covered in a hard, yellowish-brown shell. They possessed four pairs of hind legs, two large pincers, and venomous stingers on their tails that gleamed eerily blue in the sunlight. Their weapons were all five-foot-long, untasseled spears, each a foot long with a single, sharpened edge, resembling a long, narrow-bladed sword.

This was Xinran's third encounter with the giant scorpion army. The previous time was with the Rose Crusaders, which needs no further explanation. The first time was in the desert town of Kasar, where she encountered the giant scorpion queen, Catherine, who led her forces to seize the railroad. The giant scorpion warriors who followed Catherine on that expedition looked more like native barbarians, without even armor, and with female soldiers mixed in. Although they were fierce, they lacked the qualities of a regular army and were far less imposing than the current "elite thousand-man regiment."

On the other hand, the giant scorpion army was also stunned by the solemn city before them. Before setting out, this invincible elite force in the desert had heard rumors that the enemy was just a small group of bandits entrenched in the oasis, so they were not prepared for a siege or even a bitter battle. How come in just a few days, the "stronghold" has become a castle, and the bandits have become warlords! This joke is too much!

"Holy crap! This is the so-called bandit stronghold? This joke is too much! Where the hell have all the scouts gone? I'm going to chop off your heads!" The person who was complaining about the "unexpected surprise" was a young giant scorpion wearing silver armor, who was at the forefront of the giant scorpion army. Unlike the other warriors, this youth only had a scorpion tail; otherwise, he was indistinguishable from a human, presumably a hybrid of the Giant Scorpion Clan and a human. (There are so many races in Central Continent that hybridization is commonplace. According to biological principles, hybrids naturally possess hybrid vigor, so it's understandable that talented individuals emerge from among them.)

The Giant Scorpion youth's presence seemed out of place with the overall atmosphere of the thousand-man group. First, as a soldier, he lacked any military bearing, behaving like a petty thug. Second, his appearance was also quite "seductive." His upper body armor was barely presentable, while his lower body wore a pair of brightly colored trousers, with a gilded steel spear tucked under his arm, and wooden clogs on his feet! Wearing wooden clogs in the desert… unless he was deliberately trying to look cool, this person must have lost his mind.

Episode 6, Chapter 5: The Defense of the City

The most infuriating thing about the giant scorpion youth was his hairstyle. From his brow upwards to the back of his head, the left side was shaved completely bald, while the right side had long hair cascading down his shoulders. Long bangs covered his right eye, and he only used his left eye to glance upwards when looking at people, his expression incredibly irritating.

"What the hell are those guys on the city wall doing? Pighead—pighead, where the hell are you? Come here!" the giant scorpion youth yelled.

A chubby, pure-blooded giant scorpion man squeezed out from the center of the ranks, his chubby face sweating from exhaustion. He squinted his small, beady eyes and gave the youth a cheerful salute.

"Colonel Jute, Chief of Staff of the Corps, reporting for duty. Your Highness, what brings you here?"

The young man, addressed as Prince and also the commander of the Thousand-Man Regiment, asked the staff officer named Jute—nicknamed Pighead—"Little Fatty, didn't you tell me the other side was just a bunch of bandits? How come a city suddenly appeared? If you don't explain clearly, I'll send you to the front lines to charge."

Pighead, the staff officer, shrank his neck and chuckled, "Your Highness, you don't know this, but there's a magician in this city, proficient in the wondrous magic of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. Hearing that we came to suppress the bandits, he used that magic to move a city from the distant Eastern Silk Country, named Chang'an, meaning long-lasting peace and stability. It is said that on the fifteenth day of the first month of that year, Chang'an was covered in snow—"

"Snow, snow, snow—snow my ass!" Prince Taifan roared in anger, "Report the truth, no nonsense!"

"I'm not talking nonsense, I'm telling a legend..."

"No rumors allowed!"

"Then, it's said..."

"Rumors are not allowed either!"

The pig-headed chief of staff shrugged, saying helplessly, "Your Highness, all I know is nonsense and rumors. Asking me to tell the truth hits my weak point..."

"...Is there anything on your body that's actually longer? As chief of staff, you can't even get solid intelligence, what kind of job are you?"

Chief of Staff, Pighead, rolled his eyes and said, "I was originally a storyteller in a teahouse in the capital. Your Highness insisted on making me a staff officer. If I'm really useless, then it's Your Highness's fault for being blind and forcing me into this position. If we're talking about being unworthy of the title, Your Highness is the same. Because His Majesty ordered a crackdown on organized crime, your organization was suspected of employing underage girls for compensated dating, and it was listed at the top of the crackdown list, so you had to flee to the army for refuge. We're both equally bad, so neither of us can say anything about the other."

Prince Taifan, his secret exposed by his subordinate, couldn't help but feel ashamed and angry, and shouted, "Then what do you suggest we do? Are we just going to attack the city rashly like this? Military strategy says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' I don't even know who the enemy's leader is, how can we fight a war?"

The personal guards nearby couldn't stand it any longer and whispered to Tai Fan, "Your Highness, you should say 'bandit leader.' This isn't the capital, and we're not having a gang fight here. You should think carefully before you speak."

Tai Fan slapped the guard across the face and roared, "Who gave you the right to interrupt when the boss is speaking? Get out of my way!"

The guard sheepishly pushed him away, and the rest fell silent, utterly speechless at this rogue commander. The

storyteller-turned-chief, Pig Head, mustered his courage and spoke up, "Your Highness, I received intelligence yesterday and know the city's troop strength inside and out."

Tai Fan was overjoyed and pressed, "Where is the informant now? Quickly call him over to speak—be careful, don't let the cops spot him!"

Pig Head smiled bitterly, "Don't worry, boss, there are no cops here—damn it, I'm confused too!" Pig Head was also a former gangster who followed Tai Fan, so calling him "boss" was more natural for him than "Your Highness."

As they spoke, a woman in black stepped out from behind the pig-headed chief of staff, bowed, and said, "I am Laura Kodama, adjutant of the Rose Crusade, paying my respects to Your Highness!"

Her appearance stunned Russell and the others on the city wall. No one had expected Laura to surrender to the enemy and become a spy. If she revealed the true situation in the city to the Giant Scorpion Legion, they would be in grave danger.

Seeing Russell's anger, Xinran whispered with a smile, "Brother, do you remember what Sister Laura told you yesterday morning? Don't misunderstand her good intentions."

Russell's expression changed several times, and he finally sighed and smiled bitterly, "This is too dangerous. She should have consulted us first."

Xinran sighed, "My sister is an assassin by trade; she has her own methods. Right now, we should think more about how to deal with the elite thousand-man group. Brother, who is that strangely dressed kid standing at the front?"

Russell picked up his binoculars, studied him intently for a moment, and smiled... "It's strange," he said, "how did he become the legion commander... I really don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing." He put down his glasses and told Xinran, "The elite thousand-man regiment has always been personally commanded by the Giant Scorpion Queen Catherine. I don't know why the commander this time has been changed to Catherine's younger brother, Prince Tavan."

Xinran had met Catherine once and felt that the young and beautiful queen was more domineering than experienced, so much so that she was persuaded by her in a few words to disperse the refugees at the high price of one mid-grade earth crystal per person. Xinran was deeply impressed by her simplicity and generosity. She wondered what kind of person her brother was; judging from his sister's perspective, his level shouldn't be too bad.

"Tavan... how to put it," Russell said thoughtfully, "if you want to say he's strong, he's really strong; if you want to say he's bad, he's definitely not ordinary bad. In short, he's a complicated character."

Tavan was Catherine's younger brother. His original name wasn't Tavan; his sister changed it for him after becoming the queen. Tevan, the leader of the seven Scorpion Kings who once aided the Egyptian goddess Isis, was renamed by Catherine, who considered herself the Egyptian goddess, to encourage him to emulate the Scorpion Kings in serving the goddess and loyally assisting her.

However, things didn't go as planned. Tevan became known as the "Rogue Prince" in the Scorpion Kingdom, neglecting his official duties and instead engaging in gangster activities, causing unrest in the capital and surrounding areas. Catherine, unable to bear it any longer, transferred her brother to various places to fight bandits. Today, upon hearing the shocking news that rebels had emerged from the Bird Paradise, colluding with trolls to murder the mage Cipher and destroy the Rose Crusade, she was enraged and dispatched her brother with an elite thousand-strong force to quell the rebellion.

The ruling families of the various military powers in Middle-earth often possess secret martial arts techniques. For example, the Holy Dragon True Qi of the Holy Kingdom's royal family, and the Frost Palm of the Rama royal family. The Scorpion royal family also has a secret family technique known as the "Crimson Needle." The previous Giant Scorpion King, with his unparalleled mastery of the "Crimson Needle," ranked ninth on the list of martial arts masters, unmatched throughout the vast Han Dynasty.

The Crimson Needle isn't a hidden weapon, but a technique similar to the Six Meridians Finger Sword, using internal force to shoot venom from the giant scorpion's body through the fingertips. Not only is it extremely poisonous, but those with profound internal force can even pierce iron plates from a hundred meters away.

Both Catherine and her brother possess the "Crimson Needle" skill, with Tyfan reportedly surpassing his sister. He was quite arrogant in this regard, once betting that someone would shoot him with a pistol from ten paces away. Tyfan, empty-handed and sitting motionless in a chair, effortlessly deflected all the bullets with six flicks of his fingers, surpassing his father's reputation and ascending to the throne of the Giant Scorpion Kingdom's number one master.

This speaks to Tyfan's strength, but he also has many weaknesses. For example, he acts haphazardly, lacks any sense of propriety, is brave but reckless, has no ambition, and a terrible personality… He possesses extraordinary skills but achieves little, lacking both the strategy to govern a country and the talent to lead a nation to stability. Ultimately, he is just a willful and reckless delinquent.

After hearing Russell's words, Xinran actually felt a bit more favorably disposed towards Taifan, thinking that this kid's style of conduct was quite similar to hers. It was a pity he was a giant scorpion, otherwise she could have made friends with him.

Meanwhile, in the Giant Scorpion army below the city, Taifan listened to Lola's report, nodded in satisfaction, and took out all the money from his pocket and gave it to her: "Well done. Take this money to support your family. Tell your man to stop gambling. If he can't find a job, he can come with me. I, Taifan, will never mistreat him."

Lola accepted the money, suppressing a laugh, and said, "Thank you for your generous reward, Your Highness, but... my man doesn't gamble."

"Then tell him to stop drinking, stop visiting prostitutes, stop doing drugs, stop cockfighting, and stop gambling on horses—since he shamelessly lets his girlfriend come out as a spy to make money, he can't be a gentleman, can he?" Taifan said irritably.

Lola hadn't expected the prince to be so funny. Half-jokingly, she said, "My men are all busy with important matters, so I have to come out and do some work to earn some pocket money."

Tefan asked in surprise, "Wait—how many men do you have?"

"Four!"

Tefan asked incredulously, "Aren't you afraid they'll find out you're juggling four men and get jealous and fight?"

Lola smiled smugly, "My four men are all brothers and father and son. They would never be jealous over such a small matter, much less fight."

Tefan was amazed and gave her a thumbs up, praising, "You're amazing! When you go home, don't forget to give my regards to your four men. Tell them that Tefan, the big boss of the Black Dragon Society of the Green Fields, envies them for having such a powerful wife."

Lola chuckled inwardly and replied, "Yes, ma'am!" She bowed and withdrew.

Tyfan waved his hand, barking at his soldiers, "What are you standing around for? Attack the city immediately!"

The elite thousand-man regiment received the order and advanced. Xinran gave the signal, and the exiles, armed with bows and arrows, marched onto the city walls, aiming their arrows at the advancing giant scorpion army.

"Fire!" Xinran commanded the archers to gather around the giant scorpion warriors who had entered their range.

"Shields up!" Tyfan gave the order, and all the elite warriors removed their shields from their backs and held them above their heads.

Arrows rained down on the city walls, and those struck fell to the ground like wheat in the wind. However, most of the elite warriors advanced safely under the cover of their shields.

Xinran sighed, realizing that time was of the essence. He had originally planned to arm the archers with magic arrows, which would have rendered the shields vulnerable, but Tyfan's army had arrived too quickly, and he hadn't had time to mass-produce magic arrows before being forced into battle.

Now was not the time for regrets. Xinran gave the signal again, and the four giant brothers, perched atop the arrow towers, immediately hurled boulders, smashing the approaching giant scorpion warriors and sending them sprawling.

Giants are warriors most skilled at throwing stones. The boulders hurled by the four brothers were not only incredibly powerful but also imbued with magical effects; upon hitting their target, they would automatically return to the arrow tower for reuse, ensuring an endless supply of ammunition. Perched on high ground and possessing superhuman strength, the brothers' stones were both accurate and devastating, their range covering almost the entire giant scorpion legion. They could truly hit whomever they wanted, with no way to dodge. As for their small iron shields, while they were passable against ordinary arrows, against the boulders, it was a true case of "throwing an egg against a rock."

The youngest of the four brothers, the one most fond of showing off, "Neng," seeing that Taifan was the enemy commander, swung a huge rock at him.

Facing the meteor-like boulder crashing down on him, Taifan showed no fear. He shot out a slender, deep red finger sword, which struck the rock and shattered it with his inner force. Xinran, watching from the city wall, couldn't help but secretly admire the power of the "Crimson Needle."

The elite Scorpion warriors, realizing their commander was under attack, roared in fury and intensified their attack. One elite warrior immediately retaliated, hurling a spear at Xinran.

Yulia rushed forward, drawing her bow and releasing an arrow in one fluid motion. The first shot was undrawn, the air shockwave from the bowstring deflecting the incoming spear. The second shot was an explosive magic arrow. The arrowhead flew towards the Scorpion warrior attacking Xinran as if it had eyes. The warrior hastily raised his shield to defend himself.

*Thud!*

The magic arrow struck the shield and exploded, blasting the warrior and all the enemy soldiers within three feet into the air.

Julia pressed her advantage, unleashing ten arrows in quick succession, each landing in the densest part of the enemy ranks. Explosions rang out incessantly; blood flowed like a river and corpses piled high before the city gates. At least dozens had perished under Julia's arrows.

The power of the explosive bow shocked the attacking army, who retreated hastily to the sides of the city gates, preferring to be surrounded by the giant's stones rather than face the blast of Julia's magic arrows. Tevan glanced at the city walls in surprise, then turned and retreated to the rear of the army. Although he possessed the ability to shatter boulders with a single finger, he dared not face the onslaught of magic arrows.

Encircling the outer edge of the city wall was a moat ten feet deep and nine feet wide, filled with oil. When the attacking army broke through the arrow net, Xinran personally threw down a torch to ignite the oil, instantly turning the moat into a sea of fire. The raging flames halted the giant scorpion army.

"Breakthrough!"

Taifan, showing no weakness, ordered the attack to continue. Well-trained elite warriors quickly dismantled their shields and assembled them into bridges, placing them above the sea of fire. Then, they shoveled large amounts of sand and soil into the moat to weaken the fire, leaping onto the "shield bridges" and crossing the inferno to continue the assault.

The giant scorpion warriors, having endured countless hardships, finally reached the city walls. However, lacking battering rams and ladders, they could neither breach the gates nor climb the walls, seemingly making their efforts futile. But then, the giant scorpion people displayed an astonishing national characteristic—they actually climbed vertically up the wall!

Including Xinran, all the defenders had overlooked one thing—scorpions can climb walls.

The giant scorpion warriors had four pairs of claws on their lower limbs, the tips of which were sharp as hooks. They could easily scale the smooth stone walls with just a narrow opening.

Watching the giant scorpion warriors, shields on their heads and spears in hand, scrambling to climb the walls, Xinran felt a chill run down his spine—a horrifying sight he would never witness during a human army siege. This was the racial advantage of subhumans over humans, leaving the defenders both terrified and helpless.

Russell noticed the change in Xinran's expression and slapped him on the shoulder, shouting encouragement, "Brother, quickly order the melee combat—we might not lose after all!"

Xinran took a deep breath and shouted for the archers to retreat, while the trolls advanced. The troll column, already impatient, roared and charged forward, striking the giant scorpion warriors who had scaled the walls. These naturally warlike, bloodthirsty monsters finally found their opportunity to vent their fury. Wielding their long, powerful arms, they tore the giant scorpion warriors to pieces and hurled them off the walls. Blood and flesh rained down like a red rain.

The giant scorpion warriors, however, did not retreat. Using their intelligence and tactical superiority, they compensated for their lack of physical strength. Three warriors formed a small formation, which then connected to form a larger formation, supporting each other in defense and offense, steadily advancing towards the city gate—their goal being to cut the iron chains and lower the gate. However, the attack was not going smoothly due to the trolls' relentless resistance. If it weren't for the continuous influx of reinforcements from the city walls, this elite force that had forced its way in would have been wiped out by the almost indestructible trolls long ago.

Xinran, running around directing operations below the city gate, inadvertently noticed many wooden barrels piled up in the corner. Opening them, he found they were full of oil. He then remembered Lola's prophecy from the previous night, and a flash of inspiration struck him—a good way to deal with the giant scorpion people.

Meanwhile, at the city walls, Taifan observed the battle from the central command. Seeing that his main force had already breached the walls, he felt the tide had turned.

He figured all he had to do was wait for the gates to open, then lead his army in for a swift and decisive attack, coordinating with the vanguard inside to annihilate the rebels. Growing increasingly smug, he ordered his chief of staff, Pighead, to prepare lunch. He then took out his toiletries from his bag, a water cup in his left hand and a toothbrush in his right, and began brushing his teeth while watching the battle unfold. At

first glance, the siege seemed to be going poorly. The defending army had somehow produced numerous large wooden barrels, pouring buckets of thick, black ointment onto the walls, making them sticky and slippery, preventing the giant scorpion warriors from gaining a foothold and hindering their advance. The

troll column inside the city also tightened its encirclement. With reinforcements blocked, the giant scorpion warriors inside faced increasing pressure and were forced to abandon their attempt to capture the gates, barely managing to maintain a foothold.

The trolls fully utilized their immunity to injury, charging forward naked. If the giant scorpion warriors attacked with their spears, the spearheads would become stuck, rendering the trolls unable to pull them out, effectively rendering their weapons useless. The other trolls seized the opportunity to rush forward, wielding their flint clubs and smashing the unarmed giant scorpion warriors to pieces. With

the triangular formation broken, the remaining two were forced to fight individually. In a one-on-one fight, the giant scorpion warriors were no match for the trolls. Even their final trump card, the "poison sting," could not inflict fatal damage on these thick-skinned behemoths, forcing them to retreat back to the city walls and attempt to escape by jumping over the walls.

However, getting up was easy, but getting down was difficult. As soon as their hands and feet touched the walls, they were stuck in asphalt and unable to move.

Taking advantage of this, Xinran ordered the walls to be set on fire. The asphalt-coated walls became a screen of flames, and the giant scorpion warriors stuck to them struggled in the fire. Most of them died miserably, while the rest, in an attempt to escape, severed their legs and jumped off the walls, their bodies engulfed in flames, like a living version of "Hell Screen" painted on a screen.

"Gulp gulp... Ptooey!"

Taifan sprayed mouthwash onto the sand, took off the towel hanging around his neck to wipe his mouth, and shouted, "Cease the attack! All troops retreat!"

"Your Highness—we can't retreat!" Pighead said smugly, "If we just put in a little more effort, our army can conquer the enemy camp!"

Taifan said slowly, "The siege can wait. Nothing is more important than eating! I need to eat now. We'll talk about everything else after we finish eating." He

turned around and called, "Cook, bring me my cold noodles."

A cook wearing a white hat pushed over a food cart with only a small white jade bowl the size of a washbasin on it. The bowl of knife-cut noodles, topped with crushed ice, steamed in the sunlight.

Taifan pulled up a chair and sat down, holding the bowl of noodles in his right hand and extending his left. Pighead, the chief of staff, took a glass bottle from his left pocket and gave it to him. It contained Taifan's favorite special chili oil.

Taifan poured a full bottle of chili oil into a bowl, tossed the empty bottle aside, and reached out his hand. Pighead then pulled another glass bottle of rice vinegar from his right pocket and handed it to him.

Taifan poured the vinegar into the bowl as well, used a fork to mix the noodles and seasonings evenly, and began to eat heartily. In the blink of an eye, he had finished a large bowl of hot and sour cold noodles, wiping his sweat and sighing contentedly, "As long as I can eat a bowl of hot and sour noodles every day, I'd be happy even if I weren't a prince."

After finishing the noodles, Taifan ordered the siege to continue: "Bring out the Rape and the Attacker; it's time for them to make their appearance."

Pighead, the strategist, corrected him, "Your Highness, it's Rape and Attacker. You're just giving the mechanical armor nicknames; people with impure hearts will misunderstand."

Taifan waved his hand impatiently, "Enough nonsense, just bring them out!"

Two massive, tracked cannons emerged from the crowd. One, painted red with a flame emblem on its barrel, was the "Destroyer." The other, blue with a lightning bolt emblem on its barrel, was the "Assault Warrior."

These two self-propelled cannons were artificial intelligence weapons requiring no human control, unique to the Giant Scorpion Kingdom, and personally developed and supervised by Queen Catherine as siege-specific mechs.

In Middle-earth, mechanosists skilled in artificial intelligence were few and far between, the most famous being Alexander the Great of the Holy Grail. As for why Catherine also possessed this profound secret art, there was a hidden story behind it.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the two cannons aimed at the city gates, and a great battle was about to erupt.

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