157: Chapter 157 End of the Battle

Finally...

"Thump!"

After taking another heavy, sweeping strike from the Scarlet Sun Avatar's spear shaft, the Chief could no longer hold on.

His giant axe slipped from his grip, and his massive body, as if drained of all its bones, collapsed heavily to his knees before falling forward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He tried to struggle, but countless bones in his body were broken, and his internal organs were severely damaged.

His Platinum-grade vitality was rapidly fading, leaving him with only a faint, lingering breath, unable to even lift a single finger.

He lay with his face pressed against the cold, filthy ground.

With his only remaining eye, he looked hazily at the burning tribal camp not far away.

He watched the scattered corpses of his tribesmen, the Scarlet Sun Avatar that had finally stopped attacking and was slowly dissipating, and the human soldiers who, silent as death, had begun to methodically mop up the last of the resistance...

It was over. Everything was over.

Lin Feng deactivated "Command of a Thousand Armies." His face was pale from the immense exertion, but his eyes remained sharp.

Without even glancing at the fallen Chief, he carried the crimson gold coiling dragon spear and led his soldiers deeper into the tribe, clearing out the last of the resistance hiding in the ruins and caves.

Another hour passed.

When the last hiding Minotaur who attempted to resist was stabbed to death by a hail of spears.

Within the Split-Hoof Tribe, aside from the sound of the wind, the crackling of flames, and the footsteps of human soldiers cleaning up the battlefield, there was no longer any sound belonging to the Minotaurs.

A tribe of one hundred thousand people had been wiped out.

Lin Tian, riding the magnificent Red Flame, trotted over the scorched and blood-stained earth, arriving unhurriedly at the spot where the Chief had fallen.

The flames on Red Flame's four hooves brushed lightly over the bloodstains, emitting a faint "sizzling" sound.

He pulled on the reins, and Red Flame obediently came to a halt.

Looking down from above, Lin Tian gazed at the Minotaur leader on the ground, who looked like a tattered sack, his chest rising and falling only slightly.

The Chief seemed to sense something; with great difficulty and extreme slowness, he rolled his eyes, his unfocused gaze meeting Lin Tian's calm stare.

Lin Tian looked at him, his face devoid of a victor's arrogance or any unnecessary pity.

It was as if he were looking at a piece of spoils, or an object about to provide information.

He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it clearly pierced through the clamor of the battlefield, carrying an unquestionable calmness as it reached the Chief's ears:

"Alright, the battle is over. Now, let's talk."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze tangible as it fell upon the Chief's blood-stained face.

"Tell me everything you know about your kingdom, about this area... everything you think is of value."

Lin Tian paused, his tone still flat but carrying a cold, final ultimatum:

"Confess honestly. If I am satisfied with what I hear, I can grant you a quick death, allowing you to die like a decent warrior, rather than a wild dog struggling in the mud."

"If you are stubborn, or talk nonsense..."

He straightened up and gently patted Red Flame's neck. Red Flame snorted, puffing out a small wisp of scorching flame that landed on the ground beside the Chief's face, burning a small pit.

"I also have many ways to make you spit out everything you know, word for word. It's just that if I do, you will die very uglily, without any dignity. Choose one?"

The pupils of the Chief's only remaining eye contracted slightly.

Anger, humiliation, despair, and a sliver of longing for a "quick" death were complexly intertwined.

"Haa... Haa..." His throat wheezed like a broken bellows; every breath tugged at his shattered internal organs, bringing tearing, excruciating pain.

He tried to use his relatively intact arm to prop up his mountain-like body.

His muscles bulged and veins popped out; his heavy body lifted slightly, but due to weakness, it slammed back onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He let out a low, unwilling growl and tried again, but the result was the same.

After several attempts, he finally recognized the reality.

This broken body could not even maintain a kneeling posture, let alone stand up and launch a final charge against this human lord who had destroyed everything he had.

The struggle ceased.

He no longer tried to get up in vain.

He simply tilted his head at a stubborn angle, staring fixedly at Lin Tian with eyes burning with rage, and roared in a hoarse but exceptionally clear voice:

"Human... falling into your hands... I, the Chief, admit defeat! If you want to kill or slice me up, make it quick! But if you want to pry a single word out of my mouth... you are delusional!"

His words were resonant, carrying the ferocity and determination of a dying beast.

Lin Tian, riding on Red Flame's back, leaned forward slightly. Upon hearing this, he was not angered; instead, a trace of amusement appeared on his face.

He gently patted Red Flame's neck, and Red Flame sensibly took two steps forward.

The flames on its four hooves branded several scorched hoof prints onto the ground beside the Chief's face, emitting a scorching heat.

"A hard bone, I admire that."

Lin Tian nodded, his tone even carrying a casual air, as if making small talk.

"However, Chief, you have led a tribe and clashed with human forces, so you must be aware... that we humans have, since ancient times, possessed quite a bit of 'experience' in 'persuading' others to speak."

"There are plenty of 'little methods,' both above-board and underhanded. Some methods can make even the hardest stone speak. Of course, the process... is not very dignified."

He paused, his gaze falling calmly upon the Chief's face, which was distorted by blood loss and anger, as if stating a simple fact:

"Do you want to try our 'experience,' or... choose a quicker, more warrior-like way to die?"

"Human methods..."

The Chief's massive body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

A trace of deep-seated dread, which even he did not want to admit, flashed in his only remaining eye.

He remembered the border war that had broken out years ago between the Minotaur Kingdom and that powerful human nation in the east, the "Purple Moon Dynasty."

In that brutal war, both sides had prisoners fall into enemy hands.

He had seen it with his own eyes, and he had heard of it.

Those captured tribesmen or humans, under the enemy's various unimaginable torture devices and bizarre spells.

How they transformed from iron-willed warriors into wailing, begging, or even mentally broken pieces of mush.

Eventually revealing all their secrets and dying miserably.

That was not just physical torture, but the most cruel trampling of a warrior's dignity.

Who was he, the Chief?

The chieftain of the hundred thousand people of the Split-Hoof Tribe!

A fierce general guarding the border of the kingdom!

He would rather be beheaded by a blade or split apart by a battle axe than crawl like a maggot, twisting and wailing under human torture, and losing all dignity before miserably breathing his last!

Fear flashed for only a moment, immediately replaced by an even more intense humiliation and determination.