122: Chapter 122 Neutral Race, Cave Dwellers

The six hundredth year.

The war between the Golden Giants and the Treants broke out once again.

This time, it was not because of resources, but because of hatred.

The war one hundred and fifty years ago had caused the Treants to lose four hundred thousand of their kin and the Golden Giants to lose one hundred and fifty thousand. Over time, the hatred between the two sides had become deeper than any struggle for resources.

Jin was already old. His body was covered in rust, and his strength was no longer what it once was, but his will remained firm. Standing at the highest point of the Golden Ruins, he gazed at the lush green jungle to the east, the flames of revenge burning in his golden eyes.

"Treants," his voice was raspy and low, "you took the lives of one hundred and fifty thousand of my people. Today, I want you to pay for it in blood."

Behind him, three hundred thousand Golden Giants were lined up in neat formation. Their bodies were taller and sturdier than they had been one hundred and fifty years ago because rare minerals from the Extreme Cold Ice Plains had been incorporated into their metal. Their weapons were sharper because the Ice Crystal Race's forging techniques had doubled the metal's hardness.

Beside Jin, the Frost King floated in mid-air, his silver eyes as calm as water.

"Golden Giant King, the Ice Crystal Race will abide by the covenant."

Jin nodded.

"Thank you."

He raised the Golden Giant hammer in his hand and pointed it toward the Emerald Jungle.

"Golden Giants, charge!"

Three hundred thousand Golden Giants poured into the Emerald Jungle like a golden tide.

This time, the Treants were not prepared.

One hundred and fifty years of peace had caused the Treants to lower their guard. Their root systems were no longer wound into nets, their vines were no longer woven into walls, and their warriors were no longer in formation.

Qing stood in the center of the Emerald Jungle; his fifty-zhang-tall body appeared so lonely before the golden tide.

"Jin... you..." His voice was full of disbelief.

"Qing, one hundred and fifty years ago, you said 'until death do us part'," Jin's voice was as cold as iron. "Now, I've come to make good on those words."

The Golden Giant hammer smashed down, and Qing's trunk was split in two.

The Ancestor of Ancient Trees had fallen.

The Treants' formation collapsed instantly. Without Qing's life energy, the Treants could not regenerate, could not heal, and could not organize an effective defense.

The Golden Giants harvested their way through the Emerald Jungle; one ancient tree after another fell, one vine after another withered, and one Treant after another died.

The war lasted only a month.

A month later, the Emerald Jungle was razed to the ground. Of the 1.5 million Treants, fewer than one hundred thousand survived. They fled to the southernmost tip of the Netherworld World, taking root again on a barren wasteland.

The Treants were reduced to a second-class race in the Netherworld World.

But Jin was not happy.

Because in this war, the Golden Giants had lost another hundred thousand of their people. Of the three hundred thousand Golden Giants, only two hundred thousand remained.

He looked at those broken metal bodies, a trace of sorrow flashing in his golden eyes.

"Was it worth it?"

The seven hundredth year.

The Troglodytes discovered a massive yin energy crystal vein deep underground.

The reserves of that vein were enough to supply the energy needs of the entire Netherworld World for a thousand years.

Once the news spread, every race went mad.

The Shadow Demons needed yin energy crystals to cultivate, the Ice Crystals needed them to maintain the Extreme Cold Domain, the Golden Giants needed them to forge weapons, the Rakshasa needed them to strengthen their bodies, and the Dragon-Blood Orcs needed them to purify their dragon bloodlines.

Even the Skeleton Warriors needed yin energy crystals to maintain their bodily stability.

But the vein was at the deepest part of the underground, and only the Troglodytes could reach it. Their small bodies and flexible digging techniques made them the only race capable of working at such depths.

The leader of the Troglodytes, an old Troglodyte named Yan Chui, stood at the entrance of the vein and looked at the representatives of the various races who had swarmed there, his earthy-brown eyes full of exhaustion.

"The vein is ours," his voice was raspy but firm. "The Troglodytes have been digging in the darkness for seven hundred years to find this vein. It is the property of the Troglodytes, and no one should think of taking it away."

The representative of the Shadow Demons sneered, "Troglodytes, you only have a population of five hundred thousand. Can you hold onto this vein?"

Yan Chui looked at him, a flash of anger in his earthy-brown eyes.

"Even if we cannot hold it, we must."

War was on the verge of breaking out.

...

On the third day after the news spread, representatives from the six major races—the Shadow Demons, Ice Crystals, Golden Giants, Rakshasa, Dragon-Blood Orcs, and Skeleton Warriors—gathered at the edge of the Gloomy Swamp. That was the entrance to the deep underground, where the mine tunnels dug by the Troglodytes began.

Yan Chui stood before the mine entrance, his earthy-brown eyes scanning the predatory representatives of the various races. There was no fear on his aged face, only exhaustion.

"The Troglodytes have been digging in the darkness for seven hundred years," his voice was raspy, but every word sounded as if it were carved from rock. "We do not want land, we do not want the sky, and we do not want sunlight. We only want the underground. This vein belongs to the Troglodytes, and no one should think of taking it away."

The representative of the Shadow Demons was not their leader Shadow Blade, but an elite warrior named An Hen, at the early stage of the fifth rank.

His body existed between darkness and Yin Qi, flickering in and out of sight in the grayish-white light, his voice sounding like a blade scraping across ice.

"Troglodytes, there are only five hundred thousand of you. Combined, our six major races number over eight million. You cannot hold it."

"Even if we cannot hold it, we must," Yan Chui gripped the pickaxe in his hand. That pickaxe had been passed down from his grandfather and had accompanied three generations of Troglodytes as they dug in the darkness. "Troglodytes never give up their veins."

An Hen sneered and was about to speak when a low, thunderous voice came from a distance.

"The Troglodytes are right."

Everyone turned their heads.

Zhao Tiezhu walked over from the direction of Rakshasa City, his six-meter-tall body like a mobile fortress. Behind him, 1.5 million Rakshasa were lined up in neat formation, dark-gold blood energy surging over them like burning flames.

Beside him, Blood Howl walked side by side, his early sixth-rank aura released without reservation, his dark-gold dragon scales shimmering with a ghostly light in the Yin Qi.

Two dark-gold patterns were wrapped around Blood Howl's dragon horns.

That was the sign of a dragon bloodline awakening. Fifty years ago, during his three-hundredth duel with Zhao Tiezhu, the dragon bloodline in his body had truly awakened for the first time. Though it was only a thin wisp, it was indeed the power of a dragon.

Zhao Tiezhu walked to the mine entrance, his dark-gold vertical pupils scanning all the racial representatives.

"The vein was discovered by the Troglodytes, and the tunnels were dug by the Troglodytes. The Troglodytes have priority over this vein."

An Hen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Rakshasa King, do you wish to make an enemy of the Shadow Demons?"

Zhao Tiezhu grinned, exposing his fangs. "I don't want to be anyone's enemy, but no one should think of bullying the weak. The Troglodytes have been mining for seven hundred years; how many resources have they provided to the Netherworld World? Half of the yin energy crystals you Shadow Demons use for cultivation were bought from the Troglodytes. Now that a massive vein has been found, you want to snatch it? What do you call that? That's called ingratitude."

An Hen fell silent.

What Zhao Tiezhu said was the truth. The Troglodytes were the most industrious race in the Netherworld World. They had been digging deep underground for seven hundred years, providing a vast amount of yin energy crystals and metal veins for all races.

Without the Troglodytes, the cultivation speed of the Shadow Demons would be at least thirty percent slower, the Ice Crystals' Extreme Cold Domain could not maintain its current intensity, and the Golden Giants' bodies would have rusted away long ago.

What's more, the Troglodytes did not fight or grab; they simply managed their race silently underground.

In other words, the Troglodytes were neutral toward all races; they would not use their control over the extraction of yin energy crystals and metal veins...

...to intentionally hike up prices.

They only wanted the selling price of these things to be enough for their race to survive.

The Troglodytes' combat power was not high, and their numbers were not large.

Therefore, they were only a second-class race in the Yang realm of the Netherworld World.