30: Chapter 30 I Have a Bold Idea

"Ma Lie, tie it down! Don't let it run!"

Su Bai shouted while dodging.

He discovered that every violent struggle of the cow Yao Beast made the wound on its left side deeper.

The cow Yao Beast could no longer bother with killing Su Bai and Ma Lie; now, it only wanted to escape!

Its instinct told it that these two of the Human Race really might kill it.

"Want to run? No way!"

Ma Lie roared, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly to keep the cow Yao Beast from breaking free.

His arm was numbed by the cow Yao Beast's powerful Demonic Qi, but Ma Lie stubbornly held on.

A sharp light flashed in Su Bai's eyes.

He suddenly leaped up and stepped onto the cow Yao Beast's hind leg.

Like an agile monkey, he climbed along the cow Yao Beast's thick hind leg to its back.

"Moo!!"

The cow Yao Beast sensed Su Bai's goal and thrashed its body left and right like a madman.

Su Bai gripped the fur on the cow Yao Beast's back tightly.

He seized the opportunity to jump to the cow Yao Beast's neck.

He stretched out his right hand and grabbed one of the huge horns on the cow Yao Beast's head.

"Break for me!"

Su Bai exerted force suddenly, his body arching.

He gathered all his spiritual energy into his right hand.

"Crack—!"

A crisp sound rang out.

Under Su Bai's powerful strike, the cow Yao Beast's incredibly hard black horn was actually snapped off by him!

"Aroo!!"

The cow Yao Beast let out an even more miserable howl.

At this moment, its massive body could no longer hold up, and it collapsed heavily to the ground.

The immense force caused its entire body to sink into the soil.

Seizing this opportunity, Ma Lie violently pulled out his battle blade, then immediately followed with another strike, stabbing fiercely into the other side of the cow Yao Beast's waist and abdomen.

"Go to hell! You Demon creature!"

Two heavy wounds, its Demonic Qi dissipated.

The cow Yao Beast let out a final, unwilling cry, its huge body crashing to the ground, kicking up dust.

Su Bai gasped for air, sliding down from the cow Yao Beast.

He was covered in blood and nearly exhausted.

But his eyes revealed a sense of excitement.

"Dead... is it dead?"

Ma Lie looked at the giant cow Yao Beast corpse lying on the ground, trembling, and said incredulously.

Did they really kill a Foundation Establishment Stage Demon?

Su Bai did not answer, instead staggering over to the side of the cow Yao Beast's corpse.

Ma Lie was still dazed there, so Su Bai gently patted his shoulder, signaling him to look at the cow Yao Beast, and said in a hoarse voice that could not hide his excitement:

"The Yao core! The cow Yao Beast's Yao core!"

Su Bai's voice exploded in Ma Lie's ears, and he suddenly snapped back to reality.

That's right, the Yao core!

A Yao core from a Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beast; this thing is not common in Yunzhou City!

He didn't have time to think too much; Su Bai was already staggering to the side of the cow Yao Beast's corpse.

The giant cow Yao Beast's body lay horizontally, blood flowing like a river, but what attracted Su Bai the most was clearly the faint light deep within its abdomen.

Su Bai reached out with a trembling hand.

Spiritual energy turned into a sharp stream of Qi at his fingertips, and without hesitation, he sliced open the cow Yao Beast's chest and abdomen.

The foul-smelling blood gushed out instantly, but Su Bai seemed completely unaware, focused only on finding that Yao core.

Soon, a crystal the size of an adult's fist, emitting a pale yellow light, was extracted from the bloody mess.

It was warm and smooth like jade, yet contained immense Demonic Qi.

"Whew... good stuff."

Su Bai held the Yao core, feeling the waves of warmth it brought.

This thing could allow him to break through the Bottleneck of the Qi Refinement Stage, and perhaps even go further.

Ma Lie also leaned in, looking at the Yao core, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He knew the value of this thing, and even more so, the price they had paid for it.

Su Bai did not waste time.

He carefully put the Yao core away, then cast his gaze into the distance.

From that direction, the thunderous roars of the Yao Race could be faintly heard.

It was clearly the encampment of the Demon.

"Let's go, we must leave here immediately."

Ma Lie said in a deep voice, while looking around; the scent of blood would attract other Yao Beasts.

However, Su Bai did not move.

His eyes, which appeared somewhat sunken due to fatigue, were now flashing with light.

"Ma Lie, why do you think... the Demon suddenly attacked the city?"

Su Bai asked out of the blue.

Ma Lie was taken aback, not expecting Su Bai to ask this, and replied subconsciously:

"What else could it be? It's just because they see our Human Race is weak and want to seize territory and devour living beings."

He answered as if it were a matter of course.

Su Bai shook his head, a cold smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"No, it's not that simple. They assembled an army of three hundred thousand, mobilizing such a large force; there must be a deeper reason. And... have you noticed that this cow Yao Beast has grain stuck to it?"

Ma Lie looked where his finger pointed, and sure enough, there was.

Frowning, he said: "Grain? What does that represent?"

"It represents that it transported food. And not just ordinary food, but the grains that the Human Race eats."

Su Bai's voice carried a sense of certainty.

"The vast majority of the Yao Race, especially the Demon Soldiers of the Qi Refinement Stage, need to eat grains. Just like our Human Race, only Yao Kings above the Foundation Establishment Stage can rely entirely on Demonic Qi to cultivate and survive without eating."

Ma Lie widened his eyes; he had never thought about these details.

Su Bai continued:

"This cow Yao Beast, at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, we named Alipu. Since it could appear on the front lines and was carrying grain... it is highly likely that it is the grain officer for the Demon. Or rather, it just completed an important delivery of grain."

"An army of three hundred thousand consumes an astronomical amount of grain every day. If we could burn their grain..."

Ma Lie's heart skipped a beat.

"Burn... burn the grain of the Demon?"

"Are you crazy? Su Bai! That's an army of three hundred thousand! There are only nine of us! Qi Refining Sixth Layer going to burn the grain of an army of three hundred thousand? How is this any different from seeking death?"

He stared at Su Bai with wide eyes.

However, Su Bai's face showed only seriousness.

"Yes, it certainly sounds like seeking death."

Su Bai chuckled softly, but his eyes were as sharp as knives.

"But think about it, once the grain is destroyed, what will happen to the three hundred thousand Demon? They will collapse without a fight! Without food, how long can they hold out? They will riot due to hunger, kill each other, or even retreat directly!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, "This means we don't need to face the frontal assault of those three hundred thousand troops to dismantle them! This is much more effective than us killing ten Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beasts!"

Ma Lie was shocked by Su Bai's words.

He had to admit that from a strategic perspective, this was indeed a killer move!

But, is it really possible to execute?

"But, that grain must be guarded by heavy troops! It's impossible for us to even get close!"

Su Bai shook his head, looking into the distance with deep eyes, and said: "Precisely because it is important, the Yao Race might think the safest place is actually the place we of the Human Race would least likely attack. Furthermore, the appearance of Alipu has precisely exposed their grain transport route. We have clues, we have a direction."

He paused, looking at Ma Lie with burning eyes:

"The greater the risk, the greater the reward. Once successful, this siege crisis will be completely resolved."

Ma Lie was struggling violently inside.