Chapter 100: Slaying the Fire-Breathing Bird!

But to prevent his mechanical army from being completely wiped out, he still ordered the troops to retreat.

“Retreat!” the Underworld King commanded coldly.

The mechanical army began to withdraw slowly.

Yet, Chu Xiao had no intention of letting the mechanical forces off so easily.

At this moment, the air was thick not only with the scent of burnt wires but also scorched earth, dust, and the metallic tang of blood.

Chu Xiao recalled that when he had set out, a mighty contingent of nine thousand warriors had followed him.

Now, only five thousand remained behind.

Nearly a third of them—around three thousand—had been mercilessly slaughtered by these relentless machines. Some were left without even a trace of their bodies.

How could he allow these cold, heartless machines to escape? Absolutely not! They must pay the price!

“Everyone, take positions at a distance and open fire! Do not let them flee!” Chu Xiao shouted.

In this situation, Chu Xiao was confident he could utterly annihilate this mechanical army.

“They must pay for the blood they’ve spilled! Avenge our fallen comrades!” His eyes blazed red, veins bulging on his forehead.

The soldiers quickly echoed his call.

“Avenge our comrades and wipe out the machines!”

“Kill all of them!”

…

The troops covering the mechanical army’s retreat were soon shredded to pieces by the warriors of Jiuzhou.

The Underworld King realized that this time, Jiuzhou was determined to destroy his army.

“Very well! If you humans are so eager to die, I won’t hold back,” he sneered, issuing a command.

“Kill every Jiuzhou human!”

The retreating mechanical army suddenly halted and turned to launch a fiercer assault on Jiuzhou.

Seeing this, Chu Xiao quickly ordered, “Scatter and find cover! Launch a semi-encirclement attack!”

The soldiers immediately dispersed, seeking shelter and preparing to strike.

At this point, the notorious mechanical army numbered fewer than two hundred units: over thirty mechanical hounds, more than thirty humanoid machines, around eighty turret cannons, and some sixty flame birds.

Chu Xiao glanced at the flame birds—they were the most dangerous.

“One squad, focus your attack on the flame birds! Remember, aim for their eyes!” Chu Xiao whispered his orders.

—

Suddenly, a tremendous explosion sounded beside Chu Xiao.

Spotting a large crater nearby, he hurriedly sought new cover.

But for some unknown reason, the machines seemed to single him out, relentlessly targeting him alone.

No matter where Chu Xiao fled, these machines quickly located his position.

Each time, he narrowly escaped death.

Had he not been so quick, he would have been reduced to ashes long ago.

Though the machines targeted him exclusively, their numbers were rapidly dwindling.

“Since you insist on targeting me, I’ll return the favor,” Chu Xiao said with a crooked smile. His once delicate face was smeared with blood and grime, yet his charm remained undiminished.

He leapt onto a tall building, then vaulted onto the back of a flame bird.

The flame bird sensed the presence on its back and struggled to shake Chu Xiao off.

Drawing his green throwing knife from his waist, Chu Xiao plunged it deep into the bird’s back.

“Die!” he shouted fiercely, driving the knife deeper.

The blade sank inch by inch until reaching the root. With a sharp upward flick, the flame bird’s front half was cleaved in two.

The bird plummeted downward, but Chu Xiao immediately leapt onto another flame bird’s back.

The Underworld King noticed Chu Xiao’s bold moves.

“You dare come this close? You must want to die.”

“Attack Chu Xiao directly! Even if he jumps on the machines, keep striking! Kill him no matter what!”

The Underworld King was determined to end Chu Xiao this time.

The flame bird glanced fearfully at Chu Xiao on its back.

It then slammed into a nearby tall building, trying to dislodge him, but Chu Xiao held on tightly.

“Please! Get off! I don’t want to die!” the flame bird suddenly pleaded.

Chu Xiao was stunned—the flame bird could actually speak!

“The Underworld King has ordered artillery fire on me. If you don’t get off, we’ll both die!” the flame bird said, still dodging other machines’ attacks.

Below, the soldiers saw the mechanical army fighting among themselves.

“What’s going on?”

“No idea! Should we keep fighting?”

—

One sharp-eyed soldier spotted Chu Xiao atop a flame bird.

“Look! Deputy General Chu is up there!”

“What do we do? Should we save him?”

“How can we save him?”

…

Suddenly, a massive explosion struck the flame bird’s tail.

“Chu Xiao! Get down! Don’t endanger me!” the flame bird roared, truly desperate.

It knew it was special—it could speak and think, though its intelligence was inferior to the Underworld King’s. It had hidden this ability, never revealing itself and always staying behind the front lines.

During the retreat, it had felt fortunate to survive, but never expected a human to relentlessly pursue and leap onto its back—this was a death sentence.

Though curious about the bird’s speech, Chu Xiao showed no mercy, attacking as before.

The flame bird, having witnessed the fate of its kin, was determined not to be killed so easily.

“Get off, human!” it shouted, shaking violently and even ramming Chu Xiao with its back.

Chu Xiao spat blood from the violent impact but gripped his knife firmly. The blade had plunged deeper due to the collision.

Though the flame bird lacked pain sensors, it felt its circuits disrupted.

“This is it… I’m done for,” it thought grimly.

Suddenly, Chu Xiao shouted loudly.

With veins bulging, he forcefully lifted the knife upward in a powerful strike.

The cry was long and heroic.

The flame bird’s mind went blank, plunging into endless darkness.

The soldiers watched in awe as Chu Xiao, wielding only a glowing green blade, cut down two flame birds in succession, cleaving each cleanly in half.

It was a magnificent and staggering sight.

Chu Xiao, seeing more machines approaching, dashed into the ruins nearby.

Mechanical hounds, humanoid machines, and flame birds surged toward him, while turret cannons unleashed volleys of fire.

Chu Xiao sprinted among the rubble, leaping from one rooftop to another, evading the onslaught.