The sudden end of the Tie Suo tribe descended abruptly. With only one Emperor-level expert, the Tie Suo tribe was utterly defenseless against the army led by Gu Chen.
Correction, to be more precise, they didn't even dare to harbor any thoughts of resistance.
The ancient tree city walls of the Tie Suo tribe's stronghold were destroyed in an instant by colossal giants. The Tie Suo cavalry attempting to flee were trampled like ants, crushed mercilessly.
Following this, the giant legion, which had replaced the city walls, advanced step by step. With every stride, countless Tie Suo tribesmen met their deaths, and their homes were obliterated.
Screams and pleas for mercy echoed ceaselessly, while from the sky above, Gu Chen's laughter, filled with exhilaration and a sense of playing with fate, rang out.
"Please, Your Excellency, spare our tribe! The Tie Suo chieftain is willing to take his own life here in exchange for a path of survival for our people!"
Tie Suo ascended into the sky, kneeling on the clouds, and implored loudly.
On the ground, numerous Tie Suo tribesmen also knelt. They dared not resist, and facing the ever-approaching giant legion, they didn't even dare to flee, only managing to beg for mercy in a subservient manner.
"Heh, a bunch of ants, and you think you're worthy of my mercy?"
Gu Chen's eyes flickered upwards, his expression haughty, his tone laced with mockery and disdain.
"Make that bastard who dared to defy me come out! I want him to witness the destruction of his tribe with his own eyes!"
"Your Excellency! Tie Mu deserves to die, but he has long since disappeared. Our Tie Suo tribe now wishes to find him, to carve him into a thousand pieces, and to beg for your forgiveness!"
Tie Suo spoke with sincerity, tears of blood streaming from his eyes. As he looked at his clansmen being slaughtered below, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by immense force, causing unbearable agony.
"So, you mean you can't find that mongrel?"
Gu Chen spoke unhurriedly, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes. It was a pity, he hadn't gotten to see that mongrel beg for mercy. It was, after all, a slight imperfection.
"Yes, we beg Your Excellency to give the Tie Suo tribe a chance. The Tie Suo tribe will definitely capture Tie Mu and beg for your forgiveness!"
Seeing this, Tie Suo spoke urgently. He felt a surge of excitement, thinking that Gu Chen might temporarily spare the Tie Suo tribe. However, when he heard Gu Chen's next words, he froze on the spot, his eyes filled with despair.
"Then forget it. It's your bad luck. Since I've already made my move, you ants should just accept your fate. As for that mongrel, I have plenty of time to play with him slowly."
Gu Chen's tone was calm, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.
As his words fell, the giant legion on the ground moved with incredible speed. Everywhere they passed, the ground turned crimson.
The entire Tie Suo tribe, from its outer edges to its core, was gradually reduced to flat ground.
"Your Excellency!!! Do the sacrifices of our five Tie Suo elders not earn even a shred of your mercy? You promised them that you would spare our Tie Suo tribe!"
Tie Xiong roared, his voice filled with grief and indignation.
"Them? Heh! Just five useless individuals. I did promise them that my disposition would determine the fate of your Tie Suo tribe. But now, my mood is very bad, so you ants should just die!"
Gu Chen sneered, a hint of pathological enjoyment flashing across his face, mixed with anger.
He recalled the outsider who had nearly killed him, a profound humiliation. He was born noble, and no one had ever dared to harm him, let alone bring him to the brink of death!
What made him even more displeased was that the man had later used ten years to forge a Golden Body! And he had done so in the very region where Gu Chen had been capturing the Dragon Horse.
This drove him mad. If that outsider hadn't appeared, perhaps that Golden Body opportunity would have been his!
Therefore, to vent his frustration, he came to the Tie Suo tribe, as only the feeling of controlling the destinies of all beings could somewhat improve his mood.
"Your Excellency!! Are you truly going to annihilate us?! What crime has the Tie Suo tribe committed? Thirty thousand lives, all to be extinguished simply because you are in a bad mood? Aren't you afraid of the cycle of karma by doing this!!!"
Tie Xiong roared, his voice filled with unwillingness and fury.
"Insolence!!!"
"Audacious!!!"
"Offending the Young Master is a capital offense!!!"
Instantly, Gu Chen's subordinates roared, unleashing potent auras that pressed down on Tie Xiong. Notably, the auras of the two Hegemon-level experts beside Gu Chen were particularly intense.
"Pfft!"
Tie Xiong immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura weakening.
His eyes were filled with despair. With his strength as a mid-stage Emperor, he was already powerless to resist the mere impact of the aura from the Gu Shen tribe's experts.
What should he do? What should the Tie Suo tribe do? Must they truly await destruction with abject subservience?
"Heh heh, you're angry? You want to resist me? Heh, you're just an ant. Let me tell you, I am the heaven of your Tie Suo tribe! The Gu Shen tribe is the heaven of Man Zhou! The cycle of karma? Nonsense!"
Gu Chen scoffed, looking down at Tie Xiong with disdain. His eyes held no anger, only mockery.
Truly powerful beings never grew angry at the resistance of an ant; they only felt pity or scorn.
"I'll give you a chance!"
Gu Chen spoke unhurriedly, straightening his posture. A flicker of excitement crossed his eyes as he pointed to the armored middle-aged man beside him, then continued addressing Tie Xiong.
"If you can withstand one strike from him and not die, I will spare your Tie Suo tribe!"
Upon hearing Gu Chen's words, Tie Xiong's eyes showed no excitement or gratitude. Instead, upon seeing the armored man, his heart sank to the abyss.
He recognized the armored man. He was the third general of the Gu Shen tribe, a late-stage Hegemon.
And Tie Xiong was merely a mid-stage Emperor. Even if his combat power were amplified dozens of times, he would still find it difficult to withstand a single strike from a late-stage Hegemon.
"What? Scared? If you're unwilling, I won't force you. However, your Tie Suo tribe will then have no hope whatsoever."
Gu Chen's tone was dismissive, and he shook his head slightly, expecting a hint of surprise but finding none. It was truly dull.
"Chieftain! Save us!!!"
"The Tie Suo tribe cannot perish! Chieftain, we don't want to die!"
"Chieftain, please, even if it's just a sliver of a chance, as long as we are still alive, the Tie Suo tribe has hope!"
"Chieftain, I beg you, my child is still young, they shouldn't die like this."
From the ground, countless Tie Suo tribesmen cried out. They did not know that their chieftain was about to face a strike from a late-stage Hegemon. They only knew that their chieftain was the tribe's sole powerful expert and the only one capable of meeting the conditions set by the young master of the Gu Shen tribe.
Hearing this, Tie Xiong's eyes flowed with bloody tears, and his fists clenched tightly. He understood the thoughts of his clansmen, but he couldn't bring himself to do it!
"Chieftain Uncle, Xiangxiang will help you. Grandma said Xiangxiang can heal the tribe members' injuries."
Just then, a small figure approached Tie Xiong from behind. It was Xiangxiang. At her feet was the largest ancient tree in the center of the Tie Suo tribe's stronghold.
She had already merged her aura with the ancient tree, controlling the growth of its main trunk, which had conveniently supported her to reach Tie Xiong's side.
As a witch cultivator, despite her young age, her cultivation talent was exceptionally high. It could be said that the talent of any witch cultivator was not inferior.
Tie Xiong's body stiffened abruptly upon hearing this, and then he began to weep loudly.
"Chieftain Uncle, don't cry. Don't be afraid, Xiangxiang is not afraid either!"
Xiangxiang said, then climbed onto Tie Xiong's back, mobilizing all the life force of the ancient tree to empower Tie Xiong.