Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 223 [Divine Punishment] (6200 words)
Chapter 217 [Divine Punishment] (6200 words)
After crossing the rugged mountains and the vast forest, if you want to go to Xueya Pass, there is a vast snowfield in between.

However, this snowfield is not a piece of land, but... a vast lake that stretches for hundreds of miles.

However, due to the frigid climate here, the lake froze and became a vast ice field.

After years of wind and snow, the accumulated snow on the ice eventually formed the snowfield we see today.

When Chen Yan and Gu Jinjia escaped from the Badlands Mountain, they walked out of the vast forest of evil spirit trees and traveled together on this snowfield for many days—during which time they even broke through the ice to fish for food.

At that moment, the ice collapsed!
·
If there were eyes looking down at this snowfield from the sky right now, they would see...

On the vast snow-covered plain, the ground was slowly trembling, twisting, and colliding.

The crackling and twisting sound of the ice seemed to become the main melody of the world at that moment.

The army of the ferocious beast tribe had originally gathered in the "safe zone" very close to Snow Cliff Pass, which was an area where a trace of vitality still existed.

This area is about twenty miles long.

Beyond this area, deep within the snowfields, towards the rugged mountains and forests, lies a desolate region devoid of vitality.

The army of the ferocious beast tribe marched forward and gathered, almost all of them scattered within the former safe zone, while behind them lay a vast white ice plain—a zone devoid of vital energy.

However, it was in this very area that a tremendous change occurred at this moment!
The series of explosions that followed came from the ice field. After strange explosions occurred in various places, the power of the explosions shattered the ice surface, causing small pieces of ice to collapse.

Subsequently, through countless explosions and ice shattering at various points, the energy finally reached its peak, triggering a massive chain reaction!

The ice on the entire lake began to crack in large chunks and over large areas!
As the cracks in the ice on the ground spread, the terrifying cracking sound was like the chilling tolling of a death knell!
The latter two-thirds or more of the entire ice field looked like a mirror that had been struck by an invisible hammer, shattering into countless fragments of all sizes!

From ice blocks that stretched for miles to ice blocks that were only a few meters wide, they suddenly seemed to lose their support, as if they had broken free from their original constraints, and began to tilt and collapse on the ice surface. Large chunks of ice tilted and collapsed, while small pieces of ice began to drift slowly along the water's surface, becoming floating ice on the lake.

The few ferocious beasts wandering on the snowfield were almost instantly turned into overturned ice boats as the thick snow beneath their feet collapsed. As the ice tilted, the ferocious beasts on it, with terrified roars, were tilted and fell into the lake!
Before long, it was submerged by the cold lake water and disappeared without a trace.

There were also entire teams of sleds, which were originally racing across the snowfield, struggling to survive as the ice cracked behind them. But the speed of the sleds could not keep up with the spread of the ice cracks. In just a moment, after the ice broke or overturned, the entire team fell into the lake. As the ice shifted and moved, they quickly disappeared without a trace...

This enormous upheaval in the world lasted for nearly an hour!

The cracking sound was as if the power of heaven and earth was displaying its might, forcing most of the ferocious beasts on the ground to lie prostrate on the snow, quietly awaiting their final fate—of course, with the earthquake-like commotion, they couldn't even stand up.

Of course, there are also a few who are fierce, irritable, or daring, who will not lie on the ground waiting to die, but will roar and run away in all directions—although they do not know where to run, their instincts tell them that staying in place to wait to die is not a smart choice.

But such ferocious beasts, after fleeing, often run around like headless flies—those running behind them quickly disappear into the swirling snow.

Those who went further... towards Xueya Pass, soon died under a hail of arrows falling from the city gate!

After an hour of turmoil, the snow-covered plain seemed to gradually fall into a deathly silence! Even the howling wind stopped.

Each member of the ferocious beast tribe seemed to hear only their own rapid breathing and pounding heartbeat.

Only after everything finally calmed down did the ferocious beastmen muster their courage and tentatively get up from the ground.

Then, more and more members of the ferocious beast tribe rose tremblingly, looking at their companions, at the sky and earth, and at the distance...

People began to cry out in terror.

Because of the ferocious beastmen, right beneath their feet, the ice layer on the ground had already twisted and deformed.

In many places, the ice on this once flat campsite has twisted and compressed, causing snow mounds to rise up on the ground. In other places, the ice has cracked and spread, and huge ravines have appeared on the once flat ground, like giant snakes coiled on the earth!
Only then did the beastmen realize that during the earthquake, after the ice cracked, one of their companions had fallen into the crevice and disappeared into the churning lake below...

But if we look further ahead...

Behind the beastmen's camp... towards their homeland, Badlands Mountain...

This ice field has undergone tremendous changes!

The once flat ice field now appears as if a large chunk has been carved out of the ground by some divine power!
A vast expanse of ice, stretching for nearly a hundred miles, has completely vanished! Along with it, countless snowfields and snow slopes have also disappeared…

After the ice disappeared, what remained was a vast expanse of dark green, churning lake water!

Only scattered pieces of ice remained on the lake, like boats that had lost their owners, swaying precariously on the churning surface, seemingly on the verge of capsizing.

At the edge of the Beast Clan camp, the "lake" that appeared not far away could already be seen with the naked eye.

Many members of the ferocious beast tribe stared in disbelief at the direction they were heading home. The once flat snowfield had been transformed into a vast, boundless lake...

Go forward, go left, go right, it seems there's no end in sight...

Then, collapse ensued!

·
When the first member of the pack, a ferocious beast, broke down and dropped his weapon, turning and running towards the vast lake behind him...

Soon, there was a second, a third... the hundredth... the three hundredth...

A fearful thought was pressing down in the hearts of countless ferocious beastmen!

The way home! The road has disappeared!
The snowfield has turned into a huge lake!
There's no going back!!
I can't go home!
This war is over!

Even the most simple-minded of the ferocious beast tribes knew one basic fact: so many tribes had gathered here to fight, but food was something that could not possibly grow on the snow!
Food, including all war supplies, equipment, and the best weapons used to deal with Snow Cliff Pass—the timber obtained from cutting down the Evil Spirit Tree.

All of these need to be continuously transported from the rear!
And now...

The snowfield has turned into a lake!

Although the word "supply" may not exist in the language system of the Beastmen, or it may be expressed using other words, most Beastmen still have this basic understanding!

The land turned into a lake, and supplies could no longer be transported up!
The outcome of the war remains to be seen.

But the way home is gone too!
Everyone, perhaps, will die here!
After a brief period of bewilderment, shock, and collapse, the ferocious beastmen who had laid down their weapons quickly succumbed to fear and mania.

Some of the ferocious beasts began to run frantically backwards, towards the large lake, and then fled in both directions along the ice floes along the lake's edge!

With this complete collapse of morale, desertion quickly spread like a contagious disease. More and more members of the ferocious beast tribe threw away their weapons, covered their heads with their hands, or ran backwards with their arms outstretched and claws outstretched.

The unrest has escalated from sporadic to large-scale and continues to spread.

The elite of the Beast Clan finally reacted. Squads of elite Beast Clan warriors, driven by their higher-ranking leaders, charged forward with their greatswords, attempting to stop and suppress the riot.

However, these elites themselves may not have a very firm will. This tremendous change caused by the power of heaven and earth has also made them feel turbulent and fearful.

Holding a knife, he numbly charged forward, failing to stop his fleeing kin...

This quickly led to a conflict.

It's unclear who struck first, but when the first head was severed and the first body fell to the ground...

This bloodshed became unavoidable.

On one side, people want to escape and go home. On the other side, they want to stop and suppress them.

The conflict between the two sides quickly turned into mutual hostility and fierce biting!

The Beast Clan was inherently a ferocious and tyrannical race. At this moment, with both sides filled with fear, the mere sight of bloodshed quickly transformed their terror into boundless malevolence!

A tall, elite beastman had just slashed down a lowly cannon fodder who was trying to escape when he failed to notice that the eyes of the "lower insects" around him, who used to look at him with fear and obedience, were now different!

Beneath those bloodshot eyes lay a brutality and ferocity born of fear!

The discarded weapons were quickly picked up by everyone, and then these frenzied "lower-level insects" raised their weapons and pounced on their former elite kin!
An elite beastman who had just killed a "fugitive" had just turned around when he was knocked down by three or four low-level insects that pounced on him at the same time. Even after he was knocked to the ground, he continued to slash fiercely with his knife.

After the blood gushed out, he stabbed the three lowly insects that were pressing down on him to death one by one, but even more lowly insects pounced on him.

After a series of screams, the beastman's leather armor was torn off. He felt countless hands grabbing at him. After slashing a few times, his knife was snatched away. More and more low-level insects pressed down on him. His arms were being pulled so hard they were almost broken. Some insects even opened their mouths and bit his neck hard...

Finally, as a huge head was brutally torn off and violently flung into the air, it rolled away into the distance with a gurgling sound, leaving behind a terrified and distorted expression on its face!

The escape turned into a riot, and the riot spread...

·
It wasn't until more than two hours later that the riot was finally suppressed by the ferocious beast tribe, which deployed even more elite forces to carry out the crackdown.
Hundreds of monsters covered in red light even participated in the suppression process.

The chaos behind the camp was finally brought to a stop; the screams, howls, and angry roars also ceased.

Behind the camp, on the ground, lay the gruesome corpses of the ferocious beastmen, lying dead everywhere!

However, this was not good news, because the riot was quelled largely because many of the lower-class insects had fled towards the lake, escaping the battlefield along both sides of the lake...

It wasn't that all the rioters were killed, but rather... that things calmed down after many people ran away.

Behind the main camp of the Ferocious Beast Clan, many of the remaining lower and lower-ranking members of the clan had been forcibly suppressed by the elites and driven into small groups. However, this time, their behavior was no longer one of subservience or numbness accustomed to oppression.

Those bloodshot, menacing eyes sent a chill down the spines of even some of the elite beastmen warriors.

·
The siege had completely ceased, and no more warriors were charging forward. The ferocious beastmen who were fighting fiercely at the foot of Snow Cliff Pass were quickly wiped out one by one. Some remaining red-glowing monsters withdrew from the battlefield and retreated after hearing the horns coming from the camp.

For a long time afterward, the beast tribe's camp seemed to fall into a deathly silence...

Half a day later, the ferocious beastmen in the camp finally let out a series of roars and clamor.

Finally, an order was issued from the mouth of the flamboyant and highest-ranking war priest in this campaign.

"Retreat and go home!"

·
On the other side of that giant lake that was "created" out of thin air.

In the vast forest of evil spirit trees, many trees collapsed at the edge of the forest during the recent earthquake.

After everything calmed down, a loud whistle came from the woods, and then, as if in a chain reaction, the sound of whistles and horns rose and fell on both sides of the woods.

After a while, a magnificent Thunder Beast, its body covered with a layer of scaled leather armor, slowly walked out of the forest, stepped out of the edge of the forest, and stood not far from the vast lake.

On the Thunder Beast, a human wearing full golden armor sat there, with a metal mask covering his face beneath his golden helmet.

Soon, more and more Thunder Riders emerged from the forest from behind and on both sides of the Thunder Beast, spreading out densely along the edge of the forest.

At a glance, there are at least a thousand riders!
No one knows how such a large number of Thunder Riders managed to bypass the besieging army of the Beast Clan, cross the snowfield, and actually appear in the Beast Clan's territory—this forest!
Finally, after gazing at the great lake for a long time, the golden-armored general sighed with a complex tone, his voice carrying not only helplessness but also a hint of resentment.

"Who...who did this?!"

Behind him, a Thunder Beast slowly approached the Golden-Armored General. Behind the rider on its back sat a general with two long, blood-red feathers stuck in his helmet. After hesitating for a moment, he whispered, "General, shall we... continue?"

The town general remained silent for a moment, then let out a soft breath. His voice, hidden behind his mask, seemed to carry a deep sense of regret.

"With the appearance of this large lake, the Beast Clan will definitely choose to cease hostilities and retreat... We won't be able to devour too many of them this time..."

After a pause, the town general, seemingly reluctant, said in a deep voice, "Let's launch it ahead of schedule! If we don't act now and drag this out, we'll run into those retreating ferocious beast tribes right here."

After speaking, the town general slowly raised his right hand and gently waved it. The Thunder Riders on both sides quickly dispersed, changed direction, and headed back into the depths of the forest...

The town general rode a Thunder Beast alone, standing at the edge of the forest, gazing towards the great lake for a long time, and muttering to himself.

"Who did this... ruined my plan, reducing my gains by at least half!"

·
Chen Yan nestled under the snowdrift, waiting quietly.

He didn't move and waited for a full day and night!

Finally, on his twenty-sixth peek out from the snowdrift towards the direction of the Beast Clan's camp, he saw the Beast Clan retreating!

In the camp, the ballistae had been moved away, and the remnants of the evil spirit tree trunks that had been piled up there were left on the spot. However, the elite beastmen warriors who had been guarding the area had vanished without a trace.

Chen Yan even saw the ferocious beast tribe setting fires! The piles of wood they couldn't take with them were set ablaze by themselves, the raging flames soaring into the sky like torches between heaven and earth.

Under the firelight, large groups of ferocious beastmen were retreating in droves towards the depths of the snowfield.

The group was scattered and moving slowly...

Chen Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Another day passed, and Chen Yan was lying in the snowdrift when suddenly his ears twitched.

He suddenly crawled out of the snowdrift and saw a snow-white figure in the distance, sprinting like the wind across the snow, its white body almost skimming the ground as it ran at breakneck speed...

A moment later, the big white cat, no bigger than a kitten, had already buried its head in Chen Yan's arms.

Only now did Chen Yan finally feel a sense of relief.

Chen Yan stroked Da Bai's fur and said with a smile, "You're quite clever, knowing to transform into a cat to hide your tracks."

Da Bai raised its head, but its gaze toward Chen Yan carried a hint of disdain.

"Alright, this battle originally had nothing to do with me. I got involved only because... I just couldn't stand by and watch." Chen Yan sighed. "After all, even if we're not from the same world, I'm still human."

I recalled that day behind the Beast Clan's camp, seeing rows of large cauldrons set up...

Human slaves were slaughtered like lambs.

Human corpses were thrown into a large pot to be cooked...

And there were gnawed bones scattered all over the ground...

Chen Yan did not regret getting involved in this war that was not originally his.

but……

The price he paid was that he used up all his stockpile of explosives this time! Especially C4, which he completely depleted.

"It's just...strange." Chen Yan, holding Da Bai in his arms, turned to look in the direction of Xueya Pass: "Is the garrison commander in the city an idiot?"

He himself created this upheaval in the world...

The ferocious beast tribe must be in chaos within the military!
We ourselves have deprived them of their way home and their supply lines...

Chen Yan was not surprised that the beast tribe's army eventually chose to cease hostilities and withdraw.

What puzzled him was... why were the garrison troops at Xueya Pass making no move?
Logically speaking, at this point, pursuing and attacking the fleeing enemy would have inflicted even greater casualties on the ferocious beast tribe, and perhaps even yielded greater results!

The ferocious beast tribe was originally a rabble, and when they were defeated and retreated, they became even more scattered.

At this point, all you need to do is send out the Thunder Cavalry to relentlessly tear at the enemy from behind...

Inside Xueya Pass, the garrison seemed unmoved, simply closing the city's defenses again.

The protective array also seemed to have been repaired—however, Chen Yan could see with his naked eye that the golden sky above was significantly thinner than before.

"The town's commander can't be an idiot, can he?" Chen Yan frowned in thought.

In the initial baiting battle, eight hundred Thunder Cavalry were sent out, and the entire army was wiped out.

Now that the enemy has been defeated and is retreating, shouldn't we take the opportunity to strike them while they're down?
What kind of general is he? He's not even as good as a nobody like me.

·
Chen Yan held Big White and continued to wait in the snowdrift.

He planned to stay here until the war was completely over and Xueya Pass reopened, so that he could go into the city.

Before this, he had no interest in wandering the snowfield.

After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Yan hugged the warm, cozy white dog and snuggled under the snow, falling asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Yan suddenly felt something tearing and pulling at his arm.

He opened his eyes and saw the cat-like Big White biting at the left sleeve of his clothes and pulling hard on him.

Chen Yan was taken aback, but immediately understood that Da Bai was trying to wake him up, probably because something had happened outside.

He scooped up Big White with one hand and swiftly pulled out a knife with the other. Crouching low, he crawled out of the snowdrift, but Big White suddenly broke free from his arms, leaped onto the ground, and ran a few steps forward, its neck raised, staring blankly into the distance…

Looking towards the depths of the snowfield...

Upon seeing what Fang Yan said, Chen Yan's breath caught in his throat, and his eyes widened involuntarily!

·
In the distance, shooting stars are falling from the sky!
The sky was filled with shooting stars, each one carrying a blazing fire, whistling as they plunged towards the ground in the direction of the sky!
Countless fiery meteors fell like stars, a punishment from heaven!
Looking in that direction, the sky was tinged with a faint orange hue!
This is fire! The color of flames!
There must have been a huge fire there, with flames shooting into the sky, to make the sky look like this!

In that direction, it seemed as if half the sky was tinged with orange...

"What a huge...fire!"

Chen Yan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on!

The place where the ground was burning fiercely, even staining half the sky, must be...

The direction of Badlands Mountain!
"Beyond the snowfield, that vast forest!!"

·
(End of this chapter)