Chapter 1217, Flame Dragon Aerial Fighting Force

Translator: Silavin

 

Yan Hua rode a Peak Eagle high above the trees with a formation of Grey Feathered Giant Birds trailing behind her.

 

They had been meant for transportation, one day. But before that day came, they would serve in war. This was their first coordinated flight with riders, though they had practised carrying people many times before. What they had never done was carry people into battle. Today was literally the first blood.

 

Yan Hua turned and made a hand signal to the formation behind her, then faced front again. She was the commanding officer of this aerial strike unit, with full authority over the entire bombing operation.

 

It had been her own request to lead it. Su Bai had agreed, though not without watching her carefully.

 

Flap flap flap…

 

Wings beat steadily through the air. A dozen or more Grey Feathered Giant Birds held a tight V-formation, flying high enough that no one below could pick them out.

 

“Ah Hen, everything rests on us today. We cannot afford a single mistake.” Yan Hua placed a hand against the Peak Eagle’s side.

 

She had been preparing for this for a long time. To lead the formation properly, she had trained every day, sometimes well into the night, learning to keep her head clear under pressure and to give calm commands in the middle of chaos.

 

The explosive packages, once dropped, would produce a blast large enough to swallow everything nearby. If the withdrawal was too slow, the fire would reach people as readily as Ferocious Beasts. Even surviving the heat meant risking burns across most of the body.

 

So, Yan Hua had drilled the same two movements until they were instinct: steep dive to release, then hard climb to clear.

 

Skree, skree…

 

The Peak Eagle called once in response, ruffling its feathers. It, too, had worked for this day.

 

Yan Hua lifted her telescope and scanned the distance. The Dark Scorpion Tribe’s column came into view at once. Behind her, the other Totem Warriors had done the same with their own telescopes. Now they waited. They were waiting for the column to walk fully into range.

 

“Warriors, we succeed today or we do not come back. Follow my signal, and do not act early.” Yan Hua raised her left hand and held it steady.

 

They were high and far enough that no sound from the ground could reach them. The Dark Scorpion Tribe, unless someone among them happened to own a telescope or possessed eyesight that could scan the sky at that distance, would never look up and see them.

 

“Understood.” Ai’er, Cheng Shi, and the others answered together.

 

Most of the people chosen for this operation had wings of their own. High altitude held no fear for them, and the steep dives and rapid climbs were movements they knew in their bodies. Riders without that familiarity would be a liability up here.

 

Nausea, vertigo, a wrong decision in the middle of a drop. Any of it could ruin the operation.

 

So, the selection had been obvious. Wings, comfort at height, cool heads.

 

Yan Hua needed no further recommendation. She and the Peak Eagle had been together long enough that the sky felt ordinary to her now.

 

Step step step…

 

Shaman Chen Shao walked on below with no awareness of what hung above him. His mood was good, almost festive. One more day to the Flame Dragon Tribe. Push the pace and they could be close enough by nightfall to launch their strike under cover of darkness.

 

What he did not know was that intelligence about his Tribe had reached the Flame Dragon Tribe due to Ban Ye, and it was those reports that had given Su Bai the time to prepare.

 

“Shaman, the advance unit has reached the outskirts of the Flame Dragon Tribe. No problems reported. We can move freely.” Li Ya came up at a near-trot, expression eager. He was already calculating what he might receive as a reward once the Tribe was taken.

 

“You’re certain there are no ambushes? Nothing out of place?” Shaman Chen Shao asked.

 

He had fought enough battles to know that a clean report was not always something to celebrate. Sometimes the absence of problems was itself the problem.

 

“The advance unit has been sitting out there for over a day, Shaman. Nothing unusual from the Flame Dragon Tribe. You have my word.” Li Ya said quickly.

 

Without that advance unit having been in place so long without incident, none of them would have dared approach this close.

 

“Pass the order. Everyone is to prepare. Tonight, when we link up with the advance unit, we attack.” Shaman Chen Shao said it with relish.

 

He was already imagining sleeping in one of the Flame Dragon Tribe’s stone houses and the drinks.

 

“Yes.” Li Ya was barely keeping himself together.

 

Step step step…

 

The column’s pace quickened. Energy moved through the Warriors. The ordinary people, by contrast, felt nothing that resembled excitement. War was never good news for people like them. And if things went wrong, they knew perfectly well what role they would be made to play.

 

Though some, quietly, were almost glad. Because once the fighting started, at least the walking would stop.

 

Flap flap flap…

 

Yan Hua watched through her telescope as the column below moved with greater speed and purpose. She could not hear what they were saying, but she did not need to.

 

The Dark Scorpion Tribe’s advance unit, close to the Flame Dragon Tribe’s perimeter, had been spotted a long time ago. Su Bai had ordered everyone to leave them alone. Touching them would have scared off the rest.

 

That was why the advance unit had been permitted to sit undisturbed for a full day, right at the edge of Flame Dragon territory. It was to make the column feel safe. To make them walk in without looking.

 

“Nearly done now.” Yan Hua’s mouth curved, just slightly.