The entire valley was practically boiling over, but after only two or three minutes, the higher-ranking Vilgarr who resided deep within the valley surged out from their quarters. Order was gradually restored under their loud curses, even outright brutal whippings, and killing.

Yet, at this very moment, Fang Senyan’s second maneuver began to take effect. A booming roar suddenly erupted from beneath the earth!

The cavern storing the K’rut Ore exploded, but it discharged like a geyser, its impact blasting straight towards the sky. Tons of the shattered, inky-gem-like K’rut Ore shot upwards first, scattering like celestial blossoms, before cascading down with a loud whoosh and patter, blanketing nearly half the valley!

Even the two Vilgarr beasts guarding the cave entrance were only mildly scorched by the blast wave; their main injuries were fractures caused by falling from a height. This demonstrated the incredible power and subtle precision of the explosion—it had transformed what was meant to be a purely lethal Iron-Blood Sapiens bomb into a directional demolition charge!

This method of explosion was extraordinarily difficult. It was only thanks to Bokan, who was a Nobel Prize-winning geologist in the real world and had collaborated with the military on related blasting matters, and also thanks to Bokan’s formidable psionic powers, that this was achieved. Otherwise, simply digging the required blasting cavity into the mountainside would never have escaped the notice of the Vilgarr beasts.

Of course, the fact that Bokan was utterly exhausted after completing the task proved that fulfilling Fang Senyan’s request was anything but easy.

Watching the masses of exquisite K’rut Ore glittering as they rained down across the valley, the Vilgarr who had just begun to regain order suddenly froze in stupefied confusion. Apart from those whose eyes had been burned, every single one stared upward at a forty-five-degree angle, motionless despite the continued whipping and shouting.

The K’rut Ore, still warm to the touch, pat-pat-patted onto their bodies and faces. It certainly stung, but they remained utterly oblivious. There is a saying: "It is not poverty one fears, but inequality." Fang Senyan had fully exploited the rigid hierarchy among the Vilgarr at this precise moment!

Why were these common Vilgarr hesitating? Naturally, their inner desire was to rush forward and gorge themselves. However, the chief’s terrifying authority and the tribe’s cruel system still weighed upon their instincts like a mountain, forcing them into bitter restraint.

Suddenly, a piece of K’rut Ore fell from the sky and landed directly into the half-open mouth of one Vilgarr looking upward. This creature was already starving, and when it sensed deliciousness delivered right to its door, it instinctively took a vicious bite… Crunch, crunch, crackle, the taste of chicken, crisp and brittle. By the time this creature realized what it was doing, it had already chewed and swallowed it whole…

What choice did it have now? Death for eating one, death for eating ten. For eating a hundred? Well, that might not mean death after all! So, what were they waiting for? Hey youth, dig in!

Because every Vilgarr was born with roughly equal combat strength, in a direct one-on-one fight, a few peculiar geniuses might hold an absolute advantage, but a one-on-two scenario was absolutely impossible.

However, among the mature Vilgarr, the power disparity between ranks was often ten-to-one!

That is to say: (1000) Common Vilgarr = (100) Ravagers = (10) War Beasts / (10) Elders = (1) Chief

The reason for such a massive gap was due to the varying amounts of K’rut Ore ingested. The more consumed, the richer the nourishment, and the stronger the resulting power—this theory applied just as effectively to humans, though the difference was that individual human growth limits weren't quite so vast.

No matter how sacred rules and laws might be, once someone starts breaking them in a specific, critical situation, they inevitably become targets for universal trampling! For example, now, some competitive Vilgarr were certainly thinking: If he can eat it, why can’t I? And some utilitarian ones were thinking: Strike first or be left behind—I absolutely cannot afford to lose out!

Most importantly, the higher-ranking Vilgarr Ravagers who initially tried to maintain order were too few to manage everyone. Eventually, resentment brewed in their own hearts; they too suffered from the 'inequality'! Above them loomed the three great mountains of War Beasts, Elders, and the Chief. The Ravagers were also an exploited propertied class! By what right could they not eat?

Moreover, the two guarding War Beasts also joined the chaotic scramble. Naturally, every Vilgarr grabbed what they could carry, and even with tons of K’rut Ore available, it quickly seemed scarce. Where there was little rice and many monks, a brutal free-for-all, even outright war, was inevitable! Once blood was drawn, all prior grievances and anger erupted maniacally.

The valley situation had completely spun out of control… Fang Senyan gazed down at the unfolding battle, smiling faintly: “We can now go talk to the Chief about potential cooperation. He should be alerted by now. This situation looks rather good; let them continue. Keeping resentment bottled up inside is not healthy for the body.”

Since the Vilgarr Chief resided in the deepest cave in the valley, it would require some time to arrive even if immediately alerted by the explosion. Fang Senyan certainly did not want the Chief showing up at this chaotic scene to exert his kingly aura! Therefore, he had already made arrangements, and Roni had successfully completed his mission and returned.

The group strode confidently through the valley pass, heading into the gourd-shaped interior. This area should have been guarded by two Vilgarr War Beasts and four Vilgarr Ravagers, but now these figures had joined the melee with bloodshot eyes, ferociously tearing at the flesh of their own kin, fighting over the precious K’rut Ore, and even attempting to cut open their kinsmen’s stomachs to retrieve the undigested minerals.

As for Fang Senyan and his strange group, since they carried no scent of K’rut Ore on their bodies, they were actively ignored. Who had time to care about them? As a side note, the thousands of excited Vilgarr currently fighting in the valley generated a bizarre, combined stench so potent that anyone caught in the center of the fray would likely be instantly suffocated by the odor…

After entering the inner valley, Fang Senyan’s party moved downhill, rounding a large bend, where they saw the colossal Vilgarr Chief, accompanied by four Elders and four War Beasts, hurrying towards them about seven or eight hundred meters down the slope ahead.

Fang Senyan promptly raised his right hand. Bokan, having finally recovered a sliver of energy, took a deep breath, a vibrant flush appearing on his face.

Instantly, ten meters ahead of them, the ground began to slowly heave upwards, forming a mound about two meters high and five or six meters across. The group immediately ran over and took cover beneath this small hill. Fang Senyan then turned to the Android No. 1:

“Remote detonation should be no problem, right?”

Android No. 1 nodded: “No problem.”

Fang Senyan closed his eyes, focusing intently on the movements of the approaching enemy. Less than ten seconds later, he began a quiet countdown:

“Get ready… Three, two, one!”

Another brilliant flash illuminated the area, followed by a terrifying shockwave of energy and a furiously rising small mushroom cloud. Despite being hundreds of meters away and protected by their hastily created artificial cover, Fang Senyan and the others could still feel a sweeping gale, as if capable of obliterating everything. The skin exposed to the blast developed a searing heat that only dissipated slowly after a long time!

Looking back at the artificial mound that served as their shield, the front face had been eroded inward by nearly half a meter!

At this point, Fang Senyan genuinely felt a touch of anxiety; if the explosion was too powerful and killed the main target, it would be a truly tearful situation. Unexpectedly, in the core of the blast zone, a massive, blackened, sticky mass wobbled a few times, and then several charred, smoking corpses were flung outwards!

The Vilgarr Chief let out a roar of pain and rage at this moment. It had managed, at the instant of the explosion, to use some bizarre ability to pull its immediate guard detail in front of its own body, shielding itself from the majority of the damage.

As the most powerful creature within the Vilgarr race, built up through resource expenditure, its height exceeded three meters and its weight approached one ton; it was capable of instantly unleashing a storm of flesh and blood!

Its weapon was either a heavy giant totem glowing purple, or a giant black tree totem. The former was cast from minerals deep within the mountains using some arcane method and possessed terrifying destructive power. Only the strongest creatures in the tribe were allowed to wield such a totem.

The latter totem indicated a leaning toward magic-based abilities, but if one assumed its physical strength and close-combat power were as fragile as a spellcaster’s, that would be a grave mistake!

The Chief’s most obvious feature was the pair of massive, pulsating blood-vein tumors growing on its shoulders. These tumors, while simultaneously harming the host body, served a function similar to a heart. Thus, these two areas were considered mandatory attack zones. (To be continued) RQ