It was as if an invisible force in the sky was pulling these rats out from underground—just like pulling up radishes.
Heads plunged into straw hats.
As the hats spun, in an instant, flashes of blood streaked across the necks of the vicious rats. Their heads were naturally separated from their bodies, blood spurting out instantly. The corpses fell to the ground without even a chance to scream.
"Blood Dripper!!"
Yi Tianxing's mouth twitched slightly when he saw this.
This flying straw hat pulling rats out of the ground and decapitating them looked eerily similar to a legendary killing weapon from Chinese history—the Blood Dripper (血滴子). It directly harvested heads with shocking ferocity, an uncanny resemblance that was impossible to ignore.
"What a terrifying killing technique! This kind of attack is simply impossible to guard against. Even burrowing underground can't save them—they get pulled out and decapitated by the suction of those hats. These scarecrows are seriously formidable," Huang Chengyan exclaimed.
No matter who saw such a killing technique, the shock in their hearts would be impossible to conceal. The scene was truly overwhelming.
"Damn it, how is this possible?! Where did these scarecrows come from? They can even yank rats out from underground—what is this, a radish harvest?" Mouse Devourer's nose nearly twisted with anger and disbelief. While stunned, he also began to feel a twinge of fear at the scarecrows' strength.
This killing technique, if used on the battlefield, would definitely be a terrifying weapon of mass destruction.
He felt that these scarecrows were utterly deranged—going berserk just to defend a rice field. Wasn't this a bit too much?
"Kill again!!"
The golden scarecrow caught the returning straw hat, spun its body, and with a sharp twist of its arm, flung the hat again. With each rotation, the hat flew even faster, turning into an even more terrifying weapon.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The flying straw hats soared out again, turning into a terrifying rain of death. In the blink of an eye, once again, the fragility of life was on full display. Rats were sliced apart with ease, pulled from underground like radishes, and decapitated as if by Blood Dripper-like hats.
"Retrieve!!"
Each scarecrow reached out to catch the returning straw hats and placed them back on their heads. Not a single drop of blood stained them. Still humble, still simple. But the straw hat flying technique required immense physical strength to control. The force involved in throwing and catching such a weapon was immense. Without a strong enough body, an arm could be shattered by the recoil alone.
There was skill, but brute strength was irreplaceable.
These scarecrows were still newly born; their strength had not yet reached perfection. Thus, this terrifying technique could only be used three times in a cycle. Any more, and the power within the hat would destroy their own arms. It wasn't just ineffective—it could harm the user. A technique too overbearing.
So after three rounds, the golden scarecrow decisively commanded the others to cease and retrieve their hats.
Even so, after three volleys, the rice field was littered with corpses. Blood dyed the paddies red in a chilling display. Over a million rats—almost all wiped out by the straw hats. The slaughter was devastating.
"Crush the rat bandits!"
"Where do you think you're going, rat scum?!"
With the swarm thinned, the remaining rats were scattered. The scarecrows swiftly began a sweeping counterattack. One after another, the rats were hunted down and killed.
The scene quickly became a one-sided massacre.
"Looks like we won't need to use our backup plans. We were worried these scarecrows couldn't handle the scale of this rodent army—but we underestimated them. That terrifying killing technique crushed the rat tide beyond recovery. What a surprise. Pity we didn't flush out the mastermind lurking underground. That would've made it perfect," Jia Xu said with a grin as he surveyed the battlefield.
Of course, they had prepared more than just the scarecrow line. Armies had been lying in ambush, ready to aid the scarecrows at any moment.
They feared the sheer number of rats might overwhelm the scarecrows.
But no one expected the scarecrow army to be so violent—going berserk and using such overwhelming killing power. In just a few rounds, they had shredded the rat army. The sheer brutality completely overturned Jia Xu's impression of them.
The backup never needed to be used.
But this kind of surprise? Jia Xu was happy to get more of it.
"I never imagined the scarecrows possessed such powerful combat techniques. If possible, in the future, we should have these scarecrow warriors stationed in all rice fields. That way, no one can freely destroy our crops. They'd play an entirely new role. Their very nature is loyal and pure, and their deepest obsession is protecting the fields. From this perspective, perhaps we can keep the scarecrows within the territory of Xuanhuang City permanently," Yi Tianxing mused.
No warrior was perfect and without weaknesses. The scarecrows' obsession could be a vulnerability.
Their willingness to leave their valley meant they weren't averse to guarding other rice fields. So long as they didn't resist, they could be deployed across all of Xuanhuang City's lands.
At the very least, the rice fields would be safe.
No longer would they be vulnerable to ferocious beasts or wild birds.
"If that's truly possible, then the planting of rice across ten thousand miles needn't be limited to Xuanhuang City. It could expand across the entire realm. Every village and town could grow crops, and with scarecrow guardians, even exposed fields in the wild would be safe. The potential of this is massive," Huang Chengyan's eyes lit up with excitement.
This could feed countless people and dramatically raise living standards.
In chaotic times, food was the foundation of stability.
Rice fields, once stable outside cities, would mark the first step of reclaiming the wilderness.
"Agreed. Food should never be our weakness. Instead, it should become one of our greatest strengths—a tool to attract refugees and build power," Jia Xu nodded in agreement.
"Unfortunately, we didn't flush out the hidden hand behind all this. I suspect there are foreign races among us already, and their methods are cunning," Wu Yong said gravely, waving his feather fan.
"Don't worry. As long as they've infiltrated, they'll eventually make a mistake. When they do, we'll take them down," Yi Tianxing said coldly.
"There's a rat underground!!"
At that moment, the golden scarecrow suddenly looked downward.
That gaze seemed to pierce straight through the earth.
In his hand appeared a golden bamboo staff. Upon closer inspection, it was wrapped in silver-white threads. With a flick of his wrist, the bamboo staff transformed into a fishing rod. The silver line hid a silver hook at its tip, concealed within the staff—undetectable under normal circumstances.
Whoosh!!
With a flick, the hook darted down a tunnel.
Naturally, the tunnel wasn't straight—it was a winding maze. Yet the hook moved through it like it had eyes, weaving its way rapidly through the twists and turns.
In a flash, it reached an underground chamber.
There, in that space, was the snarling Mouse Devourer.
The silver hook shot toward him without warning.
"What the—?!"
Mouse Devourer felt a sudden, stabbing pain in his neck. It was as if a barbed hook had pierced him from behind. The searing pain rocked him to his core. He instinctively looked back—and saw the silver line connecting him to the surface. Subtle enough that one wouldn't even notice it without careful inspection.
Then, an overwhelming force surged up from the hook, yanking his entire body toward the surface.
Enraged, Mouse Devourer snarled, "You damned thing! What do you take me for—a fish in a pond?! You want to fish me up? Preposterous! Outrageous!"
Furious, he whipped out a short blade and slashed at the line, aiming to sever it.
Clang!!
But to his horror, not only did the blade fail to cut the line, it also caused the barbed hook embedded in his neck to dig deeper. The unbearable pain felt like it was ripping out all the strength in his body. His limbs went numb. Powerless. Agony wracked his body and soul.