Chapter 139: Hurricane Stoneskins (1)

Inside Hurricane Canyon.

This area was an offshoot of the Limestone Mountain Range and was physically close to both the Ravager and human race’s territories. It also didn’t overlap with either the Danger Crater or the dangerous void ruptures in the area.

Because this area was prone to hurricanes, there was very little vegetation and much more rubble in the landscape. For as far as the eye could see, the land was desolate and littered with chunks of limestone scattered randomly. This barren scene was the reason why the Limestone Mountain Range was called such, and Hurricane Canyon was named after the natural disasters that often frequented it.

A climate like this was naturally not suited for any lifeforms to live in. This area was another no-man’s land, and nobody in at least a thousand kilometers in any direction lived there.

This was the case for both humans and the Ravagers. Neither of them were willing to live in this kind of place, but there was one race that had tenaciously managed to settle down here.

It was the Stoneskins.

As a subordinate race to the human race, the Stoneskins weren’t very powerful, but they had a strong ability to endure rough conditions, and their adaptability towards a wide variety of situations was quite high. When you factored in their innate affinity with earth Origin Energy, it was understandable that they had persevered in Hurricane Canyon.

Of course, because Hurricane Canyon’s environment was too nasty, even the Stoneskins had no way of living there as a large group. It could not possibly serve as a place for the Stoneskins to try and establish themselves. They would only come here under dire circumstances in an attempt to avoid their enemies and wait them out.

Because of this, most of the Stoneskin individuals who lived here were escapees from human territories. There weren’t many of them, only a thousand or so, as the resources here couldn’t support any more than that.

Even so, this place had the highest concentrations of Stoneskin individuals across the entire Primordial Continent.

They had moved here to avoid a life as slaves of the human race, instead living a life that seemed to be part of an earthly paradise, even if that paradise was pretty shoddy.

Even so, this was reality.

It was only in a place like this that the weak could live without having to worry about their territory being seized.

Iron Cliff’s heart was heavy as he gazed at the desolate environment in front of him.

So the fellow members of his race lived in this kind of condition?

How long had it been since he had seen other members of his race?

Iron Cliff didn’t know.

From the very first day of his existence until now, he had wandered from one master to another, being sold back and forth until he met Su Chen.

During that period of time, he had also seen other Stoneskin individuals, though usually it was just a glance from afar.

This was the state of the Stoneskins. They didn’t have their own territory or their own pride. All they could do was follow their masters unconditionally.

Today, however, Iron Cliff had come here at Su Chen’s request.

More specifically, this was his real mission.

The main point in getting Su Chen’s friends to come was to gather support in the form of resources, and they would also provide ideas from time to time. Hurricane Canyon, however, was a crucial step in the plan. This part would depend on Iron Cliff himself, because this mission was something that only Iron Cliff could accomplish.

Wind violently blew past Iron Cliff as he walked forwards step by step, constantly fighting to endure the fierce winds.

Even with his strength, he needed to brace himself thoroughly to prevent himself from being blown away.

The wind cut against his face like a knife, stinging his face as it blew by him. He was having a hard time even keeping his eyes open.

It took him a day of walking like this to finally find the entrance to the canyon.

The canyon was shaped like a wide-mouthed gourd. From where Iron Cliff was standing, it almost looked like there was a mouth-shaped crack from which the gourd was cruelly laughing.

He spotted a young Stoneskin seemingly searching for something near the entrance to the canyon.

The reason Iron Cliff assumed that he was young was because he was only around the height of an average human. His hands and feet were both quite small, though the wrinkles on his face made him seem quite a bit older.

Iron Cliff knew that this was absolutely a youth. The wrinkles on his face were just from weathering this harsh wind all the time.

The young Stoneskin soon found a wriggling white bug in the ground and put it in his mouth without hesitation. He chewed on it a few times before swallowing it, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face. This bug was known as the Cliff Bug and lived in rocky and earthy environments. Their flesh was coarse and their texture quite unpleasant, as their bodies were filled with grains of sand. However, these bugs served as an important source of food for the Stoneskins in the Hurricane Canyon, as it was only by their iron-like intestines and affinity for earth that made it possible for them to live on these bugs.

After eating the bug, the young Stoneskin lifted up his head and saw Iron Cliff.

A panicked expression appeared in his eyes.

At first, he was a bit afraid and retreated a few steps, but he very quickly grew interested in Iron Cliff’s crude appearance.

After glancing at Iron Cliff deeply, the youth turned around and walked into the canyon.

Iron Cliff didn’t say anything. He remained at the entrance to the canyon and waited.

Very quickly, some motion could be seen from within the canyon.

Iron Cliff watched as a large group of Stoneskin individuals appeared and headed in his direction. Some of them were even wielding blades and axes made out of stone.

The Stoneskin at the very front was extremely tall and brawny. He was a head taller than Iron Cliff, and his muscles seemed like they had been sculpted, as were the lines on his face.

He carried the only Origin Tool amongst the entire canyon — a Wolf-Toothed Hammer.

Iron Cliff’s guess was that it should be a Grade Seven tool based on the luster coming from it.

“Another fellow countryman has come to Hurricane Canyon? Welcome, child. I am the leader here, and my name is Hadley,” said the tall Stoneskin at the front.

“I’m very happy to see you all, my fellow countrymen. My name is Iron Cliff. This is my first time seeing so many fellow Stoneskin individuals,” Iron Cliff replied.

“You didn’t just happen to pass by here, did you? Hurricane Canyon is not a place you can reach just by wandering around,” Hadley said.

“Of course not. I came here for a specific reason,” Iron Cliff replied.

“Then tell me why you are here,” Hadley directly said. Iron Cliff didn’t like to beat around the bush either, so he also replied back directly.

“I came here on behalf of my master to become friends with you,” Iron Cliff said.

“But what are your intentions behind becoming friends? What is his motivation for doing so?” Hadley wasn’t confused by what Iron Cliff had said. Almost all Stoneskin individuals from the outside had masters, so he was also very clear on what the meaning behind “becoming friends” was.

This leader was not easy to trick.

After hesitating for a moment, Iron Cliff finally said, “My master is currently in the Ravagers’s territory, and he needs a way out…… through the Limestone Mountain Range.”

Hadley shook his head. “So that was indeed the case. Becoming friends? That was just an excuse. Humans treat us like their friends when they need us, but they will throw us away like a cleaning rag as soon as they have run out of use for us.”

Iron Cliff hurriedly yelled, “My master is not the same.”

“Of course he’s the same,” Hadley interrupted. “All humans are the same. They treat you as a friend when they need you, but when they don’t need you they don’t care about whether or not you survive. Iron Cliff, almost all of the Stoneskin individuals here have lived with humans before and have consequently been hurt by them, which is why we won’t be so easily cheated by them again. I’m very happy to see you, Iron Cliff, but unfortunately, we have no way of accepting your ideals. Of course, since you are also of the Stoneskin race, you can live here if you like. Since your master has gone to the Ravagers’ territory, he may never return. If you returned to the human kingdoms, you would be like a stray dog that lost its master. If you don’t want to live like that, you can stay in the Hurricane Canyon with us…… as long as you can get used to the terrible environment.”

Iron Cliff replied, “I have no plans of changing masters.”

“That’s not something that’s up to you,” Hadley said.