Chapter 39

(On the weekend, take a break, just one chapter)

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

The prefectures and counties were equipped with a small number of local troops, mainly using ordinary weapons like knives and bows to maintain local security.

According to the laws and regulations proposed by the Grand Protector General's Office, the Yulong Prefecture's local troops had a total of 2,000 soldiers. The military officers in charge of the prefectures and counties were selected from retired military officers and veterans of the Wuwei Army. If people like Ge Tong and Shen Kun could not achieve new breakthroughs in their cultivation, serving as military officers in the prefectures and counties, organizing and maintaining local troops, would be a very good and lucrative position.

Although the military officers in the prefectures and counties were retired military officers and veterans from the Wuwei Army and had strong cultivation, the archers and swordsmen below them could only be recruited locally, and their abilities varied greatly.

After a large-scale civilian unrest in Yulong Prefecture, the prefectural army supplemented the local troops with personnel from minor aristocratic families, expanding to over 5,000 soldiers to suppress the unrest in Yulong Mountain. However, they suffered a crushing defeat, and the prefectural military officer, who had cultivated to the late-stage Spirit Opening Realm, only managed to lead a hundred or so soldiers back to Yulong Prefecture City.

After this defeat, the remaining thousand or so soldiers of the local troops only dared to stay in Yulong Prefecture City, waiting for reinforcements.

Although the Yulong Prefecture army still had over a thousand soldiers, their abilities varied greatly and could not be compared to the team of sect disciples led by Chen Hai.

Not to mention the inner disciples, most of whom had reached the Spirit Opening Realm, the thousand disciples from the three Dao Academies mostly had cultivation at the Mystic Profound Realm or above.

In terms of individual combat power, only the elite troops of the Grand Protector General's Office's direct command could be compared to this team of sect disciples.

Because of this, after Chen Hai and the others entered Yulong Prefecture City, not only were the Dao disciples themselves very proud, but the officials in the city also had great confidence and expectations for them. They provided half a street of houses as barracks for the central army and the left and right guards, and sent large amounts of beef and mutton to reward the army.

After Ge Tong and Shen Kun attended the military council in the main tent, Chen Hai learned that they would later join the Yulong Prefecture army and march to the foot of the northern slope of Yulong Mountain, then enter the mountain to clear out the rebels.

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The Yulong Prefecture had over a thousand soldiers, plus over two thousand strong civilian laborers, totaling over three thousand troops, but only a small number of horses.

The central army, composed of inner disciples, unwilling to travel with the slow-moving local troops of Yulong Prefecture, set out the next day with the right guard; the left guard remained to travel with the Yulong Prefecture troops.

From Yulong Prefecture City to the foot of the northern slope of Yulong Mountain, it was a 200-li journey, passing through large areas of hills and valleys, two county towns, and scattered villages, most of which had been destroyed by the rebels. A few villages near the northern slope of Yulong Mountain were still in the hands of the rebels.

Traveling with the mixed-ability local troops of Yulong Prefecture, Chen Hai and his group did not reach the foot of the northern slope of Yulong Mountain and the Chenqiao Village until the fifth night.

Chenqiao Village was originally built by a local clan in Shan Yin County, located on the north bank of a stream. The village was small, with only a hundred or so houses, but the stone walls were five to six meters high.

Situated by the river and the mountain, the terrain was quite perilous, indicating that the local clan had considerable influence in Yulong Prefecture.

The north side of the village walls had two large gaps, each over ten meters wide, possibly caused by a Mystic Profound Realm expert using mystical techniques. The scattered stones, as small as grains of millet, clearly were not the work of ordinary Spirit Opening Realm disciples. The remaining stone walls were stained with layers of blood, indicating that several fierce battles had taken place here.

Many broken arrows were deeply embedded in the stone walls, showing the incredible strength of the archers. Inside and outside the walls, there were also scattered crude bamboo and wooden arrows, likely left behind by the rebels.

In front of the village was a stone bridge. Crossing the bridge over the stream marked the official entry into Yulong Mountain. A deep stone gorge led to the heart of Yulong Mountain, with steep cliffs on both sides, making it difficult to climb.

The vanguard had already entered Yulong Mountain through this gorge. After the central army and the right guard arrived at Chenqiao Village, they also entered the mountain three days ago to pursue the rebels. The order left behind was for the Yulong Prefecture troops to hold Chenqiao Village and block the rebels' exit from the gorge, while the left guard would leave their horses at Chenqiao Village and enter the mountain lightly equipped to join the central and right guards to hunt down the rebels.

The terrain of the stone gorge leading into the heart of Yulong Mountain was relatively gentle, but there were no existing roads. Only spirit horses of the Blackscale level could quickly pass through. The ordinary mounts from the Dao Academies could not enter the mountain for combat and had to stay in Chenqiao Village.

Unlike the lush and spirit-rich Taowei Mountains, Yulong Mountain stretched for over a thousand li, mostly consisting of barren hills and rocky ridges. The sparse vegetation had withered due to years of drought. In the distance, several thick columns of black smoke rose from the mountains, likely the results of the vanguard, central army, and right guard destroying rebel strongholds.

The stream in front of Chenqiao Village had a dry, cracked riverbed.

Lying haphazardly were two to three hundred corpses, dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, likely the rebels who had occupied Chenqiao Village and were annihilated by the vanguard Dao disciples.

Scattered on the riverbed and along the stream were stone axes, bamboo spears, bamboo lances, and bamboo bows, likely abandoned by the rebels. The previous Dao disciples had not bothered to pick up these crude weapons.

"Senior Brother Shen, could the rebels' easy capture of Chenqiao Village be a trap?" Chen Hai squatted by the riverbank, looking at the corpses, and asked Shen Kun in confusion.

"Hmph!" Chen Qing, who was observing Yulong Mountain from a hundred paces away, let out a contemptuous snort, clearly having overheard Chen Hai and Shen Kun's conversation from that distance.

Shen Kun, who had been with Chen Hai for a long time, knew what he was worried about and could only shrug and smile.

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Early the next morning, the spirit eagle raised by Li Xianghai spread its wings and soared into the sky, sharply observing everything within a hundred li.

With this spirit eagle, the left guard did not need to send out scouts or patrols, and communication with the central army, right guard, and vanguard was extremely convenient.

This spirit eagle had been tamed by Li Xianghai for many years. In addition to strengthening its bones with medicinal pills, it consumed at least two fat sheep daily.

Standing on the ground, the spirit eagle was taller than a calf, with iron-like feathers and claws that could shatter a century-old willow tree in an instant. Even the inner disciples and instructors of the Dao Academies who had reached the Spirit Opening Realm were no match for this fierce spirit eagle.

Although this fierce spirit eagle could not compare to the Green Scale Thunder Eagle of the Jiyun Cliff, it still made countless Dao disciples envious.

Chen Hai and the other three hundred Dao disciples then followed Li Xianghai, Chen Qing, Xie Wenzhuo, and Lu Hongqian, the three inner disciples, into the stone gorge and advanced into the heart of Yulong Mountain.

Good news from the vanguard's successful attacks on rebel strongholds continued to come in. Chen Qing, Xie Wenzhuo, and Lu Hongqian, worried that others would take all the credit, urged the left guard to accelerate their advance.

Fortunately, with the vanguard clearing the way, the left guard did not worry about being ambushed and caught up with the central and right guards two days later, setting up camp in a simple stone village.

Over a thousand Dao disciples had advanced over 200 li into Yulong Mountain, capturing and burning down seven or eight rebel strongholds, along with the bodies of the rebels.

These seven or eight rebel strongholds had even simpler defenses than Chenqiao Village, and the vanguard had mostly annihilated emaciated and weak rebels. Although the other soldiers were proud and believed they could suppress the tens of thousands of rebels in Yulong Mountain, they were concerned about their slow advance and the lack of credit. Chen Hai, however, became increasingly uneasy.

If the rebels had received early news and feared the strength of the Dao disciples, they would not have left hundreds of old, weak, and sick rebels to guard the outer strongholds. Moreover, just three to four months ago, the 5,000 troops of Yulong Prefecture had been defeated in a major battle, likely losing a large amount of armor and weapons. If the rebels were to defend the outer strongholds, they should not have been using such crude weapons as bamboo spears and bows.

Furthermore, although the Dao disciples had captured nearly ten strongholds, they had only killed fewer than 2,000 rebels, far from crippling the rebels. More importantly, the rebels had nearly annihilated the 5,000 troops of Yulong Prefecture, showing that they were not a disorganized mob.

Of course, Shen Kun and Ge Tong could listen to Chen Hai's concerns, but above the rank of Hundred Martial Officer Qi Siyu, Chen Hai's concerns were dismissed as jokes. The Dao disciples believed that the Yulong Prefecture troops were useless and had been defeated by the rebels, which did not mean much.

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On a stone cliff not far from the Dao disciples' camp, a person in a black robe, face hidden, stood without feeling the heat, only their eyes visible, watching the village ten li away.

The stone cliff had no dense shrubs, but strangely, the three spirit birds circling overhead, monitoring the surroundings, did not detect the presence of these two black-robed figures.

"The High Priest is truly divine in his calculations. These Dao disciples are so arrogant that they have not even noticed they have fallen into the High Priest's trap. This time, we should be able to have a great battle..." one black-robed figure whispered.

"Unlike the corrupt sects and noble families in the interior, Governor Dong Liang of Wuwei has governed the border with both civil and military virtues, and the Taowei Sect has not completely declined. The Divine Sect is just beginning and cannot afford any complacency. Mixing the Spirit-Inverting Powder into the Dao disciples' drinking water from the underground spring is already a great achievement. The rest can be left to the rebel army gathered at Huanglong Gorge..." the other black-robed figure warned his companion not to cause any unnecessary trouble, then turned and silently slid down the back of the stone cliff into a mountain ravine.

The mountain ravine behind the stone cliff was originally a stone stream, but due to the drought, it was now dry, exposing a rocky riverbed.

Among a pile of pebbles, a thin iron pipe was barely noticeable. One black-robed figure squatted down, listened to the gurgling water inside the pipe, and took out a black pottery bottle, pouring the entire bottle of slightly pungent powder into the water.

The stone stream was actually connected to the underground spring beneath the stone village. The black-robed figures had anticipated that after the Taowei Sect's main force had captured several strongholds, they might choose to rest in this stone village. Now, they only needed to mix the potion that disrupted the cultivation of the Dao disciples' spirit seas and true essence into their drinking water through the hidden waterway, and everything would be ready.

After completing this, the two black-robed figures slipped away like ghosts along the stone stream, and the three spirit birds flying overhead never detected their presence.

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