Chapter 12

Hua Xiajiu turned his gaze at the sound, only then noticing a middle-aged man in his forties sitting in the main seat at the far end of the hall. The man was putting down his teacup and looking over in this direction, his eyes fixed on Hua Xiajiu, sizing him up.

The middle-aged man’s expression was full of kindness and warmth, but as his gaze and words reached Hua Xiajiu, a mysterious aura seemed to envelop him.

Hua Xiajiu’s expression remained unchanged, still somewhat indifferent and dull. Under his slightly raised eyebrows, his eyes, like cold stars, showed no emotion as he casually glanced at the middle-aged man.

This scene made the hearts of General Huang, Zhao Fengyun, and Zhang Xiong skip a beat, but they soon relaxed, thinking to themselves, "Just as expected." The middle-aged man’s gaze intensified, and a peculiar light flickered in his eyes.

Seeing that General Huang was just staring at him without a word, Hua Xiajiu said to him, "General Huang! I have something important at Tangjia Town that I need to retrieve. Also, there are hundreds of humans hidden in the basement of Tangjia Town. Yes! I promised to save them, so could you lend me a horse?"

Upon hearing this, the four people present were taken aback. General Huang couldn’t help but exchange glances with Zhao Fengyun and Zhang Xiong, saying, "Uh! Young brother! Are you serious? Going to Tangjia Town now is like a sheep entering the mouth of a wolf! Although your strength is formidable, if you encounter the Wolf Demon Tribe’s cavalry or other demon experts, your chances of survival are slim!"

"General Huang! I must go. Moreover, Tangjia Town is now in ruins, and the weapon forge the wolf demons built there is completely destroyed. Since Tangjia Town has been exposed as a demon weapon forge, it has no value for the demons to stay. Therefore, I believe there are no demons in Tangjia Town now. Yes! I hope the general can help me." Hua Xiajiu’s expression showed no hesitation or fear.

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up. Hua Xiajiu’s analysis was logical and reasonable. The middle-aged man, still sitting in the main seat, gave Hua Xiajiu a deep look, his expression thoughtful.

General Huang sighed slightly, somewhat self-deprecatingly, saying, "Young brother’s words are reasonable; it’s I who am being cowardly. How about this! I’ll send five men with you, as a—"

"Old Huang! Your men are exhausted and their horses are tired. Why don’t I send five hundred scouts with the young brother to Tangjia Town? They can also scout the area around Tangjia Town to determine if the Wolf Demon Tribe has any other weapon forges." The middle-aged man, who had risen from his seat, spoke loudly before General Huang could finish.

General Huang, upon hearing this, had some suspicions about the middle-aged man’s motives, and couldn’t help but look at Hua Xiajiu with a hint of regret. He bowed to the middle-aged man and said, "Thank you, Commander Xu. My men are indeed as you say, and it’s not convenient for them to move now."

He then turned to Hua Xiajiu and said, "This gentleman is Commander Xu Jianhong of the Gangnan County Steel Tooth Legion."

Hua Xiajiu had initially thought it would be good enough to take a few human cavalrymen, but he was surprised when the middle-aged man offered him five hundred scouts. He looked at the middle-aged man and bowed seriously, saying, "Thank you, Commander, for your help. Yes! If there’s anything I can do for you in the future, please let me know."

The middle-aged man chuckled, clearly satisfied with Hua Xiajiu’s response. He said, "I’ll arrange for the five hundred scouts to assist you. Also, this armor and weapon don’t fit you well. Why don’t you go to our military warehouse and choose a set of armor and weapons that fit you better?"

Before Hua Xiajiu could express his gratitude, the middle-aged man called over a guard and made the arrangements on the spot.

The middle-aged man’s thorough consideration and decisive action greatly increased Hua Xiajiu’s good impression of him.

After thanking the middle-aged man, Hua Xiajiu left the hall with a guard, under the respectful and grateful gazes of Zhao Fengyun and Zhang Xiong. As for the arrangement of the scouts, other guards would convey the middle-aged man’s orders to the military camp.

...

In the hall, after Hua Xiajiu left, everyone exchanged glances and sat down again.

"Such a young master appearing in our Hedaba City is indeed suspicious, and we don’t know his background. Commander Xu, your intention to recruit him—"

General Huang looked at Xu Jianhong and said, "Old Huang, you also noticed that this young man is suspicious. Yes! Looking at his overly shiny bald head, it reminds me of a secret I heard from the Marquis when we were drinking together."

Upon hearing the secret from the Marquis, General Huang, Zhao Fengyun, and Zhang Xiong’s expressions changed, and they showed great interest. Zhao Fengyun, in particular, said impatiently, "Oh! A secret—what secret is it, Commander? Can you tell us?"

Xu Jianhong smiled and said, "It’s said that in the Cangman Mountains, where the demons live, there is a secluded cultivation sect, and it’s a Buddhist sect. The disciples all dress as bald monks. According to what you said, Hua Xiajiu first appeared in Tangjia Town, which is near the foot of the Cangman Mountains. Combined with his lack of social skills and his obvious inexperience with the world, and the fact that I tested his strength and found him to be almost unfathomable, I suspect—"

"Commander Xu suspects that this young man is a cultivator from that secluded sect." General Huang and the others were already shocked and surprised by Xu Jianhong’s words, so they interrupted him to confirm.

Xu Jianhong understood the significance of a cultivator to ordinary people, so he didn’t blame General Huang for interrupting. He smiled meaningfully and said, "From all the signs, this young man is likely from that secluded sect."

Although General Huang and the others had some suspicions, hearing Xu Jianhong’s conclusion still made them tremble with shock.

Xu Jianhong looked at the three men with complex expressions and said, "I didn’t expect to encounter a legendary cultivator during a routine inspection of Hedaba City. Uh! Let’s not talk about this young man for now. Old Huang! The defeat this time was partly due to incomplete intelligence from our Steel Tooth Legion, so Commander Wang probably won’t punish you too harshly. However, the deaths of two young men from the Mu and Ouyang families will certainly make them resentful, and they might go to the Marquis to stir up trouble, so you need to be cautious."

General Huang, upon hearing this, came back to his senses and remembered the difficulties he faced. His face turned grim, and he took a deep breath, saying, "Thank you, Commander, for the warning."

...

As the sun set and the sky turned blood-red,

Outside Hedaba City, on the Cangman Plain.

Hua Xiajiu led five hundred scouts, riding silently toward Tangjia Town. He was completely unaware that he had been mistaken for a monk, and even a monk of the highest level.

The scouts were elite soldiers with excellent riding skills. Hua Xiajiu, with his learning ability, had improved his riding skills during his escape and was now on par with the cavalry of the Cangfeng Iron Riders, even surpassing the scouts. With the fine horses they rode, they covered over three hundred miles in just over an hour.

By now, the twilight had faded, and the night had fallen. The sky was filled with stars, and two moons, one in the east and one in the west, illuminated the world. Hua Xiajiu knew that these moons were similar to the moon on Earth, but the planet he was on clearly had two moons. Hua Xiajiu made this judgment based on his knowledge from Earth, but he felt something was off.

A few miles from Tangjia Town, in a dry riverbed, the five hundred scouts rested and watered their horses. Apart from the sound of their movements and the horses drinking, there was no other noise.

Hua Xiajiu and a mid-level officer named Li Chong, along with two scouts, crouched behind a large rock, looking at Tangjia Town. As expected, it was pitch black and clearly deserted.

Following Li Chong’s advice, Hua Xiajiu didn’t rush into Tangjia Town but sent two scouts to scout the area first.

After about an hour, a strange wolf howl echoed from Tangjia Town, repeated three times.

Hua Xiajiu, upon hearing this, was startled and instinctively hid behind the rock.

"Ha ha! Brother Hua, don’t be nervous. This is the signal from the two scouts we sent. It means it’s safe to proceed," Li Chong, relieved, chuckled and said, somewhat smugly.

Hua Xiajiu was taken aback, but upon careful consideration, he realized that the wolf howl was indeed different from the wolf howls he had heard before, and the three howls were slightly different from each other. If not listened to carefully, it would be hard to distinguish the differences.

...

In the large basement of Tangjia Town, it was pitch black.

Tang Guanshu, seeing that the wolf demons had left a few hours ago and the divine messenger had not given any instructions through the earpiece, was becoming increasingly anxious. The darkness itself was already causing fear, and the other hundreds of people were even more restless. If not for Tang Guanshu’s reassurance and their deep faith in the Dark God, they would have already fled to the surface.

The sudden three wolf howls earlier had terrified Tang Guanshu and the others. The whispers that had been going on suddenly stopped, and no one dared to complain or run to the surface.

On the surface, Hua Xiajiu had Li Chong and his men spread out around Tangjia Town and then walked alone to the Dark God’s temple.

He passed through the cemetery, dug up the blocked entrance, and entered the temple, successfully retrieving the RoboCop armor he had buried there.

In the basement, Tang Guanshu and the others were terrified, praying to the Dark God.

At that moment, a blue light flickered in Tang Guanshu’s left ear, and his body trembled, almost letting out a scream. He clamped his mouth shut and listened quietly, but the joy on his face was hard to hide.

After a while, Tang Guanshu said with joy, "The divine messenger has come to save us, and he has brought some helpers. We can go out now, but the divine messenger requires us not to reveal his identity or our faith in the Dark God to outsiders. So, when we go out, we must—"

Under the moonlight, Li Chong’s gaze was sharp like a knife, constantly scanning the surroundings. Being deep in demon territory and with a mission assigned by the commander, he dared not be the slightest bit careless. As for what Hua Xiajiu was looking for, he was curious but had no intention of interfering.

"Who’s there! Come out!" Li Chong, a top scout, had keen senses. The moment Tang Guanshu and the others opened the underground passage, he heard a faint sound and shouted, brandishing his long sword and cautiously approaching.

"Commander Li, don’t be nervous. These are the people I’m looking for. I’m taking them with me. Please have your men help me," Hua Xiajiu’s voice came from nearby just as Li Chong finished speaking.

...

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