Chapter 246: Counter-attack

Huben Main Camp.

Yue Qianshan seemed to sense something and was suddenly startled awake.

Before long, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from outside his tent, then hesitated.

It was, after all, very late.

“What is it?”

Yue Qianshan asked.

“General, there’s an urgent military report from Longling Canyon!”

The Personal Guard outside hurriedly reported, “The new Captain Lu Bai has slain the Ghost Souls in Mining Area No. 7. He discovered that the Witch Race was controlling the Fierce Ghosts from behind the scenes and pursued them alone. The Witch fled into the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden, which is occupied by the Great Li Country.

Captain Lu Bai pursued the Witch inside and is now engaged in a fierce battle with the Great Li Army. Yang Xiao, Shi Yong, and the others are preparing to lead men over as reinforcements.”

“He’s fighting the Great Li Army?”

Yue Qianshan frowned slightly.

‘In that case, the Witch Race must be connected to the Great Li Country.’

‘There’s no issue with this fight; the justification is more than sufficient.’

‘This is the perfect opportunity to give the Great Li Country a warning!’

‘However, there weren’t many soldiers from the Fuhu Camp sent to Mining Area No. 7—only about a thousand men.’

‘That’s nowhere near enough men to take the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden from the Great Li Army.’

Yue Qianshan rose and stepped out of his tent, his voice deep. “Pass on my orders! Rouse the soldiers of the Xiaohu, Xianhu, and Nuhu Camps. Select one thousand men from each. They are to move out immediately and head to Longling Canyon as reinforcements!”

“As you command!”

Several Personal Guards immediately ran off to relay the message.

In the dead of night, the sleeping Huben Main Camp quickly roared to life as commands were issued one after another.

The Huben Army soldiers donned their gear with the utmost speed, assembling in the camp, ready to march at a moment’s notice.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard some new Captain over in Fuhu Camp found the person who killed Han Lie and Zhou Heng. He chased the guy down and ended up clashing with the Great Li Army. Now they’re sending us for backup.”

“From the sounds of it, General Yue wants us to take the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden this time!”

“Damn right. If we show any weakness, the Great Li Country will take a mile for every inch we give.”

“Let’s fuckin’ get ’em!”

War banners snapped in the wind. The camp was a boiling cauldron of noise and activity, waiting only for Yue Qianshan’s order.

Not long after, Yue Qianshan suddenly appeared in midair.

The Huben Army below quickly fell silent. The entire encampment became so still that only the sound of the soldiers’ breathing could be heard.

Just as Yue Qianshan was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed.

A lone rider appeared, galloping at full speed from the direction of Longling Canyon, and soon reached the camp.

“General Yue, a report from the front!”

The man’s face was flushed with excitement as he panted, “The Great Li Country’s Dragon Scale Medicine Garden… Captain Lu has taken it!”

“Hm?”

A flash of surprise crossed Yue Qianshan’s eyes. “Were their defenses weak? Who was the Commander of the Great Li garrison in the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden?”

“About a thousand men.”

The Huben Army soldier replied, “The Commander of the Great Li garrison was Kong Chuming.”

“It was him!”

“A Peak Innate Martial Artist from Great Li’s Divine Brilliance Guard! He’d reached the Blood Qi River level. A lot of our brothers have died at his hands.”

“Taking the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden from him is no small feat. This new Captain Lu is really something.”

“Even so, it must have been a pyrrhic victory. I wonder how many of our brothers were lost.”

A wave of discussion immediately swept through the Huben Army.

Yue Qianshan asked, “What were the Huben Army’s casualties?”

A strange look flashed in the soldier’s eyes. “There were… no casualties.”

…

The camp once again fell deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned, thinking they must have misheard.

“Wei Zhiyu, what nonsense are you spouting before the entire army!”

Li Kui, the ‘Mad Tiger’ and Captain of the Nuhu Camp, roared, “Do you have any idea what the penalty is for filing a false report!”

“Captain Li, I’m not lying,” the Huben Army soldier hastily explained. “There really were no casualties! When those malevolent spirits first appeared at the mining area, a lot of the brothers were afflicted by their evil, but Captain Lu intervened just in time, and everyone was fine.

Later, when Captain Lu pursued the Witch, his Body Technique was so fast that by the time we reached the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden, all that was left was a field of corpses from the Great Li Army.

Captain Lu had slaughtered his way through the entire medicine garden! That Kong Chuming… he was torn to pieces by the Captain! There wasn’t even a complete corpse left!”

“This Captain Lu… single-handedly slaughtered his way through an entire unit of the Great Li Army?”

Li Kui asked in disbelief, his eyes wide.

“That’s right.”

The Huben Army soldier nodded emphatically. “They’re still counting the Great Li Army bodies, so the exact number isn’t clear, but it’s estimated at four or five hundred. Leader Yang and the others sent me ahead to report.”

An uproar instantly swept through the camp.

Even after hearing the man’s description, most of the Huben Army soldiers remained skeptical.

Such a feat surpassed their understanding of an Innate Martial Artist’s combat capabilities.

If a True Master of the Martial Dao had steamrolled a Great Li Army unit and seized a medicine garden, that would be understandable.

But an Innate Martial Artist possessing that kind of power?

Yue Qianshan’s expression was calm as he slowly descended from midair.

‘If it were anyone else, I would be suspicious too.’

‘But since it’s Lu Bai…’

Yue Qianshan’s voice was grave. “Li Kui, you will still take three thousand men to the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden to assist Captain Lu…”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Effective immediately, Lu Bai is promoted to Captain of the Fuhu Camp. He will have full authority over Mining Area No. 7 in Longling Canyon and the Dragon Scale Medicine Garden.

Li Kui, take your men there to help hold the position. You are to follow all of Lu Bai’s commands and deployments. Under no circumstances is that medicine garden to be lost.”

“Yes, General!”

Though Li Kui was filled with doubt and resentment, he accepted the order without hesitation.

‘Once I get there, I’ll know the truth of the matter with a single glance.’

After Li Kui departed, Yue Qianshan issued several more commands, sending word to the other mining areas and medicine gardens in Longling Canyon to heighten their defenses and beware of a counterattack from the Great Li Army.

The Great Li Country was, after all, one of the Four Great Dominator Countries.

They wouldn’t take such a staggering loss lying down.

「The next day.」

Military reports soon began to flood in.

“No. 6 Lower Grade Spiritual Ore mine has been attacked by the Great Li Army!”

“The Tier Two Wolf Fang Stone Ore mine has been attacked by the Great Li Army!”

“The Yuhua Medicine Garden has been attacked by the Great Li Army!”

“No. 8 Middle Grade Spiritual Ore mine has been captured by the Great Li Army!”

“The Tier Three Profound Iron Ore mine has been captured by the Great Li Army!”

…

One after another, military reports were delivered to Yue Qianshan’s tent.

In a single day, over a dozen of the mines and medicine gardens held by the Wu Country in Longling Canyon were attacked. Seven of them were captured by the Great Li Army!

The ferocity of the Great Li Country’s counterattack far exceeded Yue Qianshan’s predictions.

It wasn’t just the Huben Army’s positions being hit; several mining areas under the command of the Longxiang Army were also attacked, with both sides suffering casualties in their clashes with the Great Li Army.

「Noon.」

Central Army Headquarters.

A man and a woman stood before a sand table.

The man was none other than General Huben, Yue Qianshan.

The woman wore silver armor over a red robe, her hair tied in a high ponytail. Brimming with a heroic air, she was none other than General Longxiang, Xiao Qingyu.

These two were Chen Shihu’s most trusted commanders, his left and right hands, commanding the Huben Army and the Longxiang Iron Cavalry respectively.

The conflict in Longling Canyon had erupted so quickly and fiercely that it had alarmed both great commanders, who had summoned their subordinate generals to discuss strategy.

Two rows of commanders from the Huben and Longxiang armies were seated on either side of the tent.