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Chapter 186: Infiltrating Fire Dragon Pass, How Are You So Skilled?
🕑 Added 2024-10-31 16:42:25 +0000 UTC"Lu Yuanwei's Shenlei Army has already broken through the Fire Demon Tribe's 'Chiyan Pass,' which was their first line of defense on the western front."
"Now, the Fire Demon Tribe has no choice but to retreat to the second line of defense at Daoqin Pass."
"It's only been a month, and those bastards retreated three thousand li! Yang Qilin is utterly useless!"
In the war council hall, Liao Rulong cursed furiously.
Long Xiao, sandwiched between Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing, looked around and whispered, "Who is he cursing? It sounds like he's talking about one of Da Zhou's generals. Isn’t he talking about Lu Yuanwei?"
Chen Shijie shook his head. "I keep telling you to read more, but clearly, you haven't taken it to heart."
Zhao Xing explained to Long Xiao, "Liao Duyi is cursing a chieftain of the Fire Demon Tribe. As for why he has a name like someone from Da Zhou? That's because of Da Zhou's cultural influence."
"During the reign of Emperor Wen, there was no war between Da Zhou and the Southern Wilderness. In fact, there were even commercial and cultural exchanges."
"The author of the Southern Barbarians' Compendium of Rare Items was once invited to visit the Southern Barbarians, even touring strongholds like Fire Dragon Pass."
"Many members of foreign tribes were granted surnames and names by Emperor Wen."
"One of the chieftains of the Fire Demon Tribe was even given the surname 'Ji' by the emperor."
Long Xiao asked, puzzled, "Then why is he called Yang Qilin?"
Chen Shijie chimed in, "The emperor during the Cheng'an and Yong'an eras continued Emperor Wen's policy of governing the country, which also included bestowing surnames upon the Fire Demon Tribe."
"However, the current emperor looks down on the Fire Demon Tribe."
"'How can mere barbarians be worthy of a royal surname?' he asked."
"So during the Cheng'an era, this tribe changed its surname to 'Yang.'"
"The name 'Yang Qilin' is a result of political maneuvering from back then."
"Even before he was born, his name was decided to be something from Da Zhou."
Long Xiao finally understood.
"Yang Qilin was raised in the Fire Demon Tribe's warrior culture, but he was also influenced by the rituals and culture of Da Zhou's Central Plains."
"He even traveled to Anping Prefecture and Da Tong Prefecture, studying at Daoist academies. By the age of seven, he had been granted the title of 'Barbarian General.'"
"However, when the reforms began during the Dingxin era, Da Zhou began using force against the Southern Barbarians, nullifying all previous titles."
"As a result, Yang Qilin, who had originally been a high-ranking Fifth-Rank general, was demoted to the Seventh Rank and hasn't fully recovered his status. He's currently only at the late stage of the Tiangang Realm."
Zhao Xing understood why Liao Rulong was so angry.
Though Yang Qilin had been demoted, his knowledge, vision, military skills, and personal abilities were still top-tier among the barbarian generals.
Before the war against the Southern Barbarians, he had been considered one of the most troublesome commanders by the various armies of Da Zhou.
The western defense line at Chiyan Pass, which Yang Qilin had been responsible for, was thought to be an extremely tough nut to crack.
But how long had it taken?
Lu Yuanwei had already pierced through the first line of defense, no wonder Liao Rulong was fuming.
"A deceiver and fraud!" Liao Rulong cursed. "The east and north haven’t even officially started fighting, yet his side already suffered a major defeat."
"If I had known he was this incompetent, I could have taken his place!"
This was bad news.
Lu Yuanwei was advancing too quickly. If he managed to single-handedly seize the Green Gang Crystal Mine, the armies from the northeast would be left with nothing but scraps.
The Green Gang Crystal Mine was a prized piece of territory that every army wanted. Liao Rulong hadn’t been that ambitious at first, but after the smooth victory over the Wolf God Tribe, he started to believe he had a shot at claiming this treasure.
Plus, with Zhao Xing’s earlier analysis, the difficulty of capturing Fire Dragon Pass seemed lower, making Liao Rulong more eager to take the Green Gang Crystal Mine.
However, Zhao Xing knew that it wasn’t because Yang Qilin was incompetent but because Lu Yuanwei was truly a genius-level general.
Among all the Sixth-Rank generals involved in this campaign, Lu Yuanwei had the best combination of luck, strength, and military strategy.
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and reassured him, "Lu Yuanwei is adept at blitzkrieg tactics. He was able to break through the first line of defense because he took advantage of Yang Qilin before he could stabilize his position. This is still part of the aftermath of his campaign against Prince Hal."
"Yang Qilin has been cleaning up Hal’s mess, so it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s weak."
"Besides, the Fire Demon Tribe's second line of defense is in much deeper territory, completely different from their previous terrain. Shenlei Army won’t break through that quickly. Don’t worry, Duyi."
Pu Zhong agreed with Zhao Xing’s assessment. "Lu Yuanwei is indeed brilliant, but now that he commands a larger force, flexibility and speed will become more difficult to maintain."
"While he’s undoubtedly a prodigy, in conventional warfare, he may not continue to excel."
Zhao Xing remained silent.
In truth, Lu Yuanwei was one of those rare commanders capable of excelling in both regular and unconventional warfare. If nothing unexpected happened, Yang Qilin wouldn’t be able to hold him off for long.
Zhao Xing knew he needed to expedite the capture of Fire Dragon Pass.
Once Fire Dragon Pass was taken, Shenlei Army would reach the Green Gang Crystal Mine even faster.
The very day Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie arrived at Zhiyou City, Liao Rulong ordered the vanguard troops to launch several probing attacks on Fire Dragon Pass, with Wen Shaoyang’s unit providing continual harassment to the pass’s defenders.
Of course, these weren’t meant to take the pass, and the attacks weren’t very effective.
The aim was simply to keep the Fire Demon Tribe on edge.
After half a month of this, they finally stopped.
Outside Zhiyou City, Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie watched the returning troops and chatted.
"The harassment hasn’t been very effective. Fire Dragon Pass is indeed formidable. Over these days, we’ve lost dozens of our own men."
"But on the Fire Demon Tribe’s side, only six of them died, and those were taken out by Pu Zhong and Wang Shilin."
Wang Shilin was Wen Shaoyang’s strategist.
Zhao Xing remained speechless.
Though Liao Rulong called it a probing attack, he had put a lot of effort into it, sending nearly twenty thousand new reinforcements.
In addition to testing Fire Dragon Pass’s defenses, he also wanted to get the new troops familiar with battle.
There was one actual assault attempt, but it went poorly.
In the end, it was Pu Zhong and Wang Shilin who cast two "Reverse Intention" spells from atop the warship, causing several barbarian commanders to go berserk and attack their own men, which prevented their side from returning with zero kills.
Wen Shaoyang and Liao Rulong then retreated a thousand li to fortify their positions.
This retreat, however, was part of the plan.
"After two weeks of harassment, our army has pulled back to the border between the Wolf God Tribe and the Fire Demon Tribe."
"This retreat looks like a genuine fallback due to exhaustion, creating the perfect opportunity for us to act."
Zhao Xing nodded. "Let’s go. Time to board the airship."
As soon as the main army returned, a small airship set off toward Fire Dragon Pass.
There were only a hundred men aboard the small airship.
Since this was a stealth operation, there was no need for a large force.
These hundred men were divided into five teams.
When the airship reached a hundred li from Fire Dragon Pass, it landed, and everyone disembarked.
The commander of the Earth Mages, Zhang Ying, and the commander of the Fire Mages, Xu Quan, led their subordinates, tunneling underground to transport the remaining sixty men forward.
The barbarians had spellcasters, and even underground, there were patrols.
To conserve the energy of the infiltration team, Zhang Ying and Xu Quan took the responsibility of escorting them in.
After tunneling fifty li underground, they dug a pit and paused to rest for half an hour.
Another team, led by Min Changhui, moved ahead, infiltrating the southern side of Fire Dragon Pass.
The Earth Fire Lotus plantation had several sites, and Min Changhui’s team was the backup group.
After half an hour, Zhang Ying and Xu Quan continued escorting the remaining soldiers, advancing another twenty li.
By this point, the underground tunnel had significantly fewer people.
"We can only take you this far."
"Any further, and we risk being discovered," Zhang Ying and Xu Quan informed Chen Shijie. "Ahead lies the Fire Demon Tribe’s Earth Fire Formation. The tunnels and passageways are heavily guarded."
Their capabilities were limited, and it was impossible to sneak everyone through without alerting the underground sentries.
"Thank you for your efforts," Chen Shijie said. "You two can stay here and wait."
"Long Xiao, Zhao Xing, Yu Ziqi, let’s move."
Yes, only four of them would be infiltrating the core area.
Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were sword cultivators, two of the few Seventh-Rank sword cultivators in the Shenwei Army.
Bringing them along was like taking out an insurance policy. Both Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing were spellcasters, and in the event of a battle, they would have difficulty escaping.
If things went south, Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang were prepared to initiate a real assault to rescue them.
Zhao Xing took Long Xiao, while Chen Shijie took Yu Ziqi.
Carrying another person made the stealth travel much easier.
"Divine Travel Guard!"
Zhao Xing placed his hand on Long Xiao’s shoulder, and a faint white shield enveloped them both, like an octagonal cage, wrapping them securely.
"Flame Escape!"
Chen Shijie also cast a spell, surrounding himself and Yu Ziqi in a pale red glow. His escape technique was different from Zhao Xing’s.
Even if Yu Ziqi left Chen Shijie’s ten-li range, the effect of the spell would still persist, allowing them to tunnel through the earth.
But with Zhao Xing’s Divine Travel Guard, Long Xiao had to stay within the confines of the octagonal cage. Leaving it would cause him to become stuck in the soil.
Each technique had its pros and cons.
Chen Shijie’s technique was more flexible; the Flame Escape could be cast as a buff, allowing people to travel underground.
Zhao Xing’s Divine Travel Guard, derived from the techniques of the Boundless Earth Palace, combined with Earth Law, had strong defensive properties, enabling them to burrow deeper.
Underground tunneling was tricky. If space was tight or if they encountered an enemy’s tunneling technique, there would be little they could do but stare at each other.
The outward manifestation of Zhao Xing’s Divine Travel Guard, an octagonal cage resembling a subterranean palace, functioned like a "burrowing truck." Equipped with ramming spikes, it could plow through any underground enemy they encountered.
"Buzz~"
Zhao Xing and Long Xiao entered the rock wall, quickly blending into it.
Chen Shijie and Yu Ziqi followed closely behind.
After advancing five li, Zhao Xing stopped. "We need to detour. There’s a Fire Demon spellcaster ahead."
Chen Shijie nodded.
They could communicate underground. Back in Gucheng, when Chen Shijie had set up the Fire Hell Palace, he and Zhao Xing had used the earth’s veins to talk to each other.
Using the earth’s energy fluctuations, they could send messages. With their level of cultivation and their proximity, it was unlikely they would be detected.
The four of them changed direction, heading south for another five li before continuing forward.
But after another three li, Zhao Xing stopped again.
"Detour."
Chen Shijie was puzzled. "There’s no Fire Demon spellcaster ahead, just a few barbarian soldiers. Why detour?"
Zhao Xing could sense the presence of others through earth energy fluctuations. Chen Shijie’s perception should have been even stronger, as he was already a Sixth-Rank, though his official rank hadn’t caught up with his strength, and neither had his luck or lifespan.
Infiltrating from underground, the first challenge was the spell formations and guards in the underground tunnels.
"That’s an ‘invisible pulse’ within the Earth Fire Formation. If there’s a spellcaster in there, neither you nor I would sense them. Trust me, let’s go around."
"Invisible pulse?" Chen Shijie didn’t quite understand, but he trusted Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing wasn’t sure if there was someone inside, either.
But from his past life, when he had played through the strategy of Fire Dragon Pass, he had learned to identify the locations of the invisible pulse gates by examining the surrounding soil layers.
There were many such invisible pulse gates, and there was an 80% chance that a powerful spellcaster was stationed there.
Elite bosses were best avoided; no need to waste energy fighting them.
After another five li, Chen Shijie took the initiative to stop this time, warning, "There’s a powerful spellcaster ahead, along with a cave filled with barbarian soldiers. We should detour."
"Wait," Zhao Xing said, stopping him and carefully sensing the surroundings.
After twenty breaths, Zhao Xing said, "No need to detour, it’s a fake. They’ve placed a Four-Symbols Earth Pulse Pearl there to create the illusion of earth energy fluctuations, making it seem like there’s a powerful expert present."
"Take a closer look at the fire energy in the Kun and Kan positions. Compare it with the fire energy we’ve encountered so far, and you’ll see the difference."
Chen Shijie hesitated. "Sorry, but I can’t see it."
Chen Shijie had been through many battles and seen many things.
But this, he hadn’t seen before.
"Then look carefully at the Zhen and Li positions to see if the gold, water, and wood energies are flowing in cycles through the Zhongguang, Zhaoyang, and Shangzhang positions."
Chen Shijie fell silent.
Seeing his lack of response, Zhao Xing asked, surprised, "Brother, didn’t you take the Mechanist’s formation class?"
"Just keep moving!" Chen Shijie gritted his teeth.
Long Xiao covered his mouth, struggling to suppress his laughter.
Damn, always telling me to read more, now you know how it feels, right?
What goes around comes around! Feels good!
Yu Ziqi, not privy to their conversation, remained unaware of the banter between Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie, as he was a martial artist. Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie communicated through earth energy fluctuations.
But Long Xiao, being within the octagonal cage, could hear Zhao Xing speaking aloud as he transmitted messages.
Yu Ziqi only noticed that Chen Shijie seemed to be following Zhao Xing’s lead.
Who’s really in charge here, Chen Shijie or this kid?
The four of them continued for another three li and found that the cave was indeed empty, save for a crystal-clear pearl placed within.
Nearby, there were barbarian soldiers on guard, with tunnels leading off in all directions.
Seeing that Zhao Xing was right, Chen Shijie started to question himself.
Why did he feel like he was the Seventh-Rank here, while Zhao Xing was acting like the Sixth-Rank?
"Should I go back to Ten Sun Cave-Heaven for retraining?" Chen Shijie thought to himself.
He had never undergone training in the Ten Sun Cave-Heaven.
When he had become a Military Shennong, the cave-heaven hadn’t been open yet, so he had completed his training elsewhere.
Naturally, his training couldn’t compare to the more detailed and comprehensive instruction offered in the Ten Sun Cave-Heaven.
Over the thirty li distance, the four of them ended up spending six hours underground.
The only weak point of Fire Dragon Pass was its underground defense, as it held natural advantages in the air and on the surface.
Infiltrating from below was no easy task.
The underground formations and mazes were too numerous to count, with many Seventh-Rank and even Sixth-Rank experts guarding the tunnels.
They ignored the surface battles.
Even if the sky fell, the underground forces wouldn’t budge.
The battlefield was stratified, and they only concerned themselves with matters beneath the earth.
Zhao Xing found an abandoned underground cave where the four of them gathered.
"The outer underground defense line of Fire Dragon Pass ends here, but there’s still one last challenge," Zhao Xing said. "That’s the underground cavern beneath us."
"The top layer is reinforced with a thirty-meter-thick layer of 'Subterranean Punji Nails,' making it impossible to sneak through without being detected, even with perfected high-level escape techniques."
"With our current escape techniques, if we try to pass, we’ll be pierced all over with nails. Even if we don’t die, we’ll be seriously injured."
"This setup was constructed by our own Da Zhou artisans back in the day. Now, it's really…"
Chen Shijie didn’t know what to say.
Some of Fire Dragon Pass’s defenses had been reinforced by Da Zhou artisans back when relations were 'friendly' during Emperor Wen’s reign. There had been many such assistance policies.
The Subterranean Punji Nails didn’t have any secret bypasses. If you couldn’t pass, you simply couldn’t pass.
"Then we’ll have to go through the underground cavern," Yu Ziqi suggested. "We’ll need to silently take out four Fire Demon soldiers and disguise ourselves as them. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Zhao Xing confirmed. "And not just any soldiers, they must be commanders. Only by disguising ourselves as commanders will we have any real freedom of movement."
Certain areas were off-limits to ordinary soldiers.
Disguising themselves as common soldiers would be asking for trouble.
"This is a job for Yu Ziqi; I’m too loud," Long Xiao said.
When it came to killing, sword cultivators were the fastest and most efficient.
However, Long Xiao’s specialty was in forceful, overwhelming swordsmanship, using a large sword that made quite a bit of noise.
Yu Ziqi, on the other hand, opened his sword box, which was filled with miniature swords no longer than a foot.
With a flick of his finger, four tiny swords floated out, circling around him.
"When should I strike, and who should I target?"
"Wait until they’re about to change shifts," Chen Shijie advised. "That way, we won’t have to stay underground too long and risk exposure."
Zhao Xing nodded. "Good call. After killing them, we’ll need to destroy the bodies. Can you handle that?"
Yu Ziqi looked at Chen Shijie, who immediately understood and ran his hand over the four tiny swords.
The once gray-black blades now glowed with a dark red hue.
"As long as the swords pierce their bodies, they’ll be reduced to ashes," Chen Shijie explained.
Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were clearly used to this. They often borrowed fire from Chen Shijie.
Killing people and disposing of the bodies was the easy part.
The four of them waited in this position for six hours, during which time Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie scouted for potential targets, observing their behavior.
Eventually, they selected four unlucky souls.
"These are the ones: Lishi Commander Loba, Shushi Commander Lahe, Shushi Commander Xuba, and Lishi Commander Howe."
"When we disguise ourselves, try not to speak unless absolutely necessary. These four form a shift group. If there’s any need for conversation, leave it to me and Chen Shijie."
Chen Shijie grumbled, "You handle it. I only know the common language, not the Fire Demon Tribe’s 'Nanhe dialect.'"
He was seriously considering going back for further training.
It wasn’t that Chen Shijie was normally involved in this kind of work. As a Ninth-Rank Military Shennong, he hadn’t anticipated needing these skills.
Naturally, he wasn’t as versatile as Zhao Xing.
In the underground cavern, in one of the caves, a jade bed was placed in the center.
Surrounding the bed were various plants, and a fountain gurgled nearby.
As the Lishi Commander, Loba’s accommodations underground weren’t too bad.
He had plenty to eat and drink, but it was admittedly boring.
There weren’t many entertainment options, nor were there any fragrant women around.
"It’s almost time."
Loba stretched lazily, getting out of bed.
Loba’s daily routine was simple and unchanging: clock in, sleep, clock out, then find a woman to spend time with.
Plain, monotonous.
The other commanders were no different, even with the war against Da Zhou underway.
But what did the war have to do with Fire Dragon Pass?
This mighty pass had never been breached.
History had proven it many times.
Now, being a commander at Fire Dragon Pass was a cushy job: high pay, low stress, and no fear of danger.
Not even a general would trade places!
"Who should I find to play with today?"
Loba scratched his groin, picked his nose, and bent over to grab his bag.
The next second.
His movements froze.
A flat hole appeared in his forehead.
As his vision blurred, everything went dark, and his consciousness faded away.
"Shh~"
Before Loba’s body could fall, the small hole in his forehead ignited, and he turned to ash.
From within the stone wall, Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, Yu Ziqi, and Chen Shijie emerged.
"Long Xiao, turn into Loba. Quickly."
"Got it."
Long Xiao immediately touched his earlobe, then transformed, taking on Loba’s appearance.
They had already used the Thousand Transformations Mask to record the Fire Demon commanders’ features.
Now, transforming was a breeze.
"Now, I’m Loba," Long Xiao grinned, perfectly mimicking Loba’s demeanor.
"Let’s move."
"Wait." Zhao Xing gestured toward the nearby plants. "Primordial Instant, Soul Binding Straw Puppet, rise!"
The ordinary plants were instantly raised to the third level of power by Zhao Xing.
Then, in a swift motion, he cut them down, gathering materials to create a straw puppet.
With his Hawk Eye, Zhao Xing located Loba’s soul.
After Yu Ziqi had killed him, Loba’s life soul had become disembodied.
"Bind!"
Loba’s life soul was instantly drawn into the straw puppet.
Currently, Zhao Xing could only bind life souls.
He couldn’t bind heavenly souls or earth souls yet.
But that was enough.
The Southern Barbarians’ shamans also struggled to summon heavenly and earth souls.
The heavenly soul represented the soul of reincarnation, and the earth soul symbolized the soul of karma.
Only Fate Stars or Heaven Shamans at the First Rank could manipulate reincarnation and karma.
However, summoning life souls was relatively easy.
Zhao Xing needed to capture Loba’s life soul because they weren’t sure how long they would be down here. As a precaution, he wanted to ensure the soul didn’t reveal their presence.
Additionally, by binding Loba’s life soul, Zhao Xing could access some of his recent memories.
Anything older than a few days would be difficult, but recent memories were manageable.
"Glug glug~"
The straw puppet was placed in the hot spring, about eight meters deep. Hidden there, it was hard to detect.
"Now we can go."
Long Xiao stepped out of the cave and called for Shushi Commander Xuba, as previously instructed.
Since they were 'brothers,' it was a natural excuse to approach.
"Xuba, time to clock out!"
The Fire Demon Tribe had adopted the practice of calling work shifts 'clocking in and out' from Da Zhou.
In Da Zhou, officials above the Fifth Rank referred to their duties as 'attending court,' while those below referred to it as 'clocking in,' as their offices were called 'workrooms.'
The Southern Wilderness had imitated much of Da Zhou’s ceremonial culture, including these practices.
"Brother, your voice sounds a bit strange today," Xuba commented.
Xuba, being a Shushi Commander, had a keen sense of perception. When Long Xiao approached, he immediately sensed something was off.
Being close, he could easily notice something amiss.
"I’m not feeling well today," Long Xiao said. "We—"
"Shh~"
Xuba froze, then turned into flame and vanished.
Yu Ziqi had made his move.
"I wanted to get some information out of him, but you killed him too quickly," Long Xiao muttered.
"With your terrible acting and the Western Er Prefecture accent in your Nanhe dialect, you thought you’d extract information?" Yu Ziqi sneered.
"Who are you looking down on? It's not like you can do better!" Long Xiao snapped back.
The two often bickered, their paths as sword cultivators diverging. They couldn’t resist arguing whenever possible.
Chen Shijie interrupted, "Enough, is this really the time for chatting? Zhao Xing, switch roles."
"Right."
Zhao Xing touched his earlobe and transformed into Xuba.
"Now, I’m Xuba."
"Now, I, I, am Xuba."
"Brother, your voice sounds a bit strange today."
The first two lines were Zhao Xing adjusting his vocal cords. By the third line, he perfectly mimicked Xuba’s voice, tone, and mannerisms, even down to the subtle, eerie elegance typical of spellcasters.
"Impressive, too impressive!" Long Xiao marveled.
"Has he done this before?" Yu Ziqi asked, surprised, looking at Chen Shijie.
"Not that I’ve seen," Chen Shijie shook his head.
"Then how is he so skilled?"
"Maybe it’s something they teach in the Ten Sun Cave-Heaven."
"Times sure have changed. Military Shennong training now includes this…" Yu Ziqi mused.
Chen Shijie nodded in agreement.
The remaining two commanders, Shushi Commander Lahe and Lishi Commander Howe, were dispatched just as smoothly.
Chen Shijie assumed Lahe’s identity, while Yu Ziqi became Howe.
All four souls were sealed in straw puppets left in their respective caves. This was not only to prevent their life souls from being discovered but also as a backup plan—one that might come in handy later.
Even if they were discovered, Zhao Xing would know when it happened.
Just when they thought they were in the clear, a complication arose during the shift change.
While the four new commanders didn’t notice anything unusual, during the handover, Long Xiao, disguised as Loba, was startled when Loba’s communication token rang.
"Loba, Liu Protector is calling you. Why aren’t you answering?" one of the Lishi Commanders said casually. "What are you waiting for?"
"My throat… cough, feels a bit off," Long Xiao stammered, clearly uneasy.
Though Zhao Xing had briefed him on Loba’s recent memories, Long Xiao’s language skills were lacking.
If he engaged in a conversation, he’d surely give himself away.
"Haha, you’d better take care of Liu Protector. He wasn’t happy with the last place you took him."
"When you find a good spot, remember to share it with the brothers."
Long Xiao forced a smile and pretended to answer the token.
Once the four new commanders were out of sight, Zhao Xing snatched the token from Long Xiao and answered the call himself.
The Fire Demon Tribe’s communication tokens were modeled after Da Zhou’s Thousand-Mile Transmission Tokens.
"Buzz~"
As the token connected, a cold voice came through.
"Loba, why did you take so long to answer?"
"I, I—hic—just woke up."
There was a pause, followed by a mocking laugh. "Just woke up? I bet you were drinking! How many times have I told you not to drink on duty? If you want to drink, wait until after your shift. There are enemies lurking outside Fire Dragon Pass, don’t screw me over!"
"Y-Yes," Zhao Xing stammered in a servile tone.
"The enemies retreated two days ago. Today, you can relax. Meet me at the usual spot."
"Understood."
After ending the call, Long Xiao exhaled a long sigh of relief.
It seemed they had dodged the bullet.
"We need to move faster," Zhao Xing whispered after ending the communication. "Loba has a rendezvous with his patron for some fun. I can bluff my way through over the token, but face-to-face, we’ll be exposed."
Chen Shijie nodded. "Right. Liu Protector, being someone familiar with Da Zhou, is not someone we can meet."
The intelligence on Fire Dragon Pass from the military records had mentioned key figures like Liu Protector.
Anyone with a Da Zhou surname and a high-ranking position was likely part of a powerful clan and knew more about Da Zhou than most.
"Let’s move quickly. Once we pass this checkpoint, infiltrating the underground magma river's plantation area will be easier."
Inside Fire Dragon Pass, in a stone house.
"Squeak~"
A minotaur opened the door and stepped inside.
After glancing outside, he walked down into the underground passage.
The underground space was about a hundred square meters.
At that moment, two members of the Fire Demon Tribe were watching the entrance vigilantly. Upon seeing only the minotaur descend, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"It’s me," the minotaur said in a deep voice. "No one followed."
The two Fire Demon members touched their earlobes, reverting to their original forms.
Had Zhao Xing been present, he would have been shocked to see that the two were Xia Jing and Guan Junyang!
Xia Jing stood up. "Brother Ye, how’s the situation?"
The minotaur, Ye Chongxian, nodded. "The place where the prince needs to go is heavily guarded, but I’m working on getting reassigned to patrol there."
"Once I’m in, the prince can follow me inside."
"My rank isn’t high enough to get you out if something goes wrong. So, prince, please be cautious and avoid exposing yourself."
Xia Jing replied solemnly, "Don’t worry, Brother Ye. If things go wrong, you should prioritize your own safety. If necessary, you can even cut us down."
The minotaur quickly responded, "Prince, please don’t say that. I’ve been stationed here for ten years under the order of the Marquis, all for this day. I’ve already put my life on the line. My only fear is failing in my mission and delaying your important task."
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