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Chapter 185: Preparations and Bad News
🕑 Added 2024-10-30 16:53:13 +0000 UTCZhao Xing replied, "Didn’t I mention earlier that since our Shennong Division's planting capacity had overflowed, I just casually looked into other things by coincidence?"
Who would believe such a lie?
He was practically armed to the teeth, poised to thrust a sword into the Fire Demon Tribe's nose, and yet he claimed it wasn’t intentional... Who would buy that?
It was clear Zhao Xing had set his sights on the Fire Demon Tribe from the start!
Zhao Xing, however, tactically drank some water.
Believe it or not, I believe it myself.
Liao Rulong, hearing Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie’s conversation, could also glean some clues from it.
The Fire Demon Tribe could be defeated, and it could be done in a relatively easy manner.
The key was obtaining the Fifth-Rank Earth Fire Lotus from beneath the Flame Mountain Range. It didn’t have to be a mature plant—seeds or seedlings would suffice.
If they could get their hands on that, the Flame Mountain Range would no longer be an impenetrable barrier.
Attacking Fire Dragon Pass from within would become far easier.
Behind Liao Rulong, the strategist Pu Zhong caught the underlying meaning in Zhao Xing’s latter remarks.
Zhao Xing seemed to know the situation all too well, almost as if he had already figured out how to steal the Earth Fire Lotus.
He might even have more to say, with a feeling that he hadn’t yet revealed everything.
Upon hearing Zhao Xing’s plan, Liao Rulong and his team lost all interest in continuing their drinks and promptly gathered Pu Zhong and other commanders to discuss their strategy for attacking Fire Dragon Pass.
"Captain, let Chen Shijie stay behind for now. Call for him when the army moves out," Pu Zhong quietly suggested to Liao Rulong as they were about to leave City No. 92.
"Hmm? Why?" Liao Rulong asked, puzzled.
"They’re both Military Shennongs, and they might still have some detailed planting strategies to discuss," Pu Zhong explained.
Pu Zhong could see that Zhao Xing had more to say.
He guessed that perhaps Zhao Xing only wanted to share certain things with Chen Shijie.
Maybe Zhao Xing wanted to leave the credit to Chen Shijie?
After all, Chen Shijie was his closest and most trusted companion.
Liao Rulong, being the commanding officer, hadn’t known Zhao Xing for long, so some things might be awkward to discuss.
"Old Chen," Zhao Xing called to Chen Shijie, bringing him to a secluded room outside the city. "For this mission to Fire Dragon Pass to steal the Earth Fire Lotus, I’m going with you."
"You’re going too?" Chen Shijie asked. "There’s no need for that. I can take a team to do it."
"No, I have to go," Zhao Xing insisted. "Fire Dragon Pass isn’t simple. The Earth Fire Lotus is a treasured asset of the Fire Demon Tribe, and the path is filled with traps and complex terrain."
"With me there, things will go more smoothly."
Chen Shijie wasn’t sure where Zhao Xing got his confidence.
But seeing his determination, Chen Shijie nodded. "Fine, I’ll inform Liao Rulong to assign you to the front lines."
"The operation must be led by you," Zhao Xing emphasized. "Don’t let anyone else take command."
"Why do I feel like you’re stressing that because you want command yourself?" Chen Shijie asked with a smirk.
"Is it that obvious?" Zhao Xing raised his eyebrows.
"I’ll definitely secure command," Chen Shijie replied. "Anything else you want to say?"
"Go to the military archives and look for the book Southern Barbarians' Compendium of Rare Items, and find its author," Zhao Xing instructed. "His name is Zhang Chunfang."
"He was sent as an emissary to the Southern Barbarian tribes during the reign of Emperor Wen."
"He wrote the Southern Barbarians' Compendium of Rare Items, and he must have seen the Earth Fire Lotus. I suspect he’s very familiar with the Fire Demon Tribe, and the military should have archived geographic information about the tribe based on his records."
Chen Shijie nodded. "Alright."
The military’s archives were vast and extensive. Without Zhao Xing’s reminder, Chen Shijie wouldn’t have known where to start researching the Fire Demon Tribe.
"Also, prepare some devices. This list I’ve drawn up is based on what I gleaned from the book. They might come in handy," Zhao Xing said, handing over a list.
Looking at the list, Chen Shijie didn’t know what to say. "And you still claim you didn’t have designs on the Fire Demon Tribe?"
"That’s it for now. Call me when we’re ready to depart," Zhao Xing said.
"You really don’t have to come," Chen Shijie reiterated. "It’s still risky."
"I know high-level escape techniques too. You don’t need to worry about me," Zhao Xing smiled.
"..."
Chen Shijie couldn’t help but feel that Zhao Xing was a freak of nature.
For most people at the Seventh Rank, mastering even one high-level technique would mark them as a genius.
But for Zhao Xing, it seemed as effortless as eating and drinking.
"How many high-level techniques do you actually know?"
"Not many, just nine."
"That ‘just’ makes me want to hit you," Chen Shijie said with a twitching smile. "Alright, you can come along."
After parting ways with Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing returned to his room.
In truth, he wouldn’t normally take such risks for others.
So why was Zhao Xing doing this?
There were two reasons: first, capturing Fire Dragon Pass would yield tremendous rewards. Just getting a share of the Green Gang Crystal Mine would be enough for him, Long Xiao, Chen Shijie, and even many others to be ennobled as marquises.
It might even allow them to leap across multiple noble ranks, reaching marquis in one fell swoop.
After all, this was the biggest opportunity to earn merit in the early stages of the campaign.
Second, Zhao Xing had a detailed strategy and a map of the traps at Fire Dragon Pass in his mind.
He knew the layout of the underground magma rivers, how to harvest the Earth Fire Lotus, and the general strength of the defensive forces from the era of Emperor Jing. He alone held this knowledge.
If he didn’t personally lead the operation, Chen Shijie and the others would undoubtedly face setbacks, or at least wouldn’t proceed as smoothly.
With him present, even offering small hints would greatly improve the chances of success.
Lastly, Zhao Xing wanted to test whether he could change Chen Shijie’s fate.
By revealing the Earth Fire Lotus and making Chen Shijie the plan's architect and leader, Chen Shijie would gain significant merit if Fire Dragon Pass were captured.
Zhao Xing aimed to push Chen Shijie’s merit past the million mark as soon as possible.
That way, even if Chen Shijie died, he could still become an Yin Shen, essentially an insurance policy.
There was even a chance Chen Shijie could advance to the Sixth or even Fifth Rank more quickly.
With higher rank and merit, he’d be less likely to die.
If Chen Shijie’s fate could be altered and he survived, Zhao Xing could adjust his plans for the future accordingly.
If his fate was fixed, Zhao Xing would be even more cautious in his own actions.
Of course, Zhao Xing wasn’t going to share any of this with Chen Shijie. Even Pu Zhong only assumed Zhao Xing wanted to help Chen Shijie gain merit.
No one could imagine that Zhao Xing was so intimately familiar with the inner workings of Fire Dragon Pass, or that he harbored such complex thoughts.
The days passed without any notable changes.
The difference was that more people from the frontline military cities had gradually arrived.
The Shenwei Army had reinforced both Zhao Xing's unit and Wen Shaoyang’s division with many fire-attribute magicians.
By August 20th, Liao Rulong’s unit had expanded to 38,000 troops.
On August 21st, Liao Rulong’s unit, along with a batch of equipment and supplies, set off aboard the Dragon Head Warship toward Zhiyou City.
Zhao Xing, meanwhile, remained in City No. 92, continuing to complete both his regular duties and his advancement tasks.
"On the fourth of last month, my Instantaneous Primordial technique reached the Third Transformation."
"My merit exceeded 250,000, placing me in the top 1,000."
"By July 20th, even without focusing on tasks, my merit had reached 430,000, ranking me 431st."
"Since I didn’t focus on tasks, but instead studied Self-School techniques and the Yin-Yang Self Sutra, I dropped out of the top 500 by the August 1st ranking."
"On August 13th, I resumed my tasks."
"Today, August 21st, my merit increased by 50,000, reaching 480,000."
"My ranking has once again placed me in the top 500 of the Seventh-Rank merit list."
"However, the rate of earning merit has noticeably slowed," Zhao Xing reflected as he reviewed his merit points and ranking.
Since Liao Rulong’s unit had chosen to rest, Zhao Xing’s regular tasks were yielding minimal merit.
Without battles, there was no need for large quantities of supplies, so the merit rewards had decreased.
While advancement tasks still existed, Zhao Xing hadn’t been the first to undertake them, so his progress wasn’t as dramatic as before.
Of course, gaining 50,000 merit in eight days was still fast.
This was because many military units were eyeing the fertile land of the Fire Demon Tribe’s territory, preparing for a large-scale battle.
For more than two months, the Southern Barbarians had been retreating, with Da Zhou advancing the frontline over 10,000 miles. Finally, the barbarians could no longer endure and were preparing a counterattack.
The Golden Feather Court and Holy Spirit Court had both dispatched many troops to the Fire Demon Tribe's territory.
This was the first time the Southern Barbarians had mobilized over 3 million soldiers in opposition.
They needed a victory to halt Da Zhou’s momentum.
If they continued to retreat, their forces would risk collapse.
With the Southern Barbarians’ two royal courts on the move, Da Zhou had no choice but to take them seriously. Most of the military units pulled back their advances, reinforcing their ranks and preparing for a major confrontation.
As a result, the past month had seen only small skirmishes between scout units of about a hundred soldiers each.
No one was gaining much merit, and Zhao Xing was no exception.
On August 22nd, the Shenwei Army’s Wen Shaoyang unit and Liao Rulong’s unit began dispatching vanguard forces eastward from the Wolf God Tribe to scout the area.
Meanwhile, Chen Shijie continued refining the plan to capture Fire Dragon Pass.
With Zhao Xing’s guidance, Liao Rulong purchased numerous devices from the military, based on the list Zhao Xing had provided.
Though the equipment cost a fortune, Liao Rulong didn’t hesitate to buy it. He trusted Chen Shijie, and Chen Shijie trusted Zhao Xing.
That meant Liao Rulong could trust Zhao Xing’s judgment as well.
Some items on the list were useless, while others were indispensable. The mix of truth and falsehoods kept their plan well-disguised.
As long as Zhao Xing was part of the mission team, the useful equipment would undoubtedly be put to good use.
In addition, Zhao Xing made his own preparations.
"Infiltrating enemy lines... The Straw Man Technique and the Hou Transformation Technique will both come in handy."
"I’ve already achieved a combination of three techniques. If I can reach a combination of five techniques, I’ll be able to master the Self Straw Puppet technique."
"The Invisible Straw Puppet from the Straw Man Technique is a high-level technique and essential for stealth operations."
"The Hou Transformation Technique allows one to directly transform into a barbarian."
"Unfortunately, I haven’t fully mastered these yet."
"How frustrating to realize you lack the necessary techniques when you need them."
"For now, I’ll have to rely on external tools for disguise."
Zhao Xing inspected the boxes filled with treasures, all items Chen Shijie had ordered.
At the moment, he was evaluating their quality.
Long Xiao, however, couldn’t help but groan, "Alright, that’s enough. Stop showing off already."
Even though Zhao Xing wasn’t intending to, in Long Xiao’s eyes, it was pure showing off.
Wang Ji chimed in, "If I could master nine high-level techniques, I’d brag about it every day too."
Long Xiao was speechless. He picked up an odd-looking mask from one of the boxes. "How do you use this?"
Zhao Xing glanced over. "Wang Ji, show him how."
Wang Ji nodded and walked over, placing the mask on Long Xiao’s head. "This is a Thousand Transformations Mask, a Fifth-Rank supreme-grade treasure."
"It’s part of the Thousand Transformations Set, a headpiece artifact."
"When you wear it, your face will transform into that of a different race."
Buzz~
As soon as Long Xiao put it on, the mask extended over his entire head, down to his neck.
In an instant, Long Xiao’s head grew two devilish horns, his skin turned a deep red, and his eyes doubled in size as if they’d been surgically enhanced.
His scalp, however, remained completely hairless, covered in wrinkled folds resembling exposed brain matter.
"Whoa~" Long Xiao examined his reflection in a bronze mirror. "It’s so realistic! I can even feel the blood flowing beneath my skin."
"If anyone could tell it’s a fake, then every artisan, mechanist, and weaver involved in making this would need to be imprisoned," Wang Ji said proudly. "Only a Fifth-Rank expert could spot its flaws."
"Amazing," Long Xiao marveled, rubbing his face and horns, thoroughly entertained. "Wait, doesn’t it say ‘Thousand Transformations’? Can it only turn me into a Fire Demon?"
Wang Ji handed him the instruction manual. "Touch your earlobe to transform. There are 18 different forms, so memorize the sequence carefully before using it. You don’t want to transform incorrectly."
"Otherwise, your infiltration mission could turn into a full assault."
Long Xiao nodded and began familiarizing himself with the device.
As he turned, he saw Zhao Xing, now sporting two devilish horns, walking out of the room.
"Huh?" Long Xiao looked Zhao Xing over. "Wang Ji, why does his disguise look more handsome?"
Wang Ji explained, "The Thousand Transformations Mask adjusts to the wearer’s face, perfectly aligning with their facial meridians and blood circulation."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Zhao Xing is more handsome than you, so his mask is more handsome too."
"..."
Long Xiao fell silent, then angrily stomped off to a corner.
...
The team familiarized themselves with the equipment over the next day.
On August 23rd, Liao Rulong’s unit arrived at Zhiyou City.
Zhao Xing received his orders and prepared to leave City No. 92.
With Zhao Xing’s departure, the leadership position fell to Wang Ji once again.
However, everyone was reluctant to see Zhao Xing go.
The farewell lasted for an entire hour.
"He’s really popular," Long Xiao muttered. "Even someone like Song Fang, an old Seventh-Rank officer, doesn’t want him to leave."
"Do you even realize what Zhao Xing has brought them?" Chen Shijie smiled. "In just over two months, everyone’s merit has doubled."
"For the Shennong Division, it’s more than doubled."
"The Shennong Division controls the production. When its efficiency increases, the other divisions benefit as well."
"Zhao Xing’s adjustments to the mission priorities of the divisions have benefited everyone. With such a leader, it’s no surprise they’d bow down to send him off."
Merit meant everything—it was the key to rank, wealth, and family honor.
"Whoo~"
As Zhao Xing boarded the Dragon Head Warship, he sighed in relief.
Everyone’s enthusiasm had been a bit overwhelming.
"Set sail," Chen Shijie ordered.
Boom~
The Dragon Head Warship took off, soaring into the astral wind layer, heading toward Zhiyou City.
The warship was faster than both the Swordfish Airship and the Underworld Flame Warship.
In just three hours, they reached the skies above Zhiyou City.
Boom~
The warship landed within the city.
At that moment, Liao Rulong stood in the landing square of Zhiyou City, waiting.
As soon as they met, Liao Rulong delivered bad news.
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