Escorting Military Supplies, Ambushed on the Road

The next day.

The Black Armored Army issued a new mission, selecting five hundred men to escort the newly forged military supplies to the commandery city.

Martial artists from forces such as the Iron Shirt Sect, Giant Bear Martial Hall, and Black Tiger Gang were all issued swords and other weapons. In addition to the five hundred martial artists from the various major forces, there were also two hundred Black Armored Guards, making a total of seven hundred men escorting the weapons.

There was also one Commandant and five Centurions leading the group.

Under normal circumstances, one Centurion could command a hundred Black Armored Guards. However, the Guiyuan Sect had only recently taken control of Qingyang Commandery, and its manpower had not yet been fully assembled, so each Centurion commanded only forty Black Armored Guards.

Zhou Shan was one of the five Centurions and left with the escort convoy.

"Zhou Shan actually joined the Black Armored Army—and even became a Centurion!"

Within the convoy, Huang Yun felt as though he were dreaming.

He had known Zhou Shan would make something of himself sooner or later, but he had not expected that day to come so quickly. Zhou Shan had become a Centurion of the Black Armored Army, while he was still merely an Iron Shirt Sect disciple. They were no longer people of the same world.

On the other side, Zhao Gang and the others who had offended Zhou Shan were even more terrified.

For the current Zhou Shan, killing them would be as easy as crushing an ant.

They knew that Zhou Shan, with his Innate Divine Strength, would soon catch the Black Armored Army's eye. His rise had only been a matter of time, but they had never expected him to become a Centurion directly.

To become a Centurion in the Black Armored Army, one had to be a second-rate martial artist with at least thirty years of cultivation.

"Brother Zhao, there's no need to worry. Centurion Zhou and us already belong to two different worlds. If he wanted to deal with us, it would take only a word. After becoming a Centurion yesterday, one order from him could have us buried."

"That's right. Since we're still alive and well, Centurion Zhou clearly hasn't taken us to heart."

"Besides, Centurion Zhou didn't suffer any loss. We were the ones who got beaten."

Zhao Gang's underlings spoke up.

"You're right. Perhaps Centurion Zhou has already forgotten all about us."

Zhao Gang consoled himself.

In truth, Zhou Shan really had not taken Zhao Gang, Zhang Hu, and the others to heart.

I hope everything goes smoothly.

After leaving the West Ridge Iron Mine, Zhou Shan silently thought to himself.

Hengshan County was the county nearest to the West Ridge Iron Mine, but there were still more than seventy li between them. To escort the military supplies to the commandery city, they first had to pass through Hengshan County.

The West Ridge Iron Mine lay within the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range, surrounded by towering mountains and dense forests. Simply leaving the mountain range required traveling more than forty li, followed by another thirty-odd li to reach Hengshan County.

The stretch of road leading out of the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range was the most dangerous and the place most likely to harbor an ambush.

In fact, as soon as the convoy escorting the military supplies left the West Ridge Iron Mine, scouts on a nearby mountain spotted them.

Although the Black Armored Army constantly sent out patrols, they only ranged within ten li of the mine. Their patrol area was limited, and several scouts had been hidden on a peak more than ten li away. They saw the convoy leave the West Ridge Iron Mine.

These scouts immediately passed the news on.

The Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range connected Qingyang Commandery and Yingchuan Commandery. Many places within it were steep and perilous, easy to defend but hard to attack. Bandits occupied the mountains and proclaimed themselves kings in such places, and banditry in the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range had never ceased since ancient times.

Black Wind Stronghold was one of the top three bandit forces within the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range.

The Guiyuan Sect had destroyed the Vajra Sect, Qingyang Commandery's foremost great sect, and taken over its territory. The Blood Fiend Sect, Yingchuan Commandery's foremost great sect, also wanted to fish in troubled waters and claim a share of the spoils.

On the night before Zhou Shan had transmigrated here, the bandits who attacked the West Ridge Iron Mine had been Blood Fiend Sect martial artists in disguise.

Although the Blood Fiend Sect's operation had failed, they had not given up. Instead, they subdued the bandits of the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range, gathering their forces together and constantly watching for movements at the West Ridge Iron Mine.

Once the West Ridge Iron Mine forged weapons, they would inevitably have to be transported out.

That was their opportunity.

"Helmsman, according to the scouts' report, a convoy escorting military supplies has left the West Ridge Iron Mine."

Blood Fiend Sect Helmsman Yang Yunshan sat upright in Black Wind Stronghold's assembly hall, listening to his subordinate's report.

"After waiting for a month, they've finally made a move?" Yang Yunshan rose to his feet and coldly said, "Pass down my order. Gather all the men of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun. The last operation failed. This time, success is the only option—failure is not."

"Yes, Helmsman!"

The Blood Fiend Sect martial artist immediately withdrew and began gathering the bandits of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun.

In addition, there were a hundred members of the Blood Flame Army.

The Guiyuan Sect had established the Black Armored Army for conquest, taking over the commandery and county offices and maintaining its rule. The Blood Fiend Sect followed suit, with its disciples forming a Blood Flame Army.

However, to expand the Blood Flame Army, they needed large quantities of fine weapons and armor.

Under normal circumstances, an unranked martial artist with only a few years of cultivation would be unable to withstand even one move from a ranked martial artist with more than ten years of cultivation. Even if a dozen or twenty of them attacked together, they would still be no match.

But if those unranked martial artists wore heavy armor and wielded sharp blades, underwent strict training, and cooperated with perfect coordination, then six or seven of them could entangle a ranked martial artist with more than ten years of cultivation.

If they were ranked martial artists instead, then roughly ten of them could deal with a third-rate martial artist.

To break through heavy armor required an elite expert with at least seventy years of cultivation. Yet if an elite expert faced the siege of hundreds of martial artists clad in heavy armor, they too would be worn to death.

Blood Fiend Sect Helmsman Yang Yuntian immediately led a hundred Blood Fiend Army soldiers, along with the bandits of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun, to lie in ambush along the route the weapons convoy had to take.

The Blood Fiend Sect had assigned him the task of gathering five hundred sets of heavy armor within three months, no matter what means he used. Otherwise, he would be dealt with according to sect rules.

Now, nearly two months had already passed.

The Blood Fiend Sect found it difficult to forge armor on its own, so Yang Yuntian could only find a way to seize it from Qingyang Commandery. In any case, the Guiyuan Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect were already hostile forces. Sooner or later, they would come to blows; whether he offended them or not made no difference.

The convoy escorting the military supplies moved carefully through the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range.

This shipment contained many kinds of military supplies. Besides swords, there were bows, powerful crossbows, and more. There were over a thousand sets of armor, including five hundred sets of heavy armor, each of which weighed more than a hundred jin.

Thus, the convoy did not travel very quickly.

An hour passed, and they had only covered a little over ten li.

Under normal circumstances, they could still reach Hengshan County before nightfall.

The journey to the commandery city was long, and they would need to rest and change horses at every county seat along the way.

After the convoy traveled for another hour, it arrived at a dense forest.

"They're here! Loose the arrows!"

Yang Yunshan shouted, his voice reaching the ears of every bandit.