Linjiang Commandery, Green Peak Mountain.
Sword-Watching Gorge.
Dozens of sturdy Demon Horses galloped day and night without rest, their hooves churning up clouds of dust.
A long whinny rang out.
The Vice General, clad in a black cloak, swung down from his horse and looked toward the neat row of tents ahead.
It was early morning. Rain and dew clung to the campfire, and the black coals crackled as wisps of white smoke curled upward.
Around a dozen Golden Eagle Captains' corpses had been gathered together. Their bodies were covered in sword wounds, flesh torn open and wounds deep enough to expose bone.
Hong Lei held the reins of his Demon Horse, his eyelid twitching.
If the Outer Battalion Captains were more like wandering heroes, skilled at joining forces in small groups to investigate cases and carry out tasks, then the Inner Battalion Captains were soldiers. A hundred or so of them could form the Demon Suppression Formation and sweep through a demon lair like a knife through bamboo.
Any casualties meant the situation had nearly spiraled out of control.
Perhaps he had heard the horses' hooves.
A young man wearing a similar cloak, with a golden eagle embroidered on his shoulder, emerged from a tent.
He looked at least ten years younger than Hong Lei.
His right arm was wrapped in bandages. His face was pale, and his breathing was weak.
He furrowed his brow in displeasure. "What took you so long?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Vice General Zhao." Hong Lei's voice held a chill as his other hand rested on his scabbard. "I gave you forty men and horses. All you had to do was guard Sword-Watching Gorge and keep the Green Peak Sect disciples from leaving the mountain without permission. And this