Ambushed on the Mountain Road, the Overlord Army Makes Its First Showing

Two days passed quickly.

There was not much in the blacksmith shop worth taking.

Several changes of clothes.

The identity plaques left behind by Chu Jin's parents.

A few records on martial soul cultivation.

And the chunk of pitch-black meteoric iron that Xiao Jin had yet to finish eating.

The large forge and anvil could not be moved, so Chu Lie temporarily entrusted the blacksmith shop to an old blacksmith he knew well.

Early in the morning, three carriages waited outside the town.

The coachman and two Azure Stone Sub-Hall guards sat in the first carriage.

The middle carriage carried the uncle and nephew's luggage.

The last carriage was loaded with supplies that needed to be delivered to other sub-halls along the way.

Guang Ling did not ride inside a carriage.

He sat atop the first carriage, one leg bent, idly playing with an ice-blue little arrow in his hand.

At his speed, it would not take long at all to reach Spirit City.

He had only chosen the relatively slow carriages because he was traveling with Chu Jin and Chu Lie.

Chu Jin sat by the carriage door, his three-hundred-pound heavy halberd laid beside him.

Xiao Jin lay atop a wooden crate filled with ore, its head bobbing with the swaying carriage. Before long, it fell asleep.

Chu Lie lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Bluestone Town gradually fading into the distance.

"We've lived there for so many years. Now that we're really leaving, I'm a little reluctant to go."

"We'll come back someday," Chu Jin said.

Chu Lie nodded.

"When you become a powerful Soul Master, we'll come back and build a bigger grave for your parents. We'll expand the blacksmith shop too."

After saying that, he felt the words might put pressure on Chu Jin and quickly added,

"It's fine even if you don't make it."

"Spirit City is so big. I can still support you."

Chu Jin looked at him.

"Uncle, you can have a little more faith in me."

"Of course I have faith."

Chu Lie sounded entirely justified.

"This is called preparing for the worst, so we won't panic later."

The carriages traveled along the mountain road.

The first two days passed without incident.

Whenever they passed through a town, Guang Ling had someone replenish their food and water, while Chu Jin used the time to buy whatever special ores he could find along the way.

The Consecration Hall would provide resources in the future.

But before they truly reached Spirit City, Xiao Jin's meals still had to be handled on their own.

On the afternoon of the third day, the convoy entered a narrow mountain pass.

A steep cliff rose to their left, while a dense forest sloped downward on their right. The road was only wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side. Up ahead was a clear bend, and the mountain blocked their view beyond it.

Guang Ling, seated atop the carriage, opened his right eye.

He had long since discovered the ambush ahead.

There were more than thirty people.

Six of them were Soul Masters, with the strongest at level twenty-three.

For him, a casual wave of his hand would be enough to deal with them all.

Guang Ling did not act immediately.

He lowered his head and glanced at Chu Jin, who sat at the middle carriage's door.

His archery, strength, and willpower had already been tested.

But Guang Ling had yet to see him in a truly chaotic battle.

The front carriage rounded the bend.

Several huge boulders suddenly rolled down the slope.

The coachman paled and hurriedly pulled the reins.

The two horses were startled and let out piercing neighs.

Boom!

The boulders smashed into the middle of the road, blocking both the path ahead and the route behind.

Shouts erupted from the forest.

More than thirty bandits wielding blades and swords charged out from both sides. Several Soul Masters directly summoned their martial souls.

"Leave behind your goods and money!"

"Anyone who resists dies!"

The two Azure Stone Sub-Hall guards immediately jumped from the carriage.

One was an eighteenth-level Tool Soul Master whose martial soul was an Iron Shield.

The other was a sixteenth-level Beast Soul Master whose martial soul was an Azure Feather Eagle.

The coachmen and laborers responsible for transporting the supplies also drew their weapons, but there were only eleven of them in total.

Chu Lie immediately moved to shield Chu Jin behind him.

"Little Jin, get back inside the carriage."

Chu Jin did not move.

He had already activated his Double Pupils and quickly swept his gaze over their surroundings.

The bandits were encircling them from the front and the forest to the right.

The cliff to the left was impassable.

The road behind them was blocked by boulders that could not be moved anytime soon.

The enemy had superior numbers, but their formation was loose.

The truly dangerous ones were the six Soul Masters.

"Who is the captain of the guards?" Chu Jin suddenly asked.

The shield-wielding Soul Master froze for a moment.

"I am."

"Have everyone fall back beside the cliff."

Chu Jin raised a hand and pointed to the left side of the road.

"Turn the middle carriage sideways and create a gap between it and the cliff. Put your Iron Shield at the front to block the opening, and have everyone else attack from either side of the carriage."

The guard captain frowned.

"Getting you out safely is more important right now."

"The roads ahead and behind are already blocked."

Chu Jin spoke quickly.

"The forest to the right slopes downward. If we rush in, they'll only hunt us down from higher ground. Using the carriage and the cliff, we'll face no more than five or six people at once."

"Their numerical advantage won't be able to come into play."

The guard captain instinctively looked toward Guang Ling.

From the moment the attack began until now, Guang Ling had remained seated on the carriage roof without releasing the slightest bit of soul power.

The captain had no idea what this important figure intended to do.

Guang Ling spoke calmly.

"Listen to him."

The guard captain hesitated no longer.

"Turn the carriage sideways!"

Several coachmen immediately sprang into action.

The middle carriage was pushed to the left, forming a narrow defensive line with the cliff.

The Iron Shield Soul Master summoned his martial soul, and a broad iron shield slammed down in the middle of the gap.

The Azure Feather Eagle Soul Master leaped onto the carriage to observe the enemy's movements.

The rest took up positions on either side with spears, bows, and short blades.

Chu Lie still stood in front of Chu Jin.

"I'll stay with you."

He had no soul power, but years of blacksmithing had given him a strong body. He also gripped a heavy iron hammer in his hand.

Chu Jin did not refuse.

"Xiao Jin."

A flash of golden light appeared.

Xiao Jin landed atop the carriage.

It had already sensed the hostility around it. Its body lowered slightly, and a deep growl rumbled from its throat.

The bandit leader saw the convoy quickly establish a defensive line, and his expression darkened.

"Charge through them!"

More than a dozen bandits surged in from the front.

The two Soul Masters at the forefront summoned Wolf and Leopard martial souls, their speed far surpassing that of ordinary people.

The shield-wielding Soul Master clenched his teeth.

The distance between the two sides rapidly closed.

Chu Jin gripped his heavy halberd as the Overlord Army unfolded for the first time on a real battlefield.

An invisible aura spread out from his body.

At first, it only covered a range of several dozen feet.

The Iron Shield Soul Master, the Azure Feather Eagle Soul Master, Chu Lie, and the surrounding coachmen were all enveloped within it.

They did not receive any obvious enhancement right away.

Chu Jin could also sense that these people still had only limited trust in him.

They followed his orders mainly because Guang Ling had spoken.

That was already enough.

"Move the shield half a foot to the left," Chu Jin suddenly said.

Though the shield-wielding Soul Master did not understand why, he still obeyed.

The next moment, the Wolf Soul Master pounced from the right, his claws landing exactly where the shifted shield now stood.

The shield's surface deflected the attack outward.

The man lost his balance.

Chu Jin's heavy halberd thrust out from behind the Iron Shield.

The blunt halberd tip crashed into the Wolf Soul Master's chest.

Bang!

The Wolf Soul Master was sent flying, knocking over two people behind him.

"Spears on the right, thrust!"

The two coachmen simultaneously stabbed their spears through the gaps in the carriage.

The Leopard Soul Master was forced to slow down.

Xiao Jin leaped down from the carriage roof and bit down on his wrist.

"Ah!"

The Leopard Soul Master cried out in pain and instinctively raised his arm to shake it off.

Xiao Jin released its bite and rolled away with the motion, slipping back beneath the carriage.

Seizing the chance, Chu Lie smashed his hammer into the Leopard Soul Master's shoulder.

The sound of bones breaking rang out.

The man collapsed on the spot.

The first charge was stopped.

The people inside the defensive line were instantly invigorated.

They had initially believed they had too few people and might not be able to hold out for long.

After knocking down two Soul Masters in succession, the fear in their hearts quickly faded.

The Overlord Army underwent its first slight change.

Chu Jin could feel the breathing, positions, and emotions of those around him becoming clearer.

A faint strength flowed back into his body.

The three-hundred-pound heavy halberd in his hand felt a little lighter.

His field of vision also broadened.

"They're preparing to fire arrows from the left!" the Azure Feather Eagle Soul Master suddenly shouted.

Six archers in the woods had already nocked their arrows.

Chu Jin looked up.

"Everyone, crouch down."

"Raise your shields."

The shield-bearing Soul Masters exerted their arms and lifted their iron shields over their heads.

A rain of arrows descended.

Most of the arrows were blocked by the shields and carriages.

Two arrows shot through the gaps.

Chu Jin's Double Pupils clearly saw their trajectories. His heavy halberd struck out repeatedly, knocking the arrows away.

"Azure Feather Eagle, go behind the trees on the right."

"That's a blind spot in the archers' line of sight."

The Azure Feather Eagle Soul Master jumped off the carriage and swiftly moved along the mountainside.

Moments later, he charged into the archers' position from the side.

The archers' formation immediately fell into chaos.

The bandit leader finally realized something was wrong.

A child who looked no more than six or seven had, in such a short time, organized a group of carriage drivers and low-level guards into a complete defensive line.

"Go around them!"

"Climb over the carriages from behind!"

Several bandits tried to climb onto the carriages.

Chu Jin had already seen them.

"Uncle, left side."

Chu Lie turned with his hammer in hand.

A bandit had just poked his head over the top of a carriage when the iron hammer smashed straight into his face.

Bang!

The bandit screamed and rolled back down.

Xiao Jin darted back and forth beneath the carriages, specializing in attacking the enemies' calves and ankles.

It was small, but it was getting faster and faster.

The bandits had difficulty hitting it with their weapons in the crowded space.

The members of the convoy began actively coordinating with one another.

Some deliberately forced enemies toward Xiao Jin's position.

Others immediately followed up with attacks once Xiao Jin had bitten someone.

They gradually discovered that as long as they followed Chu Jin's commands, every enemy attack would crash into the most uncomfortable position possible.

Their fear completely vanished.

Trust rapidly grew.

The range covered by the Overlord Army expanded outward.

The power within Chu Jin continued to rise.

The more enemies surrounding him, the more obvious the enhancement became.

This power still could not allow him to cross several major rank gaps, but it was enough to significantly improve his reactions, stamina, and the power of his heavy halberd.

Watching his men fall one after another, the bandit leader finally panicked.

Rather than continue attacking, he turned and rushed into the forest.

"Stop him!"

The captain of the guards had just been about to give chase when Chu Jin spoke.

"Don't leave the defensive line."

"Azure Feather Eagle, three zhang ahead. Attack the treetops."

The Azure Feather Eagle Soul Master had not spotted the bandit leader.

Still, he followed the command and raised his hand, firing several azure feather blades.

The feather blades sliced through the leaves.

The bandit leader, who had been planning to use the trees as cover to escape, was forced to reveal himself.

Behind the carriages, a bow-wielding carriage driver swiftly drew his string.

He was only an ordinary man, but his archery was highly skilled.

The arrow struck the bandit leader in the lower leg.

He crashed heavily to the ground.

With their leader gone, the remaining bandits quickly threw down their weapons and surrendered.

The entire battle lasted less than a quarter of an hour.

Only two people in the convoy suffered minor injuries.

All six Soul Masters on the bandits' side lost their ability to fight, while more than half of the rest were dead or wounded.

The Overlord Army slowly dissipated.

Weariness immediately washed over Chu Jin's body.

Such a large-scale enhancement consumed mental energy and soul power.

His current rank was too low, and the duration he could maintain it was extremely limited.

The captain of the guards put away his iron shield and walked up to Chu Jin.

His attitude was now completely different from before.

"Thank you for taking command."

"If we had charged into the forest according to my original plan, we would probably have been picked off one by one."

The surrounding carriage drivers nodded as well.

Having experienced the entire battle firsthand, they understood best the purpose behind each of Chu Jin's orders.

Chu Jin did not take credit.

"Treat the wounds first, then take inventory of the supplies."

"Hand these people over to the next Spirit Hall branch."

Guang Ling jumped down from the roof of the carriage.

From beginning to end, he had not made a single move.

None of the bandits had noticed that this seemingly ordinary convoy actually contained a Titled Douluo.

He walked to Chu Jin's side.

"First time commanding?"

"First time."

"Were you scared?"

Chu Jin glanced at the corpses on the ground.

"A little."

"Doesn't look like it."

"Being scared doesn't stop me from getting things done."

Guang Ling fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Once those old geezers in the Consecration Hall see the battle record, they'll probably start fighting over you."

He took out a message paper and briefly wrote down the course of the battle.

Ice-blue soul power flowed into the paper.

The message paper turned into a faint gleam and flew toward Spirit City.

That same day, within the Consecration Hall.

After reading the message Guang Ling had sent back, Qian Daoliu did not put the paper down for a long time.

Six years old.

Facing a real battle for the first time.

He had taken temporary command despite being outnumbered, used the terrain to turn the situation around, and suffered only two minor injuries on his own side.

Personal combat strength could be cultivated with resources.

But the ability to command could not be easily replicated.

Qian Daoliu handed the message paper to Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"When he arrives, take a look at him yourself."

Golden Crocodile Douluo swept his gaze over the battle record, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"He can wield a heavy halberd and command troops too?"

"I want this child."

Spirit City.

Chu Jin stood on the broad avenue and looked up at the Papal Hall towering into the clouds in the distance.

The tallest building in Bluestone Town had only three floors.

In Spirit City, magnificent pavilions dozens of meters tall could be seen everywhere. Crowds dressed in all kinds of Soul Master attire flowed continuously through the streets, while the soul beast materials, weapons, medicines, and metals sold in the roadside shops left Chu Lie dazzled.

"How much iron does this place use in a day?"

Chu Lie stared at a massive soul tool shop, his eyes practically going blank.

Walking ahead of them, Guang Ling casually said, "There are plenty of good blacksmiths in Spirit City. If your skills are good enough, making a living won't be hard."

Chu Lie puffed out his chest.

"I wouldn't dare boast about anything else, but when it comes to smithing, I've never been afraid of anyone."

Chu Jin did not keep staring at the buildings.

After entering Spirit City, the first things that caught his attention were the material shops lining the streets.

Light ore.

Sub-dragon soul beast bones.

Fire-element metals.

Many things that could not be bought even with money in Bluestone Town were displayed openly on the counters here.

"Where in Spirit City can I reliably buy light-attribute and dragon-attribute materials?"

Chu Jin asked.

Guang Ling halted.

When most people entered Spirit City for the first time, they usually paid the most attention to the Papal Hall, the Soul Fighting Arena, or the bustling streets.

But the first thing Chu Jin asked about was food for his martial soul.

"The Consecration Hall has its own materials storehouse."

"Once the tests are over, as long as those old geezers approve of you, you won't have to buy Xiao Jin's food yourself anymore."

Xiao Jin lay on Chu Jin's shoulder.

The moment it heard that, it immediately raised its head and chirped twice at Guang Ling.

Guang Ling could not help reaching out and flicking its forehead.

"You really do understand whenever food is mentioned."