Jin Zhanfei's campaign to wipe out the Evil Cultivators would continue sending news and progress reports back.
Yet for several days in a row, no word returned to the military camp. Everyone knew that something had happened to Jin Zhanfei.
"Jin Zhanfei has sent no news for so long. The odds are against him. We may have fallen into a trap."
Inside the command tent, Du Tianfeng's face darkened as realization came belatedly.
Du Tianfeng was now riding a tiger and unable to dismount. He wanted to send men to search for Jin Zhanfei, but feared that too small a force would only be wiped out by the Evil Cultivators.
Yet if he dispatched the main force, there would not be enough strength left to suppress Peace Prefecture City.
Recently, reports had kept arriving from the authorities. The gangs, powerful clans, and influential families in the city were all stirring restlessly. The army's main force had to remain behind to deter every faction.
Just then, a burst of commotion interrupted their discussion.
A scout who had luckily clung to his mangled life staggered into the camp and howled out the bad news.
"Report!"
"The five hundred Battle Soldiers led by Thousand-Man Commander Jin Zhanfei were ambushed by Evil Cultivators deep within the mountain valley. The entire force has been annihilated. Every man has fallen."
That howl struck like a thunderclap.
The entire military camp fell deathly silent in an instant, then erupted in an uproar.
Every officer and soldier's pupils contracted. Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief.
Five hundred elite border troops had left the camp only days ago, yet the Evil Cultivators had wiped them out in one fell swoop. No one could accept such an outcome.
Du Tianfeng and the others in the midst of their