Tang Sanzang sighed inwardly at the sight.
He knew full well that the journey west was fraught with danger, but to obtain the True Scriptures, he would not so much as frown even at a dragon's pool or a tiger's den.
The pity was that these nearly hundred soldiers before him had been ordered by the Tang King to escort him along the way.
Tang Sanzang understood perfectly well that his own journey would probably bring scares but no real harm, yet he could make no guarantees about the fate of the others.
"Alas!"
Tang Sanzang was no ordinary man. During his time at the Golden Mountain Temple, he had met many powerful immortals; even that father he had acquired had managed to become an Earth Immortal.
Thus, Tang Sanzang knew that this world was far from as simple as it appeared. The demons and fiends lurking in the shadows were simply beyond these ordinary soldiers' ability to handle.
For precisely that reason, Tang Sanzang had repeatedly urged Commandant Zhao and his men to return to Great Tang and let him proceed alone.
But these soldiers bore an imperial command. Utterly loyal, they refused to withdraw.
Even if golden lotuses had blossomed from Tang Sanzang's eloquent tongue, he could not have persuaded these battle-hardened elite soldiers, who regarded obedience to orders as their sacred duty.
The forest was pitch-black. Even in broad daylight, they could not see their hands before their faces, so they had to light torches and advance by their glow.
As they ventured deeper, the forest grew increasingly gloomy and sinister. Waves of cold rose around them, chilling everyone to the bone.
"On guard! Form a circle!"
Commandant Zhao roared like a tiger. The nearly hundred soldiers instantly formed ranks, their auras linking together as they covered