Oh dear, I keep dropping my Storage Bags

The prebattle meeting lasted a full four hours.

Seeing that they had discussed enough, Chen Wei finally made the decision. "We must not delay. Speed is the soul of war. I have decided to select one thousand elites from the Thirty Thousand Heavenly Soldiers, led by ten heavenly generals, to form a raiding force. At midnight tonight, we will strike straight at the Five Great Demon Sages' logistical heart!"

"A brilliant decision, sir!" Pang Long stroked his long beard, his face alight with excitement.

"I will personally lead this operation!" Chen Wei surveyed the elites before him and began assigning duties. "Wenhe, you will accompany the troops. Xiao Yan, you will come too-watch and learn. Old Ma will remain at headquarters and oversee the logistics Flying Boat."

Ma Muzhi thumped his chest at that. "Rest assured, sir! With logistics in my hands, everything will be as steady as Mount Tai!"

He had barely finished speaking.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Chen Wei, and his brows knitted tightly. "Wenhe, you are skilled in divination. Work this out for me: since we thought of raiding their home base, and those demon kings aren't fools either, is there a chance our own headquarters could be raided?"

Those words jolted the dreaming immortals awake.

Pang Long hastily pulled several copper coins from his sleeve and scattered them across the table. A moment later, he nodded. "Sir! Yes! An excellent chance! Demonkind are treacherous by nature. They love nothing more than this sort of chicken-stealing, dog-snatching skulduggery!"

Just then, Ma Muzhi gave a sudden chuckle. "Don't worry, sir. With me watching logistics, you can head out without a care. I may not amount to much, but don't we still have Commandant Kang?"

Chen Wei caught on.

Besides appointing him Vanguard, the Holy Manifestation True Lord had also sent his trusted general, Kang Anyu, to support him.

On the surface, he was there to assist; in reality, he was there to supervise the army.

Most importantly, he was a genuine golden immortal. The fighting prowess of the Meishan Brothers was renowned throughout the Three Realms.

How could Chen Wei, a mere true immortal, possibly command a golden immortal?

Fortunately, ever since joining them, Kang Anyu had stayed aboard his own Flying Boat drinking, without even showing his face.

The rumors were true: Commandant Kang loved his drink!

Seeing Chen Wei pondering, Ma Muzhi clasped his hands and smiled. "Sir, once the army moves out, I'll take two jars of excellent immortal wine and personally invite Commandant Kang over to inspect the logistics Flying Boat."

"Commandant Kang likes drinking, so I'll drink with him!"

"As long as we get him sitting above our supply depot, we'll have nothing to worry about."

Chen Wei's eyes lit up.

Brilliant!

Old Ma had truly mastered the fox's trick of borrowing the tiger's might.

Kang Anyu was a drunkard. As long as there was enough wine, what did it matter where he drank?

Ma Muzhi was admittedly hopeless in contests of divine abilities, but his knack for reading faces, flattering others, and playing the host had been honed through years of clawing his way up from the bottom. Keeping someone company over drinks was absolutely within his grasp.

"Good! Old Ma, I'm leaving this to you!" Completely reassured, Chen Wei swept his hand through the air and issued his final military order. "We depart under cover of darkness at midnight tonight! No soldier or officer is to wear armor!"

At the stroke of midnight.

Above the Heaven-Reaching River, neither stars nor moon gave any light.

A grand three-way surprise raid quietly raised its curtain, all at the same time.

Leading one thousand heavenly soldiers dressed in black, Chen Wei abandoned the low-altitude approach and ascended straight into the thick sea of clouds at the highest level. They slipped silently through the clouds, showcasing the discipline of a regular army.

Meanwhile, on the river directly beneath the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.

The Dragon Demon King, Lion-Camel King, and Macaque King led their demon troops rapidly along the river's surface, holding Water-Avoidance Pearls in their mouths. The demons used the Water-Release Technique, merging their bodies with the river as they headed straight for Lion Camel Ridge's inland river palace.

Deeper down, on the riverbed.

Azure Lion and White Elephant concealed their demonic auras and followed the deepest undercurrent of the Heaven-Reaching River upstream, aiming straight for the Heavenly Court vanguard army's logistics Flying Boat.

Golden-Winged Great Peng stayed behind to guard their headquarters.

High-altitude clouds.

The river's surface.

The undercurrents along the riverbed.

Three forces, each harboring its own devious schemes, took perfectly separate routes.

None encountered the others.

All believed their stealth was seamless as a heavenly robe, inwardly cursing their opponents as unprepared fools who deserved to have their home bases raided tonight.

About two hours passed.

Following the intelligence gathered earlier by their scouts, Chen Wei and his Heavenly Soldiers and Generals successfully crept up to the Five Great Demon Sages' logistical heart.

It lay in a secluded bend on the outskirts of the Heaven-Reaching River, enclosed by mountains on three sides-easy to defend and hard to attack.

The Five Great Demon Sages trusted in their mighty divine abilities and fearsome reputations. With their main force confronting the Three Demons on the river, they had actually left just five hundred demon soldiers guarding their vital supply base.

It was one thing for the commanders themselves to act recklessly.

As the saying went, a weak general made weak soldiers. The demons left behind had no awareness of security whatsoever.

In the dead of night, there was not even a hidden sentry patrolling or keeping watch.

Several bonfires burned in the center of the camp. Demons sat around them clutching wine jars, drunk out of their minds. Some howled and shouted over dice games, others gnawed on raw meat with grease dripping from their mouths, and others, thoroughly plastered, lay sprawled across stacks of provisions, snoring away.

Undisciplined wild-fox practitioners without a proper organization would always remain just that. They truly treated the Heaven-Reaching River as their own backyard, with no military discipline to speak of.

When it came to troop formations and strict regulations, the Heavenly Court still set the standard.

As the saying went: large-scale warfare demanded strict discipline.

Chen Wei beckoned the ten heavenly generals over. "Listen carefully! We're here tonight to set fires and frame someone else, not risk our lives! I have only one requirement: zero casualties! No delays. We grab the loot and run!"

The heavenly generals exchanged glances, considering the safest way to charge down.

Just then.

A lean young heavenly general rolled his eyes thoughtfully, sidled up to Chen Wei, and grinned. "Sir! I have a plan, though I don't know whether I should speak."

"Go on." Chen Wei turned his head and looked him over.

"Sir, if we want zero casualties, why do the work ourselves?" The general chuckled, turned his wrist, and pulled several bulging paper packets from his robes. "There's a northwesterly wind tonight, and we're right upwind. Before coming, I asked the Immortal Medical Officer for a few packets of Immortal-Drunkenness Powder. It's colorless and odorless. Once these demons breathe it in, I guarantee they'll sleep for three days and three nights!"

Chen Wei gave the heavenly general a long, penetrating look.

Beside him, Pang Long also looked the young man up and down, with the appreciative sympathy of one hero recognizing another who thought alike.

They could maximize their gains without losing a single soldier.

He had even paid out of his own pocket to prepare Immortal-Drunkenness Powder in advance. What remarkable initiative!

This young man is a great talent!

Chen Wei patted the general's shoulder and asked warmly, "What's your name?"

"Chu Feng, sir!" Overwhelmed by the favor, the heavenly general clasped his hands. "I am willing to serve you like a loyal hound or horse!"

"Excellent, Chu Feng!" Chen Wei personally straightened his cuffs and encouraged him. "A splendid plan! You are a rare commanding talent! I'll leave deploying the powder to you. Once all the demons are down, you will be the first to charge in! I'll cover you from above! You will receive the foremost credit!"

"I'll see to it immediately!" Chu Feng answered crisply and left with his orders, leading several heavenly soldiers to the upwind position.

The other nine heavenly generals exchanged looks, regretting it so bitterly their guts nearly turned green.

Well, well!

Why hadn't they thought of that? They had actually let that brat Chu Feng steal all the limelight!

What was this called?

This was called opportunity favoring the prepared immortal.

A chance to advance vanished in the blink of an eye. Anyone who failed to hustle hard enough could only eat dust behind the others.

Before long.

The voices of the demon soldiers below, who had been drinking and playing finger-guessing games, gradually faded.

Clatter!

A wine bowl slipped from a bull-horned demon general's hand and shattered against a stone as he slumped down.

Then came the second, the third...

In less than an incense stick's burning time, not a sound remained in the camp except the crackling bonfires. Even the demonic beasts used to pull carts lay on the ground, snoring loud enough to shake the heavens.

"Sir! The powder has taken effect!" Chu Feng signaled from below and transmitted his voice to Chen Wei.

Seeing this, Chen Wei slowly drew the standard-issue immortal sword at his waist. "Brothers! Once you're down there, work fast!"

The eyes of the one thousand black-clad heavenly soldiers gleamed as they descended like hungry wolves charging down a mountain.

Why did they run so fast?

Because if they were slow, all the good stuff would be gone!

Their commander had already given his word: tonight, it all depended on how quick their hands were. This was authorized moonlighting!

Chu Feng led the charge into the main tent. Without another word, he swept up every Spirit Stone and stuffed them all into his Storage Bag.

The other heavenly soldiers were masters at the job too. Artifacts, pills, rare Spirit Grass—they did not leave so much as a hair behind.

Before long.

The Demon Sages' entire camp had been picked clean.

"Sir! Everything's been emptied!" Chu Feng ran back to report.

"Good!" Chen Wei glanced at the sky, judged that the timing was about right, and immediately ordered, "Leave some of Lion Camel Ridge's scrap metal somewhere obvious! Set the fires! Retreat!"

The heavenly soldiers tossed down several broken sabers and swords bearing demonic aura, then cast the Fire-Control Technique in unison.

The flames rode the wind, turning the secluded river bend into a sea of fire in an instant.

Once everything was done, the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals withdrew in orderly fashion.

They had come quickly and fled even faster, without dragging their feet for a moment.

The force had just slipped into the clouds.

Suddenly!

Chu Feng hurried a couple of steps to Chen Wei's side and offered him two Storage Bags, his expression full of flattery. "Sir! You dropped your Storage Bags in the demon camp! I spotted them and happened to pick them up for you. Please check them!"

Chen Wei's steps paused slightly, and he lowered his eyes to the bulging Storage Bags.

There were definitely plenty of good things inside.

Without changing his expression, he smoothly slipped the Storage Bags into his sleeve. Then he sighed and patted Chu Feng on the back. "Oh dear, I keep dropping my Storage Bags. Thank goodness you're so attentive, General Chu. Well done. Once we return, report to my Flying Boat."