The Imperial Court's fifty thousand troops were divided into three armies.
The vanguard consisted of ten thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry, commanded by Deputy General Wu Pingnan. The entire army flew banners bearing the character Wu.
The central army consisted of five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and five thousand Divine Engine Battalion troops. Of the Divine Engine Battalion, four thousand soldiers were all equipped with lightweight firearms and crossbows, while the remaining thousand were Celestial Surveillance Bureau Taoists mixed into the ranks. They knew some spells and supernatural abilities and also possessed some rather bizarre implements. Zuo Xuan commanded the central army, which flew banners bearing the character Zuo.
The rearguard consisted of five thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry, with another three thousand Supernatural Ability Users mixed among them. This army carried one thousand Great Linked-Bead Cannons, four hundred cannons, and one thousand handguns for the artillerymen's close-range defense. Primarily responsible for attacking the prefectural city, the rearguard was commanded by Assistant General Zhang Han, and the entire army flew banners bearing the character Zhang.
Each army had its own duties. Directed by signal flags and drumbeats, they began advancing toward Canyon Pass through Dangshan.
Within the vanguard's cavalry formation, the Wu command banner fluttered in the wind.
To the left of the banner, vanguard commander Wu Pingnan watched Dangshan Pass with extremely wary eyes, his brows tightly knitted. "Why do I feel that Canyon Pass is too quiet?"
Night was approaching, and the undulating Dangshan mountain range had grown increasingly dark. Mounted in the distance, Wu Pingnan could only vaguely make out the mountains' outlines and the seemingly bottomless Canyon Pass.
Beside him, a garrison Qianhu said with a somewhat disgruntled expression, "The commander-in-chief is sending our vanguard into Canyon Pass in such a hurry.