The Patrolmen See Battle

To say that all the cultivators surrounding the stronghold were completely silent at this moment would be an exaggeration, but to say that they were extremely apprehensive would be quite apt.

That cultivator with the loose hair was already considered one of the top Qi Refinement disciples in the entire Changning Sect, yet he was so easily killed by the short, stocky man opposite him who called himself "Double Brightness Second Yuan".

In the past, people would talk about how amazing the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator the Chongming Sect were, saying that their ancestral graves were emitting thick smoke, and that two Ice Leaf had actually emerged from them.

No one had ever imagined that his family would have such an outstanding figure among the Qi Refinement. He single-handedly killed True Disciple of the same level and single-handedly broke through the formation of a hundred cultivators.

Such figures are few and far between, even among the powerful Liangyi Two Instruments Sect that spans several states.

The leading members of the Ge Household looked extremely grim, as cultivators held a much higher status within the clan than they did.

If these worthless people dare to just walk away like that, then once the news spreads and reaches the ears of the clan elders, they will surely suffer the consequences.

But seeing the cultivators on the stockade wall, who had been filled with fear, now becoming eager to fight, and hearing the loud and resounding voices of the enemy formation opposite them, whose armor was bright and whose morale was high, they realized that with only two hundred or so allied troops whose morale was low, they had little chance of winning.

Making this decision was difficult, but as they hesitated, Yuan Jin completely lost patience. He suddenly raised the dark iron staff that had been hanging down to the ground, and the previously orderly sounds of soldiers pounding the ground and urging surrender abruptly stopped.

"Attack!"

"Attack! Attack! Attack!" The patrolmen sheathed their weapons and shouted in unison, their crimson headbands gleaming, adding a touch of blood to the armor plates on their foreheads.

Although the patrolmen in the Thief-Catching Office had long since broken away from the Chongming Sect's jurisdiction, Deng Baichuan, the market commander of Double Brightness Trade Market, was a prized student of Gun Shilu, an old soldier, and naturally had some insights into military affairs.

Although in his eyes the patrolmen in the Thief-Catching Office were all fools and incapable of any use, adapting to the circumstances was a skill that any general should possess.

Over the years, Deng Baichuan has truly put a lot of effort into getting the patrolmen in the Thief-Catching Office in check.

For this reason, Yuan Jin is now very grateful to him.

This is because these patrolmen, after years of training by Deng Baichuan, have become quite disciplined in their movements and formation changes, and their former arrogance and wildness have been largely tempered and eliminated by the strict and orderly military discipline.

At least in Yuan Jin's eyes, who secretly thought he knew more about military affairs than Sect Leader Kang Da, this army could be considered a strong force in Cloud Horn Prefecture, almost comparable to the veteran local militias formed by the Immortal Dynasty during the barbarian chaos.

Yuan Jin was still young and had not witnessed the grandeur of his predecessors as they pacified the barbarians in the mountains. However, Patriarch Zhang's notes had been read by more than just Sect Leader Kang Da. Yuan Jin compared the notes with those written by the master and felt that his team was not inferior.

That's enough! Yuan Jin felt much more at ease. Looking at the crowd of cultivators below the stronghold, which outnumbered him several times over, he didn't show even the slightest bit of apprehension in his eyes.

It seems that Yuan Jin, the young man who could hunt beasts in the mountains, support his senior brothers, and protect his junior brothers with just his two iron fists, has returned once again.

Over the years, he has spent his days sitting in meditation in the meditation room, Qi Refinement qi cultivation and chanting scriptures, refining weapons and educating people, being a husband and a father.

The days passed peacefully for too long, to the point that even he himself gradually forgot that he, Yuan Jin, was once the ape demon successor on whom his elders placed high hopes, and that he was once a heroic young man who, at the age of twelve, overshadowed his useless senior brother and charged into battle to slay enemies.

The heart-wrenching cry of "Attack!" caused the cultivators at the foot of the stronghold, two or three hundred feet away, to furrow their brows. Yuan Jin, who was right next to them, however, did not notice anything amiss and instead found it pleasant to hear.

The smell of gunpowder seemed to be whistling into Yuan Jin's nostrils, making his eyes bloodshot. Suddenly, he felt a surge of heroic ambition, a desire to immediately gallop on horseback and crush all the cultivators opposite him.

Yuan Jin knew that he was not influenced by the "White Ape Scripture".

This was because after studying it diligently for so long, he realized that even if Patriarch Zhang were to be resurrected, his understanding of this Cultivation Method might not be as profound as his own.

In the past, whenever Yuan Jin harbored murderous intent, he would be influenced by the "White Ape Scripture," leading to excessive killing from which he could not extricate himself.

But now things are different; Yuan Jin can almost completely shield himself from the negative influence of the "White Ape Scripture".

As for the previously stated signs of "Qi Deviation Sect Leader Kang Da," this has never happened before in recent years.

This Daoist practice, which had been both loved and hated by generations of the Chongming Sect ancestors, was finally tamed by a short, stocky junior more than two hundred years later. This matter made Yuan Jin quite proud in private.

"Attack!"

The Thief-Catching Office the same patrol system set up by the Sect Leader Kang Da back then, and it was still set up according to the military law of Great Wei, with ten men forming a fire and five fires forming a team.

The fire chiefs in this team were all acquaintances of Sect Leader Kang Da, one each from the Shao Brother and Sister and the Feng Household Brothers. The remaining one was Qian Liu, the former unofficial son-in-law of the Huo Household in Tanggu.

Qian Liu was right; after all, he was just an unknown figure, so even if the Huo Household fell from power, it would be difficult to implicate him in the crime.

After the Huo Household was destroyed, Qian Liu had nowhere to go. Remembering that Sect Leader Kang Da was still kind, he eventually found work at the Thief-Catching Office to make a living.

Unexpectedly, this action turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the proverb "a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold" is no exaggeration.

After Qian Liu the Huo Household, Qian Liu devoted himself even more diligently to cultivation, making rapid progress. His skills were far superior to those of even the most powerful Rogue Cultivator before.

In the past year or two, he has been very ambitious and has been promoted to the position of fire chief.

From then on, he had a beautiful wife and children, and acquired land and property. His life now was far better than when he had willingly degraded himself to be a live-in son-in-law.

Therefore, Qian Liu's respect for Kang Dabao was even greater than that for people like Shao Meng. He led his armored fire troops ahead, each holding a ten-foot-tall fine bronze plaque, and rushed towards the golden spears and fire halberds opposite them.

This fine bronze plaque is made from Wind Copper Essence mixed with a small amount of Second Tier Metal-Wounding Water. Each side weighs a thousand jin (a unit of weight), and only those with strong Law Power can wield it.

The Shao siblings, who were led by the Yi and Bing Fire factions, were the elite of the Leaping Vanguard. They each wielded different Law Artifact and wore various colored armors. They were all late-stage cultivators who had at least mastered one minor Dao technique, making them elites in the team.

Both of the Feng Household Brothers, Ding and Wu, carried Golden Light Infantry Lance. These spears were military weapons collected by Deng Baichuan from various parts of the state to quell the barbarians. They were standard weapons that Shen Lingfeng, had invited Third Tier weapon master to Shannan Circuit to customize for the local soldiers in the state.

Its rank isn't high, only First-Tier Middle-Grade, but it's just right for the patrolling soldiers among the Ding and Wu fires, whose cultivation is relatively weak.

That was the purpose for which the Third Tier weapon master commissioned this standard weapon staff back then.

Even if the spear wielders are only low-level cultivators, when a hundred of them form an array, their spears are like a forest, their Golden Light tips capable of both offense and defense, with no weaknesses. Even ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivator would find it difficult to attack them.

Such a weapon is the most suitable standard weapon used by the cultivators of Cloud Horn Prefecture during a time when the Dao was declining and the barbarians were flourishing.

Qian Liu led his men with unhurried pace. The ten fine bronze plaques appeared to be separated, but in fact they were of the same lineage. When used together, they formed a unique formation and became one.

Even as the golden spears, fire lances, wooden spikes, and water arrows raining down from the opposite side grew increasingly dense, and Qian Liu and his fellow cultivators were already visibly shaken, with veins bulging and blood trickling from their mouths, their footwork did not falter.

Two or three hundred zhang is not a short distance, but even an ordinary Martial Ancestor could run across it quickly without much effort.

But Qian Liu and his comrades still carried the heavy defensive Law Artifact and forged ahead against the endless Daoist magic of the villagers. Although their steps were slow, they never stopped.

Before long, they arrived at the front of the battle line, their faces grim from the Ge Household members.

The Ge Household members were not all incompetent fools, and they had already promised generous supplies and recruited brave and elite soldiers to advance and prepare for battle. The rest stayed behind, forming a solid square formation.

Even if the opposing force is truly formidable, we can always wear down their morale and, relying on our superior numbers, drag them into a protracted and exhausting battle.

Upon arriving at the front lines, Qian Liu's bronze shield was already missing one intact side. Just as Qian Liu and his men had settled into their positions, dozens of cultivators from the opposite side broke into formation and charged in recklessly.

Contrary to what the Ge Household family had expected, Yuan Jin did not propose the same counterattack by having the two fires of Yi and Bing leap out of the formation. Instead, he drew out the White Bear Fang Banner, holding both a staff and the flag in his hands, and activated the two restrictions attached to the latter: "Forge Courage" and "Strengthen Heart".

The cultivators in the patrol team suddenly felt their courage surge. The crimson headbands on their foreheads, all identical in style and rank, reappeared with spiritual light, making them feel light as if their spiritual energy, which had been depleted, had been instantly replenished.

As the enemy's chaotic forces attacked, Qian Liu, as usual, led his own fire-based troops in a desperate struggle to withstand the relentless bombardment of talismans and magical Law Artifact.

In the patrol formation, the Shao Brother and Sister's vanguard had not yet emerged, but the Feng Household Brothers' rear guard advanced ahead of time, breaking out of the formation with more than twenty powerful and heavy infantry spears.

The Second Feng Household Brother, with his crooked mouth and slanted eyes, took the lead, thrusting forward with Golden Light Infantry Lance. Behind him, more than twenty patrolmen dared not slow down, forming a battle formation and following closely. Several enemy vanguards who could not dodge in time were riddled with holes on the spot.

With each thrust of the spear into the same body, these unfortunate souls were easily torn to shreds.

As a massive wave of magical attacks came from the opposite side, the Eldest Feng Household Brother separated ten people, leading them in a neat formation, each wielding a spear and making a sweeping motion. The gleaming Golden Light was far more resilient than others had imagined, withstanding attacks from several times their own numbers for a long time without feeling any strain, truly formidable.

Having spent many years together, the two brothers had developed a tacit understanding. Taking advantage of the gap, the Second Feng Household Brother suddenly rushed in, his target being the leader of the Ge Household.

The latter, seeing that there wasn't a single late-stage cultivator among the fire-men except for the Second Feng Household Brother, was rather overconfident.

He first fed the Black-Haired Zombie a dark pill, then activated the Soul-Capturing Bell, urging the ugly creature to rush forward. With both hands outstretched, it was about to snatch the spear from the weakest patrolman in the spear formation.

Unexpectedly, the spear formation was truly formidable; despite seeing him come from only one direction, the Black-Haired Zombie was unable to dodge.

The ugly creature had indeed set its sights on the spear he had just taken a liking to, but before it could even make a move, it was pierced by ten spears. Its iron- Hardness zombie body was instantly shattered, with bone fragments and flesh scattered all over the ground.

After succeeding, the Second Feng Household Brother did not stop. Taking advantage of the moment when the cultivators opposite him were distracted, he swept his spear formation and stabbed four or five more people, their fates unknown.

At this moment, the Eldest Feng Household Brother also returned. The two fires merged, and the spears stood like a forest. More than twenty people silently chanted incantations, and the long spears in the hands of the cultivators shone with Golden Light. The spear energy intersected and merged, condensing into a giant golden spear thirty or forty feet long, which soared into the air and swung wildly.

The elite troops flanking Ding Wu suffered heavy losses, yet the power of their golden spears had not yet diminished, and they charged forward again towards the cultivators below the stronghold who had formed a thick formation.

Seeing the heavy casualties among the opposing team, the Shao Brother and Sister, without even considering whether their golden spears could still be effective, leaped out with their Law Artifact, forming small groups of two or three, and began to fight their opponents.

They possessed abundant spiritual energy, were unharmed, and were elite soldiers selected from among the patrolmen, whose skills far surpassed those of the hastily drawn expendable forces from the Ge Household family.

These fools who had promised benefits to the Ge Household suffered a great loss, and in a short period of time, almost all of them perished on the battlefield.

"Crackling"

As the Feng Household Brothers watched their golden spear crash into the Spirit Stone array hastily erected by the enemy ranks, the spear dissipated into a burst of energy after a deafening roar, killing most of the cultivators in the first two rows.

Once the powerful array lost its array plate, it was full of flaws in the eyes of discerning people.

"It's a pity that this martial spirit, which took several years to cultivate, can only be used this once."

Yuan Jin sighed in regret. If his senior brother, the sect leader, were leading the team, given the latter's frugal nature, he certainly wouldn't have been willing to use this trump card on these worthless vassals of the Changning Sect.

As the golden spear perished, it seemed as if a portion of the strength of the Ding and Wu fire cultivators, led by the Feng Household Brothers, was also drawn from them.

Yuan Jin could not tolerate the enemy cultivators calmly forming their ranks. While sending out their elite troops, he once again single-handedly charged into the enemy formation.

One of the Ge Household members, who refused to believe in evil, tried to stop him, but Yuan Jin swung his tiger staff and smashed the Black-Haired Zombie's head into its chest cavity, leaving not even a scalp showing.

This terrified the two remaining members of the Ge Household. Looking at their own ranks, which were filled with groans and cries of despair, they realized that there was almost no chance of turning the tide.

The silver armor and talismans on Yuan Jin's body had not yet dissipated. His White Ape Step was already considered highly proficient among these cultivators from humble backgrounds. Even when several Law Artifact struck him, Yuan Jin could only manage to create a few sparks in front of them.

Yuan Jin didn't want to drag things out any longer. He found an opening and rushed in. The Tiger Sha Staff was filled with Sha Qi. Several unprepared vassals of the Changning Sect were too slow to dodge and were killed on the spot.

The vanguard team, led by the Shao Brother and Sister, had just finished preparing when they rushed into the fray alongside Yuan Jin.

The two siblings each engaged a member of the Ge Household, and their battle was evenly matched. This turn of events, however, gave many quick-witted individuals in the crowd an opportunity to seize a gap in the battle and escape.

This Changning Sect in a very passive position. Those who dared to fight were all wiped out on the battlefield, while those who could fight but dared not flee quickly. How could this bunch of incompetent local natives possibly hold the line?

And that was indeed the case. Yuan Jin and his disciples disrupted the formation of the opposing cultivators, and the Feng Household Brothers and Qian Liu, having rested, led their cultivators to charge forward.

The spear formation remained as formidable as ever, but the shield formation had been withdrawn. Qian Liu was now leading his own fire-based cultivators, each wielding a suitable magical Law Artifact, into the arena for one-on-one combat.

This put even more pressure on the besieging side, who could collapse at any moment. Just then, the formation that had been tightly closed on the outside of the camp walls suddenly closed, and the senior brother of the Clever Ingenious Craftsman Fort, leading his junior brothers and sisters who still had the strength to move, charged out with their mottled and messy puppets.

This team, whose symbolic significance far outweighed its practical value, became the final straw that broke the camel's back for the besieging forces.

With one member of the Ge Household dead and the other escaping, the death rate of the more than two hundred men was less than eleven, yet their morale plummeted and they collapsed on the spot.

Yuan Jin, however, was not in a hurry. After the Shao siblings led the elite troops in a chase for a while, they turned back.

At this point, Yuan Jin sought out his senior brother from Lizhai. He offered no official position or words of comfort, but simply whispered, "Hurry and prepare food and lodging. We'll rest for one night and leave tomorrow!"

"Hurry up! I didn't come out here just to rescue a small military stronghold like yours!"

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