Under a summer day, an organized cavalry fleet escorted more than ten large carriages, following an official path to a fresh and green mountain range.
Reflecting the summer’s sunlight, the black leather armor of a young official at the very front seemed a bit glossy and shiny. Under his instructions, the thirty or so reconnaissance cavalry rushed out, splitting into three rows, separately heading into the mountain valley path ahead and the two mountain ranges to its side. Soon afterwards, a sentry noise representing that nothing was wrong was sent back.
The black-armored young officer’s sharp brows furrowed, thinking to himself. It was unknown what kind of annoying thing made an unhappy expression appear on his face.
When he heard the reconnaissance troops’ sentry noise, this black-armored young officer’s clenched fist made an upwards motion. The entire fleet then began to advance in a uniform manner. Right at this time, this black-armored youngster instead suddenly turned around.
The curtains of a carriage behind him moved aside. Lin Xi dressed in a set of clean green clothes walked out from within, looking at him with a smile.
This black-armored young officer who originally had a bit of an unhappy expression immediately revealed a respectful expression. The reins in his hands pulled back slightly, making his warhorse move a bit slower so that he arrived at Lin Xi’s side. With a slight bow, he said, “Sir Lin, we are still a larger half of a day’s journey from Rudong City. Your respected self can rest at ease.”
“I know.” Lin Xi looked at this officer, nodding with a smile, “I just came to get some fresh air, chat a bit with you in passing.”
The black-armored young officer said respectfully, “If sir wishes to talk to me, you only need to call me into the carriage for us to talk. Being exposed outside is after all more dangerous.”
Lin Xi smiled as he looked at the numerous and densely packed cavalry army in front and behind him, and then looked at the dozen or so carriages around him, saying quietly, “Great General Gu had you all bring so many people, escort me with so much military equipment, could it be that it still isn’t safe enough?”
The black-armored young officer replied seriously, “Sir Lin, Great General Gu personally passed down an order stating that your respected self’s status is special. On the battlefield, there are bright blades and spears, but when we are not on the battlefield, within Yunqin, it will be hidden arrows that are hard to defend against. We don’t know how many hidden spies and assassins there are, so it will be unfavorable for sir.”
Lin Xi chuckled and said, “It might not only be Great Mang’s people, there might be many of ‘our own people’ who will treat me unfavorably, right?”
The black-armored young officer’s expression became slightly rigid. Immediately afterwards, he showed Lin Xi a respectful bow, saying with a low voice, “Sir Lin, regardless of who it is that acts unfavorably against your respected self, they will all be our enemies.”
Lin Xi shook his head and said in self-mockery, “I am not a high ranking military officer, and I am not in the royal court either, to the extent where I can’t even be considered a Yunqin official. Exhausting so much effort for me is a bit more than I deserve.”
The black-armored young officer respectfully replied, “Sir Lin, regardless of what kind of status your respected self has, we are soldiers, so we must strictly carry out the orders given to us from above. We received the orders to safely escort you to Rudong. Moreover, what is more important is that all of our brothers in the front lines greatly revere sir. If your respected self suffered something unexpected under our escort, we really can only punish ourselves through death, or else we won’t have any face left to face them.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not some delicate flower too weak to stand up to the wind. Nothing wrong will happen.”
Lin Xi looked at this military officer who was exceedingly respectful towards him and extremely stubborn, releasing another chuckle before saying quietly, “Just now, you said my status was a bit special. Tell me honestly, what kind of opinion does the outside world have towards me, just what kind of special is it… this matter is related to my own judgments, my safety.”
After a bit of hesitation, this black-armored officer seriously and quietly replied, “The outside world now already has rumors circulating that Sir Lin might be someone with the same talent as Principal Zhang… saying that your respected self is a ‘Divine General’ rarely seen even in Green Luan Academy.”
“Turns out it is already no longer a Green Luan Academy heaven’s choice and Windstalker, already saying that I am a Divine General.” Lin Xi couldn’t help but shake his head, saying to himself, “Seems like on Wenren Cangyue and Great Mang’s side, they’ve really used up quite the effort in spreading this type of information.”
This young black-armored officer hesitated a bit more, as if he wanted to ask about something, but in the end still closed his mouth, not asking anything.
However, Lin Xi could see through his intentions. With a slight smile, he nodded and said, “The more it is like this, the more it will bring people who want to deal with me closer to me. Even though my cultivation level is not high, still rather weak in many people’s eyes… getting back to the main point, since Great General Gu and you all know that after my whereabouts in the empire are no longer hidden, that while roaming the empire openly, it might instead be even more dangerous than on the battlefield, encountering even more assassination, do you all have enough strength to protect me?”
“My intentions are, if we encounter a State Master, or even a Sacred Expert… do you all have things to stop them?” After a bit of hesitation, Lin Xi looked at this young black-armored officer, saying this quietly.
“We do.”
The black-armored young officer didn’t hesitate at all. He quietly said, “Sir, within our eight hundred cavalry, we have fifteen people from the Black Flag Army. In the remaining carriages, there are eight sets of Mountain Crushing Crossbows that have only recently reached the front lines, crossbows that are the improved versions of Mountain Piercing Crossbows, able to fire three crossbow arrows at one time, the power and speed greater. All of these things, together with the rest of us, should be enough to deal with State Master level cultivators, even Sacred Experts… We have two sets of net casting machines modified from our Dragon Snake side, the nets having strong poisons. There are also three individuals dressed in Green Wolf Heavy Armor in the carriages. With ‘Day Chase’ and ‘Magic Cloud’, these two steeds whose speeds are the fastest, holding up a Sacred Expert to let sir escape shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Even the most powerful crossbow carts, net casting military equipment, Yunqin’s most powerful heavy armor and fast horses can still only hold up a Sacred Expert… the strength of Sacred Experts is still too powerful in the end.” Lin Xi released a light sigh. Then, he instead chuckled, looking at this grave and serious faced officer, saying, “Only, Yunqin’s Sacred Experts all have surnames and given names. As long as they take action, we will know who they are. As for Great Mang’s Sacred Experts, if they fight against an army in the open, I fear that they don’t have this type of bravery. This is especially since after they take action, they might not be able to escape back to Great Mang, Great Mang might not necessarily pay this kind of price. After all, in the last two years, the amount of Sacred Experts they lost were too many. After purging a larger half of Thousand Devil Nest, it is also equivalent to cutting off the source of many Sacred Experts. That is why the chances of encountering a Sacred Expert is actually not great. The most likely thing is instead all types of hidden plotting.”
The black-armored young officer nodded his head in a steady manner. When he heard that Lin Xi thought about the situation in such detail, he felt even more admiration for him, also becoming a bit more relaxed. “I believe this is also the case.”
Right now, the troop was already close to the valley entrance. Lin Xi raised his head slightly to the green mountains at both sides, feeling the refreshing mountain winds that blew through the mountain forest.
“They want to kill me… already spreading the news that I might have Divine General talent… in that case, for better or for worse, I cannot disappoint them, I should let them see how formidable I am… let them understand the so-called reverence Green Luan Academy speaks of.”
Right at this time, Lin Xi smiled, quietly speaking words only the black-armored young officer could hear.
The black-armored young officer’s sword brows furrowed slightly, not understanding why Lin Xi would suddenly speak these types of words.
“What is the firing range of those Mountain Crushing Crossbows? They should be able to easily hit that mountain peak, right?” The instant he turned around, Lin Xi quietly said this.
He saw that Lin Xi’s eyes landed on that green mountain to the left of the official path.
“The firing range can reach seven hundred steps. This green mountain is less than four hundred steps tall, so it will reach.” The black-armored young officer was confused, but he immediately replied seriously.
Lin Xi then said quietly, “The crossbows that are hidden in the carriages, the crossbow arrows should be aimed at the windows? It is because if the enemy tries to charge into our formation, charging from the side will always be much simpler than rushing from the front. They should be able to adjust inside… take aim and fire, right?”
The black-armored young officer’s body shook slightly.
The situation inside the crossbow carriages was completely like how Lin Xi guessed at this time.
“Yes!” He immediately nodded and replied.
“There will be someone who will ambush us in this valley.” Lin Xi said with a smile.
The black-armored young officer’s face turned cold, quietly saying, “The reconnaissance troop has already investigated…”
Lin Xi shook his head and said, “Since you are from Dragon Snake Border Army, you should understand clearly that just because the reconnaissance troop didn’t see anything, it doesn’t mean there really isn’t anyone.”
The black-armored young officer took a deep breath, nodding and saying, “Yes.”
Lin Xi immediately calmed down and said, “When an attack is carried out, it doesn’t mean people necessarily need to rush out… rolling wood pillars and falling stones can also kill. When preparations are made before, just a single person can roll down many giant wood pillars, throw down large rocks weighing ten thousand jin. Do you see that mountain rock on the left side’s green mountain that is like a giant ape? The other party is precisely behind that rock.”
The black-armored young officer looked in the direction Lin Xi spoke of in disbelief.
On the green mountain to the left, there was a giant rock that leaned against the edge of the cliff, its shape like an ape, weighing who knew how many jin. It didn’t look like something human strength could push.
Moreover, under the cover of the trees, it was impossible to see underneath that rock, let alone the things behind that rock.
“With so many crossbows firing at the same time, if we adjust the aim a bit more precisely, most of them should be able to land behind that rock. Moreover, if the other party doesn’t know there will be this kind of attack, they shouldn’t be able to react in time.” Lin Xi revealed a faint smile. While looking at the officer who was a bit stunned from shock and disbelief, he reminded quietly, “If you don’t have a better way to kill a powerful State Master level cultivator, it is best if you listen to my advice, to immediately give the orders to adjust the crossbows. This way, we should make it in time before we arrive at the mouth of the valley.”
The black-armored young officer’s eyes flickered intensely. “Sir Lin… This is precisely the legendary Divine General talent?”
Lin Xi looked at this border army officer who finally couldn’t help but ask this, chuckling and saying, “If you trust my intuition, then you can give it a try.”
The black-armored young officer bowed. Then, he didn’t say anything else, immediately starting to quickly move through their troops.
…
The peak of the green mountain.
Standing behind the giant rocks was a middle-aged long bearded man who was dressed in a white colored long gown.
This refined looking, calm faced middle-aged long bearded man was precisely the one in Moon Seizing City’s grass hut, the teacher who his disciples tried to stop from pursuing Lin Xi, yet he still stubbornly insisted on entering Yunqin, moreover giving his disciples one last lesson. He told them why he had to chase after Lin Xi, as well as the reason why he felt that he could kill Lin Xi.
For him to appear here so quickly, moreover arrange this killing trap to wait for Lin Xi, this meant that he was much stronger than normal Great Mang cultivators.
Strength didn’t only lie in cultivation.
If one wanted to kill, they didn’t necessarily need to contend with soul force.
Buried within the dried branches underneath his feet were several vines. As long as he fiercely snapped these vines, there would be a giant wooden pillar that would roll down and smash into the giant rock not even a Sacred Expert could push. Then, this giant boulder that had already been modified by his hands would fall down, crushing several carriages to pieces.
The troops that became more and more clear in his line of sight already arrived at the valley entrance. He was only a single step away from success.
Moreover, he understood how to cut his losses extremely well, not feeling inwardly conflicted in the slightest… Capturing Lin Xi was the best choice, perhaps allowing him to interrogate and obtain his cultivation methods. However, if there was no hope of capturing Lin Xi alive, killing him and then trying to obtain Lin Xi’s sword was also already quite good for him.
If he could succeed, then he would reap the rewards, but if he couldn’t, then he wouldn’t be greedy, falling short because of excessive greed, feeling distress for nothing. This was something he had told his students when teaching his class.
Those who are not greedy would succeed more easily… However, right at this time, when he was only one last step away from success, he suddenly felt a chilling vibrating noise between heaven and earth.
Then, under his perception, streaks of metal flowing light that were so fast that they were blurry fiercely crushed down from the sky!
