Unfortunately, the third apostle, Bill, was not here. Otherwise, no matter how many people came, it would be useless.
He then explained some details and asked about the distribution of the surrounding pirates’ territories before letting the leaders disperse.
The group was still small now, so there was no need for a detailed division of labor. However, when the scale increased, they would need an organizational structure.
Most of the people in the Green Forest beside him were rough martial artists. If they gathered in the forest, they would still need talents like internal affairs management, trainers, and war strategists.
They could either nurture themselves and let people with potential try to helm the role. After doing so for a while, they would naturally get more experience on running a stronghold. Another method was to annex the other bandits and recruit them, or they could raise the flag and allow other people from the Green Forest to join them.
In short, there were still many talents lacking under his command. It seemed that he had to personally pay a visit to more of the special talents like these in the Green Forest.
In addition, although his martial arts were extraordinary, if it was a large-scale battle, the method of marching to war was still important.
Zhou Jing himself did not know much about this. Even if he checked the information in the main world and tried to force feed it into a cookie cutter mold, it was easy for him to become an armchair strategist. Moreover, the training method of the interstellar era might not be suitable for an environment where cold weapons fought. He did not want to show too many signs of the main world.
The training method of this era had to match the limited conditions of this era. He planned to find some talents who really knew how to train troops and fight. He would observe their methods and make subtle improvements against the knowledge accumulated in the main world to summarize a practical method.
Because of the limited conditions, Zhou Jing did not have any intention of improving himself. He did not need to cultivate any elites who had been through hundreds of battles. As long as the quality of the soldiers under him could reach the upper or middle levels of this world, and did not have to escape immediately during every battle, it was fine.
He only planned to dabble in the art of war a little and did not want to study it in depth. Compared to commanding the battle, charging and being the vanguard could allow him to unleash his power better. As long as he could find a military talent who was not too weak and give orders in place of him when he charged into the formation, he felt that it was enough.
With the current strategic goal, everyone mobilized.
After resting for two days, Zhou Jing led his men out and headed straight for the nearby territories of the pirates.
During this period, they almost did not encounter any decent resistance. When these water bandit leaders heard Chen Feng’s name and saw his skills, they bowed and were willing to join Zhou Jing.
His talent [Overbearing Aura] was extraordinary.
The only one with some resistance was a group of 3,000 water bandits entrenched in a large lake. The leader was one of the top water generals under Fan Zong. Because he felt that they were evenly matched, he was unwilling to submit to Zhou Jing directly.
The two sides fought on the lake. Under Zhou Jing’s inhuman performance, their morale soared, and their opponents doubted their lives and had no fighting spirit.
In the end, they were all captured. The leader was beaten into submission and surrendered.
It did not take long for Zhou Jing to pry away five territories of Fan Zong and subdue five groups of pirates, including Sheng Rong. His population snowballed and grew, and his number quickly reached more than 8,000.
The news of the Chaotic World Demon, Chen Feng, appearing in Huyang and placing a flag here also quickly spread, alarming the local Green Forest outlaws.
…
Bam!
“Damn it! I have no grievances with this Chen Feng in the past. Why did he give me such bad luck? This guy wants to establish himself in Huyang, so he attacked me. Does he think I’m a soft persimmon!”
Fan Zong slammed the table in anger.
He was a tall and strong man with a long beard on his lips. At first glance, he looked like a catfish, but he liked to wear yellow all year round and had the nickname of the “Golden Scaled King”.
Not long ago, he had received a message from a lackey. When he found out that five of his generals had defected to Chen Feng, he was shocked and furious.
Originally, the situation in Huyang was in a stalemate for many years. Now that another “flood dragon” had suddenly appeared, the balance was broken.
As the local tyrant targeted by a new and upcoming dragon, Fan Zong was naturally furious. Not only was he angry at the provocation, but he also secretly hated Chen Feng for creating an opportunity for his other two old opponents.
The military advisor beside him stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, “This Chen Feng eliminates evil and draws hatred to himself. He’s not tolerated by the righteous path and can only become an outlaw. As for this person, he’s quite famous and ambitious. He’s most likely not a person who’s willing to be under others. I think he has the intention to replace the Chief.”
“Hmph! Don’t even think about it!” Fan Zong snorted angrily. “Although I respect this person for being a good man, since he targeted me, I can’t let him off!”
With that, Fan Zong suddenly stood up and called over the messenger. He shouted,
“Send the various water generals over. I want to send troops to suppress this Chen Feng and let him know that Huyang is not a place where he can do whatever he wants. If he wants to set up a stronghold here, he has to ask if I agree first!”
Fan Zong did not dare to sit back and watch Zhou Jing nibble away at his territory. If he did not restrain him immediately, he would probably really become an empty commander.
Moreover, he had been beaten up. If he did not counterattack, he would not be able to maintain his current status. The other pirates would feel that he could not protect their respective territories and would consider turning to others.
Therefore, he was now in a difficult position.
Just as Fan Zong had no choice but to counterattack, the other two people from the Three Flood Dragons of Huyang also received the news. Apart from being shocked, they also gloated at his misfortune.
After discussing with their leader, the two of them came to the same conclusion.
They would bide his time and watch the tigers fight.
If there was an opportunity, they would take the opportunity to further nibble away at Fan Zong’s territory and beat him up. They could even get rid of this old opponent once and for all and reap the benefits.
As for Chen Feng, if he lost in the war, they did not mind kicking him when he was down and expelling such a powerful competitor from Huyang.
…
Cloud Mountain, Southern Hua Sect.
“What? Then Chen Feng came to Huyang? He even set up a stronghold here and plans to occupy it for a long time?”
Sect Master Luo Zhen was shocked and hurriedly asked if the disciple who sent the message was true.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Luo Zhen could no longer sit still.
“This person has harmed the various sects in Jiangchun. Perhaps he wants to use the same trick again. As the leader of the Huyang Martial World, my Southern Hua Sect will definitely be the first to bear the brunt! We can’t delay the Martial Arts Conference any longer!”
Luo Zhen’s expression was uncertain.
Due to the distance, there were still many sects far away who had not given an answer.
However, he could not wait any longer. He was afraid that Chen Feng would think that the journey was very close, so he could directly go to the Southern Hua Sect to snatch the secret manual. That way, even if he could snatch it back later, the losses would be difficult to recover.
Thinking of this, Luo Zhen made a decision and instructed in a deep voice,
“Release the news in the martial world that the various sects will hold a martial arts conference to compete with Chen Feng. I’ll write another invitation. Send it to Chen Feng and make an appointment to attend the meeting next spring.”
In his opinion, if they agreed on a time to fight, they should be able to stabilize Chen Feng and prevent him from causing trouble in the Huyang Martial World in the short term. This would give them enough time to contact the other sects and invite the experts of the world to deal with the demon together.
…
“This Chen Feng actually came to Huyang and plans to stay here?”
In the Huyang Fan Prefecture, the magistrate could not help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this from the officials.
The lesson from Jiangchun was still in front of him. As a magistrate, he was also extremely afraid of Chen Feng.
The Fan Prefecture Magistrate thought for a while and made a decision. He sneered and muttered,
“This fellow is a thorn in the side of the Imperial Court. How can we let him grow? If he wanders around, it will indeed be difficult to deal with him. However, since he wants to set up a stronghold, it’s easy. I’ll submit a report now and ask the Imperial Court to send out elite soldiers and famous generals. At the same time, we can also eliminate the bandits from Huyang. This way, the world will be blessed with peace once more!”
