Chapter 129 - 110: Harvest and Danger

Chapter 129: Chapter 110: Harvest and Danger

On the mountaintop, Lu Yuan’s men began to search. All the valuables recently plundered by the Xirong had been left in the camp.

This included grain, as well as gold, silver, and other valuables.

All of these items could be exchanged at the Merit Tower.

About an hour later, Lu Yuan was sitting by a bonfire on the mountaintop, eating meat. He had expended a great deal of energy in the day’s battle. Sun Li sat beside him, nursing a blade wound on his shoulder. He’d been injured while helping Zhou Xiong and his men fend off the Xirong cultivators using True Essence; Sun Li had taken a blow for him. If he hadn’t, Zhou Xiong would likely be dead.

Just then, Zhou He hurried over and whispered to Lu Yuan, "Sir, we’ve finished the inventory. We have about ten thousand dan of grain, two hundred eighty thousand taels of silver, and around a thousand taels of gold."

The Xirong had plundered many villages and towns to amass all this.

Lu Yuan nodded. Zhou He continued, "Then there are the captured civilians. There are about ten thousand of them. What should we do?"

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment before saying, "Distribute the grain and livestock among the civilians. Keep half the silver for me, and divide the rest among the men."

Lu Yuan had always been generous, so with this arrangement, every man’s share from the battle was quite substantial.

"Yes, Sir." Zhou He grinned and immediately withdrew.

It was now dusk, and Lu Yuan planned to rest for the night before setting out the next day.

After all, there were still many wounded on the mountain who needed at least basic medical attention. If they left immediately, many of them likely wouldn’t survive the journey back.

Meanwhile, the large number of civilians, having received their share of grain, began to descend the mountain. None of them wished to remain there a moment longer.

They all wished they could sprout wings and fly straight home.

Once the camp was set up, the silver distributed, and the sky completely dark, Zhou He approached with a secretive air, having his men carry a chest over. Lu Yuan looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "What’s this?"

"See for yourself," Zhou He said with a smile.

Lu Yuan shot him a look before opening the chest. Inside were numerous elixirs: some for the Organ Refining Stage, some for the True Essence Realm, and some for the Gang Qi Realm. What truly made Lu Yuan’s eyes light up were two stalks of Celestial Essence Grass. This was a heavenly treasure that could be consumed by cultivators at the True Essence Realm.

"We just found this under the bed in the Xirong general’s tent. It must be this army’s reserve supply of elixirs—it’s all here." Zhou He’s eyes lit up with delight. In truth, these elixirs were the most valuable part of the loot.

Everything else paled in comparison.

Lu Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony. "Leave the elixirs for the True Essence Realm and Gang Qi Realm for me," he said. "You can handle the rest as you see fit."

"You got it, Sir." After speaking, Zhou He took out a smaller medicine box and transferred the True Essence Pills, Gang Qi Pills, and the heavenly treasures for the True Essence Realm into Lu Yuan’s hands.

He then had his men carry the main chest elsewhere.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Lu Yuan picked up the small medicine box and headed for his tent.

With these heavenly treasures, if he could stabilize his cultivation, he would be able to break through again.

A smile touched his lips at the thought.

Once inside his tent, he immediately opened his system panel.

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[Age: 17]

[Fourth-Grade Cultivation Skill: Spring and Autumn Saber Skill (10231/10000, Great Success, Break through?)]

[Fourth-Grade Cultivation Skill: Mixed Element Qi Skill (True Essence) (701/1000, Minor Achievement)]

[Fourth-Grade Cultivation Skill: Blood Refining Golden Bell Shield (20192/50000, Entering the Stance)]

[Third-Grade Array: Shaking Mountain Copper Gate Formation (1035/1000, Minor Achievement, Break through?) | Additional Effects: Super Defense, Shaking Mountains and Earth]

[Third-Grade Cultivation Skill: Breaking Gang Arrow Skill (981/1000, Minor Achievement)]

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction as he looked over his stats.

’My power is progressing quite quickly.’

’Especially the Spring and Autumn Saber Skill. It’s ready for Perfection.’

He then chose to break through.

The next moment, his insights into the Sword Skill rose to a new level.

[Fourth-Grade Cultivation Skill: Spring and Autumn Saber Skill (231/30000, Perfection)]

At the same time, various forms of military experience took shape in Lu Yuan’s mind.

A moment later, the stats updated.

[Third-Grade Array: Shaking Mountain Copper Gate Formation (35/10000, Great Success) | Additional Effects: Super Defense, Shaking Mountains and Earth]

’I should be able to get my True Essence to the Great Success stage today,’ Lu Yuan thought, swallowing a True Essence Pill.

Immediately, an astonishing wave of energy began to circulate through his body.

Lu Yuan could feel his power growing stronger and stronger.

Warm currents surged continuously within his Dantian.

About an hour later, when the elixir’s effects began to wane, Lu Yuan took another one and swallowed it.

His goal now was to reach Perfection as quickly as possible. Then, he would consume the two heavenly treasures to achieve Divine Containment, allowing his cultivation to take another leap forward.

But as Lu Yuan was cultivating, he was unaware that a Xirong army was currently marching toward Moya Mountain.

They were a force dispatched by the Xirong to battle Dayong, and they were passing by Moya Mountain intending to resupply. It was an army ten thousand strong.

They were all Xirong Wolf Soldiers.

After losing hundreds of thousands of troops, the number of Xirong Wolf Soldiers had dwindled significantly.

More were now being mobilized and sent toward Dayong territory.

This particular unit was the vanguard.

Knowing there was a camp on Moya Mountain, they had marched through the night, planning to rest upon arrival. None of them expected what had transpired.

At the base of the mountain, a squad of Imperial Guard scouts resting in a hollow heard a commotion. When the Centurion leading them saw the dense mass of figures moving up the mountain path, his expression changed instantly.

He hissed at his subordinates, who were fast asleep beside him, "Get up! Stop fucking sleeping! The Xirong Wolf Soldiers are here!"

The scouts jolted awake and scrambled to their feet, only to see a sight that made their blood run cold.

One of them couldn’t help but whisper, "H-how many of them are there?"

"Judging by the scale of this force and the noise they’re making, it’s about ten thousand men," the Centurion whispered. "This new Wolf Rider Captain is damn unlucky. He’s trapped on the mountain. He’s probably finished."

After a moment’s thought, he turned and gave a low command to one of the scouts. "Qi, get on your horse and ride to the main camp immediately. Report the situation to Marshal Xiao. Make everything clear."

"Chief, even if I ride all night, I’ll only reach the main camp tomorrow evening. I estimate Lu Yuan has fewer than two thousand men left who can fight. They won’t even make it through tonight. What’s the point?"

"Just go. Stop wasting time. It doesn’t matter if there’s a point or not, you have to go. Marshal Xiao must be informed of the situation here. The black hawk has already been dispatched; it won’t be back for a while." The Centurion’s voice was stern.

The scout named Qi immediately responded, "As you command!"

He then quietly retreated, leaped onto his horse, and galloped off in the direction of the main camp.

The remaining scouts looked at their Centurion, their faces grim. "Chief, what about us?"

The Xirong’s leader was a Ten Thousand Men Commander at the Innate Realm, and his forces vastly outnumbered Lu Yuan’s.

No one believed Lu Yuan could survive this battle.

The Centurion’s grizzled beard fluttered in the wind. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "We have to warn the Wolf Rider Captain first. If they get ambushed, they’ll die even faster. Fire the signal arrows now, then we fall back."

The Imperial Guard warriors nodded. They knew that firing signal arrows from this close would mean being immediately hunted down by the Xirong Wolf Soldiers. But as soldiers, they could not stand by and watch their comrades-in-arms walk into danger without a warning.

Then, the men began to fall back. They pulled the signal arrows from their tunics and, without a moment’s hesitation, fired them.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

A dozen streaks of fire shot into the sky, casting an eerily beautiful red glow.

Then, they exploded high in the air.

The flares were seen not only by the warriors on patrol up on the mountain but also by the Wolf Soldiers making their ascent.

Within moments, several hundred cavalrymen charged down toward them.

"Go!"

The Centurion yelled, spurring his warhorse and leading his men in a desperate retreat.

「Meanwhile, at the main camp」

Xiao Heng had just sat down with his Garrison Generals for a late-night meeting to discuss how to press the attack.

WHOOSH!

A black hawk flew into the tent.

Its razor-sharp talons landed on his shoulder.

The other generals all turned to look at the sight. Xiao Heng, however, spoke in a low voice. "This must be news from Moya Mountain. If that nail has been pulled, it will be much easier for the new Border Army to advance.

"I just don’t know if Lu Yuan was able to pull it off."

Then, without hesitation, he untied the message from the hawk’s leg and began to read.