Chapter 102 - 78: Wiping Out the Bandit Stronghold

Chapter 102: Chapter 78: Wiping Out the Bandit Stronghold

Naturally, there was a reason for not bringing the cavalry and the third squad.

The Black Mountain Cavalry were not the Shanyue Cavalry. If these riders were brought up the mountain, ninety percent of their skills would be rendered useless, making their combat effectiveness likely worse than that of new recruits.

As for the third squad, most were survivors from when County Captain Lin last led troops up the mountain. It was inevitable that they harbored lingering fears and psychological hurdles regarding Black Mountain. To prevent any of them from suddenly fleeing in the middle of a battle and thereby shaking the army’s morale, it was better to leave the entire squad behind to transport rations.

On this trip up the mountain, Zheng Jun’s target was the United Righteous Thieves, a faction within the Black Mountain Thieves. Their leader was a Qi Storage Realm martial artist known in the Jianghu as the "Sick Worm," Zhang Kang.

Black Mountain was vast, filled with countless twists and turns. Scattered across the mountain were nineteen bandit factions of various sizes. They only maintained a loose alliance, acknowledging the Outer Gang Realm expert Lu Hao as their Alliance Leader. However, they were hardly as close as family; each faction still lived its own separate life.

In the entire Northern Land, the strongest bandits were naturally the outlaws gathered at Celestial King Mountain in Qingzhou. With their Heavenly Spirits and Earth Fiends, they had repelled several attacks from the Court. Numbering in the tens of thousands, they left the Court completely overwhelmed, unsure of how to deal with them.

The bandits on Black Mountain naturally couldn’t compare to Celestial King Mountain. Normally, if they encountered a noble young master from a prominent sect or clan, they would cower in their lairs, afraid to show themselves. The various factions would discuss among themselves and send out a few newly recruited lackeys to their deaths, gifting those noble young masters a reputation for "upholding justice." But if it was just ordinary Jianghu wanderers coming out to play the hero, they couldn’t be blamed for showing no mercy.

Just like that, Zheng Jun led fifty men up the mountain. After a winding journey, they finally reached the vicinity of a valley. This was where the bandits who called themselves the "United Righteous Thieves" were gathered.

If Zheng Jun hadn’t had the map drawn for him by Bo Zhangjiu, he truly would never have found this bandit lair.

The stronghold wasn’t particularly easy to defend or hard to attack. There was only a symbolic wooden gate erected at the entrance of the valley. As for any strategic high ground advantages, there were practically none.

Why was it like this?

Naturally, it was because all the good spots had already been snatched up by the other bandits. The United Righteous Thieves were not considered a formidable force among the nineteen factions on Black Mountain. Forced to choose between a location that was easily defensible or one that was well-hidden, Zhang Kang could only opt for the latter.

After all, in Zhang Kang’s view, no matter how easily defensible a place was, once the Court truly wanted them dead, a massive army would march over mountains and rivers to get there. With Outer Gang martial artists unleashing a barrage of devastating attacks, he would still not escape death. It was better to find a highly secluded spot; this way, he might actually survive a little longer.

When the two bandits guarding the stronghold gate saw Zheng Jun marching a large troop up the mountain, they froze in shock. Then, stumbling and crawling, they rushed over to strike the large bell beside them.

"DONG!"

"DONG!"

"DONG!"

The thunderous tolling echoed loudly, instantly spreading throughout the entire valley.

Zheng Jun looked up and, without hesitation, shouted, "Array Formation! Tear down the camp!"

Upon hearing Zheng Jun’s orders, the soldiers of the Personal Soldier Squad immediately formed up into the Star Array. Zheng Jun activated his True Qi, bringing an instant wave of biting cold. Almost tangible grey True Qi emanated from him in all directions, enveloping the armored personal guards around him and gradually merging together.

True Qi intersected, Blood Qi intertwined; grains of sand gathered to form a river, and Qi converged to form an array!

After forming the array this time, Zheng Jun noticed a difference. He wasn’t experiencing the strenuous effort described in military manuals, and the reason lay in the Great Tao Martial Book!

Looking inward at his dantian, Zheng Jun could see that the Great Tao Martial Book was currently acting as a central coordinator. All the True Qi within the military array was being uniformly integrated and suppressed by the Great Tao Martial Book, allowing Zheng Jun to skip that step entirely and deploy it directly.

It was like making dumplings. When others formed arrays, they had to manually roll the dough, fill them, and finally steam, fry, or boil them. Zheng Jun, however, was different. He was like someone who simply bought frozen dumplings from the supermarket, bypassing the most arduous processes of rolling dough and stuffing fillings. What was even more incredible was that the taste of his "frozen dumplings" was top-notch!

He realized, "So I don’t actually have the makings of a famous general."

Although slightly disappointed, Zheng Jun wasn’t the least bit disheartened; on the contrary, he was brimming with vitality. To put it bluntly, it was similar to his current status as an "Unparalleled Celestial Pride." Only he knew it was fake; everyone else was oblivious.

It didn’t matter. As long as he could use it, that was enough. Zheng Jun was not a stickler for formalities.

With this thought, Zheng Jun rallied his spirits. The Beirong Saber in his hand gleamed with a cold light. Accompanied by the converging True Qi from the personal guards around him, Zheng Jun didn’t hesitate to directly unleash a slash!

"ROAR!"

The ring of the saber echoed like the cry of a dragon.

The saber’s brilliance flashed, taking the shape of a Flood Dragon soaring into the sky from an abyss, hurtling toward the stronghold gate with explosive momentum!

"BOOM!"

With a deafening explosion, the stronghold gate collapsed instantly. Seeing this, Zheng Jun voluntarily deactivated the military array.

After all, this single slash had consumed a massive amount of Blood Qi from his soldiers. If he kept doing this, he might enjoy swinging his saber, but it would drain the current combat effectiveness of his troops, which wasn’t worth it.

As Zheng Jun dispersed the military array, the personal guards around him broke out in a light sweat, but they didn’t show any signs of exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Zheng Jun felt that power—which didn’t belong to him—gradually leaving his body, inevitably giving rise to a sense of loss in his heart. However, he quickly gathered himself.

Although the military array could boost his strength, ultimately, it wasn’t his own power.