Chapter 631: A Clean Sweep

Chapter 631: Chapter 111: A Clean Sweep

On the pier of an unnamed island in the Southern Sea Region of Shang’an Prefecture, a squad of lightly armored Chu Kingdom soldiers was registering the captured prisoners. In the distance, by a pier warehouse, someone was cursing loudly, because a great fire had burned it to the ground before they landed, leaving nothing behind.

The sounds of fighting still echoed from deeper within the island, where some Lishui Prefecture soldiers were still resisting in the back alleys. Suddenly, the battle cries intensified, prompting a nearby soldier to curse, “Those sons of bitches! Once we catch them, we’ll flay them alive!”

The curse made the prisoners at the pier tremble in fear, which drew loud laughter from the nearby soldiers. Soon, a prisoner lost his senses and tried to flee. A companion beside him instinctively tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Unquestionably, the Chu Kingdom soldiers had let it happen on purpose, all to vent their murderous rage. Such things were all too common in war. After all, war brings death, and death breeds hatred. Every soldier of the Chu Kingdom hated Lishui Prefecture to the bone.

The fleeing prisoner was hacked to death by several sneering Chu Kingdom soldiers, which naturally sparked a commotion among the other captives, leading to an even larger slaughter. Only after the chaos subsided did an officer leisurely arrive. After inquiring about the cause, he gave a detached order, “A fast boat will be docking later to transport the prisoners. Make sure you clean up the pier.”

So, the soldiers began forcing the prisoners to clean up the bloodstains on the ground. The bodies of the slain captives were tossed directly into a deep pit nearby, which was already piled high with corpses. Beside the pit, two Qi Cultivators were setting up an altar to absorb the spiritual essence from the bodies. Afterward, everything would be disposed of at once.

BWOOOM—

The sound of a horn suddenly blared from the horizon. A bright light flared up from the watchtower on the newly captured pier, where a signalman was using flags to urge them to board their ships quickly and continue their push south.

Subsequently, two squads of armored Government Soldiers came ashore and took over the island’s defenses from the sailors. The sailors then boarded the warships at the pier with the greatest possible speed, preparing to rendezvous with nearby warships and advance further south.

Beneath the clouds illuminated by a Lighting Array, Min Yu Yan watched the advancing fleet with a cold gaze. She put away her Communication Jade Token and said to those beside her, “Take stock of your Power Pills. We must capture Anmu Island, the westernmost isle of Lishui Prefecture, within half a month.”

Anmu Island was a massive island, the one in the Southeast Sea Region’s island chain closest to the Zhongzhou Continent. It was the Seventh Prince’s most important strategic holding and a vital supply point for any invasion of the continent.

“But Anmu Island is guarded by a Third Realm Cultivator. We…”

“This is a war for a Divine Artifact. Never mind a Third Realm Cultivator, even Second Realm Cultivators are forbidden from interfering!” Min Yu Yan cut in coldly. “Remember, we are at war with a local, secessionist power in the Southeast Sea Region, not the so-called Lishui Prefecture!”

Min Yu Yan looked up at the pitch-black night sky. ‘I know Master wants to force them to commit their main army to a decisive battle before they’ve gathered enough intelligence,’ she thought. ‘Then, we can use the Power Pills to clinch the victory in one fell swoop.’

‘The odds of that are low, though. It all depends on what the enemy commander decides.’

「Anmu Island.」

The island was named for its Anmu Trees, which could be used to make Calming Incense. This incense was highly favored by dignitaries and nobles, so even with the war, merchant ships still came and went in an endless stream.

At this moment, Cultivators were constantly flying back and forth above the island, delivering front-line war reports to the top of a watchtower deep inland. A Qi Cultivator from Lishui Prefecture was waiting there and would take each report into a dim, adjacent room the moment it arrived.

The room was a converted observation deck, its once-open windows now sealed with wooden planks. As a result, the air inside was thick with the heavy scent of Calming Incense. By the dim candlelight, Yue Ziyu sat cross-legged beside a low tea table, reading the last report.

Seated across from him was the same young Water Cultivator from before. His eyes followed the Qi Cultivator who had just entered, his gaze fixed on the military report in the man’s hands.

“Give it to me first!”

The Qi Cultivator glanced at Yue Ziyu, and only complied when he saw that the man had no objection.

The young Water Cultivator flipped open the report. Without needing the candlelight, he absorbed its contents in a single glance. He then looked up at Yue Ziyu and said, “The front-line fleet has been annihilated. The Chu Kingdom fleet has captured our three forward supply islands and is still pushing south.”

Yue Ziyu turned to the waiting Qi Cultivator. “I want a detailed report,” he said. “Bring me the disciples who escaped from the front and interrogate them. The more detail, the better.”

“Yes!”

The Qi Cultivator exited the room with great speed, closing the door behind him.

A hint of nervousness flickered in the young Water Cultivator’s eyes; after all, they had undertaken this operation without the Seventh Prince’s knowledge. He thought for a moment and was about to speak, but Yue Ziyu cut him off coldly, “Let’s wait for the detailed report. I need to know how the front line fell.”

The wait lasted until dawn. The main reason for the delay was that the retreating Lishui Prefecture disciples had been widely scattered, only beginning to converge on Anmu Island as morning broke. The common soldiers, however, had been trapped on the islands and couldn’t escape.

“Power Pills?”

Yue Ziyu’s face was etched with confusion.

The Lishui Prefecture cultivator being interrogated added, “Exceptionally powerful Power Pills!”

“How powerful?”

“Powerful enough to briefly suppress an Entering Cultivator!”

“Just suppression? Then why did you run? The quartermasters supplied you with plenty of True Essence Pills, Magical Artifacts, Talismans—everything you needed!” The young Water Cultivator first sighed in relief, but then his tone turned severe as he berated the man. “Now that you’ve all fled, who’s left to stop them at the front?”

The interrogated Cultivator instinctively wanted to offer a word or two in his defense, but he hadn’t faced the Power Pills directly and thus couldn’t truly convey the experience. The words died on his lips.

Yue Ziyu, however, simply waved a hand. “You’re dismissed.”

He spent the next half a day interrogating other disciples who had retreated from the front. The story was always the same: the Chu Kingdom fleet had used Power Pills capable of suppressing an Entering Cultivator, and in a single instant, more than a dozen of their men had been killed.

“I say they were just scared witless!” the young Water Cultivator said, looking at the pensive Yue Ziyu. “But this is also an opportunity. Since the Chu Kingdom Court’s main force is pushing south, why don’t we turn the tables on them? We can gather all the surrounding fleets, encircle and annihilate them, and then seize Changwen Prefecture in one fell swoop.”

He added with a tempting smile, “And Changwen Prefecture is practically on Qianmu Temple’s doorstep!”

The words had barely left his lips when a Communication Token shot in from outside and hovered before him, making him start. A moment later, another Communication Token appeared before Yue Ziyu.

The Third Prince’s fleet had also launched a fierce assault the previous night!

The young Water Cultivator’s eyes flashed as a dozen different thoughts raced through his mind. He looked at Yue Ziyu and spoke quickly, “Sir, you must decide now! If the Third Prince’s entire fleet attacks, we’ll lose any chance to redeploy our main fleet. If our war against the Chu Kingdom Court fails then… I’m afraid you will not fare well.”

It was a warning.