Chapter 588: Tense Situation

Chapter 588: Chapter 588: Tense Situation

September 15th. Wu Kai’s division marched with twenty thousand men of the Mixed Army, following the Bamboo Path to arrive at Wu Lake.

"This place..."

What greeted the eye was an endless expanse of Military Camps, bustling with the incessant clamor of people and horses. There were those transporting logistics, others like Wu Kai’s newcomers here for supplies, and still others constructing military camps...

Though Wu Kai knew that Wu Lake had long served as a fixed supply point for slave caravans within the Barbarian Territory, with some dwellings and warehouses built as a basic setup, he had never expected it to now resemble a fortress in such a state of high alert.

It was still unclear exactly how many Soldiers were in Wu Lake; the gates of the Military Camp were not opened for Wu Kai’s division. The twenty thousand men only swapped out several cartloads of supplies outside this colossal Military Camp, then each picked up a steaming hot meat pie outside more than a dozen mess tents before moving on again.

Wu Lake was not the scheduled rest point—some nameless expanse of scattered stones, fifty li east of Wu Lake, was their actual stop.

As twilight settled, Wu Kai saw the resting point marked on the map, following the main force.

"Pass on the order: tell the brothers to stay alert. Tonight the north side is our defensive sector—make the encampment stand out a bit, and rotate guards every three hours." Wu Kai held the freshly delivered Order in his hand; tonight, it was his two battalions’ turn to stand night watch.

But standing night watch didn’t mean the two battalions couldn’t rest at all—just over five hundred men needed to be dispatched, organized into patrol shifts, and rotated in three batches. The rest could sleep in their uniforms.

In the latter half of the night, the sound of hoofbeats came from afar. After exchanging the password and checking the Waist Token, it turned out to be the Mixed Army’s Central Army Order Envoy.

"Deputy General Wu Kai, receive the order!"

After verifying, Wu Kai took the Order, unfolded it, and his brow furrowed immediately. The Order was terse and to the point, instructing them to break camp at early 5 a.m. tomorrow, and explicitly stating: march at full speed.

What did "march at full speed" mean? It meant abandoning half the logistics, loading all Weapons onto wagons, having Soldiers move at a light, quick jog, and halting all integration drills along the way.

And, departing at early 5 a.m.?

There was nothing else written on the Order, but between the lines, an unmistakable sense of urgency was palpable.

Has the situation at the front really become this dire?

At 5 a.m. the next day, Wu Kai broke camp on schedule. Bugle calls rose and fell around them. Twenty thousand Mixed Army troops moved in unison, formed up, gathered together into a hurried marching array, and set out east at full speed. Half of the ample supplies they’d just received at Wu Lake were also left behind at this point, neatly covered with oilcloth, awaiting Auxiliary Soldiers to pick up later. Heavy Weapons such as long spears were all loaded onto wagons; the Soldiers advanced at a jog.

Everyone could feel the increasingly grim and tense atmosphere enveloping the army...

...

Beach Stone, Inspector’s Chief Officer’s Residence. Shen Hao was holding the newly received intelligence from Zhuo Huo Pass, his expression grim.

There were two pieces of intelligence in total. One was sent back by a Black Water Secret Agent who infiltrated the Carriage and Horse Shop. The other had come through the Thousand-Mile Sound, relayed by an Inspector accompanying the army south of the Pass. Both reports, in fact, concerned the same matter.

The Southern Front is under immense pressure!

The information from the Black Water Secret Agent had been analyzed by the Four Divisions. Recently, supplies transported south from Zhuo Huo Pass had shifted from mainly food to now being mostly medicinal herbs, while the number of wounded entering through the Pass had increased significantly. If the front weren’t under severe pressure, such handling of the wounded and medicine would be inconceivable.

The message from the Inspector going south with the army was more straightforward: the marching speed kept being pushed higher, the original window of a month’s respite had been cut by nearly thirty percent, and Soldiers didn’t even dare to fully load their supply wagons in order to move faster.

Though confirmation from the Daoxing Chief’s Office had not yet come, Shen Hao understood that conditions at the front were anything but optimistic.

Staring at the map of the Barbarian Territory’s terrain hanging on the wall, Shen Hao—once a complete outsider to military affairs—could now barely say something of value: "It’s too far!"

Yes! Too far. Even a single troop reinforcement took almost a month to arrive; let alone the need to set up supply depots along the route and guard against enemy infiltration and raiding parties. This war would not be an easy one.

"If only there were Teleportation Arrays, everything would be simple. But why..." Shen Hao grumbled inwardly. Truthfully, this was not his first time having such thoughts. This time, however, the reality reflected in the reports spurred it to the surface again.

Shen Hao had previously made inquiries with Array Masters at the Thousand Households Station arsenal regarding Teleportation Arrays during an investigation. Since every major city had Teleportation Arrays, and even some Military facilities possessed smaller ones, why weren’t there any outside the border? The answers he received were always vague; it seemed even the Array Masters didn’t truly understand, only knowing that the structure of Teleportation Arrays was a top state secret—ordinary people could never be told.

They said it was because the Barbarian Land was too desolate. But now, with the outbreak of war, the dilemma brought by overextended front lines was obvious—so why not use Teleportation Arrays to solve the problem of distance? Really, just three or five Teleportation Arrays between Zhuo Huo Pass and Jianchuan would suffice. Even small ones would dramatically improve the situation.

Is it really because constructing Teleportation Arrays is too difficult, or because the secret is too great for deployment in the Barbarian Territory? Such reasons might fool layfolk; but to Shen Hao, they sounded like nothing but "excuses."

This question Shen Hao kept to himself. The reason was simple—even someone as ignorant in military matters as him could come up with it; would the Generals in the Military, or those ever-critical Civil Servants, not have thought of it?

The only plausible explanation: Teleportation Arrays simply could not be built in the Barbarian Territory, or rather, anywhere not within the Jingjiu Dynasty’s own Domain. That’s why the Border Army had to struggle with the burden of this ultra-long front line in the Barbarian Territory.

But then, what exactly is the reason preventing Teleportation Arrays from being established in the Barbarian Territory? Shen Hao doubted it was merely a technical issue.

"Perhaps I should ask Lord Jiang?" After much contemplation, Shen Hao finally decided to raise the question with his teacher, Jiang Cheng. For this kind of issue, Jiang Cheng was likely the best person to approach.

Besides, the situation on the Border Army side was something he might as well report together, see if the higher-ups had any new instructions. If no new developments occurred, given the current situation, Zuo Yuliang would most likely soon lead his forces south, shifting his strategic focus from Zhuo Huo Pass towards the Southern Front, thus proactively shortening the front and easing pressure in various areas.

As Chief Officer to the Inspector, Shen Hao would naturally accompany Zuo Yuliang’s Central Army out of the pass and head south—by then, the circumstances he would face would no doubt be different yet again.

Lastly, what frustrated Shen Hao most was that his Cultivation progress was already nearing the peak of the Gathering Spirit Realm Eighth Layer. He was unsure if he could achieve another breakthrough before heading south. He weighed whether to push himself harder in these next few days, hoping to add a new layer of strength before leaving the pass?

PS: One more Chapter this afternoon. Feeling a bit unwell—please forgive me, everyone.