Zhan Long

Chapter 807 - The Demise of a Beauty

As the sun rose over the horizon, ten thousand Royal Army soldiers arrived at the shores of the War God’s River. Xia Ye personally supervised the construction of the dock. When he saw me, he had a puzzled expression on his face. Long Xing walked over and said, “Commander, have you seriously decided to wage war on these pirates? If the report I received is correct, the Dragonling Army has over ten thousand men in their ranks and over 70 battleships. Over the past night, the Royal Army has at most a small branch of navy men.

I rested my Zhen Yue Blade over my shoulder and smiled, “That is exactly what I want to do. I want to make a move against the Dragonling Army. They have been reckless on this War God’s River for far too long. During those years, they’ve raided villages and stolen Dragon Crystal cannons. Fighting with them isn’t only for training the Royal Army troops, it will also give us a chance to acquire some weaponry and expand our inventory.”

Long Xing smiled, “Commander, you’re truly wise! However, there’s one point I’m not sure if I should bring up or not….”

I replied, “Go ahead!”

Long Xing lowered his voice and whispered into my ear, “Louis, the general of the Violent Thunder Army has always held loose reigns with his subordinates and allow them to do as they please. That’s why the Violent Thunder Army is unstructured. Despite that, they’re incredibly strong. His Majesty has always been partial towards the Violent Thunder Army. Commander, if you are going to try to touch the Violent Thunder Army, you must carefully consider your actions. Otherwise, I’m afraid that we won’t have to wait for the Flame Dragon Army to move against us first.”

I nodded and tightened my grip around the hilt of my sword, “If we don’t destroy the Dragonling Army, they will remain a threat to the villagers who live in this area. Seeing as both the Flame Dragon Army and the Xia Yu Armies have made it clear that they will protect themselves, then the Royal Army will have to act. Someone has to do the job after all.”

Surprise took over Long Xing’s face. Finally he gave a sigh of defeat and praise, “Alright, no matter what my lord decides to do, I, Long Xing, will leave my life in your hands. Worst case scenario, I die!”

I smiled and patted his shoulder, “Alright already, go on and construct that dock. If you need any materials, send a letter to Princess Pearl. She will support you with anything you need. This dock will be the foundation of our campaign against the hundreds of ships that the Dragonling Army has. We will push our cannons and Dragon Crystal Cannons here to defend and counter any attack that comes at us!”

“Yes my lord!”

……

I turned around and faced Han Yuan and Xiao Lie, “Do any of you know the exact location of the Long Spear garrison of the Violent Thunder Army?”

Han Yuan’s face lit up, “General, we…. are we really going to act against the Long Spear Unit of the Violent Thunder Army?”

“What else would we be doing?”

I smiled and leapt onto my horse, “Prepare to set out! We’ll be moving fast. We cannot let them get wind of our advance. We’ll charge straight towards the Long Spear camp and force them to put down their weapons!”

“Yes sir!”

In that next moment, forty thousand Royal Army troops set out in that direction. The foot soldiers led the march while the cavalry followed close behind. Our entire cavalry consisted of heavy armor types. Experienced riders would never let their mounts tire out before a battle, which was why our soldiers were leading their horses on this march!

After twenty minutes, our procession entered the northwest region of the Moon Blade Forest. I could see dark smoke rising above the treetops in the distance. It was mealtime for the Long Spear Unit of the Violent Thunder Camp. It was a five thousand man camp, and several hundred streams of smoke rose up into the sky.

I waved my hand and ordered in a low voice, “All cavalrymen, mount your horses and charge into the center of their camp with me. Foot soldiers, surround the area, make sure that not a single one of those five thousand soldiers leaves the premises!”

Han Yuan asked, “My lord, all of the soldiers in the Long Spear Unit are elites, and they’ve got twenty Dragon Crystal Cannons in their ranks. How are we going to do it?”

I replied simply, “We’ll ambush them, giving them no chance to prepare and we’ll take control of their cannons first!”

“Yes sir!”

……

Next, all of the soldiers rushed out from the brush. So that we wouldn’t attract too much attention, I decided to not activate my [Ice Wing]s and charged out on my horse. I led twenty thousand men charging into the camp. The most ridiculous part of this invasion was the fact that the enemy’s scouts only went a hundred meters out from their camp. What use was that!

“Who is it!?”

A few of the soldiers in the camp angrily shouted and charged at us with their spears in hand.

I held up my hand, revealing the badge of the General of the South and said, “The General of the South, Li Xiao Yao, is here for inspection. Put down your weapons, or else I will not be polite!”

The soldiers were all startled. There was just too much of a difference in our ranks and they didn’t dare pull any moves on me. One after another they put down their spears. Han Yuan immediately led a thousand men into the central camp. We immediately took control of the The Dragon Crystal Cannons that were lined up on both sides. There wasn’t a single person at the training grounds. Rather, the soldiers were scattered all throughout the camp, drinking and dallying around. I could even hear the playful shrieks of women in some of the tents. This Violent Thunder army really was wild. They indulged in their own greed and lust, which only fed into their wild nature and battle power. Despite that, a strong army is based off discipline and rules, not indulging on the wild behavior of its soldiers.

I raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword and ran straight over, shouting, “Lay down your weapons and surrender! Men, charge into the central tent with me!”

A group of Royal Army cavalrymen charged forth. A dozen or so guards stepped forward to block our path. Han Yuan didn’t hesitate for one moment and threw his long spear out. “Pu Chi!” he killed one of the Long Spear soldiers. The cavalrymen all raised their defenses. In the end, around a hundred of the Violent Thunder soldiers were killed. Han Yuan was enraged. That b*st*rd was a man who could not allow a single dust in his eye. How could he standby and watch military men be involved in evil acts?

“Control the central tent but do not kill anyone!” I shouted my orders.

A group of Royal Army soldiers switched over to longbows and stood guard while a unit of Barbarian Blade and Shield soldiers charged into the encampment. They stood before the archers with their heavy shields, not leaving a single crack in formation.

Han Yuan raised his blood spear and walked over, “Royal Army Commander, General of the South Li Xiao Yao wishes to see the lieutenant of the Long Spear Army Unit!”

Right then, an officer with a half tucked shirt and unkempt clothes walked out from the tent. His face was flushed, and it reeked of alcohol as the smell permeated through his clothing. He stumbled out of the tent, but the sight of dead men and horses seemed to have brought his consciousness back. His face green,he shouted, “The Royal Army? F*ckers, do you know that you’re in the Violent Thunder camp? You actually dare to trespass into the central encampment of the Long Spear Army? Li Xiao Yao, even if you are the General of the South, who the f*ck gave you permission to kill my soldiers and enter my territory?”

I smiled, “Surrender!”

Han Yuan walked over and bent over to pull out the sword at Yugo’s hip, “This sword, if it isn’t being used to kill bandits who threaten the livelihood of our citizens, is it being used to kill dogs?”

Yugo swayed a bit and he knocked over a frame of spears, “Royal Army! You actually dare, I...I will report you to my commander! You won’t get a single thing out of me!”

Right then, a few women suddenly ran out from the camp. All of them were wearing ragged clothes. One of them had an ashen expression. I could even see some blood on her clothing. Her face was streaked with tear marks. As though she were a frightened deer, she looked at all of the armed Royal Army soldiers and knelt to the ground, “Kill me…. Please kill me, I’d rather die than live on like a toy….”

I slid off my horse and said, “Miss, we aren’t part of the Violent Thunder Army, we’re the Royal Army. The Violent Thunder Army’s Long Spear Unit is without a doubt, guilty of all crimes. We have forced all of them to surrender. Miss, do not be afraid. Where are you from? I’ll take you home!”

The girl wept, “No, my father was already killed by your soldiers and my innocence was taken away by them. I have no family. I have no home to return to. All I want to do is die!”

Right then, Yugo let out a cold laugh, “B*tch, your husband is right here and you want to die? Or is it that you want to throw yourself into the embrace of the General of the South? B*tch, did you think I would let you go so easily?”

I roared back, “Shut your hole!”

Yugo’s expression twisted with malice. He suddenly pulled out the sword of a nearby Royal Army soldier and charged straight at the young girl’s back. I quickly threw out my Dragon Reservoir Sword with a [Blade Spin]. “Keng!” I parried Yugo’s blade. The young girl rammed into me and “Hua La!”, she leapt into my arms. She looked up and I could see fury and rage in her eyes, “You and him are the same! You are all beasts who feed on the flesh of us villagers. Let go of me!”

She struggled out of my arms and then ran backwards, only to be met with a pierce from Yugo!

“Pu Chi!”

Blood spurt forward and the blade of the halberd pierced through the young girl’s chest. Blood flowed like a river down the tip of the blade in her back.

I stood there in shock, unable to move. While it was a virtual human, the emotions I had were real. How could this young girl die right in front of me, while I was powerless?

“Keng!”

I pulled out my Zhen Yue Blade and activated my [Ice Wing]s and dashed right to the young girl’s side. “Pa Cha!” I cut off the hilt of the long halberd and rested my blade right against Yugo’s neck. At that moment, Han Yuan and the rest all came up to surround us. “Shua Shua!” several arrows were released, plunging their heads right into Yugo’s body.

“Kneel!”

Han Yuan kicked the back of Yugo’s legs, forcing him onto his knees. He looked over at me, “General, how do we deal with him?”

I didn’t say a word and walked right up to him with a slash. Blood spurt forth. Yugo was just a demi-BOSS. He was at critical health and this action was within the limits of the quest. I cut off his head with my Zhen Yue Blade and threw it into the distance.

When I turned around, the young girl held onto the rest of the halberd and knelt to the ground, looking at me. Her mouth twitched, as though she were smiling at me, but she couldn’t say a word. She closed her eyes and passed away.

……

Han Yuan threw a kick at Yugo’s body and said, “B*st*rd, this man is even worse than an animal!”

Xiao Lie walked over. He was much calmer than Han Yuan and he softly spoke to me, “Commander, killing Yugo is considered a criminal act and signifies infighting among the military ranks. If the higher ups decide to pursue this matter, then it’ll become a difficult matter to deal with. What do we do now?”

I looked over at the Violent Thunder soldiers that were all kneeling before us and said, “They disregarded the violent crimes that the Dragonling Army were committing against the villagers and actually dared to call themselves an army of the empire. Force them all to lay down their arms and move their equipment back to the Royal Army garrison. Afterwards, escort them as criminals back to Tian Ling City. Furthermore, bring evidence of their wrongdoings and their collusion with the Dragonling Army. We have to make the first move. Hopefully there’s still a chance for us to turn this around.”

Xiao Lie nodded, “Yup, seems like that’s all we can do for now!”