Chapter 555: Cai Qiuhu’s Wrath—Every Tree and Bush Feels Like an Enemy |
The Bone-Erosion Path stretches over a hundred kilometers from south to north.
If this were within Caiqiu's territory, with the entire journey on official roads, then even an army of one hundred and fifty thousand could probably traverse it in just two hours.
But this place was not!
The Bone-Erosion Path didn't have a single meter of official road. Moreover, due to years of erosion by fiendish winds, the temperature was extremely low and the terrain exceptionally complex. With fewer people, moving through it wouldn't have much impact, but with so many people, the situation became complicated.
Not to mention, the Caiqiu army returning this time numbered a full one hundred and fifty thousand.
"When we marched from north to south, it took over four hours. Now, returning along the same route, even with us urging them the whole way, it still took nearly three hours. After so long without war, the military preparedness of the feudal towns has deteriorated to such an extent!"
At the northern side of the Bone-Erosion Path, roughly five kilometers from the exit, Cai Qiuhu sped northward, cutting through the wind. He glanced back at the massive army behind him, his pupils filled with furious disappointment.
Dozens of Caiqiu generals followed behind him. Hearing his words, they immediately lowered their heads.
Caiqiu had endured for nearly three hundred years, with its army established for at least over a hundred. Naturally, they had placed importance on marching speed from very early on.
But under normal combat conditions, army sizes were generally fixed. Besides, if you had more people and supplies, so did the enemy. Over centuries, the Four Feudatories had fought each other numerous times, so there was a basic consensus on marching speeds.
In the perception of everyone in Mo'ao Chuan, the quality of the Four Feudatories' armies was largely similar. Generally speaking, an army below ten thousand strong could cover about 120 kilometers in an hour.
The more people, the slower the speed. For forces above fifty thousand, the marching speed would drop by about twenty-five percent, to roughly 90 kilometers per hour; above one hundred thousand, it was even slower, around 70 kilometers per hour. As for armies exceeding two hundred thousand, the Four Feudatories had never mobilized forces on such a scale in all their wars to date, so no one knew.
Of course, this referred to situations where they were traveling on feudal town official roads.
On non-official roads, marching speed would slow by at least 1.5 times. An army below ten thousand could travel less than 50 kilometers in an hour.
The situation in the Bone-Erosion Path was even more complex, so this speed would decrease further. But no matter what, it shouldn't have taken over four hours.
When the army marched south, taking over four hours, Fang Bo Cai Qianshan's expression had already turned very unpleasant. They had all been present then, seeing it clearly.
Now, this was the return journey. In other words, the army had already traversed the Bone-Erosion Path once before; it wasn't unfamiliar territory anymore. Yet, even with them urging the troops the whole way, it still took nearly three hours.
That's right. From their defeat at the southern exit until now, they had been marching for nearly three hours. Currently, they were still five kilometers from the exit.
Given this marching speed, Cai Qiuhu's use of the phrase "military preparedness has deteriorated" to describe the army's current state was absolutely not an exaggeration.
"Having just suffered a defeat, morale is too low; that probably has an impact as well. Little Fang Bo, you need not worry excessively. A great victory awaits us at the northern exit. Once we slaughter that bunch of rebels and revive our morale, we will surely be able to repel the Xia troops within the valley!"
A nearby armored general hurriedly spoke up to console him.
He had to speak. Cai Qiuhu was the Little Fang Bo. His words, to some extent, served as a wind vane. Once the label of "deteriorated military preparedness" was firmly established, the entire army would probably start undergoing rectification immediately.
"That's right. The army has just been defeated; it's normal for the soldiers to lack drive."
"The strength of the feudal town army is still beyond doubt. During the previous six attempts to break through the pass, we almost succeeded in the end. Our overall losses in this battle aren't significant. Once we regroup, we can march south to campaign again."
"We can afford to lose many times, but Great Xia cannot afford to lose even once. Great Xia is merely a minor irritant. Little Fang Bo, you needn't worry. The urgent matter at hand is Chencang!"
………………
The other generals, catching on, immediately chimed in agreement.
"Fools, fools, fools... this bunch of fools..."
Little did they know, Cai Qiuhu at the front, hearing the generals' words, was inwardly cursing them repeatedly as fools. His face even faintly flushed red, clearly having reached the peak of anger.
How could he not be furious?
Back in the central section of the Bone-Erosion Path, he had spoken so plainly.
The rebellion in Evergreen Valley, Chencang's troops surrounding Linchu—there was an extremely high probability both were connected to Great Xia. Linking these three together, anyone with a bit of brains could see that Great Xia was no simple matter.
Yet, even now, these people still looked down on Great Xia, considering it nothing more than a minor irritant!
"The feudal towns have enjoyed peace for too long. Deteriorated military preparedness is secondary. The real, most fatal problem is that from top to bottom, they've grown arrogant, extravagant, depraved, and pleasure-seeking, having lost all fighting spirit and will!"
Last night after the defeat, while the army was retreating, they received the plea for aid from Linchu County. Before leaving, Father Cai Qianshan said these words to him.
At the time, Cai Qiuhu had been somewhat dismissive in his heart, thinking it was just Father, having suffered a major defeat and hearing the news of Chencang attacking Linchu, speaking out of extreme panic and alarm.
But recalling the pathetic performance of the one hundred and fifty thousand strong army on the return march, and seeing the arrogant, disdainful attitudes of these commanding generals around him, he truly realized that Father's words were probably correct.
Caiqiu was situated in the middle of Mo'ao Chuan, firmly surrounded by the other three feudatories and the Mo'ao Mountain range to the south—a natural battleground on all four sides. When the various feudatories focused on outward expansion, Caiqiu still couldn't find peace. Now, after so many years, the three other feudatories had basically expanded into all the territories they could. Who their next target would be had become quite clear with Chencang's current move.
Could Caiqiu, having enjoyed peace for so long, withstand the fierce onslaught of the three other feudatories?
A shadow fell over Cai Qiuhu's brow. Just as he was about to continue speeding forward, several figures arrived one after another.
"Reporting to Little Fang Bo, the northern exit is full of pits. The pits are filled with burning coal stones. The great fire stretches for two kilometers. Not a single gap has been left in the entire exit. Outside the exit, there are at least over one hundred thousand laborers blocking the way."
"Reporting to Little Fang Bo, all the trees in the area one kilometer ahead have been cut down by the rebels. They are piled up haphazardly in the woods, at least thirty meters high. They are still continuously felling trees and piling them up on the periphery, and they have filled the piles with a large amount of wood chips, dry branches, and flammable coal dust. It looks like they intend to set a fire to cut us off."
"Reporting to Little Fang Bo, the personnel of the Evergreen Valley temporary Administration Office can no longer be contacted. The office building is littered with corpses; everyone inside has been slaughtered by the rebels. When we approached the airspace above the rebel main camp, we encountered City Lord Cai. He went to negotiate peace with the rebels. The result probably wasn't good. He said the Prefectural Guard Army from Qinghua City is rushing here, but it will take at least..."
Naturally, scouts had to be sent out ahead during the march. Although Father Cai Qianshan had taken all the Tribulation Body Realm experts with him, Cai Qiuhu still had quite a few Sun Manifestation Level experts under his command. Worried that Great Xia and the rebels might have backup plans, he didn't dare stray too far from the main army. However, he could still send Sun Manifestation Level experts ahead to scout the situation.
Those now reporting back were precisely the scouts he had sent ahead earlier.
Three pieces of news in a row made Cai Qiuhu's temples throb violently, his heart trembling uncontrollably. Seeing the last person hesitating and not finishing his sentence, he roared angrily, "Are you mute? At least how much longer? Speak quickly!"
The man was startled and hurriedly replied, "Two hours."
"Ah..."
Cai Qiuhu let out an angry shout, his pupils almost seeming to spit fire.
If Cai Yunzhou were present right now, he truly could have killed him with a single palm strike.
This was really troublesome now!
Cutting down trees to block the road, digging pits to set fires, and everyone blocking the northern exit—were these things a bunch of mud-legged peasants from Evergreen Valley capable of doing?
Clearly, someone was behind the rebels, giving them advice!
Then consider Cai Yunzhou, the City Lord of Qinghua City. Nearly half a night had passed since the Evergreen Valley rebellion began, yet his reaction time was so slow. The Prefectural Guard Army still needed two hours to arrive.
"Negotiation? What did he achieve? How many rebels are there total? Who's leading them? Are there any Tribulation Body Realm experts? Did he figure any of that out?"
Cai Qiuhu cursed angrily. Seeing the man's evasive eyes, he immediately realized Cai Yunzhou's negotiation had achieved nothing. A surge of perverse anger instantly rose in his chest, and his entire expression twisted somewhat.
After all, Xia Hong had already been injured by Father. As for the Great Xia side, as long as they didn't let the one hundred thousand Xia troops catch up, the problem wasn't major. The core reason he didn't dare stray too far from the main army was that he knew too little about the rebels at the northern exit.
The rebels' strength was, of course, not worth considering. But whether there were any Tribulation Body Realm experts among them, how many Sun Manifestation Level experts they had—he currently had no idea, feeling inherently uneasy. Hearing the scout say the rebels were cutting trees to block the road and digging pits for fires made him even more apprehensive.
If Cai Yunzhou's negotiation with the rebels could have solved the problem, that would have been fine. Even if it just made the rebels retreat temporarily would have been acceptable. But it achieved nothing, not even managing to uncover the rebels' true situation.
How could this not make him furious?
"Little Fang Bo, given the circumstances, we can only grit our teeth and advance. Piles of dry trees and branches, pits and great fires—they may seem methodical, but that precisely indicates the rebels are at their wits' end. If they truly had confidence in blocking us, they wouldn't need to use these methods at all. This subordinate will lead a small elite force to clear the roadblocks and fires first!"
Suddenly, a burly middle-aged man from behind volunteered and requested orders.
Cai Qiuhu turned and saw the speaker, the rage in his chest immediately subsiding a little.
Zhu Fang, the direct clan nephew of eldest disciple Zhu Huorong. Sun Manifestation Level cultivation. Although his strength was only 18 Jun, he had mastered an evil wind trickery technique, which would be most suitable for clearing the roadblocks set up by the rebels.
However...
Cai Qiuhu first looked back toward the south, then gazed into the distance toward the northern exit direction. A shadow flashed in his eyes as he said solemnly, "Great Xia's marching speed isn't fast; they'll probably need another half hour to catch up to us. No need to be so hasty. First, select five thousand elites. I will personally lead them in a forced march forward to clear the roadblocks..."
He was truly afraid!
Such a large-scale rebellion in Evergreen Valley was either orchestrated by Chencang or Great Xia. Whichever it was, he couldn't believe they would dare try to intercept them relying solely on these over one hundred thousand Digging Realm rebels.
The rebels must have a backup plan. Sending Zhu Fang with a small elite team, he really wasn't at ease. He had to go personally.
"My lord, the main force is more important. Who knows if Great Xia..."
"Enough talk. It's not like the main army won't be moving. The five thousand elites will advance rapidly. The distance between the two forces will be at most two or three kilometers. If the Xia army truly has any backup plans, I can react in time. The urgent task is to clear the roadblocks and deal with the rebels at the exit."
Seeing the others try to dissuade him, Cai Qiuhu directly waved his hand to cut them off. Then he turned and signaled to Zhu Fang with his eyes.
Zhu Fang said no more and immediately went down to select the troops.
Although they had just suffered a major defeat, the strength of the one hundred and fifty thousand remaining troops was right here. The five thousand elites selected from among them were even more needless to say, their strength almost all above 20 Zong.
It took less than two hundred breaths before and after to prepare the five thousand elites.
"Full speed march! Use the fastest speed to reach the northern valley mouth!"
Cai Qiuhu wasted no words, directly giving the order to advance. He then named over thirty Sun Manifestation Level experts and led them flying northward first.
After flying less than one kilometer north, Cai Qiuhu saw the roadblock formed by the trees piled up by the rebels.
And now, it wasn't just a roadblock anymore.
Boom………………
The ground inside the valley mouth was already covered in flames. The fire stretched for at least over ten kilometers left and right. When Cai Qiuhu and his group looked north, they couldn't even find the source of the firelight.
"This bunch of rebels is really ruthless!"
"Such a large area of land, and they just set it on fire..."
…………
A sea of fire spanning hundreds of square kilometers still looked quite intimidating. Although they were just ordinary flames, the Caiqiu group, including their leader Cai Qiuhu at this moment, couldn't help but show signs of shock on their faces.
"Zhu Fang, use your technique to clear away the trees piled on the road. Just clear a single path!"
Zhu Fang's trickery techniques weren't omnipotent. If it were just a normal few hundred meters of roadblock, he could blow it away easily. But the roadblock before them stretched three or four kilometers north to south, not to mention its lateral width.
Moreover, Cai Qiuhu saw clearly that within the sea of fire, many large trees were collapsing one after another as they burned. The density of the roadblock was becoming increasingly exaggerated, and the flames were growing more intense.
Expecting Zhu Fang to clear all the roadblocks was certainly impossible.
They could only try to clear a single path first for the army to pass through!
"This subordinate obeys!"
Zhu Fang immediately cupped his hands in acknowledgment, leaped into the air, and stood suspended at the very front of the five thousand elites.
Then, an unnatural bluish-green color crept onto his cheeks, and a round bulge roughly an inch in diameter slowly swelled in his throat.
That bulging object obviously emerged from within his body. It traveled to his throat, then up into his mouth, and finally, under Zhu Fang's control, slowly floated out from between his lips. It was actually a bluish-green spirit pearl.
The spirit pearl flew out and hovered three inches in front of his mouth.
Seeing the bluish-green spirit pearl appear, Zhu Fang opened his mouth and took a deep, forceful breath. His chest cavity rose high. Only when his face turned red did he slowly exhale.
Huu………………
Originally just an ordinary exhalation, but the air he had just inhaled, after passing through the bluish-green spirit pearl, suddenly transformed into a bluish-green air vortex. The vortex started only fist-thick. After flying forward a few meters, it instantly expanded to several meters, then tens of meters, then hundreds of meters.
Boom………………
After traveling over a hundred meters from the bluish-green spirit pearl, the vortex transformed into a horizontally charging bluish-green tornado.
In an instant, flames erupted ahead. The tree roadblocks along the way instantly shattered into pieces and, along with the flames, were swept away completely, scattering in disarray either to the sides or upward into the air. The momentum was extremely astonishing.
"The rebels' preparation time probably wasn't long. The large area behind hasn't caught fire yet. Have the five thousand elites follow General Zhu forward. Once we see the valley mouth, everything will be fine."
"A few roadblocks wanting to stop us? A fool's dream."
"Evergreen Valley, what kind of rebels could emerge from there? Little Fang Bo, let's advance directly!"
…………
Seeing a path appear within the sea of fire, everyone's expressions immediately relaxed considerably. They turned their heads one after another to seek instructions from Cai Qiuhu.
Indeed, the rebels must have spent considerable effort creating this sea of fire and roadblocks. But before these powerful experts of theirs, it simply wasn't enough to look at.
A single trickery technique could break it in an instant.
"Don't be careless. Have the five thousand troops slow their advance. Zhu Fang, you continue clearing the roadblocks. The rest of you, disperse to both sides to check the situation. Be careful in case the rebels have any other ambushes!"
However, faced with everyone's requests for instructions, Cai Qiuhu remained exceptionally calm. He didn't rashly order the five thousand elites to accelerate their advance. Instead, he first issued some deployments, and only then did he lead the remaining ten or so people to fly northward.
On one hand, he was truly afraid;
On the other hand, another major defeat, and his remaining one hundred and fifty thousand troops would truly be finished.
The situation in Linchu County was still unknown. If something happened to these one hundred and fifty thousand troops, allowing the one hundred thousand Xia troops to enter Evergreen Valley from the Bone-Erosion Path, even Qinghua City might not be able to be held.
In that case, would Caiqiu have a future?
He had to be cautious, absolutely must be cautious!
Cai Qiuhu's face was full of gravity. Leading the group, he deliberately slowed their speed. While investigating ahead, he also doubly guarded against the surrounding situation.
"Seeing soldiers in every blade of grass"—at this moment, this phrase perfectly described Cai Qiuhu's state!