Chapter 1053

Fu Shanlie sneered. Before long, another gray owl flew over and cooed a few times at him.

"After the Zhao residence caught fire, no one sent a message to He Lingchuan's home?"

This was an emergency, and for Yuheng City, it was a major event. If He Lingchuan were still hiding in Yuheng City, someone should have tipped him off.

The two places Fu Shanlie had the bird demon watch were the ones He Lingchuan frequented most.

"I know his room is brightly lit!" He was a bit impatient; this owl was much dumber than its companion, "I'm just asking you, for the past two hours, his door hasn't been opened at all, right?"

"It was opened... but his female neighbor opening the door doesn't count!" Fu Shanlie frowned, "Did you actually see him in person?"

This time, the gray owl's answer was very direct: "No!"

"Good, good!" Fu Shanlie clapped his hands, "Go back and keep a close watch; report any clues immediately."

The gray owl flapped its wings and flew off into the distance.

But could this prove that He Lingchuan himself was not in Yuheng City? Fu Shanlie thought about it from all angles, but still felt uneasy.

He had to find a way to test him.

At this moment, another subordinate ran in from outside and leaned close to Fu Shanlie, whispering, "General, the Qiuhua Gang, the Longshan Gang, and four other gangs are mobilizing their men."

Fu Shanlie gave a grunt: "It seems it really is tonight."

The discipline of water bandits is far inferior to that of a regular army. If He Lingchuan wants to attack here, the last ones he would mobilize would be these soft-bellied turncoats of the Qiuhua Gang.

Conversely, once these former water bandits mobilize, it means He Lingchuan's attack is about to begin.

It seems that fellow really couldn't wait for the Emperor's Flowing Nectar to arrive before making his move.

In war, one attacks the strategy; He Lingchuan refused to jump into the trap he had laid.

Fortunately, fortunately he hadn't let He Lingchuan's past performance blind him, otherwise he would have lost everything tonight.

"What about the retreat route?"

"A portion of the Yuheng Army is suspected to have appeared at Suoxi; fortunately, our brothers had already left."

Suoxi is an important tributary entering Longchuan from Jin Tao. Yuheng City guarding this place is meant to cut off the retreat of the Xiji puppet army.

"What about their two military camps in the west and south of Longchuan?"

"Empty."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sky erupted in brilliance.

It wasn't that it suddenly turned bright, but that thousands of burning arrows were fired in a concentrated volley from outside, crossing the dense Demon-Devouring Forest and falling like raindrops into the Xiji puppet army's water fortress! Although the fortress buildings were made of locally sourced materials and were basically wooden structures, the Xiji puppet army had long ago obtained a special coating that was highly effective against fire.

This round of fire-rain attack looked aggressive, but few houses were ignited; instead, the surrounding forest suffered greatly.

Immediately following this, the sound of battle cries outside shook the heavens.

The fierce bandits rushed out of the water fortress one after another to guard the entry and exit passages.

The Xiji puppet army had already been isolated within Longchuan, and the surrounding residents' perception of them had turned sour. Furthermore, the forces of Yuheng City had long since infiltrated, and there was no longer any need for the Xiji puppet army to communicate with Longchuan.

After months of cultivation, the Xiji puppet army had built thick Demon-Devouring Tree walls around the edge of their territory, leaving only two entry and exit passages.

This peculiar tree species is a distant relative of the Demon-Devouring Vine, but it is a woody plant that can grow to three zhang in height and as thick as three people can embrace.

They can be interbred with Demon-Devouring Vines to form a vine-tree defensive wall about three zhang wide, with branches, leaves, and vines woven into a large net, exceptionally dense, so that not even a mouse could slip through.

Any creature that dares to approach will be mercilessly devoured by them.

These things are exceptionally hard and can resist fire themselves, serving the Xiji puppet army with great distinction in resisting the harassment attacks from the front of the Yuheng Army.

Yes, after the Yuheng Army took the initiative in Longchuan and occupied the advantages of terrain and human support, they harassed the Xiji puppet army's territory every few days. While He Lingchuan brought various teams over to train, he also made it impossible for the Xiji puppet army to have any peace.

No one knew when he would harass, when he would feign an attack, or when he would launch a full-scale assault, so the puppet army's nerves were stretched very tight.

If it weren't for this tree wall, their territory would have been lost long ago.

A Tawny Owl flew down from the sky and said to Fu Shanlie: "The enemy is attacking in two directions, the west entrance and the south entrance of the tree wall, with about a thousand men each."

"Adding the Suoxi in the north, that makes three routes of men." Fu Shanlie stroked his chin, "Where is He Lingchuan? Did you see him?"

"I saw him, commanding the front line at the west entrance!"

"Are you sure it's him?"

The Tawny Owl nodded vigorously: "I recognize his face and his battle armor!"

"Recognizing the armor isn't enough; we must be sure it's him in person."

Fu Shanlie rolled his eyes, stood up, and walked outside.

On the west side of the Demon-Devouring Vine wall, the Yuheng City army was fighting for the entry and exit passage.

A loud shout suddenly rang out on the battlefield: "Fu Shanlie is here! He Lingchuan, do you dare to come out and see me?"

Fu Shanlie suddenly appeared and killed several Yuheng soldiers in succession.

Under his leadership, the puppet army pushed back another two zhang, regaining control of the passage.

He used his true power, and his whistling sound echoed above the dense forest, even drowning out the sounds of fighting.

Fu Shanlie shouted three times.

Being challenged to his face like this, if the opposing leader were in the army, he would likely come out.

Sure enough, the Yuheng Army soon parted from the middle, and several riders galloped over; the general at the very front was none other than He Lingchuan.

The fighting across the field stopped temporarily. He looked at Fu Shanlie in the middle of the passage, expressionless: "Why, do you want to make a deathbed confession?"

Fu Shanlie laughed: "We've been fighting for almost a year, but until tonight's decisive battle, neither of us has ever had a drink together; it's truly a bit of a regret."

For him, as a Beijia general, to say such things was already high praise for the commander of this small frontier city of He Lingchuan's.

The Beijia people are so proud, and Fu Shanlie is a leader among them; he considers that there are few people in Beijia who could force him to this point.

"Fine, I'll satisfy you." He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, jumped off his horse, grabbed a wine gourd from his storage ring, and shook it at him.

Seeing this, Fu Shanlie also took out a silver pot.

The two leaders stood facing each other, less than five zhang apart.

Behind them were the two armies in a standoff, with strict battle lines, their blades and spears flashing with cold light under the reflection of torches.

Fu Shanlie sighed: "If you were born in Beijia, you would be a tiger general with a limitless future. It's a pity, you're stuck in this hopeless place."

He Lingchuan smiled: "So your greatest wish is just to become a Great General of Lingxu and continue being a dog for the Heavenly God?"

Fu Shanlie gave a hum: "What do you know? I am loyal to Beijia."

"Isn't it the Heavenly God?" He Lingchuan also sighed inwardly at how strange fate is.

Fu Shanlie's temperament was indeed similar to Fu Shanyue's. Or rather, Fu Shanyue inherited his temper.

Fu Shanlie didn't pick up on that, but just raised the silver pot to him: "Come, I'll toast you a pot. Regardless of victory or defeat after tonight, you are a worthy opponent."

He Lingchuan raised his gourd, toasted him across the air, and both tilted their heads to drink it dry, then turned the wine vessels upside down.

Sure enough, not a drop remained.

"Shall we fight?"

"Let's fight!"

He Lingchuan remounted his horse, Fu Shanlie stepped back a few paces, and both raised their arms and waved forward: "Charge!"

The armies on both sides rushed forward in unison, crashing together like a tidal wave.

After Fu Shanlie retreated to the water fortress, he instructed several of his generals, "Guard this place well."

"Don't worry, General." These men were all brought by him from Beijia, and they were loyal and devoted.

Having said this, Fu Shanlie returned to his own residence.

Most of the wooden houses in the water fortress were built on the lake, and his house was no exception.

Fu Shanlie pulled up a board from the floor, revealing a hole three feet square, with rippling water beneath it.

He jumped into the water and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He Lingchuan had indeed gone to the Longchuan front line in person; he had confirmed it with his own eyes.

Then, the next step of the operation could begin.

The attack on the puppet army's water fortress began again.

Soldiers surged past He Lingchuan like a tide, charging forward.

As the commander-in-chief, he only needed to sit in the rear and devise strategies. Longchuan looked particularly chaotic tonight, with soldiers everywhere and torches burning the sky; almost all the former bandit gangs in Longchuan had received orders from the Grand Commander to participate in the Yuheng Army's operation to suppress the puppets.

Yuheng City had made up its mind to achieve success in one battle tonight.

Messengers frequently entered and exited the brightly lit main tent like worker ants, and the nearby troop movements were orderly.

Two small teams were smearing black ointment on their bodies; this stuff was sticky and greasy, and had a pungent odor that couldn't be washed off with clear water, requiring a special cleaning agent. But the captain demanded that his men smear it all over their bodies, leaving no blind spots.

This stuff was a new invention by the alchemists of Panlongcheng. Although the Demon-Devouring Trees are domineering toward outsiders, they themselves are also prone to insect pests and likewise need private doctors, which are the small creatures known as "Mud Moles."

Mud Moles can enter and exit the Demon-Devouring Forest without being attacked by them.

The camouflage potion refined by the alchemists of Panlongcheng was meant to simulate the ointment on the Mud Moles, while simultaneously blocking the human scent, allowing humans to deceive the Demon-Devouring Forest as well.

Unfortunately, the dosage was limited and could not be distributed on a large scale.

The two teams sneaking in were there to carry out sabotage behind enemy lines.

Inside and outside the Demon-Devouring Tree wall, the fighting was fierce, and no one noticed that after a messenger came out of the main tent, he followed the flow of the crowd through the melee, quietly slipping into the dim forest.

A magnificent Bo-beast had long been waiting outside the forest.

On the battlefield, the torches were scorching the sky, making the surroundings appear even more desolate and dark. No one noticed this black-robed, masked fellow slip through the forest, mount the Bo-beast, and under the cover of the night and tree shadows, fly rapidly toward the north!

This man and horse were very familiar with the terrain; he even dared to stick a Speed Talisman onto the Bo-beast's neck in the dim and changeable environment, borrowing the wind to run even faster.

Even if other animals and monsters were sleeping in the forest, they had just been awakened by the sound of hooves, and this rider and horse had already gone far away, leaving only a blurred silhouette.

Every breath and every moment that followed was precious.

He was racing against time, and time was life, time was victory or defeat.

Before long, he drove onto the official road.

People traveling at night were few and far between, so what was strange about one more? After the Longchuan water bandits became road managers, they had truly put in the effort to maintain the official road well, and the current trade route was much easier to travel than a few months ago, so the Bo-beast's speed was increased again and again.

Moreover, there was another advantage to taking the official road: Fu Shanlie's eyes and ears rarely watched the official road.

Before half the road was covered, there was another bird figure ahead, flapping its wings and descending toward him, its posture exceptionally vigorous.

The Peregrine Falcon had arrived.

(End of chapter)