Chapter 1077: Eight-Zhang Cliff

Siwen Wang followed beside Zhu Xiuer, its small eyes constantly glancing at the human on her forehead.

Monsters with dignity would not let other creatures step on their heads, as if they were someone's mount.

Siwen Wang knew a little about Zhu Xiuer's origin; it thought this Zhu Xiuer was also an arrogant ancient monster immortal, so how could she be so obedient to a human? What was so great about this "Island Master"? It was secretly calculating in its heart, while He Lingchuan asked about the situation in the Demon Nest Swamp.

As soon as the Demon Nest Swamp was mentioned, Siwen Wang felt very aggrieved.

It turned out that after the Tiangong upheaval, Beijia soon found out Zhu Xiuer's habitat. Before long, the peace that the Demon Nest Swamp had maintained for over a hundred years was shattered by the invading Beijia army! Of course, Zhu Xiuer had long since moved with her children and grandchildren. And the swamp monsters who refused to leave couldn't hold on for a few rounds in the Beijia army's attack.

The Northern Monster Nation didn't show any mercy to these wild monsters.

By the time the Beijia army figured out that they really didn't know Zhu Xiuer's whereabouts, the wild monsters had also suffered more than half casualties, and even Siwen Wang was seriously injured.

The monster army possessing Yuan power was truly their natural nemesis.

However, what really forced Siwen Wang to make up its mind to leave the Demon Nest Swamp was the "Mountain Wild Order" issued by Beijia to the mountain monsters and wild beasts around it.

In the past, they were free and unfettered, occupying mountains as kings, and Beijia was too lazy to bother with them.

But ever since the Lingxu City incident, no one knew which nerve of the Monster Emperor was touched, but he actually issued a "Mountain Wild Order," requiring the mountain monsters and wild beasts around Beijia to surrender to the Northern Monster Nation immediately and be incorporated into the jurisdiction of the territory, and those who disobeyed would be killed!

Once this order was issued, the Beijia army began to sweep everywhere. Mountain monsters and wild beasts died, fled, or surrendered, and the area around Beijia was in chaos for a full year, and it hadn't been completely cleared until now.

The life of monsters living in peace with the world was gone forever.

The more Siwen Wang thought about it, the angrier it got, snorting directly at Zhu Xiuer: "It's all because of you!"

It still had a big scar on its butt, but it was covered by mud armor.

"It can't be all blamed on Xiuer." He Lingchuan said with his eyes open.

Of course, this matter had to be blamed on Zhu Xiuer... and him! It was they who caused the Tiangong to lose its divine object and Beijia to lose face. After the incident, the other side reflected on it and found that their control over mountain monsters and wild beasts was too loose, which led to the Tiangong upheaval, so they decided to eliminate the hidden dangers once and for all.

He asked this giant pig monster: "You know Beijia is fighting the Mou Nation, right?"

Siwen Wang rolled its eyes: "Who doesn't know?" It really thought it was ill-informed? "Beijia hasn't met an opponent for a long time; if it doesn't clear out these unstable factors around it, it won't be at ease." He Lingchuan said solemnly. "This isn't the first time Beijia has done this; it has also combed through the mountain monsters and wild beasts around it before, and then it will sharpen its weapons. This is preparation for a protracted war. The Mou Nation and Baili think it will stop soon, which is probably a misjudgment!"

Before fighting a big and hard battle, one must first clear away the troubles around oneself, lest one be taken advantage of by the enemy later.

Siwen Wang was unhappy: "So the Demon Nest Swamp can't be stayed in, what a pity."

Was it so difficult for it, as a scattered monster, to live a comfortable and carefree life? "Not a pity." He Lingchuan smiled. "This place is particularly rich in products, a hundred times better than the Demon Nest Swamp."

Siwen Wang snorted, but didn't refute. It had eyes to see for itself, and the further east it went, the more satisfied it was.

Large areas of mountain land in the eastern part of Pansi Island were occupied by bamboo, parasol trees, and bushes. Wild boars were experts at digging bamboo shoots; before the tips of the shoots even emerged from the ground, they were the crispest and tenderest, and they could dig them out to eat.

It was already summer, and the shaded trees and grass were covered with colorful mushrooms; the wild boars snorted with joy as soon as they saw them. There were several kinds of red and green mushrooms here, and eating them would make them high, making them happy all day long.

Water-red sheep-milk fruits and blue-purple wild grapes were already hanging in clusters.

He Lingchuan also casually picked a few strings of kiwi fruits, which looked like small potatoes, and threw them to the wild boars; the taste was sour and sweet, exploding with juice in one bite.

Along the water, there were several rotten mud pits by the stream, which were just the right places for wild boars to play in mud baths.

There were weathered rock caves everywhere, which could provide shelter for the new owners.

After eating the illusion mushrooms, and then soaking in a mud bath in the rotten mud pit for a day, this life was just too refreshing. Siwen Wang was extremely satisfied in its heart, but it still had to say: "This place, hmm, is just passable!"

Zhu Xiuer stood still, and He Lingchuan smiled: "Let's talk about the conditions."

He was the Island Master, and his island was not for entry without conditions.

Although Siwen Wang was a wild monster, it also understood a little about human social nuances, especially when the spider sisters were standing on its left and right.

After some bargaining, both sides agreed that Siwen Wang and its descendants could occupy the eastern part as a lair, with the territory area accounting for about one-fifth of the entire Pansi Island.

If there were conflicts between the monster clans on the island, He Lingchuan would mediate.

In return for the landlord's generosity, the wild boar monsters would guard their home and fight in coordination.

All monsters on the island had to look out for each other, which went without saying. Only when I am for everyone can everyone be for me.

Siwen Wang traveled over ten thousand miles of water to get here, starving itself thin by two circles, all for the sake of safety.

In addition, if He Lingchuan went to war with external forces, the wild boar monsters had to take their descendants to kill the enemy.

This was the obligation of all monsters on the island; Siwen Wang had slight objections, but hearing that Zhu Xiuer and Zhu Xiuer couldn't be exceptions, it thought about it and agreed. Anyway, few large animals were more prolific than wild boars.

Other details would not be stated.

When He Lingchuan left Pansi Island, his mood was quite pleasant.

The more big monsters that entered the island, the safer the spider sisters would be, and the stronger the high-end combat power of the Yangshan Archipelago would be.

In terms of single combat, Siwen Wang was not as good as the ancient spider monster, but this large group of giant wild boars wrapped in mud armor, as long as they were used well, had considerable lethality on the battlefield.

￥￥￥￥￥

When Lu Feiyan, the sixth Lu son's daughter, came to find He Lingchuan, she was told that Island Master He had gone to inspect the new recruit trial.

"What is the new recruit trial? Is it a selection test?" Baili's army didn't just grab strong men indiscriminately; there were also entry tests, screening soldiers from aspects of height, weight, and combat experience.

"You're early, the guard force's confrontation exercise is in the afternoon." The one receiving her was Lei Ni: "Tests are tests, trials are trials. Only after new recruits pass this trial can they join the Yangshan Archipelago Guard Force."

Lu Feiyan came early on purpose, and as soon as she heard it, she was curious: "Take me to see it?"

The Island Master had given instructions early on, and Lei Ni nodded immediately: "Please follow me to board the ship to Xiaoxu Island."

Xiaoxu Island was very small, not included in the regular forty-two islands of the archipelago, and was designated as a restricted area, only allowing the guard force to be stationed there, and even the long-term residents of the Yangshan Archipelago were forbidden from landing on the island.

Occasionally, Earthly Yin Qi emerged from the sea, but they were all lazy and had no aggressiveness, merely looking at the people on the ship twice, and then swimming with the ship for a long time.

Lu Feiyan was very curious; she had never seen Earthly Yin Qi coexist peacefully with humans.

"How on earth did Island Master He tame them?"

"Miss Lu is joking, how can such things be tamed?" Lei Ni smiled. "It's not easy to find a way to coexist peacefully with them."

Lu Feiyan tilted her head: "I heard when I returned to Qu City that these Earthly Yin Qi even taught the Shipping Department a lesson."

She heard more than just that.

"Blade Harbor and the Shipping Department have been taught a lesson by the Earthly Yin Qi more than once." Lei Ni sighed softly. "Several months ago, the Earthly Yin Qi attacked Suoding Island. My father and I were at the supply pier on the island at that time, and we hid in the cellar when we heard the strange noise, only daring to come out the next morning."

The two women chatted, not realizing the ship had reached Xiaoxu Island.

Approaching Xiaoxu Island, Lu Feiyan knew why no one lived here: the coast was all reefs and high cliffs, and there was only one beach where ships could land. The mountain peaks on the island were straight and sharp, facing each other. Lei Ni said that this scene was like the mouth of a baleen whale, hence the name Xiaoxu Island.

She led Lu Feiyan to climb high and low, bypassing more than half of the mountain, before pointing forward: "Here we are, they are just ahead!"

Ahead was a large open space, or to be precise, a platform protruding over the sea.

Now there were more than three hundred men on the platform, all lining up to...

Jump off a cliff?

Lei Ni explained at the right time: "This place is called Eight-Zhang Cliff, and the drop from the cliff to the sea surface is exactly eight zhang. Jumping down from here and swimming back safely counts as passing the new recruit trial, and you can eat military rations openly in the future."

The pay of the Yangshan Guard Force was considerable, and the free food was good—high-risk and high-reward professions were generally like this—and the strong laborers who came to the island all wanted to join.

Since they were already here, why not try? At least mix in some extra oil and water for themselves, and earn more money and goods for their families.

But He Lingchuan had his own set of screening methods, and as the number of guard forces increased, the standards were raised higher and higher.

Standards, after all, were meant for screening people.

Lu Feiyan couldn't help but say: "Your Island Master really knows how to play!"

She had never heard of a new recruit test doing this! But thinking back, courage and bravery were indeed the qualities of soldiers most valued by a general; not being strong enough could be trained, not being obedient enough could be polished, and not being skilled enough could be honed.

But if you didn't have the courage, you weren't suitable for this bowl of military rice.

Some people were just born timid, and what erupted in a critical moment was not courage, but fear.

"These new recruits have already passed other tests, such as endurance, speed, and reaction, and the last hurdle is to come to Eight-Zhang Cliff to test their courage."

Lu Feiyan asked: "Have you jumped?"

Lei Ni shook her head and said honestly: "I don't dare."

She was a civilian staff member, so she didn't have to risk her life like this.

He Lingchuan walked over from the crowd, smiling: "Miss Lu is early, have you eaten?"

"I ate on Suoding Island." Lu Feiyan looked at the new recruits, hmm, their build was not bad, at least they all had muscles. It seemed He Lingchuan's requirements for selecting soldiers were not low.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1078 =====