Chapter 2036: Luofeng Pond

He Lingchuan knew that Nan Ronghe was politely asking for help, so he casually assigned someone:

"Bai Bu, you take people to Luofeng Pond and assist Nan Ronghe in capturing the monster."

Bai Bu was one of the leaders of the Dragon God Guard, originally from the Hook Sickle Unit of the Black Armor Army, doing the work of scaling walls and rooftops during sieges; his agility surpassed that of ordinary Black Armor soldiers, and his ability to respond to sudden situations was also stronger.

"Yes." Bai Bu stepped forward, leading five hundred soldiers, and followed the Nan Rong household guards away.

After settling this matter, He Lingchuan continued to handle official duties.

Three hours later.

The moonlight sank westward, and suddenly a brown-feathered night owl flew in, hooting as it landed on the post inside the tent:

"Emergency report, emergency report!"

Luo Xie casually took the small bamboo tube it spat out, pulled out the slip inside, and upon seeing it, his pupils shrank.

"My lord!"

He Lingchuan took it and looked, his brows furrowed tightly:

This emergency report came from Luofeng Pond; Bai Bu, during the process of capturing the monster, encountered harm and died!

The five hundred soldiers he led also suffered over a hundred casualties.

However, before dying, he also severely wounded one monster; the crowd joined forces to drag it out of the cave, intending to use it to lure out its companions.

As of sending the message, the other monster had not yet been captured.

Nan Ronghe sent a message asking whether they should first send this monster back to the camp, while they continued pursuing the other one.

The two monsters were one large and one small; they had captured the small one. The large one was even more ferocious.

Luofeng Pond is over fifty li from here; sending the monster back might encounter obstacles on the way. If it escaped, all previous efforts would be wasted.

Moreover, there is still one monster inside the cave.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, stepped out of the big tent, and arranged several military affairs.

In the days before the battle, the army was in utter chaos.

Before he had walked a few steps, he encountered the idle Puto Elder strolling aimlessly.

"Where are you going, where are you going?" The old ox swayed its tail as it approached, "I'm bored to death."

The entire army, up and down, was in pre-battle tension and excitement; those who should drill were drilling hard, those who should prepare were preparing hard, those who should transport were transporting hard, all bustling with fervor, while this old ox had instead become idle. It didn't need to drill, and these two days there was no battle, so it wandered east and west, chewed a few tender sprouts, and pulled a few radishes from the cook, leaving it with nothing to do.

"Hasn't Elder Liu arrived yet? Why don't you two catch up?"

Liu Qingdao is a great immortal of the Phantom Sect, usually in seclusion in Duo City. But since the great battle between the Dragon God Army and the Yao Kingdom is approaching, he couldn't possibly continue hiding in the cave; even if he didn't act, shielding the formation would do, and he clearly understood why He Lingchuan had absorbed the Phantom Sect. As a top-tier combatant, he absolutely could not miss this destined battle that would be recorded in history.

The old ox pouted: "My senior brother exchanged a few words with me, then went to settle in the cave behind the waterfall; who has time to bother with me?"

He can compress his own cultivation to walk among mortals like Zhu Xiuer; Liu Qingdao's cultivation is above his, but he lacks this talent, so upon arrival he had to arrange a place to rest and recuperate.

The spiritual energy density in the mortal realm rose rapidly, but compared to the overturned sea before the great battle, the difference was still quite large.

He Lingchuan also understood Liu Qingdao's situation, so he said: "Monsters have appeared in Luofeng Pond, they speak the Demon Tongue, and have injured many of our people. I must now rush there."

In this camp now, there are many talents, but only those who know how to fight; how many can understand the Demon Tongue?

To interrogate the monster, he must go himself.

Upon hearing this, the Puto Elder became interested: "They speak the Demon Tongue? Good, good, I'll go take a look too!"

As an ancient immortal, he naturally masters the Demon Tongue.

Afterwards, He Lingchuan set out with the old ox and fifteen hundred elite cavalry, rushing toward Luofeng Pond.

Capturing two monsters doesn't require hundreds of thousands of troops, but now his entourage is grand, often numbering over a thousand attendants. In the past, two hundred would have been the maximum.

On this march from the camp, they encountered imperial nectar, but only a light drizzle; by the time they reached Luofeng Pond, it had ended. The heavens and earth were filled with the fresh fragrance of newly arrived spiritual rain, and the concentration briefly increased slightly.

The scenery here is beautiful in daylight; one can appreciate the waterfall hanging from the stream before the river without even approaching, and on sunny days there are still seven-colored rainbows.

Hence the name "Luofeng."

However, the sky is still not bright now, so everyone can only hear the sound of the waterfall, splashing and drowning out all other noises.

After passing the waterfall, ahead there is a detachment of soldiers stationed, about fifty in number; upon seeing He Lingchuan, they immediately saluted.

"Where is General Nan Rong?"

Everyone said everyone had arrived. Nan Ronghe came limping from behind, saw He Lingchuan, and saluted:

"My lord, Nan Rong feels ashamed!"

His shoulder and back were bound with white cloth, oozing a little blood; his left leg was also injured, the monster's claw nearly piercing the femoral artery.

He Lingchuan supported him with one hand and said: "Where is Bai Bu?"

"Bai Xiong is here." Nan Ronghe led the way, turned over the mountain bend, and on the ground lay over a hundred people in neat rows.

All were fallen soldiers of the Dragon God Army.

He Lingchuan at once saw Bai Bu; his body was bent at a strange angle, his face still swollen, his eyes also protruding.

This was a fine young man, also the first batch of soldiers absorbed by the Black Armor Army on the Jinjin Plains, conscientious and responsible in duty, growing rapidly in battle.

What a pity.

"How did he die?" He Lingchuan crouched down, personally examined Bai Bu's corpse, and found several joints dislocated all over his body.

That is to say, Bai Bu was essentially torn apart alive, and at that time he had not yet died, so his face became congested and swollen.

What tremendous strength, what a ferocious monster.

"I didn't witness it myself; those following him said he was dragged into the water by the monster, disappeared for over a moment." Nan Ronghe said softly, "Then, then he surfaced."

He further explained: "Behind Luofeng Pond connects a vast cavern, not only with large halls and small openings, but also with underground rivers rushing through."

"How big is the cavern?"

"Several hundred qing, perhaps."

The people behind He Lingchuan exchanged glances. That big?

"Basically, it's the water of Luofeng Pond scouring out a dark cavity inside the mountain, winding and twisting, with many side passages."

Everyone immediately understood why the two monsters were so hard to catch—this place was a labyrinth, divided into above-water and below-water sections, and its complexity had suddenly multiplied several times over.

"Are you familiar with this cave?"

"No." Nan Ronghe shook his head. "Before today, I only knew there was an underground cave here."

He wasn't a water rat—who would spend all day spelunking in caves for no reason?

"Are there other exits to the cave?"

"Yes." Nan Ronghe pointed at the cave mouth. "There are four exits in total. Two have been completely sealed by us, but the other two are river mouths—we can't block them, so I've sent people to guard each separately and set up a formation that prohibits both water and earth evasion."

As he spoke, He Lingchuan heard a furious roar echoing from deep within the cave.

It made one's scalp tingle.

(End of Chapter)