Chapter 200: Big Brother, Han Bing and Wang Ji Were Beaten Up! (6K)

After Fire Dragon Pass was captured, the Divine Might Army, the Sea-Quelling Army, and the Black-Armored Army began to reorganize and expand their forces at the mighty pass.

In fact, there was not much to reorganize in either the Black-Armored Army or the Sea-Quelling Army.

On the Sea-Quelling Army side, Lan Hongming managed to bring two naval units ashore: one under Jiang Ming and the other under Li Que.

Converting a navy into an army was not easy; that Lan Hongming managed to form two flank armies to join the land theater's operational order of battle already required considerable effort.

One could tell from Jiang Ming and Li Que's previous situation: they had even begged at Tantai Ming's door just to find a land army unit to cooperate with.

The two units totaled over fifty thousand men and more than a hundred warships, which was the absolute limit Lan Hou could dispatch.

Any more, and he would have had trouble forcing people in.

Thus, the Sea-Quelling Army's rest period was merely to repair warships and replenish ship-based equipment; expansion was impossible.

The Black-Armored Army unit led by Xia Jing, however, could expand.

The Black-Armored Army's main commander, 'Xiang Kui', also known as Marquis Mingwei, would have been delighted if Xia Jing requested more troops.

But this Young Master Xia was quite picky; he would not accept ordinary battalions.

He only wanted to reinforce the Black-Armored Dragon Cavalry Camp and the Black-Armored Soldier Camp, and additionally establish a new Black-Armored Mechanism Warship Camp.

Good heavens, asking for three elite camps right off the bat made Marquis Mingwei unable to help but shake his head.

If expanded according to the scale of these camps, Young Master Xia's status would exceed that of a Commandant of the official Sixth Rank.

Even with the Black-Armored Army's vast resources and influence, it could not possibly agree to Young Master Xia's demands.

After some haggling, Young Master Xia's Dragon Cavalry Camp gained one thousand men, the Black-Armored Soldier Camp gained eight hundred, and five Black-Armored Mechanism warships were added.

Even so, the Young Master privately complained to Zhao Xing: "Old Xiang is too stingy; giving only these trifles is like giving nothing at all."

Zhao Xing, hearing this, felt like hitting him: "If you're so dissatisfied, why not lend them to your brother?"

Xia Jing grinned and said, "How can I lend them? The warships are my principal wife, while the Dragon Cavalry and Black-Armored Soldiers are co-wives; how could I lend my Lady to you?"

"Young Master is mighty; with your wives totaling over eighteen thousand, you truly possess the physique of a martial warrior."

"Hahaha."

Xia Jing actually just wanted to show off in front of his brother, and Zhao Xing provided ample emotional value; calling him mighty was indeed a compliment.

The expansions of the Sea-Quelling Army and the Black-Armored Army were merely trivial matters, with no large scale in numbers.

But the Divine Might Army made a huge stir.

Following consecutive victories, putting aside other flank armies for now, Wen Shaoyang and Liao Ru's units had struck it rich, transporting spoils of war by the cartload.

Especially after capturing Fire Dragon Pass, Flame Crystals, Earth-Fire Lotuses, and various Fire-attribute treasures were among the most valuable items in the current military world.

With so much money, one naturally wanted to change wives.

Liao Ru immediately replaced all his original 'shabby wives'—fifth-rank inferior warships.

Fifth-rank supreme Dragon-Bone warships increased to five.

Fifth-rank superior Dragon-Head Tower Ships increased to fifteen.

He also acquired thirty fifth-rank medium warships of the Ruyi, Black-Dragon, Soaring-Snake, and Dragon-Sparrow types from the Tiger-Jiao Army.

Liao Ru's unit originally had over seventy thousand men, but actual combat camps numbered only twenty-five thousand, with the remainder stationed in supply cities.

Wen Shaoyang's unit had a similar total size, but its actual combat camps were even smaller, numbering under twenty thousand.

Yang An and Jia Pu had originally intended to make a heavy bet, doubling their forces and merging Wen Shaoyang's and Liao Ru's units into one, bringing the total combat camps to one hundred thousand.

However, due to various reasons, this plan to rapidly raise troops was temporarily suspended.

They merely transferred an additional three thousand and five thousand combat personnel to Liao Ru's and Wen Shaoyang's units respectively.

As for the personnel in the supply cities, they remained unchanged.

This was mainly because the Divine Might Army's original logistics and supply corps was already very strong, with supply capacity completely overflowing.

Furthermore, the Sea-Quelling Army also had some idle personnel, meaning the supply staff for all three armies no longer needed to be increased.

"Liao Ru's battlefield command capability is best suited for around thirty thousand men; over fifty thousand is the limit."

"Wen Shaoyang is slightly higher than him, but not exceeding seventy thousand, and his personal bravery is inferior to Liao Ru's."

In Xi'er Commandery, Jia Pu and the one-armed Yang An were looking at a map and intelligence reports, discussing matters.

"If we expand their forces further, it will only become a burden."

Yang An nodded slightly.

Jia Pu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Lordship, actually there is another option."

"No," Yang An shook his head. "I know what you want to say. But we have just captured Fire Dragon Pass; to strip Liao Ru of his authority now would only chill people's hearts."

"Your Lordship is right." Jia Pu had originally suggested that Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Zhao Xing form separate armies, detaching from Liao Ru's command structure.

This would reduce Liao Ru's command pressure while allowing the Divine Might Army to fulfill its intention of reinforcing troops.

However, while reason is one thing, reality requires considering people's feelings.

Liao Ru's unit had just won a victory; to immediately dismantle half of his right and left arms to form independent armies, how would he feel?

"Unless Liao Ru proposes it himself, the current structure shall remain unchanged for now; let him adapt first. As for other aspects, try to satisfy the requests from both units," Yang An said. "Perhaps he will grow."

"Yes." Jia Pu nodded. "Then how should Zhao Xing be arranged?"

Zhao Xing possessed a million battle merits; among the generals at Fire Dragon Pass, his merits ranked third.

He was second only to Wen Shaoyang and Liao Ru, but those two were both Commandants of the official Sixth Rank.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xing's current formal position was still that of a Ninth-Section Commander of the Seventh Rank, lower grade.

Jia Pu was quite familiar with the frontline situation; after learning about the infiltration of Fire Dragon Pass and the crossing of Flame Mountain, he discovered that Zhao Xing was often the one giving orders.

Moreover, Zhao Xing possessed strong strategic vision; it was precisely because he had analyzed the situation in the Fire-Demon Tribe war zone in front of Liao Ru that he solidified Liao Ru's determination to attack Fire Dragon Pass.

Combining this with Zhao Xing's performance during training in the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, Jia Pu believed Zhao Xing had the talent of a commander and could be entrusted with major responsibilities.

"Promote Chen Shijie to Joint-Camp Commander, and let Zhao Xing command a single camp alone. Whether it is the Agriculture Camp or a Mixed Camp, let Liao Ru decide, as he knows the situation better."

The appointments for Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie were internal transfers within the Divine Might Army, meaning both remained at the Seventh Rank, but with an expanded scope of authority.

In short, Liao Rulong is already having trouble keeping up with everything now, but attacking the heartland of the Fire Demon Tribe with too few people is indeed a problem—this move can let those under him share some of the pressure.

It can also pave the way for promoting Chen and Zhao later.

As for Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi, they originally commanded a battalion each, and that remains unchanged now.

"Yes." Jia Pu responded, then left the room to issue orders.

Fire Dragon Pass, Marching Hall.

"Puchi~"

The brazier beneath Dai Zong's divine statue spat out an urgent military dispatch.

Pu Zhong picked up the letter and opened it to read.

"Who's the letter from?" Liao Rulong walked over.

"From the Marquis, my lord," Pu Zhong said.

"Oh?" Liao Rulong immediately ran over. "What did it say?"

"The Marquis did not agree to merge Wen Shaoyang's unit with ours, nor did he agree to a large-scale expansion of troops. He only added three thousand men to Wen Shaoyang and five thousand to us," Pu Zhong said.

"Huh?" Liao Rulong muttered, "Only five thousand?"

The troop expansion was actually proposed by Liao Rulong himself, and merging the two units was also his idea.

After defeating the Wolf God Tribe, they hadn't encountered any setbacks.

Now they had also taken a famous stronghold of the Southern Barbarians.

The consecutive victories had inflated Liao Rulong's confidence to an unprecedented level.

Your boy Liao Rulong ought to be leading a hundred thousand men!

What's this little brother Wen Shaoyang doing off on his own? Come join up and roll with me, Old Liao!

This time you follow me to take Fire Dragon Pass and get a piece of the meat, next time you'll follow Lord Liao to take Jin Yu Wang Ting!

Liao Rulong's current self-assessment could be summed up in one sentence: I'm terrifyingly strong right now!

But on the surface, Liao Rulong remained quite modest, and in his letter to Xi'er Commandery, he phrased things very tactfully.

He even said Wen Shaoyang could come serve as the main commander.

He just looked straightforward and generous, but was actually quite cunning.

However, Yang An and Jia Pu did not agree with Liao Rulong's idea.

They only gave him five thousand additional men.

"Five thousand isn't few either," Pu Zhong said. "Counting the original twenty-five thousand combat troops, that's thirty thousand men now."

Liao Rulong sighed: "The strategist is still afraid I can't command effectively. Didn't I command the joint operation of three armies quite well this time? I've improved! Why can't the strategist see it?"

Pu Zhong comforted him: "Take it slow. Prove it a few more times, and the strategist and the Marquis will believe you."

Liao Rulong nodded: "Mm, what else did the Marquis and the strategist say?"

"The Marquis made new arrangements for the battalion commanders."

"Promote Chen Shijie to Joint Battalion Commander, and let Zhao Xing command a battalion on his own. The specific arrangements are left to us to decide."

Liao Rulong had no objections to this.

Chen Shijie was already a sixth-rank official himself; having him manage only one battalion before was already a waste of his talent. It was only because of his good relationship with Liao Rulong that he was willing to serve as his subordinate.

In reality, the work Old Chen usually did already exceeded the scope of a Nine Section Battalion Commander.

With the increase in troops this time, the promotion was only fitting.

As for Zhao Xing, his battle merits had already exceeded a million; having him command a battalion on his own was also very reasonable.

In fact, Liao Rulong felt Zhao Xing could take on even greater responsibilities.

"What do you think?" Liao Rulong asked.

Pu Zhong said: "Chen Shijie's scope of authority can be adjusted to cover the Nine Section Battalion, the Fire Battalion, and the Earth Battalion."

"As for Zhao Xing, let him pick his own people from the various battalions. He can fight and farm, so setting up a mixed battalion unit would be most suitable."

"That's what I was thinking too," Liao Rulong grinned. "Honestly, having him under my command, I even feel it's a waste of his talent."

"If it weren't for this kid, how would I ever have gotten to indulge my fantasy of being a three-army commander?"

"Let him pick freely from all battalions, capped at three thousand men. There's no limit on logistics and support personnel—he knows high-tier methods, so the entire army's logistics can be at his disposal."

Liao Rulong waved his hand grandly, directly upgrading Zhao Xing to commander of the enhanced mixed battalion, concurrently serving as "Quartermaster General of the Entire Army."

Is this excessive? Not one bit.

Among the Sih Nongs who know Benwo Sect high-tier methods, he's the only one here.

Looking at the entire Divine Might Army, among the sixth and seventh-rank Sih Nongs, those who know Benwo Sect high-tier methods, not counting Zhao Xing, add up to only two—rarer than sword cultivators.

From another perspective, Liao Rulong is also a proper child of fortune.

Under his command are Yu Ziqi, Long Xiao, Chen Shijie, and Zhao Xing.

Now he is also the nominal spokesperson for the three armies, able to command Xia Jing of the Xuanjia Army, as well as Jiang Ming and Li Que of the Zhenhai Army (Li Que also joined the cooperative ranks after the battle of Fire Dragon Pass).

Although the army scale under this Commandant's command isn't large, in terms of high-ranking officers assisting him, he has a proper first-rate configuration.

Liao Rulong's arrogance is precisely because he has such a team under him.

If things were still as they were before, he wouldn't dare entertain the idea of expanding to a hundred thousand men.

"Good, then let's do it that way." Pu Zhong asked, "Should I go call them over now?"

"Let's all go together." Liao Rulong laughed. "I have to serve this big shot well. If he runs off, this alliance will probably fall apart."

Last time, that kid Xia Jing only held his temper out of respect for Zhao Xing. Otherwise, with Liao Rulong's petty move of sending people over the mountain in advance, the Young Lord would have parted ways with him on the spot.

Liao Rulong and Pu Zhong went out to look for Zhao Xing at the Nine Section Battalion, but when they arrived at the Nine Section Battalion, they couldn't find Zhao Xing.

"Where is he?" Liao Rulong asked the guard on duty.

"Reporting to the Commandant, Lord Zhao left in a fit of rage half a shichen ago. We don't know what happened," the patrolling guard replied.

"Hmm?" Liao Ru frowned. "What's going on?"

"This... your subordinate does not know," the guard said. "Commandant Zhao did not tell me."

Liao Ru said, "This is bad. Has he been led away by Xia Jing?"

Pu Zhong shook his head. "Unlikely. Xia Jing's Dragon Cavalry Camp is still stationed north of the city gate, unmoving."

"Then what is going on?"

"I don't know. Go ask Chen Shijie."

Just as they reached Chen Shijie's tent, they saw Chen Shijie himself clutching a letter, rushing out with a hurried expression.

"Old Chen, what's wrong? Even you look grave?"

Seeing Liao Ru had arrived, Chen Shijie spoke solemnly: "Commandant, please assemble the troops immediately and head to City Number Ninety-Eight!"

"What exactly is happening? Has an enemy attacked?"

Chen Shijie said in a deep voice, "He said a force has forcibly requisitioned supplies from City Number Ninety-Eight in the rear, and people have been injured. He ordered me to take men there immediately."

"Commandant, assemble the troops quickly! That boy's wording was very severe. I fear trouble will erupt if we delay!"

Chen Shijie only had a vague understanding of the specific details, but he knew that whether Zhao Xing had killed someone or been beaten himself, neither was good news.

"What?" Liao Ru instantly flew into a rage, roaring: "Such a thing?! Assemble the entire army!"

Time rewinds to one hour ago, at City Number Ninety-Eight.

Wang Ji, Han Bing, and Che Shihai were busy with work inside the city.

Since the army had already fought through the Fire Dragon Pass, the new supply city naturally had to be moved forward.

The Earth-Fire Lotus is still on the list of advanced missions for the military realm.

Planting it still yields a considerable amount of military merit.

The Divine Might Army's supply capacity is overflowing, so they naturally have the hands free to plant Earth-Fire Lotus.

Why not plant it in the lava caves inside the Fire Dragon Pass?

Because the defensive formation of the Fire Dragon Pass was broken, causing the entire fire vein to go into turmoil, and this lava cave was also destroyed.

It is true that the Earth-Fire Lotus requires a harsh environment. But the lava cave has exceeded the limits it can withstand.

Moreover, the humans of the Great Zhou do not possess the high fire resistance of the Fire Demon Clan.

Even if the cave had not been destroyed, it would not be suitable for the Great Zhou's Ministry of Agriculture officials and craftsmen to descend into.

Wearing fire-averting magical robes makes work difficult; not wearing them makes injury likely.

Additionally, the site selection for City Number Ninety-Eight is north of the Flame Mountain Range, where a branch range extends near the 'Northern String Territory'.

Establishing a stronghold here would also facilitate the movements of the main army in the future.

The proposal to build City Number Ninety-Eight near the Northern String Territory was finalized by Zhao Xing.

This place seems like a casual move, but Zhao Xing had ulterior motives.

So he specifically sent Wang Ji, Han Bing, and Che Shihai here to work.

The three worked very hard. After the battle at Fire Dragon Pass, while others were resting, they didn't even have time to catch their breath. They immediately led men here to work overtime, building the city and farming.

But today, a group of uninvited guests suddenly arrived.

A Black Dragon Warship descended outside City Number Ninety-Eight.

"What's going on? Where did this army come from?" Wang Ji and Han Bing ran out, looking at the sky outside the city.

"I don't know," Han Bing said, his face looking grave. "We raised our flags several times to demand they identify themselves, but they only claimed to be the Southern Expedition Army of the Pacify-Barbarians Legion, speaking vaguely."

"They are posturing, ordering me to welcome them and saying their army needs to feed from this supply city. They must have a powerful background and come with ill intent."

"Just refuse them, then," Wang Ji said.

"What good would my refusal do? Your barrier isn't finished yet!" Han Bing said. "Besides, that is a Black Dragon Warship. Can we hold them off?"

"Then what should we do? Send them a batch of supplies to eat and send them away," Che Shihai, who had just arrived, said.

"No good, they have landed directly," Han Bing's face changed. "Wang Gong and I will handle them. Che Shihai, you must immediately report this matter to Fire Dragon Pass."

"Good." Che Shihai nodded and said, "I will go right now."

More than a thousand people flew down from the warship.

Since the barrier of City Number Ninety-Eight had not yet been completed.

A general in the lead, wearing green battle armor, led his men to land directly inside the city.

"Who is the garrison commander of this city?" the general in green armor asked indifferently. "Come out immediately and answer."

"Your subordinate Han Bing, Equalization Commissioner of the Divine Might Army. I do not know why a superior officer has suddenly descended. What is the purpose?" Han Bing was stalling for time.

"I am Qian Shougang, a Tiger Guard Captain of the Sixth Rank, Upper Grade, of the Black Dragon Army, and concurrently the Level Three Inspector of the Southeastern War Zone."

"The supplies of this city have been requisitioned by me. You must prepare them immediately," the general in green said.

"Black Dragon Army?" Han Bing's pupils contracted. "I do not know how many supplies my lord requires, for what purpose, whether there has been a report filed, or if there is a requisition warrant..."

Han Bing wanted to stall for more time, but Qian Shougang was displeased and shouted, "Stop wasting words. I said I am requisitioning this city. Do you not understand?"

"Since you do not understand, then I will send my own men to act. You may step aside!"

Qian Shougang waved his hand, and immediately a group of people headed toward the Earth-Fire Lotus planting area, their target clear.

Wang Ji had a short temper; seeing this, he immediately grew angry: "Damn it! You haven't even followed the procedure, haven't asked a single question clearly, yet you act to take? What is the difference between this and robbery? Stop immediately!"

"Hmph!" Qian Shougang waved his hand, and a streak of green light struck Wang Ji.

"Boom!" Wang Ji immediately fell down, unconscious.

"Making a loud fuss and speaking disrespectfully," Qian Shougang said coldly. "Everyone stand in place!"

Time rewinds to half an hour ago.

Zhao Xing was cultivating inside his tent.

Suddenly, the Earth Mirror trembled.

Then Che Shihai's phantom appeared before his eyes.

"Old Che, what's wrong with you? You look like you can't shit." Zhao Xing asked with a smile.

Che Shihai said aggrievedly: "Boss, City Ninety-Eight was forcibly conscripted. Han Bing and Wang Ji were both injured!"

"What?!" Zhao Xing's face instantly changed. "Who did it?!"

Che Shihai said: "It was, was…"

Before he could finish, Che Shihai's phantom dissipated, looking as if someone had cut off the communication.

"Damn!"

Seeing this, how could Zhao Xing not know the situation was urgent?

He immediately brought Mountain Cat along, and pulled Long Xiao—who was nearby—into departing.

The moment Long Xiao heard of this, without a word of hesitation, he immediately mustered five hundred men from the Valiant Cavalry Camp and boarded an Arrowfish Flying Vessel to take off at full speed.

As for Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing couldn't reach him for the moment, so he left behind two 'paper cranes' to deliver messages—one to find Chen Shijie, and one to find Xia Jing in the north of the city.

Among the clouds, Zhao Xing piloted the flying vessel, pushing its speed to the max.

Only then did Long Xiao ask: "What's actually going on? Do you know?"

Zhao Xing replied with a dark expression: "I'm not sure either."

In truth, he had a vague guess—Che Shihai had said it was a forced conscription.

Then it must be the army of Great Zhou.

And the other side was definitely a sixth-rank martial general.

A sixth-rank martial general can temporarily conscript logistical troops below his own rank, even if they aren't from the same army.

It's just that this regulation generally only applies to emergencies, such as after suffering a defeat and gathering stragglers along the way.

Or when supplies are needed—passing through another army's supply city and getting a meal is also permissible.

In the current situation, it rarely happens that an outside army comes to conscript another army's troops.

Normally, no conflict would arise either.

But Che Shihai mentioned 'forced conscription,' which means the other side made extremely unreasonable demands.

What could City Ninety-Eight have that a sixth-rank martial general would set his eyes on?

The answer immediately surfaced in Zhao Xing's mind: Earth Fire Lotus!

After the Divine Might Army took Fire Dragon Pass, the fact that the army possessed a large quantity of Earth Fire Lotus naturally spread as well.

Over the past ten-odd days, other armies had kept coming to borrow seeds from Liao Rulong. Because when fighting the Fire Demon Race, the dharma robes made from Earth Fire Lotus were useful to other armies as well.

Exchanging supplies between two armies was perfectly normal, but Liao Rulong hadn't lent out much, because he wasn't short on war trophies to buy things with now.

Could it be that someone came to rob them by force?

"They might be here to rob the Earth Fire Lotus." Zhao Xing voiced his guess.

"What?!" Long Xiao was furious. "Which blind fool! We only brought this back after nine deaths and one life!"

Zhao Xing said nothing, but opened the map to check the recent troop transfers and the changes in the surrounding defense zones.

The Divine Might Army had now made a name for itself; whoever dared to bully the Divine Might Army must also be a strong army.

Small-fry would never dare to do something like this.

With that, the scope could easily be narrowed down.

But no matter how Zhao Xing looked at the map, he couldn't find a suitable target.

"The war zone map of the Soldier Realm probably hasn't been updated yet," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

However, no matter what, he had no intention of letting this matter rest.

Wang Gong and Han Bing were his classmates and capable assistants, after all.

Damn it, dare to lay hands on Master Zhao's people?

"Long Xiao, if it comes to a fight later, show no mercy!"

"Between the two of us, we already have two million battle merits—we're not afraid of deductions!" Zhao Xing said.

"I know!" Long Xiao snorted. "It's not the first time I've had battle merits deducted. Battle merits can be earned again, but this grievance can absolutely not be endured. A sword cultivator's sword has never allowed me to swallow my anger!"

There's still one more chapter, it'll be very late, everyone don't wait up.