Chapter 258: Lord of the Ten Thousand Mountain Demons

"What?"

"Encountered a demon tide?"

Li Rui was somewhat surprised when he heard the news from the front line.

According to the military report, the station of the Anning Guard and the Yunzhou Guard had been attacked by a beast tide a few days ago, and a Garrison Commander had even died in the battle.

The Southern Border had many demon beasts, and encountering a beast tide was a common occurrence.

However, this time the Yu Kingdom's expedition had prepared for this long ago, and the army was equipped with Qi-observing masters who could observe the movements of demon beasts.

Such a thing shouldn't have happened.

Casualties exceeding twenty percent was the most tragic loss since entering the Wu Kingdom.

This matter had already attracted the attention of Provincial Military Commander Yuan.

Presumably, Cao Wei and Lei Yong were under immense pressure now.

By comparison, Jiang Linxian, who remained at the Anning Guard, had avoided an unprovoked disaster. It was said that Cao Wei had pulled many strings to lead the army this time; one wondered what he was thinking now.

A single demon tide had wiped out all his previous merits.

Tan Hu was also quite surprised: "Everything was fine, why did we encounter a demon tide?"

Just as Li Rui and Tan Hu were pondering, a young disciple of the Huaqing Sect hurried to the front of the Anning Guard office of the Trade Office.

"Lord Li, Elder Jiang invites you."

Li Rui looked at the familiar Huaqing Sect disciple outside the door, his brows lifting slightly.

It really was a case of speaking of the devil.

No need to think.

Jiang Linxian looking for him was definitely for the sake of the beast tide.

"Good."

Li Rui gave Tan Hu a few instructions and then followed the Huaqing Sect disciple, galloping on horseback all the way back to the Anning Guard.

When he walked into the main hall of the Military Advisor's office.

Guan Xinrong and Lu Jun were already seated. Li Rui bowed to Jiang Linxian, who was sitting at the head: "Lord Jiang, this subordinate is late."

Jiang Linxian waved his hand: "Sit down first."

After Li Rui sat down, Jiang Linxian spoke slowly: "I presume you have all heard about the demon tide."

The three nodded in unison.

As expected.

Jiang Linxian had summoned the three of them precisely for the sake of the demon tide.

"The demon tide has triggered the movement of demon beasts in the Ten Thousand Mountains. According to urgent reports, it is highly likely that the demon beasts of the Wu Kingdom will cross the Ten Thousand Mountains and enter the Yunzhou region."

Li Rui's eyes narrowed.

The impact of this demon tide seemed even greater than he had imagined.

"Lord Li, Lord Guan, the two of you will each lead one hundred soldiers and immediately follow me to the border to suppress the demon chaos and prevent the demon beasts from wreaking havoc in our dynasty."

"Yes!"

Li Rui and Guan Xinrong stood up together.

Seeing this scene, Lu Jun sighed slightly in his heart.

Logically speaking, he was a Garrison Commander, and Li Rui was a Trade Office Captain; suppressing demon chaos should be his job. But Jiang Linxian had chosen Li Rui.

Why?

It was because Li Rui could fight and get things done.

And he was more appreciated by Jiang Linxian.

As for Guan Xinrong, naturally, he didn't want to leave the Anning Guard to an outsider.

Usually, Jiang Linxian might have considered Lu Jun's feelings, but now the situation was urgent. If it wasn't handled well, Jiang Linxian himself might be punished, so he had to choose the person he thought could get things done.

Lu Jun felt a wave of desolation.

'I'm old.'

Then he felt something was wrong; in terms of age, Li Rui could be his grandfather.

'Do not belittle yourself!'

'Since Head Jiang let me stay behind, I will do the job steadily; even if there is no merit, there is still hard work.'

Thinking of Li Rui, wasn't he also someone who got things done one by one, which was why he gained Jiang Linxian's heavy trust?

Before long.

Two teams of one hundred men were assembled.

The Anning Guard had a total of only one thousand men.

Cao Wei had taken away seven hundred men in one breath; the current two hundred were almost everyone who could fight.

The two hundred men were mostly excited.

Like they had been injected with chicken blood.

Many of these people had heard the news of their brothers on the front line achieving merit and had been very annoyed; now that they finally had the opportunity, how could they not be excited?

Of course, there were also many cowards.

The Anning Guard was not a border army; out of every one, it was uncertain if even ten percent had truly been on a battlefield.

Li Rui glanced at the spirited young people behind him.

His heart stirred slightly.

'Still too young.'

They were going to suppress the demon chaos, to face the demon beasts directly; one careless move and they could end up as feed for the beasts. Don't end up having the life to earn military merit but no life to spend it.

He didn't want to go.

But since the matter had happened, and he was already a Captain of no small standing in the Anning Guard.

Blindly hiding was not the way.

If he could hide, he would; if he couldn't, he would naturally accept it calmly.

Li Rui saw this very clearly.

Of course, it was mainly because his strength was strong enough, and he had something to rely on.

And Jiang Linxian was seen by outsiders as Fifth-Rank, but in fact, he had long since broken through to Fourth-Rank. Unless an Earth Immortal took action, it wouldn't be that easy for him to die.

Jiang Linxian swept his gaze over everyone and shouted:

"Set off!"

Wubei City welcomed an army of a thousand men, many of them wounded, with low morale.

The City Lord of Wubei City, having received the news, had already arranged for the doctors in the city to send the wounded into houses one by one to begin treatment.

Ning Zhongtian walked in the team and glanced at the young general beside him.

"Lord Duan, this injury of yours will take at least a month to heal, right? I still have some healing medicine here; I reckon you'll need it."

Duan Yu's face was pale, with a large blood hole in his right shoulder that was still oozing blood. Being injured by a demon beast, it wouldn't heal that quickly.

"Many thanks to Lord Ning for your concern, I still have medicine."

Duan Yu declined.

Ning Zhongtian nodded and didn't ask further, sweeping his gaze over the disheveled army.

This time, the demon tide had hit the Eastern Route Army, composed of the Anning Guard and the Yunzhou Guard, the hardest.

Two or three hundred people died in one breath, almost reaching twenty percent.

This was undoubtedly a huge blow to morale; once an army lost its morale, it would collapse very quickly.

Having no other choice.

Cao Wei and Lei Yong could only abandon the camp and choose to retreat to Wubei City to recuperate.

In their current state, once the Mangul City army left the city, they would surely be defeated.

Recalling that night.

Ning Zhongtian couldn't help but shiver.

What met his eyes were demon beasts as far as the eye could see, almost drowning the army.

It was only because the camp's defense was strong enough and there were two great experts sitting in command that the number of deaths wasn't just two hundred.

Even the well-informed Ning Zhongtian had to admit that compared to the demon tide of the Southern Border, the Yu Kingdom's demon tide was too amateurish.

It couldn't even be called a stream, let alone a frenzy.

Counting it up, this Young Lord Duan was also unlucky; he was originally just a grain transport official, and he could still run into this matter after staying for three days.

When he went back, he feared his Vice Minister father and General father-in-law would ache for a long time.

It was no wonder the talkative Young Lord Duan wasn't speaking now.

Duan Yu walked into Wubei City in silence.

The scene of that night appeared in his mind.

He had poked a huge hole!

He came to the Anning Guard to gild himself; this was the intention of his father and father-in-law, but his ambition was not limited to this.

Gilding was his duty, but if he could do something that would surprise both fathers, that would be true ability.

So he sought out Li Rui, and Zhao Bo, who had already entered the demon beast's belly, were all for catching the Feather-Winged White-Scaled Jiao.

The Feather-Winged White-Scaled Jiao had a noble bloodline.

The Lord of the Dragon Court called himself a True Dragon; if it were sent as a tribute to the Emperor, he would definitely be rewarded.

But he never expected.

That Feather-Winged White-Scaled Jiao had a huge background; it was actually a descendant of a Demon Lord.

Demon Lord.

That was a demon beast comparable to an Earth Immortal. A hegemon among demons!

This demon tide was stirred up by that Demon Lord.

Fortunately, Zhao Bo blocked the blade for him; otherwise, the Fifth-Rank official who died should have been him, and the demon hunters he had hired with heavy gold from the Wu Kingdom had all entered the demon beast's belly.

'Tragic, tragic.'

Duan Yu knew he had caused big trouble.

The only thing to be glad about was that those who knew the truth were already dead, and demon beasts couldn't talk, so he didn't have to worry about the news leaking.

Otherwise, Cao Wei and Lei Yong would be the first to come and peel his skin.

'Hurry and leave this place of right and wrong.'

"Lord Jiang, you've finally arrived."

The checkpoint castle at the border between the Yu and Wu Kingdoms was exceptionally lively.

(In one look)

Garrison Commander Wang, who was guarding the pass, saw Jiang Linxian and trotted up to greet him.

He was a Sixth-Rank official; seeing Jiang Linxian, his Fifth-Rank superior, he had to serve him well.

"Hmm."

Jiang Linxian nodded.

He didn't give Garrison Commander Wang a chance to exchange pleasantries or get close, going straight to the point: "Speak, what is the situation with the demon beasts now?"

Garrison Commander Wang's expression turned serious: "The scouts I sent out reported that demon beasts have already appeared ten miles outside the pass."

Ten miles.

Hearing this number, Jiang Linxian and Li Rui frowned in unison.

Ten miles was not far for mortals, and for demon beasts, it took less than half an hour; in other words, the demon beasts had already arrived right under their noses.

Jiang Linxian: "Any countermeasures?"

Garrison Commander Wang felt somewhat awkward: "Lord Jiang, you also know that the checkpoint just serves as an early warning. The Ten Thousand Mountains are so big, and we have less than a hundred people; we can't stop them at all."

In just a few sentences, he had already distanced himself.

Jiang Linxian didn't intend to say much more to Garrison Commander Wang, instead turning to look at the two people behind him.

"What do you think?"

Guan Xinrong chose silence.

Just as Garrison Commander Wang said, the Ten Thousand Mountains were too big; let alone a hundred people, even if three hundred were scattered in, they wouldn't make any waves.

The imperial court was omnipotent because it was willing to spend money.

Want to use a small force to fight a big one?

It would be difficult for anyone.

Li Rui also shook his head: "Lord Jiang, do our best."

Jiang Linxian nodded; he had only asked, not expecting that three hundred people could really stop the demon beasts from all directions of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

It didn't matter if it couldn't be done; the key was that it must be done seriously.

Immediately.

He had Li Rui and Guan Xinrong each lead fifty soldiers to enter the Ten Thousand Mountains and sweep for demon beasts first.

Having received the order.

Li Rui took Tan Hu and five others and headed straight for the mountain forest.

In the dark primeval forest, a team was struggling to hack through thorns.

"Didn't they say the demon beasts were here? Why haven't we seen a shadow after searching for half a day?"

Tan Hu said in a low voice.

They had been searching for an hour, and so far, they had only seen wild beasts; they hadn't seen a single demon beast.

Li Rui: "Hu Zi, have patience."

The number of demon beasts compared to wild beasts was like martial artists compared to humans; it was impossible for there to be too many.

Placed in the vast Ten Thousand Mountains, the density was even lower.

If demon beasts could be seen everywhere, the headache wouldn't just be Li Rui's; presumably, that Provincial Military Commander Yuan would also be worried about it.

Li Rui had five people form a team.

A total of ten teams.

Each team was ten yards apart; in this way, it took into account efficiency, and if there was a situation, he and Tan Hu could also arrive in time to support.

Tan Hu: "Brother Li, why do I feel that this demon tide is getting more and more wrong the more I ponder it."

Li Rui looked at Tan Hu in surprise:

"Hu Zi, you've made progress!"

Tan Hu scratched his head happily: "I feel the same way. Ever since I followed Brother Li, this brain has been getting easier to use."

"..."

Li Rui had no choice but to continue the topic just now: "I feel the same way."

"Right?"

Tan Hu, seeing his idea was recognized by Li Rui, became even more proud. He hurriedly asked: "Brother Li, so you know what's going on?"

Li Rui rolled his eyes:

"I'm not the Star Lord of Fate; how could I know everything?"

"Oh."

Tan Hu nodded.

Li Rui stopped talking and carefully scanned the mountain forest before him.

The demon tide naturally had something strange about it.

Others didn't know, but he chatted with the Wu Kingdom delegation every day, so he naturally understood that such a large-scale demon tide was rare to see in the Wu Kingdom even in ten years.

Humans fear demons, and demons also fear humans.

Demons having low intelligence is a human's arrogant way of saying it; all things have spirits, it's just that the way of thinking is different.

But one thing is common in the world: whether human or demon, no one wants to die.

Are demon beasts full and have nothing to do, playing with demon tides every day?

There must be a reason behind it.

It's just that there is too little information to know.

For a demon tide of this scale, if his guess is correct, it should be driven by a Demon Lord.

Just then.

A commotion broke out not far to the left, along with the exclamation of soldiers.

"Situation!"

Tan Hu immediately got into the spirit, rushing toward the mountain forest like a wild bull.

Li Rui pointed his toes and followed closely behind.

Very quickly.

The two saw five soldiers holding knives and spears, confronting a white-furred ape half a person tall with fire patterns on its brow.

"Fire-Brow White Ape?"

Li Rui recognized this demon beast at a glance.

"Halt!"

Tan Hu reached out a large hand and grabbed the head of the Fire-Brow White Ape.

The tyranny of being naturally strong was revealed.

Although the Fire-Brow White Ape was also Seventh-Rank like Tan Hu, it was suppressed to death.

At the same time.

A series of chattering hisses rang out around them.

Li Rui was like a harrier, jumping onto a tree branch with a roll. In just a few breaths, he saw seven or eight Fire-Brow White Apes fall from the trees, each one having lost its breath.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers present were all impressed to the point of prostration.

Lord Li is domineering!

By the time Li Rui returned with his blade, the battle on Tan Hu's side was also nearing its end.

Just then, Tan Hu heard Li Rui's voice: "Hu Zi, leave a live one."

Hearing this.

Although Tan Hu didn't understand what use Li Rui had for capturing this monkey alive, he still held back his strength and lifted the exhausted Fire-Brow White Ape by the back of its neck.

At this time, other soldiers who heard the commotion also surrounded them.

Li Rui looked at the squeaking Fire-Brow White Ape and narrowed his eyes slightly.

'You shameless humans, daring to plot against the son of the Demon Lord, you all deserve to die!'

'The Demon Lord will punish you.'

'Kill, kill!'

Son of the Demon Lord?

Li Rui captured the keyword.

Through just a few sentences, he could associate that someone must have taken action against the son of the Demon Lord, angering the Demon Lord, which was why the demon tide was stirred up.

The Demon Lord didn't choose other places, but specifically chose the camp of the Anning Guard and the Yunzhou Guard.

This was very intriguing.

There might only be one truth... the person who took action against the son of the Demon Lord was a soldier of the Yu Kingdom!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 259 =====