Chapter 367: Autumn Training

In the lush, tree-shaded forest, a vast army moved like a black tide slowly toward the distant mountain, its gaping mouth resembling a demon god.

One hundred thousand troops.

Li Rui rode his horse in the center of the formation.

This training exercise deployed a full one hundred thousand troops.

Of course.

That was the official figure; in reality, the troops under Annan Town numbered no more than ten thousand.

The rest were conscripted laborers and logistics units.

These were the true bulk of the army's numbers.

Ten civilians supporting one soldier is no joke.

Warriors are still people—they must eat. All who have fought know: before troops move, provisions must come first. The supply trains are the real weight.

Ten thousand laborers for one thousand soldiers? That's barely enough.

This time, we even saved ten thousand laborers.

Li Rui glanced at the endless sea of laborers trailing behind the army, then turned away.

At that moment,

Ning Zhongtian arrived beside Li Rui.

"Big Brother, I heard this training will bring a fortune in military merit—I'm bound to break through this time."

He looked eager and restless.

Though labeled training, Zhou Dinghai's preparations were massive—this was as good as real combat, and military merit would be no less.

Not just the junior soldiers, even officers like Ning Zhongtian could hardly contain themselves.

Each one was clamoring to slay demons and monsters.

With a Provincial Military Commander like Zhou Dinghai willing to spend so heavily, morale was naturally high.

'They say this General Zhou was exceptionally skilled at training troops during his campaigns against the Sea Clan in the south. Many of Yu's generals once served under him.'

When you're risking your head, you're paid well.

Ordinary soldiers need only charge forward. But for higher-ranking officers like Li Rui, the stakes are greater.

Killing one or two beast monsters means nothing.

They seek strategic victories.

That's the true path to promotion.

If his subordinates slay demons, it counts as him slaying them—why risk his own life?

Li Rui: "You're already past forty. Don't go charging in recklessly."

"Yes."

Ning Zhongtian scratched his head.

To Li Rui, military merit meant nothing. Even if Ning Zhongtian killed only one beast, Li Rui could still arrange for him to be credited with ten. The key was not dying.

Training is still a battlefield—swords and spears show no mercy.

Northwest Army training always leaves heavy casualties.

An army of one hundred thousand cannot move quickly.

It took three full days to reach the foot of Ten Thousand Mountains.

Ten Thousand Mountains form the border between Yu and Wu. Most lie within Wu territory; only a small portion belongs to Yu.

This was the target of Annan Town's training exercise.

The demons within this stretch of Ten Thousand Mountains.

Of course, if any unlucky disciple of the Purple Gold Palace happened to be caught in the sweep, they'd be treated as demons and slain too.

Not long after,

Vast camps appeared at the mountain's base.

Ordinary soldiers naturally shared tents—several to a tent—which was already considered decent treatment.

Laborers fared far worse.

Often, ten or more men crammed into a single tent.

Compared to the Northwest Border Army, this was already far better.

Just look at Tan Hu's expression.

As for Zhou's, Xue's, and other senior officers' accommodations, they were entirely different—they stayed in small courtyards inside Qinghe Enclosure.

These arrangements had been planned in advance.

Common soldiers endure hardship during training; why should the big shots suffer?

As Deputy Commander, Li Rui was assigned a modest but comfortable courtyard within Qinghe Enclosure—far superior to sleeping in tents outside.

After three days of rest on-site,

Each guard battalion was assigned a sector to clear of demons in Ten Thousand Mountains.

The battalion that completed its sector first

would claim victory.

The entire army would be rewarded.

Battalions competed quietly; the four Deputy Commanders did the same.

If one's own battalion won, it meant shining before General Zhou—future promotions would favor them.

At their level, they all knew promotion wasn't a single act.

It was the result of accumulated merit.

How to accumulate it? By repeatedly catching your superior's eye.

"Who do you think will win?"

Zhou Dinghai gripped the hilt of his sword, towering as he watched troop columns ascending the mountain.

Xue Gui smiled faintly: "Let these brats run wild for a while."

The two spoke casually.

Yet behind them, the deputy commanders were already locked in silent rivalry.

Nie Siming stood beside Li Rui: "Old Brother Li, do you think Anning Battalion can win?"

"Win?"

"Aim for second, fight for first."

Nie Siming raised an eyebrow: "Old Brother Li, so confident?"

"I heard plenty of strong hands came from Jiannan and Huaidong Towns."

Annan Town was never among the strongest of the thirty-two military towns—it was weaker than Jiannan and Huaidong.

Without the Purple Gold Palace, Annan Town might never have risen to prominence.

Those outsider battalions had long resented Anning Battalion as a local upstart.

They always wanted to outdo it.

'Could he be holding back some secret?'

After all, Li Rui had pulled off unexpected moves more than once.

As he wondered,

Li Rui gave an odd answer: "Who said I'm aiming for first?"

"Not first?" Nie Siming froze.

He quickly realized—Li Rui was aiming for second-to-last.

"Old Brother Li has a clear head."

He glanced at the three deputy commanders and miscellaneous generals quietly competing beside them, unsure what to say.

First place?

First, one must know one's limits.

Li Rui knew Anning Battalion's strength better than anyone.

He wasn't a god—he couldn't make a battalion suddenly strong.

Since it was impossible,

why strain? Just do your own thing.

Even if we came in last, would it affect my status as Gu Changsheng's guest, Jiang Lin's elder brother, or Yuan Hou's retainer?

Of course not.

!

If it won't affect me, why waste energy fighting for it?

If I get it, good fortune. If I don't, it's fate.

At that moment, Yuan Xiong spoke: "Let's go see what these fellows are made of."

Finished speaking.

Li Rui, Nie Siming, and Yuan Xiong headed toward Ten Thousand Mountains.

The other deputy commanders did the same.

Their presence was meant to ensure this training didn't spiral into chaos.

Deep within Ten Thousand Mountains, atop a rolling hill.

The Blood Shadow Ancestor narrowed his eyes.

Gazing at the flashes of light reflected from the soldiers' weapons in the mountain forest.

"Annan Town"

He muttered softly.

With such commotion in Annan Town, how could he not know?

Training troops?

It's clearly a blatant disregard for the Purple Gold Palace!

"Damn Yu people."

First the hatred of national destruction, then the insult—how could he endure it?

As the Blood Shadow Ancestor pondered,

Footsteps sounded behind him.

He turned his head.

He saw a man and a woman walking slowly toward him—both were Daoist acolytes of Palace Master Si Feng.

These two had trained under Si Feng.

Now they had changed greatly, exuding a faint aura of immortals.

The man held a jade scepter; the woman was surrounded by a tiny jade sword hovering around her.

Magic treasures!

The Blood Shadow Ancestor knew well—these were the immortal sect artifacts bestowed upon them by Si Feng, incredibly powerful.

"Ancestor."

The man and woman bowed respectfully to the Blood Shadow Ancestor.

The Blood Shadow Ancestor nodded casually:

"You lead the troops to watch these Yu people. If they dare step half a step into my Purple Gold Palace's territory—"

"Kill!"

In the Blood Shadow Ancestor's eyes, mountains of corpses and seas of blood seemed to swirl.

The pair bowed in unison: "Yes!"

With that,

the Blood Shadow Ancestor turned and left.

Only the man and woman remained where they stood.

Once the Blood Shadow Ancestor had vanished completely, the man spoke: "Sister Zhu, I heard Palace Master often mentions Li Rui has come to the Ten Thousand Mountains."

Zhu Yun, watching her brother Qi Tong's eyes gleam with excitement, flickered with concern:

"Brother, the Ancestor clearly ordered us not to provoke trouble within Yu territory."

Qi Tong's lips curled slightly:

"Sister, rest assured—I know my limits."

'Better be.'

Zhu Yun lowered her head and fell silent.

Qi Tong was different from her—he was from the Qi clan, then chosen by the Blood Shadow Ancestor to become Palace Master's acolyte.

He was cautious and humble before the Palace Master, but in truth, he was ambitious and glory-seeking.

'Just lucky.'

Zhu Yun thought to herself, then let it go.

Their figures vanished into the depths of the forest.

Within the forest,

a squad of over thirty soldiers surrounded a crimson-furred jackal, spears and blades at the ready; some were wounded but promptly dragged away—wounded, yet not dead.

In the bushes nearby,

three figures stood on a tree branch without so much as snapping a single twig.

"Good. Unshaken under pressure, coordinated offense and defense."

Nie Siming nodded.

He was reasonably satisfied with the performance of the Anning Guard soldiers.

The Crimson Flame Wolf was at peak Sixth Rank; with Lu Jun, a Sixth Rank early-stage Garrison Commander, leading dozens, they had already forced it back—remarkable indeed, and it looked like they'd kill it without much trouble.

Yuan Xiong also praised: "Good."

Li Rui said nothing.

But inwardly, he nodded—since his defeat last time, Lu Jun had steadily improved, especially in troop command.

Just as the Crimson Flame Wolf was being cornered,

suddenly!

The ground began to tremble slightly.

A deafening beast roar seemed to awaken the entire Ten Thousand Mountains.

Howls of wolves, roars of tigers—

In an instant, it felt as if they were surrounded by a sea of beasts.

Nie Siming's face turned grim; he stared fixedly at the black tide approaching in the distance.

"Damn."

"It's a demonic tide!"

(End of Chapter)