Chapter 217: Returning to the Village, Flaunting One

The Zhenhuang Grand General immediately said, "General Feng, are you trying to issue a military order?"

Feng San was dumbfounded and said, "Military… military order? I have no such intention…"

"Hahaha," the Zhenhuang Grand General said, pulling his hand, "I can see that's what you mean. You must think that, as an unknown nobody who suddenly became the vanguard general leading thousands of Great Wilderness troops, it's hard to command the troops, so you need to issue a military order so that I can assign people to obey your command, right?"

"This… I…"

Feng San was speechless for a moment.

There was no way around it; they were the biggest general of Zhenhuang Pass.

Moreover, it was indeed reasonable.

"What's this? Earlier I saw you were confident and you said yourself that if you failed you'd present your head, are you just bragging?" the Zhenhuang Grand General showed an unhappy expression.

Feng San immediately replied, "I am certainly not bragging! If I didn't have absolute confidence, why would I say that? It's exactly a military order, and I am willing to issue it!"

"Good! General Feng has courage!"

The Zhenhuang Grand General broke into a smile.

Then, in front of him, Feng San drafted a military order.

He didn't demand that if the camp wasn't captured, Feng San's head be cut off; only a leg would be severed.

He said this was an extra leniency toward Feng San, providing appropriate pressure without overburdening the newly appointed general, which might cause mistakes.

Feng San was deeply grateful and pressed his handprint on the order, indicating a willingness to give his all for the Zhenhuang Grand General.

"Alright, rest well tonight," the Zhenhuang Grand General patted his shoulder and said, "I still need time to assign troops for you; by tomorrow morning you can lead the army into action."

"Yes! I obey!"

One night passed.

Before dawn, Feng San led five thousand Zhenhuang troops out of Zhenhuang Pass.

Only after passing the city gate did the Deputy General ask about the marching route, and he realized he was unfamiliar with the area of Xuan Guo's secret camp in the Xuanhuang Shanmai.

Although he had walked from the camp back to the village once, now he could not recall the exact route.

Moreover, the deep snow made navigation even harder.

Old Village Chief of Niu Village was especially familiar with the terrain; any place he had passed once could be remembered, earning him the nickname "Living Map" among the villagers.

"Ah!" Feng San slapped his forehead, "No wonder I always thought that old fellow couldn't die; maybe he's useful… so the usefulness is here!"

He only blamed himself for being too reckless at the time, only caring about bullying others with his power.

"General Feng, what's wrong?" the Deputy General asked, seeing his worried expression, "Did something go wrong? Perhaps… we should pause, discuss a battle plan before proceeding?"

Feng San hurriedly waved his hand, "Pause what? Didn't I already say there's no need for a battle plan? Just follow me for a surprise raid, catch them off guard, no more chatter—first take me to Niu Village."

"Hm? Why go to Niu Village?"

"Didn't I tell you to stop the chatter? Just go!"

"Yes… General."

The marching column then changed direction, following Feng San toward Niu Village.

Niu Village, this side.

All the villagers had woken from sleep, recalling last night's situation; if they hadn't seen everyone lying in sturdy big tents, fully clothed in thick cotton garments and covered with warm blankets, they would have thought the night was just a near‑death dream.

It turned out that, while everyone was waiting to die in the icy snow,

Ning Jinli arrived promptly with a thousand Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor soldiers and a large amount of supplies.

Not only rescued all the villagers, but also erected tents for them, provided a full meal, changed everyone into cotton shirts and pants, and let them sleep soundly.

When they stepped out of the large temporary tent they had crowded into last night, more smaller tents were already set up outside.

Moreover, the whole village had been cleaned.

All this was the result of the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army's work throughout the night.

Ning Jinli told the Old Village Chief that a cleared space behind the village had been arranged, allocating one tent per household.

These tents were especially sturdy and warm, far superior to the villagers' previous leaky Thatched Huts.

This winter, everyone would temporarily live in their own tents.

When spring arrives and the weather improves, they will help the villagers rebuild houses.

Additionally, the Ancestral Hall of Niu Village was roughly repaired and reinforced by the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army for food storage.

The whole hall was stacked with all sorts of rations, enough for more than a hundred villagers to stay in the village, eat and drink their fill, and get through the entire winter safely.

When the villagers learned this, they all burst into tears.

It was the first time they had ever been cared for to this extent.

Even the people who cared for them so thoroughly and considered everything so meticulously came from Xuan Guo's army.

They could not even dream of such a thing.

It should be known that few armies in the world could treat civilians kindly, let alone care for them; merely encountering a military officer without being bullied is already a blessing.

"Immortals, you… you truly are all sent by Heaven!"

The Village Chief's old eyes were flooded with tears, swollen from crying.

He wanted to lead all the villagers in a grand bow of worship to Ning Jinli and the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor soldiers, but Ning Jinli stopped him.

"Elder, from now on you can live peacefully; I'll go back first, farewell," Ning Jinli said with a smile.

The Old Village Chief hurriedly said, "No, no, you've all been exhausted all night; you must stay and rest. We truly don't know how to repay you, so please rest here…"

Seeing the Old Village Chief's and the villagers' hopeful eyes, the generous invitation was hard to decline, so Ning Jinli agreed.

When the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army entered the tents to sleep, the Old Village Chief thought for a moment and sent a few villagers to the river by the village entrance to try catching some of the river's prized big fish.

Those fish were huge, with rich, fatty flesh, and in winter their flavor was especially exquisite.

But because they are ferocious and extremely hard to catch, villagers normally would not risk fishing for them.

The Old Village Chief, realizing there was nothing else to offer the Xuan Guo soldiers, made this decision; if they actually caught some, he would stew several large pots of fresh hot fish soup to warm the soldiers' stomachs, which would at least show the villagers' modest gratitude.

Soon, a dozen or so villagers set out carrying fishing gear.

But after a short while, they ran back to the village, each with a terrified face, having not even brought back the fishing gear, shouting and panting that something was about to happen.

"Speak softer; don't disturb the soldiers' rest."

The Village Chief said something to them, then asked what they had seen, why they were so frightened.

A few of them chattered and told the Old Village Chief that a large contingent of Zhenhuang Army was marching this way.

Summoning their courage, they observed and counted several thousand people.

Even more terrifying, the person at the front of the formation, clad in general's armor, turned out to be Niu San!

"Stop calling him Niu San! He's changed his surname himself, and he doesn't even deserve the name Niu!" the Old Village Chief fumed at hearing the beast's name. "Are you sure you didn't mistake him? How could Feng San possibly become a general?"

The villagers replied:

"All ten of us saw it clearly! It was definitely him!"

"Even if his face turned to ash, we wouldn't mistake him!"

"Village Chief, what should we do? He seems to be coming straight at us!"

"……"

The Old Village Chief grew increasingly solemn as he listened.

But he couldn't understand; the village had been raided twice yesterday, and the second time Feng San himself led the men to loot, so logically those men shouldn't have known that the village now had supplies again.

"Don't panic," the Old Village Chief thought, "You go inform the villagers to hide in the mountains; I'm going to tell the Jinli Fairy right away."

A villager asked, "Should we ask the Fairy to drive Feng San away for us?"

The Village Chief waved his hands repeatedly and said, "How many people does the Fairy have? About a thousand soldiers! Moreover, we were busy all night yesterday without sleep; the numbers are vastly different, the stamina gap is huge, how could we defeat the several thousand men Feng San brought? I must inform the Fairy and quickly have her soldiers leave!"

"Yes, yes, Village Chief, we'll go notify the villagers; you hurry and inform the Fairy!"

"Alright, let's go!"

Both sides split up and acted.

The Old Village Chief, in a hurry, found Ning Jingli and told her the situation he had just learned, as well as his own arrangements.

Ning Jingli, calmly, asked, "Approximately how much time remains before Feng San's troops reach our village?"

The Old Village Chief said, "It should be less than half a incense stick time!"

"Half a incense stick time… that's a bit insufficient," Ning Jingli frowned slightly.

The Old Village Chief gritted his teeth and said, "That beast is definitely still heading for Niu Village; he doesn't know the Fairy and you are here, so as long as I buy some time, I can get you out before he discovers you."

"No, no, no," Ning Jingli shook her head, "We won't run."

The Old Village Chief was stunned, "Not run? Fairy, that's several thousand people! You only have a thousand; if they see you, they'll surely strike you down! You've already done enough for the people of Niu Village; you must not let anything happen!"

Ning Jingli smiled slightly, "Old man, rest assured, only a few thousand Wasteland Nation soldiers are no match for our Daxuan army. It's just that this time we came not to deliver supplies to the villagers, so we didn't bring many weapons or equipment, so we need more time to scout the situation and devise a battle plan before we can annihilate them in one blow."

The Old Village Chief, incredulous, "Fairy… are you teasing this old man?"

"The lives of the villagers are at stake; how could I speak nonsense?" Ning Jingli said softly, "The Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army's combat power will surely open your eyes, but I need you to help us buy some time. I promise we won't cause any mishap to you or the villagers."

The Old Village Chief said, "Since the Fairy says so, how could this old man still not believe? Whatever the Fairy wants us to do, I'll obey. If an accident occurs, we will have no complaints; as long as the Fairy can eliminate that beast and avenge the dead villagers, we would gladly sacrifice our lives!"

Afterward, Ning Jingli gave the Old Village Chief a brief briefing.

She also slipped a radio intercom headset into the Old Village Chief's ear, telling him he could hear her through it and stay in contact at any time.

The Old Village Chief listened attentively, then set off without hesitation to carry it out.

Inside Niu Village, a thousand Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army troops finished a brief rest and, in an orderly fashion, began quietly withdrawing from various parts of the village into the nearby forest to prepare for battle.

Along with them went the overwhelming majority of the villagers.

The few villagers left, led by the Old Village Chief, arrived at the village entrance, standing in the wind and snow, waiting for the Zhenhuang Army, already in sight, that kept drawing nearer.

Feng San, clad in general's armor, rode a high‑steed, his head held high and chest puffed out, looking very imposing.

When he reached the village entrance and saw the Old Village Chief before him, he burst out laughing, "Hahaha! Village Chief, are you here to specifically welcome this general?"

A few villagers showed looks of disgust.

The Old Village Chief spat and cursed, "Ugh! You ungrateful scoundrel! Wearing that skin and actually thinking you're something? And you, general, where is your shame! Had I known you'd do such beastly deeds, I should have let you die in the mountains from the start!"

Feng San's face twitched, his gaze turning cold, "How daring, you rebellious peasants, to insult this general? Are you sick of living?!"

The Old Village Chief lifted his head, stretching his neck, "You want to kill even me, huh? Come! Swing your blade at my neck! If I even frown, I'm yours to keep!"

Feng San sneered, "Ha, the old thing still has some backbone. All I need is a single word; I could easily flatten not just your old bones but the entire Niu Village. However, I'm too lazy to stoop to dealing with lowly peasants like you; it would tarnish my status."

Seeing him put on such airs, the Old Village Chief didn't hold back and launched another tirade.

He cursed, each sentence harsher than the last, each word striking at Feng San's heart.

Not only did Feng San's complexion grow worse, but the subordinate generals beside him also seemed to lose face.

Even Ning Jingli, listening to the situation through the radio intercom headset, was silently speechless, fearing that the Old Village Chief's tirade would drive him to a frenzy and cause him to swing a blade right now.

Ning Jingli, holding the headset, whispered, "Old man… take it easy; I want you to buy time, not to go to your death…"

The Old Village Chief heard the voice in his ear, calmed slightly, and having exhausted his rant, he stopped and took a breath.

In the gloomy sky drifting with goose‑feather snow, several Drones silently flew by.

The thousands of Zhenhuang Army on the ground were completely unaware.

Feng San suppressed his inner rage, stared straight at the Old Village Chief, and said with a forced grin, "Had enough? Old fool, don't spew nonsense in front of my many subordinates. I am still a man of loyalty and righteousness. My arrival is to do you a favor, as a repayment; don't pretend you don't understand."

"Hahaha! Repayment?" the Old Village Chief laughed, leaning forward and backward, "Did I hear that right? A dog's mouth can spit out ivory? A beast knows repayment? No, actually many beasts do know repayment, but a certain sub‑human creature certainly lacks that awareness!"

Feng San's back molars chattered.

If it weren't for the fact that the old fool was still useful, and that I am, after all, a general who must maintain an image before my troops, I truly want to ride forward and ram the old fool to death.

"Village Chief, don't say this general hasn't given you a chance," Feng San said, his eyes cold with murderous intent, beckoning him, "Come over, later accompany me for a while to handle some matters for the Zhenhuang Army; you'll certainly reap some benefits afterward."

The Old Village Chief sneered, "Looks like you have a request of mine? No wonder I scolded you to the point of blood, yet you still dare not kill me. Since that's the case, if you agree to one condition of mine, I'll consider handling business for the Zhenhuang Army."

Feng San forced himself to stay patient, forcing a smile, "What condition?"