Chapter 41: His Majesty Has Returned! The Upgraded Gear Has Arrived Too!

General Duan was steadied, and he hurriedly waved his hand, "No, no, no, you are definitely qualified, but…"

"Then there is no 'but'!" the leading Lin Xian Village soldiers declared resolutely, "One more person means one more strength; General Duan, don't dismiss our few dozen as insignificant!"

General Duan's nose tingled, "You… aren't afraid of death?"

The Lin Xian Village soldiers were frank, saying they feared death, but it was to protect their hometown and the villagers.

If they could contribute and die on their own homeland's soil, they would not fear it.

"Good!" General Duan clasped his fists and said, "From now on, the Xi Tun Guan soldiers and you Lin Xian Village soldiers are no longer separate; we are all brothers defending the Daxuan frontier together! We will fight to the death together, and march to the road to the Yellow Springs!"

The Lin Xian Village soldiers clasped fists and shouted, "Fight to the death! March to the Yellow Springs!"

There was no time to waste.

General Duan immediately sent someone to inform the civilians.

Soon, more than two thousand people—civilian representatives elected by each household, village chiefs or respected elders from each village—gathered on the open ground outside Immortal Cave.

The Old Village Chief of Lin Xian Village hurried forward, his face bright with joy, and asked General Duan, "General Duan, is the Jinli Fairy about to grant us something again?"

Every previous summons had been for that reason.

Presumably this time is no exception.

Not far away, the others all wore hopeful expressions, looking toward Immortal Cave.

Seeing their expressions, General Duan's lips trembled, and for a moment he felt reluctant to tell them the truth.

The Old Village Chief said cheerfully:

"Now everyone has started planning to clear and cultivate the land. Thanks to the Fairy breaking open the cavern, there is a continuous supply of underground water, so the arid soil can be moistened. We think, seizing the chance while the season hasn't passed, we can't always rely on the Fairy's food gifts."

"However… could we trouble General Duan to speak with the Fairy and see if she can grant us some seeds."

"General, you know this drought is unprecedented; even the stored crop seeds have already been eaten by everyone… sigh, there's really nothing we can do…"

The Old Village Chief's eyes were full of hope for the future, babbling nonstop.

General Duan forced back tears that were about to spill, steadied his emotions, and forced a smile, saying, "Old Village Chief, the farming matter… no rush. First let everyone temporarily leave this place, to avoid…"

The Old Village Chief was stunned, "Avoid… avoid what? Hasn't the enemy already been eliminated by you?"

General Duan could find no excuse, and could only say, "Yu Guo has dispatched a great army, which will arrive here in a few days…"

The Old Village Chief waved his hand, "That's fine, aren't you? With the Fairy's help, you formed the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army! With over two thousand troops, you could wipe out Ba Yong's more than thirty thousand men! Even if Yu Guo invades again, everyone believes His Majesty can lead the soldiers and still defeat them!"

General Duan's cheeks trembled, "Old Village Chief, even if we are stronger, we can't beat the opponent… three hundred thousand troops."

"Three hundred thousand?" the Old Village Chief widened his murky eyes, "Are these bastards insane?"

General Duan said again, "So you see—"

"Three hundred thousand is three hundred thousand!" the Old Village Chief said, turning back and shouting, "Everyone listen, Yu Guo is coming to attack us again! What do you think, should we run?"

"Don't run!" the crowd replied without hesitation, shouting loudly.

"That's a three hundred thousand army, still not running?" the Old Village Chief asked again.

The crowd remained resolute.

"Run what?"

"We have His Majesty, we have the Jinli Fairy, and we have the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army!"

"Whatever number the enemy brings, we'll kill that many!"

"General Duan, if our forces are insufficient, you may conscript freely; out of over sixty thousand, we could certainly pick out twenty thousand!"

"Right! In that way we would have a thirty thousand army, all formed into formidable Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Soldiers!"

"His Majesty led two thousand five Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army and completely wiped out twenty‑five thousand enemy troops, showing that the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army can trade one for ten! So, if we have thirty thousand Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army, couldn't we handle three hundred thousand enemy troops?"

The crowd grew more excited, even analyzing it for General Duan.

General Duan's forehead began to sweat.

Warfare isn't calculated like that…

Even if we could draft twenty thousand from sixty thousand civilians to supplement the army, in a short time they would never reach the combat capability of the Xi Tun Guan soldiers.

After all, they still need training, right…

How can we just focus on comparing numbers?

General Duan, with a resolute heart and no other way, could only tell them that His Majesty was absent and the Fairy had lost contact…

That would surely cause the crowd's faith to collapse, hard to accept.

But it's still better than leaving them here to be slaughtered by the enemy and waste their lives.

"Everyone be quiet, listen to me!"

General Duan shouted.

The crowd fell silent, more than two thousand pairs of eyes all staring at him.

General Duan, bearing immense psychological pressure, slowly began, "Actually, His Majesty…"

"His Majesty!" suddenly, the Old Village Chief shouted, kneeling with utmost respect.

Over two thousand people nearby also shouted "His Majesty", kneeling together.

General Duan was stunned.

What's going on?

He hadn't even finished speaking; why did they suddenly kneel?

"General Duan." a smooth, low voice sounded behind him.

General Duan jolted, startled, and turned around.

He saw at the cave entrance behind him the tall, imposing, dignified figure already standing.

The few other commanders present only now noticed and all showed astonished expressions.

"His… His Majesty!" General Duan slid into a kneel and fell at Xiao Qidi's feet, "Why have you returned?"

Xiao Qidi furrowed his brows, "I'm not coming back—where else could I go?"

Duan Wu wiped his eyes as he said, "This humble subordinate still thought…… thought you had followed the Fairy to the Fairy Realm and would not come back here."

Xiao Qidi said softly, "She wanted to keep me there, but I didn't agree."

Upon hearing that, Duan Wu was about to persuade him to accept the Fairy's request, but Xiao Qidi waved his hand and said, "Don't kneel here—make way, something is coming."

No sooner had he spoken.

Just then, a minivan appeared out of nowhere outside the cave mouth.

"The Fairy sent more things again?" Duan Wu widened his eyes, "This humble subordinate still thought…… the Fairy would no longer help us."

Xiao Qidi said, "First, have someone move this; inside are the four evildoers I killed—later, dispose of the bodies properly."

Although Duan Wu didn't know what had happened, since it was His Majesty's order, he immediately complied.

"Everyone, make way at once!" Xiao Qidi commanded loudly.

The onlookers dared not delay; they immediately ran swiftly to the outskirts of the open space, just as before, holding their breath and focusing their gaze on the open space.

After waiting a moment—

Whoosh!

The sand and dirt on the open space moved on its own without wind.

A steady stream of upgraded soldiers' equipment appeared on the open space.

And this is only the beginning……