Chapter 407

Pei Feng's mount was shaken until it bled from all seven orifices, unable to fly anymore, it could only lie limp on the ground, staring at Wu Tie with its eyes rolled back.

Entities: Pei Feng (person name), Wu Tie (person name). Also maybe 'mount' is not a named entity. So we have Pei Feng, Wu Tie.

Pei Feng struggled to fly up into midair, furrowing his brows as he looked at Wu Tie.

Same: Pei Feng, Wu Tie.

After a long silence, Pei Feng asked in a deep voice: 'Where are the million supplies? Bring them out, let's take a look.'

Entities: Pei Feng. 'Million supplies' is not a named entity.

Wu Tie resumed human form, then with a wave of his left hand, bags of fragrant military rations flew out from the ring he wore, quickly piling up into a small mound at his feet.

Entities: Wu Tie.

He flew to the top of the grain mound, grabbed a bag of military rations, tore it open, and instantly, tiny grains the size of a fingertip, crystal clear and translucent like red jade, with a faint mist swirling around them, rustled out of the bag.

Entities: none new (the grain mountain is not a named entity). 'He' refers to Wu Tie.

Grain after grain of military rations kept falling down the pile, and as they collided, they produced a crisp sound.

No new.

This is 'Coral Rice'; although not as precious as Dragon Tooth Sorghum, it likewise requires extremely fertile land, abundant worldly elemental energy, and special cultivation techniques to grow as a spiritual material.

Entities: Coral Rice (a named item), Dragon Tooth Sorghum (a named item, a type of sorghum). Also, 'spiritual material' is generic. 'Coral Rice' and 'Dragon Tooth Sorghum' are named treasures/items, so per the rules we include them and translate their meanings as 'Coral Rice' and 'Dragon Tooth Sorghum'.

The worldly elemental energy contained in each grain of Coral Rice is several, tens, or even hundreds of times that of ordinary civilian food.

Entities: Coral Rice.

Red Coral Rice is merely the lowest grade of Coral Rice, yet it is sufficient to serve as daily food for cultivators at the peak of the Perceiving Mystery Realm and even low-level cultivators of the Chonglou Realm.

Entities: Coral Rice, Red Coral Rice, Perceiving Mystery Realm, Chonglou Realm.

A body cultivator at the peak of the Perceiving Mystery Realm needs only about one catty of Red Coral Rice per day to meet his daily consumption; even during high-intensity combat, no more than three catties are needed to satisfy his bodily needs.

Entities: Perceiving Mystery Realm, Red Coral Rice.

Moreover, Red Coral Rice is very dense, roughly comparable to ordinary stone, so a catty of it does not take up much volume; a bag of Red Coral Rice can weigh as much as five or six hundred catties.

Entities: Red Coral Rice.

Such a bag of rice could meet the daily needs of five or six hundred Perceiving Mystery Realm soldiers for an entire day.

Entities: Perceiving Mystery Realm.

Moreover, the Red Coral Rice that Wu Tie threw out amounts to at least a thousand bags, enough to supply hundreds of thousands of Perceiving Mystery Realm soldiers for one day. Even if converted for Chonglou Realm warriors, the provisions here would suffice for a hundred thousand people for a day.

Entities: Wu Tie, Red Coral Rice, Perceiving Mystery Realm, Chonglou Realm.

Wu Tie also threw out thousands of sets of fine armor, thousands of strong bows and crossbows, and thousands of swords, spears, and halberds.

Entities: Wu Tie.

All kinds of military equipment are quite exquisite; even the weakest are Supreme Elemental Weapons, mostly Ordinary Spiritual Weapons or Threefold Refined Spiritual Weapons, with plenty of Sixfold Refined and Ninefold Refined Spiritual Weapons present.

Entities: Supreme Elemental Weapon, Ordinary Spiritual Weapon, Threefold Refined Spiritual Weapon, Sixfold Refined, Ninefold Refined (all named weapon grades).

In the Divine Martial Army of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom, even ordinary soldiers often use Supreme Elemental Weapons, and spiritual weapons of Threefold Refined or higher are mostly used by officers of the rank of Colonel and Commandant; as for Immortal Weapons or Threefold Refined and above Immortal Weapons, only those who have achieved great merit, or come from a distinguished military family with a powerful backer, can possess them.

Entities: Great Jin Divine Kingdom, Divine Martial Army, Colonel, Commandant, Immortal Weapon.

For example, Pei Feng, whose birth father was a first-rank duke, wields a black long spear that is a Ninefold Refined Immortal Weapon!

Entities: Pei Feng, First Rank Duke, Ninefold Refined Immortal Weapon.

The armaments that Wu Tie took out are all excellent.

Entities: Wu Tie.

Pei Feng's eyes gradually grew brighter…… dozens of commanders of the Black Phoenix Army, leading large troops, had emerged from the surrounding forests at some point.

Entities: Pei Feng, Black Phoenix Army.

The commanders stared intently at those high-grade spiritual weapons.

Entities: none new.

The soldiers kept gulping, staring at the Red Coral Rice.

Entities: Red Coral Rice.

'Uncle Qian San, give me an idea.' Pei Feng kept taking deep breaths, then suddenly shouted loudly into the valley.

Entities: Uncle Qian San, Pei Feng.

'The people of Si Ma Lang will definitely not send us even a grain of rice.' Qian San's trembling voice came from the valley: 'No matter who is behind this kid, anyway, he is not one of Si Ma Lang's people.'

Entities: Si Ma Lang, Qian San.

After a pause, Qian San said coldly: 'He brought a bunch of city trash here; it seems he was forced to come by the newly arrived Prefect.'

Entities: Qian San, Prefect.

'Hehe, this is the scheme of using one enemy to attack another; no matter who wins between him and us, as long as we clash, the one who benefits will only be the Prefect of Xin Lai... This guy, I really want to chop him into pieces.'

【52】

Wu Tie certainly knows who Qian San's "this guy" refers to.

【54】

He gazed at Pei Feng and said solemnly, "Commander Pei Feng, everything that's happened so far was just a misunderstanding. Let's sit down and work this out properly. I have what you desperately need, and you have what I desperately need."

【56】

Using violence against them will only end up benefiting our enemies.

No new.

【59】

Great Marsh Prefecture

【61】

Pei Feng, Black Phoenix Army, Great Jin, having a powerful patron

【63】

Wu Tie, Pei Feng, Black Phoenix Army, Sima Lang

【66】

No.

This is a huge windfall, like a pie falling from the sky.

No.

【69】

Pei Feng, Black Phoenix Army, Wu Tie

【72】

No.

Especially, this is Great Marsh Prefecture, presently in a state of lawlessness.

【74】

Pei Feng stared at the huge heap of grain at Wu Tie's feet, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smirked, his eyes narrowing like a leopard about to strike, revealing a perilous expression: "What if we just take it by force?"

【76】

Wu Tie shamelessly glanced at Pei Feng and laughed, "I'll turn and walk away… and then we'll be sworn enemies."

【78】

Wu Tie's body shimmered, turning into a golden flash that whooshed back and forth through the void at breakneck speed for hundreds of miles. He nearly appeared in seven or eight places at once, leaving a dozen clear afterimages in the high sky within a radius of tens of miles.

【80】

Pei Feng and his companions gasped in shock.

【82】

we already translated: "【82】 'Your escape technique is truly astonishing... this must be the Vertical Earth Golden Light Method, right?' The pitch-black Uncle Ma pointed foolishly at Wu Tie and shouted: 'If you try to run, we really can't stop you, but can you abandon your subordinates and flee?'"

【84】

Wu Tie clapped his hands, spread them wide, and smiled, saying, "Are these my subordinates? Do I really have such useless troops?"

【86】

He gave a cold smile, then wiped it away: "They're merely a bunch of thugs I temporarily hired in Great Marsh Prefecture—a pack of heinous criminals who deserve to die ten thousand times over. If they die, they die; do you really expect me to die with them?"

【88】

He shook his head and said firmly, "You think I came to Great Marsh Prefecture empty-handed for no reason? It's just because they raised troops temporarily here, and these recruits' lives are worthless—I can discard them whenever I want."

【90】

Pei Feng, Uncle Ma, and the others exchanged glances, speechless.

【92】

Based on their experience commanding troops in battle… Wu Tie is just talking nonsense, utterly shameless.

【94】

Yet Wu Tie's words left them unable to counter at all.

【96】

Yeah, are there any decent folks in Great Marsh Prefecture?

【98】

A pack of criminals who deserve to die ten thousand times over—if they die, they die; Wu Tie abandons them and runs, facing no moral repercussions whatsoever.

【100】

"What an impressive General Huo Xiong!" Pei Feng lowered his spear, clapped his hands, and said, "Then please come into the valley to discuss further."

【102】

His face flushed slightly, Pei Feng's voice turned a bit embarrassed: "Could you, General Huo Xiong, spare some more grain and fodder? To be honest, our Black Phoenix Army has been without food for several days, and our men have been suffering terribly."

【104】

Wu Tie simply laughed.

【106】

Pei Feng's personality is truly charming—he hasn't even begun the talks and already revealed his own weakness.

【108】

Although it stems from caring for his own troops… this spirit, this integrity, Wu Tie still admires it greatly.

【110】

The valley is filled with haphazardly piled slag; dark slag hills are coated with soil, and stubborn dogtail grass thrives in the thin layer, swaying cheerfully in the wind and rain.

【112】

The valley contains dozens of mine entrances of various sizes; Wu Tie lightly scanned the area with his spiritual sense and found the tunnels riddled with holes, a maze of shafts and tunnels, with at least three or four hundred thousand people working below.

【114】

However, based on Wu Tie's years of experience living underground, these people's mining skills are quite poor.

【116】

Many of the tunnel structures left Wu Tie feeling alarmed.

【118】

Considering how these people dig so haphazardly, it's astonishing the tunnels haven't collapsed—it's just sheer luck on their part.

Entities: none.

At the edge of the valley, in a row of crude thatched huts, many miners missing arms or legs lay on rotting piles of straw, continually letting out low moans and groans. Many of them were clearly just wounded by falling rocks, their wounds bloody and messy, and no one seemed to be treating them.

The Black Phoenix Army doesn't even have enough supplies for itself—where would we get resources to waste on these guys?

Wu Tie also stared at the injured miners with a blank face, feeling no pity at all.

Those sent to Great Marsh Prefecture—officials like Huang Lang, perhaps they'd offended someone and been framed and shipped here. But frankly, the local officials of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom are too lazy even to frame these guys and pin blame on them.

They're just a pack of wicked scoundrels sent here to serve the frontier as atonement.

As for those the Black Phoenix Army dragged here by various tricks to mine… anyway, they're hardly saints; if they die, they die—why would Wu Tie need to break down crying for them?

"The place is crude, General Huo Xiong—please excuse me." In the valley a wooden lodge was built, where Qian San usually rests when inspecting the mines; it is indeed crude, resembling the stilted houses built by the Zhao Lao San brothers in Great Marsh City.

"No problem, no problem—the Black Phoenix Army is temporarily strained, but judging from the commander's character, its future resurgence is obvious." Wu Tie smiled and gave Feng two compliments.

Just then he straightforwardly lent several medium‑large tower ships to Feng, and also took out a lot of red coral rice and higher‑grade yellow coral rice, having Uncle Ma lead a squad of Black Phoenix troops to operate the ships and haul grain back to the Black Phoenix Army's main camp.

The grain Wu Tie took out was enough to feed hundreds of thousands of Black Phoenix soldiers for a month.

This debt weighs heavily on the Black Phoenix Army as it stands…

Whether it was Feng, the other commanders, or Qian San whom Wu Tie had injured, the Black Phoenix high‑rankers all bowed to Wu Tie, silently holding this favor in mind.

The wooden lodge has a small hall, not large—just enough to seat about a dozen people for a meeting.

After everyone sat down as host and guest, Wu Tie got straight to the point: "A few days ago, did the commander injure the men Zhang Xibai sent?"

Feng's eyes twitched: "As soon as they clashed, they were routed… they were, deliberately losing…"

Wu Tie spread his hands and sighed helplessly: "They lost, so it's my turn to take the fall. But that doesn't matter—I just want to ask the commander one thing: where exactly did you offend the person behind Zhang Xibai?"

The Black Phoenix officers all showed anger, and several with hotter tempers let out a heavy 'humph.'

Wu Tie gazed at Feng.

Feng met Wu Tie's gaze openly and said calmly: "Sima Lang wants me. If he could make me the principal consort of the Ying Prince's heir, for the sake of these brothers I'd agree—just think of it as being bitten by a dog."

He gave a cold smile, and Feng spoke coldly: "But he's already married and has a son, and wants me to be his concubine, his mistress… Sima Lang really has a good scheme."

Wu Tie nodded; now he understood why Feng had offended Sima Lang.

"So you're saying there's no chance between the commander and Sima Lang?" Wu Tie eyed Feng up and down.

"Naturally impossible. Feng comes from a general's family, born with a straightforward nature, never beating around the bush, and too lazy to resort to scheming."

Feng stared at Wu Tie and said low: "To friends we are a hundred times enthusiastic; to enemies we are ten thousand times ruthless. I suppose General Huo Xiong has by now learned something of our Black Phoenix Army's ways over these days."

Wu Tie nodded; of course he knew.

Several of the prefectural governors and military commanders sent by Sima Lang have been taken out by you guys, right?

Really, for this sort of thing you've cooked up all kinds of flimsy excuses to cover it up. Perhaps Sima Lang doesn't really want to pursue it seriously? This guy might still have designs on Feng.

However, Wu Tie narrowed his eyes at Feng's face.

This young woman is indeed beautiful, especially with that vigorous, wild aura—completely different from those simpering, frail young ladies; no wonder Sima Lang has been eyeing her like a tiger.

"If that's the case, Zhang Xibai sending me here with a single pole—I doubt he'll let me pass so easily." Wu Tie said solemnly: "We need to turn the tables, give him a big move… uh, what excuse did the commander use last time to take out my predecessor? Let's figure it out together."

After a short while, earth‑shaking shouts of killing suddenly came from outside the Black Phoenix Army mine valley.

Several large tower ships shot up into the sky, their bow main guns, dozens of side guns, and hundreds of bed‑crossbows firing wildly, blasting the valley inside and out until mountains collapsed and the earth split, the noise shaking the heavens.

After a while, several tower ships belched black smoke and slowly sank into the valley, followed by earth‑shaking explosions and blinding flashes—clearly the tower ships had been destroyed.

Rank after rank of Black Phoenix troops brandished their weapons and leapt into the air, charging at the disheveled state‑army soldiers fleeing from the tower ships.

Thousands of Black Phoenix troops pursued fifty‑odd thousand state‑army soldiers until they had nowhere to go; soon, vast numbers of state‑army soldiers dropped their weapons… and surrendered!

Suddenly, an earth‑shaking roar came from the valley.

"Huo Xiong, release our Black Phoenix Army commander!"