Chapter 419: Mountain Rain Approaching

Great Marsh City.

Outside the city drill ground, Wu Tie and Pei Feng stood on the inspection platform, watching a huge formation below undergoing various changes.

This formation is the Pei Feng family's inherited Fish Dragon Marvelous formation, requiring 810,000 cultivators of elite troops to form the grand formation, eighty-one wondrous and unpredictable gates, within which a small ocean world evolves, possessing the marvelous uses of Fish Dragon Marvelous and mutual generation and destruction.

If someone falls into the formation, within a moment they will be crushed by the immense force of the Three Rivers and Four Seas water source, and countless Fish Dragon avatars will attack together; even an expert at the pinnacle of the Embryonic Storage realm cannot withstand it for long before being ground to dust.

Since Pei Feng's father fell, the Black Phoenix Army gradually declined; previously the Black Phoenix Army's total strength was just over five hundred thousand, utterly unable to lay out the Fish Dragon Marvelous Grand Formation.

After allying with Wu Tie, various logistics and armaments continuously supplied the Black Phoenix Army; Pei Feng also selected a batch of able-bodied youths from Great Marsh City to join the troops, and after a period of arduous training, this Fish Dragon Marvelous Grand Formation gradually took on a certain appearance.

Now before Wu Tie and Pei Feng, dozens of white dragons writhe and twist above the formation, and hundreds of giant whales roar and soar; the waves churn, and immense pressure spreads from the formation, forcing the trees within a radius of several hundred li to bend away from the formation, thick and thin alike.

Beside the Fish Dragon Marvelous Formation, there is also a small Heaven-Earth-Man Three Talents Convergence Formation being drilled.

Under Wu Tie's command, over fifty thousand state militia brave fighters, plus several hundred thousand conscripted private army soldiers, are organized in a structure of three per squad, three squads per company, three companies per battalion, three battalions per regiment, three regiments per brigade, drilling the formation according to the Three Talents directions.

The formation is like a blooming odd flower; its changes are simple, yet it also gives rise to a solemn aura.

Though this formation's intricacy of changes is far inferior to that of the Fish Dragon Marvelous Grand Formation, it is simple, brutal, direct, and its lethality is quite remarkable, enough to threaten Embryonic Storage realm experts.

Such a simple yet brutal formation is exactly suited to this rag-tag bunch under Wu Tie's command.

Wu Tie has no great expectations of them; as long as they can be of some use, that is enough.

"The state militia are already usable." Pei Feng paid no heed to her own Fish Dragon Marvelous Grand Formation, but placed most of her attention on the state militia's Three Talents Formation. Although in her view the state militia's formation is still crude and not yet proficient, she glanced at Wu Tie and still offered praise.

"General Huo's words……are not sincere." Wu Tie curled his lip and gave a cold snort: "Just this bunch of scum? Not to mention the fifty-odd thousand trash I dragged in through deceit, those private armies… humph, if it weren't for their lives being wholly in my hands, I would not dare to employ them."

Shaking his head, Wu Tie sighed: "Still, Uncle Ma and the others are formidable; turning these wastes into something resembling people in such a short time is no easy feat."

Pei Feng smiled and shook her head: "General Huo, do not be too harsh on them; elite soldiers forged in a hundred battles are only tempered after a hundred battles. The Great Marsh State Militia have not yet experienced true bloodshed; they appear lacking now, but after a few fights they will be different."

Wu Tie nodded, waved his big hand, and was about to lead Pei Feng for a drink when, from the high distance, a shrill horn suddenly sounded.

The horn was extremely urgent, a warning signal issued only when an emergency occurs.

Wu Tie and Pei Feng hurriedly looked toward it; the horn came from the floating war fortress beside the spatial gate, which was slowly opening, its diameter already expanded to about two thousand zhang, clearly indicating a large force was about to be transmitted from afar.

Blood-red light pillars shot up from the twelve floating war fortresses—this is martial beacon fire, the red light shooting straight up a hundred li into the sky, visible even hundreds of li away as these scarlet, blinding pillars.

Wu Tie took out a jade talisman and urgently shouted at it: "What's happening?"

Huang Yu has now achieved minor success in cultivating the Crimson Lotus Golden Core Elixir, breaking through several heavenly layers, condensing a Crimson Lotus Golden Core; a single mouthful of Crimson Lotus True Fire possesses astonishing lethal power, and he has comprehended several divine abilities and secret arts, having been granted a set of child immortal weapons by Wu Tie, thus his combat power has surged.

He is currently the Commander-in-Chief of the twelve floating war fortresses; all troops entering and exiting the spatial gate are under his regulation.

Upon hearing Wu Tie's inquiry via the jade talisman, Huang Yu's voice swiftly returned.

The spatial gate received the request; from a prefectural city southwest of Anyang City came word that a corps directly under the Ministry of War had been ordered to come to Great Marsh Prefecture on official business, thus commanding the spatial gate of Great Marsh Prefecture to open to receive the Ministry's troops.

All spatial gates within the Great Jin realm are directly overseen by the Great Jin court, especially the Ministry of War, which is the direct supervisory department for all spatial gates. Hence the Ministry of War has absolute control over these gates; they followed procedure and sent a notice to this side, but in fact, when Huang Yu received the notice, the spatial gate had already been opened directly by the Ministry of War troops on that side.

Although the Ministry of War has this authority.

However, according to general official etiquette, unless a navigation route was pre-arranged and navigation time agreed upon, the Ministry of War would wait for a reply from the spatial gate officials of Great Marsh Prefecture before jointly opening the gate.

This bears no relation to the larger situation, merely concerning the face of the local government.

Yet this time the Ministry of War troops had just sent word, and the spatial gate opened immediately, moreover at extreme speed—in an instant the gate expanded to a diameter of over two thousand zhang.

Huang Yu keenly sensed that the other party's intentions were not benign, so he quickly ignited the martial beacon fire and simultaneously sounded the warning horn.

"They come with ill intent—let's go see!" Wu Tie roared, waved his hand, and the drilling Three Talents Formation instantly ceased its changes; a thin mist rose beneath the soldiers' feet, lifting the huge formation and flying it toward the direction of the spatial gate.

Inside the floating war fortress, thirty-six super-large-caliber Pure Yang Aurora Cannons have begun charging; the main cannon slowly extends from the fortress wall, locking onto the spatial gate.

Moreover, hundreds of large and small decked ships from Great Marsh Prefecture have gathered from all directions; main guns, secondary guns, and countless heavy bed-mounted ballistae likewise lock onto the spatial gate's exit.

When the decked ships just emerged from the spatial gate, that is their most vulnerable moment.

Within the spatial gate, the decked ships must expend enormous energy to resist the erosion of spatial turbulence; upon leaving the gate, their defenses are greatly weakened, and if subjected to concentrated fire, they are as easily shattered as a millstone smashing stone.

Even the massive flagship carrying the Ministry of War's top brass is equally fragile upon leaving the spatial gate.

The Three Talents Formation flies slowly; Wu Tie's evasive light is swift, and he is the first to rush outside the spatial gate, standing still in midair a dozen li from the gate.

Pei Feng's evasive light is also extremely swift; she lags behind Wu Tie by only a hair, arriving outside the spatial gate shortly after.

She donned armor, gripped that black spear in both hands, and with a grim face watched the gradually brightening spatial gate: "Coming straight from the heart of Great Jin? Who else could it be but Sima Lang's people?"

Wu Tie pondered and asked: "The new prefect?"

Pei Feng seriously tilted her head, thought, then nodded: "The new prefect? Then let him meet an accidental death!"

Wu Tie looked approvingly at Pei Feng: "Good idea—who will do it?"

Pei Feng punched Wu Tie's shoulder: "Whoever is handy, whoever does it—anyway, don't let him live past three days…"

Several streaks of light flew swiftly from the direction of Great Marsh City; Li Qian, the deputy director of the Ministry of War's Law Enforcement Bureau stationed in Great Marsh Prefecture, accompanied by a few subordinates, rushed over in haste; from afar he asked Wu Tie: "General Huo, are these Ministry of War personnel? That shouldn't be…… With your state militia stationed here, aided by the Black Phoenix Army, and my Law Enforcement Bureau's detachment overseeing, Great Marsh Prefecture's military system is complete."

Li Qian said somewhat irritably: "I also received no notice saying Ministry of War personnel would come; who is meddling recklessly?"

The Great Jin Ministry of War has internal factional divisions; Li Qian undoubtedly represents a major faction. Having been dispatched to Great Marsh Prefecture, everyone should know that this prefecture is the fief of Li Qian's backers.

It is like wolf packs dividing mountain territories: one pack occupies a patch of land, and other packs will not easily approach unless they wish to ignite a war between the packs.

Thus Li Qian is puzzled, but more so angry.

With a "hum," the spatial gate trembled slightly; streaks of inwardly converging light flowed along its crystal pillars, a great spatial undulation transmitted from within the gate, forcing Wu Tie, Pei Feng, Li Qian, and others to retreat several li.

With a "hiss hiss hiss," the seemingly thin light membrane inside the spatial gate was torn apart by the prows of dozens of decked ships, and huge decked ships hundreds of zhang in length slowly flew out from among the ships.

Wu Tie raised his right hand, clenched it fiercely, then swung forward.

With a "boom," a hundred-zhang-thick pillar of light, accompanied by thunder and fire, sliced past outside the spatial gate; fierce hot wind burst forth, sending out rings of transparent explosions; the air where it passed filled with a distinctive ozone smell, a faintly suffocating scorching odor.

"Warning! Report your origins immediately, or else my forces will attack." Huang Yu, clad in a set of shining iridescent armor, stood on a war fortress's battlement, eager to try, gazing at the dozens of half-hulled decked ships still inside the spatial gate.

This fellow is no law-abiding sort.

In his Huang family's ancestral domain of Langhe Prefecture, he too was a troublesome playboy; inexplicably his whole family was framed and punished, sent to Great Marsh Prefecture to serve as border troops, having endured much hardship; aside from feeling grateful to Wu Tie, he harbors inexplicable hostility and hatred toward all Great Jin officials.

What about the Great Jin Ministry of War's troops?

If we could annihilate a Ministry of War fleet here…… Huang Yu, imagining the scene of that fleet being wrecked into flower petals and flowing water, becomes excited to the point of trembling all over.

Just now the discharge of a Pure Yang Aurora Cannon obviously frightened the first batch of decked ships that had passed through the spatial gate.

Several streams of light swiftly broke through the dim defensive barrier on the surface of the warship, hurriedly arriving before Wu Tie and Pei Feng. A burly man with flowing beard, wearing a crimson battle robe and silver qilin armor, raised a golden token and loudly roared: "Belonging to the Military Department's Secretariat Hall, ordered to come to Great Marsh Prefecture on official business... What are you doing? What do you mean by that cannon just now? You, are you planning to rebel?"

Wu Tie gave him a very impolite slap.

A muffled sound rang out; the burly man, one rank higher than Wu Tie and wearing at his waist the Great Jin Second-Rank General's Seal and a token, was caught off guard. Wu Tie's solid slap sent him flying, tumbling dozens of times, he flew backward over ten li before crashing headfirst into the prow shield of a warship, barely stabilizing himself.

"You!" the several officers brought by the burly man flew into a rage.

"I've shed blood for Great Jin, I've been wounded for Great Jin, on the Three Kingdoms battlefield I earned merit for Great Jin; I risked my life to gain this dignity, this military post!" Wu Tie said arrogantly: "You lot are from the Secretariat Hall? The so-called 'civil soldiers'? Hey, you also dare to pin a black pot on me? Rebel? I'll rebel against your damned mother!"

The officers' faces turned green with anger, their bodies trembling, their eyes bloodshot.

The Military Department's Secretariat Hall holds high rank and great power, its position extremely important, yet the various main armies of Great Jin look down on its officers and soldiers. These troops have long guarded the Secretariat Hall's key locations; many have served there their whole lives, basically never seeing battle, some even never drawing their swords in a lifetime, yet they enjoy high status and are promoted much faster than ordinary frontline generals.

Thus, officers who come from combat units like the Huo Xiong regiment are naturally opposed and at odds with those belonging to the Secretariat Hall, and furthermore, combat-unit officers privately refer to the Secretariat Hall's personnel as 'civil soldiers'.

That is to say, what they excel at is showing off their literary skills on paper; in fact they have little combat ability.

This statement is not really unfair to the people of the Secretariat Hall.

As for that burly man, purely in terms of cultivation, he is at the middle stage of the Fetal Storage Realm, and the technique he practices is also extraordinary.

But facing Wu Tie's joking slap, he actually couldn't dodge it. In other words, he never expected Wu Tie to strike him; he really had no vigilance whatsoever, not a hint of sense of danger.

"Weak bird!" Pei Feng gave a light spit.

After spending a few months with Wu Tie, Pei Feng also learned some of the odd-sounding yet actually amusing remarks that Wu Tie occasionally blurts out.

"Quite weak." Wu Tie laughed, showing his teeth.

The burly man, furious, held high the golden token in his hand and hysterically shouted: "Huo Xiong, do you dare defy the Military Department's order? Aren't you afraid of military law?"

Li Qian standing nearby gave a sneering, neither-yin-nor-yang laugh: "Military law? I, Li Qian of the Military Department's Law Enforcement Bureau, am here—may I ask what qualifications the Secretariat Hall has to mention the two words 'military law' with my Law Enforcement Bureau?"

The burly man stalled at once.

The several officers he brought also stared at each other, unable to speak.

Within the Military Department, the Secretariat Hall is obviously important; judging by its structure, the hall's structure is evidently one level higher than that of the bureau.

But this only shows that the Secretariat Hall has a huge organization, complex personnel, and ample resources it can mobilize. As for importance, the Law Enforcement Bureau is in no way inferior to the Secretariat Hall.

On the contrary, the Law Enforcement Bureau can supervise the Secretariat Hall in military law, and the Secretariat Hall, regarding military law, is also subject to the bureau's supervision.

Li Qian being here, for the burly man and Wu Tie to talk about military law is really overstepping... military law is not something the Secretariat Hall gets to manage!

"Really a bunch of good-for-nothings." a voice very familiar to Wu Tie sounded from afar.

The first batch of dozens of warships had already flown out of the spatial gate, Si Ma Xin and Si Ma Hu leading a large retinue, stepping on gloomy cloud-light, they flew toward Wu Tie's side.

From afar, Si Ma Xin and Si Ma Hu both glanced at Wu Tie, then their gazes gathered on Pei Feng's face.

There was astonishment, greed, and various complex emotions.

He gave a light cough, Si Ma Xin said in a deep voice: "General Huo Xiong, long time no see... I really... missed you to death."