Chapter 609

Like a big-bellied whale transport ship slowly descending, the cargo hold's doors burst open one by one, and long gangways slid out from inside the hold like flowing water.

A large group of conscripted auxiliary troops from the State of An's Invincible Army stood in neat ranks, stepped out of the gangways in unison, each holding various tools, and quickly set up stoves and large pots on the open ground beside the transport ship.

These auxiliary troops, even the weakest among them had cultivation at the first or second level of the Chonglou Realm; they lacked great talent, but they could still fan the flames and raise the furnace temperature.

The water in the large pot quickly boiled, various ingredients were dumped in—big chunks of bone, big chunks of meat, handfuls of spices, handfuls of salt—crude and unrefined, yet hearty pots of meat soup soon gave off a rich aroma.

The transport ship landed on an open space near Demon-Suppressing City; many Demon-Suppressing soldiers stood on the city walls, squinting at the scene, their faces full of disdain.

They, the Demon-Suppressing Army, scorned eating such a haphazard stew.

After all, the Demon-Suppressing Army was once the elite force of the Great Jin Divine Nation, now the top-tier army of the Qingqiu Divine Nation, specially tasked with repelling subterranean demon invasions; their logistical support hardly needs to be good—who would want this?

This stuff is clearly not prepared for them.

Prince An Huo Xiong came to Demon-Suppressing City to buy a large batch of slaves; this wasn't exactly a secret, and the mid- and high-ranking generals and officers of Demon-Suppressing City who had any news channels all knew about it.

A commandant crossed his arms over his chest, spat heavily into the moat below the wall, shook his head and gave a cold snort: 'Even pigs and dogs wouldn't eat this stuff… yet it's too good for those demon slaves… huh, what is that?'

Another seventh-rank major widened his eyes and exclaimed: 'Good heavens, big meat buns? Preparing big meat buns for these beasts-not-as-good demons? My goodness, I heard Prince An's fiefdom is the absolute pinnacle of wealth in our Great Jin… oh, no, the Qingqiu Divine Nation!'

Another commandant lowered his voice: 'Watch what you say, our Qingqiu Divine Nation, Qingqiu Divine Nation… well, Yuzhou, that place—I've heard of it, said to be so rich oil flows, families keep dogs fed big chunks of meat and big bowls of wine… our rural hometown can't compare. My goodness…'

Pot after pot of steaming meat broth, basket after basket of white, fluffy meat buns, the aroma drifting from the open-air stoves gradually made the Demon-Suppressing soldiers on the walls start swallowing their saliva.

Although the preparation is crude, the taste is truly fragrant!

'The spices, that's the reason.' A fire officer commandant of the Demon-Suppressing Army rushed onto the wall, staring fixedly at the busy Invincible Army auxiliaries not far off: 'This bunch of damned scoundrels, is their spice free? All that cassia bark, star anise, fennel… is their spice free?'

'He's rich…' A third-rank general born of a military household, not a general's family, said wistfully: 'I've heard, just heard, that Prince An has formed an Invincible Army; setting aside other things, their pay is three times ours.'

Nearby officers and soldiers widened their eyes in unison, each like a wolf smelling meat, their gazes glowing green as they looked at this third-rank general.

This third-rank general smugly raised a thumb: 'I'm from Luzhou. Heck, Luzhou is now Prince An's fief… my brothers, a few of them joined the Invincible Army, and just two days ago they sent me a letter. Triple pay, genuine triple pay.'

After scanning the crowd, this third-rank general reached out and firmly patted a tall, long-armed vigorous man whose height exceeded a zhang and whose arms were much longer than ordinary: 'Especially, a military man with special talents, like you, Eagle Claw—your archery could rank among the top three in our Demon-Suppressing First City; based on your archery skill, joining the Invincible Army would grant you an immediate one-rank promotion and double your pay.'

Eagle Claw's cheeks flushed slightly, his eyes turned a bit green, and the Demon-Suppressing soldiers beside him kept gulping.

Eagle Claw was merely a fourth-rank commandant; advancing from fourth-rank commandant to general level is extremely difficult, requiring no outstanding merit nor superior patronage; Eagle Claw came from a humble background, so his prospects in the army had nearly reached their ceiling.

But merely joining the Invincible Army would instantly promote him one rank?

My goodness!

That would make him a third-rank general.

If the pay, already three times the base, were doubled again, that would be six times the pay of a third-rank general in the Demon-Suppressing Army!

Six times!

The Demon-Suppressing Army's pay is already top-tier in the divine nation; multiplying it by six?

Eagle Claw's fingers flew as he calculated; his math wasn't great, he was busy figuring out what level his pay would reach if it truly increased sixfold, and then he fell into confusion.

The more he calculated, the more muddled he became!

But roughly speaking, he had once passed through the original Anyang City, now Qingqiu City, and in a luxurious weapons shop had taken a fancy to an immortal-weapon-grade precious bow; it seemed that if he saved a few years' wages and gritted his teeth, he could afford it.

That third-rank commander glanced at Eagle Claw and said leisurely: 'There's also another perk: for someone with special skills like you, Eagle Claw, who excels at archery, if you join the Invincible Army, Prince An will reward you with a precious bow of at least three-refined immortal-weapon grade.'

Eagle Claw's large Adam's apple jerked up and down, and his throat let out a dull 'gulping' sound.

The third-rank commander chuckled, then lowered his voice again: 'I also heard this through gossip; don't spread it around, Prince An's methods are quite clever—you all know those iron-lump old-timers of our Demon-Suppressing Army, right?'

The officers and soldiers quickly turned their heads, glancing at the three colossal divine warriors standing on a distant watchtower.

The divine warriors' matte, darkened metal surfaces reflected no light in the sun; even in broad daylight they looked dim and chilly, sending shivers and a sense of heaviness through the heart.

Even the weakest of these divine warriors are comparable to cultivators at the Womb Storage Realm, yet they are Demon-Suppressing City's most reliable war weapons; their bodies are sturdy, fearless of blades, their strength infinite, cutting down foes like grass; more importantly, the weapons they wield—those peculiarly shaped spears and swords, unmatched in sharpness—would easily cleave ordinary nine-refined spiritual weapons in two upon impact.

'These iron-lump old-timers all come from the divine nation's Ancient Armaments Bureau.' The third-rank commander said wistfully: 'The Ancient Armaments Bureau is where the divine nation forges top-tier divine weapons. We don't know how these iron-lump old-timers are made… but are their weapons formidable? We've all seen them with our own eyes.'

'Prince An's methods are superb; the Ancient Armaments Bureau is now firmly in his grasp.' The third-rank general crossed his arms over his chest and let out a heavy, heartfelt sigh: 'So Prince An dares to say this—any talented man who joins the Invincible Army, as long as you have a unique skill, will at the very least receive a three-refined immortal weapon.'

'Prince An has the confidence to say this. The Ancient Armaments Bureau, tsk tsk, is precisely the place that produces divine weapons.' The third-rank commander lifted his head, looking somewhat wistfully at a bird flying across the sky: 'My brothers wrote to me, wanting to pull me into the Invincible Army… they said that someone like me, who has served in a proper top-tier division of the divine nation as an officer, commander, or soldier, is rare in the Invincible Army.'

After letting out a heavy sigh, the third-rank general murmured: 'But I can't bear to leave my comrades with whom I share day and night… if I joined the Invincible Army and found myself surrounded by strangers, wouldn't that be hard to bear?'

Eagle Claw's fingers twitched slightly: 'General, if we want to… that… but… the Demon-Suppressing Army's regulations are strict… we…'

The third-rank general laughed, pointed at Eagle Claw, and said softly: 'Are you stupid? If you really intend to defect to Prince An, leaving the Demon-Suppressing Army is just a matter of his word—he's the vice-master of the Demon-Suppressing Palace, and discharging officers who violate military regulations is precisely his duty!'

'Prince An himself has said that for people like us from top-tier units, as long as you're a good man, he'll take you in… even if you carry a little stigma, he doesn't mind.'

The third-rank general's words were like a gust of yin wind, 'whoo-whoo' blowing into the hearts of all the nearby officers, fanning the great patch of ghostfire in their minds 'whoosh-whoosh' higher: 'Real men, true warriors, those who lick blood off blades to eat—who wouldn't make a mistake? Who among you hasn't borne a disciplinary penalty?'

'A tiny mistake, no big deal… Prince An doesn't hold it against us.' The third-rank general smiled with composure.

The officers' eyes flickered, you looked at me, I looked at you, and suddenly we grasped the crucial point.

Isn't that right?

Prince An personally issued the military order to discharge them, then his private army, the Invincible Army, promptly took them in… tsk, this scheme seems… perfect, huh?

Eagle Claw murmured: 'Then, general, what should we do?'

The third-rank general gave a slight smile and said softly: 'Just wait; an opportunity will come right away.'

A large contingent of the Invincible Army's regular troops, their armor bright and distinct, disembarked from the warships and formed ranks outside the city, encircling the transport ships. Countless wood spirits stood on the high decks of the warships, holding specially crafted short bows, eyes like blades, looking down on the movements below.

Moreover, several masters of the Five Elements Spirits rose into the air, slowly patrolling back and forth in the sky to guard against any sudden incidents.

Wu Tie walked out of a huge cavern with his hands behind his back, leading a large retinue, followed by the bruised and swollen Zhao Bao and Zhao Quan and others.

Although their faces were unsightly, Zhao Bao and Zhao Quan grinned showing their teeth, each laughing heartily.

Big deal, big deal—even if Zhao Bao called the shots and gave Wu Tie a discount, the quantity of slaves Wu Tie purchased was so huge, so huge, so huge that he single-handedly swept up all the slave stockpiles of Demon-Suppressing City's defenses; this transaction alone could reap enormous profits for them, their families behind them, and the faction they belong to.

As for those slaves, just grab a few at random from the underground great rift valley, and you'll have countless.

Or, every year countless subterranean demons risk life and limb trying to sneak onto the surface; a patrol team need only casually search and they can capture countless.

Recently, the political climate has shifted dramatically; the Qingqiu Divine Nation has replaced the Great Jin Divine Nation, court affairs are in turmoil, and large numbers of nobles and aristocrats have mysteriously vanished, or been demoted, or stripped of their titles and fiefdoms.

It's as if the many aristocratic clans on Wu Tie's territory were directly driven away by his methods.

With fewer great households, demand for slaves plummeted almost to zero; on the Demon-Suppressing City front, no slaves have been sold for several months. Though raising these subterranean demons costs nothing, it's also a burden, huh?

Moreover, new slaves keep being sent into the prison cavern, and it's already overcrowded inside, the pressure is also quite great!

Prince An acted righteously, he took care of it all in one go……hehe.

Zhao Bao and Zhao Quan, although they had endured considerable hardship, they now insisted on treating Wu Tie as their own dear elder.

Wu Tie, imposing and mighty, led a large troop slowly to the foot of the city wall of Demon-Suppressing First City, stood beside the moat, and gazed at the movements in the distance on the flat ground.

A low, heavy footsteps came from the direction of the cavern they had just been in, led by more than ten silver giants, with lines of slaves chained together in long strings, their steps heavy as they walked over here.

Whether oxfolk, wolffolk, snakefolk, dragonfolk, or even ratfolk, dwarves, and gnomes, they all lifted their heads and twitched their noses wildly.

"Silence, silence……You have been bought by our lord, tell you, good days have arrived!" A Wu family youth stood on the bow of a transport ship, his gaze complex as he looked down upon these enslaved captives.

They, they come from the same underground world!

If it weren't for Wu Tie……perhaps, one day, he would appear among these slaves.

He gave a forceful cough, then this Wu family youth shouted loudly: "Come, you few biggest fellows, roasted meat is ready here, eat your fill and drink up so we can get moving."

More than ten silver giants widened their eyes, fiercely staring at the not-so-distant piles of blazing bonfires.

On the bonfire, dozens of extremely obese, huge-bodied four-horned savage oxen were roasted to glistening with oil and water; this had been prepared as a semi-finished product in An State, and here it only needs slight heating to be enjoyed as hearty roasted meat.

Large amounts of spices, large amounts of salt……

Spices, salt, and moreover the unique meat fragrance of large livestock that has been bathed in sunlight and dew……This is a flavor that large game of the underground world could never have.

In the underground world there are many large lizards, giant pythons and so on; they are all cold-blooded animals, and even if their meat is roasted, it absolutely will not have this strong meat aroma that carries for ten miles.

These days, having been imprisoned in the prison cavern for so many days, these silver giants each day filled their stomachs with moss and plant tubers; with their enormous appetites they had long been hungry to the point of clear water constantly flowing and their stomachs growling like thunder.

Now there is roasted meat……what if there is poison inside it?

The silver giants strode forward, grabbed the four-horned savage ox from the grill, opened their mouths, and in one bite took a huge chunk of the massive beast. 'Crack, crack, crack,' the silver giants chewed loudly, fragrant oil and juice continuously streaming from the corners of their mouths.

Just then, a stone flew over.

A thumb-sized stone, miraculously, passed over Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong, and also the many Wu family youths and the many Five Elements Spirits Elders' interceptions, lightly, with a 'ding' sound, struck the purple-gold crown on Wu Tie's head.