Chapter 636: Each Has Its Value

Crimson clouds roiled, and snow flew across the sky.

After building up for several days, the snow finally poured down, covering heaven and earth.

In just one night, the area around Qingqiu City was a blanket of white, with snow accumulation over three feet deep. Large flakes fell onto the snow, making a muffled "puff-puff" sound.

Without any grand ceremony of taking office and appointing generals, without any motivational speech from the divine emperor, Wu Tie spent several days issuing hundreds of orders to mobilize supplies and reinforcements, then led the newly formed legion, using the Invincible Army as its core, and mightily advanced toward the western battlefield.

A few days earlier, Wu Tie openly and ruthlessly slaughtered the entire Works Hall office, shocking all directions.

Many officials wanted to avenge Situ Fu and the slain Works Hall officers, but Wu Tie's bloody methods were too fearsome; those officials who used to boast and stir up court intrigue with their silver tongues now lacked the courage to provoke trouble.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for news from the true high echelons of the court.

However, Linghu Qingqing remained silent, as if she knew nothing.

Gongyang Sanlü also remained silent, as if the slain Situ Fu and all those Works Hall officials were not his disciples at all.

Thus, everyone understood that it was now impossible to make things difficult for Prince Huoxiong.

Thus, under the threat of Wu Tie's raised slaughtering blade and under the deterrence of the vastly expanded Military Law Enforcement Office, the civil and military officials of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom began operating with unprecedented efficiency.

Countless supplies were moved out of the warehouses, carefully counted, and distributed to the newly organized reinforcement legions; all these newly organized legions increased their daily training intensity by more than double, always ready to be sent to the battlefield.

Wu Tie passed through spatial gates, crossing one prefecture after another; at each location he drafted all the regular troops from the prefectural and county cities, letting the newly organized militia garrison the towns and cities.

Thus, one and a half months after departing from Qingqiu City, when Wu Tie reached Langzhou, the nearest prefecture to the Three Kingdoms Battlefield, his forces had grown dozens of times larger than at departure, with the giant transport ships used for moving troops alone exceeding one hundred thousand.

Thirty-six Four Spirit Warships lined up in a row, extending dozens of miles ahead of the vast fleet, serving as the vanguard.

Dozens of miles behind the Four Spirit Warships, tens of thousands of standard warships formed a neat square firing array, like a wall, advancing uniformly forward.

Around the massive transport ships—above, below, left, right, and rear—there were even more warships of various sizes forming protective formations.

On the deck of each massive transport ship, troops stood in formation; vast power continually poured into each armored general, stimulating them so their veins bulged and their bodies swelled to several times their normal size, ready to burst into battle at any moment.

The massive fleet stretched for hundreds of miles, shattering the thick dark clouds in the sky, shattering countless snowflakes, and advanced westward with a chilling killing intent.

Bone-chilling winds raged between heaven and earth; as the wind swept the land, the accumulated snow turned into rushing torrents that clung to the ground and surged forward.

This is Langzhou, the prefecture of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom closest to the Three Kingdoms Battlefield on its western side.

Because of the Three Kingdoms Battlefield, Langzhou has long been a huge military garrison prefecture with few civilians. Its cities are mostly military towns, and their inhabitants are generations of military households, solely responsible for garrison farming to supply the nearby battlefield.

As Wu Tie's forces just entered the border of Langzhou, they saw black smoke pillars of varying thickness shooting up into the sky.

In the void ahead, hundreds of tiny scout flying vessels, only three to five zhang long and extremely fast, were fleeing at high speed.

The scouts of Wei and Wu had already detected Wu Tie's troops and reported that reinforcements from the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom had arrived; the high commanders of Wei and Wu also acted decisively, ordering the burning of all military cities within Langzhou's territory.

"Scorched earth…… this should have been our doing, alas, they did it." Wu Tie stood on the prow of a Four Spirit Warship, his face cold as he gazed at a great city hundreds of li away already engulfed in flames.

This city spans nearly a thousand li; flames rose and thick smoke rolled, and the biting wind brought a strong scent of scorched grain.

Given the scale of this military city, the grain stored in its granaries must be astronomical.

The forces that invaded Langzhou were merely a guerrilla fleet each sent out by Wei and Wu; they were highly mobile and formidable in combat, but their transport capacity was inevitably limited.

According to intelligence from spies embedded by the Military Department, after these two guerrilla fleets captured each military city, their first move was to seize the population, especially military households skilled in various farming and animal husbandry techniques, which became their primary targets for plunder.

Their limited transport was used to carry off those with specialized skills, leaving the grain stockpiled in these military cities temporarily unprocessed by the two nations' armies.

Wu Tie returned too quickly; in just over a month, the Wei and Wu fleets barely managed to evacuate all the military households from Langzhou—this was the limit of what they could achieve.

Thus, when Wu Tie's massive army fleet appeared, the stationed troops of Wei and Wu immediately set fire.

Above the flames and smoke, over a dozen medium warships hundreds of li away had their guns blazing; their main and secondary cannons, together numbering in the hundreds, were bombarding the city below at full power.

Arrow towers vanished in ash and smoke, fortresses crumbled, sturdy buildings within the city turned to nothing in the intense light, and towering, thick walls were blown into fragments.

Deep underground within the city, the foundations of the City Defense Grand Formation were also shattered by artillery fire.

"Head of the Xiang clan…… as His Majesty intends, this time your Xiang clan will not die but will be stripped to the bone." Wu Tie looked at Xiang Chan standing three steps behind him: "At the very least, the title of 'King of Chu' held by your Xiang clan is certainly not going to be kept."

"I, the Prince, am pleading for you; your Xiang clan's titles, fiefdoms, even your heads, are merely on temporary loan." Wu Tie pointed at Xiang Chan: "Do not disappoint His Majesty, nor make me think…… you are truly a bunch of worthless scum who only bring disaster to your comrades."

Wu Tie added in his mind—"Actually, you are just a bunch of trash!"

But of course, such words cannot be said, at least not openly…… Although the Xiang clan's leaders have innate shortcomings, if used well, these fellows are still quite useful.

Xiang Chan clenched his right fist, hammered his chest hard, then let out a low shout.

On a fast transport ship closely following behind, small boats no longer than twelve zhang long shot out like light swallows. Xiang Chan, Xiang Tuo, Xiang Bao, and other Xiang clan commanders leapt into the air, forming groups of three to five and jumping onto the small boats.

On these small boats, each boat carried twelve Giant Divine Soldiers.

Three to five Xiang clan commanders at the Tai Cang Realm, paired with the fearless, pain‑insensitive Giant Divine Soldiers, piloting specially crafted swift flying vessels to rush and assassinate—this, in Wu Tie's view, is the most suitable combat method for the Xiang clan.

These fellows are suited to be assassins, or rather…… they excel at slipping alone among tens of thousands of troops to seize an enemy commander's head!

They are suited for surprise attacks, assassinations, charging enemy camps, creating chaos, even serving as bait to set various tactical traps…… the only thing the Xiang clan is not suited for is commanding tens of thousands of troops and engaging the enemy in open battle.

They simply lack that talent.

They should not be commanding troops in war.

Nearly a thousand small boats sped forward with a faint afterimage toward the enemy city; these were specially crafted for extreme speed. A distance of hundreds of li was covered in just a dozen breaths, bringing them close to the enemy warships.

Looking at the enemy's black‑red banner, it was a detachment of the Great Wu Divine Kingdom's fleet.

The enemy commander, perhaps with nothing but muscle in his head, somehow ordered a few dozen medium warships each under a hundred zhang long—capable of holding only two or three Tai Cang Realm commanders—to form a battle array and charge toward the small boat squadron personally led by Xiang Chan.

Over a thousand small boats, each carrying three to five Tai Cang Realm Xiang clan commanders, amounted to several thousand such experts.

Facing the dozen medium warships that had not yet activated their defensive formations, Xiang Bao and the other young Xiang clan officers leapt up; hundreds of young Xiang clan commanders, spaced several li apart, simultaneously unleashed from their immortal weapons a torrent of blade light like a tsunami.

With a single strike, the dozen medium warships shattered instantly; all crew aboard were killed in one blow, except the highest‑ranking commander, whose divine fetal essence was fused with about thirty percent of Dao patterns, who fled blood‑soaked and disheveled.

Having fled less than three hundred zhang, a low, cold chuckle sounded; the twisted, grimacing visage of Xiang Tuo appeared like a ghost before the commander, seized his neck, and lightly slammed him to the ground.

With a tremendous boom, a pit over two hundred zhang in diameter appeared on the ground.

That commander of the Great Wu Divine Kingdom was flung so hard…… he vanished completely, not even leaving a sizable fragment behind.

Wu Tie's voice echoed from afar: "Head of the Xiang clan, leave some survivors…… I know you harbor anger, but I need to know—alive or dead—how the troops trapped in the Three Kingdoms Battlefield are faring……"

"Also, how are the enemies distributed in Langzhou? Over the past month they have also invaded several neighboring prefectures; we need to know their marching routes as well—we need survivors!"

Wu Tie shook his head and waved his hand.

Clad in extraordinarily fine gear that had reached the quality of a Nine Refined Immortal Weapon, Lao Bai, full of vigor, walked over from the side: "Don't worry, this small matter—we'll definitely handle it perfectly."

Lao Bai's face was flushed, as if he were drunk, and when he spoke to Wu Tie, his voice trembled.

Nowadays, Lao Bai is no longer the pitiful rat person who, back then, led his own descendants in a struggle to survive in the underground world… Now he is the Chief Commander of the Scout Camp under Prince An's Expedition Army.

Over these years, Lao Bai in Three Linked City has gathered who knows how many underground rat‑people tribes.

Wu Tie also bought countless rat‑person prisoners of war from Demon Suppressing City, and handed them all over to Lao Bai's command.

Wu Tie also gave them a copy of the Phantom Demon Treasure Codex, a cultivation manual secretly practiced by the royal spies of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom; upon achieving minor success in this art, one can become an intangible phantom demon, moving soundlessly and leaving no trace. Though it grants little combat power, its escape speed is extraordinarily fast—fast enough to scare someone to death.

The rat people seem to have a special talent for cultivating the Phantom Demon Treasure Codex.

After more than a year, many elite rat‑people under Lao Bai's command have cultivated the Phantom Demon Treasure Codex to a remarkably refined level; on the battlefield they are even more elusive and ghost‑like than the army's elite scouts.

"Lao Bai, go—be careful!" Wu Tie earnestly warned him: "As long as you're gathering intel, unless absolutely necessary, avoid clashing with the enemy."

Lao Bai nodded firmly, gave Wu Tie a proper salute, then turned and melted into the air.

Wu Tie's vision blurred for a moment; if he hadn't been staring at Lao Bai, he would have hardly noticed how Lao Bai departed. The combination of the Phantom Demon Treasure Codex and the rat people's aptitude makes its power truly astonishing.

Slender, petite yet incredibly agile figures darted out from one warship after another; as they sprinted across the decks, their forms would blend into the wind—sometimes fast, sometimes slow—before vanishing completely.

These rat people moved soundlessly through the flowing wind, surrounded by bitterly cold, bone‑chilling gusts, yet their hearts burned as hot as Lao Bai's.

Even in the underground world, the rat‑people clan is the most lowly, despised and enslaved by countless stronger groups—a miserable folk.

But here, under Wu Tie, they felt respected.

Wu Tie solemnly told them—they would become the finest scouts in the world, and in the future they could even become the finest assassins.

The rat people realized for the first time that they, too, possessed such… value!

Yes, value.

They are no longer seen by the powerful clans as mere "thieves" or "parasites"; they have value, and they are of great benefit and immense worth to Wu Tie!

Wu Tie even set aside a large tract of his own fief, dedicated solely for the rat people to breed and thrive.

It is a place where one can bask in sunlight and rain, supremely fertile, the air suffused with the fragrance of honey—an ultimate Peach Blossom Paradise.

Wu Tie even promised that, in the future, he could grant the rat people official posts, and even—if the opportunity arose—bestow them with noble titles.

What more is there to say?

For the "Great Prince An," we have no choice but to give it our all!

This time, in Wu Tie's Expedition Army Scout Camp alone, the rat‑people scouts number three hundred thousand.

Three hundred thousand rat‑people scouts, trained in the Phantom Demon Treasure Codex and armed head‑to‑toe with specially crafted, high‑quality gear.

Wu Tie eagerly awaits their performance.

"Head of the Xiang family, take your men as the vanguard, clearing out any enemies you can defeat along the way; if you encounter a large enemy force, immediately send a rear warning."

Wu Tie issued the order once again.

As previously stated, these Xiang family folks are not meant to command armies or fight in pitched battles; their worth lies elsewhere.