Chapter 376: 350 The Sleepless

At the fourth watch, Tang Zhao finally brought the examinees to the intersection in Yi Zi Qu and saw the Fire Seed Carriage.

Seeing the Fire Seed Carriage standing in the wilderness like a city tower, Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief—a burden of ten thousand jun was temporarily lifted from his shoulders.

As soon as the students arrived, the door of the Fire Seed Carriage opened, and Instructor An stepped down.

Seeing an acquaintance, Tang Zhao felt another weight lift from his heart—at this moment, he even found Instructor An's face a bit more pleasant than usual.

Immediately after, Instructor Lan also came out, which made Tang Zhao even happier—compared to Instructor An, Instructor Lan was more trustworthy. He was more willing to hand the children of the Inspection Division over to Instructor Lan.

After all, he could not accompany the students on their return journey.

Tang Zhao sent the students onto the carriage, including even Fan Haiyu, and only after confirming that not one was missing did he finally set his mind at ease.

After hesitating for a moment, he still informed Instructor An about the mutual slaughter between the two youths from the Prison Suppression Division.

He had no reason not to tell; otherwise, he wouldn't know who he was protecting.

Instructor An listened with a darkened face but said nothing, whereas Instructor Lan suddenly emerged from the side and laughed, "Instructor Tang, don't make a fuss; such things happen often."

Instructor An said angrily, "He said he didn't tell you, so how do you know?"

Instructor Lan smiled and said, "I heard it when I happened to pass by. Don't worry, I'm not here to mock you. No one should mock anyone about such things; who hasn't had a few classmates they wanted to kill? Every family has procedures for handling such matters."

Tang Zhao wouldn't say, "I don't," and besides, if Shi Chunqing counted as a classmate, he had them too, but he just shook his head and said, "You handle it; I'm leaving first."

Instructor Lan and Instructor An were both startled. Instructor Lan said, "Where are you going? Didn't Li Yijian arrange for us to withdraw together? The front line has been mobilized, and many Sword Guests have been dispatched; they are orderly, and there is no room for us to intervene."

Tang Zhao said, "I was conscripted on the road." Saying this, he recounted the incident with the Pixiu Sword on the way.

Instructor Lan said in surprise, "If General Cui personally conscripted you, then you cannot refuse." She hesitated slightly, pulled Tang Zhao to the side, and said, "When you go to the front line to fight alongside the Sword Guests, don't push yourself too far forward. The Pixiu Sword's intention is for you to help transport troops, so just stick to transporting troops and don't worry about anything else."

Tang Zhao said, "Naturally. I am a newcomer, so I must follow orders; I can't just think about rushing forward myself. Wouldn't that be adding to the chaos?"

Instructor Lan lowered her voice and said, "Adding to the chaos is one thing, but I am more afraid of you offending people. Although the Broken Tide is dangerous, it also holds great benefits. For instance, there is a possibility of Sword Seeds appearing..."

Tang Zhao's eyes widened abruptly; he had always heard that there were many Sword Seeds at the front line, but he didn't know where they were.

He had come to the front line to invigilate as a mere passerby and had never thought that he would hear news of Sword Seeds just by coming once, but he hadn't expected to actually hear it.

Instructor Lan said, "Although there are many dangers at the front, there are also many opportunities. Especially with this kind of shattering storm, it is often mixed with Sword Seeds, and not just one or two, but several or even a dozen at a time..."

Speaking of this, she saw Tang Zhao's eyes light up and couldn't help but warn him, "You aren't getting any ideas, are you? Don't let your imagination run wild. In terms of strength, seniority, and merit, how could you compete with others? A Sword Seed is such a precious object; don't bring disaster upon yourself!"

Tang Zhao shuddered and calmed down. He had indeed been tempted just now; hearing that Sword Seeds appeared in large numbers at the front, he couldn't help but think: with his skills, he had no chance at a one-of-a-kind treasure, but did he have a chance if there were many?

Although he was now a proper Sword Smith, he had never cast a sword for anyone yet! Although he didn't need a sword himself, his friends needed to become Sword Guests, but he had no leads. Now that he had finally gotten news, how could he not be tempted?

But Lan Xiuzhu's warning made him sober up; let alone one Sword Seed, even if there were one or two hundred, he likely wouldn't be the one to obtain any of them.

The waters at the front line were too deep. Sword Guests were nothing, let alone him being an outsider.

At that moment, he thanked Lan Xiuzhu for the reminder and made up his mind: first act as a filler tool, and definitely do not act rashly; he would play it by ear.

Having decided, Tang Zhao prepared to get off the carriage. Qin Yongcheng and the other Inspection Division disciples came up, surrounded the door, and said one after another, "Instructor, let us go with you! General Pixiu wanted to conscript us earlier too. Whether we act as your personal guards or just stand by to cheer you on, we will never hold you back!"

Tang Zhao laughed, "But the General didn't conscript you in the end. Therefore, the military order of Commandant Li is still in effect; he ordered you to take the carriage and retreat to the Human World. You have passed the assessment and are already official new recruits. Whether enlisting or taking a job, what is the most important thing? All actions must follow orders. The current order is to return to the city; you must obey the military order!"

The examinees could only say, "Obey the order."

Seeing that he was about to return to the carriage and Tang Zhao was also leaving, Qin Yongcheng couldn't help but ask, "Instructor, will we be able to see you again?"

Tang Zhao said amusedly, "What kind of ominous words are these? Am I never to return? There is plenty of time ahead; how could we not meet? I still have to return to the Inspection Division; by then, we won't just be teacher and student, but colleagues as well. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet!" Saying this, he got off the carriage.

The carriage door pulled shut, and the Fire Seed Carriage rumbled away.

Watching the Fire Seed Carriage disappear into the night, Tang Zhao saw the fish-belly white on the horizon in the distance again.

Good heavens...

It was dawn.

After tossing and turning all day, from day to night, by the time dawn arrived, he had actually left himself alone in the desolate, uninhabited wilderness.

The invigilation mission had come to an end, and what he had to do now was to follow the other Sword Guests of Moyun City to deal with the dangerous Broken Tide.

So... where should he go to find the recruited troops?

Tang Zhao exhaled a long, white breath and was momentarily stunned.

The Pixiu Sword's conscription was truly hasty, a hundred times hastier than when Xing Ji had dragged him off to take charge of the Xiezhi Sword years ago; it was completely without head or tail. Not only did it not tell him to find that unit, but it didn't even provide a gathering point; if he hadn't wanted to go, he could have just slipped away.

The only thing was that if he really served at the front line in the future, he might have trouble seeing that Pixiu Sword again.

Of course, it was also possible that the Pixiu Sword had already forgotten all about it.

Tang Zhao did not back down; he was actually a bit stubborn. Although there were many difficulties, since he had accepted the conscription, there was no reason to give up halfway.

He thought for a moment and decided to walk toward Moyun City first to see. Moyun City and the tide front were two points on a line; if other Sword Guests wanted to pass, they would all take the shortcut through there; they couldn't possibly abandon the near path for a far one, could they?

Thinking this, Tang Zhao identified the direction in the darkness and drove the Six Dragon Carriage continuously toward the north. At this time, the vast Pingyuan wilderness was the perfect place for speeding.

Although it was inconvenient for him to ride a sword, he did not hide his figure; on the contrary, he wanted to be eye-catching to attract others' attention. Thus, his Sword Image turned into light and circled around the Six Dragon Carriage, just like a Saturn-style ring, visible at a glance from miles away.

Thinking of the Six Dragon Carriage that patrolled the horizon pulling the sun, its momentum was no more than this.

After running for half an hour, the wind of the Suiyu made his ears buzz. Tang Zhao thought: How long will this tide last? Will it be over by the time we rush over? I wonder if Zhang Xiansheng and the others managed to relocate the villagers safely?

Woo-loo-loo—

A horn sound came from far away.

That desolate and low horn sound came from a very distant place. By the time it reached Tang Zhao's ears, only a deep and profound lingering echo remained, extending from his eardrums into the depths of his heart, as if it were a call from ancient times.

This was the horn sound of Moyun City's troops marching out!

Sure enough, the crisis was at hand, and the whole city had been mobilized!

Following the march signal, the Sword Guests, soldiers, and righteous volunteers of Moyun City were rumbling toward the front line on Fire Seed Carriages.

Sounds of the border rise from all sides, amidst a thousand peaks, long smoke and the setting sun, the lonely city is closed.

A line of ancient frontier poetry flashed through Tang Zhao's mind. He raised his head slightly and saw the white on the horizon becoming more and more distinct.

The long night was about to pass.

People do not sleep.

He turned the handle of the Six Dragon Carriage and charged toward the sound of the horn. The wheels of the Six Dragon Carriage almost sparked against the ground, drawing a trail of light in the final darkness.

Rumble—

It is the sound of Fire Seed Carriages!

As Tang Zhao traveled, he saw from afar Fire Seed Carriages moving one after another along the main road, and his heart filled with joy.

Finally caught up with the main force!

He felt secretly pleased, hurriedly accelerated his carriage, and rushed toward the line of Fire Seed Carriages like a streak of fire.

Upon drawing near, he saw Fire Seed Carriages, each with a pointed head and rounded tail, several sizes smaller than the one he had arrived in, speeding forward. Hanging on the front of every carriage was a "Moyun Sword Token" with a sword-shaped cloud pattern; even in the faint morning light, it shone with a brilliant golden luster, extremely dazzling.

Indeed, these are troop transport carriages departing from Moyun City!

One, two, three...

Tang Zhao counted carefully; there were over ten carriages in total.

He had learned a little about this type of Fire Seed Carriage; it could carry a standard five-person Sword Guest squad and over a hundred ordinary soldiers.

More than ten carriages meant over a thousand troops!

This is not a small number; the soldiers at the Qianxian are not like the common soldiers in the Human World, as they are all righteous men with at least some foundation. Take the elite soldiers of Moyun City, for instance—many are Knights-Errant who could become experts in their own right in the Human World or leaders of gangs like the Five Poisons Society, yet here they are merely rank-and-file soldiers.

It seems the tide is a crisis that Moyun City cannot afford to underestimate, having mobilized so many troops.

Tang Zhao's sense of duty grew even stronger, and he drove the Six Dragon Carriage in pursuit.

Just as he caught up to within a hundred paces of the convoy, he heard a *whoosh* sound, and a Sword Light flew toward him.

The Sword Light was that of an ordinary Sword Guest, so fast that an average person could hardly track it with the naked eye, but Tang Zhao did not need to act; the Sword Image before him blocked it, and with a soft *chi* sound, the Sword Light vanished into nothingness.

Tang Zhao felt a jolt: starting off with a Sword Light?

That Sword Light just now could be considered a warning; an average Sword Guest would not be in mortal danger if they encountered it, as they could block or dodge it, and after neutralizing the strike, they would naturally understand the warning. But if someone who was not a Sword Guest had come, a sudden Sword Light would have already pierced their chest, leaving them with no chance of survival.

That was aimed at killing.

Perhaps the people on the carriages believed that if one were not a Sword Guest yet dared to pursue the Fire Seed Carriages, it was simply a path to death.

Tang Zhao had just identified the source of the Sword Light as one of the Fire Seed Carriages when he heard someone on the lead carriage shout: "Where did this Wild Swordsman come from? Get lost! Obstructing the march of Moyun City is a capital offense. If you dare to approach again, you will be dealt with by military law and hacked to death by a flurry of swords!"