Chapter 92: The Siege of Dutian Dao (Seeking First Subscriptions!)

Xingluo Mountain is a Dongtian Fudi occupied by the Dutian Dao, and its area is significantly larger than Xiaqi Valley.

It is called Xingluo Mountain because the mountains within the range are scattered like stars in a chessboard, hence the name.

Chen Mo gazed into the distance at the mountains; this was already the third day they had besieged the Dutian Dao Sect.

No movement came from among the mountains; if not for the fact that cooking smoke could often be seen, Chen Mo would even suspect there were no living people left inside.

And from the terraced fields on the mountain and the painstakingly constructed irrigation canals, it was certain that the Dutian Dao had been operating here for a long time.

There was no telling how much grain was stored within; let alone a three-day siege, even if they besieged it for another year, it would likely be the same as it was now.

"Get yourself tidied up, and come with me to meet someone," Sun Shouren said as he walked into the tent to give instructions.

"Yes." Chen Mo accepted the order immediately, changed into a clean Ninth-Rank Martial Officer uniform, and left the stationed military camp with Sun Shouren.

The high regard Sun Shouren had shown Chen Mo during this period was also plain for the many Personal Soldiers in the camp to see.

Even Sun Shouren's own nephews had never received such treatment.

But no one felt jealous, because Chen Mo was truly strong; everyone had seen his strength with their own eyes, and this treatment was something he deserved.

Moreover, in the slaughter of battle, charging behind someone like him felt more reassuring.

Following his foster father to the main military tent, a middle-aged man with a slender build and refined features was sitting inside.

Seeing that he was wearing a reddish-tinted Qilin martial robe, he should be a Fourth Rank Official.

Sun Shouren bowed and saluted immediately, addressing him as "Lord General Commissioner," and Chen Mo followed suit.

"This General Zhou Dong is the Ding Prefecture General Commissioner of the Patrol Heaven Guard, one of the rare Postnatal Realm powerhouses in our prefecture, and he passed the imperial examinations in the same year as I did."

Sun Shouren straightened his back and then carefully introduced the person before them to Chen Mo.

"Haha, I am merely a Deputy General Commissioner." Zhou Dong smiled, though judging by his expression, he seemed quite pleased with the title of General Commissioner.

"You must be Chen Mo; I have heard Old Sun mention you." Zhou Dong's expression was satisfied as he nodded lightly toward Chen Mo.

However, he did not say anything else, because the Leye Prefecture Garrison Commander had also walked into the main military tent.

Immediately following, the Garrison Commanders of Yangyang Prefecture and Baoning Prefecture arrived together.

The several Garrison Commanders took their seats according to age, while Chen Mo, as a Personal Soldier, stood behind Sun Shouren.

"We are all Martial Artists, so I will not beat around the bush with you all," Zhou Dong said with a smile, looking around at the many Garrison Commanders in the tent.

"Xingluo Mountain has layers of peaks and steep roads, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. Not to mention that the Dutian Dao has operated here for decades, forging this place into an iron barrel."

"As far as I know, they have even stockpiled a large amount of battering logs and rolling stones; a forced assault by the main army would inevitably result in huge losses and achieve little effect."

He was speaking the truth; the mountain roads were steep and narrow, and if the main army entered, they would have nowhere to hide if the Dutian Dao released the rolling stones and battering logs.

Having said this, he cast a deep look at the Yangyang Prefecture Garrison Commander.

Rolling stones were one thing, but battering logs were military ordnance; that people within the prefecture had stockpiled them in large quantities without the Yangyang Prefecture Garrison Commander knowing was in itself a major crime.

"And if we continue to besiege them, even if we surround them for another year or two, we will never see any results."

"So I have a plan, and I ask you all to listen quietly."

As his voice fell, the main military tent became silent.

"In two days, two Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators from the Supervision Bureau will come to assist; you all will join me in taking the opportunity to kill our way into Xingluo Mountain and force out all the rebel troops inside."

"As for the remaining soldiers, you all should arrange for them to be responsible for the blockade in advance, and try your best not to let any rebel troops escape."

After Zhou Dong finished explaining his plan, he said no more.

"This plan is indeed quite good; if it can succeed, even if we cannot capture Xingluo Mountain in one fell swoop, we will certainly achieve merit." Sun Shouren was the first to stand up and express his support.

On one hand, because Zhou Dong passed the examinations in the same year as him, the two had a decent relationship.

Furthermore, this plan did indeed have a certain degree of feasibility; if they killed their way into Xingluo Mountain, even if they could not force out all the rebel troops, a massacre would still weaken the rebels' strength.

Even if they really encountered danger, they could at least run; they could run outward, but the rebel troops of Xingluo Mountain would not dare to run outward.

Besides these two points, the most important thing was that even if he entered Xingluo Mountain, Chen Mo was still there to hold the fort in the camp, so he did not have too many worries.

Although he hadn't encountered any true powerhouses during this period who could force Chen Mo to use his full strength.

Sun Shouren had privately asked Chen Mo about his specific strength in detail; his Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist had indeed been cultivated to the fifth level.

When his full strength erupted, it reached nearly three thousand jin.

Although it was still not as good as his own, it could be considered a powerhouse in his own right.

Even if he himself were not there, as long as Chen Mo was holding the fort, there wouldn't be any major problems.

"The Lord's strategy is indeed good, but perhaps we should wait a little longer. Let us wait until Deputy Commissioner Ma arrives before we act together; it will be safer then," the Leye Prefecture Garrison Commander said.

Deputy Commissioner Ma was also a Postnatal Realm existence; having one more Postnatal powerhouse along would undoubtedly be safer.

"No, it is not easy for the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators of the Supervision Bureau to come out once; they cannot be delayed here for a long time, so we must make a decision early."

"If that Deputy Commissioner Ma doesn't come for a month, we might be able to wait, but can those two Foundation Establishment cultivators wait?"

Zhou Dong shook his head slowly and rejected the suggestion.

In fact, there was another reason why he did not want to wait for Deputy Commissioner Ma.

That was that the position of General Commissioner was currently vacant; whoever achieved merit first would have the opportunity to advance further.

If he waited for Deputy Commissioner Ma to come and they suppressed the bandits together, how would the merit be calculated then?

It would be better to take the opportunity to solve the matter himself; by then, he would likely be able to turn this deputy position into a full commissioner position.

"Then everything shall be as the Lord General Commissioner commands." The Leye Prefecture Garrison Commander did not argue further.

As he agreed, the Baoning Prefecture Garrison Commander followed suit.

As for the Yangyang Prefecture Garrison Commander, he did not have the right to raise a different opinion.

As long as he had the thought of wanting to delay the attack, in the eyes of others, it would be collusion with the Dutian Dao Sect.

Therefore, he had to be pro-war and go all out; only when the Dutian Dao Sect was completely destroyed could he clear his name.

Otherwise, even if there was no evidence, the Imperial Court would inevitably demote him while appearing to promote him, and find a way to transfer him to an idle position without military power.

"Good, since you all have no objections, then go back and prepare early; two days from now, once the Supervision Bureau cultivators arrive, we will launch a surprise attack on Xingluo Mountain," Zhou Dong commanded in a deep voice with a stern expression.

Several garrison guards accepted the orders one after another, while Zhou Dong instructed people to prepare a banquet to entertain everyone.

Chen Mo naturally had no qualifications to enter the main table, so he was arranged to sit with the other Personal Soldiers.

It must be said, the skills of the mess cooks under General Zhou were truly not bad.

The banquet table was prepared quite decently, and the taste did not lose to the master chefs of the restaurants in the city.

The banquet ended, and everyone left to arrange their respective military camp affairs.

"Two days later, I will accompany General Zhou on a surprise attack on Xingluo Mountain. When I am away, all matters in the camp are to be decided and handled by you," Sun Shouren said, walking out of the main military tent and giving instructions to Chen Mo.

The weight of these words of his could not be called light.

It was directly handing over the command of all the soldiers under his own command to Chen Mo.

If Chen Mo did well this time, then in the future, whenever he was not in the army, the Personal Soldiers and soldiers under his command would all be deputized to Chen Mo.

By that time, he wouldn't even need to say much; the soldiers under his command would naturally listen to Chen Mo's orders.

"Is it appropriate for me to do this? There is also Fifth Brother and the others," Chen Mo's tone was slightly hesitant, and he did not directly accept the matter.

He knew his own worth best; command was not something he was good at.

"No, you are strong enough. Letting you do it will convince the masses. Your Fifth Brother and Dabao and the others will all help you; you don't need to worry about these," Sun Shouren said in a deep voice, stating his reasons.

Compared to the other adopted sons or nephews under his command, Chen Mo had one obvious strength, which was that he was strong enough.

Choosing others would inevitably lead to those who were unconvinced, but by letting Chen Mo do it, if anyone was unconvinced, they could just fight it out.

Furthermore, the reason he let Chen Mo do it was also out of trust in him, as well as a desire to deliberately cultivate him.

"This child understands," Chen Mo bowed to accept the order, no longer refusing.

The two returned to the tent along the way, and Sun Shouren immediately called over many Personal Soldiers to issue military orders one by one.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, just as the curfew ended, Sun Shouren left the military camp alone.

Chen Mo took over his command, mobilizing the soldiers under his command to guard the northwest mountain path to prevent any rebel troops from escaping.

Time passed second by second, and the mountains remained silent. Another hour or so passed.

Chen Mo activated his Ear Consciousness, and only then could he hear the sounds of slaughter coming from the mountains.

Whether it was Zhou Dong or the two Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators sent by the Imperial Court, they were top-tier powerhouses looking across the entire Ding Prefecture; surrounding and suppressing a Dutian Dao was naturally a matter of course.

After another two or three quarters of an hour, the rebel troops rushing out could already be seen in the mountains.

The Dutian Dao forces lurking here were all elites; these rebel troops were not only well-trained able-bodied men, but there were also many warriors and Qi Refiners mixed among them.

Chen Mo nodded toward Mo Hu, signaling for him to take his place in command.

After handing over the command matters, Chen Mo stepped and leaped into the mountain path; although he was wearing heavy armor, his movements were not hindered in the slightest.

Several Daoists manipulated their arms, fingers, or tongues, carrying boundless fierce Wind, stabbing straight at Chen Mo's face.

There was no way around it; other places were covered by heavy armor, and even if they wanted to strike, they couldn't break the defense.

Chen Mo performed a sweep to deflect two arms, but two fingers still became the ones that slipped through the net.

"Clang!" The two fingers struck his face, but produced the sound of metal clashing.

The gray-clothed Daoist's expression was stunned; his fingers had been refined for years, and even bluestone could be pierced, but now the opponent took his strike head-on, how was he like a person who was completely fine!

Chen Mo naturally would not give him the opportunity to think too much; with a pull of his long spear, the gray-clothed Daoist was directly pulled into two sections.

A rain of blood mixed with internal organs and knotted intestines sprinkled across the entire battlefield.

Immediately following, several more flying fingers attacked, but striking Chen Mo's body, they were all painless and itchy.

His physical body had undergone many Mortal Transformations; now, on the surface, it appeared even more delicate than the skin of an ordinary person, but its toughness, while not comparable to top-grade refined steel, did not lose to wrought iron.

The so-called Flying Swords of these ordinary Qi Refiners, striking his body, would at most be painful; it was impossible to pierce his skin.

Moreover, although he could not yet circulate Inner Qi throughout his entire body, Inner Qi added to his cheeks or hands and other exposed parts could also provide him with partial protection.

"This person is indestructible, run quickly!" Chen Mo shouted in a deep voice. These rebel troops hadn't reacted to the need to run yet, so he naturally had to give these people a chance.

Sure enough, as his voice fell, the many rebel troops began to scatter in an instant, and even those Daoists and warriors were looking for opportunities to escape.

Chen Mo naturally would not give them these opportunities; if the ordinary able-bodied men escaped, so be it, but these people could not leave.

After another round of slaughter, of the over a thousand able-bodied men who escaped, only six hundred or so remained to surrender in the end, and not one escaped.

Arranging for people to disarm these able-bodied men and send them to the rear for strict supervision, Chen Mo still guarded this place.

Immediately following were two more groups of people who wanted to break through from here; their strength was not strong, and they were killed by him and his men until seven or eight out of ten were gone, after which they surrendered.

"Boom!" A deafening sound came from not far away, as if someone had swung a Giant Hammer to shake the earth.

Chen Mo condensed his Blood Qi Eye to look, only to see a person nine feet tall, with a fierce appearance, a face full of whiskers, armor stained with blood, and holding two Giant Hammers the size of human heads, running at full speed.

These two Giant Hammers must weigh at least two hundred catties; being able to fight with such a weapon, this person's strength, even if not comparable to his own, would not be too far off.

Looking closer, it was clearly visible that this person's skin was rough; he had definitely practiced hard-body techniques, and more than one type.

What was even stranger was that he was also carrying a yellow-clothed old Daoist on his back.

That old Daoist was clearly seriously injured and was already unconscious at this moment.

"Who dares to stop me! Who dares to stop me!" Feng Wu's eyes were blood-red, his whole body surging with a faint, manic aura; looking at the government troops in front of him, he roared loudly!

"Boom!" The twin hammers smashed down with full force, mountain stones splattered, and dust flew.

Chen Mo leaped, rushing into the smoke and dust.

Given the opponent's strength, only he himself could handle it.

The author is writing at full speed, and there will definitely be another chapter next.

(End of this chapter)