Above the wide northwest plain, a ray of light that resembled a sword flashed past. Its alarming movement speed was even faster than lightning.
The rushing wind parted and the ray of light disappeared to reveal a silhouette standing atop a sword. This person had pointy eyebrows and eyes as bright as stars.
He had traveled all the way here by flight—atop his sword. He observed the vast land area of the northwest plain and squinted his eyes.
"We are almost at Western Mystery City... Great Elder arranged for us to go there to assist. Did such a terrible thing really happen at Western Mystery City? The Shura Sect's re-emergence… No one would ever expect that." Tang Yin's white robe fluttered in the wind as he looked over at the distant horizon. With a ray of light, he continued moving forward.
The Light Wind empire was in chaos and its many cities were involved in wars. Bloody wars and bloodshed had resulted in the deaths of countless soldiers. The empire had been submerged into a deep sense of grievance.
As one of the Southern Region's biggest sects, the Celestial Arcanum Sect situated on Wuliang Mountain couldn't turn a blind eye to the issue. Besides, an elder from the Godly Temple of Wildlands' Ferocious Divine Hall was defeated in the Light Wind Empire, and the Godly Temple of Wildlands found it rather astonishing.
That elder had the body of a Supreme-Being and a high cultivation level; just one step away from reaching the Supreme-Being echelon. An expert like him was actually defeated in Light Wind Empire, so how could they not be concerned about it. The Godly Temple of Wildlands then sent people out to investigate and discovered that the Light Wind empire had been ravaged by a civil war and it seemed... as though someone was behind it.
As soon as the experts from the Godly Temple of Wildlands obtained this information, a slaughter began and they were the targets. Some of their Battle-Saints were defeated and only a handful managed to get away. Those who managed to get away began to spread the news.
The Shura Sect, which was destroyed thousands of years ago... had resurfaced. They even instigated the civil war in the Light Wind Empire. Although their motives were unknown, the Shura Sect was wicked, evil, and definitely up to no good.
Upon receiving the news from the Godly Temple of Wildlands, the Southern Border's strongholds sent out their strongest disciples to assist.
King Yu had the Shura Sect as his backing while the emperor of the Light Wind Empire was supported by super experts from the other strongholds.
A short time later, both parties became evenly matched.
"Ground Wolves!"
With a loud cry, the Third Corps of the Western Mystery Army rushed out. They surrounded the giant wolves that had emerged from the ground.
The Ground Wolves were very agile and lived underground. For them, moving about in the ground was akin to swimming in water. They were a rare breed of northwest spirit beast. As fourth grade spirit beasts, their attacks weren't strong, but they were capable of dealing damage when it was least expected.
Moreover, they were very aggressive when they bit their targets, making sure to draw a lot of blood. A Ground Wolf could rip a soldier's clean off with a single bite, resulting in intense bleeding.
The experienced soldiers lifted up their weapons and charged toward the Ground Wolves with different battle cries.
As the commander of the Third Corps, Zhu Yue's expression turned pale. The army only just started marching and had already encountered such a strong spirit beast. This was a really bad start for them...
Soon, the Ground Wolves were defeated by the troops and escaped underground. However, the soldiers were tensed up and dared not let their guards down.
Ground Wolves... Bu Fang's eyes lit up as he looked at a Ground Wolf which had been stabbed to death by the soldiers. His interest intensified as he began to examine it.
The other members of the Cooks' Army Unit were busy defending the army rations and didn't notice his actions.
Bu Fang flipped over the wolf's body and squinted his eyes; the quality of the Ground Wolf's meat was pretty good.
These wolves had lived underground for so long, their meat had been purified by the spirit energy underground and developed a unique feel.
Bu Fang patted the body of the wolf before standing up. He sighed regretfully; he couldn't use the system's storage space. Otherwise, it could have been used to store the body of this wolf.
Its price may be low but the quality of the meat was good, and it would probably taste delicious after getting cooked.
Although the Ground Wolves had retreated, the Third Corps felt deeply troubled. They were victorious, but many soldiers sustained injuries, and the camp was filled with soldiers wailing in pain.
Such agile and sneaky spirit beasts were the hardest to control.
However, regardless of the situation, they had to continue their march. On the second day, the Western Mystery Army continued to move on.
It wasn't long before trouble found them, again. As they passed by a pile of jagged rocks, fourth grade Wind Snakes, which were originally lazy in nature, went on a rampage and began attacking the soldiers. Many soldiers were gravely injured as a result.
Although these Wind Snakes were not very poisonous, they could still weaken a person for some days. These spirit beasts were hard to deal with.
The snakes' attack demoralized the Western Mystery Army even further…
The commander of the Third Corps, Zhu Yue, had a bad feeling. Although they hadn't been provoked, these spirit beast still attacked the army—there must be a problem. He had led marches many times, and this was not the first time he encountered spirit beasts, but he had never seen a spirit beast initiating an attack on the army.
Although he had yet to identify the cause, his army had to continue on their journey. As they marched on, the Third Corps met with several spirit beasts attacks. These spirit beast weren't high grade, but they attacked in large groups, making it very difficult to deal with them.
The Western Mystery Army's morale was at an all-time low; the soldiers seemed lifeless but were full of complaints.
An army flag was situated atop a mountain—filled with yellow sand. Behind the flag were soldiers with spirit horse mounts. At this moment, the soldiers stood up. Among them, there was a person enshrouded in black robes who gave off an evil aura. The surrounding soldiers all gazed at the figure reverently.
"Senior Ah Mu Ni... if everything goes as planned, the Western Mystery Army should arrive at Mo Luo City soon. When that happens, Mo Luo City would be backed by the Western Mystery Army which would put us in a disadvantageous position." A prominent soldier noted with a frown.
"General Mo Lin, as one of King Yu's prized officials, you must have some foresight. Western Mystery Army's journey to this place, from Western Mystery City, will be filled with many surprises. I have prepared many gifts for them. Once they reach the foot of the mountain, they will be doomed." The black robe elderly grinned.
Mo Lin was stunned but dared not ignore what he had been told. After all, the black robe elderly was a seventh grade Battle-Saint. They could have easily conquered Mo Luo City with him around. However, another seventh grade Battle-Saint suddenly appeared in Mo Luo City, and this caused them to slow down their attacks.
By conquering Mo Luo City, they would be able to exert more pressure on the biggest city in the northwest, Western Mystery City.
Apparently, Western Mystery City understood how tense the situation was, so they called for backup.
"Report! The spies ahead reported that the Western Mystery Army had entered the region near the foot of the mountain."
The scout had rushed over and made his report as Mo Lin and the black-robed elder discussed. Their eyes lit up, and they immediately got on their horses. Quickly, they led their soldiers and rushed off.
Currently, the Western Mystery Army's Third Corps were very low on morale. Encountering so many spirit beast attacks along the way left them baffled. The soldiers were drained, both physically and mentally, and their condition was terrible.
Zhu Yue realized how troublesome the situation was, so he ordered them to set up a camp here to rest.
The Third Corps were in a state of panic, so they sent many scouts to go on ahead. That way, if any more spirit beasts planned to attack them, they would be prepared.
"We will reach Mo Luo City soon. Pass down my orders to the Cooks' Army Unit. Ask them to make a sumptuous meal to bring up the morale of everyone!" Zhu Yue hollered.
The Cooks' Army Unit received the military order. Although Wei Dafu and the rest were lethargic, they had to move quickly, as the meal would affect their performance in the next battle.
Xiu Xiu!
An arrow soared over quickly and with great force. It sliced through the wind with an echo as loud as thunder. A scout currently exploring the path ahead was instantly shot down, with blood spilling out from his brain!
A rain of arrows suddenly enveloped the skies, killing the scouts.
However, despite the heavy attack, a scout—albeit covered in blood—managed to escape and rode quickly toward the Western Mystery Army. An ambush was impending! The scout was panicked.
Having received orders, it was time to start cooking. Bu Fang calmly set up his wok holder, placed the large wok on it and started a fire. Soon, smoke rose up. He was only in charge of cooking the basic ingredients, so he did not need to put too much thought into it. This made his job easier.
Zhu Yue stood in front of the camp, frowning.
Suddenly, he squinted his eyes and saw a scout from afar, riding a horse. The scout was covered in blood but still frantically rushed back to the camp.