The sky is vast and the field is boundless, the setting sun shines afar.
South of Tianxiong Pass, over a thousand miles away, in the midst of cloudy mountains, the evening glow of the setting sun scatters across the forests and rivers.
On the official road leading to Jingguan City, a mighty procession of troops hurriedly advances, with horses whipped swiftly, shouts echoing through the woods, and three different types of flags fluttering in the wind.
These were indeed the troops withdrawing from Tianxiong Pass, from the Fourth Mountain, the Ninth Mountain, and the soldiers from Jiange Pass!
Traveling at breakneck speed from dawn to dusk, they covered a thousand miles without looking back.
Flags suddenly appeared in the mountains and streams at their side,
more and more troops, from all directions, poured onto the official road heading to Jingguan City.
"The Seventh Mountain"
"The Eighth Mountain"
It was as if a grand assembly of troops had taken place!
Then, several streaks of light crossed the sky, followed by a series of calls...
"Colonel Wu from Jiange Pass is here too?"
"Seventh Colonel, long time no see."
Several figures met amid the mountains.
"It seems you too have received the message, alas." Someone sighed and shook their head.
"The Lord is gone, our hearts are heavy with sorrow, I will never coexist with those beasts!" Someone clenched their teeth in anger.
"The Youmen Pass has now been breached, it is estimated that the entire southern Bashu will fall. This time, the demons from the Ten Thousand Mountains clearly made meticulous and ample preparations. First, they caused chaos everywhere during the Demon Tao Fruit Conference, dispersing our forces, and then they broke through Youmen Pass. This time, I fear it won’t end well." Someone frowned.
"By the way, Colonel Wu, you are the Pass Colonel of Jiange Pass, you should logically be in Jiange City. How come you are with Colonel Chang, and, strangely, why are the flags of the Ninth Mountain here too? Aren’t they supposed to..."
The speaker was the Colonel of the Seventh Mountain from the Mountain-cutting Army. He meant to say that the Colonel of the Ninth Mountain had fallen and their entire troop had been badly crippled.
Among the group, Wu Sheng, clad in copper armor, had a complex expression upon hearing this, "This matter... is a long story..."
Just as he was speaking, at the far end of the official road, a gleam of silver light approached quickly and grew larger, followed by the familiar sound of an eagle’s cry.
The figures in the sky stopped their conversation immediately and looked towards the silver light.
They knew that it must be the Orderly Officer from The Overseers arriving!
Indeed, a Sky Shrieking Falcon quickly revealed its form; as it flew close to the Colonels who were meeting,
it flapped its silver-iron-like wings once and came to a halt.
On its back, an Orderly Officer with three red Command Flags inserted behind, saluted with his hand, "I didn’t expect that all the Lords had already gathered. The Deputy Commander has issued three orders in a row, commanding the Lords to rush to Yunding Mountain for deliberation without delay."
Having said this, the Orderly Armor Soldier, who had met Chen Yuan twice before, looked at the several Colonels with his eyes and then glanced below, he quickly asked,
"Excuse me, Colonels, where is Colonel Chen of the Ninth Mountain?"
"The Deputy Commander has specifically asked to see him!"
Now, the two Colonels from the Mountain-cutting Army who had just rushed to the meeting were a little surprised,
"Colonel Chen of the Ninth Mountain?"
"The new one? Deputy Commander personally named him?"
Several questions swirled in the minds of the Seventh and Eighth Colonels.
But at this moment, Colonel Wu Sheng of the Third Mountain spoke up, "Lord Chen is overseeing the pacification of Tianxiong Pass and is wrapping things up, he asked us to rush back with the troops first!"
Given that three orders had been issued consecutively, The Overseers must be in a hurry, so it was better to explain.
As he spoke, a spark of admiration flashed in Wu Sheng’s eyes as he remembered how decisively Chen Yuan had acted after receiving the tragic news.
This subtle change in address did not escape the notice of the other two Mountain-cutting Colonels, who were somewhat astonished.
"It’s an old habit I haven’t yet broken; when Colonel Chen was in Tianxiong Pass, he temporarily acted as our Main General, so it’s not inappropriate to address him this way."
Changshan explained casually, without showing any particular emotion,
"Yes! The Commander said that, in recognition of Colonel Chen’s merits at Tianxiong Pass, an investiture ceremony will be held for him!"
Meanwhile, as evening falls on this day, just outside the Southern City at Tianxiong Pass, some ten li from Jiuming Mountain.
From atop the cliff, one can oversee the distant Heroic Pass.
At this moment, the sound of hooves arises from the forest.
Followed by an excited voice.
"Big brother, we’re getting close to Tianxiong Pass, there’s a huge commotion inside, the families have united to launch a counterattack against the Sky Patrol Department, heh, what a time to emerge as heroes in troubled times, we the Five Zuoling Heroes must have a place in this big piece of cake!"
"Hmm, the Valley Master Cao from the Weapon Refining Workshop sent a message saying that he has managed to invite two recluses who have been in seclusion for years, calling us to bolster the ranks, promising that if we succeed this time, he’ll give us a piece of Eastern City. If he dares to go back on his word, I’ll cut him down." A rugged voice responded.
As the talk progressed, closer to the cliff, five figures leading the way on horseback started to emerge.
Following them were a group of men dressed in various rough clothes, of different builds, each wielding a variety of weapons - the "eighteen types" of arsenal.
There were roughly three to four hundred men and horses!
All with slanted eyebrows and [email protected] looks, none of them seemed like good folks!
The two in front, one with copper bell eyes and a somewhat fierce and intimidating appearance, spit flying as he spoke and a huge copper ringed broadsword carried on his shoulder. The nine copper rings clanged against the blade as it moved, making a crisp sound.
He possessed the Profound Body Great Success cultivation!
The other one was lean and gaunt, with a rat-like face and narrow eyes that gleamed with excitement.
From the conversation, it sounded like these men were off to snatch a share of the spoils at Tianxiong Pass and to provide support.