Chapter Five Hundred and Twelve – A Goal
"They are all moving towards a place called Turtle Island. Supposedly, there is a faction there that plans on fighting against us." The vice commander reported emotionlessly.
"Oh," Shi Dong's expression was cold as made a neutral sound. He said lightly, "This is also good. They are all gathering together and it will save us a lot of trouble."
The vice commander did not speak, his eyes were half-lidded as he stood there like a rock. His commander was a daring and outstanding person who did not need looking after.
Shi Dong might have been born a low level mantis mo, but he possessed the rare bloodline of the Sky Mantis. He had the classic tall and slender body of mantis mo. There wasn't a flaw on his carven face. His blue pupils were as pure and clear as icy sapphires and his expression was forever cold and distant.
His mantis blade was a completely different shape than normal mantis blades. It was held at his waist. The blade was narrow and long, almost touched the ground. The curve of the blade was very small and seemed between a sabre and a sword.
Looking at the handsome commander, the vice commander sighed inside. If Daren wasn't born a mantis mo, he probably would have been promoted long ago. Even though Daren did not care, he couldn't help but feel injustice on Daren's behalf.
"Slow the advance," Shi Dong said coldly.
"Yes." The vice commander's thoughts came back. With slight pondering, he understood what Daren intended. Daren wanted to give the other side enough time to gather. This way, they could avoid spending the time searching for these people and get rid of them in one battle.
Daren was really confident!
———
The large numbers of xiuzhe coming into Turtle Island caused Turtle Island to become bustling and noisy.
Most of the xiuzhe that came were combat xiuzhe, filled with fighting spirit. There were some that were extremely rebellious and were hard to manage. However, when Wei Sheng, Zong Ru, Xie Shan, and the other jindan came out they instantly took care of those disobedient people.
The rebellious people were thrown into the sword formation to experience its torture. The wails that occasionally passed out of the sword formation caused the passersby to uncontrollably tremble.
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Turtle Island instantly became orderly.
Every combat xiu that entered Turtle Island would attend the selection for Black Turtle Camp immediately but they quickly comprehended what it meant to be part of a Turtle Island Battalion! The combat xiu that had the bravery to come at this time all had rich combat experience and good strength. In other factions, they could easily become part of the elite battalion. In actuality, many of them had left the elite battalions of other factions to come here and fight.
But these elites came out with dusty faces and dejection after experiencing the first day of qualifications.
They finally tasted the great strength of Turtle Island's battalions!
Strict regulations that they had never ever heard of, the level of training was so high that many people did not last through the first day. Now these xiuzhe understood that the two hundred combat xiu they saw that first day was the standard combat xiu in Turtle Island. Turtle Island did not have a so-called elite battalion.
Corresponding to the high requirements of Black Turtle Camp was the great benefits that many were jealous of.
The first batch of people that were chosen and went through combat formation training would receive a complete fourth-grade outfit. Many people were jealous of the fourth-grade outfits that Vermillion Bird Camp wore. If they could finish the training, they could receive the same outfit. Where else could they find something as good as this?
Black Turtle Camp was extremely busy.
Zuo Mo took away his gaze. He would not be able to put any hopes on Black Turtle Camp in the short-term. The formation of a battalion required time. The composition of Black Turtle Camp was also extremely varied. There were a mixture of xiuzhe. It took a lot of mental effort to even think of combat formations they could train in.
Fortunately, other than the combat xiu, there were also three silver battle generals. With the help of the three silver battle generals, Ma Fan's burdened lightened greatly. Even so, according to Lil' Miss' estimates, it would take at least one year for Black Turtle Camp to be ready for battle.
"We have found out that there are about three thousand people in this mo army. Their strength isn't bad," Gongsun Cha said unconcernedly.
He probably had been influenced by Pu Yao. It was very difficult for this guy to even say "not bad."
"They have slowed down their advance. They probably want to give us time to gather and then defeat us in one blow." Lil' Miss smiled.
Seeing Lil's Miss' smile, the surrounding people shivered. Lil' Miss was angry!
Some people had smiles of schadenfreude. What yaomo, what monsters, if they provoked Lil' Miss, heeheehee ... ...
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"How are we going to fight?" Shu Long asked straightforwardly.
Shu Long was clear to his strengths and weaknesses. In terms of scheming, ambushing and trickery, he was far from Lil' Miss' equal. Therefore, he decided not to waste the brainpower.
Lil' Miss said lazily, "Why don't we just charge over? I don't believe they are stronger than Vermillion Bird Camp!"
The lazy words were filled with confidence. Lil' Miss was clearly enraged by the other battle general's intentions.
This insane idea caused Vermillion Bird Camp to rustle excitedly. If it was other people facing the mo army, they would have mental pressure, but for Vermillion Bird Camp, a mo army was nothing! They had seen the mo armies of Blood Sky Metropolis Jie, they were just that level. Vermillion Bird Camp had completely changed out their outfit, and their strength had grown. Their confidence was at a peak.
Come, come! Face to face, let's have a fight!
Many people wanted to howl!
"No!" Zuo Mo glared at Lil' Miss.
It was not that he did not have the confidence in Vermillion Bird Camp but even if they won through fighting head-on, the fatalities would be astounding. Everyone in Vermillion Bird Camp had followed him for this long, how could he bear for them to fight the other head on?
He could not do unprofitable business!
"We need to get the greatest victory with the smallest amount of fatalities." Zuo Mo's tone was concerned. Seeing that everyone still had opinions, he instantly followed up, "Our goal is to defeat this mo army, not kill them all off. We only have to chase them back into the mo world so we can seal the chaos rift. Do not forget that when we win, we still need to have the strength to take care of Cloud Sea Jie, do we want others to pluck the fruits of our labor?"
Their heated heads finally calmed down. That was right, if they won this fight, Cloud Sea Jie was theirs. If they didn't have enough strength at that point, wasn't that working for others?
"No one believes we have the abilities to defeat the mo army. Right now, all the major factions have fled, and Cloud Sea Jie almost void of other powers. For us, this is a great chance. If we can grasp it, Cloud Sea Jie will be ours in the future!"
The leaders around him listened carefully with excited expression on their faces. Compared to the mo army, taking over Cloud Sea Jie caused more excitement in them.
Zuo Mo said in a deep voice, "Cloud Sea Jie is not bad. This is a very remote place, and there is almost no influence from the Four Realm Heaven, it is not attention-catching. Right now, the Sky-Splitting Calamity is happening everywhere so they do not have the attention to spare to make trouble for us. For us, this is the best time."
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Everyone straightened their spines, and suppressed their excitement. They had roamed around with Zuo Mo this entire time and were extremely desirous of owning a stable territory. Even Wei Sheng who was usually steady couldn't help but nod his head at Zuo Mo's words.
"So this time, our goals are very clear. One, defeat the mo army and seal the chaos rift. Two, take this opportunity to take control of the jie rivers and take over Cloud Sea Jie."
Light flashed through Zuo Mo's eyes. His right fist smashed down hard and a thread of dominance showed.
Almost unconsciously, everyone shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Zuo Mo took a breath. Even he had gotten excited at his own words. Calming down, he jumped at his own daring. At the beginning, he did not have this idea. It was only when he saw large amounts of xiuzhe gathering at Turtle Island that this idea had suddenly formed. After thinking for a few days, he had finally made a decision.
Looking around, he found everyone had expression of excitement. All of their moods had transformed. Everyone was filled with energy and fighting spirit. It came from their excited and anticipatory faces.
Zuo Mo suddenly understood.
A clear goal would cause everyone to unite. They were filled with motivation and drive. They would not muddle through like they did in the past few months.
This troop was reborn!
Strangely, Zuo Mo felt some regret and apology. It was only today that he had given everyone a clear goal. He really had not been a good leader.
No one noticed Zuo Mo's guilt. Everyone was immersed in their dreams of the future.
"Since that's the case, then we will need to modify our plans." Lil' Miss brushed the bangs at his forehead and two balls of red rose on his cheeks. He gave a bashful smile like that of the neighbor's boy. "There are many advantages that we can use. The appearance of the chaos rift was too sudden. I believe that the mo army has not adequately prepared. The reason that they have continuously won is because the local battalions of Cloud Sea Jie are too weak, and also because everyone fears the mo army. They do not have these two advantages against us. Also, we are fighting on home territory while they are battling a long-distance from their base. We have more of an advantage."
Everyone listened carefully. Everyone could feel the rare seriousness in Lil' Miss' voice. It seemed that Lil' Miss was also excited by Daren's words.
"We are more familiar with the environment, this means we can use things like the transportation formations. We can identify the positions of all the transportation formations. This means that we can maneuver behind the enemy and then make a sneak attack."
Lil' Miss continued, "But we need to cut the passage between the other army and the mo world before that. If the other can get reinforcements, this tactic will be disadvantages for us."
Everyone present nodded. Zuo Mo looked at the calm Lil' Miss and couldn't help but sigh. Lil' Miss really had the mannerisms of a great general!
Lil' Miss put up two fingers. "My battle plan is very simple. Send a troop to meet the mo army and then send another troop to ambush the chaos rift and seal the rift. If the rift gets sealed, then we have won half of the battle. That way, the other will only have two choices left. The first is to keep advancing forward, and the other is to fight to return to the mo world. The possibility of them choosing the second is greater. We can set up a battlefield near the chaos rift and attack from front and back. Then they will be finished."
Zuo Mo thought deeply. He felt there wasn't any holes and said unhesitatingly, "Do it!"
"Yes!" Everyone shouted their acceptance!
Translator Ramblings: No more running away. Zuo Mo has ambitions beyond surviving, finding out his past and making jingshi now.
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Chapter Five Hundred and Thirteen – When We Made This Decision
"Hey, Lil' Bu!"
A familiar voice came from behind him. Bu Si Dong stopped walking and when he saw the incomer, he showed happiness. He darted forward and threw a punch at the other's shoulder excitedly. "Haha! A Zhe, you didn't leave either! I thought you already left!"
"Leave? And go where?" A Zhe laughed helplessly. His figure was slender and scholarly. There was a star-shaped mark on his forehead. He had grown up with Bu Si Dong from childhood. Even though the two of them had later entered different sects, they had kept in contact.
"You are right!" Bu Si Dong's voice was emotional. He quickly gave a sunny smile. "What are you doing now? Did you find work to do?"
"Constructing the city." A Zhe pointed at the city which was now coming together, "Island Master wants to rebuild Xu Ling City. I'm responsible for a mid-sized defense formation."
"Wow!" Bu Si Dong showed a shocked expression. "You're this strong now? I had thought you were only able to forge second and third grade paper seals."
A Zhe said exasperatedly, "I've lived this many years! Ah, if it wasn't that Sect Leader had wanted to leave Cloud Sea Jie, I wouldn't have left the sect."
"The same with me." Bu Si Dong sighed lightly. Both of them were in low moods. For them, their sects were like a second home. They were naturally reluctant to leave.
"Let's not speak about this!" Bu Si Dong gathered his mind and said proudly, "Right, I've been selected for Black Turtle Camp! Isn't it great?"
"You're that strong?" This time, it was A Zhe's turn to be shocked. "I heard that the selection was very strict. It's over now that an amateur like you was able to get in. I feel slightly worried about my future."
Bu Si Dong rolled his eyes. "I have to protect people like you in the future, I'm the one that should feel grief!"
"It is your honor, Little Bu!" A Zhe laughed as he patted Bu Si Dong's shoulder. Then he said concernedly, "I heard the training there is very difficult. Do you have enough ling dan? I have some here ... ..."
"No need, no need!" Bu Si Dong shook his hand and then said emotionally and in a show-off manner, "In reality, I have never thought there would be a day that I cultivate with such luxury. We get two pieces of third-grade jingshi every day and one Primary Replenishing Dan. We have to finish using it. Every week, we will get a Cleansing Dan to rid ourselves of the impurities and purify the ling power."
A Zhe's mouth was wide open as he stammered, "That ... ... that is too luxurious!"
"Motherf***er, I finally know how those large sect disciples cultivate! With such a cultivation method, would they fail? Just absorbing ling power from the jingshi and the medicinal power from the Primary Replenishing Dan would take up half of the day. Then it is battle formation training. If we are the slightest bit incorrect, we can only wait to get punished!" Thinking about the pains of cultivation, Bu Si Dong smacked his lips emotionally.
"Don't complain after benefiting!" A Zhe was full of admiration. "I heard long ago that the island is rolling in wealth. I hadn't thought they would be this wealthy! You really gained greatly!"
"Haha, yes!" Bu Si Dong said with pride. "It is a pity I am not a sword xiu. Turtle Island is best at training sword xiu. You haven't seen Teacher Wei's sword essence, it is uncanny!"
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"Oh, work well. In the future, if you make it, then you can protect me." A Zhe's expression was matter-of-fact.
Bu Si Dong thought of a matter and hurriedly said, "A Zhe, you can go try for Golden Crow Camp. That place is filled with xiuzhe skilled in forging, seals and dan-making. I heard those admitted get Golden Crow Fire!"
"Golden Crow Fire? Fourth-grade Golden Crow Fire?" A Zhe's eyes were wide as though he had saw a ghost.
"Yes!" Bu Si Dong nodded forcefully. "I hear that they teach all kinds of forging methods. All of the ling dan that we use in cultivation are made by Golden Crow Camp. I went with Ma Fan Daren once and there were so many good things there that are just thrown on the floor. They can be seen everywhere, my heart hurt just looking at it!"
"Which direction is Golden Crow Camp?" A Zhe's eyes became bloodshot as he asked.
Bu Si Dong pointed, "Oh, that place over there."
Without another word, he turned and sprinted away.
"At least say farewell ... ..." Bu Si Dong stilled and then he muttered.
———
The people streamed in. Turtle Island was like an enormous magnet that attracted innumerable numbers of xiuzhe. The xiuzhe that were not willing to leave Cloud Sea Jie only had this one chance. Turtle Island quickly was unable to accommodate so many xiuzhe. Adding on that there were many restricted areas on the island that housed things like the Sun Shen Tree. There were too many eyes. If someone recognized it, then it would not be good.
Zuo Mo decided to rebuild Xu Ling City.
Originally, Lil' Miss planned to use Turtle Island as bait to attract the mo military. But looking at the flow of people that was continuously coming in, they had to throw out this idea.
Fortunately Vermillion Bird Camp which had the cloud wings and the nimbus clouds were very mobile and were suited for guerilla combat.
The progress of Xu Ling City was very quick. There was a large amount of manpower. Everyone knew that time was tight and worked hard.
Presently, Zuo Mo was very wealthy. This was the benefit of being the first to stand up against the mo army.
Merchants like Liao Qi Chang who came to Zuo Mo in search of protection naturally were willing to also invest. The businesses that were leaving Cloud Sea Jie would donate the things they were unable to transport to Zuo Mo. It was a favor, one they might be able to use in the future.
When he encountered this kind of situation, Zuo Mo accepted them. What? Not easy to move? No matter, I will get people to move it!
Those with keen eyes gambled on Zuo Mo. Many merchant houses proactively supplied all kinds of aid in the rebuilding of Xu Ling City.
How many of the merchants, that could survive in the cruel market, have poor insight?
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Under this kind of situation, Zuo Mo's power quickly grew. A strange prosperity appeared around Turtle Island.
After finalizing their goal, the people under Zuo Mo's command displayed furious battle intent and high morale.
This might be the biggest "business deal" that Zuo Mo ever engaged in. His previous business deals were child's play compared to this business deal. When the fighting started, Zuo Mo perceptively realized that the enormous opportunity contained in the fighting.
Maybe ge was really born to do business?
As to what to do after achieving their goal, who knew. Zuo Mo was too lazy to think. This really was a great chance but it was not so simple to grasp it.
Fortunately, everything seemed to be progressing smoothly at present.
But Zuo Mo did not let it go to his head. He judged calmly.
He was clear that this inflation in power was like a pile of bubbles. If they could not defeat the mo army, these bubbles would instantly pop.
Looking at the quiet A Gui, Zuo Mo's restless heart also calmed down.
"A Gui, I'm very sorry. We need to wait for the fighting to finish before we can search for a Water Cloud embryo," he said apologetically.
A Gui sat silently and motionlessly.
The two stared at each other in silence.
"A Gui, who are you?" Gazing at A Gui, Zuo Mo said quietly. A while later, he lowered his head. His expression was slightly depressed. "Who am I?"
Suddenly a hand reached over and grasped Zuo Mo's hand.
Zuo Mo stilled and raised his hand abruptly.
A Gui's face was still as wooden as usual but there was a weak light in the deep reaches of the empty eyes.
A Gui had moved!
This was the first time A Gui moved of her accord after she was wounded.
For some unknown reason, Zuo Mo suddenly felt his heart warm up. This simple move made him feel extremely comfortable and his dejection flew away.
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A Gui's hand was very beautiful. Just like her feet, it did not have one flaw.
Other than being slightly cold.
Zuo Mo gripped A Gi's hand back.
"Thank you, A Gui."
———
"I object!"
"I also object!"
"Daren, you cannot enter into a dangerous situation, this is too dangerous!"
Zuo Mo looked at the excited group. He had predicted this reaction. Wei Sheng did not speak but it was clear from his expression that he did not agree with Zuo Mo's thoughts. He was not the only one. Lil' Miss, Shu Long, and the others were shaking their heads.
Everyone knew what Zuo Mo's safety meant to their troops. If something happened to Zuo Mo, this group would likely fall apart instantly.
Any suggestion that could cause that situation would receive everyone's opposition.
Gradually, people calmed from their excitement. Their eyes landed on Zuo Mo. Zuo Mo was smiling as usual and did not show an excited expression. Seeing everyone calm down, he slowly opened.
"I've thought deeply about this."
No one spoke. Everyone was waiting for Zuo Mo to keep speaking. After interacting with Daren for so long, they also knew it was extremely difficult to change Daren's mind after he made a decision.
"No one can replace Gongsun Shidi and Vermillion Bird Camp in fighting against the mo military. The battle style of Guard Camp is not suited to guerrilla combat. Shu Long's personality is steady and is skilled in defense rather than offence. This time, Guard Camp's mission is to attack the other's base. I feel that no one is more suited than I am."
Seeing someone open their mouth to speak, Zuo Mo waved his hand and continued.
"As for the danger, do not mention it in the future. We are fighting with our backs against the wall, there is no retreat. Unless we want to return to what we were before," Zuo Mo looked around and said in a deep voice, "Are you willing?"
The audience was completely silent.
Before setting their goal, no one had realized this problem and felt it was nothing. But once they set their goal, it was like poking a hole in the umbrella. No one was willing to go back to their previous muddling days.
"When we made this decision,"
Zuo Mo's gaze slowly swept across everyone. Everyone felt a strong pressure.
"we no longer had the right to fear the consequences!"
Zuo Mo's tone was aloof but these words were like a sharp sword deeply cutting into stone, and engraving themselves into people's hearts!
Translator Ramblings: Another chapter about how things are being set up. I think Fang Xiang likes ramping up the tension too much. Zuo Mo sounds so serious and mature, but then I remember this is also the person a few chapters ago that stripped people of their underwear.
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