Fei Yan patted Li Qingxian’s shoulder. "Qingxian, this is a rare opportunity. Besides, the Imperial Court has its own difficulties. We can’t just send out an Upper-Grade Expert on a whim. What if they get ambushed? What if this is a trap? What if they leave the Divine Capital only for trouble to break out right after? I gave you plenty of face before and listened to you. This time, you listen to me, the Military Supervisor. This is a military order."
Li Qingxian opened his mouth, sighed, and said, "Your subordinate obeys."
Fei Yan’s face lit up with a grin. "I hear you have a lot of Magical Artifacts and lent out quite a few back in Beichen City. Lend out some more for this assault on the Dark River. This time... I guarantee you’ll get back at least as many as you lend, if not more."
"I don’t know about that..." Li Qingxian said.
"Storing the confiscated Magical Artifacts with you is better than leaving them in a warehouse!" Fei Yan said, pointing at Li Qingxian’s Qiankun Bracelet with envy. "Between the entire Internal Factory and the Night Guard, none of us has one of these."
Li Qingxian nodded. "However, when you file your report, you must state clearly that as a Fate Master, I proposed requesting an Upper-Grade Expert to destroy the mountain, but as a Department Head, I obeyed the Military Supervisor’s order."
"Done! You’re giving me, old Fei, face. If anything goes wrong, I won’t let you take the fall. In any case, the main credit will be yours. Without you, we’d be as blind as those Demon Sect fools. Let’s go! Gather the men and prepare for action!" Fei Yan said with a confident smile.
The sun slanted west, and the sky filled with stars.
The Factory Guard Alliance Army split from three teams into two. They appeared to be wandering aimlessly through the mountains, just as before.
At dusk, the Factory Guard Alliance Army stopped to make camp.
In the early hours of the morning, several miles away at the foot of a mountain, flames suddenly flared.
The Ministry of Justice clashed with the insurgents.
Afterward, Li Qingxian’s Fate Skill and a Middle-Grade Daoist Practitioner’s Daoist Skill descended upon a patch of forest, dispelling various warning spells within, including other Fate Skills and Daoist Skills.
Several Fourth-Grade masters entered the forest like phantoms. Moments later, the successive calls of a nightingale echoed from within.
"Success! Charge with me! Once we’re in the Dark River, send the signal and destroy all the other tunnels except the one belonging to the Demon Sect!" Fei Yan’s voice was suppressed with an indescribable excitement.
Li Qingxian glanced back at the people behind him.
Han Anbo and Zheng Gaojue were by his side. Zhou Henn had also appeared, following five paces away.
Shen Xiaoyi, Qiu Ye, and the others were being watched by a squad of soldiers, unable to leave or enter the tunnel.
In the darkness, whether they were from the Patrol Bureau, the Night Guard, the Internal Factory, the Divine Capital Prefecture, or the Beichang Guard, the eyes of the vast majority shone with excitement.
Battle merits!
Li Qingxian sighed inwardly and said in a low voice, "Brother Han, Gao Jue, you two stick close to me. Even if there’s a mountain of gold three steps away, don’t go for it. Uncle Xiaozhou, I’m entrusting my life to you."
The three of them nodded lightly.
Jing Guan, who was standing to the side, chuckled. "Master Xiaoli, don’t be so pessimistic. We’ve come prepared this time. This is sure to be a great achievement."
"It never hurts to be prepared," Li Qingxian said with a small smile.
Before setting out, Li Qingxian had used Observing Fate and Qi on some of the men, but he couldn’t see anything.
Under the influence of the two great Trend Formations, everyone’s fate was a chaotic mess.
Guided by the Fourth-Grade experts at the front, the elite battalion of over a thousand men entered the tunnel and advanced quickly.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of rushing water came from up ahead.
The column halted, hiding inside the tunnel.
Li Qingxian looked ahead. At the end of the tunnel flowed the Dark River.
The river was about twenty feet wide and waist-deep. On both sides, a path roughly ten feet wide ran between the bank and the cave walls, wide enough for people to walk on.
"You can send the signal now!"
Not long after, powerful explosions echoed from various directions in the distance, and the mountain trembled slightly.
"Lads, charge with me! Slay the insurgents, fight for battle merits, become princes and generals!" Fei Yan’s voice echoed in the tunnel. The troops rushed out. The majority formed up in the spacious Dark River passage, while a smaller group fanned out to intercept insurgents guarding various posts.
Shrill alarm whistles echoed from all corners of the cavern.
The main army reformed its ranks in the Dark River passage and advanced slowly.
A Life Disc, Immortal-Seeking Bees, a Destiny Measuring Ruler, a Destiny Scale, and a Destiny Fishing Rod floated above Li Qingxian’s head. He continuously chanted Fate Skills to nullify the enemy’s own, while also preemptively marking various spells, hidden sentries, and mechanisms.
Other Cultivators in the group used either Daoist Skills or arrow-firing puppets to dismantle the traps and mechanisms.
The supposedly formidable defenses of the Nether Mountain Sub-Branch were practically transparent before the Factory Guard Alliance Army.
Some of the Grade-Entering Cultivators glanced at Li Qingxian from time to time. If not for this Fate Master, at least several dozen of them would have already fallen.
The force advanced, clearing out all the mechanisms, traps, and hidden sentries. They soon reached the end of the Dark River, where it widened into an underground lake.
The lake was situated in a vast cavern with a high, arched ceiling. Magical Artifact Lamps hung everywhere, illuminating the cavern brightly.
The cavern walls were riddled with countless carved tunnels and doorways, creating a sprawling, beehive-like network.
Several hundred people were gathered at the edge of the lake, glaring over like tigers watching their prey.
"By order of the Emperor, the Internal Factory is here to arrest you insurgents! Those who surrender will be spared and may redeem themselves through meritorious service! If you dare to resist, your entire family will be executed!" Fei Yan’s sharp, eunuch’s voice, amplified by True Essence, echoed throughout the cavern and spread into the tunnels in all directions.
"Surrender my ass! Brothers, kill these dogs of the Imperial Court!"
"As long as Nether Mountain stands, the Human Race will not fall!"
"Kill the dog officials of Qi Country!"
The fear on the faces of the several hundred people quickly turned to fanaticism and rage as they charged straight forward.
Fei Yan sent a voice transmission: "Their leaders must be in trouble, otherwise they wouldn’t be so disorganized. Whether you can win honors for your wife and children and bring glory to your family all depends on today! Kill!"
The Factory Guard Alliance Army moved like a precision machine, quickly whirring into action.
First came wave after wave of heavy crossbow bolts, followed by the glow of Magical Artifacts and Cultural Treasures, and then came Daoist Skills and Battle Poems.
Skeletal puppets of all sizes rose from the dust and smoke, raising shields and greatswords to charge at the very front.
Before the two sides even clashed, members of the charging Nether Mountain contingent began to fall one after another. The acrid smell of blood slowly spread.
Then, Nether Mountain’s own spells, Battle Poems, and crossbow attacks flew over, but the light of one Protective Magical Artifact and defensive Daoist Skill after another flared to life, blocking the scattered assault.
The two forces collided. The Martial Cultivators of the Factory Guard Alliance Army were like butcher’s knives, hacking and cleaving through the insurgents.
Li Qingxian, dressed in his Gradeless Night Guard Robe, stood far from Fei Yan, a Spirit Talisman in hand, perfectly still.
The Fourth-Grade Experts were also concealed in various spots. The highest-ranked combatants to engage were only Fifth Grade.
The Factory Guard Alliance Army was like a meat grinder. The several hundred hastily assembled insurgents were like pigs and dogs, quickly slaughtered to the last man.
One squad moved in to finish off any survivors, while another began to gather Magical Artifacts and other spoils of war.
Instead of advancing, the Allied Army fell back to guard the only entrance from the Dark River tunnel.
Li Qingxian frowned, watching the dense cluster of tunnel entrances and doorways in the cavern walls and the figures that occasionally flitted past them.
"Master Xiaoli, you... why are you hiding so far away? Do a calculation for us, where is their main force?" Fei Yan called out.
Li Qingxian nodded. White clouds churned in his eyes as a sky full of Child Immortal-Seeking Bees flew into the numerous tunnels and passages.
After a long moment, Li Qingxian frowned and said, "It’s very complicated inside. One group is trying to escape through the various tunnels; they don’t know yet that they’ve all collapsed. Another group is gathering their people, preparing to advance on our position. As for their main force, I’m not sure. Their Fate Master is likely still unconscious."