All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 476 - 99 Martial Army Organization (5500, today’s word count: w)

Chapter 476: Chapter 99 Martial Army Organization (5500, today’s word count: w)

"Wiped out..."

In the command tent, the Iron Cavalry leader with eyes sharp as a hawk curled his finger and tapped on the long table laid with maps. His eyebrows knitted tightly, a wisp of scorched aura touched the node on Broken Blade Mountain, exactly where the Vanguard Camp had sent its last transmission.

"An ambush? Or a Great Formation lying in wait? Did Da Chen’s reinforcements get here even quicker than us?"

He stood up, his towering stature nearly ten feet tall, his pronounced Giant Spirit bloodline causing veins and muscles to condense into bone armor on his skin, with an almost tangible metallic pattern.

That’s the original meaning of ’Iron Li’, according to legends from Ancient Times, the Iron Li ancestors brought by the Great Immortal all had foreheads of bronze and bones of iron, giants able to uproot mountains, drink rivers dry, among them, Shamans could sense everything, commanding the laws of nature and earth.

The bloodline of the Iron Cavalry leader was not thin, but it had not fully awakened. Even so, this bloodline allowed him to be part of the core command tier among the thirteen Iron Li tribes, with an independent establishment capable of commanding the authority of the Martial Army.

Proud of his bloodline and military feats, he had not let down the king’s trust. On his southern expedition, he’d conquered small and large cities, counting seven, and countless towns and villages. His own strength rose with the tide, advancing from the mid-stage of the Martial Meridian [Hundred Breakthroughs Refinements Corresponding to Earth Veins] to the high stage of Martial Meridian [Qi Pierces the Divine Platform Uniting the Heavenly Sea], just one step away from [Three Unities Ascending to Heaven Ladder], the peak of Martial Meridian.

But this time, where no accidents should have occurred, he encountered the greatest setback since he started leading the Iron Cavalry.

The leader thought he’d feel anger and shock, but surprisingly, he discovered he felt neither; instead, there was a sense of relief and composure: "I knew Da Chen wouldn’t let us win so easily —— tell me, which Martial Guard squad ambushed you? Belonging to the Nine-Headed Serpent (Gu Yunzhi) or the newly arrived Mountain Monster (Chen Haoshan)?"

"Neither, commander... to be honest, I saw nothing, only remember a sea of Blood Fiend thunder flame."

Kneeling on one knee, the Scout, with half an arm burned off, said with a pale face: "The only reason I’m alive is because I was just leaving camp to change shifts with the night Scout, right before the camp spontaneously combusted... I was thrown by the Blood Flame explosion, my left arm caught fire, and I had to sever it to escape... I really don’t know the details!"

—— Not lying... It seems the attack happened too suddenly, giving no time to react.

The commander frowned deeply but eventually let out a sigh and ordered, "Bring the medicine." He patiently told the surviving Scout, "You rest well, the merits of the Vanguard Camp won’t be forgotten. You go to the rear and heal, then train more of our sons."

"I do not cherish life out of cowardice!"

These words, instead, awakened the Scout’s fierce spirit as he lifted his head, eyes bloodshot: "From the day I set out, it’s honorable to die, disgraceful to live without fighting. My heart burns with zeal, Imperial Heaven is my witness!"

Before he finished speaking, he violently grasped his chest with the arm he had left, brutally tearing out his own heart and raising it towards the Iron Cavalry leader: "I failed to comprehend what exactly happened then, but you, commander, surely can!"

"Please, take my heart as a mirror, see into my soul!"

"...Very well!"

The Iron Cavalry leader’s expression somber, he lifted his hand, grasping both the Scout’s hand and the heart it held, his eyes ignited with a desolate white flame: "Your sacrifice shall not be in vain!"

In an instant, a scent of charred flesh rose, and strands of white smoke streamed out from the Scout’s orifices, flowing into the commander’s.

In that moment, he relived the Vanguard Camp’s encounter with the ambush through the Scout’s memories.

"...So that’s it."

He propped up the already lifeless Scout, calling for helpers to take the body back for burial. The Iron Cavalry leader’s expression was grave: "It’s an underground ambush—a trap laid deep within the Earth Vein, triggered in one fell swoop when the Vanguard Camp was off guard—the strength of such an assault, to protect the Military Formation, one would need to activate the Military Soul Divine Skill."

"But without the Military Soul Divine Skill, then the enemy has the initiative and advantage... Metal-Eating Rats struggle to detect these traps, possibly finding themselves in the midst of them before noticing."

He fell into deep thought, for a time unable to figure out a solution—even if detected, it would still take effort to clear them or take a detour, and if it were key areas like Earth Pulse Nodes, any accidental aftershocks from clearance could expose their targets.

As a highly mobile cavalry unit, their secret to countering Da Chen was stealth, quick maneuvers, and sudden strikes—yet the existence of these landmines could completely negate their advantage.

"...Indeed, once our high-speed siege tactics were known, with Da Chen’s resources, they can easily come up with counter-measures against us... It’s time to develop new tactics."

"Now that Linjiang City is aware of our Vanguard’s presence nearby, a full-scale assault would be pointless..."

After racking his brains for a while, the Iron Cavalry leader still could not come up with a good method, so he could only sigh and send the information back to his superiors, commanding his troops: "Pause the march! Advance slowly! Carefully inspect for ground traps!"

As the Iron Li’s Iron Cavalry was forced to slow their march,

In Linjiang City, An Jing and his side were celebrating a great victory, the entire city celebrating for a day, sparing no wine or meat.

Destroying a three-hundred-man Vanguard might not sound like much, but as the enemy were all from the Martial Army, it was actually quite a significant accomplishment.

According to Gu Yunzhi’s words, this achievement was enough for the Shenjing military department to consider granting each successful soldier one hundred acres of land, or an equivalent in Spiritual Objects.