All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 500 - 114 Scout

Chapter 500: Chapter 114 Scout

Cang Linzu had a dream.

In the dream, he wasn’t forced to leave his hometown due to Frost Calamity; his parents never left him forever. He didn’t need to wander in the endlessly vast, endless white Wilderness, nor did he have to hunt using a spearhead made from an unknown person’s thigh bone paired with a wooden stick, fighting to the death with equally starving wild beasts.

In the dream, he never left the Martial Arts Academy; his family was reunited around him, teachers and classmates all looked at him with eyes full of amazement and admiration as he boarded the flying shuttle that went directly to Shenjing. The flag of Black Tortoise of Da Chen fluttered by his side, and he wore black martial attire, becoming a member of the glorious True Martial Platform.

Until the last moment, a vague silhouette, seemingly the Emperor, sat solemnly on the imperial throne. All authority, all power, all dignity in the universe converged upon him.

He demanded that Cang Linzu kneel before him.

Subjects should kneel.

But a demonic madness suddenly arose from the young man’s heart.

"What if at this moment, I spit in his face?"

"What if at this moment, I slapped this fool and told him that if you really had sense, you would have issued a decree admitting your guilt to the whole world, saying that you’re just an idiot who has turned not only the Northern Border... no, the entire country into a complete mess?"

Unknown what the outcome would be. Unknown if it could be done. Maybe

at the moment of refusal to kneel, he would be killed.

Therefore, he wanted to become stronger. That’s why he was considered a martial maniac by others, that’s why he fought so hard, learning and honing himself.

It was all to make his life shine in that moment, to turn into endlessly bright stars in that instant, welcoming his Moment of Destiny

— At that time, he would surely be strong beyond measure, strong beyond his own imagination!

This sudden impulse, akin to the liberation of one’s nature, reason told him it was all nearly delusional, but Cang Linzu did not want to give up.

On the contrary, he wanted to do it, the thought alone made his hands tremble with excitement.

Not as a member of the Tianyi Demon Sect, because the Tianyi Demon Sect is also nonsense. He wanted to take on a completely new identity, one that was neither a rebel traitor of Da Chen nor a member of the Demon Sect.

A brand new identity beyond this rotten, boring era.

Only Eldest Senior could lead him to attain that identity.

So he was willing to become that star, that ’Jidu Star,’ a disaster bringer of great calamity.

When he opened his eyes, Cang Linzu awoke from this dream.

Enough to block the coldest winds, the "All-Environment Protective Sleeping Bag" from Da Chen, initially warm as spring as he woke, would cool down gradually, ensuring he wouldn’t be shocked by the temperature difference inside and outside the sleeping bag.

In a dark tree hollow sealed with soil and ice, only the flickering light from the screen was visible.

Qin Yunye, who was on night duty, noticed her companion waking up and silently handed him a small bottle, which Cang Linzu took and drank, quickly quenching his thirst and hunger after a brief sleep.

"How’s the situation?"

After moving his arms, Cang Linzu gave the sleeping bag to Qin Yunye, the relatively short girl sliding into it with extremely fluid motions, her voice significantly weaker: "The farthest Iron Kite detected some activity, but the snow is too heavy, it will take at least two hours before we can reach a point of observation."

"We might have a tough battle later, let me sleep first...huh..."

She fell asleep. Cang Linzu pursed his lips and continued to control the drone for surveillance. The wind and snow outside couldn’t affect them, but the hollow carved out of this tree trunk still had a few small holes, which could accommodate signal amplification lines disguised as branches, and could also be used for ventilation.

Such tree hollows were numerous in the Ice Crystal Forest along the Yujiang coast. Cang Linzu’s reconnaissance squad had been lying low here recently, waiting for the arrival of Iron Li’s Iron Cavalry.

"Captain."

The voice of people in other tree holes nearby came from the intercom: "It seems indeed to be the target, what shall we do next?"

"Let me take a look first."

Cang Linzu rubbed his hands, put on his drone glasses, and accessed the visual feed.

Due to the vast area required for the surveillance, more than a dozen teams were scattered across the snowy plains north of Broken Blade Mountain, each composed of two to three Martial Artists, along with martial disciples and skilled Hunters or Herb Pickers.

Thanks to the variety of ’Bright Mirror Sect martial equipment’ provided by An Jing, even during Frost Calamity, these dozen teams did not suffer any reductions due to natural elements.

"It really is the target right here."

In the vision of the drone controlled by Cang Linzu, faint clouds of snowdust could be seen rising from afar, movements indicative of the Iron Li Cavalry advancing.

It’s uncertain whether it’s good or bad luck, but among the many directions, it was precisely his team that discovered the enemy’s main force.

"After confirming the direction of the enemy’s advance, clear the traces, and then retreat in batches. My deputy and I will cover the rear."

Cang Linzu then controlled the Iron Kite to observe from the side, although the snow was getting heavier, and the visibility was significantly reduced, he could confirm that the scale was at least two thousand-strong Martial Army units.

Although it was strange where the third Martial Army unit was, there was a minefield laid out by the Iron Kite ahead; even if the operation was concealed, it would surely leave some traces.

Their job was to retreat when the enemy reached the vicinity, move deeper into the Wilderness, and then track backwards along the enemy’s route to locate the enemy’s ’Supply Line’.

The power of the Martial Army in formation overwhelmingly surpasses the imagination of those who have never experienced a Military Formation, but such power comes at a cost: the armor used as the Formation Base in the Martial Army is easily damaged when fully activated, and the diets of each warrior must be as consistent as possible, containing specific Spiritual Objects to ensure the seamless connection of their energies, preventing ’spiritual blockage’ due to individual differences.

Without specific supplies, relying solely on the army’s own carried food and baggage would not last more than a few days.

Thus, finding the enemy’s supply route and cutting off their food supply at a critical moment would force even the bravest of foes to retreat.

Leveraging the extremely convenient Heavenly Mechanism Iron Kite, Cang Linzu was confident he could complete this exceedingly difficult task which for other Scouts would be daunting; now that the enemy’s location had been successfully found, the next step was simply to evade any large-scale detection magic by the enemy and retreat to a safe distance to wait.

In the Ice Crystal Forest, several trees shook as about a dozen Scouts emerged from under ice covers, organized their equipment, and began to efficiently erase their traces.

Next, they would retreat in groups of three towards different directions and finally regroup at the designated meeting point.

Boom!

"Was a mine triggered?"

From afar, the sound of explosion and the brightness of flames lit up, while Cang Linzu, simultaneously connected to eight Iron Kites observing the surroundings, was slightly startled, then zoomed in on the camera feed showing the explosion.

The camera showed nothingness; clearly, the team that triggered the mine had concealed their presence, and no one was injured by the mine; it was an elite squad.

"The enemy is closing in; we need to speed up the retreat."

Clicking his tongue, he had no choice but to wake up Qin Yunye, who had not gotten enough sleep in a quarter of an hour. Although the latter looked pale, he did not get angry, but instead frowned and said: "It’s the ’Frost Snow Riders’ mentioned in the intelligence, right? The Iron Cavalry that can manipulate frost and conceal themselves within the ice?"

"It should be." Cang Linzu’s expression was serious now. He felt something was off, because if he was not mistaken, the advance route of the Frost Snow Riders was directly heading towards their camp.

But he could not confirm this yet; Cang Linzu knew there were several more mine defensive lines ahead, and if the enemy was indeed approaching directly, then the next explosion would occur...

Boom!

From afar, another blaze of fire lit up. Cang Linzu immediately stood up, without hesitation, pulled Qin Yunye out from the sleeping bag, kicked open the ice cover sealing the hole, and ordered the many Scouts clearing the traces: "Destroy the Iron Kite controller, retreat immediately! The enemy has discovered us!"