Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 383 - 27: Three Growth Phases, Fire Demon Clan, Earth Fire Lotus! (6k)_3

Chapter 383: Chapter 27: Three Growth Phases, Fire Demon Clan, Earth Fire Lotus! (6k)_3

"You calling me Lao Liao is no problem at all! Hahaha."

Zhao Xing also laughed. Every leader had their own style of leading troops. Some were strict with clear hierarchies, while others were more approachable, often mingling and treating the lower-ranked soldiers as brothers, sharing meals and living quarters.

Liao Rulong had an unmistakable air of chivalry.

"Let’s go. Don’t just stand here. Let’s head into the city and talk!"

Liao Rulong hooked his left arm around Long Xiao’s neck and placed his right hand on Chen Shijie’s shoulder. He tilted his head towards Zhao Xing: "Let’s go into the city and chat over drinks!"

"I’ve heard from these two about your many interesting stories in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, especially about Ge Wuzhu and Blind Cheng. How did two perfectly good fifth-rank Ministers of Agriculture end up with such nicknames? Hahaha, come on, let’s head back and talk in detail."

.....

On the night of August 13th, Liao Rulong originally intended to gather his other three sixth-grade deputy generals in City 92 for a reunion.

However, thinking of Li Que’s past mishap (Chen Lu’s superior), he dismissed the idea.

So, in City 92, the only sixth-graders were Chen Shijie and himself.

Over time, Chen Shijie had also advanced to the Sixth Grade Heavenly Gang Realm, while Long Xiao, the Sword Cultivator, was progressing relatively slowly.

During the conversation with Liao Rulong and others over dinner, Zhao Xing obtained more detailed information.

Liao Rulong’s unit initially had twelve thousand men in eight camps: the Five Elements Camp, Divine Machine Camp, Nine-Section Camp, and Longxing Camp.

The Five Elements Camp consisted of magicians specialized in metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, all recruited from Great Zhou’s 72 Daoist Schools and 360 academies.

The Divine Machine Camp was made up of mechanical masters, the Nine-Section Camp entirely of Ministers of Agriculture, and the Longxing Camp entirely of martial artists.

They coordinated their actions seamlessly.

"As of now, my unit has grown to over twenty-three thousand men."

"Mainly through continuous recruitment, with relatively few casualties among the brothers."

"It’s expected that another seven thousand men will be added, but the total will not exceed fifty thousand."

After a hearty meal, Liao Rulong and Zhao Xing discussed the current state of the army.

"So I’ve taken longer to recuperate here, almost a month, waiting for the general to send reinforcements."

"The more troops the better; having more wouldn’t hurt," Zhao Xing said with a smile.

Though Liao Rulong claimed not to differentiate between ranks, when discussing serious matters, Zhao Xing addressed him as Mr. Liao or Duwei Liao.

"That’s not the case," Liao Rulong shook his head and said. "Fifty thousand is my command limit. Anymore, and I can’t manage them."

"The strategist has trained me multiple times. The conclusion is I am best suited for leading elite troops."

"Thirty thousand is optimal; fifty thousand is the maximum."

"Beyond that, it’s unmanageable and the army’s strength can’t be fully utilized."

Zhao Xing didn’t say anything. Not everyone was Han Xin, capable of handling countless troops effectively.

The battlefield changed in an instant; during a fight, a commander had to process a multitude of information within a second. This information flow included truths and falsehoods, some important and some not.

Once a certain threshold was surpassed, the brain simply couldn’t keep up.

It was like the Grassman Skill. Some people could control one Grassman with high combat effectiveness. But if they controlled more than ten, the effectiveness actually weakened.

"After defeating the Wolf God Tribe, the Marquis and the strategist both said Wen Shaoyang and I were advancing too quickly. They ordered us to slow down the vertical push, so I planned to advance horizontally southeast to attack the Fire Demon Clan."

"Going from Machang City to Zhixiu City was part of that plan."

As Liao Rulong spoke, Han Bing and Wang Ji exchanged a peculiar look.

"Hmm? What’s wrong with you two? Did I say something incorrect?" Liao Rulong asked in confusion.

"Duwei, that’s not it," Han Bing and Wang Ji shook their heads. "We were just reminded of something."

"You don’t seem surprised that I intend to attack the Fire Demon Clan?" Liao Rulong asked. "I heard your departments are preparing equipment, medicine, and other military supplies to deal with the Fire Demon Clan?"

Returning to Supply City, Liao Rulong naturally had Chen Shijie check the inner storeroom.

He immediately noticed the quantities were unusual.

There was too much, far too much!

It couldn’t have been made in just the past few days.

He’d wanted to ask for a while but had been preoccupied until today when he suddenly remembered.

"Back to Duwei," Wang Ji said. "Around two months ago, when Mr. Zhao just arrived here, they asked the Minister of Agriculture Supervision and the Engineering Department to shift the focus of military supply production, indicating that you would eventually target the Fire Demon Clan."

Liao Rulong looked at Zhao Xing in surprise: "Two months ago? I was still fighting the Wolf God Tribe then, and you already foresaw this?"

Zhao Xing, modest, said: "It’s not as impressive as they make it sound. Even a fool can have a good idea now and then. Anyway, our agricultural supervision’s planting capacity is excess, so producing some more here isn’t a bad thing."

"Oh?" Liao Rulong became interested. "So, what advice do you have?"

Zhao Xing pondered for a moment, then decided not to keep up any pretense, waving for a map to be spread out: "Please look, Duwei. Currently, the Fire Demon Clan’s territory is being pressed from the east, west, and north by various armies."

"The Golden Feather Royal Court is guarding the Qinggang Mine area, one of the few treasured lands of the Southern Barbarians, comparable to our Great Zhou’s Cave Heaven and Blessed Land."

"The strongest force among them is Lv Yuanwei’s Divine Thunder Army to the west. He has five hundred thousand men, and with his extensive spread, no one in the west can compete with him. He holds the territory alone."

"To the north are the Tiger Flood Dragon Army, Xuanjia Army, Zhao Yuan Army, and Danxia Army. These four strong armies are placed against the Fire Demon Clan’s northern defense line, with advance forces exceeding a million men combined."

"To the east are my Divine Might Army, Zhenhai Army, Fierce Sun Army, and fifteen other armies. However, despite the numerous armies, the total number is actually less than two hundred thousand men because the Fire Demon Clan’s eastern front is extremely harsh, with the ’Flame Mountain’ range stretching across the land."