Chapter 186 Poor Comparison

Three days passed, and Lu Tianzi once again found himself in Elder Mingxin's command tent, along with the other squad leaders of the battalion.

At this moment, the squad leaders were all dumbfounded by what they had just heard.

"We are leaving?" Lu Tianzi frowned. "Where to?"

Just a few days ago, Lu Tianzi had heard General Nanbai Zhaoyu announce that they would be camping here for the rest of the month, so why were they suddenly leaving instead?

"This is General Nanbai Zhaoyu's instruction. We are one of the four battalions that will be leaving to support the central regions down south, where the fighting is growing more and more intense by the day," Elder Mingxin explained.

"Four battalions will be leaving?!" Lu Tianzi was even more surprised to hear that.

"What about Drakesin Town?" Nanqing Haowen asked from the side. "Without Brother Nanlu, who is going to crush the duels from now on?"

"Is General Nanbai Zhaoyu confident that nobody will be making a challenge?" Nanlan Qianxue posed her question as well, her voice carrying a hint of doubt.

According to the promise made by General Nanbai Zhaoyu, the people of Drakesin Town could redeem every single one of the hostages as long as they won a duel at the same cultivation realm.

While it might be true that nobody came forth to ask for a duel in the past three days, it did not necessarily mean that such a thing would not happen for the coming few weeks!

Hearing their questions, Elder Mingxin could not help but let out a chuckle. "There will certainly be some who are willing to risk their lives to rescue their friends, and that is why we have to leave in secrecy, not letting them realise it. As long as the threat of death remained, General Mingli Yongsheng will never allow anyone strong to sacrifice themselves. Otherwise, if someone of great potential were to fall, the situation will only become more precarious for him."

"What about Drakesin Town?" Lu Tianzi asked. "Are we not intending to take it down anymore?"

With the Shadowfront Regiment cut by a third, Lu Tianzi seriously doubted that it would still be possible to bring down Drakesin Town.

Of course, that was unless General Nanbai Zhaoyu had some earth shattering trump card up his sleeves!

"As for that, it is exactly the reason why General Nanbai Zhaoyu has been so adamant on crushing the morale of the other party." Elder Mingxin sighed helplessly. "In just a short three days, we have already received our first bit of inside information from traitors among their ranks. According to them, further reinforcements from the core of Dragon Cauldron Kingdom will be arriving in a few days. Moreover, these reinforcements should almost double the combat strength of the current Drakesin Town!"

"What?!" the squad leaders all widened their eyes in surprise.

"Is this news reliable?" Lu Tianzi narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"From the looks of it, it should be reliable," Elder Mingxin nodded. "When the reinforcements arrive, it would be difficult for just the Shadowfront Regiment alone to take down Drakesin Town. Things here will eventually evolve into a stalemate."

"This…" the other squad leaders looked at each other hesitantly.

The overwhelming advantage gained by the Shadowfront Regiment had not only caused morale to plummet within Drakesin Town. The morale within the regiment itself had skyrocketed as well!

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Over the past few days, all of them had been thinking that they would be able to take down Drakesin Town soon.

Who knew that the situation would change this quickly?

"I am more surprised that traitors have already begun to appear!" Nanqing Haowen scoffed. "It has only been three days! Are the people of the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom this weak in the mind?"

"They are not weak at all. It is you who underestimate the cunningness of this world," Elder Mingxin smiled. "General Nanbai Zhaoyu has dealt them such a strong mental blow that they cannot help but to think of the worst case scenario. If we manage to gain the advantage and claim the town as our own, these people would have contributed to our success, and thus they will have a higher standing than their peers. But even if we fail to break their defence and things remain in a stalemate, nothing will change for these people who remain safe within their town. With both sides covered, is it not the best move on their part?"

"Then shouldn't we be attacking even more fiercely right now?" another squad leader by the name of Quanlong raised his doubts. "Since we know that their reinforcements will be arriving, we should be making use of this time to deal the final blow to Drakesin Town!"

"I can only tell you that Drakesin Town is not as weak as you think it is," Elder Mingxin shook her head. "In fact, it would be risky to even maintain the stalemate here after the arrival of their reinforcements. Chances are that the Shadowfront Regiment would have to retreat a good distance from this position soon enough. But how things play out in the end would still have to rely on General Nanbai Zhaoyu's performance."

Silence befell the command tent as everyone knew not what to say.

Seeing that the atmosphere had fallen all of a sudden, Elder Mingxin could only sigh in her heart.

The Shadowfront Regiment had advanced in an unstoppable manner since the start, plowing through three different towns like a hot knife through butter.

Carrying such a powerful momentum on their backs, it was no wonder that these squad leaders felt indignant to be told that they could advance no further. And on top of that, this was without allowing them to even try putting up a fight.

For these hot blooded youngsters, it would probably be difficult to accept such an outcome.

But in any case, the decision had been made, and nothing was going to change just because of their bit of unwillingness.

"We are leaving at midnight," Elder Mingxin instructed. "I repeat, this is to be done in complete secrecy, so make sure to let your squad members know that as well. If the enemy catches wind of our retreat, things will become much more complicated for our allies!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The squad leaders might be young when compared to Elder Mingxin, but they were not stupid.

They clearly understood that General Nanbai Zhaoyu was only sending away two of the twelve battalions in order to keep up the threat that the Shadowfront Regiment posed.

But if this was found out by those within Drakesin Town, they would surely grow suspicious and even start doubting the strength of the Shadowfront Regiment!

Should that happen, General Nanbai Zhaoyu's moves would become severely limited, and that would tilt that balance in this battlefield, rendering their previous efforts meaningless.

Such a situation had to be avoided at all costs!

That night was one without the moon.

Under the cover of darkness, all four thousand people from the four battalions quietly sneaked away from their camp at the bottom of the slope.

With the numerous defensive formations and tents remaining in place, it would be a long time before those in Drakesin Town realise that the Shadowfront Regiment had played them for fools.

***

A large encampment spanned across an open field, with tents stretching across the horizon. This was a camp multiple times larger than that of the Shadowfront Regiment. Guards patrolled diligently within the boundaries, and sentries gazed intently into the distance.

This was the main encampment of the Scarlet Moon Army, and none of these men on duty dared to entertain the thought of slacking off.

After all, they would never be able to bear the consequences if something went wrong on their watch!

Two ladies walked through the camp in a leisurely manner. The one leading the way was wearing a graceful dress, while the one following behind donned tight battle robes.

"Are they supposed to arrive today?" Beimu Fei asked curiously as she followed along.

"If nothing goes wrong," Formation Master Beimu nodded.

"Heh! I wonder how much stronger he has become since the last time we met!" Beimu Fei grinned in anticipation.

Formation Master Beimu turned to look at the young lady, knowing that she was obviously referring to Nanlu Tianzi. "Are you still hung up over the rumour that Tianzi managed to match an Origin Core realm martial artist in a frontal clash?"

"It is not just a rumour, Master! Everyone at the banquet was sure about it, and Nanlu Tianzi even admitted it himself!" Beimu Fei retorted. "Elder Jiang can be my witness!"

After her return from Bluenight City, Beimu Fei had immediately reported this incident to Formation Master Beimu. However, all she received in return was her master's patronising responses.

It was obvious that Formation Master Beimu was not convinced at all.

Then again, she could not blame her master.

Who would ever believe that a mere Intermediate Essence Condensation realm martial artist could muster enough strength to block an Origin Core realm martial artist's attack?

If she had not been there to personally experience the atmosphere during the banquet, even she would probably not believe it!

During the banquet, even those renowned Elders of the Wild Melody Circus had confirmed the matter, so surely it was not just a baseless rumour!

"All right, all right," Formation Master Beimu let out a gentle smile. "But even if we assume that Tianzi truly did manage such a feat, the other party, Elder Wenshen of the Quake Scroll Sect, is just a newly advanced Origin Core realm martial artist. Perhaps he is still unable to control his strength well?"

"Master, even if he is someone who had just advanced to the Origin Core realm, does it make sense for him to be blocked by an Intermediate Essence Condensation martial artist?" Beimu Fei grumbled, obviously unconvinced.

"No matter what it is, we will find out soon enough when we see Tianzi in battle," Formation Master Beimu clearly did not think much of the matter. "On the other hand, the person whom you should be looking up to is not Tianzi, but someone else."

Beimu Fei forced a smile in response, clearly unwilling to continue with the topic that had just been brought up.

The two of them continued on their way, finally arriving before the largest tent in the camp.

Recognising them immediately, the guards promptly stepped aside, even taking the initiative to pull open the entrance flaps to allow them in.

With the sheer size of the tent, even fitting a thousand people would not be a problem. Thus, despite there being at least a hundred people within, it did not feel cramped at all.

When Formation Master Beimu entered along with Beimu Fei, most of the people present turned around to greet her with polite nods.

These people were the upper echelons of Scarlet Moon Kingdom's expedition army this time, accompanied by their aides.

The Origin Core realm martial artists took their seats, arranged in a semi-circle such that everyone was facing the back of the tent. The aides whom they had brought along had no choice but to stand behind them.

Standing in front of everyone was an elderly man whom Lu Tianzi would have recognised as well if he had been present.

He was none other than the one responsible for bringing them to the Lifebrand Courtyard at the end of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, the second in command of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, Marshal Xianming.

But in this war against the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom, he was the man who held the greatest authority in the Scarlet Moon Army!

Usually, Beimu Fei would feel humbled in his presence, devoting all of her attention to him.

However, Beimu Fei could not help but feel distracted this time, her gaze being subconsciously attracted over to a person who was seated comfortably in the tent.

She was not the only one either.

At the other end of the tent, Beiqian Ming of the Flying Dragon Hall glanced over as well, his gaze falling upon the same figure that Beimu Fei was looking at.

It was a young man who, until recently, had still been considered as someone who was on a similar level to the two of them.

But now, he had taken a step forward to leave them in the dust, being assigned a seat while the two of them had to stand.

With his short black hair, tanned skin, and being fully decked out in armaments, he looked just like a seasoned veteran on the battlefield.

Fourth Prince Mosha naturally sensed the two of them stealing glances at him, but he paid them no mind, choosing to focus on Marshal Xianming instead.

After all, he had never placed the two of them in his eyes.

Even though they used to be termed as the Four Stars of Scarlet Moon City, the fact was that he possessed strength far above the other three. And now, he had finally broken away from the pack, officially entering the Origin Core realm!

Seeing the indifference in his eyes, Beimu Fei could not help but recall what her master had just said to her – the person whom you should be looking up to is not Tianzi, but someone else.

Indeed, even though Nanlu Tianzi managed to block a single frontal attack from an Origin Core realm martial artist, it had only been a feat worthy of praise because of his relatively low cultivation level.

When compared to Fourth Prince Mosha who had truly stepped into the Origin Core realm, Nanlu Tianzi was still far too lacking.

After all, if Fourth Prince Mosha was in his place instead, he might even been able to defeat Elder Wenshen in a single strike!

On top of that, Nanlu Tianzi's win during the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet was not by relying on himself either, but by utilising the formation that she had set up for the most part. In a way, it could be said that it was an unfair fight.

Now that she thought about it, her master was right.

Comparing the two of them was almost akin to comparing the achievements of a kid to that of a man!

She really had to start looking forward now, so that she would not be left too far behind by this monster of a martial artist who was Mosha!