by Fang Xiang
Ma Fan was filled with regret. Getting him to train this group of greenhorns was worse than killing him!
At the side, Nian Lu and Lei Peng had expressions of schadenfreude. They would willingly go onto the battlefield to kill enemies rather than interact with a group of greenhorns everyday. They knew very well how difficult it was for Vermillion Bird Camp to go from nothing to something respectable. It definitely was not an easy task to bring a group of ignorant greenhorns to Vermillion Bird Camp's skill level.
Glancing at the duo's expressions, Ma Fan asked Zuo Mo without changing his expression, "Daren, I won't be able to do it by myself. Can I get a few brothers to help?"
Lei Peng and NIan Lu's expressions instantly changed.
Zuo Mo waved his hand and crisply agreed, "Yes!"
This matter was finalized like this.
———
Bu Si Dong looked at the red fire clouds on top of Turtle Island. His thoughts wandered. He was one of the people in the first group allowed onto Turtle Island. He was born and raised in Cloud Sea Jie and was naturally unwilling to see Cloud Sea Jie become the backyard of the yaomo. When he heard Turtle Island was preparing to have a great battle with the mo army, he ran over in hopes of joining Turtle Island.
But unexpected to him, Turtle Island did not immediately accept anyone. The island-protecting formation was securely closed. Other than xiuzhe that entered and left everyday, no one spoke to them.
He personally saw how Turtle Island had gone from empty to being completely filled. All of the xiuzhe that came here only had one goal: they hoped to join Turtle Island and fight against the mo army.
Yet no one paid attention to the people.
Several fiery-tempered people were so angry they charged at the formation. Then they were burned to ash by the formation. Those beautiful dusky red clouds were fatal.
This scene caused the heads of the surrounding people to calm down.
Another batch of xiuzhe rode on roaring nimbus clouds and headed into the fire clouds. Every time this happened, Bu Si Dong's eyes turned around. This Turtle Island was really rich!
He wasn't the only one to think this. The admiring words of the surrounding people entered his ears. They were not ignorant country bumpkins but every time they saw this, they couldn't resist sighing in praise.
Wearing intermediate fourth-grade Blue Soul Cold Light Armor, ethereal Cloud Wings on their backs, Tiger-Style Flowing Light Boots on their feet, Serene Heart Intelligence Hats on their head, and the nimbus cloud that left trails behind them!
It was a complete set of fourth-grade attire!
With the Cloud Wings, why did they drag nimbus clouds along? Could they be any more wasteful?
Countless people wanted to charge up and strip these people clean. At the beginning, people were envious but they felt that it was acceptable that Turtle Island would outfit their elite with this level of equipment given Turtle Island's strength.
Which power did not have a few hundred elite that were completely loyal?
But they quickly found to their shock that this was their standard equipment. Anyone that came out of there wore this!
Many people cried. These were real tycoons! Their heated hearts were stirred up further to the point that they almost burned themselves.
Bu Si Dong did not lose his calm. He looked around and thought. Turtle Island was still maintaining its silence. He suddenly had a feeling that Turtle Island was not so easy to join. When this thought appeared, it did not demotivate him. It increased his confidence. All of Turtle Island's actions showed how they were different from other factions.
Maybe they could really defeat the mo army?
Bu Si Dong jumped in fright at the thought that popped up.
At this time, the large formation of Turtle Island suddenly opened and the dusky fire clouds split apart. A troop of about two hundred xiuzhe appeared in people's view.
All fourth-grade attire, all golden flying swords, unusually regular!
Sword xiu?
Shocked, people thought inside, so many sword xiu, was Turtle Island a sword cultivating sect?
They did not give people the time to digest this. The Cloud Wings on the back of the leading xiuzhe moved and then the Cloud Wings on the back of the two hundred sword xiu moved in unison. The entire troop disappeared from people's view!
All of them were shocked!
Such quick speed! Such great cooperation!
"They are up over there!" someone shouted in shock.
Everyone raised their heads. They saw the two hundred sword xiu who were like an unsheathed sword at this moment giving off rampant murderousness and battle spirit. They took over the entire sky! They looked down at them, the cold and murderous presence silently pervading!
People suddenly had the feeling they were trapped in dark and cold bog. Any kind of struggle would cause them to move closer to death.
So powerful … …
Bu Si Dong's eyes were unfocused as he murmured to himself.
Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and his body shook.
In the sky, a cold voice sounded.
"Kill!"
Two hundred people shouted, "Kill!"
The killing essence that took over the sky rained down like a typhoon. The ice cold presence that was omnipresent filled every inch of space like sharp-edged daggers! Bu Si Dong felt as though he was standing in a space filled with sword essence. The howling of the sword essence tearing through the air was like countless wails and caused him to lose any intentions of resisting.
The vast sword essences were like an unstoppable flood that carried killing intent as it came down from the sky!
All of the xiuzhe present paled in front of such a powerful attack and shook!
No one dared to move!
They feared that the tiniest move would cause the other's sword to change direction.
These xiuzhe that were used to fighting one-on-one suddenly discovered, in front of such a tsunami like attack from the battle formation, just how laughable their so-called rich experience was! Individual bravery was as minuscule as an ant in front of such powerful attack.
The sword energies disappeared into the distance. Echoes carried back. Turtle Island's surroundings were deathly silent.
Ma Fan was very satisfied with the effects of the demonstration. But when he recalled how these people had been so scared they didn't even dare to move and how they were going to become his subordinates, he became discontent again.
But he did not show it on his face. He said solemnly, "I come with orders from Daren to set up Black Turtle Camp. Those that are confident in their strength can come try. From today onwards until the time of the battle, Turtle Island is open. Everyone, Turtle Island has strict rules and requirements, take care of yourselves!"
With the lingering effects of that sword strike, no one dared to make a sound.
Ma Fan did not speak more. He turned and led the troop back into Turtle Island.
Bu Si Dong quickly recovered from his shock. Turtle Island was open? Setting up Black Turtle Camp? He instantly started to think and was overjoyed. Without any hesitation, he flew towards Turtle Island.
He was filled with confidence. Turtle Island's battalions were more powerful than the rumors said!
He didn't know if this kind of battalion could defeat the mo army but he knew this was the battalion of Cloud Sea Jie that had the highest probability of succeeding.
He was very curious. What was Turtle Island really like?
On this day, the news that Turtle Island had opened quickly spread through Cloud Sea Jie. Ma Fan's group attack was also exaggerated to a great degree.
Those scornful still snorted, those feeling afraid still rushed to escape.
Only those that had a glimmer of hope remaining flew day and night towards Turtle Island!
Translator Ramblings: The pains of being a leader … … Also, Ma Fan is really learning from Lil' Miss on being evil.
The other thing is that this war has
been foreshadowed for a long time. The first chaos rift was in the first two hundred chapters or so, and stirrings of war were foreshadowed a long time ago. Zuo Mo is just unable to run away any longer. He was able to run in Little Mountain Jie, away from the war in Bloody Sky Metropolis Jie and also slipped out of participating in the overall war as part of the yao. But now he really doesn’t have a place to flee to considering everywhere can have a chaos rift.
Chapter 512: A Goal
"They are all moving towards a place called Turtle Island. Supposedly, there is a faction there that plans on fighting against us." The vice commander reported emotionlessly.
"Oh," Shi Dong's expression was cold as made a neutral sound. He said lightly, "This is also good. They are all gathering together and it will save us a lot of trouble."
The vice commander did not speak, his eyes were half-lidded as he stood there like a rock. His commander was a daring and outstanding person who did not need looking after.
Shi Dong might have been born a low level mantis mo, but he possessed the rare bloodline of the Sky Mantis. He had the classic tall and slender body of mantis mo. There wasn't a flaw on his carven face. His blue pupils were as pure and clear as icy sapphires and his expression was forever cold and distant.
His mantis blade was a completely different shape than normal mantis blades. It was held at his waist. The blade was narrow and long, almost touched the ground. The curve of the blade was very small and seemed between a sabre and a sword.
Looking at the handsome commander, the vice commander sighed inside. If Daren wasn't born a mantis mo, he probably would have been promoted long ago. Even though Daren did not care, he couldn't help but feel injustice on Daren's behalf.
"Slow the advance," Shi Dong said coldly.
"Yes." The vice commander's thoughts came back. With slight pondering, he understood what Daren intended. Daren wanted to give the other side enough time to gather. This way, they could avoid spending the time searching for these people and get rid of them in one battle.
Daren was really confident!
———
The large numbers of xiuzhe coming into Turtle Island caused Turtle Island to become bustling and noisy.
Most of the xiuzhe that came were combat xiuzhe, filled with fighting spirit. There were some that were extremely rebellious and were hard to manage. However, when Wei Sheng, Zong Ru, Xie Shan, and the other jindan came out they instantly took care of those disobedient people.
The rebellious people were thrown into the sword formation to experience its torture. The wails that occasionally passed out of the sword formation caused the passersby to uncontrollably tremble.
Turtle Island instantly became orderly.
Every combat xiu that entered Turtle Island would attend the selection for Black Turtle Camp immediately but they quickly comprehended what it meant to be part of a Turtle Island Battalion! The combat xiu that had the bravery to come at this time all had rich combat experience and good strength. In other factions, they could easily become part of the elite battalion. In actuality, many of them had left the elite battalions of other factions to come here and fight.
But these elites came out with dusty faces and dejection after experiencing the first day of qualifications.
They finally tasted the great strength of Turtle Island's battalions!
Strict regulations that they had never ever heard of, the level of training was so high that many people did not last through the first day. Now these xiuzhe understood that the two hundred combat xiu they saw that first day was the standard combat xiu in Turtle Island. Turtle Island did not have a so-called elite battalion.
Corresponding to the high requirements of Black Turtle Camp was the great benefits that many were jealous of.
The first batch of people that were chosen and went through combat formation training would receive a complete fourth-grade outfit. Many people were jealous of the fourth-grade outfits that Vermillion Bird Camp wore. If they could finish the training, they could receive the same outfit. Where else could they find something as good as this?
Black Turtle Camp was extremely busy.
Zuo Mo took away his gaze. He would not be able to put any hopes on Black Turtle Camp in the short-term. The formation of a battalion required time. The composition of Black Turtle Camp was also extremely varied. There were a mixture of xiuzhe. It took a lot of mental effort to even think of combat formations they could train in.
Fortunately, other than the combat xiu, there were also three silver battle generals. With the help of the three silver battle generals, Ma Fan's burdened lightened greatly. Even so, according to Lil' Miss' estimates, it would take at least one year for Black Turtle Camp to be ready for battle.
"We have found out that there are about three thousand people in this mo army. Their strength isn't bad," Gongsun Cha said unconcernedly.
He probably had been influenced by Pu Yao. It was very difficult for this guy to even say "not bad."
"They have slowed down their advance. They probably want to give us time to gather and then defeat us in one blow." Lil' Miss smiled.
Seeing Lil's Miss' smile, the surrounding people shivered. Lil' Miss was angry!
Some people had smiles of schadenfreude. What yaomo, what monsters, if they provoked Lil' Miss, heeheehee … …
"How are we going to fight?" Shu Long asked straightforwardly.
Shu Long was clear to his strengths and weaknesses. In terms of scheming, ambushing and trickery, he was far from Lil' Miss' equal. Therefore, he decided not to waste the brainpower.
Lil' Miss said lazily, "Why don't we just charge over? I don't believe they are stronger than Vermillion Bird Camp!"
The lazy words were filled with confidence. Lil' Miss was clearly enraged by the other battle general's intentions.
This insane idea caused Vermillion Bird Camp to rustle excitedly. If it was other people facing the mo army, they would have mental pressure, but for Vermillion Bird Camp, a mo army was nothing! They had seen the mo armies of Blood Sky Metropolis Jie, they were just that level. Vermillion Bird Camp had completely changed out their outfit, and their strength had grown. Their confidence was at a peak.
Come, come! Face to face, let's have a fight!
Many people wanted to howl!
"No!" Zuo Mo glared at Lil' Miss.
It was not that he did not have the confidence in Vermillion Bird Camp but even if they won through fighting head-on, the fatalities would be astounding. Everyone in Vermillion Bird Camp had followed him for this long, how could he bear for them to fight the other head on?
He could not do unprofitable business!
"We need to get the greatest victory with the smallest amount of fatalities." Zuo Mo's tone was concerned. Seeing that everyone still had opinions, he instantly followed up, "Our goal is to defeat this mo army, not kill them all off. We only have to chase them back into the mo world so we can seal the chaos rift. Do not forget that when we win, we still need to have the strength to take care of Cloud Sea Jie, do we want others to pluck the fruits of our labor?"
Their heated heads finally calmed down. That was right, if they won this fight, Cloud Sea Jie was theirs. If they didn't have enough strength at that point, wasn't that working for others?
"No one believes we have the abilities to defeat the mo army. Right now, all the major factions have fled, and Cloud Sea Jie almost void of other powers. For us, this is a great chance. If we can grasp it, Cloud Sea Jie will be ours in the future!"
The leaders around him listened carefully with excited expression on their faces. Compared to the mo army, taking over Cloud Sea Jie caused more excitement in them.
Zuo Mo said in a deep voice, "Cloud Sea Jie is not bad. This is a very remote place, and there is almost no influence from the Four Realm Heaven, it is not attention-catching. Right now, the Sky-Splitting Calamity is happening everywhere so they do not have the attention to spare to make trouble for us. For us, this is the best time."
Everyone strai
ghtened their spines, and suppressed their excitement. They had roamed around with Zuo Mo this entire time and were extremely desirous of owning a stable territory. Even Wei Sheng who was usually steady couldn't help but nod his head at Zuo Mo's words.
"So this time, our goals are very clear. One, defeat the mo army and seal the chaos rift. Two, take this opportunity to take control of the jie rivers and take over Cloud Sea Jie."
Light flashed through Zuo Mo's eyes. His right fist smashed down hard and a thread of dominance showed.
Almost unconsciously, everyone shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Zuo Mo took a breath. Even he had gotten excited at his own words. Calming down, he jumped at his own daring. At the beginning, he did not have this idea. It was only when he saw large amounts of xiuzhe gathering at Turtle Island that this idea had suddenly formed. After thinking for a few days, he had finally made a decision.
Looking around, he found everyone had expression of excitement. All of their moods had transformed. Everyone was filled with energy and fighting spirit. It came from their excited and anticipatory faces.
Zuo Mo suddenly understood.
A clear goal would cause everyone to unite. They were filled with motivation and drive. They would not muddle through like they did in the past few months.
This troop was reborn!
Strangely, Zuo Mo felt some regret and apology. It was only today that he had given everyone a clear goal. He really had not been a good leader.
No one noticed Zuo Mo's guilt. Everyone was immersed in their dreams of the future.
"Since that's the case, then we will need to modify our plans." Lil' Miss brushed the bangs at his forehead and two balls of red rose on his cheeks. He gave a bashful smile like that of the neighbor's boy. "There are many advantages that we can use. The appearance of the chaos rift was too sudden. I believe that the mo army has not adequately prepared. The reason that they have continuously won is because the local battalions of Cloud Sea Jie are too weak, and also because everyone fears the mo army. They do not have these two advantages against us. Also, we are fighting on home territory while they are battling a long-distance from their base. We have more of an advantage."
