The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-186

As Zhuge Qing watched Teng Qingshan disappear into the crowd of the Black Armored Soldiers, her eyes reddened with glimmering translucent tears. The order for the army to set off was truly too quick. There were many people who did not even know about it. Zhuge Qing had also only heard about the news by chance when she stepped out of her chamber. She couldn't control herself. At that moment, her face turned pale with fright and rushed out toward the military drill ground.

However, the moment she rushed over, Teng Qingshan was already gone!

...Gone to engage in this bloody battle against Qing Hu Island?

Zhuge Qing was afraid... afraid that she would never see Teng Qingshan again. As she watched the grandiose Black Armored Army leave, Zhuge Qing called out rashly, "Big brother Teng, I'll be waiting for your return!"

For a young woman to shout loudly, 'I'll be waiting for you to come back!' in a public place with a lot of people… This was something that required an astonishing amount of courage.

"Qingqing." Zhuge Yuanhong walked over. Looking at his own daughter, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Father." Zhuge Qing suddenly threw herself into her father's arms, no longer able to stop the tears she had been holding back all this time. This was the first time Zhuge Qing fell in love with someone. So, when she saw Teng Qingshan lead the army in its departure, Zhuge Qing was genuinely very afraid. She feared that the next sight of Teng Qingshan would be his corpse!

"Don't cry. Your Elder Martial Brother, Qingshan, will come back," Zhuge Yuanhong consoled.

Zhuge Qing raised her head to look at her father.

"I've dispatched Elder Yan to go with them. He's a Golden Dan Innate Expert. Qingshan himself is also an Innate Expert. I am sure he will be safe." Zhuge Yuanhong said.

"Qinghu Island doesn't have any Golden Dan Innate Experts?" Zhuge Qing asked worriedly.

"They do, but they have to deal with two major sects at the same time. Moreover, they also left many experts behind to guard their headquarter. So, there won't be many experts during the first wave of attacks on Yan Jiang City," Zhuge Yuanhong said. "The sect can't guarantee that Ten Qingshan won't suffer even a bit of injury. All real expert have to experience all sorts predicaments and temper oneself through life and death situations before reaching the pinnacle."

Regardless of whether it was the young Zhuge Yuanhong or the many powerful experts today, tempering oneself through life and death situations was something almost every expert had to go through.

Otherwise, no matter how gifted and talented they were, they wouldn't be able to grow and go through a transformation. Indeed, experiencing real battles of life and death was necessary.

Brother, Cousin, you two must come back!" Qingyu was also watching the troops of the Black Armored Army leaving to the north. She couldn't help but bite her lips as she watched. Although Qingyu always seemed nonchalant, she did grow under Teng Qingshan's care. Therefore, she viewed her parents and Teng Qingshan as the most important people in her life.

...

On a public road outside Jiangning County-City, 3,000 Black Armored Soldiers were currently advancing swiftly to the south. Teng Qingshan, Pang Shan, and Elder Yan were all riding Black Nightmare Horses at the forefront of the army. Only the four great commanders, as well as the Law Enforcing Elders and the Sovereign could be assigned with the Black Nightmare Horses, which were viewed as the best of the three great dragon horses.

The three Black Nightmare Horses were dashing so fast at the forefront of the army that Teng Qingshan and the other two could not feel even the slightest bump on the road.

"Qingshan, Qingqing really treats you well. It really is rare for an educated and well-balanced young lady to yell out, 'I'll wait for your return' in a public place with so many people," Pang Shan said with a grin from beside Teng Qingshan. "You better not let her down."

Teng Qingshan just responded with a smile.

Earlier, when Lady Qing yelled loudly… That moment had indeed shocked Teng Qingshan. The worry and fear revealed in that pair of eyes, which leaked glimmering tears, managed to split open Teng Qingshan's icebound heart.

"Martial Uncle, Elder Yan. Are the two of you familiar with Qing Hu Island's Silver Dragon Army?" Teng Qingshan asked.

That gray-haired Elder Yan said hoarsely, "The Black Armored Army can fight against that Silver Dragon Army… However, the strongest troop of Qing Hu Island isn't the Silver Dragon Army. It is actually the Golden Scale Guards! They are the most elite troops formed entirely of First Rated Warriors."

"Golden Scale Guards?" Inwardly, Teng Qingshan was startled.

They were formed entirely of First Rated Warriors? Amidst the 6,000 soldiers of the Black Armored Army, the experts who had reached the realm of being a First Rated Warrior were probably only a few over a hundred.

Beside them, Pang Shan also said solemnly, "That Qing Hu Island occupies nine counties, so they have many experts. Their Golden Scale Guards have a total of 2,000 people, and they're Qing Hu Island's most terrifying army. The moment these 2,000 Golden Scale Guards really start killing their way over here… they can kill every one of our Gui Yuan Sect's 6,000 Black Armored Soldiers."

"2000?" Teng Qingshan inhaled a mouthful of cold air.

It was no wonder the other members of the Gui Yuan Sect's upper echelons had been that nervous in the main hall… The difference was really too great.

"Many of these Golden Scale Guards will definitely have wanted to stay behind to guard the headquarter. Those who are actually coming out for the battle are just a portion of them," Elder Yan said.

Teng Qingshan's expression turned grim.

"Martial Uncle, Elder Yan," Teng Qingshan started.

"Hmm?" The two people turned to look at him.

"There's one matter that I'm most worried about," Teng Qingshan said in a deep voice. "Qing Hu Island may send the Golden Scale Guards out first as the vanguards and have the Golden Scale Guards take the first step and kill until the army of Qing Hu Island reaches Yan Jiang City. As for the speed of the Golden Scale Guards, I'm afraid it may be even faster than the speed of our Black Armored Army. If that's the case, can the city guards hold off the Golden Scale Guards?"

Pang Shan and Elder Yan also began to worry.

Yan Jiang City's city guards had the greatest number of defenders out of Jiangning County's nine great cities. However, even then, they only had 10,000. For this army of 10,000 city guards, it was already considered pretty good if the soldiers had a basic essence of being able to lift up 500 Jin."

"With just several hundred Golden Scale Guards, it's likely that they would be able to swiftly break open a gap, behead the Guard General, and cut open Yan Jiang City," Pang Shan said.

"Elder Yan, why don't the two of us hurry over to Yan Jiang City first?" Teng Qingshan suggested.

"The two of us?" When Elder Yan heard this, he considered it for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. As long as there aren't too many Golden Scale Guards, there will be nothing to worry about with the two of us providing assistance to the army of 10,000 city guards."

After all, Elder yan was equivalent to a Golden Dan Innate Expert. So, if he and Teng Qingshan went together, it would be like having two pillars in the army. If they really had to take the time to kill, Elder Yan alone could kill several hundred Golden Scale Guards!

"Martial Uncle, take command of these Black Armored Soldiers and rush over quickly," Teng Qingshan said.

"Mm, you two be careful," Pang Shan said with a nod.

"Giddyup!""Giddyup!"

Teng Qingshan and Elder Yan pressed their horses' abdomens lightly from both sides, and the two Black Nightmare Horses speed immediately increased rapidly.

"Hu! Hu!"

The two shadows flickered. Then in the time of a breath, they disappeared beyond a distance of a hundred Zhang. All that was left behind on the snowy grounds were obvious horseshoe prints.

The Black Nightmare Horses, the best out of the three greatest dragon horses in the world, could travel 5,000 Li in a day. Their speed was just as one could imagine.

...

"Clop! Clop! Clop!"

The urgent-sounding clops made by the horseshoes could be heard as many warhorses dashed across the public road, kicking up up a lot of snow. There were scales on the armor worn by the soldiers who rode these warhorses. The entire armor was pitch-black, except for the shoulder and arm plates, and the like. Those parts were bordered with golden stripes. The armor made from scales with this kind of composition would be even more complicated, cost more, and require a more astonishing level of crafting skill to manufacture than the Gui Yuan Sect's full body type heavy armor.

Of course, these armors would provide better protection during crucial moments.

"There's only a distance of 30 Li left until we reach Yan Jiang City." Riding a warhorse and dashing right at the forefront, there was an elderly man who was dressed in a set of full body, dark golden battle armor and had two graying patches of hair on his temples. "Elder Hu, I think that it is possible that Gui Yuan Sect still doesn't know that Qing Hu Island is attacking…"

Behind him, there was a gray-robed middle-aged man. The middle-aged man said nonchalantly, "We had better seize Yan Jiang City as fast as possible. The army behind us will catch up very quickly. After we seize Yan Jiang City, the other troops can catch up uninterrupted from afar later on.

"Elder Hu, I just don't understand. Why is the Island Lord so cautious when it comes to dealing with the Gui Yuan Sect? Mounting a sneak attack to seize control of Yan Jiang City, consolidating our moves at every step… First eliminating the Tie Yi Sect in one step, and then waiting for many experts to convene before bringing our main forces up to surround and wipe out the Gui Yuan Sect. In my opinion, wouldn't we succeed if we deal with them the same way we dealt with the Tie Yi Sect, which is by killing our way over there in one shot?"

"Hmph. Elder Tie, don't underestimate that Zhuge Yuanhong! If you underestimate him, the consequences will be terrifying," that middle-aged man said. "At the last remaining five Li before we reach, dismount and use Qing Gong to approach them."

After all, the vibrations caused by the hooves of their horses would make it easy for the opposing party to discover them.

...

It was Winter, and the sky had darkened really early on.

There was a great number of soldiers standing on top of Yan Jiang City's walls, as well as many soldiers patrolling back and forth with an unprecedentedly heavy atmosphere. Actually, early this morning, Yan Jiang City's City Lord and the captain of the city guards had already received a letter warning them to shut the city gates and take precautions as Qing Hu Island's troops might very well attack them.

Additionally, not long before that, the Gui Yuan Sect had also received an order… which mentioned that Qing Hu Island's troops might attack them at any time now.

"Every one of you, open your eyes wide. Endure this for a little while more. Once it's night time, the Black Armored Army will rush over here. When that time comes, we'll be able to relax." A lean man dressed in black armor was walking on top of the city wall, with several elite guard soldiers following behind him.

The color of the sky had gotten dusky. Fortunately, there was snow, so the guard soldiers could see clearly into the distance.

"Enemies!" A mournful shout suddenly rang out.

All the guard soldiers on top of the city walls got a fright. Each one of them opened their eyes wide and peered into the distance, below the city. "Where are they?" That captain of the guard soldiers then leaned forward, resting his torso on the city wall, and looked over. This time, his complexion changed uncontrollably, and he suddenly yelled, "Archers, get ready!!!"

All he saw in the distance, below the city walls, were hazy shadows approaching rapidly.

To one's surprise, these people had a layer of white cloth wrapped around the armor they wore. From head to toe, their entire bodies were all wrapped in white cloth. On the snowy ground, these soldiers, whose bodies were completely covered in white, were totally unremarkable.

Just as the soldiers of Yan Jiang City noticed them, those white-clothed troops had already charged forth and reached a point of 50 Zhang outside the city.

"Attack!"

A loud shout emerged from amidst those snow white soldiers below. Then suddenly, the speed of all those soldiers, whose entire bodies were snow white, shot up rapidly as they no longer cared about hiding their presence.

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

Every one of them seemed like a vigorous and nimble leopard. Covering two to three Zhang with one step, they charged into Yan Jiang City like bolts of lightning.

"Experts. They're all powerful experts." The city guards' major captain, Wu Hao, looked below at the running speed of those snow white soldiers, and he was stunned. Immediately after, he opened his eyes wide and roared in a loud voice, "Shoot! Shoot your arrows!!!" On top of the city wall, the densely packed guard soldiers raised their bows and suddenly shot their arrows toward the snow white soldiers below.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The arrows filled the sky and cascaded down on the earth like locusts!

"Puchi! Ssla!"

All kinds of noises rang out, and the white clothes on the bodies of those snow white soldiers were torn off. However, every one of them was wearing black armor, and the city guards' arrows couldn't do any damage.

The moment the city guards' major captain, Wu Hao, saw their enemies' armor, his expression changed greatly. "Golden Scale Guards!"

However, the ordinary guards did not recognize this battle armor.

"Get boiling hot water and hot oil, quickly!" Wu Hao shouted.

They just saw these Golden Scale Guards speedily charge to the foot of the mountain. The tall, 10-Zhang-high city wall was something that First Rated Warriors were incapable of jumping over. However, many Golden Scale Guards suddenly stepped and split open the ground, leaping up four or five Zhang. After that, they abruptly stuck their daggers in the city wall and hung on there.

In an instant, several tens of Golden Scale Guards 'hung' themselves on the city wall. Soon after, they used their strength to jump up once more.

"Pour!!!" Major Captain Wu Hao bellowed fiercely.

"Hu!" Boiling hot water and oil rained down heavily straight from above. There were no gaps in this downpour of water and oil. No matter how good the armor's defense was, it would not be able to defend against boiling hot water and oil.

"Ah! Ah!" Many Golden Scale Guards jumped away to avoid the downpour, but many of them still got scalded. However, these were, of course, just light wounds.

"Fire!" That major captain shouted again.

Many torches were thrown down from the top of the city wall. The ground below was already covered in hot oil. The moment the torches were thrown down, an overflowing and enormous disaster was ignited below the city wall, and there were also flames on top of the wall. Clearly, they desired to use the blaze to help stop these Golden Scale Guards. Unfortunately, Qing Hu Island's number one elites, the Golden Scale Guards, could not be stopped this easily.