Chapter 47: The Hunted

Three days later, Liuchou returned to Yunzhan Manor.

When he met with Guanlan, Liuchou took out his Sumi bag and upended it. A multitude of spheres tumbled out with a sickening, pungent odor—they were all severed demon heads. Guanlan and his men were overjoyed, cheering as they began to count the trophies.

The heads represented military merit. Since Liuchou was willing to show them, it implied a willingness to share the credit, which caught Guanlan by surprise. Even as flies began to swarm the area, his expression remained one of delight.

"These heads..." Guanlan glanced at them, then looked toward Liuchou. Seeing that Liuchou was already hurrying away, he quickly changed his tone: "How shall I report these?"

"A three-to-seven split," Liuchou said without looking back, waving a hand. "Three parts for you."

"Understood!" Guanlan responded loudly, ordering his attendants to separate the heads and send them to the Military Merit Bureau for registration.

Meanwhile, Liuchou approached Tuzhu. They sat for a moment in a room serving as a side hall. Before Liuchou could speak, Tuzhu arrived in a rush, and Liuchou immediately said, "Instructor, we must leave! This place is dangerous!"

Tuzhu was startled. Liuchou’s warning confirmed his own intelligence that there was indeed a "Half-Step Great Demon" within the demon ranks. He did not ask if Liuchou had personally tested this theory; he simply stated he would contact Quanqu and turned to leave, without even explaining his plans to Liuchou.

Liuchou could only find the attendant who had brought him to the manor, asking him to relay the details about the demons' two routes—one overt, one covert—their troop numbers, and the average strength of the demon soldiers.

Half a day later, a military council for officers of the rank of Brigade Commander and above was held. Liuchou did not know the final conclusion of Tuzhu’s contact with Quanqu, but the word spreading from the meeting was a pre-battle briefing: they were to set an ambush to completely annihilate the demons that had infiltrated the Great Zhou territory.

Liuchou calculated the time it would take for the demons to exit the Qinling Mountains. The main army moved much slower than he did; he estimated they would arrive in five to six days. There wasn't enough time to move troops, so summoning cultivators for assistance was the only hope. Given the situation, that seemed quite likely.

But only two days later, Liuchou realized he was wrong.

When the massive contingent of mechanical beasts appeared outside Yunzhan Manor, Liuchou thought his eyes were deceiving him. He had never seen such a vast number and such diverse models of mechanical beasts. They formed a winding, dragon-like procession that filled the fields and paths near the mountain pass. There were over a hundred of them—a number rarely deployed even in a major siege.

This was the First Division of the White Horse Army, stationed at Xiaoshan. With a force of nearly five thousand, it was one of only two mechanical beast divisions in the White Horse Army; the other remained stationed at Yangguan.

By mobilizing such a force, Huang Chenyuan had clearly reached the point of no return for this battle.

***

In the central command tent, Liegang and his officers were discussing the situation around a map. Footsteps echoed, and a fierce-looking general strode in. Looking around, he bowed and said, "Heli greets the General and my fellow officers."

The officers looked up in surprise. Liegang asked in astonishment, "Why are you here? When did the White Horse Army move to the northern front?"

Heli laughed heartily. "Our army moved to Xiaoshan long ago. Everything was prepared, and upon receiving the order, we immediately set out. We have traveled day and night. Even if the demons have heaven-defying abilities, they may not be a match for my division of mechanical beasts!"

Liegang was slightly taken aback. He had not expected Huang Chenyuan to have already moved the mechanical beast division to Xiaoshan. It seemed everything had been under control, and their chances of victory had grown. His peripheral vision caught Tuzhu, who was sitting nearby filing his nails with a neutral expression, and he felt a surge of joy.

The relationship between the Four Guards and the Sixteen Armies had never been harmonious. Liegang had come with great confidence, only to be repeatedly undermined by Tuzhu, who first claimed the demons were too strong and required reinforcements from cultivators, and then insisted there was a "Half-Step Great Demon," suggesting they retreat to Xiyi to wait for help from Haojing. Now that the General had made arrangements, he must have learned the truth about the demons from the intelligence network. What was there to fear?

He waved for Heli to take a seat, then asked Tuzhu with a smug tone, "It seems the General had plans all along. Are you satisfied now, Tuzhu? Do you still want to wait for the cultivators from the capital?"

Tuzhu looked up slowly, glancing at Liegang with a faint smile. "Does the General truly believe that one division of mechanical beasts can stop a Half-Step Great Demon? If so, why has our Great Zhou not yet completely crushed the demons and unified the Western Province?"

"Are you certain there is a Half-Step Great Demon? I doubt it..." Liegang scoffed. "Your information is unreliable, and you refuse to explain your sources. How can we trust you? If these are just ordinary monsters and our army retreats in a panic, won't we be a laughingstock?"

"Being a laughingstock is better than being dead," Tuzhu said, blowing nail shavings off his hand. "The Tianshan Dun intelligence sources never need to explain themselves to the Sixteen Armies. Believe it or not, it is up to you. In any case, I have already reported to Quanqu that this battle is your own obstinate decision, and we are free to act as we see fit."

"Fine, go as you please! This hunt is only against two divisions of minor demons; my Yingyang Army is enough!" Liegang laughed, determined. "Since we have not assigned a post to your Tianshan Dun, you may leave whenever you wish. I can provide the official discharge papers at any time."

Tuzhu sighed internally. Though Tianshan Dun and the Sixteen Armies were separate, both were elite human forces. If Liuchou’s intelligence was accurate, even if the Yingyang Army had more mechanical beasts, it would be futile; they would all be buried here. There was no fixed boundary between hunter and prey; who was which could change in an instant.

Liuchou had not provided tangible proof, but Tuzhu knew instinctively that he was not lying. There would be at least one Half-Step Great Demon among the demon forces, which would undoubtedly be a catastrophe for the humans.

However, knowing this, he lacked the authority to alter the military strategy of the Sixteen Armies. All he could do was protect himself and the men of Tianshan Dun.

"In that case, please provide the papers." Tuzhu understood the current situation and cut to the chase. "Tianshan Dun and I will leave tomorrow. We will not claim any of the credit."

A flicker of triumph crossed Liegang's eyes. To him, Tuzhu’s departure was a concession. He nodded and ordered his subordinates to bring ink and brush, quickly drafting the document and handing it over.

Tuzhu took the papers and departed immediately, ordering his attendants to notify the various commanders of Tianshan Dun to prepare for withdrawal the next day.

As Tuzhu left, the men of the Yingyang Army and the newly arrived Heli burst into laughter, mocking him. Soon after, Liegang had the map brought out, beginning to deploy his troops to set a massive trap, waiting for the demons to walk right in.

Back at his residence, with the help of his attendants, Tuzhu finally removed his crimson leather armor. Looking at it as it was packed into a chest, he felt a twinge of reluctance. Just then, a cacophony erupted outside—cries, shouts, and the chaotic sounds of running and cursing.

Tuzhu’s heart skipped a beat. He walked to the window and looked out. The street was in turmoil; soldiers were gathering in groups, discussing something, while others rushed toward the central command tent. In the distance, the back of a scout appeared, stained with a smear of crimson before he vanished around a corner.

It was only for an instant, but Tuzhu clearly saw the bloodstains on the scout and his still-bleeding wounds.

"The demons have arrived!" Tuzhu felt a chill. He immediately ordered his armor to be taken back out and donned. Before he had even finished, a roar of commands echoed outside: "All officers return to camp! All soldiers return to camp! The demons are attacking! Form ranks!"

Tuzhu frowned. He had not expected the demons to arrive so quickly, but he soon calmed down. He saw his two commanders, Liuchou and Guanlan, entering. Both faces remained calm, and the other commanders and officers followed suit. Facing the impending battle, there was no sign of panic.

If they could not escape, then they would fight!

Tuzhu suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted. For people like them, there were times when dying in battle was more acceptable than living in disgrace.

The battle had begun at this very moment.

Yunzhan Manor was not built as a defensive fortress, and in the grand plan, it was never intended to be a battlefield. Liegang had arranged for the battle to take place in a valley to the west, where soldiers had been stationed, defenses built, and countless scouts deployed to monitor the demons. What he had not expected was that the demons would bypass everything and appear silently right beside the manor.

News of the hunt had clearly leaked.

As someone once said: if the humans could plant spies among the demons, could the demons not do the same?

The panicked Yingyang Army was quickly organized. Fortunately, after failing to intercept all the scouts, the demons did not choose to launch an immediate all-out assault. Instead, they stood in a standoff with the Yingyang Army, also deploying countless demon squads to hunt down the human scouts. In individual combat, the demons were clearly superior, which indirectly cut off the Yingyang Army’s connection to Xiyi.

With one or two divisions of demon forces—at most ten thousand demons—the humans had to dispatch an entire elite force to hunt them. The combat ratio between humans and demons was nearly five to one; that is, five human soldiers were roughly equivalent to one minor demon, and that was only with the advantage of equipment, walls, and ambushes. In open field combat, it was nearly ten to one.

After losing the initiative, Liegang’s expression turned grim.

About an hour later, standing behind a hastily constructed wooden wall, the Yingyang Army soldiers smelled an alien odor—a mix of stench, blood, and rot. Experienced soldiers immediately recognized this scent as unique to the demons. With such intensity, the number of demons could not be small.

All soldiers took their positions. Even Heli, who had just arrived, ordered his men to stand by, waiting for the roar of the mechanical beasts.

Weapons were gripped tight, heartbeats accelerated. The battlefield was silent, but the blood in their veins grew hot with every heavy breath.

Soon, shadowy figures appeared in the distance. They were not tall, their formations were not neat, and their weapons and armor were crude, yet they struck fear into the hearts of many soldiers. For demons, being able to do even this much meant they were elite soldiers, far exceeding ordinary demon footmen in rank and combat power.

Two armies appeared simultaneously in front of and behind the human forces.

Liuchou finally realized that the demons had not chosen between overt and covert routes; the maneuver had simply been a means to surround them. The demons had never been fooled by the hunt.

He had guessed wrong.

The only person who had guessed correctly was Tuzhu. The roles of hunter and prey had, as he predicted, been reversed.