As an official, what's wrong with raising a few monsters?

Chapter 392 From now on, you must take me with you wherever you go!
Chaos reigned in front of the execution platform.

And on the other side.

"Woooooo~"

Steam billowed into the sky, and the large ship chugged forward, making a series of booming sounds.

The scattered fishermen on both sides of the river kept casting surprised glances at them.

They had never seen such a large ship before, with such small sails, strange steam, and a hull covered in iron plates...

How do ships like this sail?
It seems as if they are out of step with this era.

For a moment, they seemed to have forgotten what such a large fleet of ships was supposed to do, coming from the sea into the river.

It seemed as if heaven and earth were helping this great ship.

A strong wind propelled the ships in their predetermined course, even causing the water to move in the opposite direction.

It is clearly entering the river from the mouth of the sea and going upstream.

But there seemed to be some special force stirring up the waves in the water, pushing these large ships against the current.

Soon, they arrived at a formidable pass.

Zhenling Pass!
This was originally a formidable pass belonging to the interior of Qian Yuan.

It is the first pass in the northern border of Qian Yuan.

As the Qian Yuan clan gradually decayed, the enemy pushed the battle lines here.

Amidst the chaos, the country was torn apart, and strategic passes changed hands.

It changed its surname twice, but now it belongs to Bei Lie.

The pass is blocked by large rivers to the north and south, and ordinary troops and generals are unwilling to risk a battle with their backs to the river, so it is basically difficult to attack from these two directions.

Only things can be put inside.

Now, with Deng Yingcheng, a steady and reliable general, building a new city, it can be said to be even more difficult to conquer.

General Ji Yuting led 100,000 troops to attack the pass at the front, while 30,000 men and a prudent general were left to defend the city behind Zhenling Pass.

The soldiers had clear divisions of labor: some were responsible for repairing the fortifications that Mingchen had previously destroyed, some were responsible for patrolling, and some were responsible for training...

The arrangements on Bei Lie's side were also very well organized.

But today, the wind carries a chilling aura, something seems different.

"Then...what is that?!"

"Quickly! Go and report this to General Zhang!"

"So many ships..."

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

They followed the shocked and terrified gazes of the patrolling soldiers on the city wall.

In the northern Liehe River, the black dragon flag of the Qian Yuan dynasty fluttered in the wind as ships broke through the waves.

In the past, Tian Hong crossed the sea to the south, commanding a surprise attack on Qianyuan, and once even approached Yueyang, which terrified the ruler and his ministers of Qianyuan.

Now that the feng shui has reversed, it's Qian Yuan's turn to retaliate.

When Tian Hong went south, he was as swift as the wind, and there was no time to transmit intelligence.

Now that Mingchen's ship is faster and stronger, and with the help of water demons, it's as if divine soldiers have descended from the heavens.

The garrison in Beilie had no time to react.

The very center of the fleet.

On the main ship, a gentle breeze caused his robes to flutter as Mingchen gazed quietly at the formidable pass to the south, his eyes filled with thoughts.

More than a year has passed without us even realizing it.

It's about time Bei Lie spit out what Qian Yuan had given him.

"Lord Ming, Zhenling Pass is about to enter our attack range."

"It's two days ahead of schedule."

A middle-aged general strode over and reported to Mingchen, his face calm but unable to hide his excitement.

This general was named An Dongyuan. He was a general promoted by Xiao Xinyue when Ji Qu was in charge of the campaign. He was quite skilled in naval warfare.

During this trip north, Xiao Xinyue arranged for him to be Mingchen's deputy.

He was the one who proposed the military operation of sending troops across the sea to the north.

Even more detailed aspects, such as routes, personnel arrangements, timelines, and material supplies, were all devised by him and his team.

Mingchen is the highest leader of this fleet, in charge of the overall direction, and has absolute decision-making power and veto power.

And this general was the commander-in-chief and project manager.

In some aspects, he knew more and was more detailed than Mingchen.

Mingchen also delegated authority to him to the greatest extent possible, simply saying, "General An, please make the arrangements!"

"Now that the enemy is unprepared, it is our opportunity to send troops."

"Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and seize the pass."

"If this succeeds, the general will be the one to deserve the greatest credit!"

An Dongyuan's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.

He knew that now was the opportunity to take Zhenling Pass, and he also knew what this achievement represented.

He glanced unconsciously at the surging river.

There was a monster in the water. This monster had once stirred up the sea and almost ruined his grand plan.

Fortunately, gods and Buddhas descended to earth and subdued him, instead creating wind and waves to help the ships travel faster than expected.

"It is all thanks to Lord Ming's unparalleled divine power and His Majesty's boundless blessings."

"How dare this humble general claim the greatest credit?"

The credit definitely goes to the top leader.

Mingchen was just being polite; he'd be a fool to take it seriously.

Mingchen simply waved his hand, not wanting to exchange any more bureaucratic pleasantries with the general.

Given his current position, he doesn't really need any merit anymore.

His Majesty is racking his brains every day trying to figure out how to reward him.

If someone else had reached his position, any further advancement would likely have meant being poisoned.

"Prepare!!!"

"fire!!!"

The fleet sailed to the Liehe River, directly north of Xingtai Pass.

The dark, gaping muzzle of the cannon was terrifying.

The soldiers stood at attention, directed and operated by their commanders.

"Boom boom boom!"

The roar of cannons was deafening.

One after another, cannonballs crashed down on the northern defense line of Zhenling Pass.

The river that used to firmly guard the north of Zhenling Pass has now become the breach point for the city's capture.

Amidst the sounds of explosions, smoke billowed out.

Times have quietly changed, and the once impregnable passes that have protected the country for hundreds of years have now been breached.

War is about to break out.

Mingchen stood at the bow of the ship, quietly watching the scene of disaster.

Judging from the size of the garrison left at Zhenling Pass, it seems that Sister Dai has held off a significant number of enemy troops. I wonder what the situation is like now.

"General An, I need to go and check on Xingtai Pass. I'll leave this place to you."

Not everything requires Mingchen to personally oversee it.

This general is skilled in the flattery and sycophancy of officialdom, but that doesn't mean he lacks talent.

Mingchen planned to hand over the reins of power to him and go to the execution platform to take a look.

In such siege battles, you either win or lose, and it doesn't make much difference whether Mingchen is there or not.

"Uh...yes!"

An Dongyuan hesitated for a moment, then respectfully replied.

"kindness!"

Mingchen nodded and was just about to leave.

However, at that moment, a cold wind suddenly blew in.

Mingchen swayed, his eyelids twitched twice, and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart again.

This feeling is similar to when Long Lian was undergoing his tribulation not long ago.

He frowned, just about to borrow a technique from the Immortal Jade Record. Suddenly, a red shadow streaked across the sky, piercing through the clouds.

"Boom boom boom!"

A tremendous roar came from not far away, deafeningly loud.

Inside the army's main tent, the composed general was startled and hurriedly ran out of the tent.

"what happened?!"

"what happened?!"

His name is Zhang Shuheng, and he is currently the garrison commander of Zhenling Pass.

Zhenling Pass is the most important thorn in the side of the Northern Lie forces driving into Qian Yuan; it cannot be lost.

If anything goes wrong, he, as the general guarding the city, will be held responsible.

"Report... General, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

The messenger, looking flustered, ran towards him, shouting as he ran, "Ships! Lots of big ships!"

"Qian Yuan's fleet has entered from the Lie River, and it's right to our north."

"Their artillery is very powerful and has a long range."

"Our defenders... are starting to falter."

Zhang Shuheng's face darkened upon hearing this.

For thousands of years, the two rivers have blocked Zhenling Pass from the north and south, making it virtually untouched by attacks.

A large number of troops were stationed in the old and new cities in the east and west.

Unexpectedly, Qian Yuan's fleet was able to cross the sea and even possessed such powerful firearms.

"Immediately order General Zhou to lead 5,000 men to reinforce the northern defense line. Under no circumstances should the enemy be allowed to break in."

"Send a messenger at full speed across the Liehe River to request reinforcements from our army."

"Send another messenger south to report this matter to General Ji and request his decision..."

In this critical moment, Zhang Shuheng remained calm and methodically issued orders to his subordinates.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he abruptly raised his head and looked towards the southern horizon.

But his eyes narrowed, filled with shock.

"Then...what is that?"

"Phoenix...Phoenix!"

"When divine fire burns the heavens, disaster will surely follow..."

"They're coming towards us."

……

In an instant, everyone, whether they were the garrison of Beilie or the surprise troops of Qianyuan, raised their heads and looked south.

The temperature rose a few degrees, and flames swept across the sky.

Adorned with celestial fire, the phoenix swiftly soared across the sky.

The next instant, it turned into a streak of red light and disappeared.

Something seemed to have precisely struck Mingchen's chest.

Everything happened so fast!
It was so fast that no one noticed.

"Wow!!!"

"Young master~ Waaaaah... Young master, this is wonderful!"

"You're not dead~"

A familiar sound reached his ears, and the little bird nestled into Mingchen's arms.

Feeling the familiar heartbeat and breath, the tense emotions finally relaxed completely, and tears flowed freely as she burst into loud sobs.

In a short period of time, she experienced both joy and sorrow; her world was destroyed and then rebuilt.

The birds that cried out freely were no longer the majestic and terrifying creatures that had once filled the sky above the execution platform.

Mingchen: ...

Amidst the shocked gazes of An Dongyuan and his soldiers, Ming Chen's figure flashed and vanished from the spot.

"what happened?"

Mingchen gently stroked Fuyao's feathers and, using Dong Zhenghong's magic, removed the ice pillars stuck to her body, as well as the strange gauze magic artifact covering her.

He frowned as he looked at Fuyao's wound, clearly not in a good mood.

Judging from Fuyao's attitude, he could roughly guess the truth of the matter.

"Waaaaah, young master, I thought you were dead."

"Damn it! That damned bastard lied to me!"

"I'm going to burn all those guys to ashes."

Even though they already knew that the corpse was not Mingchen.

But Mingchen was too important to Fuyao, so much so that even knowing it was fake, she couldn't put her mind at ease.

Fear and despair still lingered in her heart. Only when she actually saw Mingchen and saw that he was alright did the tension in her heart finally ease.

This time, Mingchen used a hair to switch places on his journey south, and this was the only time he didn't take Fuyao with him on a long trip.

And yet, this very incident happened.

Fuyao didn't have time to answer Mingchen's question from beginning to end. She just looked up at him seriously and said, "Young Master, you must take me with you wherever you go in the future!"

If there were any life-or-death ordeals, she would rather die with Mingchen.

She never wanted to experience that despair and fear again.

Mingchen paused upon hearing this.

Fuyao is usually very mischievous. She likes to smirk, joke around, act spoiled, and playfully tease and fawn over Mingchen...

But at this moment, he knew that Fuyao was serious.

He knew she was going through a period of intense emotional turmoil. He didn't press her about the emergency ahead, but patiently tried to calm the little bird down, gently agreeing, "Okay, from now on, take my Fuyao with you wherever you go~"

After a while, Fuyao said to Mingchen, "The Beilie gang attacked the city again just now, and there are probably 100,000 of them. They somehow made a replica of you and said that you were attacked by some great immortal on your way across the sea..."

She choked and said, "They said you... were dead, and they even put up a pole to hang up that fake version of you... uh, that fake you."

"Waaaaah... You scared me to death."

Fuyao's emotions have always been passionate and unrestrained.

She doesn't know how to restrain herself.

Therefore, she could not suppress her despair and sorrow, and she could not suppress her rage and forget to calm down.

So now she can't help but want to cry.

At this moment, she didn't know what Mingchen was most concerned about, so she only mentioned what was most important to her first.

Even with great magical power, he was still unparalleled in the world.

But in reality, Fuyao'er is just a young woman at heart.

"Don't cry, don't cry~"

Mingchen frowned slightly upon hearing this, but still patiently coaxed the little bird: "I'm right here, aren't I?"

"That's right... My young master is the best, how could that be..."

"Those cowards deserve to die!"

The little bird kept cursing and swearing, "I'm going to burn the mouths of all those people who shouted that!"

The man and the bird sped southward.

Mingchen comforted Fuyao and asked, "What's the situation at Xingtai Pass now?"

If the enemy manages to deceive Fuyao, Lingyu will most likely be deceived as well.

If Ling Yu is tricked, what will happen to her?

Is she in danger?

How is she feeling?
It doesn't matter if Xingtai Pass is lost.

It doesn't matter if the garrison of Qian Yuan and the soldiers of Bei Lie all die.

It may sound cruel, but that's just the kind of person Mingchen is.

He was more concerned about the situation of Ling Yu, Long Lian, and others.

Fuyao finally calmed down and stammered to Mingchen, "Young Master, I...I killed people. I killed a lot of people, not just those with magical powers, but also the soldiers of Beilie."

"I have revealed my true form and used all my strength."

"There were also a few who tried to suppress me with magical artifacts, and they used some kind of supernatural formation to stab me with ice. I forced my way through and burned them all."

“Long Lian told me that wasn’t you, and that’s when I realized what was happening and flew out to look for you…”

(End of this chapter)