Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

Chapter 210 Slaying Foundation Establishers, Finally Arriving in Xiao County (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"By order of the military commander: Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ji's troops shall march out of camp and rush to the aid of Ronghuai's camp!"

"The remaining officers and soldiers, pacify the local people and hold the camp!"

A rider galloped in, hovering around the perimeter of the camp, the rider on horseback shouting sharply!

"By order of the military commander..."

Meanwhile, inside the camp, Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ji, upon hearing the military order, immediately turned around and called for their soldiers to line up and leave the camp.

The sounds of battle echoed across the wilderness from miles away. Inside the Rongtai County camp, the soldiers and civilians were also unable to sleep all night, filled with anxiety.

Upon hearing the military order, the soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, rose and lined up, and under the guidance of the officers, they left the camp in an orderly manner.

"Shields in front, spears on either side, archers in formation, prepare to fire!"

"Keep your pace steady, don't break formation!"

One military order after another came from Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ji, and the soldiers under their command acted in an orderly manner.

Two hundred people walked slowly and deliberately into the distance.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xian and his cavalry did not rush into the battlefield, but instead circled around it, waiting for Zhao Cheng and the others.

The arrival of...!

Meanwhile, in mid-air, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators were still engaged in a fierce battle.

Sword light flashed, and dazzling spells exploded in mid-air.

However, in the eyes of Zhao Xian and other late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, Chen Sheng was already at a disadvantage and was only struggling to hold on.

Defeat was inevitable!

"We'll have to wait a little longer!"

Zhao Xian lightly tapped the talisman in his palm, took a deep breath, and suppressed the anxiety in his heart.

If the Ronghuai County camp falls tonight, their Rongtai County will be next!

A moment later, a series of rustling footsteps came from behind. Zhao Xian turned around and saw that Zhao Ji, Zhao Cheng and others had led their team to arrive!

"Marshal!"

Zhao Cheng quickly took a few steps forward, then stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Rest for a moment, then rush straight to the camp gate!"

Zhao Xian raised his hand and pointed, shouting sternly.

"Rest for a moment, then rush straight to the camp gate!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng immediately returned to the ranks and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately disregarded the cold ground and began to rest.

Meanwhile, the bandits besieging the camp also noticed the arrival of reinforcements!

A band of several hundred bandits broke away from the main force and rushed towards Zhao Xian and his men!

"The bandits have been fighting for a long time, and now they are exhausted. We will wait for them to tire themselves out; victory is assured!"

Zhao Xian turned his horse around, increased its speed slightly, and shouted at his soldiers as he rode ahead.

"Line up! Kill!"

"kill!"

The military officers Zhao Cheng, Zhao Ji, and Zhao Hong also shouted in unison.

A dozen or so breaths later, the two black waves collided.

"kill!"

At the moment of impact, Zhao Hong, relying on his iron armor, charged straight into the bandit group opposite him.

His ring-pommel sword flew left and right, its cold light as white as snow, and in an instant he had slain several people.

Not far away, several military officers dressed in iron armor, including Zhao Cheng, Zhao Ji, Xu Hua, and Xu Fu, were also dressed in the same way!

The archers behind the shields continued to draw their bows and nock arrows without stopping, raining down arrows on the enemy bandits!

In an instant, they tore a huge hole in the bandit group opposite them.

"Ding!"

A crisp clang of metal clashing rang out, and Zhao Hong was already locked in combat with a fierce bandit also clad in iron armor!

Seeing that Zhao Hong's face was quite young, the bandit grinned maliciously and charged at Zhao Hong with a reckless and desperate attitude!

Unexpectedly, several spears suddenly thrust out, slightly hindering the bandits' attack.

Zhao Hong seized the opportunity and swung his sword to kill!

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, a sharp arrow pierced the bandit's arm!

The bandit, writhing in excruciating pain, couldn't help but gasp in shock!

Just then, a ring-pommel sword flashed past, and a huge head flew high into the air, its eyes wide with anger and disbelief!

"Bah! On the battlefield, who would fight you one-on-one!"

With a cold laugh, Zhao Hong stepped over the bandit's corpse and continued fighting!

A moment later, it was unclear who led the way, but the remaining bandits turned and ran.

Some bandits gave up trying to escape, kneeling on the ground, trembling; others, however, continued to run wildly. The two or three hundred bandits scattered in all directions, like headless flies.

Some bandits were slow and blocked the escape route of the bandits behind them. The bandits behind them then brandished their knives and guns and slashed and killed indiscriminately. In the blink of an eye, chaos ensued!

"Don't pursue! Don't pursue!"

"Line up! Line up!"

"Charge straight for the camp gate!"

Seeing that the soldiers under Mo Xia were somewhat bloodthirsty, Zhao Cheng, Zhao Ji, Zhao Hong and others also brandished their ring-pommel swords and roared loudly.

At this moment, Zhao Xian and his cavalry also galloped away, pressing down the soldiers behind them to maintain their formation!

"That idiot Li Damu, with four or five hundred men under his command, was scattered by just two hundred government soldiers!"

On a makeshift wooden platform, a bandit leader looked at the defeated bandits in the distance and couldn't help but curse angrily!

"Li Damu has some guts; he dared to fight these government soldiers. But Liu Da, that bastard, was told to keep an eye on the government soldiers in Rongtai County, and he didn't even dare to fight them. He just fainted from fright!"

Upon hearing this, another bandit leader offered a defense of Li Damu.

"Look at these soldiers! They're fully armed and well-trained; they're truly extraordinary!" another bandit leader exclaimed, pointing at the Rongtai soldiers in the distance. "They're about to storm the camp gate!"

"So what should we do now?"

"What can we do if those two don't leave?"

"Keep fighting!"

"Bang!"

A loud bang was heard, and several bandits were seen flying several feet away.

A warrior wielding a giant sword had already cut through the ranks and was rushing toward the earthen platform!

"not good!"

Upon seeing this, the bandit leaders exchanged glances, and then, accompanied by their personal guards, each fled in a different direction!

If that innate martial artist really comes over, they probably won't last three rounds!

"kill!"

The sounds of battle echoed across the fields in the distance; reinforcements had arrived!

"Reinforcements have arrived, gentlemen! Please lend Lord Chen a hand!"

Riding alone, the knight on horseback shouted loudly at the two innate martial artists among the bandits.

That knight was none other than Zhao Xian.

Upon hearing Zhao Xian's call, the two innate martial artists did not hesitate. They put away their greatswords and each took out a war bow and a quiver of arrows.

"My lords, please shoot that black-robed cultivator!"

At this moment, Zhao Xian also took out a talisman arrow, drew his bow, and shouted loudly!

The two innate martial artists didn't say much at this moment, but simply nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Choo choo choo!"

Three sharp arrows whistled in!

Dozens of feet away, Master Huaji, who was concentrating on fighting Chen Sheng, suddenly heard a whooshing sound!

Three cold glints of light immediately came into view!

"Whoosh!"

In the blink of an eye, a palm-sized, blue tortoise-shell shield appeared beside Master Huaji!

The shield swelled in the wind, growing to three feet in size, and stood perfectly in front of the three whistling arrows!

"Ding ding! Boom!"

Two soft sounds, and a burst of fire shot into the sky!

Zhao Xian and the other two below did not seem surprised by what they saw.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense enveloped his entire body for fifteen zhang, which was already quite extraordinary!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

But then Zhao Xian picked up an arrow and fired three more arrows in quick succession!

The two innate martial artists not far away were only slightly surprised to see that Zhao Xian knew how to use the rapid-fire arrow technique, and then they also used the rapid-fire arrow technique.

When a Xiantian martial artist fights a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there is really no other way besides using bows and arrows!

The legendary archery skills of shooting the halberd at the gate, which were considered miraculous in the previous life, are now easily mastered by innate martial artists in this world!

Faced with the constant harassment from Zhao Xian and others, Master Huaji was quite helpless!

He tried to dodge the arrows, but Master Chen Sheng was in a desperate stance, holding him tightly.

Meanwhile, Master Zhuhe was somewhat weakened by his magic power, and a bead of sweat was faintly visible on his forehead!

"Bang bang bang!"

One after another, the talismanic arrows struck the tortoise-shell shield, and bursts of fire shot into the sky!

Although the power of the talisman arrow is still not as great as the spells cast by cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining.

However, the series of explosions also caused the tortoise-shell shield to tremble slightly!

In addition, the arrows from those two innate martial artists were even more powerful and fierce!

Several tiny cracks had already appeared on the tortoise-shell shield!

"What a pity, this war bow in my hand is just a low-grade weapon, it's too weak!"

Not far away, a martial artist with innate talent glanced at the tortoise shell shield blocking the air and couldn't help but complain. However, his hands didn't slow down at all, and he shot out another arrow!

"Upon returning to Ronghuai County and receiving my reward, I will certainly acquire a mid-grade, powerful war bow!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely!"

On the battlefield, the two innate martial artists chatted casually, seemingly oblivious to everyone else!

"Bang!"

A loud bang rang out as an arrow, as thick as a thumb, pierced through the tortoise-shell shield!

"There are even innate martial artists?!"

Seeing this, the two innate martial artists exchanged a glance, and then looked in the direction of the sound!

But then a burly man rode a fine horse and galloped towards them!

"Whoosh!"

On the jolted horseback, the knight actually fired another arrow, aiming straight at the black-robed monk!

"With three Innate Realm martial artists and one Foundation Establishment cultivator, they might be able to capture that black-robed cultivator today!"

As the thought arose in their minds, the two innate martial artists from Ronghuai County also drew their bows and nocked arrows, firing a barrage of shots at the black-robed cultivator in mid-air!

"Fellow Daoist Zhuhe, please help me!"

Seeing the three innate martial artists below attacking one after another, Master Huaji couldn't help but call for help!

"Fellow Daoist Huaji, I'll go and stop those two Innate Realm martial artists!"

Upon hearing this, Master Zhuhe immediately replied in a hurry, and then stepped onto his flying sword and charged towards Zhao Xian and the others below!

"The time has come!"

Upon seeing Master Zhuhe charging towards him, Zhao Xian was overjoyed. He flipped his hand, and a talisman appeared in his palm.

"go!"

With a soft shout, the jade talisman transformed into a beam of light that shot straight into the sky!

In an instant, a magnificent sword light, over ten feet long, shot out, its chilling sword aura permeating the heavens and earth!

"not good!"

Upon seeing the cyan sword light approaching, Zhu He cried out in alarm and turned to run!

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, the dazzling sword light traversed dozens of feet and struck Huaji Shangren in mid-air without missing a beat!

"Rip!"

The aura shield surrounding Huaji was torn open by the cyan sword light, leaving a crack several feet long.

Take advantage of his illness and kill him!

Without further ado, the three innate martial artists below fired their arrows!

"Ding! Ding! Swoosh!"

Even though the first two arrows were blocked by the rapidly recovering spiritual light barrier, the arrow shot from Gao Jun's hand pierced through the spiritual light barrier again!

"Pfft!"

The arrow struck the chest of the Chinese people!

The sharp arrowhead pierced through his chest and emerged from his body!

"die!"

Master Chen Sheng let out a sharp shout, and a flying sword gleaming with a chilling blue light tore through the spiritual light barrier, gently grazing Master Hua Ji's neck.

One turn!

"puff!"

Blood gushed forth, shooting skyward!

"Whoosh!"

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out again, and it was seen that Master Zhuhe was already riding a flying sword and fleeing in panic!

It was decisive and efficient, without any hesitation or fuss!

No wonder he was the Zhuhe bandit who caused such a huge commotion in Ronghuai County!

Master Zhuhe fled, but Master Chen Sheng did not continue to pursue him. Instead, he raised his hand and the storage bag on Master Huaji's body fell into his hands.

"Splash!"

Meanwhile, the fighting on the ground was also drawing to a close!

The sky and the fields were filled with fleeing bandits. Zhao Xianmo's cavalrymen drove the bandits like sheep, occasionally drawing their bows to shoot down the fierce bandits who were still resisting!

It is unknown how much time passed before the battlefield gradually calmed down!

"Take stock of casualties and clean up the battlefield!"

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ji roared loudly, ordering their soldiers to begin cleaning up the battlefield.

"The spoils of this battle were divided equally among the soldiers of Rongtai and Ronghuai counties, each receiving five!"

Standing on his flying sword, Chen Sheng surveyed the entire battlefield and then let out a loud shout!

"We will obey the county magistrate's orders!"

Upon hearing this, all the military officers immediately obeyed the order in a solemn voice!

"If it weren't for Bo Zhang's help tonight, we would likely be in grave danger!"

After putting away his flying magic weapon, Chen Sheng slowly landed and appeared beside Zhao Xian and the others.

"The grain escort teams of Rongtai and Ronghuai counties are interdependent; how could Zhao Xian sit idly by and do nothing!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately bowed to Chen Sheng and said in a deep voice.

"Haha!" Chen Sheng laughed heartily upon hearing this, then looked at the three Innate Realm martial artists beside him and said with a smile, "Slaying a Foundation Establishment cultivator is indeed a great achievement!"

"Without Bo Zhang's unexpected sword light, that Foundation Establishment cultivator probably wouldn't have been killed!"

"Bo Zhang should be credited with the greatest merit. What do you all think?"

After saying that, Chen Sheng looked at the three innate martial artists!

"This lad's archery skills are superb, and his timing is impeccable. He deserves the greatest credit, and neither of us has any objections!"

Upon hearing this, the two innate martial artists from Ronghuai County exchanged a glance, and one of them immediately smiled and said...

As Chen Sheng was the leader of the group, since he had spoken, these two innate martial artists naturally wouldn't refuse him!

"Gao Jun of Cang County greets the three fellow Daoists!" Gao Jun bowed to Chen Sheng and the other two, then smiled and said, "Bo Zhang deserves the greatest credit!"

"You four seniors are too kind to Zhao Xian!" Zhao Xian said modestly.

"Splash!"

Ignoring Zhao Xian's modesty, Chen Sheng instead damaged the spiritual imprint on Hua Ji Shangren's storage bag, and soon a pile of spiritual items appeared before everyone's eyes!

And among them were even brightly colored women's undergarments!

"That scoundrel is still up to his old tricks!"

A martial artist from Ronghuai County pointed to the undergarment and couldn't help but make a joke.

"Ha ha!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian and the others all smiled.

"Fifteen mid-grade spirit stones, over seven hundred low-grade spirit stones, one mid-grade magic weapon, one low-grade magic weapon, as well as some cultivation pills, gathered spiritual herbs, animal bones, and so on!"

"Huh, there's even a high-grade Yellow Rank spiritual item!"

Chen Sheng raised his hand and a jade artifact of emerald green came into view.

"This should be a piece of spirit wood heartwood, probably five hundred years old!"

After looking at it for a few moments, Chen Sheng said hesitantly.

"The spirit stones will be divided equally, and you, Bozhang, may choose your own among these spiritual items!"

"How can this be allowed?"

"Let Lord Chen choose first!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian gave a wry smile and waved his hands repeatedly.

"You deserve the most credit; if you don't choose first, how are we supposed to choose?"

Chen Sheng shook his head and smiled calmly.

"Then Zhao Xian will take this tree heartwood back for his wife to use in her cultivation!"

Chen Yuanqing was a cultivator with a wood spirit root, so this century-old tree heart was exactly what she wanted!

"Yuan Qing has certainly found a good husband!"

Upon hearing Zhao Xian's words, Chen Sheng sighed and then tossed the tree heart to Zhao Xian.

Next, Chen Sheng made his choice, naturally selecting the mid-grade magic weapon. Then it was Gao Jun's turn, who chose the low-grade magic weapon.

After several rounds of selection, all the spiritual objects were divided up.

Chen Sheng then copied the thief's cultivation technique, a low-grade Xuan-level technique, onto several jade slips and handed them out to everyone.

Finally, regarding the spirit stones, Zhao Xian gave away four mid-grade spirit stones, and refused to share the rest no matter what!

Seeing this, the other four people also divided it up.

The spoils of war have been divided up, and the battlefield has been almost completely cleaned up!

They were all poor, suffering people in tattered clothes, so where would they find anything of value?

Those few sets of armor are only worth a few coins!

After bidding farewell to Chen Sheng and the others, Zhao Xian also led his troops back to the camp.

Upon returning to the camp, Zhao Xianxian ordered the army physician Sun Fu and others to treat the wounded soldiers, and also ordered the cooking of spirit rice porridge. The soldiers, having fought all night, were naturally starving!

"What are the casualties?"

After making the arrangements, Zhao Xian returned to his military tent and looked at Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ji.

"General, a great victory!"

Upon hearing Zhao Xian's question, Zhao Cheng's face lit up with excitement, and he stepped forward with a smile.

"Eight were killed and thirty-seven wounded in this battle!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian couldn't help but smile.

Compared to tonight's results, this is truly a great victory!

"It's just a pity about those heads; the officials of Xiao County won't acknowledge our war merits!"

Zhao Ji, who was standing to the side, also said with considerable regret.

"It's alright! We got some spoils after all!"

Zhao Xian sighed and could only offer this words of comfort.

The next day, neither team set off, but instead rested in place.

They didn't set off until the third day to continue their journey!

We were only four or five days away from Xiao County, and there were many more soldiers patrolling the official road!

In the following days, everyone continued to keep watch and be on guard meticulously.

But the thieves did not attack again.

October 21st, 530th year of the Celestial Calendar.

Zhao Xian and his entourage, riding ahead, finally caught sight of the majestic county city, which lay sprawled across the flat land like a giant beast, several miles away!

"Hiss, brother, this city wall must be over ten zhang high!"

Zhao Bing, who was following behind Zhao Xian, couldn't help but gasp when he saw the magnificent city wall!

"According to the regulations of the Qianlong era, the city walls of counties could not exceed six zhang (approximately 13 meters), the city walls of prefectures could not exceed fifteen zhang (approximately 13 meters), and the city walls of state capitals could not exceed twenty zhang (approximately 13 meters)!"

"The city wall of Xiao County is probably around fifteen zhang (approximately 15 meters) high!"

After explaining to Zhao Bing, Zhao Xian gazed at the distant city walls, secretly pondering how such high walls would be a formidable obstacle for an attack.

At that time, it would have been impossible to climb up using a wooden ladder!

"Xiao County, as the county seat, has city walls eighteen zhang high, and inner and outer barbicans, far exceeding the regulations of the Qian Law!" A figure appeared beside Zhao Xian and said calmly, then looked at Zhao Xian with a smile and asked, "Bo Zhang, do you know why?"

"I don't know!"

Zhao Xian shook his head and looked at Xu Dekun.

"Decades ago, during the great war between Qing and Nan, Xiao County was the battlefield!"

Xu Dekun pointed to the flat, open ground around him and said leisurely.

"I see!"

Zhao Xian also showed a look of sudden realization.

"This time, we've transported enough millet for ten thousand shi, but less than a thousand shi of crescent-shaped rice!"

"What should I do?"

Looking around, Xu Dekun suddenly lowered his voice and spoke to Zhao Xian.

"Isn't it to be expected that some rice was lost during the two night raids by bandits?"

Zhao Xian paused slightly, then looked at Xu Dekun and smiled calmly.

"But~"

Xu Dekun wanted to say something more, but seeing Zhao Xian shake his head, he had no choice but to stop talking.

"Da da da!"

A rapid sound of hooves approached, and more than ten riders were seen arriving at the front of the column.

"Are you the grain escort team from Rongtai County?"

The leading knight looked at Zhao Xian and the others and asked in a stiff tone.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian spurred his horse forward, and the official seal at his waist came into the officer's view.

Seeing that Zhao Xian was so young yet wore a seal of authority worth two hundred bushels of grain, the military officer's expression softened somewhat, and he raised his hand in a salute: "This humble official greets Your Majesty!"

"We are officials from Rongtai County. I am Zhao Xian, the grain escort officer responsible for delivering the grain and provisions!"

"The prefect has ordered that the grain transport convoy from Rongtai County is not allowed to enter the city. Instead, they must set up camp outside the city and the grain and provisions will be tallied tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, the military officer immediately shouted in a stern voice.

"What?!"

"They won't let us into the city?!"

Before Zhao Xian could speak, Zhao Bing and the others behind him were already furious!

"Clang!"

Several hot-tempered knights had already drawn their ring-pommel swords and were glaring angrily at each other!

After more than twenty days of hard work escorting grain, they still won't let us into the city when we arrive here.

How could I not be so angry!

Seeing Zhao Bing and the others looking furious, the military officer remained expressionless, only staring at Zhao Xian.

Zhao Xian remained silent, gazing at the distant city wall of Xiao County.

A moment later, a rider arrived.

It was Chen Sheng, the magistrate of Ronghuai County.

Without needing to say more, Chen Sheng immediately noticed the standoff between the two sides.

"Bozhang, it's getting late, we need to hurry and set up camp!"

Hearing Chen Sheng's words, Zhao Xian exchanged a glance with him. Seeing Chen Sheng shake his head slightly, Zhao Xian turned around and shouted, "Set up camp on the west side of the city gate!"

"Here you go!"

Upon hearing this, the officers behind him immediately responded in unison.

Meanwhile, the cavalry troop from Xiao County turned their horses around and returned to the city.

"We are not officials or commoners under the jurisdiction of Prefect Xiao, so we don't need to concern ourselves with such trivial matters!"

Seeing Zhao Xian's somber expression, Chen Sheng immediately offered a word of comfort.

Moments later, the local militia of Rongtai County began to set up camp.

As for the location of the camp, it was chosen to be an open area several miles away from the city gate, without being shielded by the city wall of Xiao County.

On the city wall of Xiao County, several high-ranking officials of the prefecture, with their official seals hanging from their waists, stood there, looking down at the camp in the distance.

"To prevent the grain escort teams from the three counties from entering the city is truly a loss of judgment!"

One of the high-ranking officials, who wore an official seal at his waist, suddenly spoke up in a calm tone.

"The governor was only trying to maintain stability in the city. Who knows how many of Huang Tiandao's spies were mixed in with these militiamen!"

Upon hearing this, another high-ranking official spoke up in rebuttal.

"Send some wine and meat to the grain transport convoy outside the city as a reward!"

Upon hearing this, the other officials of the prefecture did not speak up to stop them. It was one thing to not allow them to enter the city, but it would be truly unreasonable not to send them some wine and meat!

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