From a country cook to a master chef

On March 7th of the 29th year of the Great Wu Calendar, amidst a sky full of snow, Lin Jue led three hundred reinforcements and successfully captured Yantan Pass in Lanzhou.

late at night.

All sounds are silent.

Standing atop the city wall, Lin Jue could not feel happy at all.

Zhanbo's troops were less than two miles away from Yantan Pass, and it was only a matter of time before they besieged the city.

As for the flanking force that Elder Hu of the Inner Court mentioned back then, Lin Jue has yet to see any sign of it.

In this situation, if we still feign surrender and open the gates to welcome them, we are very likely to hand over the Salt Beach Pass to others for nothing.

The Jambo Kingdom has its eyes on the Salt Beach Pass. An inside agent could betray Da Wu or stab them in the back. There is no reason for the Jambo Shaman to send only a thousand elite cavalry to seize the pass. There must be a large Jambo army following behind them.

According to frontline reports, the commander-in-chief of the Zhanbo Kingdom's three armies was Chu You, who had dealt with the Dawu Kingdom many times before.

This man is resourceful and cunning, skilled in military tactics, adept at using surprise attacks to defeat the enemy, and holds a high position as a minister. He is the Grand Priest of the Kingdom of Jambo, and is often able to devise strategies and win battles from afar.

Among the military generals of Zhanbo Kingdom, the title of "Wu Si" (巫司) is second only to the Grand Wu Si (大巫司), who is above all others.

Below the Grand Wizard, there were thirty-six Wizards and seventy-two Wizards.

Each shaman's status is equivalent to a middle-ranking officer in the Great Wu military system, while the shaman's rank is comparable to a general.

Thinking of this, Lin Jue's expression became even more solemn.

Just then, Captain Xi Ning, who only had his right arm left, arrived and reported with a joyful expression:

"My lord, the rebels in the city have been quelled! In addition, I have discovered that the 20,000 troops gathered by the four major families are all ordinary people who were lured in with promises of great rewards. With proper training, they can be fully incorporated into the army and formed into your personal guard."

"Well, in that case, take 40,000 taels of silver from the four major families and distribute it immediately. Then bring them all to the city walls to prepare for battle against the Zhanbo army."

Lin Jue was overjoyed. With the elimination of the interpreters and servants of the four major families and the heavy casualties among the soldiers guarding Yantan Pass, he was worried about not being able to find any useful soldiers. Unexpectedly, the four major families sent him such a generous gift.

With a combination of kindness and severity, and with the help of the existing soldiers in the city, he quickly raised an army of nearly 30,000 men.

With men at his disposal, Lin Jue looked completely at ease when he climbed the city wall again. He immediately ordered Pan Ren to lead 500 elite troops out of the city to welcome Zhanbo's army.

He then led his men to set up an ambush in the city, waiting for the Zhanbo general to enter Yantan Pass before lowering the thousand-pound stone at the city gate and surrounding and annihilating the enemy chieftain in the city.

Lin Jue was unaware that the general from Zhanbo Kingdom who led the troops to take Yantan Pass was not a shaman, but a shaman, whose status was even higher than that of Elder Hu of the Inner Court.

On the city gate tower, Xi Ning, though only his right arm remained, insisted on not retreating to the rear. In his words, even with a knife in one hand, he could still make the Zhanbo people flee in terror.

"How long have you been in the army, Brother Xi?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, I joined the army in the tenth year of the Great Wu Dynasty, and it has been almost twenty years now."

Lin Jue was slightly taken aback, and teased in a low voice, "It must have been tough for you to reach the position of captain in twenty years."

Upon hearing this, Xi Ning chuckled, scratched his head awkwardly, and was about to speak when he suddenly heard the rhythmic sound of horses' hooves coming from outside the city.

Everyone immediately went into battle mode and quietly looked down.

Lin Jue was stunned, muttering in amazement, "They're all heavily armored cavalry..."

Looking around, everyone was riding tall horses, well-equipped, covered in black armor, holding spears, and carrying crossbows at their waists—they were armed to the teeth.

No wonder a mere thousand soldiers dared to venture deep into the interior of Lanzhou.

Xi Ning had fought against the Zhanbo sorcerers many times before, and he was stunned at this moment. But when he noticed the general leading the enemy, his eyes lit up and he chuckled softly:

"Congratulations, sir. This leading shaman is wearing a shaman's hat and is definitely a genuine shaman. If you can kill him here, you can become famous throughout the army for this military achievement."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue was more worried than pleased. This person looked very young, yet he was able to become the Zhanbo Wizard, so his strength must be unfathomable.

It should be noted that in the three armies of the Great Wu, in order to become a lieutenant general, one must possess the strength of the late stage of the Divine Illumination Realm.

A general is at least a powerful expert in the early stage of the Divine Harmony Realm.

Thinking of this, Lin Jue's heart sank, and his right hand, which was gripping the knife, involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat. He never expected that the other side would send a shaman for a mere salt flat pass.

However, Lin Jue's agitated heart quickly calmed down, and on the surface, he remained nonchalant, so that Xi Ning did not notice anything amiss.

Even if the other party is a sorcerer at the Divine Harmony Realm, he is still just one person.

There are tens of thousands of soldiers inside Yantan Pass; we can wear them down slowly.

As for his thousand heavily armored cavalry, once they entered the Salt Beach Pass, the complex terrain within the city rendered them useless and posed no threat.

Moreover, Lin Jue only needs to keep an eye on the enemy shaman, and once he enters the city, immediately lower the city gate stone to cut off the heavy cavalry behind him.

Cavalry cannot attack cities. At that time, even if the opponent is a martial artist at the Divine Harmony Realm, he can use his numerical advantage to slowly wear them down in the city.

At this moment, in front of the Salt Beach Pass, Pan Ren and the sorcerer stood side by side on horseback, whispering to each other. They said something that made the sorcerer laugh heartily, and then he led his troops into the pass.

Lin Jue watched this scene with a calm expression, showing no sign of worry, and completely ignoring the fawning look on Pan Ren's face.

Having experienced the power of the Spirit Seal firsthand, Pan Ren had always believed that he had been poisoned by some kind of strange poison. Lin Jue believed that he would not dare to turn against him at this time.

The moment Lin Jue saw the Zhanbo shaman enter the city, he gave an order, and as the city gate stone fell, countless torches instantly lit up, illuminating the entire Salt Beach Pass.

Realizing something was wrong, the priest looked back and saw that only a few dozen iron cavalry had followed him into the pass. Looking around, he found that the city was already surrounded by a large number of guards.

"Pan Ren!"

In his anger, Wu Si Lu Xuan was about to question Pan Ren when he discovered that the other party had already vanished without a trace.

"kill!"

Someone shouted, and tens of thousands of soldiers guarding the salt flats charged out in a massive wave.

Lin Jue stood atop the city gate tower, smiling as he watched the dozens of elite Zhanbo cavalrymen fighting fiercely and resisting desperately below.

He wanted to see if a martial artist at the Divine Harmony Realm could withstand the charge of tens of thousands of armored soldiers.

Just in case, Lin Jue also gathered the only thirty crossbowmen from Yantan Pass to surround him.

This crossbow is incredibly powerful. It was made by a master craftsman of the Great Martial Realm and is specifically designed to counter the energy of martial artists. A single Broken Martial Crossbow might not be able to harm a martial artist in the Divine Harmony Realm, but if thirty of them are activated simultaneously, even a sorcerer would have to avoid its power.

If Zhanbo Shaman intends to fight to the death, Lin Jue wouldn't mind shooting him into a sieve.

Soon, the stench of blood spread, and only the Zhanbo shaman remained in the city, stubbornly resisting, surrounded by tens of thousands of menacing soldiers from the Salt Beach Pass.

"I am Lin Jue, the garrison commander of Yantan Pass. Your Excellency is a shaman. If you surrender, I will spare your life."

After watching the battle for a long time, Lin Jue was deeply shocked by the power of the Divine Harmony Realm warrior.

In this battle, no fewer than a thousand soldiers from the salt flats died at the hands of this sorcerer, their blood flowing like a torrent, soaking the entire street.

"It is said that martial artists in the Divine Harmony Realm can use their strength to take flight and fly briefly with their martial arts energy. Seeing this today, I can see that it is indeed true. If it weren't for the thousand archers in the city, I'm afraid we really wouldn't be able to do anything to you tonight."

"You want me to surrender?" Wu Si Lu Xuan stood atop a mountain of corpses, his gaze fixed on Lin Jue.

"Those who understand the times are wise, but if you insist on resisting stubbornly and refuse to surrender, I, Lin, will certainly admire you..."

Before Lin Jue could finish speaking, Xi Ning beside him suddenly exclaimed in surprise, pointing outside the city and shouting, "My lord, look! It's General Zhang's guerrilla camp, no, there's also the regular army camp! General Zhang himself is leading his troops to attack!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue was overjoyed. He anticipated that soon after the arrival of the sorcerer, the army of Zhanbo Kingdom would also arrive at Yantan Pass. Now that General Zhang Shiyou was leading his troops here, the crisis at this pass could be resolved.

"Xi Ning, you shall immediately lead a thousand men out of the city and join forces with General Zhang to launch a pincer attack from both sides, and make sure to annihilate the bandit leader."

"This subordinate obeys!"

After giving all the instructions, Lin Jue looked at the sorcerer Lu Xuan again and said in a calm tone:

"General Zhang Shiyou of the Great Wu Haoran Prefecture has already led his troops to reinforce Yantan Pass. If you only want to delay until the Zhanbo army arrives, then I advise you not to be delusional."

"Hahaha."

The sorcerer Lu Xuan looked up to the sky and sighed. After laughing three times, he led his troops to commit suicide without the slightest hesitation.

Thus, Lin Jue not only fulfilled Hu Meng's military orders, but also unexpectedly beheaded a high-ranking general of the Witchcraft Academy, instantly becoming famous throughout the land.

After Zhang Shiyou led his troops to take over Yantan Pass, Lin Jue temporarily took up his command and organized two thousand soldiers. Later, he made many outstanding achievements, and the "Lang Jue Troops" became famous and resounded throughout the three armies.