After escaping the pursuit of the demon tribe, everyone returned smoothly on the same path and left the forest. At this moment, it was noon and the sun was shining high in the sky. In front of them were grass and rivers, and the whole world suddenly became exceptionally spacious. The stuffiness accumulated in the small space of the forest was completely released.
“It’s better outside. It feels so comfortable just looking at it.”
“The forest is only suitable for playing. If you live there for a long time, you will die.”
“Let’s go back to Lu’s Town, then stay overnight in Mi County, and return to Dayuan Prefecture tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
Everyone was in high spirits and their steps became much lighter. The prefectural soldiers secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When they used to kill demons, there would often be demons suddenly appearing, and the first to be killed or injured were always the prefectural soldiers, followed by the accomplished scholars. So even though they had been loyal and dutiful all the way, and even with the presence of slaves, there was still some resistance in their hearts. But now everything was over.
Soon, everyone saw Lu’s Town from afar. The faces of the three presented scholars with the best eyesight darkened.
Outside Lu’s Town were the scattered bodies of fish demons. Inside Lu’s Town, everything was in ruins. The low walls outside the town were collapsed everywhere, and many houses were flattened as if they had experienced a flood. In the distance, some houses seemed to have been set on fire. The fire was already extinguished, but there was still smoke rising, and many people could be vaguely seen busy there.
“Slow down and be prepared to kill demons.”
Everyone began to prepare for battle, drawing swords, holding spears, and taking arrows. The accomplished scholars also put down their brush and dipped it in ink.
The slave stood upright on Fang Yun’s shoulder and looked around, then said in a normal voice, “Yiyi, yiyi.”
Fang Yun asked, “You said there are no demon tribes?”
“Yiyi!” The slave nodded.
Before the presented scholars could give orders, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and unconditionally believed in Fang Yun and the slave.
“Let’s go and see what’s going on! Don’t be too happy too soon. If the demon tribe attacks, we cannot leave, or we will be deserters.”
Everyone became nervous again upon hearing this. No one complained, but the atmosphere of the team was not good. These people had been killing demons continuously, and their mental and physical strength had been exhausted.
The three presented scholars looked at each other and frowned. If the demon tribe suddenly appeared, the morale of the team would collapse immediately.
Mr. Wang said, “No one likes to risk their lives to kill demons. You don’t like it, and I don’t like it either. Even the Lord of the Academy once said to us that if he could choose, he would rather read the books of the sages and enjoy tea and the moon every day. But he can’t! We can’t either! The demon tribe wants to raise humans as food, and the barbarians want to invade our beautiful rivers and mountains. If we indulge in pleasure, we will eventually become the slaves of the demon barbarians!””In the past, when the Demon Barbarians and All the Saints couldn’t leave the Demon Realm, our tribe had a chance to breathe. Later, the battle of the Mu Field outside the Zhao Ge City was not a battle between the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but a battle between the Human and Demon Barbarian races! King Wen knew back then that humans and Demon Barbarians could never coexist. It was a feud that would last for generations, and only one side could be completely wiped out before it could end!”
“We scholars are the last line of defense for the Holy Origin Continent and the billions of human races. Our will and our strength are the last fortress of the human race. If we dare not fight, then the human race is doomed!”
“Do you want to be raised like pigs, slaughtered, and served on the table?”
“No!” several students whispered.
“Do you want to watch your loved ones, wives, and daughters become playthings of the Demon Barbarians?”
“No!” more people said this time.
“Do you want to hand over the human land paved with the bones of our predecessors?”
“No!” many people shouted.
“Then, use the power bestowed upon us by the God of Literature and All the Saints to kill these Demon Barbarians, so that our families and future generations can live in peace! Even if we turn into dry bones, this land belongs to the human race, and no one can take it away! As long as the human race does not perish, righteousness will always exist!”
Everyone was inspired by Mr. Wang’s words, not the inspiration of war poetry, but the power that struck their hearts!
“As long as the human race does not perish, righteousness will always exist!”
Everyone shouted along, and the originally reluctant mood disappeared completely. They were eager to capture those Demon Barbarians who destroyed the town.
When they arrived in the town, the mayor and some people greeted them.
“What happened?” Mr. Wang asked.
The mayor’s eyes were red, and he suppressed his grief and said, “I don’t know what happened. A large number of Demon Barbarians rushed over an hour ago. The leader was a turtle demon as big as a house. Then a big snake came out, and the two sides started fighting. The turtle demon knew magic and sprayed a lot of water, flooding half of the village. Other Demon Barbarians also knew magic, some poisoned, and some set fire. We just finished counting. More than 40 people in the town died, and more than 30 disappeared without a trace. They were probably taken away and eaten by the Demon Barbarians.”
“How did they leave?”
“That turtle demon was particularly powerful. The snake demon couldn’t fight it and was injured by the turtle demon and other Demon Barbarians. Finally, the snake demon had to escape. Those Demon Barbarians seemed to value that snake demon very much and didn’t care about us. They chased after the snake demon and left.”
“Have you asked for help from the county magistrate of Mi County?”
“I tore two official seals with red letters in a row, and the nearby prefectural army should be arriving soon.”
“Do those Demon Barbarians have a Demon General?””I don’t understand the language of demons, Cheng Cai, you understand it, answer the questions of the Presented Scholar.”
The Child Scholar, Cheng Cai, who had met them before, walked over. He had lost weight in the past few days, his eyes were slightly gloomy, and he didn’t look like a newlywed young man at all.
The Prefecture Mayor sighed lightly and said, “His beautiful wife couldn’t be found. It seems like she was taken away by the demon race, but she could also be hiding somewhere. Cheng Cai, tell us what happened.”
Cheng Cai bowed to everyone and said, “My lords, the words of those demons were very confusing, and I cannot repeat them one by one, but I can guess the general situation. It seems that the snake demon stole something, and the Dragon Palace of the Yangtze River sent a turtle demon to kill the snake demon. The snake demon called the turtle demon a demon general, but the turtle demon was much stronger than ordinary demon generals. The snake demon easily killed three ordinary demon generals, but couldn’t beat the turtle demon.”
The three Presented Scholars and a few Accomplished Scholars changed their expressions.
“Does the turtle demon have a protrusion on its head, like it’s about to grow horns?”
“Yes! Is that a Dragon Turtle?”
“It can’t be a Dragon Turtle. Dragon Turtles are also a dragon species, on par with the Jiao Dragon. That demon turtle probably has dragon bloodline and belongs to the pseudo-dragon clan, otherwise it wouldn’t be so strong. What about the snake demon?”
“I’m not too sure about that.” Cheng Cai lowered his head in deep thought, as if trying to recall something.
Mr. Wang asked again, “Does the snake demon have a red flesh crown on its head and black and red patterns on its body?”
The Prefecture Mayor immediately shook his head and said, “No! The head of that big snake demon had nothing on it, and its body was green. It was a big green snake, very scary, especially when it opened its mouth. But the big green snake seemed to be okay and didn’t intentionally harm people. That demon turtle, on the other hand, is a real threat and has killed many of our people. Even Mr. Yang might have been taken by the demon race.”
Cheng Cai suddenly clenched his fists and lowered his head even more.
The servant girl looked at Cheng Cai suspiciously, sniffed lightly, and looked at his chest, wondering what she was thinking.
“Besides those demon generals, how many other demon soldiers are there?”
“At least five to six hundred, mostly fish demons. But more than two hundred were killed by the snake demon, and their bodies are outside. You can count them.”
Mr. Wang sighed lightly and said, “Let’s wait here for the Prefecture’s army to arrive for now. We’ll decide whether to leave or stay or fight when they come. Don’t be idle, help the people of the town.”
So everyone started to help the people of the town clean up the destroyed area.
Not long after, more than thirty armored bull carts came from afar, creating a rolling dust cloud.The lead was a Jia Niu war chariot, also pulled by two Jia Niu, but these two Jia Niu were covered in iron armor. Only three people stood on the small cart behind, one driving, one was a general in armor, and the other was the magistrate of Mi County, He Xianling.
The crowd immediately greeted them, and the Jia Niu chariot gradually slowed down. The general jumped off the Jia Niu chariot, and his face was not blocked by the helmet. Fang Yun did not recognize him, but many people around him did.
“General Chen!” Everyone bowed.
Fang Yun immediately guessed that this person should be Chen Xibi, the prefectural general of Dayuan Prefecture, a fifth-ranked official.
He Xianling and Chen Xibi were both imperial scholars, but one was elegant and the other rough.
“What’s going on?” Chen Xibi scanned the crowd and asked.
Mr. Wang immediately reported the incident.
“Who is Fang Yun?”
“I am.” Fang Yun stepped forward.
Chen Xibi nodded at Fang Yun and said to everyone, “Since there are two demon generals, there is no need to alarm the Lord of the Academy. The great scholars of Jing Nation are still in the Holy Academy and have not returned. The Lord of the Academy must sit in Yuhai City to prevent the sea tribe from attacking. I will leave two prefectural soldiers to guard here, and all others must follow me to hunt down those demons and prevent them from killing more people.”
Chen Xibi paused and looked at the people of the State Academy, saying, “You have been temporarily conscripted as prefectural soldiers! Follow me to slay the demons!”
Mr. Wang glanced at Fang Yun and said to Chen Xibi, “Sir, we just killed a demon general and our energy has not yet recovered. Especially Fang Yun, who has just become a talented scholar, cannot bear such a burden. It is better to let Fang Yun return to the State Academy, and we will follow you to kill the demons.”
The people nearby were shocked. The position of a saintly talented scholar was even rarer than that of a saintly child scholar, and it was almost impossible to produce one in a hundred years. The status of a saintly talented scholar was higher than that of an ordinary imperial scholar and almost equivalent to an imperial scholar.
An Chengcai stared straight at Fang Yun, his eyes full of shock.
Nunu, however, still stared at An Chengcai.
Chen Xibi’s eyes flashed with surprise, and then he asked Fang Yun, “Are you seriously injured?”
“No.”
“Can you shoot a bow and wield a sword?”
“Yes.”
“Then follow me! What kind of man are you if you don’t experience life and death on the battlefield! Here, take this ‘mountain and river inkstone’ and inject your energy into it if you encounter danger, and activate the power of ‘Mountain and River Ode’ to protect yourself! You won’t die until I die!” Chen Xibi finished speaking and threw the mountain and river inkstone to Fang Yun.
Fang Yun hurriedly took it and said, “Thank you, General Chen.”Chen Xibi smiled slightly and said, “The future of Jing Kingdom depends on you, but now you have to listen to me!”
Everyone laughed.
“Let’s go!” Chen Xibi was very decisive.
The Child Scholar, An Chengcai, suddenly shouted, “General, my wife may have been captured and killed by the Yao race. As a scholar, I must take revenge! I am proficient in archery and often go hunting. I have also worked with the townspeople to kill the Yao race. Please, General, allow me to join the army.”
“Alright! Get on the carriage!”